I replayed
Circle of the Moon with the two mods mentioned earlier in the thread:
auto dash and
card mode. Unsurprisingly, these were both a major boon to the game.
The benefit of auto dash is obvious to anyone who has played the game before, so I probably don't need to say much about it. Still, it really must be said that it makes the game so much nicer to play. No more constant double-tapping as you zig-zag around a staircase; no more losing your momentum as you adjust your position mid-air and consequently fail to dodge an attack or make a jump; no more forgetting to double-tap in the heat of the moment. It feels so much more responsive.
Card mode, which changes DSS cards from random drops into pickups with set locations, is a subtle but significant reworking of the game. Obviously, it eliminates the need to grind enemies for their drops (and the need to look up which ones even drop cards, if you aren't playing the
Advance Collection) and incentivizes exploration instead, which are both good. But it also has a significant knock-on effect: enemies that used to drop cards now drop meat instead. That means players will amass a decent number of restorative items, which helps mitigate the difficulty of the game. It adds up to a game that's a lot more
immediate, where you never need to stop and grind and can get what you need through thorough-but-regular play. It's one of those mods that are so natural that, when you play it, you think "why wasn't the game like this in the first place?"
That said,
Circle of the Moon is still
Circle of the Moon; if you're not a fan of it to begin with, these two hacks probably won't change your mind. But, taken together, these hacks turn
Circle of the Moon into the best version of itself. It retains its characteristic oddities (in relation to the other metroidvanias), but they all feel more palatable, even intentional, instead of clumsy and ill-conceived. If you aren't playing the game through the
Advance Collection, I would recommend using both of these patches.