Castlevania Dungeon Forums
The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Classic Castlevania Threads => Topic started by: son_the_vampire on May 16, 2013, 10:26:48 AM
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I havent seen this topic in the forum but i did think that it would stir up some good discussion between the two games.
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I love both games that is why i translated the "third" installment. Hehehe.
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Ill be sure to read it through tonight, i know a lot of hard work has went into making that! THANKS!!!
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Ill be sure to read it through tonight, i know a lot of hard work has went into making that! THANKS!!!
You're welcome! I hope you'll like it. :)
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I hold Aria of Sorrow in high regard as it's definitely one of the best games in the series. I like Dawn a whole lot less for some reason. I think because Aria had better gothic atmosphere and charming GBA visuals/music. The level design might also be better, but I'm not sure.
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Area of Sorrow was the best of Soma's adventure through Castlevania. Everything that needed to be done was done in that one game, minus any dialogue between him and Death which should have been present. Dawn of Sorrow was really nothing more then a rehash of what we had already done in the previous installment. Although the graphics and effects were better (minus Julius' holy cross attack which looked and sounded weaker then hell), it didn't really add anything new. I found that the soul system did not need to be repeated and it was far more tedious in DoS when you consider that in order to have everything in the game, you needed to finish it twice as you only get one soul from a boss. And those souls are needed to craft certain weapons :P I'd rather just have the enemies drop weapons and find them laying around the castle itself. And where was my positron rifle that was in AoS?! Instead they gave you an RPG and it wasn't even worth the hassle to acquire! Whatever :P
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Indeed, the Hellfire Soul is the last soul you can acquire, and the hardest.
DoS wasn't all bad as some people make it out to be, it had some good stuff; the parallax graphics & certain backgrounds looked beautiful, Soma's sprite was well-animated (i loved the fact that you can literally see his breath in the snow environment. Every little detail counts ;), it introduced "real world" mythic creatures (Big Foot, Mothman, etc.) cool enemy animations (when you separate the Homunculus from its oxygen tube and you watch it wraith around until it drownds!), JULIUS MODE, several good music tracks, the "bait and switch" Succubus enemies, Gergoth boss battle, etc. etc.
However AoS is overall just a better game. The type of game that didn't require a direct sequel, since the ending wrapped things up nicely (especially if you consider the "bad" ending where Julius confronts an "awakened" Soma). I believe a CV game taking place several decades or perhaps a century AFTER AoS while disregarding DoS would've been accepted better than DoS. A game that could've reinvented the mythos while still being connected, since a "new" Dracula or Dark Lord could've been the antagonist, Julius' descendants, etc. A lot of potential "spin-off" opportunities there. But that's just how I feel about it, feel free to agree/disagree!
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Some valid points mentioned for each. I myself chose DoS. 1 main reason for Julius mode. The soundtrack also gave it points just because it has some very alluring music. Ill have to agree about the soul system being a lot more tedious for the completionists. But to AoS' favor, the story was masterfully written and by far one of the best "bad" endings in the series hands down. It's almost as if GBA was pushed to the brink, it seems like not one detail was missed in making it classic. But the same could be said for DoS as well because of the ability to use the stylus which was very fun for me. One thing I would've loved is a Hammer Richter mode in either title. DoS could've also contained items which affected Soma's appearance as well (i.e. secret boots, Joseph's cloak) it's undeniable that AoS is the more memorable of the two but Dawn won me over
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I personally prefer Aria of Sorrow (voted for it). I liked everything about it. The things I did like about Dawn of Sorrow were introduced by AoS.
Although DoS contains some of the best Castlevania tracks ever in my opinion (Cursed Clock Tower and Condemned Tower), I found part of the soundtrack lacking, especially at some of the first levels (not the first stage, which I really like), and, while a good track on its own right, I found the remix of the Haunted Castle track very out of place; while AoS's soundtrack was very good in general and included some rare gems like Study.
I loved AoS's story and I find the ending when Julius kills Soma as one of my favourite Castlevania moments ever. I loved the characters too.
