Editorial Review

Pokémon Ruby's updated graphics with weather effects, amazing sound, more than 200 Pokémon with over 100 new species--as well as its faithful adherence to the existing series of Pokémon games--makes for a welcome evolution in the series.

First, the game has a lot in common with Pokémon games Silver, Gold, and Crystal. For example, players can choose to be a boy or a girl trainer, an internal clock sets events at certain times, and you’re the game's handy-dandy Pokédex helps players keep track of the many stats. You're main goal is still to beat all the Gym Trainers and become the Pokémon Master. If you've played the old games, you will be right at home. But not all is the same.

The most obvious change is in the battles themselves. Now that two Pokémon can fight on your side at the same time, you can tag-team them against an enemy by taking advantage of the strengths of your Pokémons while covering their weaknesses. For example, you can now have a water Pokémon watch your fire Pokémon's back.You can also attack more than one Pokémon at a time.

A whole new element to the game focuses on how berries are used in battle. And if you collect enough berries, you can take them to a Berry Blender and make a PokéBlock, which is a little super-charged candy that raises your Pokémon's "Condition" attributes. You can then groom your Pokémon for regional contests and compete for ribbons like "Best of Show," which will unlock additional contests. There's even strategy in how to best use your berries: pick too many and the berry tree will disappear; plant berries, though, and a tree will grow. You can also build a Secret Base in special areas of the game, which you can decorate just like you can your room.

And let us not forget that Pokémon Ruby has a kickin' multiplayer system, too. You can trade Pokémon, and link up to four players for incredible battles. The only downside is that you can't link up with the old Game Boy Color games. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• You can control two Pokémon in battle
• Much needed graphic and sound facelift
• Nice multiplayer feature (requires link cable and extra game cartridge)

• Can't trade Pokémon with Game Boy Color

Editorial Review

Pokémon Sapphire's updated graphics with weather effects, amazing sound, more than 200 Pokémon with over 100 new species--as well as its faithful adherence to the existing series of Pokémon games--makes for a welcome evolution in the series.

First, the game has a lot in common with Pokémon games Silver, Gold, and Crystal. For example, players can choose to be a boy or a girl trainer, an internal clock sets events at certain times, and the game's handy-dandy Pokédex helps players keep track of the many stats. You're main goal is still to beat all the Gym Trainers and become the Pokémon Master. If you've played the old games, you will be right at home. But not all is the same.

The most obvious change is in the battles themselves. Now that two Pokémon can fight on your side at the same time, you can tag-team them against an enemy by taking advantage of the strengths of your Pokémons while covering their weaknesses. For example, you can now have a water Pokémon watch your fire Pokémon's back.You can also attack more than one Pokémon at a time.

A whole new element to the game focuses on how berries are used in battle. And if you collect enough berries, you can take them to a Berry Blender and make a PokéBlock, which is a little super-charged candy that raises your Pokémon's "Condition" attributes. You can then groom your Pokémon for regional contests and compete for ribbons like "Best of Show," which will unlock additional contests. There's even strategy in how to best use your berries: pick too many and the berry tree will disappear; plant berries, though, and a tree will grow. You can also build a Secret Base in special areas of the game, which you can decorate just like you can your room.

And let us not forget that Pokémon Sapphire has a kickin' multiplayer system, too. You can trade Pokémon, and link up to four players for incredible battles. The only downside is that you can't link up with the old Game Boy Color games. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• You can control two Pokémon in battle
• Much needed graphic and sound facelift
• Nice multiplayer feature (requires link cable and extra game cartridge)

• Can't trade Pokémon with Game Boy Color

Reviews (13)

SWEET!
This game is awsome! If you like games that aren't "run throu and shoot everbody's head off"(a.k.a HALO)you will love this game.The bad guy's A.I is farily smart.You have alot of butt kinkn'gatets and stuff.You also get more than your share of explosives.Only one think that I HATE about it,and that's not enogh levels. Overall it ROCKS!!!!!!!

Great game.
This is a totally great game with a lot of cool moves and levels.the only con is that there are only 10 levels the others can only be unlocked through the game cube or by the sucess rate.I completed all the levels in 2 days it is a pretty short game.

Reviews (1)

Features

• Play as either Mega Man or Bass.
• Unique Battle Moves & Weapons: Double-Jumps &Charge-Up Buster.
• Find Hidden Bolts and CDs for Extra Items to Assist in Battles.
• Defeat Robot Masters to Open More Paths.

Reviews (20)

Pleasing, but it shows Capcom is lazy.
The story this time around is that a robot named King has taken over Wily's fort and has 8 robot masters attacking the world. You can play as either Mega man or Bass. Here are the pros and cons

Mega man- His weapon is more powerful than that of Bass and has the option of charging to triple times the power.
Jumping is ok and it gets you around. He can slide, which gives you the ability to go under small areas or evade an attack.
His power-ups are just right if not useless. The two most useful powerups are the high speed charge and the auto charge. Forget everything else.

Bass- Three shots from his buster is equal to about one uncharged shot from Mega man. It is weak. You cannot move and fire at the same time, but while standing you can also fire above your head or into the right or left hand corners.
Bass can double jump, which makes things easier. He cannot slide, but dash. It is only used for evading. It is useless!!!! It states you have to tap the D-pad twice in one direction to get him to dash, but I see no results after 20 and after absorbing every attack around me trying to do so.
His power-ups are great. You can make your shots go through walls. Double your bullets power without charging. And even fuse with your dog. YOUR DOG!

In the game, you choose a boss and go through their stage and at the end, kill them. Upon defeat, they give you their special weapon and give you the ability to use it. The power levels on special abilties are equal between Mega man and Bass.
TIP: Each boss has a weakness. A certain special weapon. The good thing now is that you can tell when it is the right one. The boss will physically react by such moves such as stopping in mid-air or splitting in half.

As a side quest, you can collect cds which contain info on robots from Mega man's past. The problem is you may never get them all. Some are just immpossible to actually touch without dying. It is quite interesting though.

