Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Evil Never Dies...

Count Dracula has been resurrected and evil will reign supreme unless he is stopped. As Nathan Graves, you'll hunt down the Count and use your whip and a variety of special items to destroy his minions. Battle your way through Dracula's castle and rid the world of evil once and for all!

Features: - Combine action and attribute cards to create over 80 unique spell effects, ranging from fire whips to ice blizzards. - Numerous sub-weapons to choose from, including daggers, holy water, and throwing axes. - 10 Magic summon attacks, including Golem, Serpent, and Griffin. - Richly detailed environments to explore.

Source:

Back of box

DESCRIPTION:

This new adventure goes right back to the original feel of the classic Castlevania series meaning sidescrolling all the way. In this edition, you can play as either Nathan Graves or Hugh Baldwin, two students of the master Dracula hunter who was kidnapped by the vampire and it's now up to you to wield the whip and rescue him.

GAME FEATURES: - Features complete new items - New characters and monsters - More than 80 spells can be cast through combining different cards found within the game - 10 new magic summon attacks - Huge levels, all filled with monsters, traps and riddles - Castlevania combines roleplaying elements with classic arcade action

Source:

Atari Australia website - Game Boy Advance

“Castlevania looks surprisingly colourful and sharp. The characters are large, detailed, and well animated” Gamespot

“Forget the "next-generation" of Castlevania that showed up on the Nintendo 64 twice in two years (Castlevania 64 and Castlevania Legends) the real Castlevania is making a return to its 2D roots. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon “ IGN online

Source:

Atari Australia Press Quotes - Game Boy Advance

The year was 1830. Deep within the dreary halls of an ancient castle in Austria, an evil force was stirring. It had been many years since Dracula, Lord of Darkness, had been banished from the world of the living by vampire slayer Morris Baldwin. In the eyes of a dark-hearted woman named Camilla, it had been too long since Dracula stalked the land.

Camilla called for the return of Dracula, and succeeded in resurrecting that vile soul once again. With Dracula's return, the halls of his castle were once again filled with the most hideous creatures imaginable -- each determined to serve their master and feast on the blood of the living. One human in particular, an unlikely hero named Nathan Graves, was high on the undead's list of desired delicacies.

Armed only with his wits and a whip, Nathan set out on an impossible crusade to rid the world of Dracula's dark spirit for the last time.

Sound familiar? It should. Gamers have been enjoying Castlevania's eerie storylines since 1987, and the latest version of Castlevania for Game Boy Advance is one of the very best in the series. Powered by Game Boy Advance's 32-bit color graphics, Circle of the Moon looks great and sounds even better. The haunting music tracks and awesome sound effects are some of the greatest audio treats we've ever heard on a portable system. Turn down the sound on this one and you'll be losing a great deal of the gloomy atmosphere which is crucial to the Castlevania experience.

Circle of the Moon relies heavily on the platform-jumping skeleton-whipping formula which led to Castlevania's initial success, but Konami has created some new gameplay elements which add to its depth. Instead of simply working your way from point A to point B in Dracula's castle, you can choose your own route through branching passageways and corridors. The gameplay is mostly linear, but you'll definitely make a few wrong turns before figuring out where you're supposed to go next.

You'll frequently spot corridors and passageways which are just out of reach. As you progress through the game and defeat bosses, you'll acquire special abilities which allow you to access these previously off-limits areas. This adds an adventurous feel to the game and ensures that you check your map frequently to see which areas could use some more exploration. Hidden rooms and other secrets will have you whipping every last wall in search of undiscovered treasures.

Experience points are earned each time you defeat an enemy, and as you collect these points your character will level-up and become more powerful. You can also strengthen your character by picking up progressively stronger armor pieces and other special items like rings and potions.

By collecting Action Cards and Attribute Cards, you can create over 80 spell effects which range from Fire Whips to Ice Blizzards. Using these spell effects drains your magic meter, but they come in very handy when trying to take out a boss character. While we're on the subject, the bosses in this game are gnarly enough to make you run home to mommy. You won't be taking out these beasts in just one try.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon offers an impressive number of save slots -- eight! -- but unfortunately the only way to save your game is to find Save Points throughout the castle. For a portable game which you may have to turn off at any moment, it would have been nice to be able save instantly whenever you'd like.

The saving issue is a small one, though, and it doesn't stand in the way of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon being one of the very best games available for Game Boy Advance. Challenging action, rewarding gameplay and incredible depth make Circle of the Moon one of the most fun and replayable action games around. As long as you don't scare easily, that is.

Source:

www.nintendo.com

Save your mentor from the evil clutches of Dracula!

Count Dracula has resurrected once more, and he seeks his vengence on those who oppose him. As Nathan Graves, you must storm Dracula's castle to save your mentor, who will otherwise be used to restore Dracula to his full power. Battle the evil lord's minions with your trusty whip, and gain experience points as well as other useful items and weapons. Defeat bosses and gain special abilities that aid in exploring new areas of the castle. Use the Dual Set-Up System to combine action and attribute cards to create over 80 unique magic spells. Hours of monster-slaying action await you in five different game modes. Can you rid the world of Dracula's evil once and for all?

Source:

www.nintendo.com - Wii U