Since my Castlevania marathon is now well into the franchise's pure Metroidvania period, a few friends of mine suggested I try this one out. Circle of the Moon is an odd duck, really. Ultimately, it's a very standard take on a latter Vania game that simultaneously tries to innovative in a few tiny ways that don't really work that well. The game's much-maligned DSS system is a great idea in theory, but the drop rate for most of the cards is so low that you really have to grind if you want to try out all of the different combinations, and some are definitely more useful than others. (Personally, I stuck to the flat 25% damage boost and the map-area percentage buff for 99% of the game, but that's just me.)

However, Circle's main issue isn't its level design, or its lack of fresh ideas, its by-the-numbers story, or the fact that its controls just feel a bit wonky. Rather, it's the game's uneven difficulty curve that tested me, especially in its second half. This is quite a tough game by any standard - particularly due to massive waves of respawning enemies, as well as endless hallways of four, five, six tough monsters at a time - but only two or three of the bosses really pushed me to try new tactics and combos, and they came at seemingly random points in the game's story. (Shout out to this game's version of the Twin Dragons for kicking my ass over and over.) This is all capped off with a final boss that definitely gives you what the kids call a "vibe check" if you aren't willing to spend all your resources. I personally love when a final foe wipes the floor with me a few times, but this version of True Dracula is something else: a boss seemingly designed from the ground up to be cheesed. Overall, Circle is a pretty impressive effort considering the fact that it was one of the very first GBA games ever released, but as a Metroidvania, it leaves a lot to be desired. I recommend this only to people who have already played the other classic portable Vanias, particularly Aria and Dawn of Sorrow.