Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

 Game Boy Advance
  • Publisher: Konami
  • Release Date: Sep 16, 2002
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 114 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 87 out of 114
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 114
  3. Negative: 4 out of 114
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. nitorita
    May 22, 2021
    6
    In a word, Harmony of Dissonance is mundane. It's not bad, but it's not great either. Just don't expect too much.

    Like Symphony of the Night, this sequel features a dual map system, albeit not as meaningful as the inverse map. You are essentially given more bosses to fight, most of which are not particularly difficult (especially if you abuse potions). Save points are infrequent, which    In a word, Harmony of Dissonance is mundane. It's not bad, but it's not great either. Just don't expect too much.

    Like Symphony of the Night, this sequel features a dual map system, albeit not as meaningful as the inverse map. You are essentially given more bosses to fight, most of which are not particularly difficult (especially if you abuse potions). Save points are infrequent, which means being forced to play safe so you don't waste time retracing steps. On the plus side, you are provided with a dash ability right from the beginning, which helps quicken the game and offers the player a powerful dodge mechanic.

    The game demands a ridiculous amount of backtracking without providing any indication as to where to go. The insane rarity of the merchant increases the game's overall difficulty, as the game is balanced around you buying potions to survive. The story is practically nonexistent as well, and there are practically no secret rooms to explore, which is disappointing. If you decide to play this game and get stuck, don't hesitate to spoil yourself with a map to get an idea of where to go next, as you will more than likely end up wasting hours revisiting the same areas.

    Overall, not a memorable experience. Go ahead and skip this game as you will not miss out on anything.    … Expand
  2. Matseb2611
    May 23, 2011
    7
    Harmony of Dissonance is a good game, but compared to Aria of Sorrow it easily falls down in my opinion. The strongest points perhaps are the really atmospheric feel, a pretty good and intense story, and very easy control of the character. The game also introduces a system of collecting elemental spellbooks, which combined with the usual subweapons (cross, holy water, etc) give an entirelyHarmony of Dissonance is a good game, but compared to Aria of Sorrow it easily falls down in my opinion. The strongest points perhaps are the really atmospheric feel, a pretty good and intense story, and very easy control of the character. The game also introduces a system of collecting elemental spellbooks, which combined with the usual subweapons (cross, holy water, etc) give an entirely different special attack, depending on what book is equipped, giving a diverse gameplay. Similar system is later used in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also the good ol' flexi-whip from Super Castlevania IV is back. You can hold the attack button and to move the whip in all the directions as opposed to only attacking forwards. The story as I mentioned is fantastic, one of the best in a Castlevania game, because it is mysterious and gets the player gripped. The atmospheric feel of the game certainly adds to that. Now where the game falls down. There are some minor issues, which can be annoying at times but aren't so bad. Those are the low difficulty, a strange glowing aura around the playable character, and also being forced to backtrack through entire stages at some points of the game. However what I disliked the most about Harmony of Dissonance was its soundtrack. Castlevania games usually have fantastic soundtracks, but I felt that this one was a real disappointment. I hardly heard any music in it, it was just a low quality noise, unfortunately. In my opinion slightly better than Circle of the Moon, but is nowhere near as good as Aria of Sorrow.… Expand
  3. SimonB.
    May 15, 2006
    7
    The weak link in the GBA trilogy. If you're a big fan, then pick it up, but if you're a casual gamer I'd recommend AoS or CotM. What is most annoying is the convoluted level structure, ease of every enemy in the game (bosses are jokes) and the quality of sound is noticeably worse than in the other titles. The music reminds me a lot of Shining Force on the Genesis, but not The weak link in the GBA trilogy. If you're a big fan, then pick it up, but if you're a casual gamer I'd recommend AoS or CotM. What is most annoying is the convoluted level structure, ease of every enemy in the game (bosses are jokes) and the quality of sound is noticeably worse than in the other titles. The music reminds me a lot of Shining Force on the Genesis, but not as good. It's still a good game to kill some time with, just don't expect the same good quality of CotM or AoS.… Expand
  4. tiberiotavareze
    Jan 9, 2021
    7
    My rate for this game: 7.5


    ..............................................
  5. frederik1478
    Feb 10, 2022
    6
    For me this is a portable castlevania symphony of the night ,sadly it has some of the worst backtracking in metroidvania game I have seen but it's still enjoyable, it worth playing once
  6. AlucardWarrior
    Feb 2, 2022
    7
    Después de jugar Circle of the moon me quede con un sabor agridulce con este juego, claramente se mejoraron algunos aspectos del juego anterior pero echaron a perder algunas cosas que ya estaban bien implementadas, save points en lugares nefastos y si quieres pasar el juego al 100 vas a tener que adivinar donde esta alguna parte de Dracula y mucho menos que este en tus narices, la músicaDespués de jugar Circle of the moon me quede con un sabor agridulce con este juego, claramente se mejoraron algunos aspectos del juego anterior pero echaron a perder algunas cosas que ya estaban bien implementadas, save points en lugares nefastos y si quieres pasar el juego al 100 vas a tener que adivinar donde esta alguna parte de Dracula y mucho menos que este en tus narices, la música del juego podría decir que es de las mas dediles de la saga solo chapel of dissonance me gusto. es un gran juego pero que da un paso atras a la saga, evidentemente querían hacer un sinphony of the night pero mal ejecutado por las limitantes de la GBA.… Expand
  7. Moony545
    Nov 8, 2018
    7
    Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance, клон SotN, как ее многие нарекают. В начале думал, что игра надоест, но нет, было прикольно бегать по замку, рубить нечисть и искать всякие секретки, реликты для правильной концовки, апгрейды, я даже мебельную комнату обставил полностью. Также порадовало то что тут имеется кнут, без этого "фирменного" оружия, кастла не воспринимается мной как кастла.Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance, клон SotN, как ее многие нарекают. В начале думал, что игра надоест, но нет, было прикольно бегать по замку, рубить нечисть и искать всякие секретки, реликты для правильной концовки, апгрейды, я даже мебельную комнату обставил полностью. Также порадовало то что тут имеется кнут, без этого "фирменного" оружия, кастла не воспринимается мной как кастла. Игра понравилась, как по геймплею, так и по визуальному стилю, а вот музыка там какая-то невзрачная.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best Game Boy Advance Game of 2002
7
#7 Most Discussed Game Boy Advance Game of 2002
20
#20 Most Shared Game Boy Advance Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Nintendojo
    89
    Valid proof that "coming up short" can still translate into "a hell of a lot of fun."
    Read full review
  2. GameSpy
    87
    Does a good job of capturing the basic flavor of "SotN's" gameplay. Indeed, almost all of the special moves you can obtain have been lifted directly from Symphony.
    Read full review
  3. Games Radar
    86
    Thankfully, the whole thing is also infinitely better-lit than previous outing Circle of the Moon, which means that playing it without industrial-strength lighting overhead is now an option. [NGC]
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »