Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (commonly abbreviated DoS) is a game for the Nintendo DS, part of Konami's popular Castlevania franchise. The game was first released in August 2005 in Japan. It should be noted that "Dawn of Sorrow" is a play on "DS", the system that this game has been released on, (a subtitling structure that has been used for other games released for the system). This game is known in Japan as Demon Castle Dracula: Cross of the Blue Moon (悪魔城ドラキュラ 蒼月の十字架 Akumajō Dracula: Sōgetsu no Jūjika). The subtitle is also based on "Aria of Sorrow", known as "Minuet of Dawn" in Japan.

The game is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, with Soma Cruz as its protagonist; other characters from Aria of Sorrow also appear in the game, including Genya Arikado and Julius Belmont. It takes place one year after Aria of Sorrow and deals with an enigmatic cult (unrelated to the cult led by Aria of Sorrow antagonist Graham Jones) who seeks to kill Soma and revive the dark power of Dracula sleeping inside him, as a sort of retribution for Soma 'denying his destiny' in becoming the Dark Lord incarnate in the previous game. In the cult's mind, Dracula represents the ultimate evil that must exist for there to be an ultimate good, and with the Dark Lord sealed, that cannot happen. Instead of running from this new threat, however, Soma decides to take the initiative and confront his foes head-on, eventually discovering a castle and monsters similar to those owned by Dracula, supposedly constructed by the cult as the scene for the ritual required to sacrifice Soma and revive the vampire lord.

The game also features most of Aria of Sorrow's main gameplay, including the "Enemy Soul system" (Soma's ability to absorb enemies' souls and use their powers), which is a nice touch to the game, as this was a very interesting mechanic in Aria of Sorrow. This time Soma can upgrade most abilities by acquiring multiple copies of the same soul. New to the series is the "Magic Seal" system, which makes use of the system's touch screen. Using a finger or stylus, the player must draw an intricate symbol or "seal" on the touch screen to trap defeated boss enemies. If the seal is not drawn correctly, the boss can regenerate energy and continue to fight. The touch screen can also be used to break certain blocks, navigate menus, and control certain familiars.

The game also has a multiplayer vs. mode, where one player creates a section of the castle, complete with enemies, and both players race to defeat the enemies and reach the end of the level; players are also able to trade souls they've found in the game. In addition, there is a Julius mode where you can play as Julius Belmont, armed with the Vampire Killer and subweapons. In this mode there is a tribute to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse in the sense that you can gain two allies to your task and switch between them at any time: Yoko Belnades, a witch who fights like her ancestor Sypha Belnades with a staff and fire, ice, and lightning spells, and Alucard returning from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with a sword, Hellfire spell, and the ablity to turn into a bat.

Miscellaneous
With the release of this game, the series will be going back to the "Akumajou Dracula" name in Japan. The series had used the Castlevania name in Japan since the release of "White Night Concerto" (known as Harmony of Dissonance in North America).

A few special items will appear in the item menu if Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is in the DS' GBA cartridge slot, such as the Rare Ring.

Heroes

 * Soma Cruz
 * Mina Hakuba
 * Genya Arikado
 * Julius Belmont
 * Yoko Belnades
 * Hammer

Villains (Human)

 * Celia Fortner
 * Dario Bossi
 * Dmitrii Blinov

Villains (Demons)

 * Flying Armor
 * Balore
 * Malphas
 * Puppet Master
 * Rahab
 * Gergoth
 * Zephyr
 * Bat Company
 * Paranoia
 * Aguni
 * Death
 * Abaddon
 * Menace
 * Dracula

