Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance is a land of contrasts.

I ended up powering my way through the final bits of the game and didn't stick around for 200% completion and the good ending.

What I liked, the game's got some of that Iga special sauce in finding powerups and equipment. The game is MUCH easier compared to Circle Of The Moon and is actually enjoyable as a casual experience. The magic system is neat, since I never got to play Rondo of Blood and it's item crash system, it's pretty overpowered in this game. The sprite work is nice and the music is catchy.

What I disliked. BACKTRACKING. Major points off for not having a clear cut system of shortcuts around the castle. The A/B castle system was confusing at first and I didn't like it. The merchant being locked away in special rooms leading to even more backtracking is frustrating. And overall the story or lack thereof, these characters are like cardboard it's terrible.

My rating: 6/10, Aria of Sorrow is superior in almost every metric.