Castlevania is a series rich with history. Created back in 1986, these action platforming titles have have gone through numerous changes, including characters, gameplay, as well as systems, yet at their core have changed very little. This format is part of what has made them so successful, Castlevania titles are always something new, yet something oh so familiar.
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow is the first title of the series to arrive on the DS and is a sequel to the GBA title, Aria of Sorrow, which I never played. Fortunately that is not actually a prerequisite to playing, and can be enjoyed on it's own with no prior knowledge required.
The hero to this title is a young man known as Soma Cruz, the rebirth of Dracula. Having learned he was destined to become the dark lord he rebelled, quelling the chaos within him. Now however, a cult is trying to resurrect their evil lord once more with new candidates, and Soma must use his powers with the help of his friends to stop them.
The key point to almost all Castlevania games is the exploration of Dracula's Castle, and the main point all Castlevania games have in common. The layout of the average Castlevania title is as follows: Start at the main castle gate, work their way through the Castle beating bosses and solving puzzles to eventually progress to either the top floor or the basement the whole while fighting a horde of enemies in between.
While knowing what to expect is a staple of the Castlevania fan, things are consistently different in how the Castle is explored. Souls are the key to Dawn of Sorrow, monsters souls to be precise, for Soma has the power to absorb the souls of his enemies and use their skills. These include giving him extra moves including double jumping, flying, extra attacks and various other unique abilities. The souls of bosses that Soma defeats grant the biggest benefit as they often allow Soma access to other parts of the Castle he previously couldn't reach.
These souls can also be used to combine with weapons either bought or found in the castle to create more powerful versions of the same type, some with unique abilities or stat increases. This is not the only RPG like gameplay involved however, armour and accessories can also be equipped, and when defeating enemies experience is gained leveling Soma up and increasing his stats from attack down to luck.
Visually Dawn of Sorrow looks fantastic. Though in 2D the game uses multiple layers in detailed backgrounds to give an almost 3D effect. The designs throughout the game are brilliant matching the Gothic atmosphere perfectly with plenty of zombies, skeletons and demons not to mention some gigantic bosses to fight along the way. I will say however I absolutely hate the anime cover art, why they would use that over the more traditional art style the series is known for since Symphony of the Night is beyond me.
The sound is also top notch with some older themes here and there for Castlevania veterans as well as plenty of new tracks to spruce things up. The sound comes through brilliantly clear on the DS with some also surprisingly good sound effects, though a lot of which come across as pretty old school.
Dawn of Sorrow is a surprisingly big game taking me a good 16 hours to finish including quite a bit of leveling up and soul hunting along the way. It might have been shorter had it been a bit more obvious occasionally about where to go, but that is the fun of Castlevania titles, the exploration. Getting 100% of the castle map, fighting all enemies and collecting all souls will take a while for the collector. There are also added modes playing as a different character as well as boss rush after the game is finished bringing quite a bit of value to the game should you wish.
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow is simply a fun game, fans of the series will feel right at home yet it's got more then enough variety to offer a new experience, and a welcome one to those new to the games. If you own a DS you owe it to yourself to pick up Dawn of Sorrow and give it a blast, you may be pleasantly surprised.
+ Using souls is an excellent way of mixing things up.
+ Exploring the castle is fun.
+ Fairly good value.
- Cover art is hideous.
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow is the first title of the series to arrive on the DS and is a sequel to the GBA title, Aria of Sorrow, which I never played. Fortunately that is not actually a prerequisite to playing, and can be enjoyed on it's own with no prior knowledge required.
The hero to this title is a young man known as Soma Cruz, the rebirth of Dracula. Having learned he was destined to become the dark lord he rebelled, quelling the chaos within him. Now however, a cult is trying to resurrect their evil lord once more with new candidates, and Soma must use his powers with the help of his friends to stop them.
The key point to almost all Castlevania games is the exploration of Dracula's Castle, and the main point all Castlevania games have in common. The layout of the average Castlevania title is as follows: Start at the main castle gate, work their way through the Castle beating bosses and solving puzzles to eventually progress to either the top floor or the basement the whole while fighting a horde of enemies in between.
While knowing what to expect is a staple of the Castlevania fan, things are consistently different in how the Castle is explored. Souls are the key to Dawn of Sorrow, monsters souls to be precise, for Soma has the power to absorb the souls of his enemies and use their skills. These include giving him extra moves including double jumping, flying, extra attacks and various other unique abilities. The souls of bosses that Soma defeats grant the biggest benefit as they often allow Soma access to other parts of the Castle he previously couldn't reach.
These souls can also be used to combine with weapons either bought or found in the castle to create more powerful versions of the same type, some with unique abilities or stat increases. This is not the only RPG like gameplay involved however, armour and accessories can also be equipped, and when defeating enemies experience is gained leveling Soma up and increasing his stats from attack down to luck.
Visually Dawn of Sorrow looks fantastic. Though in 2D the game uses multiple layers in detailed backgrounds to give an almost 3D effect. The designs throughout the game are brilliant matching the Gothic atmosphere perfectly with plenty of zombies, skeletons and demons not to mention some gigantic bosses to fight along the way. I will say however I absolutely hate the anime cover art, why they would use that over the more traditional art style the series is known for since Symphony of the Night is beyond me.
The sound is also top notch with some older themes here and there for Castlevania veterans as well as plenty of new tracks to spruce things up. The sound comes through brilliantly clear on the DS with some also surprisingly good sound effects, though a lot of which come across as pretty old school.
Dawn of Sorrow is a surprisingly big game taking me a good 16 hours to finish including quite a bit of leveling up and soul hunting along the way. It might have been shorter had it been a bit more obvious occasionally about where to go, but that is the fun of Castlevania titles, the exploration. Getting 100% of the castle map, fighting all enemies and collecting all souls will take a while for the collector. There are also added modes playing as a different character as well as boss rush after the game is finished bringing quite a bit of value to the game should you wish.
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow is simply a fun game, fans of the series will feel right at home yet it's got more then enough variety to offer a new experience, and a welcome one to those new to the games. If you own a DS you owe it to yourself to pick up Dawn of Sorrow and give it a blast, you may be pleasantly surprised.
+ Using souls is an excellent way of mixing things up.
+ Exploring the castle is fun.
+ Fairly good value.
- Cover art is hideous.