Back in the day, when dark armies of boy bands swept across the countryside and the idea of a shaving razor with four blades was but the fevered dream of a madman, I came across a little game known as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Though only a casual fan of the Castlevania series, I was intrigued by the prospect of a game set in the dark, brooding confines of Dracula's castle but using the same free-roaming style of game play as the Metroid series. I was not disappointed. Hell, I wouldn't have been disappointed if I had wanted a game that was more fun than jumping a rocket-propelled motorcycle over a dozen burning school buses parked the long way to land in a swimming pool full of chocolate milk during a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader pool-party and then to be handed eleven-million dollars cash by Howard Hughes while the Vienna Boys Choir sang a rock rendition of Handel's Messiah with accompaniment by the Rolling Stones and Robert Plant. Okay, maybe I would have been a little disappointed if that had been the case, but not a lot. Either way, the game totally blew me away with its dozens of large, smoothly animated sprites, gorgeous environments, tight controls, engaging boss battles, moving score, hundreds of collectable items, and, right when you think it's the end, a twist that makes you realize you're only just beginning. It instantly became one of my top three games of all time, so needless to say, whenever a Castlevania game has come out since then I've always been hoping for one that would equal or even top this masterwork of game design. While almost all following Castlevania games have been solid action/platformers in their own right and deserving of a play-through by anyone who considers himself a fan of the genre, none of them have, in my mind, managed to capture that same mixture of style and substance that made my butt clench in excitement all those years ago. Needless to say, I squealed like a little girl when I first saw screenshots of the new Castlevania game for the Nintendo DS, the Dawn of Sorrow of this very review. It so closely resembled my beloved Symphony of the Night that I simply dissolved into a sobbing idiot and had to be forcibly removed from the gaming store. So you may be asking, if you are in the habit of talking to yourself while reading game reviews, is it indeed on par with Symphony? The short answer: no. But it's the closest one yet.

Oh Konami! Always with the vampires and the sucking of the blood and the endless, endless angst!

   Taking place a year after the events of the previous Castlevania (Aria of Sorrow), the game opens with hero Soma Cruz pondering the truths brought to light in his last venture into Dracula's castle, the most important being that he is the reincarnation of the dread dark lord Dracula himself. Needless to say this would be troubling news for any adolescent already burdened with the arduous tasks of trying to cope with high school and wondering why he has suddenly begun to spend a lot of timing thinking about certain bits of female anatomy. Nevertheless, Soma seems to be taking it all fairly well, and since he managed to defeat the darkness inside of himself at the last game's conclusion, his life has apparently returned to normal. Of course, a game involving him attending class and having awkward conversations with his quasi-girlfriend, Mina, wouldn't be all that exciting, so events conspire to once again push Soma unto the brink. Celia, the high priestess of a cult that desires the resurrection of the dark lord, decides that the first letter of business is eliminating the man who turned the job down, i.e. Soma. Luckily Soma's power of dominance (the ability that lets him claim and use the souls of defeated monsters) manifests once again during the assassination attempt after having been dormant for the past year, and Soma easily defeats his attackers. Not content to then leave things up to the proper authorities, Soma tracks the cult to it's headquarters and vows to put an end to them before they can endanger those he cares about. From there the player is allowed to rampantly and bloodily hack, slash, chop, and smash his way through endless streams of undead or demonic enemies to his hearts desires.

Control Yourself!

Bloody gorgeous

   Graphically, the game may actually have Symphony beat. Powered by what I can only assume is dark magic and/or gnomes, the tiny fingernail sized DS chip produces some pretty jaw-dropping 2-D visuals. Soma moves smoothly, his long coat flapping about with each leap, backpedal, and lunge, and his fetid undead foes look just as good. Well, uh, technically speaking. Hit a zombie with a sword stroke and you are treated to the visual majesty of seeing his upper torso burst apart and crumble away in a bloody mist while his two legs topple lifelessly to the ground. Did I mention this game probably isn't for the tykes? Anyway, the backgrounds look great too, with each of the castle's many areas having a detailed, unique feel to them. I should say, though, I didn't feel the backgrounds had quite the level of grit that Symphony's did, with some of the areas feeling a smidge too clean for a rundown castle crawling with the forces of darkness. But that's a pretty minor complaint.

