Line #0 YMMV/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance


1	* AntiClimaxBoss: The TrueFinalBoss, [[spoiler:Dracula Wraith]], is split into two phases, but the first phase is the standard [[spoiler:teleporting Dracula]] fight template and can be cheesed with Juste's dive-kick. Its OneWingedAngel form has a massive hitbox to spam magic on and only two easily avoidable attacks, and if the player has a Medicine Jar, they can just walk ''behind'' the boss and attack freely from there. Considering that the previous fight against [[spoiler:Maxim]] actually requires some degree of skill, this comes off as a little pathetic. The first form is even easier in Boss Rush mode because the arena gives you a convenient platform to constantly hit on its weak spot.
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
3	** If you can get past the NES-like synthesized tones in the music, this game actually has some of the most haunting melodies heard in any of the portable Castlevanias (in particular, the theme heard in the bad ending), and a few badass tracks like the medley "Vampire Killer 2002".
4	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG5EzU2EZ5o Successor of Fate.]] Very atmospheric.
5	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ2Go8EkLNY final boss theme]] is dark but gives the feeling of triumph.
6	* BrokenBase: Whether the soundtrack is an awful low-quality mess, or is awesome ''[[CursedWithAwesome because]]'' of the usage of the less-advanced sound hardware, is still one of the most hotly-debated things about this game.
7	* CriticalDissonance: Critics praised ''Harmony of Dissonance'' as one of the best games for the Game Boy Advance. Fans [[SoOkayItsAverage think it's just okay]] and have criticized it for its similarities with ''Symphony of the Night'' and easy boss battles.
8	* CriticalBacklash: The soundtrack is an easy target for criticism due to using a less-advanced sound chip rather than the one used for the other two ''Castlevania'' games on the same platform. Nonetheless there are many players who like the soundtrack, either despite or ''because'' of its "inferior" sound for adding to the game's surreal atmosphere even by series standards.
9	* FanNickname:
10	** Juste is called "Alucard Belmont" by fans because he looks almost like a complete physical {{expy}} of Alucard's iteration from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'', the only key difference being that Juste wields a whip.
11	** Because Maxim mode can go out of bounds so easily that it's possible to zip to the final boss and beat him in under thirty seconds (the TAS does it in a mere ''22'' seconds, meaning that the credits are longer!) Maxim is called the ''VideoGame/HalfMinuteHero''.
12	* GameBreaker:
13	** The game lets you hold up to 99 of any item, as opposed to 9 in newer games. With enough money, you can easily buy 99 Potions and Hi-Potions, which makes survival trivial, as items can be used at any time, even in the middle of a boss fight, simply by opening the pause menu.
14	** Maxim mode itself gives you the use of Maxim. And god, isn't he broken. Multi-hitting Shuriken sub-weapon, invincible Rolls, FAST Stab attack, EVEN FASTER crouching kick (it does have pitiful range, though), and a ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' command-esque move that is so powerful it wipes out any boss easily. Combined with the whip and zipping glitches, an experienced player can beat the game with him in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0imfE_hBpZk half a minute]]''.
15	** Cross + Wind Book. It creates a bunch of floating crosses that circle around you for pretty low MP cost. Those crosses won't disappear until they hit a certain number of times. It breaks both mooks (usually nothing will be able to get close to you) and bosses (crosses hit many times before they disappear, constantly dealing damage).
16	** The Bible sub-weapon. By itself, it spins around Juste in an expanding spiral, essentially hitting everything up to three times, depending on size, but its true power lies in its combos with the Spell Books; the Ice Book launches an attack that hits everything on the floor multiple times; the Wind Book summons three Bibles that rapidly orbit Juste for 13 seconds and deal out a ton of hits, making them great to use standalone for quick enemy kills or alongside Juste's whip to put out even more damage; and the Bolt Book summons two ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}'' shields, which not only block projectile shots, but also deal up over 140 damage per hit, and last around 10 hits.
17	** The Summon spells overall are very powerful, being various flavors of screen clearers. The best is arguable the Bible + Summon Book combo which summons a small fairy who then whacks a nearly enemy with a toy hammer for ''ridiculous'' damage. The only real flaw is that the enemy the fairy targets is random, but this isn't really an issue for bosses and makes the fairy an excellent boss killer.
18	** The game's take on SuspendSave is very exploitable. Did you just get a major item, yet you're running low on HP and are far away from the nearest save point? No problem, just "Suspend" your game and if you die on the way back, you'll still have that shiny new item with you when you reload at the last save point you used. Or better yet, reset the game or [[ViolationOfCommonSense die on purpose]] and reload; depending on where you were going, you'll have saved yourself a lot of time and frustration (compare to the "Up + A on the slot 2 controller" trick from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI''). Later games would adapt more standard suspend saves most likely for this reason.
19	* GoddamnedBats: Anything that can [[StatusEffects curse]] you, thanks to this game making said effect even more annoying than usual and also using it very frequently.
