Too often in gaming, a formula of near-perfection is reached in one game, and abandoned completely by that game's successors. Thankfully, companies like Konami know that games of a similar formula can be released multiple times, as long as there's enough flavor and a sense of newness to the game that it'll work. That's what you can expect with Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.

The third installment of Castlevania on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, Aria of Sorrow follows a near-identical formula to the Game Boy Advance's two earlier Castlevania titles, Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance. However, in this installment, some aspects are abandoned (like the health and magic jars of the first two), while new aspects, such as enemy soul assimilation, are added.

Rest assured that - as always - IGN Guides are here with all the information you'll need to get a 100% rating in this game. From a complete walkthrough for the entire game to the most complete appendices you'll find on the Internet, it's all right here. Grab your vampire killing gear and lets get started.

Get the guide here.

Beat the game once with Soma, then begin a new game and use the name "Julius." It's a new member of the Belmont family!

Enter "NOSOUL" as your name when beginning a game.

Enter "NOUSE" as you name, then begin the game.

To get the best possible ending, collect all of the ancient books and beat Graham. You will then be taken to a fight against Chaos. Beat it for the definitive ending.

Beat the game to unlock Boss Rush mode. It can be found under the "Special" menu.

Beat the game and earn the good ending to unlock Hard Mode.

The best way to defeat any class of Golem, even the Iron Golem with its 9999 HP and resistence to everything, is to use the soul of the Killer Mantle. This soul swaps the HP and MP of the creature it hits and because Golems have no MP, this is an instant kill.