Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow takes place one year after the events of the GBA hit, Aria of Sorrow, which I cannot really comment on since I did not play it, however, I may want to because DoS is one heck of a great game.

I’m not really sure where to start actually. There’s so much to talk about, so I guess the logical point would be from the start of the game, where the story picks up. You know me though, I’m not much of a story kinda guy, so I want delve into that, but I will say that there is a good story that drives the game, however the dialogue is few and far between, but the stuff that is there is pretty good, making a decent, gripping story, especially for fans of the series. The characters are also pretty okay, and again, they are mostly familiar faces so fans will enjoy.

So, you start off walking the streets until this mysterious woman confronts you and you learn about certain happenings. You then fight three monsters, and learn about the soul collecting system, which is a huge part of the game; one that will lead perfectionists into hours and hours of extra play. You see, there are three types of souls, hence the three different monsters, plus a special type. There is the Bullet Souls, which are projectile-type spells that are used by pressing up on the D-pad and Y; Guardian Souls, which are used by either pressing or holding down R; Enchant Souls, which are used constantly and do not take up magic, usually enhancing stats; and special Ability Souls that you mainly get from bosses to give you a special power.

Now, each enemy has a soul that you can collect, however some are easier to get than others. You see, once you defeat an enemy, they may or may not drop a soul. So you will have to kill the same enemy multiple times, which can get very annoying when you have repeatidly killed the same enemy 40 times in a row and yet still no soul…Anyways, there are 116 enemies, which means there are 116 souls to collect, and every soul has a different ability and power, so there are a TON of powers and combinations you can set. You can have one soul of each set at a time, so you can have three powers set, and some combinations of souls are special and provide with a nice move or combo attack. And these powers range from some projectiles, flames, calling on helpers, and numerous other things, so you will want to experiment with them to see what you like most and what is most effective.

Also, when you use a soul, you deplete MP, magic power. MP can be restored by using potions, but it also slowly restores continually. Also, there are hearts you can get by smashing candles and lights that will also slightly restore your MP.

A nice tool in the game is called the Doppelganger, which will allow you to create two sets of souls and weapons, which you can switch from on the fly by pressing the X button. This allows for easier changing of souls, rather than pausing the game and taking the time to change and what not. And I told you the soul game was a complex one; you can also collect multiple souls, up to nine, making that power more….well, powerful. Another thing you can do is take them to this shop which can fuse certain souls to certain weapons, making them more powerful as well.

Yes, the weapons is a nice, logical place to go to next. There are tons of weapons as well, ranging from swords, to axes, to iron knuckles, to guns; the variety is huge. So coupled with the souls and weapons, there are a ton of combinations and ways to inflict death upon your foes. Deciding on a favorite is the hard part.

And of course where would a game be without its items? Along with a weapon, you can also equip a piece of armor and a misc. item, which will boost your stats in some way or give you some other “ability”. Then of course you have your actual items, such as food and potions and what have you, that are used to heal yourself.

Now, into the gameplay mechanics. Let’s talk about controls first, which are very simple and easy to learn. Y is your attack, X switches between your sets, B is used to jump and slide while pressing down, and A is used for a stronger weapon attack which for some reason I completely forget about and never use. R is used for your Guardian Soul, while L is used to slide backwards which is very useful in boss fights and what have you, instead of completely turning around and then turning back to attack again. And then you have your stylus, which is used very liberally, almost not at all. The only use for the stylus is to break these ice blocks to create some stairs or a path, and to trace seals. Seals are very important.

You will be given your first seal at the beginning of the game, and find them later on throughout the castle. The first one is very simple, but they become increasingly difficult to draw. You only use them during boss fights though, and you can practice them at any point by pausing the game. Anyways, once you have depleted a boss’ HP, the blank seal will come on-screen and you must trace it out in a small time limit to defeat the boss, or else he will regenerate his health and you will have to continue fighting him, so it’s important that you learn your seals.

Also, by smashing stuff and killing enemies, you can collect coins. There are 1, 10, 50, and 100 pieces, with bags of 1000 and 2000. These can be used to purchase weapons and items at one store.

Since this is an RPG, you can level up. You gain experience by defeating enemies, naturally, and will level up every now and again. Leveling up, like any other game, will increase your HP and other stats.

Well, this is a DS game, so there are obviously two screens. All the gameplay is on the bottom screen, while the top screen either displays a very useful map, or a stats screen, which displays your stats and money as well as the enemy you last defeated or are fighting along with his weaknesses and so forth. So, while the top screen does not do much, it is very useful.

