Castlevania is one of the most enduring and successful game franchises in the history of video gaming, though not even the mighty Belmonts have been able to survive without some hardship. Lackluster sales from the excellent Symphony of the Night and the dreadful Castlevania 64 in the late 1990s seemed to portend the death of the venerable vampire-hunting series. But Nintendo tossed the Belmont clan a life preserver in 2001 in the form of the GameBoy Advance handheld gaming system. In the three years since its release, Konami has developed three very successful Castlevania adventures, the most recent of which takes the series into the future for the first time. Though there is little that is new, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow improves on the deficiences of both Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance and stands as the most well-balanced of the recent GameBoy Advance titles.

Much like Symphony of the Night, 2003's Aria of Sorrow places you in the shoes of a lead character other than a member of the famous Belmont Clan. Instead of controlling half-vampire, half-human super-stud Alucard, you play the role of Soma Cruz, a seemingly ordinary exchange student studying abroad in Japan. The year is 2035, and Soma and childhood friend Mina Hakuba are on their way to the Hakuba Shrine to witness a solar eclipse. This is no ordinary eclipse however, and the pair soon find themselves at the front gate of Dracula's castle. There they are saved from a demon attack by Genya Arikado, a vaguely familiar man with an inhumanly beautiful face. He informs Soma that he must use his newly-found dark powers to make his way to the throne room of the castle. With that preface, the adventure begins.

Just like the recent games in the series, Aria of Sorrow is an action-adventure-RPG hybrid game that combines side-scrolling action gameplay with a hefty dose of exploration and character building. You will take Soma through the myriad areas of Dracula's castle, earning new abilities and battling hordes of ghoulish enemies along the way. Upon starting the game, players will immediately notice the fluid play mechanics; Soma is much easier to control than either Nathan or Juste, and invokes fond memories of playing as Alucard. Movement with the d-pad is vastly superior to the previous two games, as is jumping and attacking. It seems the third time's the charm for Konami. Soma lacks the dash moves that Nathan and Juste used, but his overall speed and agility make up for it. (Plus, you'll acquire an ability later on that is vastly superior for moving at high speeds.)

As you'd expect, Soma starts out with only a basic repertoire of moves and acquires more techniques as he defeats bosses and explores more areas of Castlevania. Aria of Sorrow employs a new development system called the Tactical Soul System, which allows Soma to acquire new abilities by absorbing the souls of vanquished foes. Each of the 100+ enemies in the game can release their soul when defeated, permanently granting Soma new powers. See that Zombie Solider lobbing grenades at you? Rest assured that absorbing his soul will allow you to chuck ordinance right back at him. Souls fall into four categories: Bullet Souls (attacking), Ability Souls (new moves like the double jump), Enchanted Souls (support abilities, like resistance to poison) and Guardian Souls (extra abilities that use MP). Ability Souls will always be easy to find, so there's no need to worry about missing a crucial ability.

These Ability Souls are usually gained after defeating a Boss monster and are required to advance to other areas of the castle. The number of boss fights have been significantly reduced from Harmony of Dissonance, and most of them are woefully easy. This is partially offset by the increase in difficulty of many of the regular enemies, as some are downright relentless in their attack patterns. Having the right souls equipped can make all the difference, and finding the best combination for each circumstance is part of the fun that Aria of Sorrow presents. For instance, projectile-throwing enemies like the Skeleton might be hard to approach, but equipping the Guardian Soul from the Witch will allow you to deflect their bones right back at them. If those pesky Medusa Heads are driving you crazy by turning you into stone, simply equip the Enchanted Soul from the Gargoyle and you'll be immune to stoning.

