...I guess by contrast Aria is just that much better, though I never felt that way until now.
Yes it is, and so is COTM.
HOD isn't a horrible game, but it is a rather boring CV castle design. TOo much repetition and the music grates on my ears. ALso not fun to look at Juste's crappy running animation.
The whole thing just feels awkward, and is more and more feeling dated -- even against COTM.
I play through it when I got nothing better to do, or I just want to mess with Maxim's mode, which
is pretty fun.