10 Best Castlevania Games

Aria of Sorrow is arguably the best game in the series on the franchise, primarily because of its experimentation with the Castlevania lore.

Set in 2035, you play as Soma Cruz, an exchange student visiting a shrine on the eve of Dracula's rebirth. Swept up into a total eclipse, Soma and close friend Mina find themselves transported to the newest incarnation of Dracula's castle. From here, he sets out to put a stop to the returning evil vampire.

Upon release, Aria of Sorrow was lauded as the best portable Castlevania we'd had at the time, and that accolade seemingly still stands up today. Soma's power of "dominance" over souls gave him access to a huge range of sub-weapons and abilities alongside the normal abundance of equipment that exploring Dracula's castle normally brings. This "tactical soul" system clearly made an impact, spawning both a direct sequel in Dawn of Sorrow and a similar "glyph" system inOrder of Ecclesia.

Aria of Sorrow brought new depth to its cast of characters, and was one of best incarnations of the series ever released. Also, the first area music of Aria of Sorrow is, I maintain, one of the best tracks that the franchise has ever seen. Period.