Castlevania – Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)

Game Diary / February 12, 2007 / John / 2

An eventful train journey this morning. I finished exploring the rest of the top right of the map and couldn’t find anything new. Then I noticed that the sealed portal where DEATH had absconded through was showing yellow on the map, indicating it was an active portal. I had assumed that as DEATH had sealed it with big steel doors that I wouldn’t get through. Not so.

So, there are two castles after all, both overlapping. Both DEATH and deKay had told me this (although I’m not sure which of the two are more reliable) and so it seems. The map screen has changed to allow flicking between maps of castle A, castle B, or a composite. Which is ACES. Anyhoo, I now have vast swathes of map to compulsively colour in, now. First five minutes in the uncolored bit had me seeing off a giant bulging eyeball boss and a tricky beggar by the name of Legion. Once again, the cross + wind book combo came in handy and both were summarily dispatched.

Graphically, the game has surprised me once again. My first thought about the two castles revelation was “aha, doubling the map without needing more artwork – that old chestnut”. This isn’t the case, however. The castles are subtly (and not so subtly) different – one being much more run-down and chaotic then the other. The fleeting white clouds against the blue skies have been replaced with a throbbing red glow; the machinery is broken and bloodstained. It’s all a bit silent hill, really. Still – my next priority is finding the shop; my huge supply of potions has become somewhat depleted with the number of bosses I’ve been thumping.

Out of interest – my web stats tell me there’s a ridiculously large number of people who actually take the time to read this drivel. If you’re reading, please leave a comment to say hello 🙂

John