What makes this
collection aspect work (and impossible to dismiss as a gimmick) is how flawlessly it has
been integrated into the gameplay. It feels normal, gathering souls that are sometimes
deposited by a large variety of killed enemies, to use on weapons or to advance past an
otherwise locked section of the enormous castle. The only problem this creates is
randomness, since a soul you need to advance may not be in your inventory. It's not always
clear which soul you need either. You're right in thinking that it barely qualifies as a flaw. Dawn of Sorrow is just that impressive, making any aggravation brief and forgettable. These new Castlevania titles have the uncanny ability to make being lost for hours fun and engrossing. Opening a new section is a joy, and the feeling of accomplishment only grows as the castle map increases.
If you're looking for an entirely new experience, something to bring back the basic style when the series originated, that's not going to happen here. The DS isn't used extensively, and the best feature is the map displayed on the top screen at all times. It literally saves hours, eliminating the need to swap various status screens just to find a small part of the map you have yet to explore.
This is a rare DS game
(as of this writing) that uses the bottom screen for its core gameplay. This allows for
minor touch screen features, like the ability to break ice blocks by touching them. You'll
also need to "seal" bosses by drawing a specific pattern on screen, and this can
be frustrating. It's not enough to just kill a boss, but just a slight mistake starts the
battle again. Oddly though, that's what makes this game so great. It's not a problem to redo countless sections of the game. Not knowing where you'll go next only adds to the intrigue, and by leaving players relatively clueless as to their next destination, allows them to level up in a natural manner.
Repetition is also avoided by the incredible variety of enemies, some which offer up brief glimpses of humor, others that are simply terrifying creations. Animation is simply gorgeous to watch, slaughtering any of the brightest moments on the Game Boy Advance renditions. Even though it's 2-D, the sheer amount of color, detail, style, special effects, and a few 3-D backgrounds (flawlessly mixing into the game's art style) raise this title above anything in full 3-D on the DS, and well above the GBA creations.
Konami has even added
multi-player features, including the ability to swap items (and souls) wirelessly and
create challenges to race through competitively. It seems almost unnecessary given how
strong the single player experience, but this makes up for the lower difficulty of the
standard quest (three endings included though). Boss Rush mode becomes available once the
main game is beaten, a timed charge on each of the games biggest fights. Whether or not this achieves the greatness set by Symphony of the Night will depend on how highly regarded that entry is personally. There's a strong case for Dawn of Sorrow and the Playstation/Saturn title. Both are engrossing, unforgettable, and impossible to stop playing once started. This will be a classic for the DS.
