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Akumajō
Dracula Circle of the Moon
悪魔城ドラキュラ サークル・オブ・ザ・ムーン
21 Mar 2001 |
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The Akumajō
Dracula Series had somewhat stalled since the PlayStation Akumajō
Dracula X Gekka no Yasōkyoku (1997).
Two controversial Nintendo 64 titles had been and gone, and by 2000
Symphony of the Night had gathered a phenomenal international following.
Gaming media all around the world had started throwing around
tags like 'Best Castlevania game ever' or 'Best 2D game of all time' - slowly elevating
it as a bona fide standard for the series, against which every
sequel should be measured.
They were wrong. Symphony of the Night
was, like the ageing Dracula
II (1987) an enjoyable but ultimately disposable game, a flawed experiment in blending the series' sharp
arcade-style gameplay with excessive RPG elements.
In effect, people completely forgot that the game was nothing more than a 'Best of' of the entire series before it. It was the novel aspect of this concept, matched with the
PlayStation's super-smooth visuals and sound that created
a cocktail potent enough to thrive. |
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But
here... What we have here is nothing but a miniature re-hash of everything that made Symphony of the Night dull, on a tiny little screen that
you can barely see.
Strip this game down, and what is left verges on the
pathetic: go right, find a locked door. Go left, find
a key and a ledge too high to reach. Return right, open
the locked door, and find an item that lets you climb
ledges. Return left, climb the ledge, and find another
f***ing locked door. Repeat and fade. Having
difficulties? Simply keep killing the same enemies over and over
again and earn a 'level up' power boost.
This is not Castlevania. Castlevania is Akumajo
Dracula (1986), Akumajo
Densetsu (1989), Akumajō
Dracula X (1993) or even Vampire
Killer (1994). It is fast-paced action, challenging
platforming, and 'Game Over' screens until you get it right. Something has
gone horribly wrong since the heyday of the series...
One of the last bastions of quality arcade-style gaming
for home consoles has been utterly subdued by menu screens riddled with
statistics, where achievement is measured not by raw skill but by how many items you've collected. Welcome
to the Pokemon generation.We got it so easy now.
What makes things worse is that the storyline and dialogue are laughable ('How dare
you toy with his soul. I'll get you for that!') and
the castle layout immediately strikes as a low-rent repeat of the now 4-year-old Symphony of the Night.
It's all over. In terms of the series as a whole, this
is the creative cul-de-sac - the moment when Konami
stopped being inventive and experimental with the series, and regressed
to endlessly recycling the same formula in a shameless
and depressing bid to repeat the critical and commercial success that was Symphony of the Night.
Disposable is the word: between 2001 and 2008, no
less than 6 near-identical handheld titles would appear
- 3 on the Game Boy Advance and a further 3 on the Nintendo DS.
That's
once a year for crissakes... Each one faded immediately into obscurity the second the following
one came out. The only variety in this 7-year
stretch of mediocrity came in the form of two lacklustre
3D games for the PlayStation 2, which to all extents finished the
name off like a lame horse.
Ignore them all. But remember Circle of the Moon
as an important marker: every game that came before
it is great, and everything in its wake is the same.
Rating:  |
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Akumajō
Dracula Circle of the Moon
悪魔城ドラキュラ
サークル・オブ・ザ・ムーン
GAME BOY ADVANCE |
DETAILS
| Format |
Game
Boy Advance |
| Released |
21
Mar 2001 |
| Publisher |
Konami |
| Product
ID |
AGB-AAMJ-JPN |
| Size
(cm) |
13.5
x 8.5 x 2 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.06 |
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First
in a set of three formulaic
Dracula games for
Game Boy Advance.
Not a terrible game in the
grand scheme of things,
far from it - but a new
low in terms of a once masterful
series.
Standard GBA packaging,
64Mbit cartridge, colour
manual.
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Akumajō
Dracula Circle of the Moon Kōshiki
Guide
悪魔城ドラキュラ
サークル・オブ・ザ・ムーン 公式ガイド
KONAMI OFFICIAL GUIDE - KŌSHIKI GUIDE
SERIES |
DETAILS
| Format |
Guide
Book |
| Released |
1
June 2001 |
| Publisher |
Konami
/ NTT |
| Product
ID |
ISBN4-7571-8093-4 |
| Size
(cm) |
21
x 14.8 x 0.8 (A5) |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.26 |
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Konami
'Official Guide' for Circle
of the Moon that includes
castle map, character art,
a meticulous 'Capture Guide'
to the game, followed by a
comprehensive 'Enemy List'
and illustrated guide to the
DSS card system.
112
pages, full colour, Japanese. |
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Akumajō
Dracula Circle of the Moon Perfect
Guide
悪魔城ドラキュラ
サークル・オブ・ザ・ムーン パーフェクトガイド
KONAMI OFFICIAL GUIDE - PERFECT SERIES |
DETAILS
| Format |
Guide
Book |
| Released |
11
June 2001 |
| Publisher |
Konami |
| Product
ID |
ISBN4-88317-875-7 |
| Size
(cm) |
21
x 14.8 x 0.8 (A5) |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.24 |
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Second
official Konami book; a 'Perfect
Guide' very similar to the
first one but a little more
polished; along with a neat
little history of the Akumajo
Dracula series at the
end.
It's also a little harder
to find.
128
pages, full colour, Japanese. |
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Akumajō
Dracula Circle of the Moon & Castlevania
Byakuya no Kyōsōkyoku Original Soundtrack
悪魔城ドラキュラ Circle of
the Moon & Castlevania 白夜の協奏曲
オリジナル サウンドトラック |
DETAILS
| Format |
Audio
CD |
| Released |
26
June 2002 |
| Publisher |
Konami |
| Product
ID |
KMCA-162 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.2
x 12.4 x 1 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.11 |
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2-in-1
soundtrack release covering the
first two GBA games of the
series:
- Circle
of the Moon (2001)
- Byakuya
no Kyōsōkyoku (2002)
Includes bonus 'Arrange'
track.
View (back) for track listing.
CD case, audio CD (45 tracks,
58:43), booklet, spine card. |
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Akumajō
Dracula Circle of the Moon [Konami
The Best]
悪魔城ドラキュラ
サークル・オブ・ザ・ムーン
[コナミ・ザ・ベスト]
GAME BOY ADVANCE |
DETAILS
| Format |
Game
Boy Advance |
| Released |
3
Nov 2005 |
| Publisher |
Konami |
| Product
ID |
AGB-AAMJ-JPN-1 |
| Size
(cm) |
13.5
x 8.5 x 2 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.06 |
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Cut-price
re-issue of the first GBA
Akumajō Dracula
for
the 'Konami the Best' label.
Content remains identical
to the original release.
Standard
GBA packaging, 64MBit cartridge,
colour manual. |
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'Akumajō Dracula', 'Castlevania' and 'Konami' are registered trademarks
of Konami Corporation
'Game Boy Advance' and 'Nintendo' are registered trademarks of Nintendo
Co. Ltd.
Akumajō Dracula Circle of the Moon TM & © 2001 Konami All
Rights Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2012 Arcade Gear |
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