The Life of a Simple Gamer

Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow Review - Part 2

(continued from Part 1) - Castlevania games are renowned for their exquisite graphics and moody soundtracks, and for the most part, DoS does not disappoint. While the art direction has taken on a more distinct (and generic) anime look, the in-game graphics, for better or worse, look akin to those found in AoS. Actually, many of the enemies in DoS appear as if they were ripped directly out of the GBA games, which is a little disappointing considering the obvious advantages the DS hardware has over its Game Boy cousin. That said, many of the larger enemies look great, and the bosses themselves are enormous and beautifully realized, even if players will have little time to appreciate them as they fight for their lives. The game’s backgrounds range from acceptable to fantastic, depending on the area. Some backgrounds are rendered in real-time 3-D and offer a level of immersion not seen in a Castlevania title since the PSone’s Symphony of the Night (SotN). Other backgrounds, unfortunately, are a bit blander and look little improved over those found in the GBA installments. The music, as expected, is quite good, although it still pales against some of the best tunes on the superb SotN soundtrack. The game boasts some effective sound effects as well, although it should be noted that the Japanese voice samples heard in the game have not been redubbed in English for American audiences, meaning that few people will be able to understand the limited spoken quips expressed by Soma and the supporting cast.

Players looking for a decent challenge will find one here. While not excruciatingly hard like the GBA’s first Castlevania outing, Circle of the Moon, DoS is the most difficult installment the series has seen in years, surpassing even Aria of Sorrow by a small margin. Most of the challenge comes from the bosses, who usually boast attacks and patterns that require a couple of tries before they can be learned and mastered. Complicating the situation further is the new “Magic Seal” system, which prompts the player to “seal” a defeated boss within a specific mystical symbol by drawing it on the touch screen. These symbols are acquired throughout the game and are usually simple enough to reproduce on the screen, but should the player make a mistake and not draw it accurately, the boss will come back to life with some of its energy restored. Balancing the difficulty, however, are the high numbers of healing potions that can be purchased (from Hammer, a weapons dealer) and held in inventory. This means that anyone who is having difficulty with a boss can simply heal himself over and over again with these potions, lowering the game’s difficulty considerably.

DoS is a quality title, but the truth is that, despite a few refinements to the gameplay, the game is largely unimproved over its predecessors. Indeed, exploring a mysterious castle, gaining new abilities that provide access to new areas, gaining new attacks, finding hidden items – these familiar elements of the series will always be fun. But after four earlier iterations of the game offering essentially the same style of gameplay, the “explore the castle” theme is beginning to feel a little tired and redundant. Even the DS’ special functions add little to the game, with the second (top) screen used mainly for a map, and the touch screen for gimmicky features such as the aforementioned magic seal. One can’t help but ask whether the series would be better off returning to its 16-bit roots with the next installment and offer a more linear, focused experience, or perhaps better yet, go in a completely new direction altogether.

In any case, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is still a well-crafted experience and is one of the few truly good action titles to grace the handheld. DS owners should definitely give it a look, but be forewarned - hardcore fans of the series will not find many surprises here.


Overall Score: 4/5

posted by GamerDan @ 11/04/2005 12:48:00 AM