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Posted on December 4th, 2005 - 2619 Reads

Rated Teen Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Second Opinion) Nintendo DS Review Silver Award

-- Written by Justin Joseph



 Sequels, sequels, and more sequels. That seems to be a major theme when it comes to this generation of gaming, and it's no different here. But where many franchise sequels have failed this generation, this one succeeded beyond expectation. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is the direct sequel to the critically acclaimed Aria of Sorrow for the GBA released only a couple years ago. We once again assume the role of Soma Cruz, a man (who actually looks like one this time) who has the ability to dominate the souls of his enemies. This basically means he has a chance of "absorbing" the soul/ability of whatever enemy he defeats depending on various circumstances.

Aria of Sorrow did a lot of things right, including a very intuitive battle system, a good story and well-done music. Dawn of Sorrow does have all these things, but does them even better. There are many more enemies, a more involved plot line and pretty memorable music. Even with the exact returning battle system, the entertainment is still there. Those of you who were skeptical of this game being any better than AoS, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately one of the biggest drawbacks of the game is it hardly does anything to utilize the features of the DS hardware. The microphone isn't used at all, the touch screen is hardly important and the wireless features aren't the most useful. The touch screen is only used for two things. One is to hack away at "ice blocks" that you may encounter in some areas of the castle. A boss that you eventually defeat gives you this ability, and once you have it, you use the touch screen to break walls of ice blocks that are impeding your forward progress.

Another feature which is a little more involved is the magic seals. There are a total of five in the game, and one of them you can actually view during the game's impressive FMV cinematic if you don't press any buttons. These seals are basically used to open doors that are sealed (*gasp*) and for also truly eliminating the castle's bosses. When you get a boss down to 0 HP (hit points), you have to use your stylus to draw a unique design inside of a circle like boundary on the touch screen. If you're successful, you win the battle officially. If you don't, the boss regains some health and you must take them down again until you do so. Now depending on how quick you are with the stylus, you may have trouble with it at times, but otherwise it's not a difficult thing to do. The lack of touch screen features disappointing, but thankfully doesn't detract from the overall experience you should have. It would've been cool to have the soul collection system work more with it in some regard.

However, the game actually does use the dual screen feature of the DS very well. In the top screen at any given time, you will either have a map of the castle or yours and your enemies' stats. The map can be expanded when you buy a couple expansions from Hammer, but otherwise it will display more of itself in the top screen as you continue to explore more of the castle. When you hit select, you will see your stats, the souls you currently have equipped and information about whatever enemy you may be fighting currently. This can help you if you want to know their weaknesses to certain elements as well as the rarity of their soul capture. The map is actually a godsend at times, as it saves you pressing start a thousand times throughout the game and can really save you at times when you are about to die.

So like stated before, the soul capture system is back, along with everything else that made AoS great. The graphical presentation of DoS is even more impressive this time since it has the DS' capability in hand. DoS utilizes prerendered backgrounds, some that could almost be considered 3D and a plethora of surprising special effects. The detail given to the game's various animations is also nice eye candy as well, as it was actually surprising to see some of the things you do. The beginning zombie enemies literally "split" apart when you kill them and it's satisfying every time you kill them. Then you have your enemies that die in a burning fire, with a more impressive display than that of AoS. Some special effects that are also rather eye catching include knocking off the snow from a van near the beginning of the castle and hearing the "donging" of church bells in one of the tower areas. While it's nothing exactly new, they are just little things that made the experience a little more authentic and memorable.

Your enemies are also heavily expanded upon, but are also relied with in terms of nostalgia. A great number of the baddies you saw in AoS make a very impressive return in DoS. Such enemies like the catoblepas and merman are very much here, and their new designs are very nice to see. But of course this is Castlevania, and you have over 100 brand new enemies to do battle with. This can be anything that looks like a cross between a wolf and a bear (Warg) to newly designed elemental creatures that aren't exactly willing to give up their souls easily. So having a mix of new and old in DoS is a great thing, one of the many aspects that drives the entertainment value it brings.

