Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

[calthaer]

I was a tad disappointed with the soundtrack CD - I guess I hoped for more remixes of the classic tunes a la ocremix (but with less techno crap and more solid orchestrations).

The game itself is ridiculously awesome. I'm nearing 100% completion of the game with all the maps - currently trying to make sure I get 100% of the bestiary, which requires finding out what each and every enemy drops. Am down to less than five enemies, all of which are only found in the Nest (to my knowledge). Note to peeps: to get the best item drops, one would think that the witch lady is better because she gets higher luck to start out with, and double charm bracelets + her Luck spell gets her luck into the 90s.

But the fighter guy is way better with - I believe it's the Thief ring. And full luck items (like equipping the Tuxedo, etc.) and with Charlotte's Luck spell. Great for blasting gorgons and nauseum and getting 9 New York Steaks, which are great.

Then will work on getting 100% of items, many of which I'll probably have to buy from the store.

I loved the quest system and wish they had included more quests.

I also kind of wished that they had included four more distinct worlds instead of four more rehashed portrait worlds for that "final" section, but that's really a minor nitpick. I'm just glad the gameworld is so expansive.

The stylus IS used in this game, but the only thing it is used for are those three quill pens that are shown in the maps screen. There are three quills for each map, and they can be dragged and placed over the map any place you like. Very useful for marking places where you may have the entire room on the map but there is still a section you need a "travel" skill (like double jump or owl or frog or whatever) to get to.

The music is great.

I can't wait to try multiplayer coop. Might be a few months, though - don't have my DS online yet at all.

[GrandAmChandler]

Addicted to this. 3 portraits finished.

[Kuros]

Yup, great game. 1000% of the map, mastered all subweapons, finished all quests, defeated all monsters, etc.

I did a Richter speed run on normal mode. Took me about 50 minutes.

Didn't die up until Death/Drac, which is extremely hard when you are doing only 50 damage per hit.

[PallarAndersVisa]

I'm a huge Castlevania fan, definately my favorite franchise ever. I just wanted to expend on my two cents on this new game, Portrait of Ruin.

PoR is a good game, there is no doubt about that. However, as a big Castlevania fan I feel this franchise is in serious need of an update. Symphony of the Night is my favorite of the franchise, and is my favorite game of all time, but I constantly feel like I am playing watered down versions of SotN whenever a new Castlevania game is released.

The whole "Metroidvania" thing is getting old. Its a great idea, but it was a great idea 5 games ago. I am really getting sick of the same exploration, the same save rooms, the same teleport rooms, similar maps and similar locales.

We are now 5 2-D Castlevania games from SotN, and we are still seeing the same EXACT enemy character sprites for nearly 80% of the enemies. The same skeletons, the same Axe lord armors, the same skelerangs, the same gypsy snipers, the same god damn bad guys that we have been fighting for ten years now. I know we have had bone throwing skeletons and bats since the beginning, but I really do not want to see these same exact sprites from SotN in a new Castlevania game.

PoR added some new elements, but its really nothing special to me. Like I said, PoR is a great game, but its not a great game to a big Castlevania fan like myself.

I really just want a new 2-D console CV experience to behold. The majesty that is Castlevania just cannot be replicated on a 3.5" screen. I'd also like to see Konami do away with the "Metroidvania" style in favor of something new. Perhaps a traditional "left to right", level by level game is in order?

[Icarus Moonsight]

