IPS patching required.

This is a Kaizo ROM hack, so expect ludicrous difficulty throughout.

You are stuck at level 1, enemy formations are made harder, bosses have additional obstacles/enemies in their arenas, you can only heal with save rooms and it (almost) always takes 3 hits to die.

There are also other changes like custom music, weapon rebalancing/reworking and a tiny bit of graphic changes.

As for how difficult this hack is (according to the author, who is somewhat well versed in the game, but nowhere near hardcore as some speedruners for example), it will take a lot of dedication to get through.

Moving from save point to save point and defeating bosses will take a lot of practice to master and might be too much for some players that don’t like their games too hardcore.

While the whole hack should theoretically be doable without using savestates (with enough practice), if you really feel like you are getting stuck anywhere, feel free to use savestates to get through that point. There’s no shame in that.

1.1.1

• LUCK fix patch now applied (1.1.0 didn’t have it)
• Dead Warrior is now ACTUALLY weak to Stone
• Fixed a bug where items with negative luck could make the luck underflow, causing 100% soul drop rates (now no item gives negative luck)

1.1.0

(The new patch is compatible with old version save files and should not break progression)

The main point of this update is to remove some of the more tedious and way too punishing aspects of the hack. This makes the hack’s difficulty more consistent and not have ludicrous difficulty spikes. If for any reason, you want to play the older version, the old version patch is included with the new version.

Main changes:

• Underground Reservoir and Chaos Realm gimmicks reverted.

• HP decrease on some enemies that took a bit too long to kill (check Readme for more detail)

• Regular boss music replaced (the previous one could get old quick)

• Hint items added for points where progression differs from the original game

• Soul drops generally increased across the board

• Joyeuse and Claimh Solais locations switched

Check the Readme for more detailed changes.

Special shoutout to Dev Anj for creating the LUCK fix patch, which this hack uses and many of the different MIDI composers for their MIDIs.

Check the Readme for a more detailed look at the changes and credits.

• Database match: Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow (USA)
• Database: No-Intro: Game Boy Advance (v. 20210227-023848)
• File/ROM SHA-1: ABD71FE01EBB201BCC133074DB1DD8C5253776C7
• File/ROM CRC32: 35536183