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Castlevania Leads DS Charge 54

GameDailyBiz reports that as the Holiday season moves on Castlevania is driving DS sales to new heights. From the article: "I think what makes the games so amazing is their simplicity. The little enhancements go a long way (for example the on-screen map which is something that fans of the series have been longing for). The development team does an amazing job at taking traditional gaming elements and discovering ways to evolve them with each different version. With the DS, we were able to deliver a familiar style of gameplay with incredible graphics, sound, and for the first time interactivity thanks to the touch screen ... We can't just make the same game over and over again." Dawn of Sorrow is a dang good game.
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Castlevania Leads DS Charge

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  • Funny thing... these reviews actually work. It was the mario kart review that got me looking into the DS. I thought it was a gimmicky tacky child's toy and never really bothered to read about it or check what it was all about. I've always been a fan of nintendo and gameplay over graphics. So anyways, started looking into the DS and mariokart and started getting interrested. For example, i didn't know of the wireless online play. The fact that its free is quite simply amazing. Plus there seems to be quite a
    • Two recommendations for titles that are a bit rare and hard to find, unfortunately, but worth it when you do.

      for brainbending: Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney

      for throw-the-controller (and kill-the-patient) twitch difficulty: Trauma Center: Under the Knife

      both games are truly awesome, and very much worth the money if you can find them. I'm on the final case in Phoenix Wright now, and all I can say is "wow." This game is really awesome. Bonus points if you play it on a bus or other public place where you can get
  • by moronga ( 323123 ) on Thursday December 08, 2005 @06:01PM (#14214722)
    Yeah, what a big improvement over the previous non-interactive Castlevania games.

    *rolls eyes*
    • > Yeah, what a big improvement over the previous non-interactive Castlevania
      > games.

      Yeah, and don't forget, thanks to the amazing difference between this and other consoles - namely 2 screens, one of which is touchable - means

      "We can't just make the same game over and over again."

      for reasons which will probably become clear at some point in the future.
  • Haven't played Dawn of Sorrow yet, but once I get my DS, it'll be one of the first games that I play. At least in this case, Koji Igarashi (and Konami as a whole, by association) knows what the hell he's doing. Aria of Sorrow on the GBA is that damn good, too.

    Now, if he'll promise not to make any more games as bad as Nanobreaker, then I'll truly be happy.
    • From what I heard Iga didn't give DoS a lot of attention and focussed on that recent 3d PS2 one instead. Don't worry, DoS is still great (better than AoS, I'd say) but pretty short.
  • Of course, it's not any of the half-a-dozen amazing DS games that make it so great combined, its this ONE game, which came out well over a few months ago. It's a great game, I own it, but for them to claim it's the driving force behind DS sales is sheer arrogance.
    • It's a great game, I own it, but for them to claim it's the driving force behind DS sales is sheer arrogance.

      This is also maybe the fourth or fifth supposed "breakout" DS hit I've read about in a week. Each one gets described as driving sales and so on. (Apparently Nintendo Kool Aid sales are also being driven in a similar manner.)

      No way does Castlevania make as big a splash that way as Nintendogs. Nintendogs cuts across gender and age lines better than the others, and the fact it's getting bundled so c

  • Oh yeah, the DS sales rest on Castlevania's shoulders, nevermind Mario Kart, Kirby, Yoshi, Advance Wars, Warioware, Bomberman, Lost in Blue, and nevermind common sense, we're on /v/, it seems.
    Submitter obviously hasn't heard about this sleeper game called "Nintendogs".
    • TFA gives a nod to Nintendogs but like you posted, games like Mario Kart, Viewtiful Joe, Sonic, Trauma Center, Advance Wars, Phoenix Wright and others were completely ignored.

      I did enjoy this latest Castlevania quite a bit, but I cannot believe it would shift more systems than the sublime Mario Kart DS.

      I wonder if the article writer agreed to brown nose the developers at Konami in return for the interview?
  • good old Castlevania, I wish I had a DS tho, been contemplating between the PSP and the DS, both are good handhelds :/
    --
    http://www.e-guides.biz/ [e-guides.biz]
    • Dude I cannot stand any of the DS games but even I have to give props to castlevania. That current sorrow game almost rivals Symphony of the Night from PS1 days. The PSP is desperate for a castlevania 2D, DESPERATE!!

      • The game is seriously fun. It's one of my favorite Castlevania games so far. I just wish it was a little longer.

        It might not take advantage of all the DS's features but who the fuck cares? The game is fun. That's all that matters.

        I've had a blast playing this game.
  • This game was great when I first picked it up (used no less!). But after about 14 hrs of gameplay I had uncovered about 90% of the map and facing the end boss didn't yield any new powers or weapons.

