"Now THIS is the Castlevania I remember!"

Castlevania: 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 sidescrolling, but it brings in several modern features that you'd never see back on the NES.

STORY

Without giving away the story too much (which would involve spoiling Aria of Sorrow), I'll just say the story takes place a year after the events of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. You play as Soma Cruz as he finds out that there's a mysterious cult that's being formed and is bent on ressurecting the dark lord. (Take three guesses who that is, and the first two don't count) I won't go into the plot any more than that, but it doesn't take long for it to open up.

The story to DoS is pretty good for a handheld game. As opposed to a lot of handheld games with RPG elements, you don't really have to go from place to place to find crystals, gems, or any other items like that, which is good. The story takes you through Dracula's castle and it unfolds from there. Unfortunately, the story doesn't have a long length, and it's not exactly the kind of story that will have you anxious to find out what happens next. Still, it's a good story to a handheld game. You likely won't be disappointed by it.

GAMEPLAY

This is where my review title and the first paragraph come in. DoS, like early CV games, shows a side view of your character (In this instance, Soma) as he battles his way through all the forces of evil out to get him. You hack your way through all the monsters in your path, just like in classic CV games.

However, there's a twist now. After killing a specific enemy, you may get lucky and capture its soul. When that happens, Soma can then use the enemy's skill in battle as a cool move or ability to his own advantage. This also holds true for the boss battles, except you're required to use the skills you get from bosses to advance the game, so that's a nice way to make sure you don't go too far ahead.

As if capturing souls and returning to 2D side-scrolling wasn't enough, DoS also makes use of the DS's stylus. Sometimes the stylus will be needed to advance the game, but it's also required that you use the stylus to draw a special seal every single time you kill a boss. (And the game makes you search for these seals)

This no doubt is an improvement over older CV games while still keeping the same look and game play, but there are also many RPG elements thrown in, such as levelling up, customizing weapons, buying healing items in case things get a little rough, and other things like that.

However, unlike older CV games, the game isn't made up of several smaller levels that you proceed through once you complete one. Instead, the entire game consists of one giant level (Dracula's Castle) as you scale through it and try to figure out how to open all the doors in it and get into new areas. (Most of these areas are inaccessible unless you defeat the boss that gives you the required ability to proceed)

After finishing the main game, you also recieve a few things to make the game longer, which is a very good thing. You can play Julius Mode, which is very similar to the main game except Julius and some of Soma's allies are the people you control, and that part of the game is harder. There's also a Boss Rush Mode in case you want to fight all your big enemies from the game again.

GRAPHICS

The graphics for DoS look very well nice. The character models are detailed and it's obvious who's on screne when you look at them. The character portraits that appear during cutscenes don't look too bad, and the several faces they make look well rendered.

As for the enemies, they also look good. You have the classic enemies like bats and giant suits of armor, but now you have new ones. Whether they're old or new, they all look great. The only problem I had is that a lot of the enemies you meet later in the game are very similar to enemies you met earlier, except they might be a different color or may have a different feature about them. But come on, what game like this doesn't recycle enemies?

Lastly, the environments. The environments were my favorite part of them all. All the backgrounds in the levels fit the mood perfectly and it looks like Soma is actually running through places like a garden full of possessed plants instead of just watching a character model run across a pre-rendered background. (Although that just about sums it all up)

SOUND

One of the things I remember best about early CV games is the creepy and mystic music that would play in the backgrounds of the levels. Unfortunately, the music in DoS doesn't have the same charm or appeal that those earlier CV games did. (with the exception of a few levels) The boss battle music doesn't sound particularly memorable, nor does the final battle music. All these problems aside, the music should still satisfy.

Then, there are the sound effects. Also in CV games in the early 90s, CV games did their best to use what they had to make sound effects for things like Dracula bellowing, people shrieking in terror, monsters grunting or growling, and other things like that. DoS delivers wonderfully here. Whether you're listening to an evil laugh from one of your antagonists, the shrieking of a female vampire when she's defeated, to things like the squeaking of a bat you hacked into two, all the sound effects sound great.

LENGTH

This part kind of kills the game. DoS has a short story, and it shows in the length of the game. DoS is short. I got stuck and found myself wandering around a lot, and I still finished the game in under 10 hours. I know this is a handheld game, but it would have been nice if the game was just a tad longer. And it's going to be even shorter if you don't get third and non-ambiguous ending.

PROS

+Good graphics
+Music is pretty good
+Sound effects are great
+Story is pretty good
+Decent challenge
+Non linear game play
+Using captured souls is a good idea

CONS

-Music isn't always memorable
-Story is short, therefore making a short game

CLOSING NOTES

This is a great DS game, and a great game in general. While the story isn't gripping and the music isn't amazing, the rest of the game is executed very well. The unique idea of using the souls of captured enemies turned out to be a good idea, and it's pretty cool how they put in a few RPG elements. The game is pretty short and won't last you very long, but it's fun to play when it's still new, and it has great replay value. The addition of Julius's quest adds some time on to the clock, and it's great for challenge.

DoS really can take you back to when games were simple and they didn't rely on amazing graphics to be considered good. But not only does DoS manage to do this successfully, but it manages to bring some modern features with it. Games like Shining Force Neo (Remember the Shining Force series back on the Genesis?) can just be a cold slap to the face telling us those classic days of gaming are over, but DoS proves that although those days may be over, they will never be forgotten. (Wow...what a corny way to end a review for a CV game...)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/06, Updated 10/31/06