Interesting news on Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

[Ragnax]

While it's pretty standard fare for the handheld Castlevanias to have some form of 'extra play', be it boss rush or a secondary character, this most certainly is new;

We don't have one, we don't have two, but THREE additional characters next to Soma to play around with. Julius Belmont of course is back to be played, you could guess that. However, Yohko Belnades is also playable, and so is Genya Arikado. Or maybe he should ditch the pseudonym and just go with Alucard again, considering he's playable in his SotN/NitM costume! Iga doing fanservice, who'd 've thunk it...

Check the bottom screenshot that was in one of the japanese gaming mags here: http://uk.geocities.com/nec43xkq3/da.html

You'll also notice all three extra characters have combined portraits next to the status bars, very strong evidence that they'll play in a switch-out fashion

[ChaosDelirium]

This is such kewl news!!!! Gotta say I've been aching to see Alucard ditch the stupid gvmnt costume and get into his medieval garbs again.

However, there is this that I have to say: the artwork done Anime-style is crappily awful. I want the CSOTN artisits to return, that art was kickass!!

[jegnan]

Wow, I definitely have to get this game now....It's already enough with Soma only and more characters!!!!!

[Lisa Hayes]

this is for gba, right?

[Ragnax]

this is for gba, right?
For Nintendo DS. :)

[grimace30]

pshh.. I like the anime intro. :) The in-game character models don't seem to look different from the GBA game though.

I'm hoping for a trend on the DS where the DS cart holds the game but the game comes bundlled with a GBA cart holding cut-scenes/voices what have you.

Here's to hoping that cart prices drop enough for this to happen *downs a glass of []insert beverage here]* ;)

[ChaosDelirium]

If you download some clips from the previews and the E3, you'll notice that Soma's movement's now look more similar to Alucard's from SOTN, in spite of him already being playable. *Thumbs up* for a better sprite art :D

[whiteninja]

It's about time you can play as a female character on a Castlevania released in the US. I enjoyed tearing through the PC engine Rondo of Blood as Maria. I'm still having trouble playing the Japanese Saturn version of Symphony where you could play as her grown-up though. (I'm not even considering those n64 versions btw)

[RyuMizuchi]

Well, N64 versions werent bad, but they werent good also, so i guess your decision is justified :P
As for Castelvania for DS: w00t! I still remember how many nights did i spend playing Castelvania: CotM as my first game for GBA... not that much "long ago" days, still its like a memory of a long forgotten days.

[ghost99]

This game is a sequel to aria of sorrow that was for the ds. I have a couple of questions. During what year does this game take place? Can anyone recommend some good castlevania games? (preferably with alucard in them)
I have only played one castlevania game and that was the original.

[Ragnax]

This game is a sequel to aria of sorrow that was for the ds. I have a couple of questions. During what year does this game take place? Can anyone recommend some good castlevania games? (preferably with alucard in them)
I have only played one castlevania game and that was the original.

Aria of Sorrow was for the GBA, actually.
Dawn of Sorrow is for the DS yes.

Dawn takes place one year after the events that occured in Aria. That means it should take place in the year 2036, iirc.

The Castlevania games that have Alucard in them are;
Castlevania III (NES)
Castlevania - Symphony of the Night (PS1)
Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow (GBA) (NPC only)
Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow (DS) ('unlockable')

Interestingly enough, all of these are also what would classify as 'the best' Castlevania games.

Other good Castlevania games are;
Castlevania II - Simon's Quest (NES) (pioneer Castleroid!)
Castlevania - Circle of the Moon (GBA)

I'm not listing Harmony of Dissonance, since it has a very unbalanced difficulty level; bosses are supposed to be harder than regular enemies, but some 'area guardians' are insanely strong compared to the monsters in their area. This trend continues right up 'till the end of the game. Its level growth is also quite unbalanced. In the beginning, the game will be quite hard, but gain 30 or so levels and you'll plow through anything. The WindBook+Cross summon at this point becomes almost as much a Cheeze Fest as the Alucard Shield+Shield Rod/Mablung in Symphony of the Night.

