4/5 ★ – Diluted_Thought's review of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.

I was never a big fan of the original Castlevania games back as kid. The designs of most of those games always felt cheap and they felt much more difficult then they needed to be, yet as I grew older Metroid-Vania games became one of my favorite genres. Strange. Here were are 21 years after its original release and I finally give "Aria of Sorrow" a shot. The first thing I noticed was the game's wonderful soundtrack, which is always surprising considering this was a GBA title. But a lot of care went into it and you can hear it. This is probably my 2nd favorite Castlevania soundtrack (after Lament of Innocence). The graphics were also great and impressive considering the system it was on. The gameplay wasn't great at the start of the game, but it started ramping up once I acquired better weapons and upgrades. That said, it took me a moment to realize that this game feels like a direct influence on one of my other favorites, "Chasm." The boss fights in the game were also intense and a lot of fun. My personal favorites were Death and the Caged Giant. I died plenty. But the game never stopped being fun. Sure there were some groaner moments considering the backtracking I'd have to do but otherwise I had a great time in Dracula's castle. This game also proved to me that a Belmont doesn't need to be a main protagonist for these games to work. Soma Cruz worked just as well, even if his background did seem mundane. "Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow" is the best retro game I played this year.