As the title suggests, Capcom is getting lazy.
1. This Mega man game is not innovative to the other 8 exactly like it.
2. They recycled two bosses from Mega man 8, Astro man and Tengu man. That is beyond lazy.

You may need help. If you are a newb, you will die hundreds of times. Mega man is HARD! Just stick with it.

I recommend it.

very hard!
This game will get you very fusterated! Its hard and it will drive you crazy! But it is fun.

Features

• Side-scrolling action platformer game featuring Mega Man's friend, Zero
• New weapon customization system lets you adjust game level difficulty
• A new improved, user-friendly Cyber-Elf collection system
• New-in game special effects, tutorial,mission select and temporary save features added
• For 1-2 players over link cable

Reviews (17)

A stunningly well done game.
The Megaman Zero series is Capcom's attempt to revive the beloved Megaman X series. However, instead of X you get to play as Zero. But what is the game really like? Well, that's easy. It's unbelievably good, and much better than Mega Man Zero. All the tough, retarded stuff in Zero 1 is reworked, from the crappily done Cyber Elf system to the linear, one boss at a time and never get to try again level select system. Now you select a boss from among the four "current bosses" (don't worry, there's only two sets) and play the level over and over until you beat him. Although you can't return to the stage select screen, it's much better than in Zero 1 where if you got game over on a level, you could never play it again and were basically screwed. The Cyber Elves are now fed and downloaded by talking to Ciel, and they are also much easier to level up as well, in terms of Energy Crystals.

The game is much easier than its predecessor, a good thing since I personally found Zero 1 to be frustratingly cheap at times. Although people who mastered Zero 1 will probably breeze through it in a couple hours, newcomers to the series will be amply challenged yet given a good chance to succeed once they have figured out the order in chich to defeat the first four bosses (trust me, there is one. You COULD beat the bosses in whichever order you please, but the game will be quite a bit more difficult). Individual enemies are simple to defeat; you can shoot them a few times or slice 'em in half with your
Z-saber. However, both the bosses and the minibosses require clever combo attacks to beat, as well as a good understanding of their attack patterns. Perhaps the only time the difficulty is messed up is the last boss, who is one of the easiest in the game.

And maybe because the difficulty is so well balanced, this is an easy game to enjoy. RPG gamers will like the plot twists and move varieties while action lovers will derive pure joy out of such moments as pulling an enemy right next to you with the Grappling hook only to cut them in two with the Z-saber. It's also great when you feel that rush of satisfaction after killing a particularly hard boss and watching the two halves of him drift apart from the effects of your Z-saber.

Visually and in terms of sound the game shines. I've probably mentioned about three times already that when you slice and enemy with your sword it actually slices him into two parts, and for a brief moment you can see the circuitry inside him before the two parts clatter to the floor and explode. Everything else also animates extremely smoothly, and the backgrounds are vibrant and well drawn. The sound effects are about average, but the music is really good. The music always fits the mood of the scene, and the background music in the levels themselves pumps you up and almost improves your reflexes (or maybe it's just the sweat running down your back after playing for two hours and trying to get an A rank in every level). I cannot remember a time when the graphics or sound effects didn't satisfy me.

Overall, this is a gem of a game that should appeal to a wide variety of different gamers. Unless you despise having fun, you'll probably like this game. And by the way, the ultimate bad guy turns out to be one of the last people you'd expect, mainly because once you beat him, if you think about it, it's really obvious why that person is bad enough to be the last boss. That obviousness will proabably having you scratching your head up until the last minute. This game is some tight stuff; enjoy.

A Mega Man game has never been better.
Mega Man Zero 2 is one of the better GBA games to come in a while.It is also one of those rare moments where the sequel more than surpasses the original.In fact, Mega Man Zero 2 surpasses its predecessor in almost every way possible.

The game takes place one year after the first Mega Man Zero.The game begins with Zero wandering through the desert looking for the resistance base when he is suddenly ambushed by the enemy.He lives long enough to get to the resistance base where his weapons are fixed and he's ready to battle the threat of Neo Arcadia once more.

The game has a story similar to the Mega Man X series and the previous Mega Man Zero game.Neo Arcadia, a faction built by humans, wants to "retire" all the reploids (by retire they mean destroy) since they see the robots as a future threat.With peace nearly in reach, Elpizom the new resistance leader seems set on destroying Neo Arcadia. But Elpizo and Zero, you'll quickly learn have different views on what a Utopia should be.

The gameplay isn't much different from Mega Man Zero.Zero can do all the same abilities he did in the last one.He can dash, jump and use any of four weapons of his choice.Zero's four weapons consists of his Z-Buster, Z-Saber, Chain Rod and Shield Boomerang.Each has its own properties, for example the Z-Buster allows Zero to attack long range but the cost is he doesn't do much damage.The Z-Saber allows him to deal massive damage but he needs to be right in the enemies face.The Chain Rod allows Zero to hit enemies from a distance with medium damage.The Chain Rod also allows him to swing from ledges.The Shield Boomerang is a shield that deflects shots.Each wapon can also be charged up to do double the damage.

Each mission plays out similar, but they're not straightforward to defeating the boss.Some missions require you to rescue certain comrades, destroy certain objects and many other side objectives.Each mission has a boss as well.

Mega Man Zero 2 takes a small step above the first one with its Ranking System.After each mission you're graded on a scale that ranges from S to F. S being the highest.But there's more to it than just having a ranking and a nickname.If Zero should be at an A or S rank bosses will use a special attack that Zero can acquire called an "EX" skill. There are ten of these skills in all but new comers shouldn't attempt this until a few runs through the game.

Zero can also take on different "Forms".Each form gives him different properties.One could give him lots of defense and speed and limit his power.One could give him more power but limit other properties.Each form Zero takes changes his color.

