Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

***Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance*** (commonly abbreviated ***HoD***) is a platformer game part of the *Castlevania* series developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET) and published by Konami for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance handheld system. It was originally released in Japan in 2002 under the title ***Castlevania: Concerto of Midnight Sun*** (キャッスルヴァニア 白夜の協奏曲 *Castlevania: Byakuya no Concerto*).

## Plot

*Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance* is chronologically set 50 years after *Castlevania II: Simon's Quest* and 44 years before *Castlevania: Rondo of Blood*. It is set in the year 1748 and stars Juste Belmont, a member of the legendary Belmont Clan of vampire hunters.

Two years prior to the game's beginning, Maxim Kischine left on a training expedition in order to cope with his self doubt after Juste Belmont was chosen over him to receive the legendary whip of the Belmont Clan, the Vampire Killer. Two years later, Maxim returned from his training expedition, badly wounded and with startling news; a childhood friend of Juste and Maxim by the name of Lydie Erlanger had been kidnapped. Maxim had also lost a great deal of his memory of the events of the past 2 years. Even so, he was able to lead Juste to the site of the disappearance, where they encountered a castle that hadn't been there previously. Juste hurried into the castle as Maxim recuperated in the entry way, promising to join Juste later.

As the story unfolds, Juste discovers that Maxim, in his eagerness to prove himself, had attempted to emulate the actions of Simon Belmont; he had gathered Dracula's remains in an attempt to resurrect the Dark Count, so that he could defeat Dracula himself. Something went wrong, however, and Maxim wound up possessed by Dracula's evil influence. Knowing this, Juste set out to collect the remains himself so that he could destroy them in order to save both Maxim and Lydie.

## Gameplay

Gameplay in *Harmony of Dissonance* follows the model established in the series' "reinvention" with the release of *Castlevania: Symphony of the Night*. At heart the game is a 2D action-RPG with level design based on similar principles to the *Metroid* series. The player collects new equipment and skills by exploring the game's castle setting and fighting increasingly powerful enemies and bosses, leading up to a climactic encounter with the castle's master.

Defeating minor enemies and bosses will procure experience points for Juste, and he will level up, in traditional RPG fashion, when the statistical requirements are met. Occasionally, Juste will kill an enemy, and they will produce a set of armor for Juste's chest, arms, legs, or face. Equipment can also be found scattered about in corners of the castle. These items will contribute to the main character's stats, such as his attack power, and magic power.

The player will also gain the use of whip add-ons, such as the Charge Whip, which releases a blast of energy when the attack button is held down for an extended period of time, and then released.

Juste primarily attacks at close quarters using the series' traditional whip weapon, the Vampire Killer, which can be brandished to deflect projectile attacks, reminiscent of Simon Belmont's usage of the weapon in the Super Nintendo game, *Super Castlevania IV*. A variety of ranged sub-weapons are available, one of which can be carried at any given time. Using a sub-weapon drains the player's supply of "Hearts", available by smashing lamps and candelabras found in the castle. Once no hearts are left, the sub-weapon may no longer be used.

*Harmony of Dissonance* distinguishes its gameplay from that of its predecessors through a new magic system, which is displayed very similarly in the 2003 release of the PlayStation 2 game, *Castlevania: Lament of Innocence*. Various spell books are hidden throughout the castle, and combining any of these with any of the sub-weapons will provide the player with a new magic attack far more potent than the sub-weapon itself. This drains a separate stock of Magic Points (MP).

Unique to *Harmony*, also, is the addition of the dash move. By pressing either of the shoulder buttons on the Game Boy Advance, Juste will either dash forward or backward with a short burst of speed. The move is mostly intended for the player to use when encountering enemies who employ speedy attacks.

Juste will also, like *Symphony of the Night*, gain certain Relics through exploration of the Castle's areas, which will help him to reach previously inaccessible areas, and also gain new moves to add to his repertoire; an example of these is the Griffin's Wing, which allows Juste to utilize the super-jump that Alucard uses in *Symphony of the Night*, thus allowing the player to scale high cliffs and ledges.

## External links

* *Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance* at the Castlevania Wiki