Castle Areas
Like the other Castlevania games, the castle is divided into many areas. They are as follows:
 * The Lost Village - A snow covered village in front of the castle. The different buildings are accessible by rope and wood bridges. Unlike other areas, this one is modern-day, sporting vehicles and streetlamps. In this place you can advance in the roofs and the streets.You can go to the Wizardry Lab from here, though this place also connects to Demon Guest House.
 * Wizardry Lab - An area where experiments are done in secret. It has many shelves for books housing dark recipes and tables for chemistry equipment. The lab is located under the castle, and is the most modern looking of the castle's environments, with power generators taking up a good deal of space.You can find all kind of experimements and an aquatic area.
 * Garden of Madness - This is a stony, dank area, overrun with ivy, trees, roots, and gloom. The upper rooms, however, seem to lack the sustinence to maintain the plantlife.
 * The Dark Chapel - The Dark Chapel is comprised of the inner halls and chambers, as well as an outside complex built over a lake, and a dungeon that apparently houses no living prisoners.
 * Demon Guest House - One of the biggest area in the castle. It contains many vertical passage-ways and brightly wallpapered rooms. There are seven guest rooms that have either items, enemies, or both. Also, it rightfully earns the name Guest House because, if the player are to enter the main castle from Lost Village, they will enter this first.
 * Condemned Tower - A tall tower, enveloped by clouds and moonlight, whose multiple floors collapse during the fight with Gergoth. The outer sides of the tower have many ramps and platforms for climbing purposes. Under the tower is the Mine of Judgement.
 * Cursed Clock Tower - The next incarnation of the well-known and oft-hated Castlevania area. Not much has changed here, though the spikes can cause much more of a problem than usual. If one reaches the top, they will be treated to a full view of the clock's face and a light snowfall.
 * Subterranean Hell - A mostly dark series of caverns, illuminated only by holes in the rocky walls and ceilings. It initially begins above ground, where the moon and lake are exposed.
 * Silenced Ruins - Time has mysteriously stopped in the first room of this area. The environment as a whole mimics the look of the Entrance Hallway in the first Castlevania, but as the name implies, it has been neglected, and many pillars and walls are broken. It is also located underground.
 * The Pinnacle - The climax of the castle's areas. Snow may fall here as it does in the Lost Village, and there are grand views of multiple towers and a mountain range. At the top is the throne room which has been prepared for Dracula's return.
 * The Mine of Judgement - The opposite end of the Condemned Tower. It holds a pair of familliar bosses to many Castlevania games and conects The Abyss to the rest of the game.
 * The Abyss - Hell. The map consists of six separated areas that are magically linked: A flaming area filled an Arc Demon, with giant fire pillars coming from the ground; A sandy area where you acquire the hippogryph soul; An icy aura part filled with Malachis and Frozen Shades; An blood red area (almost looking like a gastric organ) with moving shadows in the background; A space area (complete with aurora), filled with a Stolas and Black Panthers; And, finally a spike filled area. One should note that when all areas of The Abyss are linked, a hexagram-like shape is formed on the map. This the game's finishing point, with some of the hardest enemies/enemy combinations in the game (Stolas who summons Erinys constantly is a great danger in small rooms, for example).

Awards

 * In EGM's E3, the E3 model of this game was given a score of Awesome.
 * Upon the game's North American release, EGM awarded the game with Game of the Month honors, as well awarding it with a Gold Medal, since the average of the three scores was at least 9 out of 10.
 * It was given a difficult 5 out of 5 on the T.V. show X-Play.

Trivia

 * The Silenced Ruins area is a direct tribute to the first Akumajou Dracula/Castlevania game for the Famicom/NES—in addition to similar visual designs, especially the interesting idea of making its last room mimic the first corridor of the first Castlevania, the background music is a remix of the background music for the first stages of this title that started the series, "Vampire Killer." Also, the boss in this area, the Bat Company, is a reference to the original Castlevania, where the first boss was a giant bat.


 * Mine of Judgment also houses a tribute to a past Castlevania game; in this case, Super Castlevania IV. Back in Super Castlevania IV, as the player traveled up to the keep, Slogra was the first of the four final bosses they would meet, followed by Gaibon on the next floor, and then by Death just before the keep. In Dawn of Sorrow, as the player travels down the mine, they encounter Slogra and Gaibon as minor (although numerous) enemies, followed by Death as the boss of the area.


 * Julius Mode is a large scale homage to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. The party members are Julius Belmont (descendant of Trevor Belmont), Yoko Belnades (descendant of Sypha Belnades), and Genya Arikado in his Alucard form. There is no character analogous to Grant DaNasty in this mode. However, an analysis of the game's ROM revealed unused dialogue that hinted that Hammer was once planned to be playable in this mode.


 * Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is one of several Nintendo DS games that feature a subtitle with the initials 'DS', for fairly obvious reasons. Others include Tenchu: Dark Shadow and Resident Evil: Deadly Silence.


 * Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow contains three items, the Crown, the Bell, and the Konami Man, as homages to the original NES Castlevania. The Crown can be found by sitting on one of the chairs in one of the most eastern rooms of the Demon Guest House, the Bell can be found by using the Bat Spell and flying into one of the bells in the Dark Chapel, and the Konami Man is found by crouching on a platform surrounded by spikes in the Cursed Clock Tower.  Each of these items has the description simply stating the number of "points" they are worth.  They have no effect on gameplay (although they can be sold to Hammer) but interestingly enough, they can be collected in Julius Mode, whereas all other items (besides magic hearts) cannot be picked up.  It is unknown what their effects are in Julius Mode.