// KOTAKU — GAMING
Dawn Of Sorrow’s Tactical Soul System Made It One Of The Best Castlevania Games
CastlevaniaCastlevania: Dawn of SorrowKonamiMetroidvaniaNintendo DS
Symphony of the Night is a masterpiece. Dawn of Sorrow builds on the foundation Symphony laid with a tactical soul system that gives Soma Cruz one of the biggest arsenals in any Castlevania game. While metroidvanias in general are all about exploration and finding gear that lets you get even further, the soul system empowered gamers with an overwhelming number of play styles. It helped transform the classic formula into an experimental romp that made combat a joy. Add gorgeous visuals and arguably some of the catchiest music in the series, and you have the formula for one of the best Castlevania games ever made.
Released for the DS in 2004, Dawn of Sorrow received a modern port in 2024, which is probably the definitive way to play it. For nostalgic reasons, I still like playing it on my 3DS, which is the way I replayed Dawn of Sorrow this time around.
Aria of Sorrow was one of my favorite metroidvania Castlevania games on the GBA. It took the series into the near future with an interesting premise. What if the original Dracula had actually been defeated and you could play as the newest incarnation of the classic villain? Soma Cruz is an unlikely antihero, thrust into the events of Aria seemingly by accident. It’s fascinating to consider how, in some ways, becoming Dracula is a choice, which makes Soma’s arc all the more compelling. Soma is literally struggling with his soul so that he isn’t consumed by darkness. One of the legendary Belmonts, Julius, views him as a threat until Soma defeats the chaos within the castle and emerges without succumbing to evil.
In the sequel, Dawn of Sorrow, we start with Soma thinking he’s left that part of his life behind. But as with all cycles of violence, it rarely ends when we want it to. There are those who want to seize his power and exploit his abilities for their own devious purposes. Celia Fortner is one of them, head of a strange cult called “With Light” that wants to resurrect the Dark Lord (why do the most vile cults always have thinkspeak names?). She feels her God can achieve absolute good only if there’s a countering force. To fulfill that purpose, her followers have reconstructed Dracula’s castle and populated it with monsters. Those creatures probably had no idea they were being set up as bait for Soma, agreeing to come only because the Belmonts constantly destroy where they live.
With the castle complete, Celia attacks Soma while he’s out with his friend Mina. Her unprovoked strike awakens Soma’s powers again. As they’ve mostly been submerged since Aria, he has to start all over without any powers or abilities. It sucks, but hey, at least they give a reason for him starting off with practically nothing.
Playing as Soma Cruz makes it easy for players to understand why the antagonists want Dracula’s power so much. Wielding souls is immensely gratifying. The tactical soul system lets Soma master the souls of almost every enemy in the castle and use their strength to wreak havoc. The Enchant-Type Souls grant abilities that are passive, like the Ghost Dancers, who increase luck, and The Creature, AKA Frankenstein, who restores HP to players. Others are Bullet-Type Souls, which use up MP, but act like the traditional subitems. My favorite was the Mandragora, which is essentially a screaming bomb and is extremely powerful. The Erinys is a deadly area attack (it’s the one I used against the final boss), as is the trusty Axe Armor. You can also throw cards with the portraits of characters using the Killer Clown, while Malachi’s katamari of destruction becomes an avalanche destroying everything in its path. There are also a few quirky souls, like the one gained from a waiter that grants you the power to serve curry. I need one of those in real life.
The essential Ability-Type souls grant Soma the power to freeze time, float in the air, and the best skill of all, double jump (my Metroidvania gameplay experiences ar