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Review : Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow for Nintendo DS
For the past week I have been chronically obsessing over playing Castlevania : Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS. It is without a doubt the damn best game for the Nintendo DS and it is quite possibly the best Castlevania game made since Castlevania Symphony of the Night on PSOne. This is a direct sequel to Castlevania Aria of Sorrow and has the same cast and it was produced by the same team as the three Gameboy Advance Castlevania games.
Since Nintendo DS developers can fit up to a gig of data onto a single DS cart there is no lack of quality 2d animation and kick ass graphics in this game. The graphical detail of the DS screens are the closest to Symphony of the Night of any 2d Castlevania game since then.
However the game does not really take advantage of using both screens. Since the action takes place on the lower screen the top screen is only used for status screens and a map of the castle. Actually the game does not take place in Castlevania but a magical compound of a evil worshiping cult but it looks a lot like Castlevania.
There is a new system of casting spells of magic seals to finish off bosses. You have to trace a symbol inside a circle and if you screw the spell up you have to fight the boss a bit longer until you get another chance to cast the final magic seal spell to kill them. It is a bit frustrating at times and I feel that they could have used the touch screen for more things than they did.
There is still the capturing monster souls and there is trading souls with other Castlevania freaks via the Nintendo DS Wifi networking. There is also a race where you can make your own course by placing monsters and then racing your friend through it.
This is a perfect addition to the Castlevania games series and I deeply hope that they are working on a sequel for the DS right freaking now. There is not a lot of change from other Castlevania games but it is still a very very good 2-d game.
Jake at October 20, 2005 
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I recently picked this one up too, and I'm having a blast playing it.
Posted by: BIGGIN at October 20, 2005 5:39 AM
That's a quality game there. I can't decide if this one's better than Symphony or not. There's really a lot to this one.
The touch screen can also be used to shatter the ice blocks, select warp locations, and direct the attacks of your familiars. But mostly it's good old-fashioned Castlevania fun. It's strange that the Dracula cult was able to find a castle full of Dracula's monsters. Actually many of the enemy sprites are taken straight from Symphony of the Night, which itself took many sprites from Dracula X, Castlevania 4 and the X68000 game.
One of the coolest things about this game is when you unlock "Julius Mode." That's where Soma becomes Dracula, and you must guide Julius Belmont & friends through the castle to take him down. Just like the good old days!
Posted by: BBQ at October 20, 2005 3:06 PM
funny why don't they release such gems in 2D on the home consoles as well - noooo they have to try 3D games that aren't quite as good...
Posted by: Jim at October 21, 2005 6:58 PM
Mmmm Castlevania.
Posted by: Robert at October 24, 2005 1:08 PM
After much debate, I can honestly say I like this more than SOTN. It's so great how they put upgradeable souls for EVERY SINGLE ENEMY in the entire game. Sooo. Damn. Awesome.
It's going to take me forever to get the elusive 100% soul collection, but damnit, this game is so fun I don't mind.
The only thing that SoTN has over this is music. SoTN not only sounds better but has better compositions too. Julius mode classic remixed Castlevania tunes DO kick ass though.
Posted by: Gavin at October 27, 2005 10:30 PM
