Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Review (gamezone)

- gamezone -

To some gamers the word “advancement” and the phrase “moving forward” are dirty words. In the opinion of some gamers moving a franchise forward just for the sake of adding a modern feel to the game is a terrible idea that could lead to disastrous results. The Castlevania franchise could almost be considered the poster child of keeping a franchise rooted in the old school. While the series did take a plunge in the 3D gameplay department the franchise always seems to shine when it goes back to its 2D gaming roots. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin continues the streak of quality 2D Castlevania games that has generated interest in the series ever since the PS1 classic Symphony of the Night.

The story of Portrait of Ruin (PoR) is based in the year 1944. With the Second World War in full swing countless lives are lost to the war and tortured souls are roaming the Earth. The evil and hatred of the lost souls has led to the rise of Dracula’s castle once again. However this time another vampire is behind the workings of Dracula’s castle, his name is Brauner. But whenever a vampire is around a Vampire Hunter is not too far away. The Vampire Hunter in this game is named Jonathan Morris, who wields the legendary whip the “Vampire Killer.” Along with his partner, Charlotte Aulin, Jonathan must uncover the mysterious of Dracula’s castle and rid the world of its unspeakable evil.

With Castlevania PoR we get the same classic Metroid/Castlevania gameplay that became popular with Symphony of the Night. For those that might not understand this formula let me explain. The first few Castlevania games were straightforward 2D side-scrolling action games that had you using a whip as your main weapon while picking up various items as a secondary weapon. With Symphony of the Night the series took a different approach by having your character leveling up, learning spells and equipping various items that you pick up in the game. Another change had you exploring different parts of the Dracula’s castle instead of following a linear path. Parts of the castle are blocked off and as you defeat bosses and find new items you unlock other parts of the castle. For some these changes reminded gamers of Metroid and the whole Metroidvania label was born.

PoR continues the Metroid-vania gameplay with all of the classic elements that have appeared in Castlevania games since Symphony of the Night. But this isn’t Symphony of the Night just for the DS; instead this is a unique Castlevania game that can stand on its own. The big difference maker for PoR is the addition of your partner Charlotte. Now instead of playing through the game as one character you can switch between Jonathan and Charlotte at any time. Jonathan is based on the classic Belmont style/Vampire Hunter we’re use to by now. He can use whips, spears and swords as his main weapons in the game. To contrast Charlotte is a magic user that has to read spells and books in order to attack during combat.

The game doesn’t limit you to just switching between the characters. Instead you can call upon the other character to follow you and help you in battle at anytime. The game even includes puzzles that you have to solve by placing the other character at certain locations on the screen. The game includes a talk feature that you can use to generate a conversation between Jonathan and Charlotte in the menu screen. Another special feature of this partner system is the Dual Crush mode which is a special attack used by both characters. These changes might not seem like a big deal but for a Castlevania game it does create something unique that we’ve never experienced.

The level design in PoR is close to a classic design but falls a little short. The main castle has tons of rooms that you will uncover as you progress in the game. A new addition in PoR is the paintings you find in the game. The paintings are a gateway to another map that you have to explore. Each painting depicts a different type of environment, such as a desert, that you wouldn’t find inside of the castle. In order to keep uncovering parts of the castle you will have to finish each painting. Each painting has its own boss that you have to fight in order to finish out the painting. But the game usually has the same type of layout and progression. You find a warp point, you find a painting, you find a save point and near all three of these are in an area blocked off until you’ve cleared the painting.

The boss battles are another fine example of classic Castlevania. You will find several bosses that you’ve battled before in previous Castlevania games. With the addition of your partner the game does throw some tricks at you that didn’t show up in a previous Castlevania game. The boss encounters can be very unforgiving especially if you haven’t leveled up properly. I found myself having to fight some of the bosses repeatedly to no avail until I spent time leveling up.

Another change in PoR is the lack of touch-screen controls. In the last Castlevania game for the DS, Dawn of Sorrow, you had to draw certain pictures on the touch screen to use different spells and features. Thankfully PoR skips this feature but adds another feature that was lacking in Dawn of Sorrow; multiplayer play. PoR includes full wireless multiplayer (Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection) and local multiplayer.

