Walkthroughs & Tips

Review by: Jake Delfeir

Reviewers Score: 9 / 10

Posted: January 21, 2006

Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow
System: DS
Genre: Action/RPG
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Score: 9/10

Ever since the Castlevania series shifted from sidescrolling games to Action/RPG games, there have been several attempts to get the balance right. The first, Symphony of the Night, was a near-perfect example of what a game should be like. Since then, there have been three GBA Castlevania games in a similar style, but not until the third did Konami finally hit the mark. That game was Aria of Sorrow, and it did so well that Konami has since created a sequel for the DS. Here's my thoughts on the latest in the Castlevania series.

Graphics (10/10)

Beautiful stuff here. The character sprites are some of the best I've seen before - very nice looking and quite varied for the multitude of attacks and moves you can pull off. The backgrounds are all of good quality, the enemies are drawn well and look pretty menacing, and just about all of it has been done expertly. The atmosphere is a bit dark, but that suits the game well and fits the whole mood of the game.

Sounds (10/10)

The music in this game is brilliant. I didn't expect to hear such nice songs on a handheld game - the last time that happened was on Golden Sun. Nonetheless, some of the tunes in this game are very nice. From peaceful, to uplifting, to fast-paced, the music is all done excellently here. The sound effects are equally good, though some of the weapon noises are a bit repetitive. Still, that's to be expected considering that many are different examples of the same weapon style, so that can be forgiven. All in all, it's one of the rare handheld games that you don't really want to mute.

Storyline (8/10)

Well, on its own this game's storyline isn't really that strong. However, it is part of the Castlevania series, which has quite a lot of backstory to it. Basically, Dracula was killed for the last time by the last Belmont in 1999, in accordance with Nostradamus' great prophecy. This time he's really gone, supposedly, so most of the people who know about this are all happy. Advance to the year 2035. The main character, Soma Cruz, is visiting the Hakuba Shrine in Japan with his (later) girlfriend, Mina, to view the solar eclipse that is happening. However, something happens and they both get knocked out. When they come to, they're in a weird castle and there are demons all over the place. A man named Arikado (*cough* Alucard! *cough*) shows up and saves Soma and Mina from the demons, where it's revealed that Soma has dark powers - the power of dominance. He can take the souls of demons and manipulate them to his own will. Anyway, apparently the castle is Dracula's castle, and it's hidden in the eclipse. To escape, Soma climbs to the top and faces a guy who wants to take Dracula's powers for his own and become the new Dark Lord. This guy gets his butt handed to him by Soma, however, and they all escape. That's the basic storyline of Aria of Sorrow, the first game.

So, next year, Soma appears to have lost his powers. Ever since he and Mina escaped Dracula's Castles, his powers have been lying dormant. Then a woman called Celia shows up, and declares that she wants to kill Soma so that the new Dark Lord can rise up. After fighting off the demons that Celia summons, Soma heads off to stop her incidious plans. But all of a sudden his dark powers are awake again, so once more you're heading into another demon-infested castle to suck their souls. It's a fairly basic premise, but there's a fair bit more to it, including cameos by other characters including Alucard and the last Belmont. So it's not bad, but it's not brilliant.

Gameplay (10/10)

Castlevania has always seen the player exploring a vast, sprawling castle, fighting through countless enemies to reach the top and kill the final boss. Well, this game isn't that much different. Rather than having a single, linear path to take, the game plays like a medieval Metroid game. At first, you can only access a few areas of the castle. As you beat bosses and gain new abilities, however, you gradually explore more of the castle. So there's plenty of exploration to be had. Beating up on monsters will, like any good RPG, net you some experience points. Getting enough will level you up, and then you'll get a boost to your stats. As well as the traditional RPG level up system, it also has the traditional equipment system. You have three different slots for equipment - Weapons, Armour, and Accessories. You can find new equipment in your travels, or you can buy them from the merchant near the start of the game. The weapons in particular are all very different - it's not all about their attack power in this game. Some weapons may be capable of serious damage, but are very slow and unwieldy to use, whereas others hit in rapid succession for lower damage. So unlike other games, there are other considerations rather than just the bigger the attack power when choosing weapons.

Aria of Sorrow dispelled the traditional Castlevania special moves which had been used since the NES era. Rather than having a few moves like knives, axes, exploding potions or so on, these games replaced those with a lot more abilities. Every enemy in the game has a different ability that you can gain by killing them, represented by their Soul. However, they don't always give you their Soul straight away, so you may have to try a few times. The souls can be categorised into four types - Red, Blue, Yellow, and Silver. You can equip one of each type of soul at once, though Silver souls are permanent abilities that stay with you all the time. Red souls are all different attacking abilities or moves. Blue souls can be like that, but they can also involve the summoning of familiars to assist you. Yellow souls are passive abilities, be it a stat boost or immunity to a certain attack. There are plenty of combinations and approaches you can take, which makes it a whole lot more varied and interesting than the previous Castlevania games. The biggest problem with the system, though, is that enemies don't always drop their Souls. It can take you some time to get a soul, and may result in you killing the same enemy over and over. The important souls that you get from bosses are always gained, though. So while it can be tricky to get a master file or the attack you want, it's not a bad system and provides each player plenty of opportunities to tinker with the settings. Souls have more uses than just attacks, too - there's a character early on who can take your souls and fuse them to various weapons, giving them boosts. So to get the best weapons, you'll be out there hunting Souls for a while.

A few small sections also require a bit of help from the Touch Screen. There are things called Magic Seals scattered in the game, and you need these to properly defeat a boss. Once you have the correct one, you have to go in and defeat the boss as normal. Once it's HP is reduced to zero, there'll be a prompt for you to draw the Magic Seal with the stylus. You then have to draw it correctly, thus sealing off the boss and effectively finishing it off. Making a mistake, however, will replenish the bosses HP a small bit, which is a good incentive to get it right the first try. A few puzzles and abilities also require input from the Touch Screen, as well - there are a few blocks early in the game that need to be broken by touching them with the stylus. The dual screen feature of the DS is also quite useful, too. The game is played on the Touch Screen, but the top screen can be used as an effective information source. You have two options for it - it can either become a map of what you've explored so far, or it can be a general information screen. This is a very useful feature, since it saves you from repeatedly pressing Select and stopping to check out the map - you can do it all on the move.

There's nothing really new or groundbreaking in the system, but it's a very good game nonetheless. Metroid-style exploration games are always lots of fun, especially when you're mixing RPG elements in there as well. It's the best Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night, offering a number of different ways to play it. Some people may not like the Soul system, but overall it's a good way to approach it.

Replayability (7/10)

The game is fun enough to bring you back a couple of times, at least. There are also several extra modes of play once you've finished, including an arcade-style mode akin to the original Castlevania games with a number of different characters. You also have Clear Mode, which means you keep your old souls and equipment, but the game difficulty has been bumped up. For the perfectionists in the crowd, getting the very best weapons and all the souls is quite a challenge. So there's replayability in there, but it's not for everyone.

Overall (9/10)

This is a real good game, probably the best currently available game for the Nintendo DS. Fans of the series will have plenty of fun with this one, and those new to the series should still find plenty of enjoyment. A must-have for DS owners everywhere.