Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

[Icarus Moonsight]

After learning that another DS vampire hunt will soon be upon us (Nintendo Power cover story) I found myself shocked that we'll be getting a new Castlevania so soon after the first DS release Dawn of Sorrow. Though still in development at the time of the NP interview with Iga, he gave out some juicy info for all in the cult of Castlevania.

Apparently Iga was growing weary of naming each new Castlevania after SotN, taking it's name from a musical style or referance. The new installment carries a moniker related to painting; Portrait of Ruin (in case you missed it in the subject line :P) PoR is set in Europe during WWII and is a direct follow up to Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis). The main character is the son of the whip yeilding Morris from Bloodlines. Gameplay will be changed up a bit for the main game, like Castlevania 3 and Julius mode in Dawn of Sorrow you will be able to switch control between two characters on the fly. One being the whip swinger Morris and the other a spellcaster somehow related to Ms. Fernendez from Castlevania 64. They haven't eliminated the soul collecting type gameplay from AoS and DoS, but rather lessened the emphasis on that style of play. Putting more emphasis back to items and gained abilities.

Iga also mentioned the possibility of Wi-Fi and/or Co-op play and that my friends is when I completely lost it... if this is true and co-op and/or wi-fi pans out to be as good as I hope it to be, somebody is gonna have to pry my DS out of my cold dead hands. I'll go pull a Korean gamer stint and not eat, shower, sleep or use a restroom for days nigh weeks... at least I would want to, at least I can joke about it

Here's a google news url if your hungry for more
http://news.google.com/news?q=Castle...=news&ct=title

[MarkMan]

Free bump for this thread.

Very excited about the game. From the early build I played of it, it's AWESOME. The gameplay and whole 2 character switch on the fly interaction is seemless and provides for fun fighting.

Can't wait until it comes out. I played it literally for an hour straight just standing there haha.

[Arasoi]

This game looks promising indeed. THe CV3/DOS Julius mode style character switching has always appealed to me, and added depth to the gameplay. The addition of linear stages through paintings should add a more classic feel to the game, which IMO was badly needed.

The only downside I can see is the art, which I dot not prefer the style of at all. Its barely better than the completely generic anime style that DOS had.

[MarkMan]

The character switching is fast, even more on the fly than CV3/DOS Julius mode.

It's like switching between two weapon sets in DoS.

Fun stuff. You can even program your cpu AI controlled partner to do a set of moves on the fly.

[evil_genius]

what game is that in your avatar? it looks like ikaruga but it can't be.

[exit]

It's nice to see that they're going back to some of the classic game elements. I'm glad to see that they're starting to listen to the fans, now all they need to do is give us Rondo of Blood.

[Synergy]

Another Castlevania is always good to hear about.

I'm glad to see that they're starting to listen to the fans, now all they need to do is give us Rondo of Blood.

No kidding. I just got a hold of magic engine that came with a Rondo image a couple days ago and I'm still here trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. That game is AMAZING. So amazing, in fact, that I have half a mind to buy a Turbo Duo just to play that game.

But, yeah, an official release here in the states would work too. Either way, I must have that game! :P

[Richter Belmount]

i heard nec can sue konami for doing that porting the game so thats whats holding them back.

[Arasoi]

Rondo is a special game, but once you get past the fact that its a very good 8/16 bit (depends on who you ask in PC Engine's case) game on CD, it falls a little flat, and gets overrated.

The anime art style detracts from the game a bit IMO, deviates too much from the series on the whole - and the silliness with Maria makes it harder to take seriously. Its a Castlevania game, not a Parodius game. Additionally, she's so powerful she breaks the game more or less.

Its level structure and great attention to detail, along with its superb soundtrack help raise it up to a high standing in the series overall, but taken in perspective with the other games its more of an oddity than a serious entry in the series.

[Rook_Jones]

Rondo is a special game, but once you get past the fact that its a very good 8/16 bit (depends on who you ask in PC Engine's case) game on CD, it falls a little flat, and gets overrated.

Or is that what you tell yourself because you don't own it? In any case, I really enjoyed Dawn Of Sorrow, and I love Bloodlines to death (pun?), so 2 + 2 = 10. Except I don't have a DS.

D'oh!

[Arasoi]

[
Or is that what you tell yourself because you don't own it?

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=87625

Sorry?

[Ed Oscuro]

rofl

Arasoi, it's still one of the best 8-bit CD-ROM games out there, though. I guess you've just worn it out

Anyhow, PoR has me excited. A while back I had thought Aria of Sorrow was just about the greatest thing going, but eventually got over it (and I have yet to pick up DoS, which I understand to be pretty much just more of the same). PoR looks to be a great improvement in many respects.

[Arasoi]

Perhaps I did wear it out, but its not without faults. I pointed out its good points along with what I consider to be bad. I just consider it more of an oddity really, when compared to the rest of the series.

Classic games on CD format seem to blind people a little bit with their flash (IE - sprite cutscenes, CD music). Akumajo Densetsu is a much better game overall than Rondo IMO.

[Rook_Jones]

Shut me up. =)

Is that a Tiger Handheld CV? I remember when those things used to trick me into thinking they were cool...

[Arasoi]

Yeah there are a few of those, I agree that those arent too fun really. Though the watch is an interesting oddity.

It looks like there may be backtracking in the painting stages in PoR, as certain relics may be required to complete some of them. That breaks the linear aspect a little bit, but Im still very optimistic about the game. Its a change of pace, and looks/sounds to be a positive one indeed.

[MarkMan]

I played a bunch of Portrait of Ruin's new build yesterday and the day before.

It's really good stuff.

I'm so looking forward to the final release. Koji Igarashi was on hand and some coworkers of mine were able to get a good interview with him. I'll try to get the transcript soon.

[THATinkjar]

IGN posted some impressions on the latest build from Comic-Con 2006. Check it out! Apparently it won't bit hitting Japan until the end of the year (possibly slipping to January...), so I'm guessing we won't see it for a good few months after.

[2Dskillz]

I bought my DS for Dawn of Sorrows when it released. And just as of today I am still playing it. I am really looking forward to Potrait of Ruin, I have complete faith in Igarashi's work. He has had me since Symphony of the Night.

[jobowyer]

I'm digging the spellcaster over Jonathon. Out of the many times I've played SotN I usually go the spellcasting route.

[MarkMan]

OK.

This game is way better than Dawn of Sorrow. At least for me, enjoyment wise. The game is great. I have no idea when it's coming out in the US but for sure, this is going to have a lot of suprises!