What a pleasant surprise this was, I actually really enjoyed my time here. For being the 2nd DS Castlevania game they really knocked it out of the park after Dawn of Sorrows admittedly poor experience. But I'm gonna chalk it up to the devs finally understanding how to do a handheld DS Castlevania. Having the areas be segmented with the Castle acting as the hub really makes it difficult for any new player to get lost. Which in my opinion is how this series should be handled when it comes to being on a handheld, Order of Ecclesia does the same and that game is also fantastic. But back to portrait of Ruin, taking the same gimmick from the hit indie 3D platformer game Mario 64, (you may have heard of it) you jump into paintings and then explore the worlds to fight a boss and move back to the hub. It's a fine gameplay loop that just makes sense for the DS. No more bullshit forced touchscreen gimmicks, it's a solid time throughout and one i'd recommend.