The Cyber-Elf system is back and it remains unchanged.You find Cyber Elves in every level by defeating enemies, destroying containers or defeating the mini boss in a level.Cyber Elves are divided into three categories, Nurse (health), Animal (Enhance Abilities) and Hacker (Change level).Zero can also feed his elves and make them stronger.Some elves have permanent effects but Capcom makes sure that if you want all the EX skills and everything Mega Man Zero 2 has to offer then you must master going through the game without using the more powerful ones.Using the more powerful elves drops your ranking.

Visually, Mega Man Zero 2 looks great!Zero looks about the same as he did in the first one but backgrounds and levels are much more vividly detailed than before.

The game also sounds incredible!No Mega Man game has ever sounded this good.Remixing old tracks from the last installment and adding in several new tracks.

Its as if Capcom knew exactly what was wrong with the first one.This game is also much much longer than the first one and offers lots more to do.The game has more stages and they're much longer.

This game is also a CHALLENGE!We all know that once you got the hang of Mega Man Zero (or if you were a Mega Man X veteran) then Mega Man Zero was too easy.But when you first pop this in, even Mega Man veterans will find this new one to be a challenge!The challenge can be a little frustrating at times, especially when trying to maintain your A or S ranking but a good challenge always presents a good game.

Capcom went all out to make this better than the previous one by changing everything that was bad about the first one and keeping all that was good and the result is a well defined sequel that no Mega Man fan should miss!

The Good
+New improved gameplay
+So much more stuff to do
+Longer than the first one
+More challenging than the first one
+Music is better than the first one
+More abilities than in the first one
+Just all out BETTER than the first one

The Bad
-The game may be too challenging for those new to the Mega Man world

Delicious!More Please!
Mega Man Zero 2 sticks mostly to the formula the original had but improves on it in subtle ways.The spear has been replaced by a grappling hook that functions similarly but allows you to hook and swing to places you couldn't reach before.In addition to powering up your weapons over time and the elemental chips, you can now obtain what are known as EX skills and Forms.EX skills are special abilities stolen from the boss characters throughout the game, though you'll only steal an ability if your rating is an A or better.This means that you'll likely not capture many of the EX skills the first time through the game, though they really aren't needed much to finish it and are more a reward to players willing to work hard for the A rating.The Forms on the other hand, are highly useful and are unlocked by performing certain feats within a level, such as killing 20 enemies with a jumping slash, or collecting 20 life capsules.These additions allow you to customize Zero's fighting style in numerous ways and add a lot of replayability to the game.

The cyber-elf system is much better this time around.While it hasn't changed dramatically, the amount of energy crystals you need to feed some of the elves has been thankfully reduced and a few new, very useful elves have been added to the list, such as an elf that boosts your rating to A in case your performance slips up a bit.

The game is just about as hard as the original (perhaps harder) though it's not as hard as it seems.The trick, like in most mega man games, is figuring out your opponents patterns and reacting quickly.Many of the boss characters are weak to attacks from one of the elemental chips too, so dodging and using charged attacks makes short work of most of the bosses.Once you're used to the controls and have a feel for the enemies, the game can get rather easy.

Editorial Review

Three months have passed since the Internet crime organizationWorld Three was defeated by Lan and his virus-busting pal, MegaMan.exe. Just as the world begins to feel safe, a new threat rears itsdigital head: an evil Internet syndicate called the Net-Mafia Gospel.Will Lan and Mega Man be up to this new challenge?

The gameplay of Mega Man: Battle Network 2 is almost identicalto the first game--it'san isometric RPG with a kickin' battle system. You spend half the timein the "real world" as Lan, and the other half in the Internet as theantivirus program Mega Man.exe. Solving puzzles and getting power-ups(and, of course, fighting baddies) are the core of this game.

The crowning glory of Mega Man: Battle Network 2 is its battlesystem. The arcade-style battles are still in real time, but there aresome significant changes since the first game. Mega Man doesn'tautomatically regain his health after a battle--he needs to findspecial chips to fully recover. Also, there are now four battle stylesfrom which Mega Man can choose (heat, aqua, wood, or electricity)depending on the type of chips he collects. These chip types affectMega Man's effectiveness against different enemies. The battle screenshave also changed; unique terrains now make battles more varied. Andnow there are more than 200 chips to collect!

The plot in Mega Man: Battle Network was a little shallow, andseemed geared toward a younger crowd. While Battle Network 2 isalso rated E, it has a darker, fuller story--and with an enemy like theNet-Mafia Gospel (which has to be the coolest gang name I've everheard), the story becomes a compelling enhancement to the game.

Mega Man: Battle Network 2 comes through with some refreshingrefinements to all the good features of the original game, making it amust-have for any Mega Man or RPG fan. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• Mega Man changes appearance depending on which battle style headopts
• Players trade chips via link cable, or fight a friend for theminstead!

Cons:

• The story may be confusing if you haven't played the first game

Editorial Review

Fans of Mega Man side scrollers, rejoice--Mega Man Zero has finally come to the GBA. It may be the best Mega Man game designed on any platform, even though it doesn't exactly star Mega Man himself.

Mega Man Zero has basic Mega Man gameplay, though there are some notable differences. Zero can run, jump, dash, shoot, and swing a sword like Mega Man, but now he can also slide down the sides of walls and jump from wall to wall like Jackie Chan. Despite the fancy new moves, be warned: This is probably the most difficult Mega Man game ever made. Zero can't duck, nor can he shoot above or below himself. This makes fighting the many, many enemies difficult--especially when they approach from various angles.

While a side-scrolling action game, Mega Man Zero has definite role-playing game elements. For starters, Zero's skills improve over time. As Zero uses the sword, he will eventually be able to make double--and subsequently triple--attacks. Between missions, Zero can explore the resistance base, talk to people, and "download" various skills via the new Cyber Elf system. There are 70 Cyber Elves scattered throughout the game, and they're broadly lumped into three groups: Nurse Elves that heal, Hacker Elves that alter surroundings, and Animal Elves that boost Zero's abilities. Zero can even feed his Cyber Elves, and increase their power.

