Post by: Robert on December 09, 2005, 05:41:21 AM
KONAMI RESSURECTS TWO CLASSIC CASTLEVANIA GAMES FOR THE NINTENDO GAME BOY ADVANCE
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow Merge Onto One GBA Game Pak To Create A One-Two Punch In Dracula’s Side
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – December 8, 2005 – Konami Digital Entertainment - America, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., announced today Castlevania Double Pack (working title) is coming to the Nintendo Game Boy® Advance handheld video game system. The legendary titles Castlevania®: Harmony of Dissonance™ and Castlevania®: Aria of Sorrow™ are combined onto the same GBA cartridge, letting Castlevania fans experience twice the amount of evil and adventure in one convenient game package. Both chapters are among the most highly acclaimed games in the long running Castlevania franchise and will provide hours of portable gaming fun.
“Castlevania’s rich history and deep storylines have always made it a favorite franchise among casual gamers and core gaming fans alike,” said Dennis Lee, Group Manager at Konami Digital Entertainment – America. “Combining two of the most beloved chapters in this long running franchise together onto one cartridge provides gamers a great value as well as giving newcomers to the series a convenient way to experience some of the best of what Castlevania has to offer.”
In Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, players take the role of Juste Belmont, a descendant of Simon Belmont. It has been nearly fifty years since Simon Belmont rescued the land from the curse of Dracula. Now it’s Juste Belmont’s turn as he must acquire the relics of Dracula left behind from the past in order to unravel the mysterious disappearance of his friend Lydie Erlanger. With a trusty whip at their side, players explore Dracula’s castle under the cover of night collecting relics and learning powerful magic spells in their journey to find and rescue Lydie.
In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, players take the role of Soma Cruz, a young man who has been chosen as the next incarnation of the dark lord Dracula. The year is 2035 and Soma Cruz is about to witness the first solar eclipse of the 21st century when he suddenly blacks out – only to awaken inside a mysterious castle. Players discover that they are destined to become the dark lord and the only way to escape from this evil fate is to escape the castle. As Soma, players will be able to wield a great variety of weapons in their quest to escape Dracula’s castle. Along the way, players discover the ability to collect and use the souls of vanquished enemies to make themselves more powerful or enable them to perform special skills. In addition, there is an RPG element of Aria of Sorrow which adds an unparalleled level of depth to the game.
Created by Koji Igarashi and the creative team behind the critically acclaimed hit game Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania Double Pack is scheduled for release in North America in Q1 of 2006.
Post by: NWR_Lindy on December 09, 2005, 06:05:41 AM
Post by: Strell on December 09, 2005, 06:12:11 AM
Aria is arguably better than DoS. Really a fantastic game. This is a great bundle, I'll probably pick it up just to support it.
Post by: Ian Sane on December 09, 2005, 06:15:51 AM
Too bad it's not coming out until 2006 because this would be a perfect Christmas gift for my brother who I wanted to get Aria for but couldn't.
I don't have Harmony of Dissonance either so this is just all kinds of awesome.
Post by: JonLeung on December 09, 2005, 07:15:12 AM
There are THREE GBA Castlevania games, not two.
And if you were going to pack two together, why not the first two, since they're likely to be harder to find. Aria Of Sorrow would go better in a double-pack with Dawn Of Sorrow because they're immediately next to each other chronologically with the same characters. Sure, it's cross-systemed, but anyone who can play a DS game can play a GBA game.
Actually, I think DS games in the future should come packed with an early GBA game within the same series. They're wasting a good GBA slot in the DS case.
Post by: Ian Sane on December 09, 2005, 07:41:38 AM
Yeah but Circle of the Moon is still easy to find. I can find brand new copies in almost every store in my area with a decent sized GBA selection. These two games showed up in stores for a few months and then just disappeared and there's been demand for a re-release ever since.
Post by: KDR_11k on December 09, 2005, 08:11:44 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on December 09, 2005, 08:16:06 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on December 09, 2005, 09:16:10 AM
Post by: WackerJr on December 09, 2005, 11:14:41 AM
Anyway, I'm liking this bundle being that the only Castlevania GBA game I have is CoM!
Post by: stevey on December 09, 2005, 01:07:51 PM
I've been look for those two since I got DoS.
Post by: KnowsNothing on December 09, 2005, 02:02:42 PM
Post by: Caliban on December 09, 2005, 03:54:38 PM
Edit: I just noticed the release date. Ignore what is written above.
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on December 09, 2005, 04:10:09 PM
Post by: JonLeung on December 09, 2005, 06:14:17 PM
If they think it's worth releasing like this, if it makes more sense to everyone, and people think it's worth buying, then sure, why not?
I just personally wouldn't, that's all. Like when they released Desperado with Once Upon A Time In Mexico. It's like, hello, what about El Mariachi? You wouldn't see them releasing a Star Wars box set and not including, say, The Empire Strikes Back, now would you?
But ignore me. I'm just the picky guy who always thinks it should be all or nothing. I'm the guy who hates it when they don't have everything they could put on a DVD, and then complains when they put something else not directly related to the film on that film's DVD.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 09, 2005, 07:41:26 PM
And get this, they finally released the "Mexico Trilogy"; all 3 Mariachi flicks bundled.
All that's left now is the "beginning and end" of the trilogy; El Mariachi bundled with Once Upon a Time in Mexico!
YAY FOR BUNDLES.
Post by: ruby_onix on December 09, 2005, 10:53:25 PM
Quote
There are THREE GBA Castlevania games, not two.
According to Koji Igarashi, the current head of the Castlevania series, "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon" does not exist.
He didn't like it, and even though it was made under his watch, the story conflicts with the latest version of the Castlevania timeline as he has imagined it. So he officially struck it from the Castlevania history books, and it will never be seen again (or at least, not as long as Iga is in power). It rests alongside the two N64 Castlevanias, "Castlevania Legends" from the original GameBoy, and the unreleased Dreamcast game, which he cancelled for attempting to be a sequel to Castlevania Legends.
Post by: Arrow on December 09, 2005, 11:02:13 PM
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on December 09, 2005, 11:24:13 PM
I'll take the GB/GBC/GBA/N64 Castlevanias over the PS2 ones any day.
Post by: Ian Sane on December 12, 2005, 06:37:43 AM
This is just as stupid as George Lucas wanting to rid the world of the original cut of Star Wars because of things he changed his mind about, special effects that fit the rest of the film but can be done differently now eventhough the new method looks out of place, and storyline revisions to better fit with material he came up with later.
Plus I don't think IGA was even involved with the original Castlevania so it's someone else's baby to begin with.
