Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon launched alongside the Game Boy Advance itself in 2001, following young vampire hunter Nathan Graves after his mentor Morris Baldwin is dragged into Dracula's castle during a resurrection ritual gone wrong. With Morris held captive, Nathan has to fight through the castle alone — with his rival Hugh, jealous of Morris's favoritism, working against him along the way.

Combat runs on the Dual Setup System (DSS) — Nathan collects action and attribute cards from defeated enemies and pairs them up to trigger elemental sub-weapons and stat buffs, giving the game its own spin on the sub-weapon customization that later Castlevania GBA titles would build on differently. Its darker color palette and heavier atmosphere made it stand out even among a series known for gothic horror.

This page hosts the verified Circle of the Moon ROM, built for Delta Emulator on iPhone — load it directly with no BIOS file or extra setup required.