Castlevania – Aria of Sorrow (GBA)
Woah, what? I’ve only done 54.3% of the map and I’m at DEATH already? Oh well! His first form was pretty easy but the second form was harder. I used every potion I had, but he went down on the second attempt. I can now do a funky sickle throw thingy and I picked up the spiritual equivalent of an aqualung in the next room.
It’s an impressive feat that, despite being half way through my third Castlevania game (and having just killed DEATH for the third time) this year, the game still feels fresh and exciting – I guess it’s the spirit of constant exploration combined with a solid, satisfying game mechanic (smashing lamps to get hearts never gets old) that keeps the game alive.
I always get mildly frustrated with people who include “backtracking” as a negative when talking about games like Metroid or Castlevania – being able to steamroll through an area which was previously difficult and annihilating everything in sight is deeply satisfying. Unfortunately, I now have to backtrack through that hateful clocktower. But only once. Until Circle of the Moon. And Portrait of Ruin. And every Castlevania game still to come 🙂
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