Castlevania Advance Collection

Ultimately, there’s a lot of quality adventuring to be had here however – with Aria of Sorrow in particular still one of the best entries in the entire Castlevania series.

Castlevania Advance Collection sets the standard for how older games should be preserved and presented to a modern audience. There are many quality of life features to make the games more accessible while keeping everything that made them special in the first place.

To be clear, it’s mostly Aria of Sorrow that’s doing the heavy lifting with this collection, as it really is one of the best in the entire Castlevania series. Circle and Harmony are alright but on the lower tier of the other Metroidvanias, while Dracula X is middling even on its own standards. These are still very much worth playing, though, and this collection makes for an essential purchase for both longtime Castlevania fans and newbies.

If you’re at all a fan of Metroidvanias and haven’t played most of these games, there’s no reason to wait. Not every game here is perfect, but they’re all at least good. Circle of the Moon provides the best mix between the old and new style of Castlevania, while Aria of Sorrow is an absolute triumph that holds up beautifully even after all these years. Harmony of Dissonance has more flaws but is still mostly an excellent play, and even Dracula X is a very solid title. I would have loved to see more work done to provide a total package here, but few collections have ever provided a better set of titles.

Konami has pulled off a great collection here, filled with great GBA games (and a bonus one from the SNES), awesome new features and great presentation. I have very few gripes with this collection - it's a must-have for Castlevania and Metroidvania enthusiasts.

Though Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was the first entry to truly embrace 2D exploration and non-linear progression, it was in these three GBA titles that the “-vania” was permanently affixed to the “Metroid.” Individually, they are fantastic games, and together, they offer an irresistible package to fans of the series and genre. Our reviewers very much enjoyed each game in the collection, and we highly recommend it to those looking for engaging, challenging, and expertly crafted Metroidvania games!

Castlevania: Advance Collection is another good collection from Konami and M2, considering both its content and execution. Even if limited to the same series, there is a good variety of experiences in this Advance Collection, with games that - although aged differently - can still be really enjoyable at this day and age.

Castlevania Advance Collection is exactly the jolt of excitement Konami’s classic series of gothic action-platformers needs to succeed. All games featured look and play great, with newly installed quality-of-life features making them more accessible.

Collecting three superb Castlevania entries from the Game Boy Advance era and one more obscure SNES offering, this is a must-have for any fan of the genre that Castlevania carved out.

So while the bells and whistles aren’t necessarily anything to write home about, the GBA games at the core of this Castlevania Advance Collection are easily worth the price of admission. I remain flummoxed and annoyed that Konami is holding Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night hostage for the time being, but hopefully that will be resolved someday.

A good selection of classic titles, that has both masterpieces –Aria of Sorrow justifies the price tag by itself– and more divisive entries.

A very narrow selection of games, from a format that does not work well on modern TVs, but Aria Of Sorrow in particular stands out as one of the best Castlevania games ever made.

It's hard to sulk your pleasure in front of this Castlevania Advance Collection. For twenty euros, players can discover and rediscover three essentials of the Game Boy Advance. If the weather hasn't been so good with the SNES opus, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Circle of the Moon haven't aged a bit. So now is the perfect opportunity to add 3 great metroidvania to your collection. Too bad only one of them benefits from a French translation.

Some games age not well. Others can come back as often as they want, they will have no trouble charming their audience. The three Game Boy Advance Castlevania are still, 20 years later at a very good overall level. Playing them on larger screens, with a few welcome adjustments, can't be refused, whether you have a little nostalgia, the desire to perfect your culture or a good appetite for the Metroidvania subgenre. If we still hope for other intentions from Konami, this kind of compilation, with an Aria of Sorrow which remains one of the best parts of the saga, has no reason to be sulked.