"Homage to Castlevania"

As a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Castlevania series, I have decided to take a retrospective look back to the last 2D game which graced us, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. This was THE game that made me go back, play through, and FINISH each and every one of the 18 other main games in the series. Yes it is that good! And with the follow-up title, Portrait of Ruin, due within 1 month (half a month in Japan) to fittingly be the 20th main title, let us remember the awesome adventures of Soma and fellow vampire killers; but enough talk, have at you!

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Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Lasting Value: 9
Replay Value: 10 (Julius Mode is infinitely re-playable!)

Action: 9
VERDICT: 9.5/10
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Prelude of Darkness
Looking at the evolution of the (2D) Castlevania games, remarkable graphical leaps have been made with nearly every new episode. Symphony of the Night (SotN) for the original PS1 set very high standards concerning 2D sprite-work and visual effects. Dawn of Sorrow (DoS) comes as another crowning achievement with regards to graphical prowess; not only does it look as good as the original 'Castleroid', some scenes like the Lost Village and its snowed-in lands looking even better, but all this is done on a handheld gaming console!

The game is pretty dark all throughout. There are few 'bright' areas and the colour palette does not seem to be used widely. But the atmosphere conveyed, the sense of dread and foreboding, is masterfully executed. You really feel like you are in Dracula's castle (well, a replica anyway).

There are over 100 enemy types and although some sprites have been ripped from previous games, they still all look damn good, with lots of animations and special effects shown. Speaking of which, the 100+ abilities that Soma can obtain show some pretty snazzy effects themselves, from light transparencies to hi-octane explosions. The main characters are portrayed well too, with Soma exhibiting a vast number of animated frames to respond to all the various situations he'll encounter.

The new art style, more anime from the gothic style which developed previously, has garnered mixed impressions. I personally like it. I still love the gothic illustrations of Ayami Kojima and hope to see more of her work featured in the future, but this new style on its own accord is both bold and vibrant and looks pretty nice. During actual gameplay, the new art style is not as evident anyway. It still looks like a Castlevania game, and a very detailed and beautiful one at that.

Grande Sonata in Diminished 4ths
The Castlevania series has long been touted for its incredible musical score. DoS presents yet another highly acclaimed soundtrack, and it is one the best too! Each area in the castle has its own unique theme, and the various event scenes and boss battles carry their own as well. Michiru Yamane (of SotN fame) helms some of the most splendid tunes to grace my ears. Each is well suited to the onscreen shenanigans; the main theme introduces the game well, Dracula's Tears (my fave) puts a sense of jazz/funk into the underground lab, Into the Darkness boosts your adrenaline rush as you face-off with an incredible boss character, and best of all, some old classics have been remixed and incorporated into Julius Mode and they really bring back some good memories. Needless to say, the quality is unmatched. Well, the bitrate could have been better as some earlier previews showed (The Pinnacle featured in the original trailer for example), but it still sounds leaps ahead of most other (handheld) video game music.

As for the sound fx, there is a large variety of 'erks' and 'groans' along with your usual 'yah!' and 'ikusa'... yep, the voice samples are all in Japanese. But they are done so well with sincere passion (compare with SotN, or maybe don't!) that everything gels great; I couldn't see it any other way to be honest.

Orchestral Suite of Perfection
DoS is yet another great game based on the successful 'Castleroid' formula. In other words, it is an exploration-based, relatively non-linear action-adventure. If you liked the previous incarnations, the 2D Metroid games, and/or the recent Mega Man ZX, you will surely love this one.

Being the direct sequel to the GBA's Aria of Sorrow, this game features the same 'soul' system used before. Again you go around destroying the wide range of monsters, at times extracting their souls (with some good luck) for your own use. Simply put, you acquire enemy skills. There has been some refinement this time around though; collecting more of one type of soul may enhance or change the effects. For example, having more skeleton souls results in a much bigger bone to throw! This makes it so the earlier souls you gather are not so redundant as you obtain the later, more stronger ones. Abilities are again split into projectiles, support, and passive. There are a lot of ways to customise Soma to your liking, and with the addition of the Doppelganger soul, allowing for instant switching between 2 customised sets of equipment and abilities, everything moves along at a brisk pace. If I had to say anything negative that would hurt an otherwise solid flow, it's that the soul drop rate seems to incredibly low; makes it time consuming to obtain the ones you need to get to the final areas.