I thought PoR was an excellent throwback to classic Castlevanias such as Dracula's Curse and Rondo. While the online modes were weaker than I thought they could be, at least mutiplayer boss rush is better than a broken online standard game would have been. It is very playable and even fun, only dissapointed by expectation rather than execution. Sisters mode is a blast. That is the stylus-played Castlevania that DoS missed at. The recycled sprites can grate a bit, but for an A-list 2-D title, handheld or not, in this age of gaming I am willing to overlook this as long as these games keep coming. With only about a year between DoS ond PoR the recycled sprites are less design choice than time saving necessity. I have played PoR alot since christmas. 50 hours alot with multiple passes through and different modes. If that is any indication, Iga is doing something right, at least by my reckoning. Iga seems set on keeping 2-D Castlevanias on handheld systems which for now means the DS. SotN on Live Arcade and PSP will expose other gamers to the metroidvania formula that missed it the first time around. I don't think we will see another new side scroll Castlevania, especially after that. Only way I could see side scrolling games happening is through services such as Live and VC or possibly ports on handhelds. So Iga, how about a little more love here stateside and port Rondo? Pweeease! *puppy dog eyes*

All in all I love PoR. IMHO SotN has finally been topped.
Yuzo Koshiro lives!

Final preorder debacle update.
: Still no pre-order bonus... no longer even hope to get it now. Had to buy off the Bay and paid more than I did for the game. Lame.

[PallarAndersVisa]

I went back and replayed SotN yesterday, beat it in 4 and a half hours. No way can that game be topped. There is just way too much to discover, and the soundtrack won't even be duplicated verbatim by another CV game due to handheld cartidge limitations.

SotN is a classic that can't be touched. It came out at the right time, and started a new CV era!

[Daniel Thomas]

I'm a huge Castlevania fan, definately my favorite franchise ever. I just wanted to expend on my two cents on this new game, Portrait of Ruin.

PoR is a good game, there is no doubt about that. However, as a big Castlevania fan I feel this franchise is in serious need of an update. Symphony of the Night is my favorite of the franchise, and is my favorite game of all time, but I constantly feel like I am playing watered down versions of SotN whenever a new Castlevania game is released.

The whole "Metroidvania" thing is getting old. Its a great idea, but it was a great idea 5 games ago. I am really getting sick of the same exploration, the same save rooms, the same teleport rooms, similar maps and similar locales.

We are now 5 2-D Castlevania games from SotN, and we are still seeing the same EXACT enemy character sprites for nearly 80% of the enemies. The same skeletons, the same Axe lord armors, the same skelerangs, the same gypsy snipers, the same god damn bad guys that we have been fighting for ten years now. I know we have had bone throwing skeletons and bats since the beginning, but I really do not want to see these same exact sprites from SotN in a new Castlevania game.

PoR added some new elements, but its really nothing special to me. Like I said, PoR is a great game, but its not a great game to a big Castlevania fan like myself.

I really just want a new 2-D console CV experience to behold. The majesty that is Castlevania just cannot be replicated on a 3.5" screen. I'd also like to see Konami do away with the "Metroidvania" style in favor of something new. Perhaps a traditional "left to right", level by level game is in order?

I have to agree with you on this one. I haven't really touched Portrait of Ruin after the first day or so, and the newness wore off. I think I'm just tired of the whole Symphony rehashing again and again and again. The last one on DS was good because the hard mode was, for once, actually hard. But these games are always such cakewalks, I wonder what the whole point is.

This is a series that holds you by the hands, which is a far cry from the first four Castlevanias, which were brutally hard. I do appreciate that this newest version allows for a number of smaller worlds, but it's still so easy that all you're really doing is walking from point A to point B. There's no challenge, even if we're outdoors for once.

I might still get back into this one, but other things in life are drawing more attention (weblog, podcast, yadda yadda). But my affection for the last Castlevania isn't really pulling through into this one. I'd rather see something new, or something that's moderately challenging. I've still got 20 Sudoku puzzles to solve on Brain Age, and a bigger house on Animal Crossing.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I went back and replayed SotN yesterday, beat it in 4 and a half hours. No way can that game be topped. There is just way too much to discover, and the soundtrack won't even be duplicated verbatim by another CV game due to handheld cartidge limitations.

SotN is a classic that can't be touched. It came out at the right time, and started a new CV era!

Not to pick nits but, with compressed audio the DS can pump out CD quality music - in quasi surround even. PoR being > than SotN is just my opinion so there is a way for it to be topped through opinion. It's all POV.