I remember loathing my time playing the original Circle of the Moon, as I was working my way back in the series after playing Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance. Double tapping to get by everywhere was a huge annoyance, but also how the main distinctive mechanic of the game (DDS cards) was locked behind luck based drops off of enemies that could take hours to grind for. On top of that, the game had a ludicrous challenge at the end where you had to whip multiple enemies in a marathon with no MP, further exemplifying how tedious the basic combat of the game actually was. However, this hack makes nearly all of those issues nonexistent. 

In a way I wish was implemented to the Advance Collection, having all the DSS cards now drop from their corresponding enemies on first kill made for a much more refreshing experience than playing the base game. Between the standard ability upgrades, there is a greater sense of progression as more DSS cards get found so that you can try different card combinations immediately. They're not as completely game changing as other Castlevania upgrades like the souls from AoS or Glyphs in Order of Ecclesia, but the DSS cards' more pronounced inclusion in a more casual playthrough now lets the player have greater options for dealing with the game's own challenge. Various parts of the game can become much less trialing with the right cards in a way the original game may have wanted to achieve, but didn't immediately unveil to players until they killed enough of the same enemy. 

The second best inclusion present with this hack is the auto run patch which significantly improves the game's pacing in allowing you to explore these larger Castlevania areas much more quickly. My only two qualms with said patch have to do with how 1.) Venus + Cockatrice doesn't work because the effect only functions when you walk and your character is always running by that point (which I propose could be fixed by making running also earn experience points) and 2.) the Dash Boots once you collect them in game now have no effect because they're already equipped at the start of the game (which I think could be addressed by giving the item a new unique ability such as having a longer and faster slide.) Nevertheless, the game is still 99% playable with this patch as completely reducing the amount of times you'd need to double tap in order to efficiently move does wonders in improving this game's pacing.

Finally, while I don't know all the differences between the JP and USA versions, the difficulty change is most definitely appreciated as now the game's secret arena can be completed without MP being completely drained from the start! This makes this section of the game so much more bearable, since this is essentially a long chain of rooms with no checkpoints, but the ability to use any DSS card combination here allowed me to beat the area on my first attempt without completely hating the experience!

There are other changes present in this hack too which I hadn't completely noticed on my first run, as I was already so invested from the larger changes made to the game as is, but nevertheless I appreciate their inclusion. Going back to significantly improve these earlier titles with simple changes like these is one of my favorite aspects of rom hacking. Even though this game's other issues are still retained in both level design and some obnoxious enemies, having this hack patched for the experience makes these issues less cumbersome in circumventing. Bravo to Mureisky, along with Dev Anj, for making this game much more accessible and appealing for others to return to and try.