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This thread has been linked to the game 'Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow'.
I picked this up for my DS Lite a few weeks back and I have to say it is one of the best games I have ever played. Normally I wouldn’t start a review with a comment like that but really I think anyone reading this should be out buying the game really if they have a DS.
The Castlevania series is a long running franchise starting in 1986 and has spanned some 20 odd games. Yet this is the first one I have ever played, despite owning nearly all the previous consoles they have been released one. That is something I regret now, if I could go back I would have purchased them all.
Dawn of Sorrow revolves around one character Soma Cruz and an evil cult that is trying to revive Dracula.
The game itself is a 2D platform RPG, your character develops over time from levelling up in the traditional RPG way with experience. Every creature you kill is worth a certain amount of XP(experience points) and once you reach a certain number you increase a level, making you stronger.
The thing that really made this game for me is the sheer possibilities for your character; you are not limited to the same spells and skills as every other owner of the game. You gain a skill by killing a monster and at random you might get it’s soul, this will give you one ability of that creature, but souls are very rare in most cases so it could be that even if you and a friend where to play the game through side by side, you would end up with very different characters just down to luck.
Another element of the game that struck me was that simple things that you would often take for granted had to be earnt through collecting souls, things like the ability to enter water, this is something you would assume you could just do from the start of the game but you just float right near the top.
This game isn’t linear at all, sure there are boss’s that you have to fight but the majority of the game can be completed by many different routes. The whole game is in one castle meaning that a ledge you couldn’t reach before, much later in the game once you get a certain soul you can now reach and collect the item or take that path.
Not only does Dawn of Sorrow have many hours of game play and RPG elements like levelling up it also has weapon upgrades, you use souls you have collected to add power to your weapons changing their design and effects.
This game doesn’t really have any flaws, the only thing that is a negative is that you want it to be longer. But then there is a second game for the DS, as well as so many different areas in this game that playing it through once really isn’t enough as there is also more than one ending to the game, which you will want to see.
The graphics are clean and models well animated, it is thoroughly enjoyable and will take many hours to finish. If you have a DS you need this game.
The Castlevania series is a long running franchise starting in 1986 and has spanned some 20 odd games. Yet this is the first one I have ever played, despite owning nearly all the previous consoles they have been released one. That is something I regret now, if I could go back I would have purchased them all.
Dawn of Sorrow revolves around one character Soma Cruz and an evil cult that is trying to revive Dracula.
The game itself is a 2D platform RPG, your character develops over time from levelling up in the traditional RPG way with experience. Every creature you kill is worth a certain amount of XP(experience points) and once you reach a certain number you increase a level, making you stronger.
The thing that really made this game for me is the sheer possibilities for your character; you are not limited to the same spells and skills as every other owner of the game. You gain a skill by killing a monster and at random you might get it’s soul, this will give you one ability of that creature, but souls are very rare in most cases so it could be that even if you and a friend where to play the game through side by side, you would end up with very different characters just down to luck.
Another element of the game that struck me was that simple things that you would often take for granted had to be earnt through collecting souls, things like the ability to enter water, this is something you would assume you could just do from the start of the game but you just float right near the top.
This game isn’t linear at all, sure there are boss’s that you have to fight but the majority of the game can be completed by many different routes. The whole game is in one castle meaning that a ledge you couldn’t reach before, much later in the game once you get a certain soul you can now reach and collect the item or take that path.
Not only does Dawn of Sorrow have many hours of game play and RPG elements like levelling up it also has weapon upgrades, you use souls you have collected to add power to your weapons changing their design and effects.
This game doesn’t really have any flaws, the only thing that is a negative is that you want it to be longer. But then there is a second game for the DS, as well as so many different areas in this game that playing it through once really isn’t enough as there is also more than one ending to the game, which you will want to see.
The graphics are clean and models well animated, it is thoroughly enjoyable and will take many hours to finish. If you have a DS you need this game.
