Castlevania has been going strong for years now, ever since the days way back when, when it debuted on the original Nintendo. People jumped for joy, and still to this day compare all other Castlevania games to the wonder that was Symphony of the Night.
Dawn of Sorrow (DoS) is like a trip down memory lane. It\'s a trip back to the days of 2D platforming when games were simple and fun. Not only does DoS bring back the good ol\' days of 2D sides-scrolling, but it brings in several modern features that you\'d never see back on the NES. So without beating around the bush, let\'s just see why DoS is such a feat, and why it\'s gained the reputation it has.
Castlevania has, and always will belong as a 2D side-scroller, even though Konami has attempted several times to produce the game in 3D, it\'s home will always be in pixels. Character models are distinct and you\'ll always know who\'s on screen. Enemies are rendered beautifully, and some old favorites will of course make an appearance. Those who remember the Red Skeleton, and the Axe Armor will be pleased to know that they are alive and well within DoS.
Being a sequel to Aria of Sorrow for the GBA, people would come to expect a change or upgrade from the dated graphics of the Gameboy. While at first glance, the graphics don\'t appear to change, once you delve further into the game, you\'ll find more detailed backdrops and higher detailed character models. The art style though, is something out of a Saturday morning cartoon, or to be more precise, out of a generic anime. Nonetheless the art style fits well with the game, and doesn\'t really feel out of place. Although, die hard fans of the traditional Castlevania art (such as yours truly) will find the change in art style from the original a bit hard to swallow.
Having never played Aria of Sorrow, I wasn\'t too familiar with the story, but being a Castlevania game. If you\'ve played one, you\'ve played them all. I think what makes the story of both DoS and AoS unique is that you play as a possible candidate to become the new lord of the castle.
The game takes place in 2036, one year after Soma Cruz, the main character, ends up in Dracula\'s castle and discovers that he, along with a series of others are possible reincarnations of Dracula himself. Pretty good for something so cut and dry.
It\'s a Castlevania game. It plays like the newer Castlevania games. If you never played one of the newer Castlevania games, then know that it plays like Metroid with RPG elements and a better story. Basically your character is thrown into a castle and you are free to roam around and explore. As you kill enemies and bosses you gain new abilities that allow you to reach new areas that were previously unreachable. The move set in this game gives you the basic Castlevania set of moves as well as new moves, some using the DS touch screen. The touch screen moves aren\'t very clever and are rarely used. Great level design that goes hand in hand with your abilities makes this one of the best Castlevania games to date.
Sadly, the game is a bit on the easy side but there\'s still enough challenge to keep you going; especially with the un-lockable content, it adds a new level of difficulty to the game. If you do however choose to upgrade your weapons, the new system implemented is pretty fun and also time consuming. Capturing Souls is one of the most important and innovative features in this game. Every enemy has a soul that you can gain by defeating them, the soul gives you a new ability to use. When combined with the weapon upgrade system, this makes progressing through the game a challenge and an experience. By combining certain souls with different weapons, you can further strengthen your current weapon, and ease your progress. There are hundreds of souls in this game and they can be used to reach hidden areas and used as attack techniques. The soul system does have a few flaws though. Some souls are just too rare and killing the same guy 1,000 times to get a rare soul can be annoying. It\'s not required to complete the game, however, you\'ll want to max out the power of some of these weapons because it\'s just fun that way.
The sound effects and the music are a huge step up from the last Castlevania games, while not quite on par with the likes of Symphony of the Night, the music is still quite impressive. Everything is crystal clear, the sound effects are realistic, and the music is excellent. The song writing (as in notes, not lyrics) has always been excellent in the Castlevania franchise, but now that it\'s on the DS, the music is much clearer, and very well done.
Even after the initial game is over, you have several different endings to unlock, along with a whole slew of souls and weapons to collect and forge. You\'ll find yourself roaming the halls of the castle, time and time again just to farm that certain monster. So, what is the reward for all your toil and soul collecting? Nothing! No, actually, if you\'ve managed to collect all the souls, you will gain access to a powerful item that can make the final fight a walk in the park. DoS boasts a large collection of things to unlock and replay long after you\'ve finished the story.
Dawn Of Sorrow is a great game for DS owners, I highly recommend it. It\'s got a lot of extras, it\'s a bit challenging but it won\'t turn off those who aren\'t that good at games, and it has an interesting story line, and it even has a nice little multiplayer mode that might entertain one of your friends for an hour or so. It would have been nice if they had added some new revolutionary things to the game engine itself though, maybe even something to do with the touch screen that\'s more then just drawing a seal. I did think writing your name in the beginning to mark your file was a nice touch though.
"Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)" is on sale October 4, 2005 and is rated T. Action.
