It should also be no surprise that the system returned for producer Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor that managed to add a few more wrinkles to the formula. The Tactical Soul system and its variants became a signature aspect of 2D Castlevania games following in the wake of Aria of Sorrow, especially its sequel, Dawn of Sorrow. By the end of the game, however, I had so much MP that the tail's extra attack was essentially just bonus damage with the correct sort of weapon, making it useful for a number of endgame bosses. For example, early on, I obtained one called Stinger that allows Soma to grow a tail in exchange for MP, which didn't seem great at first. There aren't that many souls in Aria of Sorrow that are outright useless, and I often found new ways to use the abilities that I dismissed early on. The real advantage of the mechanic is that it gives you an intermittent reward besides experience points for killing the same enemies over and over as you backtrack and explore to find the way forward. Some people use online guides to determine which enemies are worth grinding for the ideal soul set early in the game, but I personally think it's more fun to see what you get from natural play and try to make it work. The nature of the Tactical Soul system is random, meaning that some players will luck into a great roster of souls without much effort, while others may struggle to obtain useful abilities. These souls are further grouped into different categories: Bullet Souls are single-use spells, Guardian Souls let you drain magic for a certain ability, and Enchanted Souls give you passive buffs or other abilities similar to equipment. A skeleton gives you the power to throw a bone, an axe-throwing armor set lets you throw axes, and so on. Each time protagonist Soma Cruz slays an enemy, there's a chance that he will absorb the enemy's "soul," which gives him an ability themed around the enemy's powers. The Tactical Soul system is essentially the basic logic of Mega Man bosses applied to every enemy in the game. Its grand new innovation, the Tactical Soul system, would be the next step forward for the franchise, and it's a mechanic that's inspired many of the metroidvanias that have emerged over the years. It's the fourth "Igavania"-style entry in the series, meaning that it has the same exploration and RPG mechanics first inaugurated by Symphony of the Night and designer Koji Igarashi. Now Playing: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Video ReviewĪria of Sorrow is the third Castlevania game for Game Boy Advance, though it's much more memorable than its two predecessors. By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
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