Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Updated Preview

By Giancarlo Varanini, GameSpotPosted Jun 27, 2002 6:30 pm PT

The Japanese version of Harmony of Dissonance has finally released, and we've got new impressions and screenshots of this latest vampire-hunting adventure.

Once again, you'll have to invade Dracula's castle to find a missing person.

We've had a chance to spend more time with the import version of Konami's next Castlevania game, Harmony of Dissonance, which, unsurprisingly, picks up where Symphony of the Night and Circle of the Moon left off. Harmony of Dissonance is structured similarly to the two previous Castlevania games, with a single large castle--divided into various subsections--that you will revisit over the course of the game while trying to look for items or new areas that were previously inaccessible. However, Dissonance does have some unique attributes. The gameplay is focused on the use of different spell books, and the new control scheme allows for a lot of maneuverability. In addition, you'll see more than a few references to previous games in the Castlevania series.

Harmony of Dissonance's story isn't entirely original, considering that the past few Castlevania games have usually involved a member of the Belmont clan, or some other individual, invading Dracula's castle to find some lost individual. The game begins with Juste Belmont, the latest character in the Belmont family tree (who also happens to be a descendant of Sypha Belnades from Castlevania III), conversing with a friend named Maxim, who has brought Juste to Dracula's castle to find Lydie, another friend who has mysteriously vanished. Since this game was developed by the same team responsible for Symphony of the Night, you can expect a few twists and turns in the plot, but none that are probably quite as dramatic as what happens in the classic PlayStation game.

Juste will have access to a variety of whips, some of which enable him to reach new areas.

Like Alucard and Nathan, Juste can equip a variety of items, pieces of armor, and even weapons. There are sunglasses, rings, amulets, gloves, chest plates, helmets, and several different types of whips that perform specific functions. The default whip lets you manually flail it around, but you'll find whips that automatically twirl (like Nathan's whip in Circle of the Moon), as well as others that are capable of destroying weak walls within the castle. Some whips, like the ball and chain, simply give Juste more strength. In addition, you'll find that the inventory system is a little more lax in terms of the items you can equip. Instead of being restricted to each portion of the body, you'll have three slots that can be used to equip any item, so you can feasibly equip three different types of rings or amulets. However, this is not recommended, since Juste's attack and defense statistics would drop dramatically.

Interestingly, you'll also find various types of items--such as plates, candles, chandeliers, and tables--that you can't equip. Instead, you can use them to decorate an area in the castle known as Juste's room. This room doesn't seem to serve any particular purpose in Harmony of Dissonance other than to enhance the collecting and exploration aspects, which are already a large portion of the game.

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