Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

“Finished... 4 stars. Castlevania!”

“Finished...
4 stars.

Castlevania!”

“I think everyone knows the series and how the developers try some new stuff each time, only to forget it in the next installment :D + The idea of using portraits to take the game out of the castle is nice and some locations are really pleasant to...”

“I think everyone knows the series and how the developers try some new stuff each time, only to forget it in the next installment :D
+ The idea of using portraits to take the game out of the castle is nice and some locations are really pleasant to play in.
+ Team attacks. One of my favourite parts in the game. Something just feels really good about launching thousand knives in the gut of some faceless horror or filling the screen with lightning...
+ Final battle. I won't spoil anything (there are enough FAQs/walktroughs/fora on the internet who'll do it for me :D) but this battle was simply awesome. One of my favourite fights in a long time.
+ After finishing the game you get 2 new modes (there are 3 extra modes in total but most likely you won't have unlocked the third after your first playtrough :D) to play with and one of them, the Sisters mode, is really fun (altough quite OP but hey, you've beaten the game already :D)
- The idea of playing as two characters might appeal to some and might be repulsive to others, I didn't really mind. What I did mind was that Jonathan (whip-boy :D) was simply better than Charlotte (the magic-user)! Kinda sad because I found him a lot less fun to play as.
- Quite often you'll find yourself in dull terrain. 3 Portraits or so and the castle(!) itself are prime examples of this. It also doesn't help that you'll be visiting them a second time.
- When defeating foes you find weapons or spells for you to use but they don't give you any chance to experiment! This is a real shame when you look back on some previous installments where certain combinations created whole new weapons.

There's a lot wrong with the game and yes, Ecclesia is better, but that doesn't mean this isn't a fun game. Really worth playing :D”

“Of the three DS installments this was the so-so title. It was fun, the art style was better, the move sets and weaponry and story was pretty neat. I just didn't like their innovative idea this time around and that was having a partner in a...”

“Of the three DS installments this was the so-so title. It was fun, the art style was better, the move sets and weaponry and story was pretty neat. I just didn't like their innovative idea this time around and that was having a partner in a Castlevania game.

It killed the idea of being a one man army. The chosen one to fight evil, it lessened the thrill of playing this game. I still beat it, and it was still good, just not a step in the right direction.

They learned though, the third installment of the DS series was incredible.”

“Questo Castlevania va preso anche solo per le musiche, perché sono veramente qualcosa di eccezionale! Il gameplay è il "solito", buon vecchio gameplay, la trama è forse il suo punto debole.”

“Questo Castlevania va preso anche solo per le musiche, perché sono veramente qualcosa di eccezionale! Il gameplay è il "solito", buon vecchio gameplay, la trama è forse il suo punto debole.”

“Portrait was excellent, adding some spice to the standard formula by giving you two separate skill sets, in the form of two instantly switchable characters. You use your preference but you'll find yourself using both, if you wanna get the real ending”

“Portrait was excellent, adding some spice to the standard formula by giving you two separate skill sets, in the form of two instantly switchable characters. You use your preference but you'll find yourself using both, if you wanna get the real ending”

“Great game. Makes the most of the castlevania title.”

“Great game. Makes the most of the castlevania title.”