If you ask anyone who played the Game Boy Advance what the best action/adventure games existed on that handheld were, odds are good you’ll get two answers: Metroid and Castlevania. While the Metroid series got only two games on the portable gaming system (with one of them being a remake), Castlevania would receive three excellent and all-original games. While the franchise seems to have fallen into a deep slumber thanks to executive decisions from Konami, the fans themselves never forgot those three games… to the point that getting a copy second hand has become more expensive than gaming on a current console.

Until now.

Castlevania: Advance Collection had been hinted at as early as July of this year, but was a surprise announcement in Nintendo’s September Direct, released the same day as the direct itself for the Nintendo Switch. Fret not, versions are also available on the PC via Steam, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox One Series X, and Xbox One X. Please note, however, the review is based on the Nintendo Switch version.

Retailing for only $19.99, fans of Castlevania receive three best-selling games: Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow. There’s also a fourth bonus game, the Super Nintendo game not included in the previous Castlevania Anniversary collection: Dracula X. On top of being presented in pixel-perfect and stretched forms, each game features high-quality incarnations of their music that isn’t restricted by the limitations of the Game Boy Advance of Super Nintendo. This alone is a fantastic feature that fans of the music will enjoy, but you can also experience the Japanese and European incarnations of these games as well if you desire.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a Game Boy Advance launch title from 2001. Taking place in 1830, the game has you taking control of Nathan Graves, an apprentice to a descendant of the Belmont clan. When Dracula is once more resurrected, his master is taken captive, and he must explore Dracula’s castle to both stop Dracula, save his master, and his fellow apprentice Hugh. 

While Nathan begins controlling slow and methodical, like the earlier incarnation of Castlevania, he earns upgrades like double-jumps, running, and even a shoulder tackle to unlock other areas of the castle. In a way, this game is a solid blend of the gameplay styles from the oldest days of the franchise and Symphony of the Night’s expansive map. While you begin with the unenchanted Hunter Whip and standard sub-weapons, Nathan also can use the Dual Set-Up System (DSS) with magic cards he finds off his fallen foes to modify or transform himself. Nathan’s whip can even be transformed into an elemental attack, a blade, claws, or even a gun when using these cards. It’s a nice little change to the gameplay, but does add the headache of grinding to find the cards.

Visuals are a little bland, playing it safe with the first Advance incarnation of Castlevania, but the music is top-notch. A modern release also removes one of the biggest issues with the original release: the unlit Game Boy Advance screen made it too hard to see anything in Circle of the Moon. With an LED screen on the Switch, that is no issue. Perhaps the only real complaint remaining is that the DSS cards must be hustled up by beating down enemies, but the game does add a minor improvement. A gadget on the emulation screen can be toggled to show if a foe could hold a DSS card, and if you’ve collected it already. It does pop up continually whenever you hit a foe, which can crowd the screen, but it is a drastic improvement to instantly know what a foe could have.

Released in 2002, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance takes place in 1748 and stars Juste Belmont. Dracula has returned once more, and it’s up to Juste and his friend Maxim to not only stop Dracula, but also rescue their friend Lydie. 

Coming down the line 300 years after the animated Castlevania series’ Trevor Belmont, Juste is one of the few Belmonts to actually make use of magic in his arsenal. His footspeed is dramatically increased, jetting across the screen with the L and R buttons. This allows for back and forward dashing, resulting in some more daring combat with a chain incarnation of the Vampire Killer. The standard subweapon selection has also added a few more types, like a bible that sprays holy pages, or a rapid spray of punches. Further picking up a magic book can enhance each sub-weapon with elemental attacks as well.

The visuals for this incarnation went more stylized, with a bright blue outline over Juste that also makes an afterimage when he dashes. It looked cool on the old GBA screen and was easier to see, but it doesn’t hold up quite as well on a modern console screen. The music also seems to have taken a hit, as it is less involved and complex as the Circle of the Moon soundtrack. This is certainly the weaker of the three on the Game Boy Advance, but is still well worth playing.

