The Life of a Simple Gamer

Castlevania : Dawn of Sorrow Review - Part 1

Since I'll be gone for the next week, I figured I'd post my review of the Nintendo DS' Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow to help make up for the delay in updates. I know the game's been out for a month already, but this is the best I can do for now.



In the gaming world, it’s not uncommon for a game to become hugely successful, spawn several sequels, and then fade into obscurity within a decade. Classic series ranging from Contra to Crash Bandicoot to even the original Mega Man have seen their popularity drop in recent years as gamers gradually lost interest in their redundant sequels and sought fresher experiences instead. An exception to this rule, however, seems to be Konami’s long-running Castlevania series, which continues to find fans as new iterations appear on current platforms. With the GBA games being particularly popular, Konami wisely chose to bring the newest installment of the series, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DoS), to Nintendo’s DS. The result is an engaging, if overly familiar, title that most DS owners should enjoy.

A direct sequel to the GBA’s Aria of Sorrow (AoS), DoS takes place a year later and finds leading protagonist Soma Cruz pursuing Celia Fortner, a shadow priestess who intends to resurrect Dracula with the help of two “candidates,” Dario Bossi and Dmitrii Blinov. The story, in essence, is not drastically different from its predecessor, and ultimately revolves around Soma’s ambiguous destiny – does he play the hero and stop Celia’s dastardly plan, or does he instead become the next Dark Lord himself? In typical Castlevania style, there are multiple endings that players can receive depending on whether they accomplished specific objectives or met certain criteria while playing through the game.

Like AoS, the crux of DoS’ gameplay involves leading Soma through a labyrinthine castle full of monsters and climactic boss battles. Soma can be armed with a number of different weapons, including various swords, spears, axes, and even less conventional weapons such as revolvers and boomerangs. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses, with the more effective, powerful weapons naturally hidden deep within the castle. Soma, for his part, grows stronger as he gains experience points from defeated monsters, and can enhance his abilities further by wearing different types of armor and enchanted accessories.

More interestingly, however, is the soul system, which allows Soma to absorb the souls of fallen monsters and use their powers as his own. For example, if Soma destroys an axe-armor knight, he might acquire the ability to hurl axes at his enemies. Or, if Soma kills a mini-devil, he might then be able to summon a mini-devil familiar to fight at his side. Half the fun of DoS is seeking out the numerous enemies within the castle, hoping to take its soul and thus add a new power to Soma’s arsenal. In an interesting twist from AoS, soul powers can also be leveled up depending on how many copies of a particular soul Soma has collected. Having five axe-armor souls, for instance, means that the axes Soma throws are more powerful than if he only had one in his possession. Unfortunately, whether or not an enemy gives up its soul is strictly a random process, meaning that players wanting a copy of every soul in the game will be working at it for a long time, killing certain enemies repeatedly until they finally release their spirits.

In another interesting addition, players can also imbue weapons with certain souls. When visiting Yoko Belnades, a witch intent on helping foil Celia’s plan, players can view the weapons and souls they have collected and, should they possess the right soul for the right weapon, combine the two to create a super weapon of sorts. It’s a fun process to tinker with, but is neither explained well nor necessary to completing the game. - End of Part 1

posted by GamerDan @ 11/04/2005 12:39:00 AM