In some ways, the graphics of this game surpass the Mega Man games for the PlayStation. There are some outstanding anime cutscenes, the levels are well designed, and the sprites are tight and amazingly detailed. For looks alone, you should buy this game. The sound isn’t as stellar, but adds good ambience. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• New moves
• Gorgeous graphics
• Engaging story (including surprising twist with Mega Man)
• Cyber Elf system

Cons:

• The game is very difficult--you can’t duck, nor can you shoot up or down
• You no longer absorb skills from defeated bosses

Editorial Review

Megaman Battle Network 3 has a few significant improvements over the past two games in the series, but the overall concept is the same. Lan solves puzzles in the "real world," while Megaman.exe fights viruses and solves puzzles on the Net. The battle system is still the same, and that isn't a bad thing--it is still the best live action battle system for any RPG on a handheld.

At this point in the story, it's been about a month since Lan and Megaman's encounter with the nefarious Net Mafia Gospel, and a new semester at school is about to start. When Lan and his classmates are invited to the seemingly innocent net battler Semi-Finals at ACDC Square, little do they know that a new, incredibly evil plan is about to be hatched!

The most exciting addition to the game, hands down, is that you can now make your own Megaman with segments of code that you gather throughout the game. Watch out, though: Do it badly, and you can get a buggy program. In addition to programming your own Megaman, you can still change Megaman's battle styles (just like in Battle Network 2). The end result is the best character creation system on a handheld.

In a homage to the Pokemon games, there is both a White and Blue version of Megaman Battle Network 3. The game is more or less the same, but there are unique cards, styles, and programs for each version--which makes trading and battling via link cable a real incentive.

In short, Megaman Battle Network 3 is one of the best RPG's for the GBA, and is appropriate for all ages. Fans of traditional Megaman games will also like the live action battles. –-Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• New Programming language lets you make your own Megaman
• White and Blue versions have unique cards, styles, and bosses

Cons:

• Graphics look a little stale--a rehash of the past two games

Editorial Review

Megaman Battle Network 3 has a few significant improvements over the past two games in the series, but the overall concept is the same. Lan solves puzzles in the "real world," while Megaman.exe fights viruses and solves puzzles on the Net. The battle system is still the same, and that isn't a bad thing--it is still the best live action battle system for any RPG on a handheld.

At this point in the story, it's been about a month since Lan and Megaman's encounter with the nefarious Net Mafia Gospel, and a new semester at school is about to start. When Lan and his classmates are invited to the seemingly innocent net battler Semi-Finals at ACDC Square, little do they know that a new, incredibly evil plan is about to be hatched!

The most exciting addition to the game, hands down, is that you can now make your own Megaman with segments of code that you gather throughout the game. Watch out, though: Do it badly, and you can get a buggy program. In addition to programming your own Megaman, you can still change Megaman's battle styles (just like in Battle Network 2). The end result is the best character creation system on a handheld.

In a homage to the Pokemon games, there is both a White and Blue version of Megaman Battle Network 3. The game is more or less the same, but there are unique cards, styles, and programs for each version--which makes trading and battling via link cable a real incentive.

In short, Megaman Battle Network 3 is one of the best RPG's for the GBA, and is appropriate for all ages. Fans of traditional Megaman games will also like the live action battles. –-Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• New Programming language lets you make your own Megaman
• White and Blue versions have unique cards, styles, and bosses

Cons:

• Graphics look a little stale--a rehash of the past two games

Reviews (20)

Eye of Beholder D&D GBA
This game is too boring and not as good as the real board game. DONT BUY IT. You would have more fun buying the board games and actign them out.

For hardcore fans only
Graphics below par
Sound below par

Gameplay is good
Nostalgic of the good ol' days when D&D games first came out on the 386

Overall a good game made mostly tailored for D&D fans.

For the love of God don't buy this game!
I've seen alot of crappy games come out for game boy, but this is positively the worst yet! I have never played the PC version of this game and I bet it is good in its own right, but unless you plan on burning money for the hell of it don't buy this game. The graphics suck bigtime and the levels are too easy!

Heres some advice for you people who plan on re-making old games: Give the game better graphics, different levels than the original, hidden levels and a player friendly interface.

This game does not include any of these things!

Features

• Ring Command system gives easy access to the game menus
• Master a variety of weapons
• For 1 player
• Adventure game with a strong RPG flavor
• Play as either hero or heroine each with unique strengths and weaknesses

Reviews (36)

Decent adventure title for the GBA or DS.
I remember how great Final Fantasy Adventure was, which was really part 1 of the mana saga, and how wonderful the Secret of Mana was for the Super Nintendo.

Now comes Sword of Mana, which is the 4th in the series, and its magic doesnt hold up to the older games.

The gameplay of sword play and magic is standard fare and does nothing to dazzle you. Same goes for the story which is a rehash of Final Fantasy Adventure. The game is fun but nothing memorable which is a departure from Square games which usually leave a dramatic lasting effect.

The main problem with this game is that a strategy guide is almost mandatory for all the items, spells, seeds, fruits, vegetables, etc. The crafting, forging, level up classes, and stats are all way too complicated for what they are.
It seems that Square thought we were all stat obsessed and item hunters/gatherers with this game.

All in all its a fun and short adventure but nothing that will go down as a classic like Secret of Mana or the Legend of Zelda games.

Alright
Sword of Mana is a fun game too play for a while. But the background music is annoying. And after your done playing this game you wouldn't want too play it again since there's no replay value.

Features

• Impartial judge decrees specific rules during every battle
• Speed-based system that falls in between real-time and turn-based action
• Gorgeous character illustrations and 2D sprites harken back to Square's 16-bit glory days
• Players assume the role of young Marche in a world of strategic combat and conquest
• 3D-viewpoint battlefield offers clear view of playing characters

Reviews (171)

Well after two years...
One day I was bored, hadn't played my gameboy in a year, final fantasy, 2 years. Well, guess what I did? Played it for as much as I could. I've already beaten this game TWO times and it is STILL is extremely fun. This is still by far the best game I have played on GameBoy.

