Castlevania Advance Collection: Included Games and Platforms
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Short answer The Castlevania Advance Collection contains four games: Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X. KONAMI's official page lists a September 23, 2021 release at $19.99, digital only. Dracula X is the bonus fourth title, a 1995 Super NES game that KONAMI describes as a reimagination of Rondo of Blood, not the same game.
Collection Facts and Sources
| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Release date | September 23, 2021. KONAMI's release-history page lists September 24, 2021. | KONAMI official page · KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) · Steam listing · KONAMI US history |
| Format and price | Digital only; $19.99 on KONAMI's official page and in its launch announcement. Current store prices are not tracked on this page. | KONAMI official page · KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) |
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam. KONAMI also lists PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and its official page says the game is playable on them through backwards compatibility. | KONAMI official page · KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) · KONAMI US history |
| Games | Four: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and, as a bonus fourth title, the 1995 Super NES game Castlevania: Dracula X (Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe). | KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) · KONAMI official page |
| Languages | English and Japanese. | KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) · Steam listing |
| Features | Rewind, quick save and load, replay recording, an encyclopedia of enemies, equipment and items, and a music player with custom playlists; KONAMI counts 71 songs in total. | KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) · KONAMI official page · Steam listing |
| Gallery | Scans of the original package designs and sketches and artwork KONAMI describes as never shown before. | KONAMI official page · KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) |
| ROM region selection | Each game can be played in its Japanese, American or European version, and each regional ROM uses its own save data. | KONAMI official page |
| Emulation | KONAMI says M2 Co., Ltd. was used to deliver the gameplay emulation. | KONAMI announcement (Sep 23, 2021) |
Included Games and How They Rank on This Site
| Game | Original platform | North American release (KONAMI US history) | Tier | Best-games rank (of 10) | Difficulty rank (of 10; 1 = hardest) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castlevania: Circle of the Moon | Game Boy Advance | June 10, 2001 | C | #9 | #6 |
| Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance | Game Boy Advance | September 16, 2002 | B | #10 | Not ranked |
| Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | Game Boy Advance | May 6, 2003 | S | #2 | #9 |
| Castlevania: Dracula X | Super NES | September 1995 (KONAMI lists the month only) | Not ranked | Not ranked | Not ranked |
The last three columns link to this site's editorial lists: the tier list, the best-games ranking and the difficulty ranking. They are editorial preferences, not official ratings; "Not ranked" means the game is not in that list.
What Each Game Plays Like
These summaries restate KONAMI's own product page in our words. They describe what the publisher says each game offers, not how the games feel to play, and they are not reviews.
| Game | Core play, as KONAMI describes it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Circle of the Moon | Players pair action cards with attribute cards in the Dual Set-up System, which KONAMI says yields over 80 spell effects. The protagonist is Nathan Graves, an apprentice vampire hunter. | KONAMI official page |
| Harmony of Dissonance | The player controls Juste Belmont, grandson of Simon Belmont. KONAMI's page gives no further description of this game's combat system. | KONAMI official page |
| Aria of Sorrow | Soma Cruz captures the souls of defeated monsters and gains their abilities through the Tactical Souls system; KONAMI counts more than 100 abilities and mentions extensive New Game+ content. | KONAMI official page |
| Dracula X | A reimagining of Rondo of Blood in which Richter Belmont climbs Dracula's Castle. KONAMI highlights the Item Crash special attack and calls the game one of the most challenging in the series. | KONAMI official page |
| Collection features | Rewind, quick save and load, a choice of Japanese, American or European ROM for each game with separate save data, an encyclopedia that covers the Dual Set-up, Tactical Soul and Spell Fusion systems, and a music player. | KONAMI official page |
Where to Start in This Collection
Aria of Sorrow is our exploration starting pick: it is S tier on the tier list, second of ten best games and near the friendlier end of the difficulty ranking. Circle of the Moon is placed moderate to hard. Dracula X is not in our rankings; KONAMI's page says it is known as one of the toughest games in the series, and it is a different game from Rondo of Blood, which is in the 2018 Requiem collection.
Our decision guide compares this collection with the others, and the timeline places each game in the story. None of these games is required before Belmont's Curse.
Other Collections
- Anniversary Collection — eight NES, Game Boy, Super NES and Genesis games.
- Dominus Collection — three Nintendo DS games plus Haunted Castle.
- All four collections side by side, including Requiem (2018, PlayStation 4).
Frequently Asked Questions
Which games are in the Castlevania Advance Collection?
Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow, plus Dracula X as a bonus fourth title, per KONAMI's official page and launch announcement.
Is Castlevania: Dracula X the same as Rondo of Blood?
No. KONAMI describes Dracula X, a 1995 Super NES game, as a reimagination of Rondo of Blood. Rondo of Blood itself is in the 2018 Requiem collection, not in Advance.
Is the Advance Collection on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S?
KONAMI lists both, and its official page says the game is playable on them through backwards compatibility. The platforms KONAMI's launch announcement names are Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam.
How much is the Castlevania Advance Collection?
KONAMI's official page and launch announcement list $19.99, digital only. Current prices are not tracked on this page.
Which Advance Collection game should I start with?
Our editorial pick for a first exploration Castlevania is Aria of Sorrow; see the tier list for how the three Game Boy Advance games compare.
Sources
- KONAMI official Advance Collection page
- KONAMI announcement: Castlevania Advance Collection available now (September 23, 2021)
- Castlevania Advance Collection on Steam (publisher's listing)
- KONAMI US Castlevania release history
- PlayStation Store listing (Requiem)
Facts checked October 27, 2026. Prices and store availability change; this page records KONAMI's listed figures. KONAMI's official page and its release-history page differ by a day on the release date, shown above rather than resolved. No official images are used.