Konami has brought the gaming community innovative and entertaining titles for years, and they have added to their impressive list with Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS, continuing their epic saga, but this time, the plot has a dramatic twist: Dracula isn?t the villain this time. Instead, the player takes on the role of Soma Cruz, who is Dracula incarnate! But how is Dracula on the side of good? That story was explained in the previous game for the Game Boy Advance, Aria of Sorrow.
Soma was forced into action again to defend a loved one. A cult that believes that in order for there to be ultimate good there must be ultimate evil attacked him, and while the legendary Belmont family was involved in his defense, they told him not to get involved. But Soma couldn?t just sit around and be inactive while his life was on the line. He had to defend his love, with great risks involved. The eldest Belmont hunter informed Soma that if he did fully awaken as the Lord of Darkness that he?d have to be put down. However, Soma did not become alarmed at this. He knew very well what his abilities were.
Castlevania: Dawn of SorrowSoma?s abilities are well-explained in tutorials when new powers are acquired. He picks up special abilities by gaining the souls of defeated enemies. There are three types: One with a passive ability that raises stats, one that acts as a secondary attack, and another that has an overtly supernatural magic ability, such as feather-falling or creating tornadoes. He can even fuse souls into his weapons thanks to the help of Yoko, and make even more powerful armaments that way.
Normally with Castlevania games the player can find weapons throughout the dungeon. This is true in some ways with Dawn of Sorrow, but with enough money, some of the bought weapons are better, especially when infused with a rather potent monster?s soul. However, the better armor and accessory items are found in the castle dungeon, so save up money for weapons and potions.
Dawn of Sorrow wouldn?t be a true Castlevania game without extensive puzzles, and puzzles are everywhere. Many are challenging and require intense concentration as well as proficient use of the stylus that is a unique feature of the DS. Some monster soul passive abilities allow for use of the stylus to clear environmental barriers and hazards, and others allow for unlocking doors provided Soma has the proper item.
Castlevania: Dawn of SorrowAs mentioned before, the stylus and second screen get a lot of use in this game. In order to unlock certain doors as well as defeat bosses, Soma must acquire a number of magic seals that require the player to use the stylus and sketch a pattern within a circle in order for the seal to be complete. The patterns are easy to learn, but the less artistic gamer may have a challenge getting a magic seal to work, and this can be especially frustrating when the seal doesn?t go off in time and the player?s forced to kill a slightly regenerated boss.
The second screen can switch from an auto-map to a status screen just by pushing the Select button. It makes navigation quite helpful and easy, especially not having to pause the game to find a way around a tricky enemy or a nasty trap. Soma?s status screen provides every bit of information about the character without having to pause the game, though equipping new weapons without the Doppelganger passive soul feature will require a trip to the pause menu.
The game plays as smoothly as the other recent Castlevania releases, and response time is quick. Slow-down that happens in side-scrolling titles doesn?t happen either, so if there?s a lot of action on the screen, the player is still able to keep up. It is recommended to have a good reaction time to some of the enemies, as some of them aren?t as pattern-oriented and will change things up when fighting. Plenty of aspects are customizable too, such as the Doppelganger passive soul ability that lets a player change his equipment at the touch of a button without having to go into the pause menu.
Castlevania: Dawn of SorrowIt is highly recommended that the player stock up on potions of all kinds in the item shop because potion drops are rare, and monsters can be stingy with money drops at times too. In some rare cases, monsters can drop weapons, and that will save players some money. Also, newspapers found in the dungeon can provide helpful tips for finding hidden mini-bosses that have some fairly nice soul abilities and item drops.
Graphics are quite impressive and do take advantage of the power of the system. Animations are well-done, frame-rate is nice, and everything flows nicely. Bosses are large and well-illustrated to give that horrific chill to the player when they are encountered. As far as DS games go, this title has some of the better graphics available for the hand-held system.
Considering the cutting-edge innovations of the DS that haven?t nearly been appreciated in America as much as they have been in Japan, this game does give American gamers a chance to see what they?ve been missing. It?s a lengthy game that has a great deal of replay value due to the multiple endings, including the textbook ?Good End? and ?Bad End? with plenty of in-between endings that are anything in between. Castlevania fans should seriously consider picking this up, as it does provide an excellent continuation of the classical epic storyline that began in the 80s with Simon Belmont and his first encounter with the Lord of Darkness, Dracula.
Castlevania: Dawn of SorrowThe Castlevania series has been a dark one from the beginning, and there is a great deal of things that could and should bother people of the faith. It is fantasy, and thus this also should be considered, but if conviction tells a Christian to avoid a title because of the occult or mythical creatures such as vampires and werewolves, this would not be a good choice for some believers.
Considering the premise of the game is that the player takes on the role of Dracula incarnate that already does pose some problems. Soma?s not a vampire, but he has vampiric abilities, including soul-stealing to enhance his abilities. Even with the feature to release souls one doesn?t need, they can still be bonded to weapons, and that is bothersome.
Occult symbols are proliferated via the Magic Seal system. Certain doors can?t be unlocked and bosses can?t be killed unless they?re sealed up. While the seals have no occult meaning in themselves, they are done in that manner with circles and the rest of that paradigm.
Blood is minimal, but it still exists, especially in some of the major boss battles. Language is also minimal, but mild profanity is used. It is a Teen-rated game, so nothing major will come out of either of those categories, but those things are still a factor. The biggest problem with the game from a Christian perspective is the occult-based alternate spirituality.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a very well-designed title that continues a nearly twenty-year old epic saga about vampire hunters and their battle against the darkness. The irony of Dracula incarnate helping the vampire hunters does provide for an excellent plot, and the innovation of the DS stylus and second screen as useful and necessary tools will give players a more extensive experience. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow will provide a haunting experience with many possibilities as he guides Soma through one challenge after the next.
» By Dave Herbert, Plain Games. Published 2/10/2006 12:25:53 AM.
