Comparing this to Symphony of the Night, I think there's a lot to like. Particularly, I think the level design and balancing of the game is just right, to the point that you go through the game at a very nice pace. You never really stop and I ended up playing the entire game in one go. So from a gameplay and level design sense, it's a bit superior. But SOTN has the edge due to its incredibly presented atmosphere. Aria of Sorrow's is alright, but it just doesn't compare. Even though it's probably due to hardware limitations, I just don't remember or immerse myself in the environments nearly as much. Still a fun game though that I can see myself replaying every now and then.

The presentation is great, as swapping between the two graphical styles is really smooth. The controls are also great with fast movement options being fun to mess around with. The structure and pacing of the game is a little off though. There were multiple moments where I wish they'd placed more ways to time-switch without having to backtrack half the level. The game's also a little too long and it would have benefitted from either less levels or less revisits. Originally played just to prepare for Sea of Stars but ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

Still keeps the core Souls experience but with a lot of caveats to it. For one, the bosses and game balance are really awkward, as you start getting really powerful a few hours in. Second, a lot of the new ideas and mechanics are hit or miss, with the torch light being pretty cool but the need to upgrade adaptability to have invincibility frames a needless addition. The level design is also much simpler and a lot less interesting compared to the previous game. Even with these downgrades, it’s still a Souls game so the core gameplay loop remains intact. It’s also pretty fun to just blast through once you start getting stronger.

This game feels like the developers really wanted to make a more focused game than the first two, which depending on what you prefer will be a positive or a negative. Level design is much more straightforward than DS1, but that makes them a lot less frustrating. There's almost no confusion on where to go, and most enemies don't come with really annoying gimmicks. The same can be said for the bosses, which are easily the best in the trilogy. Aside from one or two gimmick fights which are really easy, every boss in this game is well-designed and fun to fight. All of this makes the pacing of the game much faster and smoother to play through. I also appreciate that this game has a different art style than the first game while not feeling confused like the second. They really convey the theme of ash with the much more grey and silver look to the game and it's great. I completely understand why some people would like Dark Souls 1 more, as I think that game has an overall stronger atmosphere and sense of discovery. However this is my favorite of the trilogy and the one I'd most likely come back to in the future.

A lot of interesting ideas that don't reach their full potential with how the game is structured. Not only is the game short, but a lot of the level design is really basic and they weirdly make you backtrack to completely different areas to grab just one thing. The combat system and monster raising is actually really fun. Juggling enemies for more items and mowing through hordes of enemies with chomp makes the game just fly by. The sprite work and soundtrack are also incredible. If anything, I really want the remake or sequel to this game that can really fix it's issues while fleshing it out to be something amazing.

Still really love this game. When it comes to these characters, this is always the game I think of. The characterization is pretty much perfect for all of these characters and it's honestly why I love world of Final Fantasy VII as much as I do. Alongside that, this is one of my favorite looking games and has one of the most well-done soundtracks of all time. The structure of the songs transitioning from a remix to a remaster is so masterfully done. The combat is my favorite of any Final Fantasy game and completely makes up for the mostly straightforward level design. Even the pacing issues I thought I had before weren't nearly as bad as I thought they were. At the end of the day, I absolutely love the reverence and care this game has for the original while completely embracing the direction they've deciding to take. Cannot wait for Rebirth.

Holds up really well for being the game nearly all metroidvanias would model themselves after. Dracula's Castle is just a fun setting to run through, constantly seeing more and more of the map fill out. The soundtrack's incredible and the sprite work has aged really well. While the controls are good and combat is solid, a lot of my issues with the game do revolve around fighting. The RPG mechanics aren't balanced very well. In the first couple hours, it's incredibly easy. Then in the second half, some of the enemies are suddenly way too powerful and a few bosses will kill you in seconds. The level design of the inverted castle is also ok, but it's definitely a step down from the first half of the game. You lose a large sense of discovery going through the same areas and the plot almost disappears entirely until the end (although admittedly, there wasn't much of one in the first place). This game is still a mostly great time that's thankfully not too long, but I do think since it's release, there's been many better, more refined metroidvanias.

A pretty competent action game for the PS2. The combat is generally pretty fun without being frustrating. I appreciate the use of a style meter in this game and it's used pretty well. The bike sections weren't too bad either, but they definitely didn't need to be here. The super moves you get in this game are definitely too strong though. They'll generally cause you to immediately kill every enemy and immediately recharge because of that. I also think this game would've benefitted a lot from some form of weapon variety, as you unlock all of Ghost Rider's moves pretty quickly and it can get a little repetitive. Luckily, the game's pretty short and it's fun enough to just do a quick playthrough in one go.

This is maybe the most replayable game for me. It being less than 3 hours means it's easy to blast through in one sitting. While it's obviously not perfect, all the annoying stuff doesn't last long as the game keeps on moving. Even the combat, for as simple as it can seem at first, has a good level of mastery to it the more you play the game. It also took me until this playthrough to really appreciate how good the atmosphere is in this game. Although it's far from my favorite of the series, this is a comfort game for me that I can always come back to.