Welcome back to Castlevania, brave Vampire Killer....
Dracula's design has been greatly done in this chapter
Through the DSS system, it is possible to customize your weapon
The more cards you collect, the more combinations you can have to acquire new abilities for your weapons
The fire based whip is one possible outcome of the different cards combinations
In the castle, some of the backgrounds are definitely more inspired than others
This stage is reminiscent of the one found in PSX's Castlevania Symphony the Night
Blood will spray around generously
The teleport system is a vestige from Symphony of the Night and it works well allowing to move faster from one point to the other in the Castle
Review-Castlevania returns to its 2D roots after a couple of disappointing 3D outings on N64 hardware.
Graphically, Konami did a good job. Considering that the game runs on a portable, this Castlevania chapter is definitely surprising. Enemies are varied, bosses can be huge and animations are silky smooth.
On the bad side, the absence of a backlit screen is really annoying as the graphics will be way too dark at times. Also, many of the areas in the Castle tend to look the same maybe for some memory limitations? These small problems aside, Castlevania COTM is a well crafted game that is certainly worth of your time.
The music is extremly well done, with a variety of tunes that are particularily involving. The sound quality is definitely a plus. Gameplay is addictive as you might expect from a Castlevania game, but get ready for some very long battles as the game is generally on the hard side, and some bosses are particularly hard to beat without the use of summons.
Finally, Dracula himself will give you a hell of a hard time, so you better face him when you are ready! Finally, the aquisition of new skills thru the card system is smart and involving. It gives a bit of variety to the whole adventure. A 2D Castlevania…and nothing else matters!
Bottom line: The first Castlevania game to appear on the GBA is still a great little game worth discovering and playing....7/10
from retro to modern gaming 
