"Castlevania Dawn of Sorrows is proof that the DS is much more powerful then the GBA."

When I first heard about Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and looked at some screen shots, I said "Looks like an awesome game, but it doesn't look any different from the Game Boy Advance versions". Boy did I misjudge the game. It expands greatly on the Game Boy Advance versions; in fact, it pretty much is on the same level as the Playstation Castlevania, Symphony of the Night. It's obvious that the Nintendo DS is much more powerful then the Game Boy Advance in two dimensional power, which has not been very well notified until now.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are top notch in this game. Everything is very nicely animated (which was my biggest problem with the GBA Castlevania games, every enemy was very stiff and awkward looking), the background and objects are very, very well detailed. I played Dawn of Sorrow for about 30 minutes, and I decided to play Aria on my GBA to see if I could spot the differences, so I restart my DS, pick the GBA option, and select my file, and I was astounded. It was the same feeling I got when going from Game Boy Advance to Game Boy Color. Very outdated looking. The backgrounds were only two or three colors, Soma was pretty much just one shade of white, and the enemies were really bland and blocky looking. And then I went to go play Dawn of Sorrow again, and I began to notice how great it really did look. I really commend Konami for the complete overhaul, unlike many other designers who take their GBA games and port them to the DS with minor changes i.e. Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith.

Game play: 8/10
This is about the only thing untouched from previous versions of Castlevania, and that's probably a good thing. It's similar to Metroid, but with gothic style enviroments, enemies, weapons, and power ups. And it has a nifty RPG element, with leveling up, weapons, and equipment. All of the weapons act differently, some are fast, some are slow, some hit farther, and some cover more area. There rarely is a better weapon, because the weaker ones are a lot faster, while the slower ones are more powerful. Bosses are great too, they are much diversified in how to kill them, there attack patterns are interesting and fun and they usually give you ability after you kill them. Think Megaman style bosses, jumping over fire, sliding under beams, parrying blows, and also collecting their ability after you defeat them. And then go back to Metroid where you can use this ability to get farther in the game. It's great fun. They did add a few touch screen techniques, such as sealing bosses away with magic seals after defeating bosses, and breaking ice blocks by touching them with your stylus. However, I found these a bit forced, and not very fun, but they take part in so little of the game you shouldn't really worry about it.

Sound/Audio: 8/10
Again, I think the sound effects and the music are a huge step up from the last Castlevania games as well. Everything is crystal clear, the sound effects are realistic, and the music is excellent. The song writing (as in notes, not lyrics) has always been excellent in the Castlevania franchise, but now that it's on the DS, the music is much clearer, and very well done. It's probably not up to par with Symphony of the Night however, in terms of quality or the writing itself, but the sound effects are just as good.

Story: 7/10
The story is fairly simple, but it progresses throughout the story. I really can't say much, as it would spoil the ending of Aria of Sorrow, but this is a direct sequel taking place 1 year later, with the same main characters and all. There are many different characters throughout the game, and each one has a different yet noticeable personality. Not really much depth though, but I'm not really complaining that much. It's nice to have cut scenes every 20 minutes or so, just to keep you going. Definitely not your final fantasy plot, but it gets the job done.

Overall: 8/10
Castlevania is a great game for DS owners, I highly recommend it. It's got a lot of extras, it's a bit challenging but it won't turn off those who aren't that good at games, and it has an interesting story line, and it even has a nice little multiplayer mode that might entertain one of your friends for an hour or so. It would have been nice if they had added some new revolutionary things to the game engine itself though, maybe even something to do with the touch screen that's more then just drawing a seal. I did think writing your name in the beginning to mark your file was a nice touch though.

Buy or Rent: Buy
I can't really say much, because I don't know of a rental place that has DS games, so it's either buy or avoid, and this is probably a game you don't want to miss out on, especially if you liked any of the previous Castlevania games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/05