Making for a third game in three years, 2003 brought us Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. While it was the last Advance Castlevania game, the crew went all-out on this thing. Set in 2035, Dracula’s castle has somehow made it over to Japan. During an eclipse, exchange student Soma Cruz winds up sucked into Dracula’s castle. When it turns out he can absorb the souls of the creatures inside the Castle, the mysterious Genya Arikado recruits Soma to put an end to the mystery once and for all.

As it’s set in the future, this game plays a lot with the combat system. While it’s a sequel to Symphony of the Night in a lot of ways, Alucard never used grenades or pistols! Soma does, and you can even unlock a positron cannon. When you don’t have modern weapons, you can also use any standard sword or blade… though you can also find the legendary Excalibur. And while Soma can use the sword of myth, it’s not exactly as you would think.

This game has a demented sense of humor at times, and it’s really refreshing. Each weapon not only has its own attack power, but also has its own timing and method of use. It really makes you think about which item you want to use - if more attack power is worth a slower attack cycle, or if you want to be a rapid stabbing monster.

On top of that, Soma’s power to absorb enemies comes into play by expanding what can be done. While the L button is dedicated to movement modifications (like a back-dash), enemy souls can be used by the standard sub-weapon Up+B or the R button, resulting in things like throwing spears, summoning imps, or even dashing across the map surrounded by lightning. While you will need to grind to pick up these souls (or empower them further), the variety actually makes the gameplay feel deeper than the other two iterations. Also, like with Circle of the Moon’s gadget to see what foe could carry a DSS card, this game can remark on if you have an enemy’s soul yet.

Visuals are detailed and the atmosphere is great, as this game came out after the launch of the GBA SP. Adding a back-lit screen allowed for a wider variety of lighting, and it looks fantastic on a modern console. Music is also fantastic, and the effort crammed into this game really shows. Even if this was a single-release, $19.99 would be worth the cost for it.

Released in 1995, Castlevania: Dracula X is the odd man out. Released as a re-creation of the PC Engine's Super CD-ROM² System game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. While it seems nonsensical or “XTREEEEM,” the X comes from how the game is the tenth in the Castlevania series at the time. Taking place in 1792, fan-favorite Richter Belmont has to rescue his girlfriend Annet and her sister Maria from Dracula’s clutches.

This is not quite the same game as the infamous Rondo of Blood. Known also as Castlevania: Dracula XX and Castlevania: Vampire’s Kiss in Japan and Europe, this game greatly expands on the maps to make for a longer experience, but tends to remove the various choices you could have made during the game. It also feels like a step back in the franchise, as it does not feature a lot of the enhancements seen in Super Castlevania IV from a few years earlier on the SNES. Honestly, it feels like Konami tossed this game in to round out the collection, since it doesn’t fit in the Portable theming, Advance theming, or even the timeline theming.

It’s kind of a shame, because other games like the Game Boy game Castlevania Legends, or the WiiWare Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth would have worked well as portable (or remakes thereof) games. The Nintendo DS games will likely receive their own collection at a later date, so maybe we can see them being added in there.

Other bonuses for the fans include a full soundtrack, available for play whenever you like. There’s also a lot of character art and even game manuals and box art preserved digitally, which is a nice way to look into the past.

If you’ve never picked up a Castlevania game before, this is actually a great package to introduce you to the franchise’s more modern incarnation. If you loved the fights of Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard, you’ll at least enjoy some of this game collection, and Aria of Sorrow will certainly be a treat for Alucard fans. Meanwhile, Castlevania fans who don’t own a dubiously-legal emulation handheld should pick this up ASAP.

Grade: A

TL;DR:
+Three fantastic games
+Uncompressed music
+Multiple endings in two of the games
+Multiple play incarnations in the three Advance games
-Harmony of Dissonance hasn’t aged as well as the other two
-Dracula X feels tacked on
-The helpful DSS/Soul monitoring system can get annoying