[sum1]

dont forget super castlevania 4 and akumajou dracula X: Chi no Rondo (prequal to SotN) those games ar kickass.

[Deucalion]

baah get the nes ver. if ps

[grimace30]

Other good Castlevania games are;
Castlevania II - Simon's Quest (NES) (pioneer Castleroid!)
Castlevania - Circle of the Moon (GBA)



I'd rate CoTM to be *much* better than Simon's Quest. Pre gameplay wise, I think CoTM is better than even Aria of Sorrow. I liked that the game was more challenging.

[Skye McCloud]

CoTM was somewhat bad in my opinion. I overall preferred Harmony of Dissonance. Either I was severely overpowered for each boss, or some people just suck at it. Maybe I should play through it again, haha.

Anyway, in regards to Dawn of Sorrow, as it is now out...

I picked up DoS the other day. I've completed 100% map and 100% souls in Soma's game, I've even checked out all three endings, and I'm now almost done Julius Mode. Julius Mode is where you get to play as Julius, Yoko, and Alucard, although unlike AoS' Julius Mode, there is a story to it that I won't spoil unless a lot of people ask. As a note, Julius Mode is ridiculously harder.

Oh, and who here knows of the Castlevania that was canned? It used Sonya Belmont. I believe there was another one that used Sonya as well.

[ChaosDelirium]

Oh, and who here knows of the Castlevania that was canned? It used Sonya Belmont. I believe there was another one that used Sonya as well.

Yes, Skye. There were two Castlevania games that used Sonia Belmont as the star. The one that got canned was the Castlevania for Dreamcast that never came out. It was going to be the first GOOD 3D Castlevania (similar to the PS2 versions). The other Castlevania that DID come out which also featured Sonia Belmot was Castlevania Adventures III (GB). It was soso, it featured Alucard AND is the second game timewise.

Link for EVERYBODY: The Castlevania Saga (http://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/story.html) is a website that holds EVERYTHING related to Castlevania (and I mean everything :p)

[Ragnax]

The other Castlevania that DID come out which also featured Sonia Belmot was Castlevania Adventures III (GB). It was soso, it featured Alucard AND is the second game timewise.
Actually, it never came out 'timewise'. Adventures, Bloodlines, the Castlevania 64 games and Circle of the Moon were all kicked from Iga's official continuity. ;)

Currently Curse of Darkness comes first and Castlevania III comes second timewise.

[AkiraKojima]

Curse of Darkness comes first? Every article i've read, Curse was second. i guess i could be wrong though...

[omegafinal]

Don't you mean Lament of Innocence?

And now what...so do we assume Sonia didn't exist, or her adventure never happened?

[ChaosDelirium]

Actually, it never came out 'timewise'. Adventures, Bloodlines, the Castlevania 64 games and Circle of the Moon were all kicked from Iga's official continuity.

Currently Curse of Darkness comes first and Castlevania III comes second timewise.
Well I'll be damned.... if Iga said so then there's no discussion whatsoever :( Hey Rag, could you give me the link concerning what you just told me? Just to fill myself in on some more info. That means that The CS Saga needs some terrible updates. I feel bad now: I've been relying on them for anything Castlevania.....

[Ragnax]

Don't you mean Lament of Innocence?

And now what...so do we assume Sonia didn't exist, or her adventure never happened?
::Slaps self on forehead::
Yes. I mean Lament of Innocence. Curse IS slated to become second, yeah.

Damnit. I always mess those two up. Probably because both are 3D PS2 Castlevanias.

So, yes; Lament first. Curse tentatively second. CVIII third.


Well I'll be damned.... if Iga said so then there's no discussion whatsoever :( Hey Rag, could you give me the link concerning what you just told me? Just to fill myself in on some more info. That means that The CS Saga needs some terrible updates. I feel bad now: I've been relying on them for anything Castlevania.....
I don't have any direct links handy, but you might want to check out the 'castlevania dungeon'. Just google for it. It is currently under redesign, so I don't know how much of it you can read, but I bet something about the timeline cleansing is floating around on its forums.