Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

悪魔城ドラキュラ サークル オブ ザ ムーン (Akumajō Dorakyura: Sākuru obu za Mūn)Game Boy Advance, Wii U, Windows, Switch +22001

  1. JP2001
  2. NA2001
  3. EU2001
  4. RU—

In Japan the game is Akumajō Dracula: Circle of the Moon (悪魔城ドラキュラ サークル オブ ザ ムーン), in North America Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, and in PAL regions simply Castlevania. Today it is sold in the Castlevania Advance Collection on Steam, which lets you pick the Japanese, American or European version.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe and released in Japan on 21 March 2001 as a launch title for the Game Boy Advance. Kōji Horie directed it, and Sōtarō Tojima and Hiroshi Mitsuoka composed the music. North America got it on 11 June 2001, and PAL regions on 22 June 2001 under the plain title Castlevania.

The hero, Nathan Graves, wields the Hunter Whip in a castle on the outskirts of the Austrian Empire in 1830. Its Dual Set-Up System combines 20 cards, 10 Action and 10 Attribute, into 100 combinations. Series producer Koji Igarashi was not involved, and in 2002 the game was removed from the official series timeline.

The game was reissued on the North American Wii U Virtual Console and, on 23 September 2021, in the Castlevania Advance Collection.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Game Boy Advance Jun 11, 2001 Konami 1
NA Castlevania: Circle of the MoonVirtual Console, North America only Wii U Oct 9, 2014 Konami 1
JP 悪魔城ドラキュラ サークル オブ ザ ムーンAkumajō Dorakyura: Sākuru obu za Mūn Game Boy Advance Mar 21, 2001 Konami 1
EU CastlevaniaPAL regions Game Boy Advance Jun 22, 2001 Konami 1
JP —Konami the Best re-release; date marked 'citation needed' on Wikipedia Game Boy Advance Nov 3, 2005 Konami 1
WW Castlevania Advance CollectionSteam; Japanese, American and European versions selectable Windows Sep 23, 2021 Konami 2
WW Castlevania Advance CollectionCollection also released on PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One Switch Sep 23, 2021 Konami 1

Also known as: 悪魔城ドラキュラ サークル オブ ザ ムーン JP1Akumajō Dorakyura: Sākuru obu za Mūn JP1Castlevania EU1

Box art by region

  • Castlevania: Circle of the Moon box art, North America release
    NA Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
  • Castlevania box art, Europe release
    EU Castlevania

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • TitleGBA (EU)

    In PAL regions the subtitle was dropped and the game was sold simply as Castlevania.1

  • GameplayGBA (US)GBA (EU)

    Levelling up takes 20% more experience points in the non-Japanese releases.3

  • Bug fixGBA (US)GBA (EU)

    The Japanese version has an invisible Wind Armor glitch triggered by defeating Death before Camilla; the US and European releases fix it.3

All differences (5)

Where to play legally today

  • Steam Purchase

    Castlevania Advance Collection

    Japanese, American and European GBA versions (selectable)

    Checked: 2026-10-132store.steampowered.com

Reception

A Konami press release of 23 July 2001 reported more than 500,000 units sold worldwide, about 300,000 in North America and 200,000 in Europe. The game holds a Metacritic score of 91/100; Famitsu gave it 27/40.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2store.steampowered.com
  3. 3tcrf.net

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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