I was thinking of getting this game but havent played any of the GBA games. Does DOS have a stand alone story or do I need to play the other GBA ones first?
It's a sequel to Aria of Sorrow, but the storyline is hardly integral. It's like watching Army of Darkness before Evil Dead; you may miss a few nods to the precursor, but the overall experience will be nearly the same.
I just played and finished Aria of Sorrow on the Double Pack. It is not integral to DoS at all. I mean it is a little backstory(which is kind of thin anyways). I would play DoS without hesitation
Castlevania isn't well known for story telling,its all about the gameplay.Dawn of Souls have a intro in the begining sumarizing the story of Aria of Sorrow.
If you want to you can read the horrible game script in gamefaqs.