Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is a video game created by Konami for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance system. It was released in 2002 and is part of the Castlevania series. HOD is set in 1748. The player controls Juste Belmont, a member of the legendary Belmont family of vampire hunters.

The Story

Two years prior to the game's beginning, Maxim Kischine left on a training expedition in order to cope with his self doubt after Juste Belmont was chosen over him to receive the legendary whip of the Belmont Clan, the Vampire Killer. Two years later, Maxim returned from his training expedition, badly wounded and with startling news: a childhood friend of Juste and Maxim by the name of Lydie Erlanger had been kidnapped. Maxim had also lost a great deal of his memory of the events of the past 2 years. Even so, he was able to lead Juste to the site of the disappearance, where they encountered a castle that hadn't been there previously. Juste hurried into the castle as Maxim recuperated in the entry way, promising to join Juste later.

As the story unfolds, Juste discovers that Maxim, in his eagerness to prove himself, had attempted to emulate the actions of Simon Belmont; he had gathered Dracula's remains in an attempt to resurect the Dark Count, so that he could defeat Dracula himself. Something went wrong, and Maxim himself was possessed by the spirit of Dracula. Knowing this, Juste set out to collect the remains himself so that he could destroy them in order to save both Maxim and Lydie.

After locating Lydie and the remains, Juste once again confronted Maxim, who had once again been overcome by Dracula's spirit. After Juste defeated Maxim, Dracula seized the opportunity to escape Maxim's body and reform himself. Juste managed to defeat the Count in battle, but without Dracula's dark pressence, the castle began to crumble. Juste, Lydie and Maxim escaped with their lives.

Alternative Endings

Like many recent video games, Harmony of Dissonance has multiple possible endings, depending on various conditions met by the player:

• Defeat Maxim in Castle A - Juste doesn't fight Dracula and Maxim doesn't escape the castle.

• Defeat Maxim in Castle B - Juste doesn't fight Dracula and neither Lydie nor Maxim escapes.

• Defeat Maxim and Dracula in Castle B with MK's and JB's Bracelets equipped - Juste fights Dracula, all three escape the castle.

Other Modes

Maxim Mode

After beating the game once, the player can enter his name as "MAXIM" in order to play as Maxim in the main game. This mode includes none of the story elements of the main game.

Boss Rush Mode

After beating the game once, the player may play in the Boss Rush Mode. This option allows the player to face the game's bosses in a time trial.

To play as Maxim in the time trial, hold the L and R buttons as you select the difficulty. To play as an Simon Belmont from the first Castlevania for the NES, enter the Konami Code (Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A) on the Konami logo screen.