    The weapon upgrades are cool and interesting however the "randomness" of the creature drops is annoying and make some weapon upgrades near impossible.

    I took it back for a store credit and got Animal Crossing.
    • i don't own it, but i seem to recall you can replay it with new characters after beating it. Alucard and some other character become unlockable and they alter the gameplay enough to make it worth replaying.
    • You're slow, I beat the final boss after 8 hours and have 99.3% completion after 12 hours now (last few hours were mostly soul grinding). The soul drops are way too rare compared to AoS, no way I'll try for 100% soul collection in DoS. Also the weapon upgrades are kinda useless, IMO. Nothing beats throwing weapons + Skelerang soul for effectiveness (no need to stop for attacks, long range, high rate of fire) but those cannot be upgraded.
  • I really want a Nintendo DS....I thought mabey next year they would release a Nintendo DS-SP or something like that so I bought a Gameboy Micro (which I am very happy with and is a great system), however in the few months since I purchased the Gameboy Micro so many good games have come out for the Nintendo DS....Mario & Luigi, Mario Kart, Sonic Rush, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, etc. Well I am not sure if I want to keep waiting, but I would like a smaller system.
    • I wouldn't hold out for a much smaller version of the DS. There's really nowhere for the buttons and Dpad to go except on the sides of the screen, so it has to be fairly wide. I'm sure they could find a way to make it more comfortable though. my right thumb hurts like hell after a decent mario kart session, from holding down the gas pedal button.
      • I think it's not the width they should minimize, like you said the controls can't go elsewere, but the system is a bit heavy :\ they should consider making it more slim maybe (and this possibly is an awful thing :P) they should release a system without support for the previous gameboys. Overall the DS is the handeld system to have if you just want to play games, of course if someone crack the thing and homebrew applications start coming out, well then it seriously become the best.
        • by Anonymous Coward
          The GBA cartridge slot is also being used a hardware expansion slot for DS games. Metroid Pinball comes with a GBA cartridge rumble pack.
          • The impression that I get is that the DS has a lot of extra "bulk" that it should be able to easily shed.

            Maybe use a thinner, stronger plastic compound. Reshuffle the insides so that the base can be made slimmer. And I am sure they would be able to make the top screen shell thinner.

            The DS looks too much like a toy, partly because of the bulky plasticky look, versus the PSP.
            • It is a heck of a lot easier to hold something that is alittle more bulky versus something that is very thin. And just in case you forgot...

              IT IS A DAMN TOY!

              If you're worried about what it looks like to other people, wait a few years and you'll grow up and stop worrying about looking "cool"
              • I agree but I do think the top screen is a little too heavy it makes it uncomfy to hold after an hour or less of playing. Especially games like Mario Kart where you need to keep your 2 index fingers on the L and R triggers. It's hard to support the system that way for long periods of time. I end up putting my pinky fingers on the bottom to hold it steady and I constantly have to re-adjust the volume because my pinky keeps hitting it. It's quite annoying. That's really my only gripe about the DS. It could st
      • What if they use just one LCD touchscreen and provide an extra button to toggle which page it displays? It could be as small or smaller than the GBA SP
  • Alas, it seems to have been discontinued here, and presumably in the rest of Europe. I've not seen a new copy in months and even second-hand copies are hard to find. The same happened with the GBA titles.
  • While I'll agree that Dawn of Sorrow is a pretty good game, I find its mostly the same as Aria of Sorrow all over again, plenty of enemies are the same, plenty of souls that you can collect are the same and the weapons are also nothing really new. The graphics are quite a bit better then on the GBA, but the touchscreen additions are pretty minimal. Yet, its still a good game and it shows that 2D games are always plenty of fun when done right, I just wish we would get a fresh titles in that genre instead of
    • I agree with you that that Dawn of Sorrow is very very close to being the same thing we had on the NES; however, I'd disagree with you that this is a bad thing. Human art is something that's been derivative since the dawn of time. Why? Because looking at that cave painting of the antelope on the wall, we got the idea that we'd like to do something similar, but maybe with a man and women in the foreground, or a mountain off in the distance.

      Incremental additions to existing formula's are the bedrock of a
  • I just wish they would port these 2D Castlevania games over to the PS2, GC and XBox. Seriously, these are way better than any of their 3D counterparts. The last great Castlevania for non-handheld console was Symphony of the Night. Obviously, there is still a great deal of appeal for quality 2D games.

Our policy is, when in doubt, do the right thing. -- Roy L. Ash, ex-president, Litton Industries

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