Another thing worth mentioning is the save and warp systems. There are save and warp rooms nicely scattered throughout the game. Save rooms allow you to save obviously, but also replenish both your HP and MP. However, if you are not near a save room, you can perform a “Suspend” save, which will save your game and take you back to the menu screen. So, you when you start your game again, you will start exactly where you left off, however, once you continue, the Suspend save is gone. Also, if you die, you will start out at the last place you saved. Luckily, there is always a save station beside the boss’ room.

A main thing about the game, which I did not know about, is that it is set up in that it is one big level. I mean, it is just this huge castle, and it is not split up into different levels or anything, although of course there are different areas with different enviornments. The best example I could give is that it is like a Metroid game, like Zero Mission or Fusion. In fact, both games have lots in common. For instance, DoS does have a lot of backtracking, but with the warp system, it is not so bad. I mean, there will be many areas that you cannot reach until you get the double jump, or other abilities that I will not spoil for you.

The graphics are very nice, including the effects and enviornments and enemies. There is also this very nice anime scene before the title screen; very nice, very nice. Anyways, the backgrounds are what make the game very nice looking. All the areas are nice and unique and bring a new feeling to the game. They are just nice, vibrant, and detailed. Just look at the pics.

A nice touch that I always like, is that if there is a window or you can see the outside, it will scroll along with you, so that just creates another level to the game, if you know what I’m saying.

And yeah, the effects are really nice, from spinning implements of doom, to flames and all kinds of stuff; they did a really nice job.

Like I was saying before, there are 116 enemies, including the bosses, and they are all unique and detailed and very cool, especially the bosses. And let me tell you, those bosses…challenging little buggers. They will make you want to throw down your DS in anger, but no, don’t do that.

And with the dialogue and what not, a very crisp little window will come up with the text and the face of the character speaking, which is nice and anime-ish. While it is only a still of his or her face, they change with every window and they convey their emotions very well.

The music also does a good job of bringing about a certain atmosphere…Like the story though, I’m not too big on music, namely because I never notice it. I just get drawn into the game and never really pay attention to the music, but I’ve been told it’s very good and reminiscent of Castlevania games past :P. But no, yeah, it’s good, but I can’t really comment on it.

Some random things about the game is that there is a nifty little library of terms and characters that will fill up as you play, so that lends to learning about the storyline more and so forth. Also, you can look at all the enemies you have defeated, how many of their souls you have collected, and what those souls do.

There are also multiple endings in the game…about three or four of them, but you get them based on how you complete the game, and not on how many souls you have or how long it took you. Also, once you do beat the game with one of these endings, it will save and you can then continue on, to get the final ending.

Once you beat the game, you can unlock multiple new modes, such as Julius Mode, Boss Rush mode, and hard difficulty. Julius Mode plays you through the same game, with an altered perspective, so you get more out of the story. You also play as a different character(s). Yeah, you get to play as multiple characters actually, changing on the fly. Each character has their own weapon, plus special moves, which are actually all pretty cool. Also, you cannot collect souls, so you will pretty much have all the powers from the start, meaning that you can go wherever you like basically. The characters here are one’s you’ve seen while playing the regular game as Soma, but they are really cool and have some sweet moves, like an uppercut and all kinds of stuff. And I should also note that even though there are multiple characters, you still level up as a group and carry one HP and MP.

There are three save files, and a cool thing is that to assign one, you get to sign your name, ya know, using the stylus. It’s all cool and…and stuff. And at the credits, it’s all like, “Thank you, *signed name here* for playing. And also, during the credits, it shows all the enemies you have defeated, which is always cool.

And the game is fairly long, again, especially if you want to collect all the souls, which carries its rewards…You can beat it in around 8 to 10 hours, depending on how long you get lost, and how well you know the layout. I beat it in about 10 hours with only 55% of the souls.

And where would a game be without its multiplayer? Nowhere, that’s where. Yeah, DoS has some multiplayer-type features, although nothing mind-blowing. You can not only trade souls, but also create little levels for one another and see how long it takes for you to complete them. The level structure is already set up, but you can add in monsters from ones that you have already defeated, so it’s pretty cool, but nothing too special or something that you will spend hours on or anything.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, what can be said? It is most definitely a great game, and said by many to be the best of what the DS has to offer. So, if you have a DS, do yourself a favor and pick this masterpiece up. With multiple endings, hundreds of enemies and abilities, and plentiful modes, it doesn’t get much better than this.