Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: T.R.C.
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS made by Konami. It is a direct sequel taking place 1 year after the events of Castlevania Aria of Sorrow.
The cast:
Soma Cruz – The reincarnation of Dracula, aka "Hero".
Mina Hakuba – Soma’s Love interest.
Yoko Belnades – Weapon synthesis specialist. Also, she is Julius Belmont’s confidant.
Julius Belmont – Rival vampire hunter and friend.
Hammer – Sells items, weapons and accessories. Buy healing stuff and forget about the rest of his goods. You can find better stuff in the castle and then have Yoko synthesis your weapon of choice. Save your gold for the soul eater ring, weighs in at 300,000 gold.
Genya Arikado – Is the overseer of Soma. Aka Soma’s babysitter.
Celia Fortner – Witch leader of a cult that is trying to bring back “The Dark Lord!”
Dario and Dimitrii – Celia’s top choices to be “The Dark Lord!”
Equipment:
You can equip one weapon, a piece of armor and one accessory. You may also equip three souls at one time. A bullet soul, I used Mandragora, a grenade type weapon. A Guardian soul, I liked the Flying Armor, Float like a butterfly, then Bat Company, Fly like a bat! An enchant soul. The ghoul is great; it allows you to eat anything. Rusty tin cans and rotten flesh, tasty!
And so it begins…
Soma and Mina are out for a nice walk in town when Celia appears and threatens Soma. Soma’s friend, Arikado, gives him a knife to defend himself from Celia’s monster hoard. This sets the stage for a great game!
My only complaint is that it took me only 13 hours to get through the main story. When you beat the game you are given a chance to play the game with Julius Belmont and Yoko Belnades, who team up to take on Castlevania. The added 10 hours for this side quest extends the playtime to 23 hours. Which is a decent amount of time for an action platformer.
Story 6/10 – Good but not great. Some good plot twists.
Gameplay 8/10 – Fun and addictive. Soul collecting is not easy. But, don’t give up! You need those souls! The Seal System was unique and different. You need to use the touch screen to trace seals and destroy any bosses. I’ve never sworn so much at my poor DS than when I messed up a seal and had to continue fighting a boss with only 10hp left. I tried to us my stylus, but I was too slow. So, I just started to use my finger after awhile.
Music 9/10 – In true Castlevania style, it was great!
Overall 7/10 – A solid game with tough puzzles and many plot twists. Have fun!
Viva Dracula!
