The black sheep of the Advance trilogy that, like Dark Souls 2 today or Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest before, gets maligned by unfortunate circumstance or badly cloaked prejudices against the fact that this wasn't made by Igarashi's team.
It has been argued before that this game feels like a mix between Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid, and I think that's a fair assessment. Despite providing a map that is open for exploration "on paper", you spend most of the time figuring out what your newly acquired abilities are able to open, so that you can explore further areas of the castle, until reaching for the key items that are needed to open the main boss that is near the beginning of the game. An easy to understand concept that is spiced with some customization prompts via a card system that reminds me of the Materia one from FFVII. All in all, a pretty decent title that feels closer to Rondo of Blood and the NES titles than its immediate predecessor.
It has been argued before that this game feels like a mix between Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid, and I think that's a fair assessment. Despite providing a map that is open for exploration "on paper", you spend most of the time figuring out what your newly acquired abilities are able to open, so that you can explore further areas of the castle, until reaching for the key items that are needed to open the main boss that is near the beginning of the game. An easy to understand concept that is spiced with some customization prompts via a card system that reminds me of the Materia one from FFVII. All in all, a pretty decent title that feels closer to Rondo of Blood and the NES titles than its immediate predecessor.