Controls are very precise and it is very easy to manoeuvre around the giant castle. Great use of the DS' buttons is made and pulling of special moves is a breeze. There is minimal use of the stylus, touching ice blocks to shatter them or drawing symbols to finish of bosses. Its use isn't really justified, but that said, it doesn't make the game worse in any way. Take it as an experiment from IGA to see what could be done with the new features afforded by this weird & wacky console.

The core part of the game is made up of lots of fighting and lots of exploring. As I mentioned earlier, there are a large amount of different enemies, each which must be tackled in different ways to remain unscathed. The use of enemy souls/skills that you obtain can change the way you take some of these monsters on. This is especially so in the many exciting boss battles that feature. Each boss fight showcases some of the best battles in this long-running series, and definitely some of the best in any action game yet. You are going to have to really sort out your gaming-skills here (or obtain relevant enemy skills to aid you prior to fighting).

After defeating certain bosses and obtaining their special souls, you will gain abilities such as walking underwater, transforming into a bat or stopping time briefly. These are the means by which you make progress. Utilising these new skills you have to search out the next area of the castle that you are able to enter and use the appropriate ability to get you there. This makes the game somewhat non-linear as you can take a break to grind for enemy souls, level up, do some 'shopping', discover secret rooms, etc... before making your way to the next destination. It's the beauty of going at your own pace that really makes this kind of style unique and highly enjoyable.

Rondo of Replay Replay Replay
The main game itself will last you for 8-12 hours. Upon completion you can go through again with most of your hard earned items, weapons, equipment and souls. A harder difficulty level, a bossrush mode, and a sound test (:D) is unlocked, You will have also obtained many enemies which you can place in the mini-level editor used in the 2-player challenges (which are nothing speciall really). BUT, there is one additional bonus which trumps all in terms of quality and replay value, and that my friends is Julius Mode!

This bonus mode has you going through the castle as a trio of characters (a tribute to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NES!) Each one carries their own unique set of moves and special attacks. You switch between them on the fly as you re-tackle the same castle but with progression entirely dependent on you; there is no strict storytelling and as such you are free to navigate the entire castle in whatever way you wish (skills and abilities accounted for). This makes this 'new' game non-linear in every sense.

The classic Castlevania gameplay is also at work here: there are no items to heal your party, no fancy RPG-like customisation, just pure unadulterated action! Levelling up is still present to adjust for the later bosses, but it is relatively minimal compared to Soma's game. This bonus mode, in my honest opinion, is the best part of the whole package. I'm not saying that Soma's game isn't good, in fact I've only been overly praising it thus far! But being able to whip it up in a mix of old & new is extremely fun with arcade-like thrills & spills. I have replayed this mode at least once a month for the past year, and I don't think even the hyped-up Portrait of Ruin will stop me from continuing on this 'tradition' anytime soon! Is it that good? It IS that good!

Finale Fury Fanfare
I am a self-confessed Castlevania fanatic. Akumajou Dracula or otherwise, these games will always have a place in my (dark) heart. The combination of the Vampire-tone, the crazy action, and the addiction I have to old-school 2D will always bring me back to life. The 3D games may not be up to scratch just yet, but while I wait, I still have the remarkable 2D titles to replay and look forward to. The 'Castleroids' stand out as some of my favourite games, EVER, and that's saying something since my days of gaming originating from the early '90s up until now; the control pad is essentially an extension of my body now!

Despite my love for what I regard as the best gaming series ever, Dawn of Sorrow is a heck of a play for anyone remotely interested in action-orientated games, with a spice of modern-day RPG conventions. If you have access to a Nintendo DS and you haven't played this yet, I sympathise. But you still have the opportunity to experience this now, especially in the run-up to the sure-to-be-a-hit sequel. Don't miss out on a classic.

9.5/10 - An action-adventure masterpiece; Julius Mode = Perfection 10/10!

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<o> Peeping Eye is always watching you, Belmont...

06/11/06

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/06/06