Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

My 1st impressions after beating Dawn of Sorrow. Great follow up to Aria of Sorrow & overall great despite gimmicks

User Rating: 8 | Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow DS

By LOSTLEAD8R | Review Date: December 13, 2012

Having lucked out at a recent run at gamestop, I found Dawn of Sorrow and knew I had to play it. Being the first DS Castlevania game and sequel to Aria of Sorrow I knew I'd like it at least. But as soon as I loaded up the game I realized how little I remembered from Aria of Sorrow, barely remembering the army dude and Soma and completely forgetting everything else. On the other hand the game played exactly how I remembered Aria of Sorrow played. The story was more interesting this time around with an evil cult trying to bring back Dracula through the dark candidates which were miles better than the villain in AoS. The characters most certainly had a bigger impacted on me compared to Aria of Sorrow. Considering I actually wanted to get the good ending because the ending I got was just so dumb I had to find the better one.

Which brings me to my next point, how was I supposed to know how to open the doors for the spirits you obtain? You only see them twice in the game and it's never explained in the actual game. I didn't care to look in the manual because I thought it had some significant to the plot, but nope. That is really my one big complaint of DoS, as the other times I got stuck I realized how stupid I was being or how I overlooked something. The rest of the game was great though because it was all about exploring and learning boss patterns which I love and it was always challenging along the way. The game difficult was just right, and the fact that there is so much game content I haven't even touched makes me happy that I have something to go back too. Got to say I enjoyed Dawn of Sorrow far more than Aria of Sorrow, although I could do without the gimmicky touch screen seals.

Conclusion: Dawn of Sorrow left a far bigger impression on me than Aria of Sorrow, and I don't think it's because I played it last. No, Dawn of Sorrow actually builds on the characters while still delivering the same fast paced gameplay and exploration I have come to know and love about this series.

Other Helpful Reviews for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

• Rating:8.8

  If you enjoy good old-fashioned 2D adventure games, don't hesitate to pick up Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

  By carolynmichelle | Review Date: Jan 30, 2006 | DS

  Since 1987, Konami's long-running Castlevania series has told the stories of heroes past and future who have been called upon to prevent the return of Count Dracula, stopping his followers from their nefarious plan to hi... Read Full Review

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• Rating:8.5

  Juggling RPG and Platform elements with such ease and grace, the DS welcomes the first entry of the Castlevania series.

  By Lightfellower | Review Date: Oct 21, 2007 | DS

  With its intuitive controls and addictive game play, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a reviewer's nightmare. It's extremely fun to play, but to put it down in words, it just never bring across the same message. Simply put... Read Full Review

  7 of 7 users found the following review helpful