Castlevania: Circle of the Moon The Perfect Castlevania
The combat system in CotM utilizes the same whip mechanisms. You travel around the castle, defeating common enemies and destroying every level’s boss monster. As you travel, you will also come across several of six different subweapons that add a certain strategy to the game. To add another twist to the game, developers added another instrument of gameplay, the DSS card function. In Circle of the Moon, you can collect cards from certain monsters in the game. Using a certain combination of those cards gives either Nathan or his whip special abilities that allows much easier passage through the castle. They also tend to be useful during the boss fights. Circle of the Moon also features a super-powerful “Item Crush” attack. Using a certain DSS card combination and a certain sub-weapon, Nathan can unleash his most powerful of attacks. CotM also features a level up system. At first, Nathan starts with only a few experience points to attain the next level, which increases for every level up he receives. He gets this experience through the destruction of monsters in the castle. Every monster has a set level of experience points (it can vary using DSS cards) they offer you when they are defeated. Beating them gives you that experience. Naturally, the highest level is 99.
As you travel through the castle, the storyline will unfold, often told by the few humanoid boss enemies you defeat. Upon defeating these boss enemies, Nathan gains special powers. These powers allow him to reach areas of the castle that were once unreachable. There is one of these powers for each of the enemies he defeats. There are a few exceptions to this rule, where the player gains a special item instead. As you defeat more and more of the boss enemies, the climax draws nearer and you initiate in the final battle against Dracula.
For both fans and newcomers of the Castlevania series, Circle of the Moon won’t disappoint. I suggest this game for anyone who is interested in horror or action/adventure titles. 10/10