Castlevania: Circle of the Moon review

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was the first of the Game Boy Advance trilogy, and its main idea is the Dual Set-up System. Konami's history page says combining an Action card with an Attribute card creates over 80 spell effects, from fire whips to ice blizzards, and it lists 10 magic summons such as Golem, Serpent and Griffin. You play Nathan Graves, an apprentice vampire hunter rescuing his master inside Dracula's castle. It ships in the $19.99 Castlevania Advance Collection alongside Aria of Sorrow, Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Dracula X, and the collection's encyclopedia covers the DSS system, which helps because the cards are easy to miss. Rewind and save anywhere make the harder stretches more forgiving. It ranks ninth because Aria of Sorrow, in the same collection, refines the same exploration style, so most buyers start there and come back to Circle of the Moon second.

Who it is for

players who like building spells from collectible cards

Price

$19.99 one-time on Steam for the Castlevania Advance Collection (four games).

Join the fight against Evil in the Castlevania Advance Collection, a compilation of timeless action-exploration masterpieces! $19.99 Buy on Steam
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 12, 2026.

Key features

• Dual Set-up System combines Action and Attribute cards into over 80 spell effects
• 10 magic summon attacks, including Golem, Serpent and Griffin
• Sub-weapons include daggers, holy water and throwing axes
• Map completion and item collection goals
• Collection adds rewind, save/load and replay

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Comes with Aria of Sorrow in the same $19.99 collection
• Strength: Collection holds 91% positive English Steam reviews from 1,425
• Strength: Collection encyclopedia explains the DSS card system
• Weakness: Cards drop from specific enemies, so building the spell set takes time
• Weakness: English and Japanese only on Steam
• Weakness: Not sold separately

Key facts

• Original release: June 10, 2001 (Game Boy Advance)
• Hero: Nathan Graves
• Spell effects: Over 80
• Summons: 10
• Collection price: $19.99

Where it ranks

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is No. 9 in our Best Castlevania Games verdict.