DoS's story, on the other side, seemed pretty mediocre to me, and while it included the characters I love from AoS, I found the new characters to be generic and kind of "random".
In terms of scenery and look they are similar, and not counting that DoS was made for a technically superior portable console, I find it difficult to decide on this one. There was one stage I didn't like in DoS (the one with the ice blocks), but my favourite stages from both Sorrow games are also from DoS (Condemned Tower, Cursed Clock Tower and the first stage). However, I found DoS's castle in general to be kind of more of the same but with better graphics.
In terms of gameplay, I really liked them both, but DoS just used what AoS invented, and I didn't like the touch controls part (magic seals, destroying ice blocks with the stylus...).
So, in general, I liked everything more in Aria of Sorrow.
One thing that stands up for me with Dawn of Sorrow is the side quests (something very important to me in every Castlevania game). I really loved them, especially the ones about the supernatural newspapers. Sidequests is the thing I usually think of when talking about DoS. In this aspect, I think DoS established the ground for the far more complex, excellent PoR and OoE sidequests.
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Area of Sorrow was the best of Soma's adventure through Castlevania. Everything that needed to be done was done in that one game, minus any dialogue between him and Death which should have been present. Dawn of Sorrow was really nothing more then a rehash of what we had already done in the previous installment. Although the graphics and effects were better (minus Julius' holy cross attack which looked and sounded weaker then hell), it didn't really add anything new. I found that the soul system did not need to be repeated and it was far more tedious in DoS when you consider that in order to have everything in the game, you needed to finish it twice as you only get one soul from a boss. And those souls are needed to craft certain weapons :P I'd rather just have the enemies drop weapons and find them laying around the castle itself. And where was my positron rifle that was in AoS?! Instead they gave you an RPG and it wasn't even worth the hassle to acquire! Whatever :P
I agree with this. DoS was so unnecessary. It didn't advance the overall plot what so ever. Julius in Julius mode was weaker than he was in the AoS Julius mode. Oh, and let's not forget the ambiguous ending. It's so open ended. At least, the AoS ending gave a sense of finality. The AoS ending would make a nice end point on the timeline in my opinion. The only think DoS had was better graphics. When you think of it, DoS was just an excuse to reuse the soul system.
Simply put, AoS was the stronger game. All it was really missing was some sort of dialogue between Soma and Death. It would have been nice for Death and Soma to talk right before the battle. After which, Death would retreat and then he'd show up again just after the battle with Graham where he would try to talk Soma into accepting his fate to become the new Lord of Darkness.
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DoS is a good game but as a sequel to AoS it pales in comparison, mostly for subjective reasons. The level design didn't feel as tight, everything felt less atmospheric and, perhaps unsurprisingly for a direct sequel, less unique. The switch from Kojima's artwork was a huge loss, a sacrifice to the gods of a tight schedule (as the refinement of level layout and bosses probably were) and more "hip" marketing. As others have expressed I also didn't feel the story added a whole lot, it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. The new characters in DoS also felt kind of empty while characterization had been very strong and well done in AoS. So overall I'd say you've got a good sequel to a superb original.
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DoS' bullshit "doodle this pattern on your screen or repeat this boss battle" system really pissed me off. So did the tedious, monotonous soul-grinding to forge weapons. At least the Julius Mode made up for it, especially since this was the first Richter Mode to fully incorporate the level-up system as we know it (Richter in SotN could technically get more life while Maxim could get more life and more max hearts while AoS Julius could grow stronger by collecting boss orbs) but DoS finally streamlined the whole process.
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I personally didn't mind the art style used in DoS. It reminds me of the style used in Ghost in the Shell: Stand-alone complex. Also it was a break from the bombardment of androgynous pretty boys that was so prevalent throughout IGA's carrier as head of the CV team. DoS's art was a breath of fresh air to me and was a little more interesting. I also found Soma's look in DoS more accepting then his AoS Japanese emo-look (which, if I were Soma, would seriously question my own taste in style as well as my own state of mind). And yes I also hated those stylus seal spells that you were required to do in order to finish off a boss permanently. They felt more forced upon you then actually necessary, and didn't really feel at all important. Just another gimmick.
