"The Rebith of Dracula has Never Been so Sweet"

[FYI, I've only played Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow]

When I played Castlevania Circle of the Moon for five minutes when I was 9, I was hooked. Now 13, I am a big Castlevania fan-I played Circle of the Moon for hours, loved Aria of Sorrow, and mastered Dawn of Sorrow. Now, the latest Castlevania game has hit the DS, with a big, fat crack of a whip.

Story: 7, B-

Deep in the abyss of the second world war, latest Vampire Hunter, Jonathan Morris, and his life long spell-caster friend, Charotte Aulin, set out to investigate the recently apperead Castle Dracula, home of the fallen souls from WWII. For a Castlevania game, the story is ACTUALLY something more than "Dracula is comming back-kill him." Even though Jonathan is decendent of John Morris, a past Vampire Hunter who vanquished Dracula in 1914, Jonathan's blood is to deluded to fully use the Vampire Killer, the holy whip that has put down Dracula so many times. Jonathan hates this, and blows up when someone puts him down for that, or puts down his father. Charlotte is a bookworm mage, who's calm and logical personality makes her seem cold. Once at the castle, the "new master," Brauner, a almost selfish vampire, is mearly harvesting souls to bring back old Drac's POWER, rather than the guy himself. Quite detailed for a Castlevania game, the story isnt half bad-twists and turns make it an involving game.

Gameplay: 10, A+

Skrew the story, I wants to kill me some vampires! Castlevania: PoR shines as a great RPG when the tough gets going. The battle system allows you to control either combatant, bringing a fun mix to the brawl, or even call in your buddy to put the hurt on some foe. I always wanted to be a magic caster in Castlevania, and with Charlotte, its now easy. A big pool of magic exists, and the awesome spells make slinging ice and fire a fun time. Jonathan has a big bag, and in that bag are 23 subweapons and a delicious buffet of weapons, ranging from Shuriken to a Bible to a Cream Pie (seriously, a CREAM PIE), players can develop their own tank. Swords, whips, knives, knuckles, axes, and even books for Charlotte make up your melee arsenal. Books were fun-fire, knights, even DEATH will fly out of them. The cool part is the giant castle. The percent rate this time is 1000%. ONE THOUSAND. Just how can the castle be that big? Brauner has made portraits (hense the name, PORTRAIT of Ruin) that serve as mini-dungeons, each with their own theme. From the Egyptian Sandy Grave to the topsy-tervy, "that guy is walking on the )&*%# ceiling" Nation of Fools, the environment is not just the same old drab castle.

Music: 8, B+

I, personaly, have liked the music of Castlevania games: the tracks fit the mood of the battle or area very well. This time is no different. The music, for the most part, is an uplifting tune the further conveys the current area you are in. All of the sound effects are great, most of them being believable. The only reason this isn't a 9 or even a 10 is the voice acting. While great in small doses, it eventually hits the point where it becomes hearing the same bit over and over again.

Replayability: 10, A+

This game will be in your DS for days, weeks, maybe even MONTHS to come. The gameplay itself will leave you wanting to play it more, but the added modes are fantastic.

For those of you who DO NOT want to know the secret modes, skip this section.

The ability to play as Richter, everybodies favorite Vampire Hunter from everybodies favorite Castlevania game, Symphony of the Moon, is back, alongside a new star-Maria from the non-states game, Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. Furthermore, the Stella and Loretta (the two vampire daughters of Brauner) mode is a blast: both can fly, and Stella can attack with the quick stroke of a stylus. Even better, you can play as an AXE ARMOR...which is n'uff said.

Controls & Difficulty: 4/5 (controls), 3/5 (difficulty), total 7/10, B-

Both minor things, I mixed them into one. The controls in PoR were...okay. I had to switch a few things around for it to work for me, but everything work fine otherwise. Also, the lack of stylus interactivity was saddening...at least Dawn of Sorry had the ice-block thing...As for difficulty, thats another story. This game is HARD. I frequently found myself running dry on potions, which rarely happened in other Castlevania games, and the bosses are vastly difficult-only 3 or so are in anyway easy, and one of them is cheap no matter what. In fact, the first boss decimated me-even when I was one level overleved (which can make a big difference).

OVERALL: 8.4, B, B+

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is a great game. Even though it has a few minor flaws, it still holds up to be a masterpiece. If you got just one game this Christmas for you DS, get this one-either that or Final Fantasy III, depending on you tastes. But anyways, as the sun sets on the destroyed ruins of Castle Dracula, a game slowly sinks into oblivion...but not before it is fondled by every DS owner =]

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/06