Harmony of Dissonance Selection

Like Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance is very similar to Symphony of the Night in both its mechanics and in its RPG/weapons' system. The hero, striking weapon-wise, is confined to his regular Vampire Killer whip, but he can collect extensions for the whip, and he is able to collect a very large selection of armor that he can equip for his head, body, arms, legs, hands and a special "goods" category. These attachments and armors will be discussed on pages two and three of this overview. First, however, I'll look at "Spell Fusion," the magic book-enhancement that was spawned from Circle's "DSS Card System," followed by the special relics.

Spell Fusion

The manual notes that Juste's power is party derived from the Fernandez family (mainly Sypha Belnades), which is most likely where this book-collecting power was spawned. The "Spell Fusion" is a system that allows you take all six of your mystic weapons--axe, dagger, holy water, boomerang, sacred fist and holy book--and enhance them using five spell books that you can find hidden in the castle; these include a Fire Book, Ice Book, Bolt Book, Wind Book and Summon Book. Using varying amounts of magic power instead of hearts, you can launch ulta-powerful assaults. Most of their effects are similar to that of item-crashes from past games, while others mimic that of Circle's DSS system. The result, in any case, is major pain for the enemies.

Fire Book	Ice Book	Bolt Book	Wind Book	Summon Book

This is most likely the order in which you'll find these books. Once you collect one, you can enter your inventory screen and switch it on. When you push up and attack thereafter, the book will increase your mystic weapon's power. Note: Only one book can be selected at a time, and you can't use the mystic weapon normally again until you switch the book's power off. Below are those powers:

Dagger

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When Juste activates this spell, eight daggers will become enflamed; with Juste hovering, the flame will wave in different directions for a short time. Juste will be protected until he lands--the flame will wipe out any nearby enemies as it crosses their paths.

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Juste will release numerous ice daggers that loop outward in opposite range and come together in pairs at an intersection. This can take out multiple enemies at once or overwhelm single foes.

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Here, Juste shows the origin of Richter Belmont's dagger item-crash. Juste will rapidly throw the daggers high and low, in what seems like an endless stream. Grounded enemies will be wiped out in the storm while bosses will suffer repeated damage. If they miss, they'll repel off of the walls.

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With this summoning power, one that resembles Maria's bird crash, Juste will call for a phoenix to wing down from the sky, into the top corner of a room, and send a barrage of pointed feathers diagonally downward. All enemies onscreen--and some even offscreen--will be affected by this attack.

 

Axe

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When Juste activates this, one of the more powerful spells, two flame dragons will momentarily circle and protect him from enemy fire. Seconds later, they'll fly toward the nearest enemy in the same fashion, repeatedly inflicting high damage for a fair period of time.

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This spell is quick and devastating, but it takes a bit of skill and timing to pull off. When activated, a spiky ice shard will crash down diagonally from the ceiling. If your aim is true, it'll crash land right onto an enemy's head. If it misses, it'll simply break apart.

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This is another Richter-like spell: Using the pure conducting power of the dagger, Juste will send lightning bolts striking in all directions at once. Enemies caught in its net will be electrocuted repeatedly until the bolts stop striking or until they're dead.

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Using this spell, the axe will become a virtual shield for our hero; the axe will circle him repeatedly, protecting him from enemy projectiles while allowing him to concentrate on whip attacks. The problem is that the shield doesn't move with Juste--it stays in the position in which it was activated.

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Instead of summoning, Juste will briefly transform into this winged demon. Its wings will break into pieces, and each piece will be sent swirling around at a wide range before they return to the demon. The wings will hit enemies both while coming and going.

 

Holy Water

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This spell is reminiscent of Simon Belmont's holy flame. When this book is selected, Juste will throw down a bouncing ball of fire rather than a holy water vial. The higher up Juste is, the more the fireball will bounce on the way down as it rebounds off of walls and platforms.

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This is a more unique power. When activated, ice shards will form together to create a temporary three-piece shield around Juste. Seconds later, they'll begin breaking apart, one after the other, sending small harmful icicles flying in all directions. If any enemies are in the area, ice shards will form around them, too, to dish out repeated damage.

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This is similar to the dagger plus bolt spell: Juste will call for a huge lightning bolt to strike down at the exact point in which the enemy stands. Once active, the bolt will erratically move back and forth over a small area. This can work well as both a shielding and offensive maneuver.

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This is another item-crash-like power that Richter would one day wield. When activated, a long-lasting storm will be called forth as Juste hovers safely. No enemy is safe during this time of purging, and only the strongest of foes will survive the storm. Some enemies offscreen will also be harmed.

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When Juste activates this power, an angel will descend from the heavens and position itself atop the screen, where it'll fly back and forth, using its holy power to drop down a sparkling substance. As usual with such attacks, the damage caused is dependent on how much of it connects with the enemy.