Graphics: 9/10
Extremely good for GameBoy, when you select a unit it has a beautifully drawn portrait, the graphics are to drool over.

Gameplay: 10/10
I love it. Some people may get bored of it, but it is so fun...egad...

Story: 9/10
WHOA, who ever knew that Nintendo would come out with a good story? Usually it's all crap (MARIO....) sheesh...It is orginal, yet with a big twist: A boy get's trapped in another world, and tries to get out of it. Yet your friend is wanting to stay, and your other friend, well, was basically the Prince of this whole world.

To put it in a more explanatory way.... YOU get trapped in that world, called Ivalice. Your friend, Mewt has a magic book that somehow sends you and him, and this chick Ritz with you. Ritz wants to stay...Meewt is ruler and stays....you...want to get out! You have to kill these Totema(as so it seems) to get out. I won't get furthur, because it's a good, and suspenseful story...One final word: It's NOT MARIO!!!

Moving on to the gameplay: Well it's "tactical" of course. You take turns moving units of your clan facing evil fiends, fierce clans, and powerfulTotema. No, you never face Mewt, you face his Mom thought (HA!) Actually she turns into an extremely powerful witch-spirit-totally-wack-powerful..thing. As I was saying you take turns, as well as the other team, and fight until you win the match, sadly, if one of your character units falls in battle it says he is KO'd (Come on just a bit of blood?)
Which is nice because you will have that unit the next battle.

There are 5 races: Humans, Bangaas, Viera, Nu Mou, and Moogles.

Humans- You know.... They do just about everything, just not exactly like those other races, many jobs, so fun to develop.

Bangaas- Masculine Lizard-Like Warriors based on brute strength.

Viera- Chicks that have bunny ears, good with stealth and elemental magics.

Nu Mou- Cross between sheep and cow (well they look like that) by the way none of these races looke silly, Just my explanations are wack. Nu Mou are based on healing magics and other magics.

Moogles- Bunnies. No, really. My favorite race. Based on stealth and silly, yet deadly, antics.


Well, this is an awesome game, nobody can deny it( fine..some...)
I have been amazed by this game for nearly two years....

A MSUT BUY FOR RPG FANS. Trust me. Final Fantasy Tactics is different than some FF games, but a giant hit for the GBA! Take my advice, buy it.

Fun, no complaints
This game is addicting.Like caffine addicting.Seriously, this game is fun.The story starts out rather childish with apperntly shallow charecters, but as it progress, say about, for me, twenty hours into the game, you see that it's actually closer to a story about escapeism.The battles are just sweet, though sometimes (Very begining) there appears to be too much talking.The discover new areas thing was fun too.Now off to face down the final boss who I hate because my most powerful charecter is a paladin, paladins only do holy damage, and it's immune to holy damage.

Reviews (39)

Fun but falls flat on its face.
Sure the graphics are much more colorful than the last GBA Castlevania but the graphics and enemies look downright like cartoons in most parts.

Plus whats the deal with your main characters blue shadow?
I think that was a bit of a overkill.
And the magic system has been severely, and badly, toned down from the Castlevania: Circle of the Moon.

And the two identical castle system really lacks imagination and makes the game very very tedius near its end.
Exploring every area of the game TWICE does make the game longer but it definitely doesnt make it funner...

Depressingly Dissapointing
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is Koji Igarashi's second take on the CV franchise (his first being the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the Playstation). While many have dubbed this as "heir apparent to Symphony of the Night," I beg to differ.Even as SotN is one of my favorite games ever, and even as I am a Castlevania fan, Harmony of Dissonance (HoD) has come across as an incredibly disappointing gaming experience in many respects.

Please read: I love Symphony of the Night to death.I hate Harmony of Dissonance.

Displaying different play mechanics, level layout, atmosphere, and many other traits, it is quite radically different from SotN, and pretty much any other Castlevania.Is this good, or bad?We'll take a look and see.

Let's start out with the story and the beginning of the game.Juste Belmont, grandson of Simon, decides to follow his friend, Maxim, to the area where Maxim saw a castle appear out of nowhere, and where he believes their friend, Lydie, is being held captive.Could it truly be the legendary Castle Dracula?
The characters certainly have some personality, such as Juste's "newcomer" characteristics as a Vampire Hunter, but, overall, it's nothing special or deep.The dialogue in HoD is quite mundane and forgettable. Castlevania has never really been about story, but after SotN's excellent plot and nearly "biblically-quotable" dialogue that was pure gold, I'd hoped to see better from Igarashi than what is here.Sadly, the girl, Lydie, is just another pretty face with basically no personality, and who is basically seen in less than 1% of your game playing time.

I've heard a lot of people praise this game's graphics, and say they are incredible step up from CotM's.I will indeed say that the graphics are more varied than CotM's, in that CotM's look was basically was comprised of brick-walls/pillars background, one after another.Oddly enough, though, CotM evoked so much more atmosphere than HoD does.With its huge rooms, and majestic and shadowy architecture, it truly gave off a sense of your smallness and its magnificence, and was quite unlike anything I'd ever experienced before in a game.In short, CotM pretty much got it right in making me feel like I was in a castle of darkness, mystery, and evil.HoD, unfortunately, leaves behind all notion of atmosphere in its more varied locales (except in the Entrance and the Chapel), something that is crucial in a video game, especially in a series such as Castlevania. The Castle Treasury is the first biggest piece of evidence for this subject.Offering us a mainly drab, gray background with various bits of unexceptional detail, it is randomly interspersed with unique, yet still unsatisfying, backgrounds, like the crystal filled hallways, which pale in comparison to CV4's lovely treasury, and are pretty much boring in their own right.There is no real level of progression.Rooms feel so randomly connected and unrelated that one sometimes gets an unnecessary feeling of confusion or longing for some type of continuity or relation.The lack of transition rooms between areas makes this more potent.

