Very disappointing follow up to Aria of Sorrow. You're basically required to grind souls unless you want to keep using lower-mid-tier weapons and magic all game, but the luck stat's busted and doesn't affect soul drop rates, so you either have to grind to afford the 300,000G Soul Eater ring or spend the extra time it takes to get power-ups without boosts. Either way, you're gonna spend a lot of time grinding.
The aesthetics of this game feel lackluster as well. In terms of music, I feel like Dawn of Sorrow doesn't have many memorable or enjoyable tracks, which is a letdown for a Castlevania game. There is also, of course, the infamous art style, which I don't hate as much as some, but still think feels out of place, especially when compared to Ayami Kojima's work.
Overall, the core gameplay loop is still as enjoyable as any other IGA-produced Castlevania game, but there are a lot of other flaws that hold Dawn of Sorrow back from being a truly great game.
The aesthetics of this game feel lackluster as well. In terms of music, I feel like Dawn of Sorrow doesn't have many memorable or enjoyable tracks, which is a letdown for a Castlevania game. There is also, of course, the infamous art style, which I don't hate as much as some, but still think feels out of place, especially when compared to Ayami Kojima's work.
Overall, the core gameplay loop is still as enjoyable as any other IGA-produced Castlevania game, but there are a lot of other flaws that hold Dawn of Sorrow back from being a truly great game.