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A good start

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The first game of casltevanis on NDS.
Very similar to the last one on GBA and slightly improved the graphic (of course the machine is better)
Was fun, collectiong souls takes time to play, and the musics are enjoyable.
Difficulty is just medium, maybe a bit to easy.
A good start for Castlevania on NDS.

great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Are you looking for a good DS game to play? Then I'll give you the recommendation of castlevainia: Dawn of Sorrow. This is the first castlevania game I have ever played and I loved it. The gameplay was awesome. the dificulty was a little high but that is likely because this is my first in the franchise. although if you like 2-D platformers with lots of stuff to collect,(such as metroid)I promise you will like this game. my only complaints are that the graphics leave a little to be wanted, and the third to last boss( i will not tell you who he is) is really hard; it took me like two hours to beat him. overall, this game is great.
XD

Come on, do it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'll spare you the long review since most of the previous reviewers took care of that for me. Simply: this is a great game! If you're worried about wasting your money, then you worry in vain. Buy it. Do it. Come on, do it. Buy it. No more doubting. Just buy it. Go on, do it...

almost as good as castlevania: symphony of the night.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

same vein as SOTN (ps1), aria of sorrow (gba), and portrait of ruin (ds). roleplaying elements & levelling up, terrific gameplay & graphics, map exploration, etc. probably my favorite nintendo DS game yet.

Konami delivers yet another quality title

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow is the first Castlevania game on the Nintendo DS. It is actually the sequel of one of the titles available on the Gameboy Advance. Castlevania games are considered action exploration games, where you explore Dracula's castle and try and prevent him from coming back. This game follows the same basic format, like the others, but I felt like they did a great job. I really enjoyed the boss battles - all of them were very different and there are some pretty cool gimmicks that take a while to figure out. The graphics are very good for a 2D game, some of the best for the DS. One thing I'm not a fan of is a gimmick they decided to use with the DS touchscreen. In order to destroy a boss you have to draw a symbol with the handheld's stylus. I felt this was useless and a waste of time. Overall I feel like this is a great Castlevania game for anyone to enjoy.

So much fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: September 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My son got this for his birthday and loves it, he said it loads of fun.

good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: August 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

game is very engaging and fun. storyline is good. kills a a weekend if u need something to do

Long live 2D games!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow was my first experience in the Castlevania series (even though it dates all the way back to the original NES days). Without a doubt, this is one of the best games available on the Nintendo DS. This classic platformer hearkens back to the gaming days of yore, where ultra-realistic graphics played second fiddle to fun gameplay. And boy is this a fun game!

There are two interesting points about this game, as compared to other similar platform games:

1. When you die, it's "game over." This caught me a little off guard when I started playing (I expected to have another "man" available). Thankfully, you can save your progress at any time via a number of save points throughout the castle; you just have to remember to actually do it (especially after the tough boss battles).

2. There's really only one level. Well, call it one and a half. The castle itself is the primary level, and "The Abyss" is the final (what I'll call) half of a level. Don't get me wrong, however; the castle is gigantic! It will easily take most players 15 to 20 hours to get through this game (possibly even longer; I know it took me a long time to beat).

There are so many abilities (over 100) and items (nearly as many) to pick up throughout the course of the game, that it quickly becomes a completist's dream. Getting 100% soul (ability) collection is really tough, and something I have yet to do. Which makes this game all the sweeter; there's always some goal to reach.

If you live under a rock like I do, and you've never checked out any of the Castlevania games, I highly recommend picking this one up. The sequel to this (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin) is also fun, but this one takes top billing. Highly recommended for platformer fans!

A great game that lives up to the Castlevania name

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a side-scrolling adventure game with a strong RPG element that greatly adds to the gameplay, making it a lot of fun even though most side-scrollers went out of style years ago. As a fan of the early Castlevania games I found myself skeptical of a game starring a non-Belmont hero (who doesn't start with a whip!), but I was pleasantly surprised.

Audience: Dawn of Sorrow is an old school side scroller, but that does not make it dull by today's standards. On the contrary it's quite a lot of fun, and the RPG element of the game not only makes the game appealing for those people who like to work on and improve a character throughout the game but also adds quite a bit of replay value.

Graphics and Sound: Graphics are so-so. They're adequate but not overwhelming. The soundtrack, however, is incredible--very well done. I don't play many games with the sound up high, but I did this one.