20	* GoodBadBugs: Using the Ice Book + Sacred Fist will allow Juste to [[SequenceBreaking reach items and places much earlier than the game intended]]. For instance, he can get the Book of Vlad as early as before the WarmUpBoss! The player can also use this glitch to get the Platinum Tip as early as after getting the double jump and, once Death informs Juste of the dual castle mechanic (it doesn't work beforehand), enables early access to the left half of Castle B and its powerful equipment.
21	* HilariousInHindsight: Juste's FanNickname is "Alucard Belmont". Eleven years later, the [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadowMirrorOfFate reboot]] really does have an Alucard Belmont, as [[spoiler:Alucard is Trevor Belmont resurrected]].
22	* HoYay: At some point, poor Lydie starts to seem like a third wheel, some of Maxim's lines to Juste border on turgid, and the implicit love triangle becomes complicated.
23	* ItsEasySoItSucks: One common criticism about this game is the lack of challenge. Boss battles are mostly easy, Juste's whip has a good range and he can carry up to 99 items instead of 9. Also, some spellbook + sub-weapon combinations are just broken. Though this also works to the game's favor, with some fans preferring it over [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon its predecessor]], which had [[ItsHardSoItSucks the opposite problem]].
24	* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: The team's main goal when developing this game was to make something similar to ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'', and that they did: White-haired hero, dual-castle exploration (with several similar stage placements to boot), several similar game-mechanics (the fast dash and Juste's aversion to water), collecting Dracula's body parts, etc. Unfortunately, in the long term, this has resulted in a tepid reception among most fans, as ''Harmony of Dissonance'' is not only compared unfavorably to ''Symphony'' itself, but also to the other GBA titles as well.
25	* MemeticLoser: [[KingMook Max Slimer]] is frequently mocked for its resemblance to the WarmupBoss of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland,'' Salvo the Slime, and for being just as much of an AnticlimaxBoss despite being in the middle of the game. It's frequently brought up as the prime example of the game's trivially easy bosses.
26	* NarmCharm: Those who do enjoy the soundtrack like it because of the 8-bit sound, which to those fans makes it sound spookier and gives the game its own identity.
27	* NeverLiveItDown: Juste Belmont will [[MemeticMutation forever be mocked by fans for his (optional) sidequest]] [[AnInteriorDesignerIsYou to redecorate a single bare room in Castlevania with all sorts of furniture]].
28	* ScrappyMechanic:
29	** The two castles are cumbersome to navigate due to the ways they affect each other, often leading to situations where Juste has to bust down a wall in one castle and then backtrack to get the actual reward behind it in the other castle. Due to the existence of multiple castles being obscured during the first half of the game, ''Harmony of Dissonance'' also doesn't feature proper warp rooms for a while, locking about half of them behind a key that can easily be overlooked.
30	** The Merchant's wares are spread across multiple shop locations instead of a single one, and in each one past the first, he'll only appear under specific conditions (level, heart count, having a RareRandomDrop, etc.) vaguely hinted at by writing in the bottom-right corner of the room. While the game is easy enough for most shop items to not matter, it's still seen as an annoyance when it comes to restocking on potions/mana prisms or getting unique items like the sub-weapon rings or Infinite Boots.
31	* SequelDifficultyDrop: Compared to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'', this game is several shades easier thanks to the higher item allowance and general [[GameBreaker game-breakers]].
32	* SoOkayItsAverage: ''Harmony of Dissonance'' suffers from middle child syndrome among the GBA trilogy. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon Circle of the Moon]]'' was basic but ground-breaking and experimented with some unique new ideas for the franchise, and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' was sublimely polished and evolutionary, considered by some to be one of the best games in the entire franchise. ''Harmony'', while not a bad game, just falls short compared to either of them, neither fish nor fowl. The somewhat muddied art style and music didn't help matters.
33	* ThatOneLevel: The goddam ''ball race!!!''
34	** In the bottom right portion of the castle, players can find themselves in a huge room with a mechanism occupying most of it. This mechanism is a tube through which a large metal ball rolls, activated by the player pressing a button to open a gate for themselves. Once it starts moving, the player must ''speedrun'' through the area to reach the end before the ball does, as the ball will block off the only way through to some ''very'' valuable loot. The only way to access it is to be faster than the ball.
35	** First of all, the route is annoying, with constant jumps, slide-passages and platforms to drop through, making it all needlessly cumbersome when your primary focus is just to move as fast as possible.
36	** Second, due to glitchy hitboxes, it's possible for the rolling ball to actually injure Juste if he happens to be travelling alongside it. Even if it's inside the tubes ''which Juste cannot enter'', it can injure him, not only removing a chunk of the player's health but also halting their progess through the course while the ball continues to roll ahead.
37	** Third, that's not the only threat, as different enemy types (including Bone Pillars, Fleamen and Arabakis) also populate the area, guaranteed to stymie your progress at least ''once'' per run.
38	** Oh, and thanks to the two-castle feature, you have to do it '''TWICE!!!'''

Context YMMV / CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance