The duel character thing was interesting at first but I ended up mostly just using Johnathon by the end, Charolettes damage just wasn't up to snuff. I think the portraits bring a somewhat small castle on with some other Castlevanias castles, but it feels kind of disconnected and I would have just preferred a larger castle. To end on a positive note, the soundtracks probably on of the more underrated Castlevania tracks.