A worthy addition to any fan's collection
The story, while not as deep as past games, still is well crafted. The year is 1944 (ya know, World War II), and the despair and turmoil of tortured and lost souls causes a certain castle of a certain undead vampire lord to rise. Two vampire hunters, Jonathan Morris, son of Bloodlines star John Morris, and Charlotte Aulin, descendant of the Belandes/Fernadez clan of magic users, venture forth into the castle to stop another vampire named Brauner. Now, I won't spoil the entire story (that's why you, the reader should buy the game for yourself), but some interesting plot developments occur during the game. The gameplay is basically unchanged from just about every other Castlevania out there, but there is one interesting gameplay mechanic: the ability to switch between character. In addition to that, both characters can be on the screen at once, fighting in tandem, or utilize "Dual Crush" attacks (special attacks that require both characters, ranging from alternating slashes to meteor strikes). Like in SoTN or the Sorrow series, Jonathan and Charlotte can equip a variety of weapons, sub-weapons, spells, and equipment, as well as explore a (nearly) open-ended castle. But, in an attempt to bridge the older titles in the series with the newer ones, the character can enter magical portraits (hence the title) that lead to linear stages. Also, most of the gimmicky touch screen functionality from DoS is gone (you can use it to control your partner). A good move in my opinion.
I'm amazed with the music, not necessarily because it's the best in the series, but because the composers manage to keep the music so fresh even after doing about 20 games in this series. But, the music is good. Whether you're rocking to the Bloodlines classic Iron Blue Intention while running down 13th Street, battling (spoiler alert) Richter Belmont in all his glory, or dueling (spoiler alert) Death himself (or is it itself), the music won't ever bore you. Also, the addition of American voice acting actually paid off as a good thing.
There is a lot of replayability to be had in this game, whether it's a bunch of unlockable characters or Wi-Fi co-op. My only complaints are that the other character pretty much go thru the same quest as Jonathan and all Wi-Fi is a bunch of Boss Rushes. Next time, I expect a real co-op mode!
This game (unless you are a truly dedicated gamer) might come off as short, and it does has its shortcomings, but any gamer, veteran or newcomer, should whole-heartedly enjoy this game.