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If you loved Symphony of the Night...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

...you will probably love this game. Though its set further in the future, "Dawn of Sorrow" has an eerie feeling of familiarity if you've played the classic "Symphony of the Night" (SotN): vague castle similarities and enemy similarities (some characters/enemies even use the same sprites) pop up here and there to give players of the older Castlevania a nostalgic feeling of recognition but many things are new or changed up a bit enough to keep it fresh and interesting.

Other people have covered it more thoroughly, but these are my likes and dislikes:
The graphics are beautiful, are colorful and crisp on the small DS screens. The controls are simple to understand and easy to use. And the gameplay, particularly with the "abilities-obtained-through-the-collection-of-souls" is a lot of fun and makes for a variety of playing styles (i.e. snipe from afar or get up close and whack 'em). It's difficult to find a description of the soul system that doesn't sound daunting. In short, it's as if you took all the secondary weapons (i.e. dagger, axe, diamond, holy water), familiars, shapeshifting abilities, and magic spells from SotN and put them into a single ability system, the soul system.

This game is great for players who like to discover every single ability and hidden nook and cranny (like me), though I think for people who simply want to get through it and beat the game it could be a bit less enjoyable since it takes a LOT of time and repetition to get some of the more useful souls or to upgrade souls by collecting multiples of the same kind. I have spent hours simply trying to collect all 9 souls of specific kinds. On the one hand, I probably could of beaten the game by now but on the other, I sure have some powerful (and fun) abilities - and having an 'all powerful' character is half the fun, right? :D So my only dislike at the moment would be that once I finish it I'm not going to feel like replaying such an enormous game again anytime soon.

excellent game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game and couldn't put it down. My favorite new feature is the ability to see the map as you play on the DS's dual screen. Great for Castlevania fans. The only downside is the new art style - I am still a big fan of the old style.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I don't know about you but I'm a huge Castlevania fan. I've been hooked ever since I played Symphony of the Night. This game is very similar to its prequel Aria of Sorrow. In this game you are Soma Cruz and what do you know? You end up back at Dracula's castle. Only this time you're there to stop two "dark lord candidates" from becoming Dracula himself. A couple of cool new additions to this game are the abilities to level up your souls by collecting multiple souls from the same monster, the Doppelganger soul which allows you to switch equipment and soul sets with the press of a button, and finally the ability to create your own weapons. I give this game five stars because once I started playing it I couldn't put it down. If you are a longtime fan or just a new beginner to the serious this one is an awesome addition to your video game collection.

Frustratingly wonderful

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is all about simplicity. Simple mechanics, simple concepts. However it is put together in an amazingly complex and interesting way. The map you explore is huge and the enemies are varied. The frustration comes in trying to complete the game at 100%. It can take some time collecting all the souls, but it's the good type of frustration. Every time you beat one of the 3 endings you unlock more features creating an incredibly deep gaming experience. Great game.

It could use more touch screen functionality. The times it is used is executed very well, but there's just not enough of it.

A great game that lives up to the Castlevania name

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a side-scrolling adventure game with a strong RPG element that greatly adds to the gameplay, making it a lot of fun even though most side-scrollers went out of style years ago. As a fan of the early Castlevania games I found myself skeptical of a game starring a non-Belmont hero (who doesn't start with a whip!), but I was pleasantly surprised.

Audience: Dawn of Sorrow is an old school side scroller, but that does not make it dull by today's standards. On the contrary it's quite a lot of fun, and the RPG element of the game not only makes the game appealing for those people who like to work on and improve a character throughout the game but also adds quite a bit of replay value.

Graphics and Sound: Graphics are so-so. They're adequate but not overwhelming. The soundtrack, however, is incredible--very well done. I don't play many games with the sound up high, but I did this one.

Gameplay: Pretty simple. You play as Soma, the reincarnated Dracula (there's a previous game where all this comes to light) who's trying to fight his evil urges and overcome a dark cult. You fight with an array of weapons and can collect many types of armor and other accessories--pretty standard for a game like this. As Dracula incarnate, however, Soma has the ability to harvest the souls of his fallen enemies, giving him some aspect of their power.

This is where the game really shines and what gives it so much replay value. There are tons of souls, some common, some very rare. Some souls enhance Soma's attributes, some allow you to throw stuff, and some can be summoned as familiars who fight for you. In addition most of these souls can be upgraded by harvesting more of the same type, and several of them can become quite powerful. Some of these souls are pretty lame but many are very powerful, and you'll find yourself using different souls in different situations. There's also a merchant and an ally who can improve your gear using the souls you've collected. The storyline is pretty good, with some friends, some enemies, and a sort of wild card--Julius Belmont, a bounty hunter who is Soma's friend but who will not hesitate to destroy him if he cannot control his dark side.

Control: Control is pretty good, and once you get the hang of switching souls around it's pretty straightforward. It doesn't take much time to get used to the controls.

Challenge: There are several ways to "beat" this game. The most basic involves just plowing through the game killing stuff and defeating the bosses. That, however, will not give you the best of the 3 possible endings, and so there is replay value in trying for the best ending. You can also unlock the ability to play as Julius (and eventually fight Soma). The Soul Harvesting aspect also provides a great challenge since some of these are tough to come by and anyone wanting to collect all or even most of the souls will find themselves investing quite a bit of time.

