Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
The first Castlevania on GBA introduces the Dual Set-Up System (DSS) with 100+ card combinations for customizing attacks. Features non-linear exploration in Dracula's castle with protagonist Nathan Graves, a vampire hunter trained by the Belmont clan.
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Story
A decade prior to the start of the game, Nathan's parents and Morris Baldwin attempt to banish Dracula. Nathan's parents perish in the conflict, but Dracula is successfully sealed away. In present day, Morris has trained Nathan and Hugh in combat in order to prepare them for whenever Dracula reawakens. At the beginning of the game, Camilla successfully manages to reawaken Dracula, however she is interrupted by the arrival of Nathan, Hugh, and Morris.
Before they are able to react, Dracula destroys the floor under Nathan and Hugh, causing them to plummet down to the castle's catacombs. Both of them survive the fall and the two realize that they must find Morris. Wishing to find his father, Hugh leaves Nathan behind, believing that Nathan would just get in the way. Undeterred, Nathan proceeds to search the castle for his mentor.
Exploring the castle, Nathan learns that at the next full moon, Morris' soul will be used to return Dracula to full power. He also periodically encounters Hugh, who becomes more hostile as the game progresses. Eventually, Nathan encounters Camilla, who hints that she and Dracula are responsible for the changes in his personality. Nathan vanquishes Camilla in her true form and meets up with Hugh once more.
Upon seeing him, Hugh immediately attacks him with the goal of proving himself to his father through Nathan's defeat; Nathan, however, realizes that Dracula is controlling Hugh. Nathan defeats him, and Dracula's control over Hugh breaks. Hugh confesses that he doubted his self-worth when Nathan was chosen as successor and tasks him with Morris' rescue. Arriving at the ceremonial room, Nathan confronts Dracula, who confirms that he had tampered with Hugh's soul to cause the changes in his personality.
They begin to fight and halfway through, Dracula teleports away to gain his full power. Hugh then frees his father and tasks Nathan with Dracula's banishment. Nathan continues the battle and defeats Dracula; escaping the collapsing castle, he reunites with Morris and Hugh. Nathan is declared a master vampire hunter by Morris.
Hugh vows to retrain under Morris due to his failure.
Gameplay Systems
Role-playing game elements like leveling character statistics and collecting equipment that augment those statistics are also present. Players traverse an abandoned castle with the end goal of defeating Dracula. As the main protagonist—Nathan Graves—progresses through the castle, he learns new skills and acquires equipment and items that allow further exploration in the game. Like previous Castlevania titles prior to Symphony of the Night , Nathan primarily uses a whip to attack enemies alongside secondary weapons, which require ammo to be used.
A unique gameplay feature is the Dual Set-Up System (DSS), which allows players to customize their magic attacks. DSS is based around a series of cards, categorized as either an Action or Attribute card, which are dropped by enemies randomly. When an Action and Attribute card are paired, a variety of different effects can occur that, when activated, can either offer a passive effect or temporarily increase Nathan's offensive or defensive statistics. There are a total of twenty cards that can be obtained, ten for each category.
making for a total of 100 different DSS combinations. Alternate modes Circle of the Moon features four alternate modes of gameplay available by inputting a code on the file select screen. The codes "Fireball", " Gradius ", "Crossbow", and "Dagger" unlock "Magician Mode", "Fighter Mode", "Shooter Mode" and "Thief Mode" respectively. The alternate modes do not change the player character or explorable area in anyway, but instead alters Nathan's statistics.
Magician Mode starts Nathan with decreased offensive and defensive statistics, but begins with an increased intelligence stat and all DSS cards. Fighter Mode does not permit the use of DSS cards, but increases Nathan's strength and endurance stats. Shooter Mode allows a larger amount of secondary weapon ammo to be carried, but decreases offensive, defensive and health stats. Thief Mode reduces Nathan's offensive and defensive stats, but increases his luck statistic greatly.
Media Reviews
About Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a classic video game released for the Game Boy Advance on January 1, 2001. Developed by Konami and published by Konami, this title has become a beloved entry in the retro gaming library.
This wiki entry provides comprehensive information about Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, including release details, gameplay information, and story synopsis. Whether you're looking to revisit a childhood favorite or discover classic games for the first time, Emulator Games Wiki has you covered.
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