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I picked this up for my DS Lite a few weeks back and I have to say it is one of the best games I have ever played. Normally I wouldn’t start a review with a comment like that but really I think anyone reading this should be out buying the game really if they have a DS.
The Castlevania series is a long running franchise starting in 1986 and has spanned some 20 odd games. Yet this is the first one I have ever played, despite owning nearly all the previous consoles they have been released one. That is something I regret now, if I could go back I would have purchased them all.
Dawn of Sorrow revolves around one character Soma Cruz and an evil cult that is trying to revive Dracula.
The game itself is a 2D platform RPG, your character develops over time from levelling up in the traditional RPG way with experience. Every creature you kill is worth a certain amount of XP(experience points) and once you reach a certain number you increase a level, making you stronger.
The thing that really made this game for me is the sheer possibilities for your character; you are not limited to the same spells and skills as every other owner of the game. You gain a skill by killing a monster and at random you might get it’s soul, this will give you one ability of that creature, but souls are very rare in most cases so it could be that even if you and a friend where to play the game through side by side, you would end up with very different characters just down to luck.
Another element of the game that struck me was that simple things that you would often take for granted had to be earnt through collecting souls, things like the ability to enter water, this is something you would assume you could just do from the start of the game but you just float right near the top.
This game isn’t linear at all, sure there are boss’s that you have to fight but the majority of the game can be completed by many different routes. The whole game is in one castle meaning that a ledge you couldn’t reach before, much later in the game once you get a certain soul you can now reach and collect the item or take that path.
Not only does Dawn of Sorrow have many hours of game play and RPG elements like levelling up it also has weapon upgrades, you use souls you have collected to add power to your weapons changing their design and effects.
This game doesn’t really have any flaws, the only thing that is a negative is that you want it to be longer. But then there is a second game for the DS, as well as so many different areas in this game that playing it through once really isn’t enough as there is also more than one ending to the game, which you will want to see.
The graphics are clean and models well animated, it is thoroughly enjoyable and will take many hours to finish. If you have a DS you need this game.
The Castlevania series is a long running franchise starting in 1986 and has spanned some 20 odd games. Yet this is the first one I have ever played, despite owning nearly all the previous consoles they have been released one. That is something I regret now, if I could go back I would have purchased them all.
Dawn of Sorrow revolves around one character Soma Cruz and an evil cult that is trying to revive Dracula.
The game itself is a 2D platform RPG, your character develops over time from levelling up in the traditional RPG way with experience. Every creature you kill is worth a certain amount of XP(experience points) and once you reach a certain number you increase a level, making you stronger.
The thing that really made this game for me is the sheer possibilities for your character; you are not limited to the same spells and skills as every other owner of the game. You gain a skill by killing a monster and at random you might get it’s soul, this will give you one ability of that creature, but souls are very rare in most cases so it could be that even if you and a friend where to play the game through side by side, you would end up with very different characters just down to luck.
Another element of the game that struck me was that simple things that you would often take for granted had to be earnt through collecting souls, things like the ability to enter water, this is something you would assume you could just do from the start of the game but you just float right near the top.
This game isn’t linear at all, sure there are boss’s that you have to fight but the majority of the game can be completed by many different routes. The whole game is in one castle meaning that a ledge you couldn’t reach before, much later in the game once you get a certain soul you can now reach and collect the item or take that path.
Not only does Dawn of Sorrow have many hours of game play and RPG elements like levelling up it also has weapon upgrades, you use souls you have collected to add power to your weapons changing their design and effects.
This game doesn’t really have any flaws, the only thing that is a negative is that you want it to be longer. But then there is a second game for the DS, as well as so many different areas in this game that playing it through once really isn’t enough as there is also more than one ending to the game, which you will want to see.
The graphics are clean and models well animated, it is thoroughly enjoyable and will take many hours to finish. If you have a DS you need this game.