Numerous examples of HoD's boring level design can be seen in the "Aqueduct of Dragons," HoD's "sewer area."Besides the areas' rooms being basically 2 rooms repeated over and over, the lack of pretty much any details that catch our eye is depressing.The exceptions to HoD's dominant drab areas are the Corridor in the Air/Sky Walkway (HoD's chapel), and the Cave of Skeletons.The Chapel is such a breath of fresh air.Lovely, curvy architecture fleshes out this area, and there are all sorts of neat details all over, such as the statues.The scrolling clouds effect from SotN is back, though in a less impressive version, yet it's still nice, if a little disappointing that they so blatantly ripped something off from SotN and didn't come up with something new.In the "Alternate Castle" Chapel (more on this later), as you get farther and farther up in the towers, lightning will flash, and shadowy faces will randomly appear in the windows.Inversely, it also breaks my heart that more of this care to detail and beauty couldn't be dispersed throughout more of the Castle.The Cave of Skeletons isn't really pleasing as it is interesting in some parts, in that there are nods to other Castlevanias in the various backgrounds, such as the skeletons of Slogra and Gaibon displayed on a wall in the lower parts of the level.Other than that, it's another one of the forgettable places in HoD.In HoD, to put it simply, the "real castle" is too colorful, and the "alternate castle" is just way too gray and uninteresting.Areas like the Luminous Cavern and the Room of Illusion in the Marble Corridor are meretricious and colorful to the point of neon-vulgarity.Some may like this; I found it to be rather repulsive.HoD gives up the feeling of being in a true castle to the idea that certain aspects have to grab your attention, no matter how unattractive it is in its display, and in so, loses that subtle, wonderful progression of your realization of the surrounding environment, which SotN and CotM so excellently displayed.

Level design...something very, very crucial in games.It can make or break a game.Sure, a game can have spectacular gameplay mechanics and other special features, but can be brought down significantly by shoddy level layout (Lament of Innocence, I'm looking at you).HoD has some parts that are just great and fun to traverse, like the Chapel area, but ends up failing miserably on almost all accounts with its extremely repetitious nature.80% of the time, the room you'll be in will be some straight corridor with nothing to do but pretty much run down it and kill the small number of enemies populating it.Without a doubt, the low point of HoD's level layout is its vertical rooms, which, unfortunately, make a lot of appearances, including the infamously bad "elevator rooms."A description of these rooms are as follows: a room, which basically consists of a vertical route with multiple levels which you reach by walking to the left to, jumping up, walking to the right, jumping, walking to the left, and so on to get to the top.These are just horrifically, mind-numbingly boring rooms, and really detract so much from the experience.You'd have to experience them to see what I am describing.The Clock Tower is chock full of these rooms, some of the biggest ones in the game, in fact, and, as such, is one of the most dull areas in HoD.Other things that come to mind are the "Skull Doors," doors that require a certain key in order to get past them, and which are placed in your way to, more or less, make backtracking to areas even more difficult and less convenient.They're not blocking anything interesting, like some helpful equipment or armor.They're merely there just to extend the game's playing time by making the player needlessly backtrack through areas the player does not want to go through again, since they block off entrances which would make transitioning from area to area much easier.I'm all for backtracking, as the previous "Castleroids" are full of it.But, HoD just has such a boring and strangely laid out Castle when compared to SotN and CotM that it's more of a chore than a pleasure.As a whole, Harmony of Dissonance feels very unfinished and unplanned in the execution of the castle's layout.It's impractical in its design.

HoD's alternate castle is not turned upside down like the one in SotN.It pretty much is the exact same thing, with slightly different enemies and color schemes.HoD's alternate castle has different items to collect in different places, and different bosses, and that's about it.This time, it's crucial to traverse through it in order to beat the game, whereas in SotN it's more of a joyful revelation.As HoD's castle was not interesting to me, finding out that I had another nearly identical castle to explore was more of an unpleasant surprise than a godsend.

Exploring the castle is closely tied in with gameplay, and how the game feels, so I'll move onto that, next.You'll instantly notice that Juste feels "airy" when compared to CotM's protagonist, Nathan.His jump is more "floaty," and right from the get-go, he already slightly runs.Each shoulder button on the Game Boy Advance is used for the new dash feature, which allows Juste to slide across the ground in a burst of speed, either to traverse through areas more quickly, or to dash back from an enemy's attack.However, I felt that the dash attribute really dumbed the game down to feel like you're ice-skating through the castle.That's not something you want to be reminded of when you want atmosphere.You will pretty much use the dash feature to go everywhere.Why walk when you can dash?It was just an unpleasant experience for me that felt overused.It was almost as if the developers wanted you to rush through all the areas in hopes that you wouldn't notice the startlingly unimpressive level design.Juste loses in terms of his whip-handling skills when compared to Nathan, as when you whip and jump, you cannot change your direction until you land.This, obviously, leads you to accidentally jump into the enemy more than you care for.A lot of the time I just felt like the character was controlling me, not him.Not a good thing.This game controls nothing like SotN, or CotM.Don't believe otherwise.

On to the designs of the main character and enemies.Again, Juste loses in terms of believability and fluidity when compared to Alucard and Nathan.His gait is quit humorous and graceless, comparable to someone doing a strange type of running workout.His falling animation is quite pathetic as well.Hair half turned up, as well as his coat, and his legs completely vertical, it's actually quite comedic to see in action.While he has more frames of animation than Nathan, his actions are much less believable, and look more outlandish.There is also the sense that parts of Juste are too large or goofy looking, such as his hands.Iga chose to put some type of blue glow around Juste, and give him an after-image, as well.I suppose this was to let the player see him easier, but this made me cringe; first of all, it's ripping off Alucard's trademark of essence trailing out behind him (though it is still a lot less graceful than Alucard's), and second of all, it just looks too bright and silly.It really just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.I would've been able to see him just fine without it.