The multiplayer mode is broken up into two parts, a co-op mode and an item/shop mode. The co-op mode pits you and another player in a race against time to clear a stage in the fastest time possible. The Shop mode allows you to list the items that you find in the single-player game for sale to other games to purchase from you. The game even allows you to purchase items from other games. These two options might be small compared to PC or console games but are a welcomed feature for a portable Castlevania game.

There are a couple of other features that either new or changed from a previous Castlevania game. One is a skills' learning system that you can take on during the game. You will be presented with various quests in the game that you can choose from and once you have completed the quest you learn a new skill. Some of the quests are real simple such as perform a special move while others will have you searching various paintings are parts of the castle. Another different feature is the skills you pick up in the game. Now each character has different skills they can use during the game which are different from each other. For example, as you defeat certain monsters in the game you pick up the ability to call those monsters into battle. But only Charlotte has the ability to use this skill since it’s based upon magic. Jonathan will learn specific skills, which are usually based upon weapons he finds in the game (such as the axe and knives from previous Castlevania games). Instead of just picking up new items to use you learn their skills that you can select from at anytime. No more picking up the wrong item at the wrong time during the heat of battle.

For fans of the series Portrait of Ruin is another fine example of why the Castlevania franchise continues to shine. The game offers the same type of tried-and-true gameplay made popular in Symphony of the Night. If you’ve ever played one Castlevania game then you will be at home right away, especially with Jonathan since he is based upon the classic Belmont formula. The game doesn’t try to re-invent the series by including a bunch of tacked-on features (such as the touch screen spells) that only get in the way. The changes that were included are minor but enough to make the hardcore Castlevania fan take notice. In the end the game does feel like “just another Castlevania” game instead of something fresh and new. We’re already on the second Castlevania game on the DS and the fifth title that has been released on a portable system. The game is still a solid game but nothing that can overshadow some of the other games in the series.

Review Scoring Details for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Gameplay: 8.5
This is the same solid playing title that you would expect from a Castlevania game. The ability to use your partner during combat and switch between partners is a welcomed feature that flows seamlessly into the game. The exploration, items and level advancement create a ton of playability by mixing and matching different skills and equipment. I did run into a problem from time to time where Jonathan would end up facing the wrong direction during combat. It seemed to happen at random but it happened more than once.

Graphics: 8.8
This is one of the best-looking 2D Castlevania and DS games I’ve seen. The screen is popping with vibrant colors and dark tones from all of the locations within the castle and paintings. Each location in the game is overflowing with small details that are very impressive even for a 2D title. The enemies still look almost the same as they have in previous Castlevania games. During some of the boss battles I did notice some slowdown when the action would fill the entire screen.

Sound: 8.6
Fans of the music in the series won’t be disappointed with PoR. You will hear some arranged versions of classic Castlevania themes heard in previous games. The game even includes voice samples for some of the characters in the game which unfortunately get repeated frequently.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
This isn’t a walk in the park. You will need to level up before jumping into some of the boss battles. Unfortunately the game doesn’t do a great job of preparing you until after you’ve been defeated by a boss. That’s usually your sign that you need to level up some more.

Concept: 8.0
When you’ve had this many sequels in a franchise’s history it can be difficult to come up with a revolutionary idea. Symphony of the Night was the last big jump in how the series has progressed, in my opinion, and Portrait of Ruin keeps that formula alive. This isn’t a bad thing but it makes the games feel the same after a few hours of play.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The multiplayer options might appear limited but are still a welcomed feature because of the Wi-Fi mode. So many portable games now seem to skip out on offering true wireless multiplayer but thankfully PoR doesn’t let us down. Maybe the next game will offer more than two players in one game.

Overall: 8.5
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is another fine title in the long running series. For hardcore gamers the addition of the second character and Wi-Fi multiplayer are two great additions that set PoR apart from other games in the series. Casual games will still get a kick out of the game but probably won’t notice the subtle changes when compared to the last Castlevania game. I don’t want the series to change too much but something still needs to be done to make the games feel different from each other.

GameZone Reviews

8.5

GZ Rating

Gameplay	8.5
Graphics	8.8
Sound	8.6
Difficulty	Med/Hard
Concept	8
Multiplayer	8.5
Overall	8.5

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin delivers another fantastic Castlevania experience for the Nintendo DS