   One area where I did feel the game was a little weak was its' soundtrack. With post-Symphony Castlevania games I typically expect a mixture of powerful orchestral-sounding pieces with booming crescendos and a heavy emphasis on strings and soft, minimalist tracks that slowly creep into my head with a few quiet notes of a piccolo. Essentially the type of stuff you find yourself humming for weeks after finishing the game. Sadly, I was hard pressed to remember one song from Dawn after I'd put it down. Now, that's not to say I found any of the music unpleasant, as I was slightly disappointed the few times I had to turn volume down when playing in situations in which quiet was required, such as church, meetings, and while involved in daring daylight jewel heists. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't memorable is all.

   Another somewhat strange feature is the way the game seeks to work in the DS's two-screens. When you think about it, Castlevania has never been a series that screamed out for multiple screens. During most of the game the action takes place on the lower touch screen while the map or an extra-detailed status break-down is displayed on the top screen. This is nice, but you still usually have to pause the game to look at either of those, as you'll likely get the living crap kicked out of you if you just stop and look away from the action. Occasionally you'll also be called upon to create paths through ice walls by strategically using the stylus on the touch-screen. The one addition that I did mind, though, is the fact that, to defeat almost all of the bosses permanently you need to quickly draw a magic seal on the touch-screen right as the final blow is struck. This is really annoying as the last thing you want to do after struggling through a tricky boss encounter is grasp frantically for a little plastic stick so you can draw a pretty picture to keep said boss from coming back to life and eating your face off. While I almost always managed this successfully, I really didn't like the tension this added to something that was already on the difficult side. I should stress that this was "annoying" and not "enraging". It seemed more like an attempt by the developer to justify having two screens rather than a deeply ingrained flawed gameplay mechanic.

This game just plain sucks... your time away.

   Yes, yes, you may be saying, a clever ability system and saucy, sexy visuals are all well and good but do not necessarily a good game make. The question that I'm sure is weighing so heavily on your mind is, is this game really worth me handing a sweaty fistful of my filthy currency to a grimacing game store clerk? Of course it is, you silly knucklehead you! While I hold to my position that it is no Symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow still easily tops all the more recent Castlevania games, which as I said before were almost all good games in their own right.

   Slaughtering hordes of undead is fun and satisfying, particularly as you begin to accumulate more equipment and souls so you can truly customize your style of play. With over a hundred souls and dozens of different weapons, by the end of the game your Soma will be perfectly tweaked to your particular brand of beat-down distribution. Boss fights against the castle's hulking champions are tough but never frustratingly so (magic seal drawing aside), and even when you get killed you always have the feeling that you'll be able to win the next time around. The game did feel a little on the short side, but that's to be expected with Castlevania games. You'll likely finish in under ten hours your first time through. Of course collecting all the souls and weapons, fooling around with the little multiplayer racing game, and playing through the handful of unlockable features will tack on a few more hours and give the game a more robust feel.

   I never found the story particularly engaging, and I was a little disappointed that it lacked any of the real twists of previous games. While it did share the usual false endings, the game practically beats you over the head with the way to obtain the good one, so there's no real challenge there. Also, with the exception of the villains, the characters are all those featured in Aria. Sure, they are a likeable enough cast and their relationships are explored in a little more depth this time around, but it would have been fun to see one or two new friendly faces. But, let's be honest, who really plays Castlevania for the story? It's gameplay we crave, and Dawn delivers in spades.

   All in all, if you have an unholy longing for old-school action games and Castlevania games in particular, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow will satisfy your twisted 2-D lust like few things can. Just make sure to wear something that covers your neck. And pants. Always wear pants.

       ... Mike Zeller