It's a short game but makes up for it by being a fun engaging experience with plenty of unlockables and some online play
User Rating: 8.2 | Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin DS
I have been on a Castlevania frenzy lately playing every single one I could get my hands on and this one is, I must say, one of my favorites. The game takes place during WWII and puts you in control of two characters one is Jonathin who is grandfather killed Dracula years ago, the other is Charlotte Jonathin's best friend she is a witch and is a very bright girl who hates when she is called a kid. The two of them see Dracula's Castle has risen again and knowing what it is go to stop his revival. When they get there they find not Dracula but a new vampire named Brauner who rose Dracula's Castle and power but not Dracula himself. The story is a bit different but you don't here about it again till near the end of the game. The basic gameplay remains unchanged acting nearly identical to Dawn of Sorrow but adds an additional character which lets you switch between the two on the fly. Or you can let the character fight alongside you in this case the ally uses the MP for there HP so use it wisely also two characters allow for combination attacks which usually drain all your MP. The addition of a second characters does help and you can tell that they made the enemies stronger to compensate for two which is nice other wise it would have been a little to easy. The Graphics are the exact same as Dawn of Sorrow with a few touches like more 3D effects and better animations. This is about as good as a 2D side scrolling action adventure game can look and that's not a bad thing. The audio is improved over the last one. The sound quality is much better and they add a lot more voice effects to the game which is pleasing to the ears and improves on the experience. I don't have a way to play online right now but I heared it's not so great and that the players share Health bars so and that they have to stay on the same screen so it's a pass. When you complete the game your offered to play two other stories each with two playable characters which lengthens the experience which is good because this is a short game probably one of shortest and easiest games in the series to date. Also it's awfully linear compared to any that have come out in recent years. The plus side of that is you don't need to back track a much. Castlevania Portrait of Ruin is short, easy, and linear but for some reason I can't stop playing it I enjoy it so much even with it's faults and If your a Castlevania fan Im sure you'll feel the same way if not I suggest you try Dawn of Sorrow first or borrow PoR from a friend either way sugest that you play this game eventually. 