Some of the enemies are reused from SotN, though they're all a little less impressive looking, as the graphics are being displayed on a system with Super Nintendo capabilities, not Playstation.Generally, though, the legion of enemies this time is much less impressive than SotN's and CotM's.Perhaps this is due to most of them being comprised of variations of a single enemy, such as the Skeleton enemy, or the Living Armor.I was left feeling unimpressed.The enemies' A.I. is stupid and non-aggressive for the most part, and they usually won't attack until you wait a few seconds, and when they do attack you, they hurt very little.There are no "super enemies" in this game, like the Guardians from SotN, and the Dark Armor from CotM.The bosses are equally lame, usually not moving around much, always extremely easy, and having uninspired designs, such as the "Biggie" enemies, like the Giant Merman, or Peeping Big.Only three bosses caught my eye.It's evident that all the bosses in HoD were made merely to show off the G.B.A.'s capabilities, rather than to present a fun or challenging fight.

HoD is quite possibly the easiest game I've ever played.SotN was easy, too, but made up for it by being pretty much perfect in all other aspects.CotM was going the right direction with its difficulty, exploration and combat-wise.For HoD, the only slight difficulty one may encounter during the travel through the castle is finding all of Dracula's Relics, and probably the final Spell Book.As far as status effects go, "Poison" basically has no effect in HoD, whereas CotM's poison status was a beast."Curse" status makes Juste walk slower and unable to use his dash move.As I mentioned before, the enemies are all very easy to defeat and don't require much thinking, if any.Bosses are complete pushovers.A majority of them are big, and, sadly, that's all they have going for them.Most boil down to you whipping them in one spot, dashing back from one of their slow attacks, and then coming back to whip them mindlessly.The worst boss of all is probably Max Slimer, who never has gotten an attack in on me.All one has to do is crouch right next to it and whip it until it dies.It's all very dull, and there is never any sense of accomplishment when you defeat a boss.It's all made more annoying by the fact that some have a lot of HP, but don't present any challenge.Don't think that it's easy just based on the enemies; you can find so many potions and healing items in rooms and from dead enemies that you'll never really worry about your condition.As this game is like an RPG in the leveling up aspect, it's disappointing that it's pretty much impossible to get past the level 50s, considering basically every monster gives only 1 EXP once you reach the levels near the 50s. This gives the player very little incentive to fight monsters later on.First of all, any item that en enemy may drop can be merely bought from the merchant or found in the castle in easy to find spots.Also, enemies won't drop weapons like they did in SotN, as your only weapon in HoD is a whip, so that is another reason to not kill them.Suddenly, the enemies become mere speed bumps.

Remember how you had to work really hard or get really lucky to get the best equipment in SotN and in CotM?Remember killing the 100th Guardian and finally getting the God's Garb, or beating the Battle Arena and getting the Shining Armor, and feeling that great sense of accomplishment or excitement?Well, not here.Merely get to a certain area by doing a special jump, and voila, there is one of the most powerful armors in the game.I can't tell how much this gave the game an anti-climactic feeling, especially when I got the best armor basically handed to me.There are many whip types; some are characterized by Elemental attributes, but this still doesn't make a difference.I switched up my Fire attachment for a Lightning attachment during the Giant Merman fight, and noticed only about a 5 or 10 damage difference.It's all very negligible and useless.The only helpful whip is the one that breaks apart the occasional cracked barrier that is in your way.Why does HoD have so many pointless things?Another thing that detracts from HoD's experience is that you won't be getting any cool items to use, like SotN's Power of Sire, or the Monster Vials.You'll find none of those great trinkets here in HoD.This game just gives you healing items as things to use.

There is a merchant this time around; unfortunately, he has absolutely no value in this game.The only things he'll ever sell to you that are remotely interesting are the Spring Boots, which let you jump forever, but even this is useless.You're handed so many potions and good armor during the course of the game, the merchant is rendered obsolete, ultimately.

Feeling he needed to best the DSS Card System from Circle of the Moon, Iga has implemented his own gameplay gimmick, the Spell Book Fusion system.As you traverse through the Castle, you'll come upon books of different Elemental qualities, such as the Wind Book.By equipping these books with certain sub-weapons (such as the Cross, Holy Water, Dagger), you can trigger certain spells.For instance, if you combine the Ice Book with the Bible, you can trigger a series of shockwaves to spread out on either side of you, damaging all enemies on the ground, and in the air, if they're low enough.While the Spell Book system sounds good on paper, in actuality, the Magic spells are simply too powerful, and there is no real "penalty" for exploiting the system. You regain MP at a quick rate, and you use little to no Hearts when you cast spells in combination with your Sub-Item. Most bosses fall within a few spell casts. Once you find the Wind Book and Cross combo, any challenge the game ever had (which is basically none at all) is gone. The worst part is that normal Sub-Items become entirely useless. One of the cornerstones of the series has suddenly become obsolete.On top of this is the fact that none of the Spell Books are hard to find; basically, you'll walk into a room, and it will be sitting right there.This also ties into the fact that HoD is nearly rid of any kinds of secrets, except for three.SotN was full of breakable walls, ceilings, and floors all over, and CotM had an incredible amount of hidden rooms, some that were truly very difficult to discover.Why HoD loses this aspect of exploration, I have no idea.

The music...yes, indeed.HoD sports what is probably the most controversial soundtrack ever in the series.The developers of HoD claimed that in order to achieve the certain graphics they got in the game, the sound department had to take a hit, rendering HoD's soundtrack on the same sound quality level of Gameboy or NES music.Having played Aria of Sorrow as well, I can't understand how this works, as AoS's graphics are notably better than HoD, yet the sound quality in AoS is significantly better sounding, quality wise, than Harmony's.As a side note, let me say that I rather enjoy the Castlevania NES soundtracks.Though they're chock full of the "beeps" and "boops" of the glory days, Castlevania 1, 2, and 3 all manage to produce probably the best soundtracks for any games on the Nintendo Entertainment System.The sound wizards at Konami managed to pump out some seriously fitting tunes for the games.

