Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Game Boy Advance) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 666
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I'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, fan of retro games, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EACH of the video games in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game review parts are just for fun, and are not meant to be definitive, in depth reviews; this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey itself. From Mario games to the Halo series, from arcade games to Commodore 64, PC games to the NES and Sega Genesis, Playstation to the Xbox, let's play those classic retro games that we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Aria_of_Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow[a] is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed and published by Konami. It was released in May 2003, and is the third installment of the Castlevania series on the Game Boy Advance. Producer Koji Igarashi, who had led the production teams for previous Castlevania titles, led Aria of Sorrow's development as well. Michiru Yamane returned to compose the music for the game alongside Takashi Yoshida and Soshiro Hokkai. Director Junichi Murakami was new to the Castlevania series.
Aria of Sorrow is set in the year 2035, when Dracula has been sealed away after a battle in 1999. The plot follows the journey of Soma Cruz, a teenager granted occult power as a result of being a potential vessel of Dracula's reincarnation, as he battles dark figures that wish to inherit the undead lord's power. The game incorporates the same combination of elements from platform games and role-playing video games as in a previous game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Aria of Sorrow introduces several features to the series, such as the "Tactical Soul" system and employs a futuristic storyline in contrast to the medieval setting of many other Castlevania games.
Although Aria of Sorrow sold poorly in Japan, selling 27,000 units nearly one month after its release, it was commercially successful in the United States, with more than 158,000 units sold in the three months following its release. Aria of Sorrow received universal acclaim with praise going towards its visuals, gameplay (particularly the Tactical Soul System), music, and level design with some even considering to be the best game in the Castlevania series since Symphony of the Night. Konami released a sequel to Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, in August 2005. It incorporated many elements from its predecessor, including the "Tactical Soul" system.
The game was re-released as a part of the Castlevania Advance Collection on September 23, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows alongside Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, and Castlevania: Dracula X.
Aria of Sorrow was unveiled at a press conference in San Francisco by executive producer Koji Igarashi on January 16, 2003. Igarashi had worked on previous Castlevania games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Aria of Sorrow was placed in production alongside Harmony of Dissonance, resulting in both games sharing similar programming engines and gameplay elements.[38] Aria of Sorrow's Ability souls, for example, provide the protagonist with innate abilities like the Relic items in Harmony of Dissonance.[39] Nevertheless, Igarashi claimed he wished to try a "different route" for the series with Aria of Sorrow via placing the game in a futuristic setting.[14] Ayami Kojima, who had previously collaborated with Igarashi on the character designs of Symphony of the Night and Harmony of Dissonance, was brought into the project.[14] Following the "different route" motif, the character designs were made more contemporary, using modern clothing over the more medieval look of the previous Castlevania installments.[14] In developing the game's back story, Igarashi partially based it on Nostradamus's prediction of a "big evil lord in 1999" and the 1999 solar eclipse in Eastern Europe.