 

Boomerang

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This fire spell will allow Juste to throw a large flaming cross to a distance relative to his own. The cross will begin spinning in place, the flames crackling. Since the cross stays in place once thrown, you'll have to put a little thought on where to throw it, taking into account your enemies' placement and mobility.

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This is another unique ability: When activated, a boomerang composed completely of ice will hover over Juste. When Juste comes near an enemy, it'll start firing icicles in its direction. As it does this, the boomerang becomes smaller and smaller until it dissipates.

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So, at this point, it's easy to see that Juste has at least one of the Dracula X item-crashes in each category. This is what you'd expect: An expanding beam surrounds Juste before huge crosses ascend from the depths, one after another, and circle the beam, heavily damaging lesser enemies and bosses alike.

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This is another of the unique shield spells. Six large crosses will continuously circle Juste no matter to where he ventures, and they'll destroy enemies with which they come in contact. The catch is that each cross breaks down after enemy contact until all of them are gone.

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The cross combined with the summon book will allow Juste to conjure a mysterious warlock that has the power to make large meteors rain down from the room's ceiling. The attack lasts for a prolonged period, and, as you'd expect, is devastating to those caught within the storm.

 

Sacred Fist

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This one is simple enough: Juste will fire four magical orbs in a slow-moving spreadshot. He can then follow closely behind the orbs as they do all of the work. When the top and bottom orbs reach the floor and ceiling respectively, the spell will wear off.

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This is one of the more physical attacks. Using this combo, Juste's upper half will become surrounded by a large ice shard. Juste will then dash forward and, potentially, crash into an enemy with the sharp point of the shard. After the collision, the shard will break apart.

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The sacred fist is all about range, and this spell is an example of its power. When activated, a small charge will form directly over Juste's head; soon after, a deadly current in the form of three separate blasts will stretch across the screen, with more range and destruction than the holy water-bolt combo.

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This is another of those simple yet effective attacks. When this spell is used, Juste will release a large energy bullet forward; its speed and power are so great that Juste will be propelled backwards upon its release.

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In the vein of Final Fantasy II, this summoned beast seems to be an Asura. This giant entity will magnify the power of the fist by using its many arms to randomly throw punches forward--toward the camera's view. It's a hit-and-miss attack, since enemies will only be damaged if they happen to be where a punch is thrown.

 

Holy Book

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Juste will throw the holy book to a position relative to his own. As the book spins, it'll become enflamed, and it'll send a wave of fire spiralling, expandingly, upward as far as most vertical rooms can stretch.

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Water is the element of choice this time around; when Juste activates this power, two separate waves will travel out in opposite directions from the point in which Juste hovers. This is highly effective in rooms that contain multiple grounded foes.

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Perhaps borrowing a power from friend Maxim, two shuriken-like gears will be placed directly in front of Juste. This will both shield Juste from incoming attacks and allow him to dash forward and destroy enemies at the same time. Like the cross-wind book combo, the protecting items break down with enemy contact.

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This is simply an amplified version of the magic book's power from Rondo of Blood. The now-giant books will violently circle the hero and act as a shield to protect him wherever he goes--and they'll do this for a very long period.

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Using the holy book, Juste will summon a sprite. It'll look harmless enough as it hovers overhead--but when it spots an enemy, it'll whip out a giant mallet, rush toward the unfortunate foe, and smash it over the head. As you can see, it's capable of inflicting tremendous damage.

The Relics

The relics are the most important items that you'll find during your quest. Most of them will give you a new abilities that you can then use to reach originally inaccessible areas. Others will supply you with valuable information about the enemies and how to defeat them. The last six, Dracula's remains, that you can find will help you in two ways: (1) They'll increase your attributes greatly, and (2) they'll allow you to open up the way to Dracula to continue the story.

Relic Name	Image	Description	Found In
Lizard Tail		By pressing down + jump, user may slide.	Shrine of the Apostates A
Sylph Feather		While in midair, user may perform an additional jump.	Skeleton Cave B
Griffin's Wing		By pressing down/up, the user may perform a high jump.	Luminous Cavern A
Soul Orb		Allows user to recognize how much damage an enemy has received.	Castle Entrance A
Fairy Journal		Allows user to recognize the names of his enemies.	Marble Corridor A
Monster Tome		Allows user to see the data of monsters he has met	The Wailing Way A
Eye of Vlad		One of Dracula's bodily remains. Has the power to negate curses.	Chapel of Dissonance A
Heart of Vlad		One of Dracula's bodily remains. Has the power to negate petrification.	Sky Walkway B
Rib of Vlad		One of Dracula's bodily remains. Has the power to negate poison.	Castle Entrance B
Nail of Vlad		One of Dracula's bodily remains. Inceases STR.	Aqueduct of Dragons A
Fang of Vlad		One of Dracula's bodily remains. Increases DEF.	Clock Tower A
Ring of Vlad		One of Dracula's bodily remains. Increases LCK.	Marble Corridor A

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