Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance Cheats & Secrets for Game Boy Advance

Originally released June 6, 2002, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is the second of three Game Boy Advance-era Castlevania titles. It follows the GBA launch title Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and is the predecessor to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Notably, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is the first GBA Castlevania title to feature direction from Koji Igarashi. Not only is Igarashi the mind behind the Castlevania series’ most celebrated game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but he is also responsible for the series’ transition into Metroidvania territory. As a result, Metroidvania games in the Castlevania series have earned the “Igavania” moniker.

Despite Castlevania: Circle of the Moon being a successful title and one of the Game Boy Advance’s technical showpieces at launch, Igarashi would end up being critical of the title. Accordingly, he would oversee the design and development of the rest of the series titles on Game Boy Advance after his absence from Circle of the Moon‘s development. One of the primary complaints about Circle of the Moon was the game’s darkness (which wasn’t helped by the GBA’s lack of a backlight). As such, Harmony of Dissonance features one of the brightest and most vibrant visual palettes of any Castlevania game, somewhat overcorrecting for Circle of the Moon‘s most glaring criticism.

The title would sell incredibly well in the West despite not having similar success in its native Japan. Within the first three months of launch, Harmony of Dissonance would sell more than 126,000 units, placing it well ahead of Circle of the Moon and slightly behind the initial sales of Aria of Sorrow. Interestingly, Harmony of Dissonance is the lowest-reviewed game in the series from Castlevania‘s Game Boy Advance era, though it still has a respectable 87% review aggregate score.

Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance Premise

Contrary to Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow, Harmony of Dissonance‘s story transports players back further in the series timeline to the year 1748. Players assume the role of Juste Belmont, the latest in the legendary line of Vampire Hunters from the Belmont clan. 50 years following his ancestor Simon Belmont’s victory over Dracula, Juste is the sole remaining Belmont and somewhat of an outcast. When he and his best friend Maxim’s childhood friend Lydie is kidnapped and assumed to be held within Dracula’s castle, the two heroes set off in hopes of rescuing her.

Similar to other “Igavania” games in the Castlevania series, Harmony of Dissonance is a full-blown Metroidvania. In many ways, the title takes heavy emphasis from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, including in its mechanics and design elements. Players explore a large interconnected map that contains several distinct regions or biomes. Each of these regions contains its own groupings of enemies and a special boss and houses plenty of secrets to uncover. Before advancing further into the castle, players must uncover special abilities that help them reach new unexplored areas.

Harmony of Dissonance introduces two unique elements to the Castlevania series despite borrowing liberally from Symphony of the Night. Primarily, Harmony of Dissonance is one of the only games in the series to feature not one but two complete castle maps. However, unlike Symphony of the Night (which has a standard and inverted duo of castle maps), Harmony of Dissonance‘s dual castles are alternate versions of one another with slightly different layouts and different enemy and item placements.

Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance Main Characters

The Castlevania series would begin to place a greater emphasis on story and characters with Symphony of the Night, and Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance continues its traditions in terms of both narrative and gameplay. Along with the main character Juste Belmont (a descendant of the most prominent family legacy in the Castlevania series’ history), Harmony of Dissonance introduces several new interesting heroes and villains. Main characters in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance include:

• Juste Belmont: The hero of Harmony of Dissonance, Juste is the last surviving member of the Belmont Clan. The son of Trevor Belmont and the grandson of Simon Belmont, Juste earns the Vampire Hunter whip at age 16 and commits his life to stopping Dracula.
• Maxim Kischine: Maxim is Juste’s closest friend and a strong warrior in his own right. While suffering from amnesia he falls under the control of Dracula’s essence and unwittingly kidnaps Lydie, stealing her away to Dracula’s castle.
• Lydie Erlanger: The childhood friend of Juste Belmont and Maxim Kischine, Lydie is the victim of a kidnapping and is being held prisoner inside Dracula’s castle.
• Death: Like in Symphony of the Night, Dracula’s right-hand aide Death plays a much larger narrative role in Harmony of Dissonance. Players will first encounter him wandering the castle in search of his lord.
• Dracula: Dracula has not yet achieved corporeal form in Harmony of Dissonance. As such, players face the game’s primary antagonist in a weakened Wraith-like form. That said, he is still the powerful vampire lord that he is in other series games.

