Castlevania On the Game Boy Player

By Sam

Recently, Nintendo released the Game Boy Player for the Game Cube. Much like what Nintendo did for the original Game Boy with the SNES, the Game Boy Player lets you play your Game Boy Advance and previous Game Boy games through your Game Cube on a regular television. In my case, I have had a chance to play with the player on a LCD projector with a ten foot projected picture.

The main advantage is pretty obvious: bigger picture! But this can really change the perspective of a game that may not have been presented best on a small screen format (Castlevania: Circle of the Moon comes to mind right away!)

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a great game, and always has been. But it was not served well by the standard Game Boy Advance. A dark game visually by nature, the game was almost impossible to see. One could play it in the sunlight or by a bright lamp, but then what does that do for the atmosphere? The Game Boy Advance SP solved this problem with it's backlight, but then it served to show how much detail there was too see.

Now that that wonderful image and blow it up about 1,000 times. Now this game can be seen in all it's glory! That's important, because so many games show how little details they have when magnified to this magnitude (I'll get to Harmony of Dissonance in a moment). From the rocky texture of the caverns, the beautiful colors in the chapel, we see details that were almost impossible to see on the small LCD Game Boy screen! It's bright (could you even see this game without a backlight?) and colorful. As for the sound, the music sounds surprisingly wonderful through a surround sound system. Added bass to the music hides any muffled effects, and it all pumps along like the best of the Castlevania soundtracks!

The controls are the same, but the physics of the game seem a little strange when played this way. We notice now that Nathan seems to jump just a little too high than physically possible, and his whip is a little longer than it seemed before. Otherwise, it's fine.

This may lead to a conclusion that we all have suspected: Circle of the Moon was almost too elaborate for the Game Boy Advance. It's home is on the big screen, showing it as the star it is! This game seemed flawed on the Game Boy Advance, but the real flaw was confining this game to the GBA in the first place!

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is a different story. It was more small screen friendly, with brighter graphics than Circle. It was much easier to see, and it looked great on the small LCD screen.

But what about on the big screen?

Surprisingly, this game doesn't look as good as Circle of the Moon when magnified to this magnitude. It still looks wonderful, but the backgrounds looks surprisingly simplistic by comparison. There is also a phony, flat quality that wasn't so apparent on the GBA. The added brightness to an already bright picture lets us see all of this perfectly. A few fire and warped background effects (such as in the Room of the Illusions), and the script faces, are the elements that truly benefit here.

The sound has always been a controversy with this game. Some say it's wonderful. Others have said it's the worst sounds in any Castlevania game. I always found it ample, but forgettable. It's pretty much the same in the surround sound. Little bass is there to enhance, and it just seems louder and more annoying in some cases.

As for the controls, they are almost the same. The only real oddity is how the character seems to float a little bit when jumping. It was that way on the GBA, but seems more odd when blown to full clarity.

Overall, this game is probably better off being played on the GBP, despite all these complaints. It's a great game, no matter how it's played. But since it was made more specifically to the Game Boy, it doesn't feel like a console game by nature the way Circle did. It feels like a Game Boy game, and feels more like a guest on the big screen rather than a coming home.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow plays wonderful on the GPA! It played great on the GBA, and plays even better on the GBP. The graphics are detailed, but bright by nature. This game was the best looking game of the three, because it balanced detail, clarity and brightness together. What is surprising is how much this game didn't need the GBP treatment, but how much it benefits from it.

The backgrounds blown up look almost comparable to Symphony of the Night on PSX. Lively and surprisingly compelling, they show details that we didn't miss on the GBA but add to the grandeur here. The animation on Soma Cruz is also more fluid here too.

The music is also terrific here! Though Circle may have the most realistic instrumentals, Aria's tunes are more original and defining. The tunes fill the room with some wonderful pieces, and they absorb you into this nightmare world with music that seems real, but a slight phony quality actually enhances the dreamy theme of the game. The added bass causes an urgency to the music that wasn't there before.

Control wise, it's fine. It seems to benefit the most from the GBP treatment, seeming not to floaty or exaggerated here. In fact, with the Game Cube controller, the control feels more solid. It may sound strange, but it almost feels fun to control your character!

Overall, Aria is a game that works well no matter where it's played. And that's probably why it's considered such a wonderful game not just for GBA, but among all games period!

Out of the 1.000 or so games you'll be able to play on the GBP, here are at least three games that really get something out of it, for better or for worse. The GBP enhanced all three, while maybe revealing some flaws too. No matter how you experience them, big or small, they are still Castlevania. And the heart of that cannot be touched.

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