Dawn of Sorrow also has a very impressive sets of musical scores. It sort of blends the gothic/evil feel of many of the songs from AoS while bringing in some more modern sounding themes that help drive the futuristic time period feel of the game. Now granted some of the scores are just plain odd in terms of the actual area of the "dark lord's" castle that you're navigating, but they work well for the most part. Some are very suspenseful and slow playing themes that may send a chill down your spine. But many have a nice upbeat and action-oriented tuning to them so what's taking place will constantly be exciting. The boss battle music is especially well-done in DoS, as each score will have you know you're in for something fierce.

Boss battles are also a huge part of the game, just like they were in AoS. There are also even more, which really makes the game a bit more challenging, almost moreso than it should be. Some of the fights can be downright ridiculous in terms of frustration, but they all generally have an equal balance of difficulty. But one thing's for sure, don't count on going into this game and not dying on any boss fights. Let's just say some can tend to take up the whole screen, not leaving you with too many options for cover. So if you either don't have a lot of potions on hand and/or can't avoid them well enough, you will face defeat many a time.

However, the most easily frustrating part of the game can be getting lost. If you don't remember specific details about every room you visit, you may find yourself wondering where in the world you have to go next. Many of the game's areas require a soul of some sort for you to gain access to them, and if you don't know what exact area and soul are connected to each other, you can easily be lost for an hour or two. This game is hardly linear so you will have your own choices at certain points. It's generally not like that for most of the game thankfully, but the castle is downright huge. So obviously in a place that big, you're bound to get lost every now and then. It's an evil of the game, but almost a necessary evil because of what was desired to be accomplished through the game.

That brings us to the actual story that drives the plot of Dawn of Sorrow. Some of you may have been slightly disappointed with the story of AoS and how it really wasn't the most important aspect of the game until the ending. But from the very start of you playing the game until the very end (if you get the best one), the story is fairly well developed. A few years after the events of AoS, Soma and his "friend" Mina encounter a lady priestess by the name of Celia. She apparently knows about Soma's ability to dominate souls and how he could still be the next dark lord. She is actually a part of a cult that wishes to resurrect the spirit of the dark lord, as she has two likely candidates under her wing. These men are Dario and Dimitri. Each has a unique power that could be easily used for the dark lord position, and it's up to Soma to stop that from happening. But with Celia knowing Soma could do such a thing, she tries to kill him at the very beginning of the game. But with massive failure, Arikado and Yoko come into the picture, along with Julius Belmont soon after. You find the castle where the rituals may be taking place, and off you go to stop this from occurring.

So if you actually want to achieve 100% completion in the game, you need to cover the entire map and collect every last soul in the game. The soul collection system works exactly the same as it did in AoS. You kill an enemy, and each carries a rating of one to three stars in terms of the rarity of getting that soul, with three being the hardest. So whether you are or aren't completely focusing on collecting them, that's how it works. Some souls of the game are incredibly useful and entertaining to utilize. This helps make up for the lack of variety that is evidently seen in the weapons category. The fireball soul from the Flame Demon is extra fun to use, considering how huge that thing is. But in terms of the weapons and trying to make up for the lack of variety, Konami chose to implement a Soul Synthesis system. Your friend Yoko in DoS has this ability, and that basically has you using a weapon that was previously not as strong by combining it with a soul you have captured already. This is pretty much how you get your best weapons in the game, as you won't simply find them like you may have in AoS.

So will you enjoy Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow? Well if you liked Aria of Sorrow, by all means yes. But of course dealing with individuals the game isn't for everyone. It does have its few frustrations, and there is a chance that'll turn some away from it. But in reality, they are so few in comparison to the high quality points of the title that it shouldn't really matter. The whole presentation is just awesome and has very good replay value. There isn't too much that would be considered repetitive, as there are so many different areas of the castle to go to. The save points and teleportation portals (taken from AoS) are spread out nice and evenly, so regenerating yourself when you desperately need it probably won't be the most difficult thing to do. Some areas are a pain in terms of the number of enemies yes, but generally you'll be doing all the kicking butt and taking names. You are Soma Cruz, and while your adventure may not really be a cruise, the fun you get from taking on his role may very well seem like it.

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