Gameplay: Pretty simple. You play as Soma, the reincarnated Dracula (there's a previous game where all this comes to light) who's trying to fight his evil urges and overcome a dark cult. You fight with an array of weapons and can collect many types of armor and other accessories--pretty standard for a game like this. As Dracula incarnate, however, Soma has the ability to harvest the souls of his fallen enemies, giving him some aspect of their power.

This is where the game really shines and what gives it so much replay value. There are tons of souls, some common, some very rare. Some souls enhance Soma's attributes, some allow you to throw stuff, and some can be summoned as familiars who fight for you. In addition most of these souls can be upgraded by harvesting more of the same type, and several of them can become quite powerful. Some of these souls are pretty lame but many are very powerful, and you'll find yourself using different souls in different situations. There's also a merchant and an ally who can improve your gear using the souls you've collected. The storyline is pretty good, with some friends, some enemies, and a sort of wild card--Julius Belmont, a bounty hunter who is Soma's friend but who will not hesitate to destroy him if he cannot control his dark side.

Control: Control is pretty good, and once you get the hang of switching souls around it's pretty straightforward. It doesn't take much time to get used to the controls.

Challenge: There are several ways to "beat" this game. The most basic involves just plowing through the game killing stuff and defeating the bosses. That, however, will not give you the best of the 3 possible endings, and so there is replay value in trying for the best ending. You can also unlock the ability to play as Julius (and eventually fight Soma). The Soul Harvesting aspect also provides a great challenge since some of these are tough to come by and anyone wanting to collect all or even most of the souls will find themselves investing quite a bit of time.

Dawn of Sorrow is a great game, good enough not only to own but probably good enough to get you hooked on the rest of the series as well (I know I'll be checking into the other games). In fact I'd say this game has as much replay value as any I've yet played on the DS, and that's saying something.

Castlevania Joy on your DS!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: T.R.C.

Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS made by Konami. It is a direct sequel taking place 1 year after the events of Castlevania Aria of Sorrow.

The cast:
Soma Cruz - The reincarnation of Dracula, aka "Hero".
Mina Hakuba - Soma's Love interest.
Yoko Belnades - Weapon synthesis specialist. Also, she is Julius Belmont's confidant.
Julius Belmont - Rival vampire hunter and friend.
Hammer - Sells items, weapons and accessories. Buy healing stuff and forget about the rest of his goods. You can find better stuff in the castle and then have Yoko synthesis your weapon of choice. Save your gold for the soul eater ring, weighs in at 300,000 gold.
Genya Arikado - Is the overseer of Soma. Aka Soma's babysitter.
Celia Fortner - Witch leader of a cult that is trying to bring back "The Dark Lord!"
Dario and Dimitrii - Celia's top choices to be "The Dark Lord!"

Equipment:
You can equip one weapon, a piece of armor and one accessory. You may also equip three souls at one time. A bullet soul, I used Mandragora, a grenade type weapon. A Guardian soul, I liked the Flying Armor, Float like a butterfly, then Bat Company, Fly like a bat! An enchant soul. The ghoul is great; it allows you to eat anything. Rusty tin cans and rotten flesh, tasty!

And so it begins...
Soma and Mina are out for a nice walk in town when Celia appears and threatens Soma. Soma's friend, Arikado, gives him a knife to defend himself from Celia's monster hoard. This sets the stage for a great game!

My only complaint is that it took me only 13 hours to get through the main story. When you beat the game you are given a chance to play the game with Julius Belmont and Yoko Belnades, who team up to take on Castlevania. The added 10 hours for this side quest extends the playtime to 23 hours. Which is a decent amount of time for an action platformer.

Story 6/10 - Good but not great. Some good plot twists.

Gameplay 8/10 - Fun and addictive. Soul collecting is not easy. But, don't give up! You need those souls! The Seal System was unique and different. You need to use the touch screen to trace seals and destroy any bosses. I've never sworn so much at my poor DS than when I messed up a seal and had to continue fighting a boss with only 10hp left. I tried to us my stylus, but I was too slow. So, I just started to use my finger after awhile.

Music 9/10 - In true Castlevania style, it was great!

Overall 7/10 - A solid game with tough puzzles and many plot twists. Have fun!

Viva Dracula!

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