Now comes HoD, more than a decade later.As I've mentioned before, the songs for the Entrance and Marble Corridor are both pretty good.HoD is a departure from the preceding recent Castlevanias, in that it has a very action oriented soundtrack.While SotN had a wide variety of music, it mostly was melancholy.The N64 games were atmospheric forays into the world of music for Castlevania, and CotM brought back a lot of the old tunes, and demonstrated a very majestic and "large" score.As I've also pointed out, the music begins to take a dip when one reaches the Castle Treasury.While it could be said that the early Castlevanias were action soundtracks, too, they beat out HoD in every aspect, as HoD fails in presenting fitting songs, and even some awfully composed ones.The bottom of the proverbial barrel in HoD's soundtrack is the Clock Tower theme, which is odd, considering most Castlevanias' Clock Tower themes are usually one of the highlights of the games' scores.Starting off interestingly for perhaps the first few seconds, it slowly morphs into a sea of depressing sounds.The climax is truly something that needs to be heard in order to comprehend its horror; ripe with squeals, whines, and, funny enough, dissonance, it's the main song that makes me turn off the sound of my GBA when it comes on.Castlevania shouldn't make one turn off the sound; rather, it should make one turn it up.The Luminous Cavern's song apparently is trying to go for a dark and mysterious feel, and starts out interestingly enough, but it ends up being extremely repetitive.In the Chapel, like some others, the melody starts off very originally and beautifully, sounding almost like a Gameboy quality SotN-grade song with its almost sad, ebbing notes.Sadly, it degenerates into a speedy mix of opposing beats and melodies about halfway in, which really is out of place for an area such as the Chapel.It just feels too fast-paced and un-focused.Those are a few examples, but overall, I wasn't that impressed with the score.It was too drab and out of place, and even depressing.Castlevania 4 perfected the "depressing" music of a Castlevania game, but still maintained an incredible amount of atmosphere and beauty in its soundtrack.Again, I'm not taking points off because of the sound quality (which doesn't help, either), but because the songs failed to evoke very much emotion with me and weren't memorable.It had too much of a fast and active feeling soundtrack for such an empty feeling castle.Experimental?Yes, very.Good?Depends on your tastes.

In trying to emulate SotN, HoD merely lets itself down by displaying itself as an inferior rip-off of an incredible game.It seems as though Iga thought he could throw in a bunch of stolen ideas from SotN and automatically make the game brilliant.However, these ideas weren't realized to their full potential, and, thus, create the feeling that the game is somehow incomplete, like a test version of a Castlevania game.Gone is the challenge; gone is the wide array of cool items; gone is the incredible music Castlevania is known for; gone is the genius level design; gone is the atmosphere; gone is that "Castlevania magic" that makes this series so endearing; gone are a lot of aspects, which ultimately make HoD a failure of a Castlevania game, and a very, very mediocre game on its own.

Reviews (51)

May be quite possibly the best Castlevania ever...
While the past two GBA Castlevania's were good, this one is leaps and bounds ahead of them.

The Soul system of this game is brilliant and is quite addicting. However, getting the souls of every monster in this game can be quite time consuming. Though, one expensive ring does make this task much easier...

And the main character, Soma, just looks downright cool.
Plus the dozens of swords, hammers, spears, and even guns he can get all behave differently and are unique. No two weapons look or act the same.
And its just plain fun to swing a sword twice the size of your main character. :)

The challenge in this game can be a bit high in some areas but never leaves you frustrated.

Add to the fact that this game has hidden final bosses, hidden areas, a special arena mode which earns you rare and awesome weapons, a hidden playable character, and a mode which allows you to restart the game with all your items intact makes this game a gem and a real joy to play. Also, there is a special Hard mode which can earn you rare items like Deaths Scythe and a werewolf killing Silver Gun.

All in all, this game plain old rocks and will give you plenty of enjoyment and fun for your money. Pick it up, you wont be sorry.

Every bit as good, and better, than Symphony of the Night!
For people who fell in love with Castelvania: Symphony of the Night for the PSX, prepare to be dazzled yet again by Aria of Sorrow! The Soul system is easy and fun to use, the locales you'll explore in the castle are beautiful, the music is awesome, and plays as smoothly as you could ask.

If you are a big fan of Castlevania, this is THE Castlevania to pick up. If you aren't a big fan of Castlevania, then this is still the one game you should run out and buy! I couldn't recommend it any higher.

If HoD was the Test...This is the Result.
Iga's second game on the GBA, Aria of Sorrow, triumphs over Harmony of Dissonance, and while it's nothing revolutionary, it presents a few fresh ideas, and manages to be a satisfying and engaging adventure, if lacking in some areas.

Soma Cruz, a high school exchange student studying in Japan, is making his way to his friend's shrine, when he loses consciousness. What's going on? Right off the bat, Aria of Sorrow scores points for *actually* having a very fresh and interesting story.

Continuing the tradition started by Circle of the Moon, AoS has a new gameplay addition, called the Soul Steal System. Soma has the power to take the souls of monsters that he defeats. This factors into the game in that it's a necessity to have Souls to get further into the Castle, and the powers of some can also aid in defeating certain enemies, or raising your attributes. There are a great many souls, as there as over 100 enemies in AoS, and some include using a massive axe gained by obtaining the soul of the Red Minotaur, or summoning the Familiar Alastor, which kind of is a less cool copy of the Sword Familiar in SotN. Unfortunately, a lot of the Souls will go unused, as some are simply pointless, such as the Killer Doll's, or the Zombie Soldier. It's too much trouble to have to constantly switch back and forth to utilize all of the Souls to their full extent, so once you find a good one, such as the Lightning Doll's, you'll probably stick with that one for a long time until you find a better one.It's an interesting idea, but again suffers from Iga's desire to have myriads of options for the sake of amount, not for the sake of functionality.

Dracula's Castle looks absolutely stunning. This game is many steps above Harmony of Dissonance's neon-like and static, boring backgrounds. Notice the Castle Corridor's slightly broken walls which expose swarms of bats and a brightly glowing moon and clouds, or the foreboding T