This time we are looking at the 2nd Gameboy Advance Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, released in 2002. The CV game has the oddest title I've ever seen in a CV game, it literally contradicts itself due to the opposite definition of the terms. The JPN version was called White Night Concerto, much more fitting. HOD almost sounds like someone at Konami made a translation mistake. This game aims to improve the dark visuals of its predecessor Circle of the Moon as well as tell a story that ties in to past games. How does it fare?
Harmony takes place in 1748; 50 years after the events of Simon's Quest, said events have a direct correlation to the events of this game. You play as Juste Belmont, who has the familiar Vampire Killer and Belmont strength as well as the Belnades magical abilities. He also has a "bishie" appearance. Juste, despite his somewhat odd name, is definitely someone evil should not cross, being the grandson of the Simon Belmont, the most famous of the Belmont family.
This game is somewhat limited in its number of narrative characters. We also have Maxim Kischine and Lydie Erlange, both childhood friends of Juste. Maxim was away from his two friends on a quest to strengthen his very "ninja" like abilities and was badly wounded. He returns, informing Juste that Lydie has gone missing in a mysterious castle. 5 points if you can guess which castle this is...
Anyway, the two set out to look for the castle, and encounter it within a shroud of mist. Juste sets out to explore the castle and locate Lydie, thus beginning the game.
Harmony's graphics are quite a big improvement from Circle of the Moon. They are big, bold, and bright: (Remember the GBA SP hadn't been released yet, so the developers sought to address the eye strain issues of Circle). The scale of the environments is also reduced, as the camera is shown closer to Juste, blocking out much of the surroundings. It is a matter of opinion if increased character detail is worth the decrease in background size. I think it is, as large backgrounds don't make backgrounds evocative automatically.
Harmony's enemies and their sprites continue the tradition of being copied from previous Vanias. The original enemies are few and far between, and most don't animate that well. Another big problem is the lack of inventiveness in the bosses. Many times the bosses simply consist of larger versions of basic enemies. This is a real failure of imagination, especially given the history of menacing monsters in Castlevania.
This game's music is an unfortunate casualty of the decision to improve the graphics. As this was the first time IGA's team was working with the GBA, they figured it best to focus on graphics first to remove the sour taste of Circle. Due to their lack of familiarity with the platform, they were unable to also have high quality music once the graphics were improved. The music is very 8 bit sounding, and I have covered my feelings on that subject. The compositions are still sound, Successor of Fate is a fitting and haunting theme. We also have a fairly good rendition of Vampire Killer for one of the bonus modes.
Gameplay is once again in the vein of the magnum opus Symphony with a RPG level up and equip system. Juste's Belnades blood seemingly makes him the most potent Belmont in spell power. He makes use of this ability with the new Spell Fusion system. This system uses books you can obtain plus the classic subweapons to create unique and powerful spells or effects.
While interesting, this system has two main problems: certain combos are too powerful, capable of defeating the already simple bosses too quickly. Second is that using spell fusion renders the subweapons useless. Fusion uses Juste's MP, so hearts have no purpose at all in this game. It is a clear design flaw, as subweapons could have activated with one of the trigger buttons at no cost to the Spell Fusion system. A curious oversight indeed.
Despite the Fusion system removing most of the challenge that this game offers, the player will be challenged in less expected ways. I can't directly reveal this as it is a major plot point, but suffice it to say, it makes navigation needlessly difficult. If you are like me, you may find yourself unsure of what to do next, the first time that this has happened in a Castleroid type CV game. This does not come off as a clever design mechanic. It feels like artificially padding of the game's length.
Replay value is about the same as most Symphony Style Castlevanias, with multiple endings that depend on Juste seeking out additional items or suchlike. There is Maxim mode unlockable if you get the correct ending. In this mode, you play as Maxim of course. You don't really get a sense of his abilities in game so this mode may be quite a surprise to those who try it out. Maxim is quite literally a ninja... in 18th Europe... who can triple jump... What I'm trying to say is that Maxim is really awesome! He's faster and more maneuverable than Juste and also has his own weapon and techniques, a few of which require special controller motions and are quite powerful. Try it out for a fresh take on this game!
You also have the Castlevania staple, the Boss Rush mode. In this mode, you can use Juste or Maxim (or a secret character if you know the code!) to defeat the game's bosses in the fastest time possible. It is too bad that you can't score bonus items from this mode, as that innovation was introduced in Aria of Sorrow. The secret character and their music is a neat extra!
Overall, Harmony of Dissonance, despite its apparent flaws which serve to make it the weakest of the Castleroid games, is still great fun and a worth entry in Castlevania. The references that Harmony makes to past games are a nice touch of nostalgia, especially their jab at the end boss of Simon's Quest (see if you can find out what I mean). The story is helped by this connection, because otherwise it is rather banal. The strength of this type of Castlevania gameplay is not easy to ruin, and though Harmony tries its best with dull enemies and surroundings, fun is still to be had despite the odd puzzles, Juste's preoccupation with collecting furniture being the most obvious. Check it out, just don't pay too much, and go in considering my review.
7.5/10.0
-Ugly Bob
article id: 136 | poster: bob