Games in the Castlevania Series

Harmony of Dissonance might be the second game in a trilogy of Game Boy Advance Castlevania titles, but it’s actually the 16th mainline game in the series. Since its inception in 1986, the Castlevania series has grown to become one of the most beloved and significant action-platformer franchises of all time. The pivotal moment in the series’ history would come about courtesy of Symphony of the Night, with its borrowing from Super Metroid helping to create the Metroidvania subgenre of games. Mainline games in the Castlevania series include:

• Castlevania (1986)
• Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1987)
• Castlevania: The Adventure (1989)
• Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989)
• Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (1991)
• Super Castlevania IV (1991)
• Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993)
• Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994)
• Castlevania: Dracula X (1995)
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)
• Castlevania Legends (1997)
• Castlevania 64 (1999)
• Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (1999)
• Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (2001)
• Castlevania Chronicles (2001)
• Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (2002)
• Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)
• Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003)
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2005)
• Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005)
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (2006)
• Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (2007)
• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (2008)
• Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (2009)
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010)
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (2013)
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (2014)
• Castlevania Requiem (2018)
• Castlevania Anniversary Collection (2019)
• Castlevania Advance Collection (2021)

Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance Cheats & Secrets

Like the two other Game Boy Advance-era Castlevania games, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance has several secrets for players to uncover in addition to some useful cheats. There are the typical character name cheats that players can unlock after beating the game once as well as Pro Action Replay cheats that significantly alter gameplay.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Character Name Cheats

Play as Maxim Kischine

After completing the game once in the standard game mode, start a new game in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Enter MAXIM as your character name to play through the game as Maxim Kischine. Maxim does not have access to many of Juste’s abilities but has higher attack power and can jump higher.

No Magic Mode

After completing the game once in the standard game mode, start a new game in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Enter NO MAGIC as your character name to play through the game without using Spellbooks. This changes Harmony of Dissonance to be more similar to a traditional Castlevania game.

Hard Mode

After completing the game once in the standard game mode, start a new game in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Enter HARDGAME as your character name. You should hear a sound to indicate the code is active. This code enables the game to start in Hard Mode.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Secrets

Boss Rush Mode

Beating Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance at least once unlocks Boss Rush Mode. This mode allows you to replay all boss fights in successive order. Beating Boss Rush Mode on Easy unlocks Normal difficulty. Similarly, beating Boss Rush Mode on Normal difficulty unlocks a subsequent Hard option for Boss Rush Mode.

Play as 8-Bit Simon Belmont in Boss Rush Mode

After beating the game and unlocking Boss Rush Mode, enter the Konami Code at the start-up screen with the Konami logo. If done correctly, the screen will change color and Simon will be automatically selected when playing Boss Rush Mode. Beat Boss Rush Mode on Hard difficulty with Simon Belmont to unlock a special ending sequence.

Konami Code: Up(2), Down(2), Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select

Play as Maxim in Boss Rush Mode

After unlocking Boss Rush Mode, hold down the L + R buttons on the Game Boy Advance when in the Boss Rush Mode menu. Continue holding them while selecting the difficulty level for Boss Rush Mode. You will begin Boss Rush Mode as Maxim instead of Juste.

Sound Test Mode

After beating Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance and getting the “Good” ending, players will unlock both Boss Rush Mode and Sound Test Mode. Sound Test Mode allows you to listen to any music from the game.

All Endings

There are a total of three endings players can earn in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Secret Clock Tower Merchant

Players can access a secret merchant in the Clock Tower once they have a Noon Star in their inventory. The Noon Star drops from Spectre/Alastor enemies.

Entrance Merchant

Players can unlock access to a special merchant at the castle’s entrance after reaching Level 50.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Action Replay Codes

Players can use any of the following cheats as long as they have an Action Replay MAX peripheral for their Game Boy Advance. Alternatively, these codes will work on any GBA emulator with a “Cheat” menu.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Cheat FAQs

What’s the name cheat for Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance?
There are three different character name cheats for Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. MAXIM unlocks the ability to play through the game as Juste’s friend Maxim. NO MAGIC unlocks No Magic Mode where players cannot use Spellbooks. HARDGAME unlocks the secret Hard Mode difficulty for Harmony of Dissonance.

How do you unlock Skull Doors in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance?
Players will need the Skull Key to open the locked doors with the skull insignia. Maxim will give the key to Juste in a cutscene after players get far enough into the game.

How do you get the Good Ending in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance?
To get the best ending for Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, players need to first acquire the MK and JB bracelets. With both bracelets in the player’s inventory, equip both items and head to Castle B to face the final boss. Defeating Harmony of Dissonance‘s final boss with both bracelets unlocks the best ending.

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