Picking up one year after the events of the previous portable title, Soma Cruz, the reincarnated essence of Dracula must now stop a cult that wishes to destroy his body to unleash the evil spirit within him and bring back the Darkness in a new host. Along the way, you’ll pick up more souls from your defeated enemies as before, but now there’s a whole new element to these powers, and a few new tricks made possible with the DS’s unique set-up.

For starters, collecting multiples of the same soul-type will eventually increase that soul’s power. It varies from each soul, but upgrading these powers can be very beneficial for your attacks. Also, you can utilize the souls to upgrade your weapons as well, making them stronger and dealing out more damage than before. There’s also the Magic Seals you collect, which are used to open doors, but more importantly, defeat boss creatures. After depleting the boss’s health all the way, the Magic Seal appears on the touch screen. Trace the path of the seal to finish of the monster. It’s a cool little touch that works well on the DS, but it’s one of the only times you use the touch screen, other than another power that allows you to shatter ice blocks by tapping them on the screen.

Still, the dual screens are ideal for this type of game, and especially this series. The action is presented on the bottom touch screen, and the top non-interactive screen displays your map. In a game like CASTLEVANIA which features such a huge castle to trek through, this the most helpful use of the screens yet. In fact, in playing my old GBA CASTLEVANIA games, I wish they had that feature as well. As for the rest of the game, control remains similar to the previous game, but special moves are spread out around the buttons, and you can actually switch between two different equip sets (once you unlock the power to do so) in order to keep a few more often used powers handy. The gameplay is still as stellar as before, and veterans and new fans alike will have no problem picking up the title. Keeping the expansive world map style used in SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT and the RPG-esque weapons and outfits from the previous GBA version lock this game into “must play” status.

Graphically, the game is presented quite well on the DS, retaining most of the visual look of the game and series, but updating many textures and creature designs for more detail. The anime style used for this game is different from the previous entries in the series, but it doesn’t hurt the overall feel (and the gorgeous anime cut-scene before you begin the game is just awesome to watch).

There’re even some wireless multiplayer features too. Aside from being able to trade souls that you’ve collected with friends, there’s also a versus mode, where two players attempt to complete a pre-designed map in the quickest time using the souls they’ve unlocked in the main game. Sure, it’s not a must-play feature, but it’s a cool diversion none the less.

I honestly can find no fault with this game, other than to say I wish there were more sues for the touch screen. However, with a game this fantastic to play, that doesn’t really make much of a difference. The action is well paced and always offers up some new fresh foe to drop your jaw, and some of the creatures you encounter are brand new to the series. If this is a sign of things to come, I can’t wait for the next console incarnation of the series, just one month away. For now, though, I’ll keep losing myself in this fantastic game.

One Gamer’s Opinion:

OH, KAY

Kay is an annoying, immature young cat, who aspires to free his village from the tyranny of its oppressive overlords, the rats and gorillas. He trains martial arts and sword use, and ventures out to learn the truth behind why they have overtaken his town. Along the way he rescues neighboring rabbits, and other such creatures along his journey. Unfortunately, Kay is such a braggart that he’s hard to like as a hero. You want to help the needy, but only if you don’t have to listen to Kay whine and blather on in his prepubescent voice.

Thankfully, the gameplay saves the game. Kay uses his sword, hammer and claws to dispatch his foes with a variety of simple yet effective combos. The control is fairly basic, but intuitive, and players will be able to execute powerful moves with little effort. The game itself lends much to games like ZELDA and MAXIMO, but with a way of traveling around battles with a speedy combo-raising maneuver that links hits together while you fly from one foe to another. The action is really infectious, and the plight of these fuzzy beings is enough to keep one continuing through the surprisingly lengthy quest. Sure, there’s the occasional fetch-quest task, but you won’t mind with such a healthy array of moves and abilities for the weapons you acquire.

Still, the horrendous voice acting detracts a bit. A ninja cat is one thing, and warlike gorillas another. But when they sound like rejects from a children’s production of The Wind in the Willows, they tend to pull you out of the story. The visuals are colorful and vibrant enough to convey the message, so inhuman animal noises such as meows and ape grunts would have worked fine.

Bottom line is, get it for the gameplay, turn off the voices, and turn on the subtitles. You could probably read it aloud better yourself anyway.

One Gamer’s Opinion:

RETRO GAMES OF THE WEEK

The Capcom collection, however, is simply outstanding. 22 classics from the publisher’s heyday in the arcades, including BIONIC COMMANDO, MERCS, LEGENDARY WINGS and my personal favorite FINAL FIGHT, all arcade perfect and completely uncut (the NES version of BIONIC COMMANDO is quite different and longer, and the home versions of FINAL FIGHT were unable to include one of the playable characters, as well as omitting the female villains from the game). There’re even three versions of STREET FIGHTER II, as well as all three games in the so-damn-tough-it’s-near-impossible GHOULS AND GHOSTS series. Just based on this, both of these collections are twenty dollars very well spent.

One Gamer’s Opinion: (MIDWAY ARCADE TREASURES 3)

One Gamer’s Opinion: (CAPCOM CLASSICS COLLECTION)

Ah, remember what I said earlier about intros? Same goes for outros. Next week I’ll be reviewing WORMS 4: MAYHEM and DEVIL KINGS, and maybe some other stuff. Come back, it’ll be fun.

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