They Call it Ruins for a Reason.
Nonetheless, if you are a fan of the Castlevania series, you wont care what I have to say and if you've never played Castlevania or haven't played the recent titles, then this can be the best hand held 2D game in recent years.
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Graphically. I have to say that there wasn't much noticeable changes in comparison to Dawn of Sorrow. Which is why I was kinda dissappointed. I mean, I love the graphics from Dawn of Sorrow and not changing much, I should like the graphics but I was hoping for more. A lot of the enemies were taken directly from Dawn of Sorrow and they were program to do the same exact things, Again, like Dawn of Sorrow, you get a nice intro animated cut scene from the title screen when you press the A button. Aside for slight improvements on some of the backgrounds, there just isn't enough changes to make me say WOW. -
Some of the lucky people that preordered this game got a cool CD soundtrack . I wasnt so lucky and didn't get one because the Gamestop that I ordered from ran out. There really isn't much to say about the sounds from this game. I like it but nothing really momorable. Each area does come with the proper sound scores, like the pyramid stage with Arabian type music. Some people will find it annoying but I find it kinda cool when you switch between characters and hear the names of those characters being called out.
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Gameplay wise, this game does have some nice new features with the double team attacks and the ablity to switch between characters. I haven't tried the online games or the co-op mode. I do like some of the new and clever puzzles that require you to use both characters at the same time. I just wish there was more of that in this game. Some of the areas require you to use both characters to clear. Sometimes you need to use both characters to destroy a wall. But again, this game plays a lot like Dawn of Sorrow, which is good but I can't help but feel kind of ripped off by it. I am not saying that the game wasn't fun and that it was frustratingly hard to play, It just wasn't a new enough adventure for me. -
Overall, I like the game, and I will continue to play until I complete the entire map and get all the items. Portrait of Ruin kinda Ruin my feeling towards 2D Castkevania games. Castlevania fans like myself would have already have this game by now. So for those of you that doesn't have this game, definitely try it out. If you haven't played Dawn of Sorrow, you will love this one. And even if you played Dawn of Sorrow, this game is still worth playing,