Dawn of Sorrow is a great game, good enough not only to own but probably good enough to get you hooked on the rest of the series as well (I know I'll be checking into the other games). In fact I'd say this game has as much replay value as any I've yet played on the DS, and that's saying something.

Great Platformer and Intriguing Storyline

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: July 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania is a series of games involving vampires and side scrolling combat. With Dawn of Sorrows, Soma Cruz is a teenager who has the soul of Dracula within him. A year ago (in the game before this one) he had to fight off the dark powers within him. He won and thought his life would be normal again. Unfortunately, when this game opens, he immediately comes under attack and has to vanquish a new set of foes.

The game is a pixel based side-scroller and involves human figures fighting skeletons, werewolves, and other monsters. The look is definitely old school / retro. If for example you ran this side by side against Robots, another title I reviewed recently, the Robots figures were crisp and detailed, while the Castlevania characters and screens showed a granularity. It's a style difference that many people appreciate.

You primarily move left and right, slashing with your sword, throwing bones, and performing other styles of attacks to take out your enemies. There is some platforming as well, jumping up and down ladders to get to new areas. This works in well with a storyline, so it's not like, say, Mario where the platforming is all there is to the game.

For example, there's a 'hunter' who has sworn to kill Dracula. Soma knows about the hunter, and understands that the hunter will have to fight him if he loses control of himself to Dracula. They are enemies who have a truce, and who both respect each other, but who know if circumstances change they will have to lock in combat.

There are some touch screen aspects to the game. You find 'seals' which are in essence patterns of lines. To perform certain actions - for example to finish off a boss - you have to create this seal. This involves drawing that pattern perfectly. You're allowed to practice, but when the time comes, if you don't get the seal done just right, you could be in great trouble. It's a neat idea, but I wish it had been something a little less "perfectionist" oriented. I know many people who just can't draw well or who have hands that shake a bit. If they'd gone with a memorization game - or a logic puzzle or something - it would be more about real skill / intelligence and less about "having perfectly steady hands".

In general I did like the fun action, and I did appreciate the RPG and storyline here. I got drawn into the story rather quickly. I think for the next version I would like to see the graphics kicked up to match the DS capabilities, the 'seal' puzzle changed to be less about perfectionist drawing, and I'd also like some of the dialogue to be less cliche. I loved the 'flow' of the plot but winced at several of the comments made by characters.

Well recommended.

The most creative, fun ds game, that everyone should buy.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: December 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I Usually hate castlevania games, except for aria of sorrow. This game has an excellent story line. You play as Soma cruz, who is a very cool character. This game combines the touch screen feature into the gameplay very well. I hate when ds games do not use the touch screen often but this game was good. The game has a good leveling system and good weapons. The new magic seal feature is so sweet. It requires that you draw a pattern to seal boss monsters into oblivion, using the stylus and touch screen.This game resembles metroid fusion a lot. You fight monsters and you capture their souls and you get to use their abilities. You can get up to nine of a monster's soul to strengthen the power of the ability. In games like pokemon, leveling up is soo boring. But this game has really good graphics and abilities. The music on this game is good. This game has extra modes you can earn also. This game has multiplayer but the other person must have a copy of the game. I gave the game a 2/5 stars in durabilty because, if you are not mature enough, you may break the nintendo ds cartridge or lose it. The bottom line is you should buy this game it is excellent.There are a few idiots saying that this is just like any other Castlevania game but they are wrong. It took me days to get this game. It was sold out everywhere. But I finally brought it for $35 at an EB games in Berkley on the 26th of december. It was the last copy and I brought it. If it is sold out everywhere(for ex. Xbox 360....hint!hint!), then you know it is an excellent game.

Graphics 9/10
Controls 10/10
Sound 9/10
Gameplay 9/10 (sometimes takes hours to get a soul from a specific monster)
Overall 9/10

This game would get a 10/10 but it takes a long time to get souls from certain monsters is annoying.

superb

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: December 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a fantastic game, easily surpassing Aria of Sorrow, the game that this sequel came from.
My only problem was that it really was not a 'DS' game, rather it is the same gameplay as Aria. The DS feature (outside of the ability to have a map on a screen at all times which was damn near essential) is the 'sealing' of bosses. You fight a boss and when its health is extremely low you are prompted to draw a symbol on the screen.
Imagine you masterfully fighting a boss, then you see the seal prompt and frantically grab the stylus, but before you can draw it, time runs out. You get angry, put the stylus down, and continue fighting the boss (even though you beat it). You then beat it down to the seal part, and try again, but mess it up. You get angry again, throw the stylus somewhere, and repeat the process until you draw with your finger.
Literally that is the one and only bad thing about the game. In every other way it is either equivalent or better than the gameboy advance Aria game.
PS if you beat the game you can play as a Belmont with whip, the magical Mina, as well as my retro favorite, Alucard

So much fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: September 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My son got this for his birthday and loves it, he said it loads of fun.

Sorrow

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 10
Date: March 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

In castlevania dawn of sorrow you try to stop a cult from ressurecting a dark lord. the game is fun but collecting souls can be tedious and I think that the puzzles are not very challenging.

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