Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

 Game Boy Advance
  • Publisher: Konami
  • Release Date: Jun 10, 2001
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 153 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 117 out of 153
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 153
  3. Negative: 9 out of 153
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  1. Rad3on
    Dec 4, 2020
    0
    this game and konami can suck my d1ck
    how konami allowed this piece of sh1et being released?
    it's hard and unbalanced vertical castle map? wtf save points and teleport devices are terribly positioned not to mention the goddamn drop rate, you can barely collect healing itens from monster, you have to camp save points all the time, EVERYTHING good in this game has to be droped, and it    this game and konami can suck my d1ck
    how konami allowed this piece of sh1et being released?
    it's hard and unbalanced
    vertical castle map? wtf
    save points and teleport devices are terribly positioned
    not to mention the goddamn drop rate, you can barely collect healing itens from monster, you have to camp save points all the time, EVERYTHING good in this game has to be droped, and it has a fuccing low drop rate
    and don't come here and tell me i don't know how to play this sh1t, bcs i beat this crap and i'm based enough to say all of this
    and saying again, fucc konami    … Expand
  2. Death
    Nov 19, 2004
    0
    This game is like hell!!! the graphics are not so good and the gameplay is..well..its no good,and who is Nathan Graves?and who are the Graves clan?what are their role with the belmonts??
  3. WithFieryTruth
    May 7, 2022
    0
    The battle arena ruins the entire game. I wouldn't be bothered by it if it was skippable, but you're actually forced to go through it to get a couple of cards, so there's no avoiding it for a completionist such as myself.

    To sum it up, they're expecting you to survive through 17 rooms filled with enemies constantly moving around while spamming attacks and homing projectiles at you from    The battle arena ruins the entire game. I wouldn't be bothered by it if it was skippable, but you're actually forced to go through it to get a couple of cards, so there's no avoiding it for a completionist such as myself.

    To sum it up, they're expecting you to survive through 17 rooms filled with enemies constantly moving around while spamming attacks and homing projectiles at you from all directions.
    Everything you touch hurts you, which is something the enemies abuse by running, flying and jumping right into you. They don't stop next to you to attack you in a normal manner; they're literally trying to stand in the exact same place you are to hurt you through touching, because the developers decided that programming them in such a cheap and unfair way would be fun.
    Add to this the fact that your special skills (DSS) are deactivated, there are no healing items inbetween rooms, and you need to complete the entire arena in one go (because otherwise you'll have to do it all over again). To top it off, you also need to be lucky enough for the two cards to actually drop from the enemies, or else you have to start over from room 1 and try again.

    To call this bad game design would be an insult to bad games; this is atrocious beyond words and quite possibly the worst gaming experience of my life.    … Expand
  4. KrimsonKatt
    Oct 11, 2021
    4
    I wish this game was better, I really do. The DSS system is an amazing innovation and it's still another Castlevania and those are almost always good. However, this game has some massive problems. For one, the difficulty is absolutely absurd. Not in a fair but difficult way like Hollow Knight mind you, but a NES-brutal bullcrap kind of way. Enemies do absurd damage even with the bestI wish this game was better, I really do. The DSS system is an amazing innovation and it's still another Castlevania and those are almost always good. However, this game has some massive problems. For one, the difficulty is absolutely absurd. Not in a fair but difficult way like Hollow Knight mind you, but a NES-brutal bullcrap kind of way. Enemies do absurd damage even with the best equipment, healing potions are rare to non existent, save points are incredibly rare and sometimes even hard to find, enemy attacks are very difficult to dodge, every hit has insane knockback, and many more things make this a brutal and frustrating experience basically requiring save states or some sort of rewind ability. Along with that, the controls are very hard to work with unlike all future Castlevania games in this style, with running being tied to double tapping the direction keys. The only time this is actually possible consistently is when playing on a PC with a keyboard, but then it's hard to access L and R for special moves and exploration. This is made worse by the base walking speed being NES slow, making the incredibly fast paced and brutal combat encounters of this game even more difficult, not to mention you don't even have the iconic backdash in this game! Along with that, unlike other Metroidvanias, every area feels the same with many areas bleeding into each other and not feel distinct enough, not helped by the same songs playing in multiple areas making exploration difficult. Enemies also scale to progression, so late game you'll find early game areas filled to the brim with OP enemies that can kill you in like 4 hits and it's just unfair. There is also no shop to restock on items or get better gear. Everything is based on enemy drops, making progression even tougher, especially if you're unlucky and/or don't want to grind. Sub weapons, supposted to be a major mechanic, are nearly useless as nearly every one has been nerfed compared to previous games like Super Castlevania 4, Rondo of Blood, and Symphony of the Night, the only one being even slightly useful being the incredibly rare cross sub weapon, which is only really good when you run out of MP and need an alternative to your magic infused whip. (because normal whip is weak AF) Also, in game there is no bestiary for finding out what enemies drop what and where they can be found, basically requiring a guide to actually allow you to survive. Another major feature of the game besides DSS is the class system. Unfortunately, new classes are locked behind beating the game multiple times, and since this game is brutally hard in the most unfair of ways, good luck with that. You start with the hunter class, who is the base class who can do everything but excels at nothing. Beating the game with the Hunter unlocks the Fighter, who cannot use magic at all but their STR and DEF are buffed by 500%. I'm not joking. Beating Fighter Mode unlocks Wizard Mode, who has weak STR and DEF (the most important stats) but high INT (the most useless stat) and has access to all DSS cards from the beginning, which is useless because you can already access nearly every DSS card from the beginning due to an infamous glitch. Worst mode by far. If you are somehow able to beat wizard mode you unlock Thief Mode, who has incredibly low stats (even lower than wizard) but has 9999 luck, guaranteeing drops for every enemy. So basically only play Fighter once you unlock him and don't bother with the other modes, and play Hunter if it's your first time or you want to use magic. So yeah, while having some really good ideas, Circle of the Moon flops in nearly every other category. 4/10. Do not play. Even Harmony of Dissonance was better than this.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best Game Boy Advance Game of 2001
4
#4 Most Discussed Game Boy Advance Game of 2001
7
#7 Most Shared Game Boy Advance Game of 2001

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. GMR Magazine
    90
    A complex card system governs your special abilities. [Feb 2003, p.97]
  2. Thunderbolt
    60
    Castlevania means well, providing marvellous visuals and setting a superb atmosphere. But it suffers from hideous amounts of revisiting.
    Read full review
  3. GameSpot
    96
    Picks up where "Symphony of the Night" left off and stands out as one of the best portable adventures ever created.
    Read full review
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