Full Review

Harmony of Dissonance is the much-hyped follow-up to last year's Circle of the Moon -- a critically lauded, and immensely popular handheld game, which managed to snag a spot in EGM's "Top 100 Games of All-Time" list. Despite the original's popularity, its dark graphics and (too?)challenging gameplay were often pegged as its downfalls. Harmony of Dissonance serves up a brilliant game which attempts to correct these problems, and sometimes succeeds.

Off the bat, you'll notice a tremendous graphical transformation since Circle of the Moon. No longer do you need six halogen lamps to adequately light the screen. Downside? Well... frankly, some of the mood has been stripped away. There are colors galore on the screen -- moreso than you'd really expect in Dracula's castle. It looks like he hired Martha Stewart to deck the halls and dress his minions. Ok... it's not that bad -- but I did prefer the mood of the original. You'll also notice that Juste, the protagonist, is perpetually surrounded by a decidedly cheesy blue aura. Even worse, this aura leaves behind an echo. Presumably, it was put in place to make your character easier to see, but it just looks ugly -- and it's always there. Oh well.

Such issues aside, the graphics are excellent, making fabulous use of every GBA trick in the book -- scaling, rotation, transparency... sometimes gratuitously, and sometimes to great effect. Animation has come up several notches since last year's effort. This is particularly evident when battling the various bosses, which are often comprised of multiple sprites, all working together to create beautiful and fluid monsters that fill the screen.

All this processor chugging came at a cost, and the music is several steps down from the orchestrated glory of Circle of the Moon. This was an expected change, and the lead programmer himself has mentioned it several times in preview articles, but it's really too bad. Frankly, I could have done without a few Mode 7 effects if it might have improved the music. At the very least, they could have provided the option to switch it off, or just provide mood music at key points. Oh well...

Digging deeper, past the music and graphics, this is an incredibly deep and engrossing game. Play control is excellent in most instances. Juste can crack the old whip, just like Grandpa Simon, and has the usual secondary weapons at his disposal. Sadly, the game insists on following the archaic "one special weapon at a time" bit which has been in place since the NES original. It sucks when you mistakenly replace your cross with a lousy dagger, but them's the breaks. Control breaks down a bit during jumping -- he doesn't steer very well mid-air, and you'll find yourself taking a bit too much damage from zombies early on because you accidentally jump into them while whipping high candles, but you'll adjust quickly.

New to the control scheme is a dashing system, handled by the shoulder buttons. Tapping a shoulder button allows Juste to dash quickly in that direction. Not only does it allow quick escapes, but it lets Just back away from an enemy without facing away. Most enemies are designed with this capability in mind, and you will need to use it to defeat most bosses. It feels a bit awkward at first, but becomes second nature fairly soon.

The complicated DSS system from the first game is replaced by a simpler elemental "fusion" system. In short, Juste can find elemental spell books (fire, wind, water, etc...) along the way, and merge them with his secondary weapons to create impressive elemental attacks, shields, and other effects. Most of these tricks are accompanied by nice eye-candy, and you'll enjoy using them. Some combinations are terribly powerful, and make the game a bit too easy, but the system is a good one.

The castle -- arguably the most important part of the game since Symphony of the Night -- is tremendous. It may not be obvious at first, but the game covers about twice as much ground as the first one, and the average player will probably spend a good ten hours just finding everything. The non-linear play will require significant backtracking, and the layout of the castle makes this quite annoying at times, but the Metroid-style play remains happily intact. Early in the game, you'll pass ledges you can't quite reach, and doors that just won't open, and it's always rewarding when you finally find the right item to get you where you always wanted to go. Different areas of the castle are graphically distinct, and fairly easy to differentiate -- very important in a non-linear game of this sort.

There are a few other bits of weridness going on here... Juste will occasionally encounter a shopkeeper (yes, in the middle of Dracula's castle... it's sort-of explained when it happens) from whom he can purchase weapons and armor. He will also find a barren ballroom which strikes his fancy, and which he can subsequenly fill with various furniture and knick-knacks. How, exactly, he lugs a chair, endtable, and chandalier around the castle is a mystery, but it's sort of fun to collect all the decor (in a distressing Pokemon sort of way). Once the game ends, you'll be treated to a Boss-rush mode. And the old farts that remember the Konami code from years ago can get a special visit from an old friend.

Setting aside a few audio/video issues, this is an excellent game -- very worthy of the hallowed Castlevania name. This series is one that I grew up with, and continues to grow into something much more than its original incarnation. While, overall, I preferred Circle of the Moon, it is hard to find too many faults with this game. The play is great, the arena is grand, and you'll struggle to put down your Gameboy and stop playing. What else is gaming about?