Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)
Developed and Published by: Konami

As Nintendo’s newest handheld system continues to blossom and developers strive to prove the versatility of its unique feature set, some of the more traditional game types are being neglected on the DS. While Nintendo is busy flexing its creative muscles with quirky games like WarioWare Touched!, Kirby’s Canvas Curse and Yoshi’s Touch & Go, it appears that the concept of 2D side scrollers, RPGs and the like may soon be completely forgotten as the DS’ predecessor, the Gameboy Advance, gets phased out. The delay of Metroid Prime Hunters until next year has also left a void in the DS line-up for games aimed at an older audience. Thankfully, Konami has delivered with the system’s first must-have 2D action/adventure game, a solid continuation of their always popular Castlevania series.

Of course, you can’t make a DS game without playing to the system’s strengths (Nintendo would have none of that), so Konami incorporated the touch screen in a few interesting ways. Most notably with the addition of “Magic Seals” — arcane symbols that need to be traced correctly using the stylus in order to finish off a boss. There is also a nifty power in the game that allows you to scrape away ice blocks by dragging the stylus across them. The dual screen set up has its advantages here too, allowing a player to view a map or enemy stats while in the thick of the action. This saves a lot of time where you would normally pause and flip to a map screen over and over to make sure you’re heading in the right direction.

For the most part, however, Dawn of Sorrow is a direct sequel to the GBA game, “Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow”. Our hero is the effeminate Soma Cruz (not a Belmont), who is once again drawn to the castle of Dracula, and his power to absorb dark souls is put to the test. Most of the characters from the last game return, such as Mina, Soma’s lifelong friend, and Julius, a descendant of the Belmont clan. They’ve opted to keep the game 2D, which makes me happy, as the 3D versions of Castlevania have never managed to get it quite right. By taking advantage of the DS’s power, they were able to make perhaps the nicest looking 2D Castlevania game yet.

Some would probably argue that this is just a graphically enhanced rehash of Aria of Sorrow, and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree. There is not a lot of truly new material here, and the level design feels somewhat bland and uninspired. Konami tries to wow us with the game’s opening area which features snow-covered cars that react realistically when you hop on top of them. As the game progresses, however, the environments do not maintain this level of interactivity and detail. I wasn’t really a big fan of the anime character designs either.

All of the recent portable Castlevania games have incorporated RPG elements, continuing in the footsteps of the Playstation classic “Symphony of the Night”, and Dawn of Sorrow is no exception. This is what really gives the game its depth and keeps you playing as you see your abilities steadily increase. There is all kinds of loot to be found along the way, mainly various weapons and armour, each with their own quirks. There is also a soul system in place (again, nothing new to Castlevania games) which allows Soma to absorb the powers of enemies that he defeats. Some are gained after defeating a boss and are needed for progression in the game (such as the Puppet Master, which allows you to teleport to hard to reach places, or the Flying Armor, which slows your fall), while others are just randomly acquired and add to your arsenal a new attack, defense or attribute enhancement. Some of the souls are little more than glorified keys to unlock a previously unreachable area of the map, but others are very rewarding and a lot of fun to use. One thing you couldn’t do in previous Castlevania games is enhance your weapons, but in Dawn of Sorrow you can do exactly that, with the help of Yoko, a friendly witch who can synthesize new, more kickass weapons whenever you find a compatible soul you are willing to part with.

You can also trade souls with friends using the DS’ wireless connectivity, and engage in an interesting form of Versus head-to-head gameplay where you place enemies within a series of connected rooms and see who can get through them the quickest. The single-player game also has multiple endings. These bonus features are fun and add an extra layer of replayability.

For the most part Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a reliable purchase and easily one of the best games currently available for the Nintendo DS. It’s also one of the few that incorporates the touch screen in clever ways without having the gameplay completely defined by it. My only real problem with the game is that it felt somewhat repetitive, which is maybe a sign that Konami needs to take a cue from Nintendo and spend a little more time developing their key franchises. The glut of Castlevania games in recent years has made this game seem like old hat, with not enough new ideas to keep me completely enthralled. — Sean

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Recommended If You Like: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Metroid Fusion

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