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Revision as of 06:13, 21 December 2004 by Mackeriv (talk | contribs) (Fixed a couple of things)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a video game created by Konami for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance system. The game was released in 2001 and is the first Castlevania game for Game Boy Advance. This game is called Akumajō Dracula: Circle of the Moon in Japan, and simply Castlevania in Europe (albeit the American name has become a standard when referring to the game).
The storyline
Template:Spoiler The year is 1830. At an old Austrian castle, the worshippers of Chaos were attempting to revive the Lord of Darkness, Count Dracula. The Vampire Hunter Morris Baldwin and his apprentices, Nathan Graves and Hugh Baldwin, heard of this and headed to Castlevania to stop Count Dracula from coming back to life and uniting the powers of darkness. However, they arrived a few seconds too late since Camilla, a minion of Count Dracula, had already started the rite to revive her master.
However, in order for Dracula to regain his former power, he would need to wait until the full moon ritual was completed. Before the group could fight Dracula and seal him again, Dracula destroyed the floor under Nathan and Hugh, causing them to plummet down a long shaft leaving Morris alone with Dracula and Camilla. Fortunately, Nathan and Hugh survived the fall. Hugh runs off to save his father after telling Nathan to get out of the castle. Nathan decided not to, as he wanted to rescue his mentor more than anything. He then explores the large castle, fighting Dracula's minions along the way.
He eventually arrives at the ceremonial room and attempts to vanquish Dracula and save his master from being sacrificed as a part of the dark ritual. While he was fighting Dracula, Hugh freed Morris and together they escaped the castle, leaving Nathan to fight Dracula alone. He succeeds in beating Dracula and his ultimate form. Before he was sealed, Dracula stated "It is a wasted effort. I will never be truly gone. So long as there is darkness and desire in the soul of man. I will continue to be revived". Nathan replied, "And we will be there to stop you. You can bet on that". Dracula dies and the castle crumbles. Nathan then leaves to continue his training with Morris and Nathan.
Main characters
Nathan Graves
The hero of the game. He is the character that the player controls throughout the game. He was the one chosen by Morris Baldwin to wield the Hunter's Whip.
Hugh Baldwin
Hugh is Nathan's rival. He is jealous of Nathan because he believed that he should be the successor of the Morris Baldwin, and therefore. receive the Hunter's Whip. He also believes that Nathan is too weak to fight alongside him. His primary weapon is a sword.
Morris Baldwin
Morris is Hugh's father and a veteran Vampire Hunter. He and Hugh's parents sealed Count Dracula 10 years ago. Morris doesn't belive in favouritism, and therefore chose Nathan as his successor instead of his son, Hugh.
Count Dracula
Main Article: Dracula
Sealed away in 1820 by a team of Vampire Hunters, Dracula hopes to use Morris' energy to fully revive himself and taint the world with darkness.
Camilla
Main Article: Camilla
A minion of Count Dracula, Camilla is actually a demon disguised as a female human. She lead the attempt to revive Dracula so she can serve him again. Camilla turns out to be a boss later in the game. In the Japanese version, her name is Carmilla, which is probably a reference to the vampire novella, Carmilla, written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, which was a strong influence for Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Circle of the Moon is similar to that of other Castlevania titles, in which you have to explore a gigantic castle filled with all kinds of undead enemies and evil aberrations in a non-linear fashion. The player collects items the enemies drop and also earn experience points to power-up the character. The game features a classic Castlevania action style, since the main character, Nathan, uses a whip to attack the enemies, alongside the classic side weapons: Axe, Cross, Holy Water, Knife and Stopwatch.
One of the innovative aspects is the DSS (Dual Set-up System) Magic Card System. This gameplay mechanic allows Nathan to unleash several interesting abilities via a combination of two different magic cards: one ability card and one effect card. For example, the player can combine the "Mercury Card" (ability card with the power of enhancement) with the "Salamander Card" (effect card with the power of fire), obtaining a fire elemental whip attack as a result. These cards are dropped randomly by some enemies, thus adding a search element to gameplay as well.
Other modes
There are four harder modes in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. All of them are the same game, although consisting of different stats and restrictions which makes the gameplay more challenging. These modes can only be accessed once the previous mode has been completed. The player can still enter in the names but nothing will happen.
Magician Mode
After completing the game once, starting a new game with the name "FIREBALL" will allow the player to access Magician mode which is a harder mode where Nathan has less strength but more initiative and all the DSS cards.
Fighter Mode
After completing the game in Magician Mode, starting a new game with the name "GRADIUS" will allow the player to access Fighter Mode, where Nathan has more strength but cannot use DSS.
Shooter Mode
After Completing the game in Magician Mode and Fighter Mode, starting a new game with the name "CROSSBOW" will allow the player to access Shooter Mode, where Nathan has a higher number of hearts but all stats are lower.
Thief Mode
After completing the game in all previous modes, starting the game with the name "DAGGER" will allow the player to access Thief Mode, where Nathan's luck stat is boosted, making rare items appear more frequently, but all other stats are lower, which makes the game more difficult.