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Saturday 9 February, 2008
Session #2
[Gameplay]
The second round of playing Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is much more exciting than the first round, mostly due to the bigger array of weapons and items and moves I have acquired. Progression through the story has also become slightly more interesting.
Gathering weapons is one of my hobbies in games with any sort of RPG-type gameplay, or when there is an infinitely expandable wallet attached to your character. I tend to grab anything I can and sell it to the shop so I can buy a better weapon than the one I have now. There are quite a few classes of weapons, including knives, rapiers (thin, stabbing swords), swords, great swords (basically a much bigger sword, with a longer but more powerful stroke), hammers, axes, polearms (spears & other long weapons), katanas, and ranged weapons (such as throwing axes, silver 9mm bullets, etc). Within each class of weapon, there are between 3 and 8 different weapons to choose from (although not initially, because they cost quite a bit). While there are many different weapons, there are just as many different types of armor and accessories. Armor ranges from chain and plate mail to enchanted robes that increase magic regeneration, while accessories can be magical rings or leather braces to increase strength. I prefer to utilize the magic-boosting items and sell the less-useful things to Hammer, but there is always the option to become a brute with little or no magical ability as well.
As for the storyline, not many new revelations have occurred since I got my first Soul, but it is still developing nicely, with lots of bosses to kill and exploring to do. Basically it continues along the path of talk to a bad guy who wants to kill me, kill him, explore some more, get some new cool weapons, and repeat. The bosses so far have not been much of a challenge, but I do spend my idle time before classes (certainly not before 80k) grinding between one or two rooms. Although it is effective and can get somewhat boring, it pays off in the end, when I can defeat a boss without using more than a couple potions, or reaching a point (like I did in Pokemon Diamond, where I need to level up quite a bit before I can finish the game) where I just don't want to play it anymore. Until I beat (what I assume to be Celia) the final boss, I can't see myself getting bored of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
[Design]
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow has to be part of one of the best running multi-platform series ever released. Nearly everyone I talk to who is in the gamers' scene has played (or is playing) at least one Castlevania game and enjoyed it greatly. The game is unlike other Action/Adventure games, in which it has a unique system of items and powerups, as well as a story that is just the right level of complexity. The levels are designed to let you be able to go through quite smoothly, with very few snags in progression (such as not noticing a doorway or switch needed to be opened).
One thing that is new to the series, and unique to the DS, is the Magic Seal system. Every major boss so far has needed a certain Magical Seal to banish it from this world for good. This is done by first acquiring the new seal (located in the same region as the boss) and then, once the boss's hitpoints reach zero, you must draw the pattern with the DS stylus, which has been inscribed in the seal. If you fail to do so in a certain amount of time, or if you fail to draw it correctly at all, the boss will regain most of its health and you'll have to do it again. In the beginning, the Magic Seals were simple, with a "V" shape, or some sort of simple pattern using just a few points, but as you progress, the Magic Seal can have upwards of 8 or 10 points you will have to memorize to finish off the boss. Luckily, before each boss battle, the Magic Seal will appear ("unlocking" the door, which is very good, so you don't accidentally go into a boss that you can't seal away) and show you what you need to draw. You are also able to practice drawing the seal via the "Magic Seals" menu, which is also a very good design.
This game has several challenging aspects of it, including level management, health and magic management, and weapon decisions. As you progress, you can do what I do and "train" your person, essentially leveling him up by killing large quantities of monsters before progressing to the next region, or you can go through the entire game all at once. You must also learn to keep your eyes constantly checking your health and magic, which are displayed in the upper left corner of the action screen. Running out of magic as you attempt to launch an attack at a boss is very scary, as it often means large amounts of damage will overcome you if you don't react quickly. Another challenge is deciding on what type of weapon to use. The game has a very precise system of time required to attack and its relationship to the amount of damage the weapon does. For example, going into an all out fisticuffs match with zombies may be an effective method(as your fists can move quite rapidly, and zombies don't have much health), but unless you have boatloads of magic up your sleeve, it won't do anything against a large boss. For this, you can use a powerful battleaxe, which can take several times' as long to swing, but does substantially more damage.
The game takes place in a castle, with dozens upon dozens of rooms to explore, as well as hidden rooms to discover. You are unaware of the location of any of these rooms until you explore them yourself, giving a satisfying feeling for anyone who explores the entire castle. Many new areas are inaccessible until you acquire a new skill, subconsciously telling you "you haven't done everything here yet." The castle is huge, however, and traversing from left to right on foot would take much too long to be entertaining, so (much like the last Castlevania, and the ones before) there are teleporting rooms, which allow you to near-instantly travel between teleportation rooms you've visited already. This makes visiting Hammer, or quickly getting to a save spot before class much easier and less frustrating.
Overall, I think Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is one of the top games released on Nintendo DS. It's large weapon selection, great, action packed gameplay, brilliant magic system, and innovative new aspects make it a fantastic game I will most definitely complete before starting any other game.
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