Though they make a large part of the experience, souls aren't the only gameplay element that make Aria of Sorrow shine. Not being a Belmont, Soma must rely on weapons other than the famous Vampire Killer to battle his way through Castlevania. Like Alucard, Soma can wield a variety of offensive weaponry, from swords and daggers to hammers and handguns. (You won't find robots or rocket launchers in this futuristic Castlevania, but a few guns do show up.) Soma can equip armor and relics to protect him from damage and confer additional abilities; the Soul Eater Ring increases the appearance of souls, so you'll want to pick it up as soon as possible. While there aren't as many weapons as in Symphony of the Night, Soma can still wield a respectable arsenal, and the large number of abilities gained through souls guarantees a fun and diverse playing experience every time through the game.

In designing Dracula's castle for this game, Konami's developers went back to the drawing board and completely trashed all of the horrible castle layouts from the previous two games. Getting around Castlevania in Aria of Sorrow is easy and enjoyable, thanks to intelligent links between areas and smartly-placed warp rooms. Many of the best areas from prior games are reincarnated here, such as the Study, Catacombs and Arena from Symphony of the Night. Overall the various areas are more in line with the look and feel of Castlevania; you won't find any of that Shrine of Apostates or Aqueduct of Dragons bullshit here. The castle has returned to a more manageable size as well, though this unfortunately has shortened the game a bit. It will take only six to eight hours to complete the first time through, though there is plenty of incentive to replay the game. For instance, certain items (like Death's Sickle) are only available on Hard Mode.

Completing the game will unlock a variety of bonus features depending on which ending you get. Aria of Sorrow contains a Boss Rush mode that is similar to, albeit much shorter than, the one featured in Harmony of Dissonance. Here you take Soma through a series of boss battles in time trial fashion. The game tracks your best score, and you can even unlock three extra weapons for use in the main game if you are fast enough. A new Hard Mode becomes available when starting a new game, and a Sound Test becomes an option on the main menu. This feature was completely useless in the last game, but the sound in Aria of Sorrow is quite good and is well worth listening to. The final option is the ability to play as Julius Belmont, whose game resembles a more traditional Castlevania adventure. Though this is nothing new, it must be said that playing as Julius is a lot of fun and presents a unique challenge, especially on Hard Mode.

Aria of Sorrow shares much of the same graphical quality that characterized Harmony of Dissonance and is generally a great-looking GameBoy Advance title. Backgrounds are colored with lots of little details and sport multiple scrolling layers in some parts, and the castle areas are more diverse and interesting. Character sprites are a tad smaller now, but the proportions seem much more accurate. (Small enemies like bats were absolutely huge in the last game and looked quite comical.) Mode-7 style scaling effects are used sparingly in places to add background flair, such as swiftly-moving clouds in the Chapel or wavy flames in the Top Floor. Enemy characters are competently-animated, but the real standout is Soma himself, who sports a wide range of great-looking movements. He doesn't possess quite the range that Alucard does, but he's still quite a lot of fun to look.

To combat the utterly appalling soundtrack in Harmony of Dissonance, Konami brought in veteran composer Michiru Yamane (of Symphony of the Night fame) to bring musical excellence back to Castlevania. While this perhaps isn't the best score the series has ever seen, it is quite good overall and goes a long way in erasing the painful audio experience of the last game. Many arrangements, such as those in the Underground Reservoir and the Inner Quarters, are nicely understated and reserved, and set a suitable mood for their respective areas. There's not a stinker in the bunch, and many of these compositions are vaguely reminiscent of Yamane's works from Symphony of the Night. The game also sounds great thanks to a wide variety of excellent sound effects, including several dozen crisp voice samples. The sound in Aria of Sorrow is a huge improvement over the last game, so this is definitely one you should play with the sound turned up.

While there is not a whole lot that is new here, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is still an excellent GBA title. It builds on the trends started with the past two games and refines the basic formula, while cleaning up any lingering deficiencies at the same time. Sharp graphics, quality sound and fun gameplay, coupled with a host of subtle design touches, make this one the best of the three GBA adventures. This game comes highly recommended for all Castlevania fans and those looking for a great GBA adventure game.