Aside from uninspired Wind quests and reused themes towards the end of the game, Portrait of Ruin continues to prove that Castlevania on the DS is consistently high quality.
That alone would satisfy me enough, but IGA and his team are still able to shake things up, like the main new feature being the dual system which lets you switch between characters or use both during gameplay, and this opens up a lot of new options or stuff to collect. It overwhelmed me at first, but I came around to it and consistently got new stuff. For me, that results in the most rewarding entry in the series, even if the level design isn’t as strong as Dawn of Sorrow.
Now, as for the new characters & tone, I came around to really liking it a lot. The character dynamics are entertaining enough to sit through the usual predictable Castlevania plots, but as I already have said in my Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow reviews, I don’t mind that as long as the characters aren’t blank sheets and that isn’t the case thankfully while having the best final boss in the entire series. The more light-hearted tone didn’t feel as jarring as I thought it would, and that makes the anime art style more fitting compared to Dawn of Sorrow, even if it is still not my ideal Castlevania art style.
No shocker, the soundtrack fucking rules as it usually is with Castlevania games at this point, and the final thing I want to note is the amount of Rondo of Blood pandering makes me a very happy person.
Overall, Portrait of Ruin is still an amazing game despite its few shortcomings, and it really certifies that the Castlevania series for me might’ve peaked during the DS era if Order of Ecclesia keeps up the momentum and not nose-diving hard.
That alone would satisfy me enough, but IGA and his team are still able to shake things up, like the main new feature being the dual system which lets you switch between characters or use both during gameplay, and this opens up a lot of new options or stuff to collect. It overwhelmed me at first, but I came around to it and consistently got new stuff. For me, that results in the most rewarding entry in the series, even if the level design isn’t as strong as Dawn of Sorrow.
Now, as for the new characters & tone, I came around to really liking it a lot. The character dynamics are entertaining enough to sit through the usual predictable Castlevania plots, but as I already have said in my Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow reviews, I don’t mind that as long as the characters aren’t blank sheets and that isn’t the case thankfully while having the best final boss in the entire series. The more light-hearted tone didn’t feel as jarring as I thought it would, and that makes the anime art style more fitting compared to Dawn of Sorrow, even if it is still not my ideal Castlevania art style.
No shocker, the soundtrack fucking rules as it usually is with Castlevania games at this point, and the final thing I want to note is the amount of Rondo of Blood pandering makes me a very happy person.
Overall, Portrait of Ruin is still an amazing game despite its few shortcomings, and it really certifies that the Castlevania series for me might’ve peaked during the DS era if Order of Ecclesia keeps up the momentum and not nose-diving hard.