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I love both games that is why i translated the "third" installment. Hehehe.
Wow! Its really ready? Thanks! :D
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Despite the fact that DoS was my first Castlevania title, I'll have to go with Aria. In my opinion, superior story, music, atmosphere, sound effects, and a higher HP cap! ;D
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Hey there! Welcome to the Dungeon!!
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Aria! This game has a great plot. I really love the concept of chaos. The series needed something bigger and more powerful than Dracula. And Chaos was perfect as that. I thought that Dawn of Sorrow would be more focused on chaos, than something else. May be some opposing power would be introduced - like "order" or "harmony". But no... In this game we fight red-haired Italian, blond Russian and a girl who did absolutely nothing, except get herself killed. Everything else was superb IMO, but not the plot.
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Dawn has really lazy level designs at spots, whereas Aria is much more well-constructed. For this reason I prefer Aria.
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But no... In this game we fight red-haired Italian, blond Russian and a girl who did absolutely nothing, except get herself killed. Everything else was superb IMO, but not the plot.
Seriously I was so stoked for fighting Celia or whatever her name was. Then...DUN DUN DUN plot-twist and she dies. Had it been Dmitri (who was probably the lest impactfull villain) who died and she lived to become the final boss, I'd have been fine with it. That's not to say I don't like a good twist (Giant Bat fight in AoS, anyone?) but to completely have the cult leader die off in such an anti-climatic style made me want to pull a Calypso and shoot the nearest tied-up mob boss with a Mac-10.
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Definitely Aria. Dawn was a pretty game, had some great boss battles, and I even liked the Seal drawing thing, but it was a game I like less and less each time I played it. And the Sorrow games are among my least favorite CV games, but Aria is probably the best designed Castleroid game there is. It was the game that made me actually appreciate the exploration style games to be sure.
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Seriously I was so stoked for fighting Celia or whatever her name was. Then...DUN DUN DUN plot-twist and she dies. Had it been Dmitri (who was probably the lest impactfull villain) who died and she lived to become the final boss, I'd have been fine with it. That's not to say I don't like a good twist (Giant Bat fight in AoS, anyone?) but to completely have the cult leader die off in such an anti-climatic style made me want to pull a Calypso and shoot the nearest tied-up mob boss with a Mac-10.
Like in the movie Alexander, when you expect to see a final duel but the villain dies half way through the movie, and then it's all nonsense from that point until the end, with the only exception of some Colin Farrell nudes 8)
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Like in the movie Alexander, when you expect to see a final duel but the villain dies half way through the movie, and then it's all nonsense from that point until the end, with the only exception of some Colin Farrell nudes 8)
LOL you're such a girl! xD
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My vote would've gone to Dawn, actually (but the voting is closed now). I don't remember much of the story and I agree that Aria was more memorable in that regard. However, I disagree a little on the level design aspect... Parts of Aria was really lazy. The floating garden, for example, was pretty terrible.
Dawn had some really great boss battles, better than those found in Aria (IMO).
All in all, Dawn took a great game and made it even better. It wins no points for originality though, and storywise it did nothing interesting. They should've made it a separate game instead of a sequel. It could've had someone else as the main character, taking place in some other time. Dunno... Maybe it could've been Soleiyu's game? Remove the modern elements, such as the cars, get rid of the soul system in favour of something else, and change some of the cast + the storyline. Done!
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I really enjoyed Dawn's levels over Aria. Still don't care much for Soma though.
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LOL you're such a girl! xD
Haha, I hadn't seen this comment until now! ;D
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Dawn because it had the Nega-Dracula battle with Soma using his Pokemon powers and his own version of Dance of Illusions.
But if you're just going off the artwork, Aria is awesome and Dawn is terrible.
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Dawn because it had the Nega-Dracula battle with Soma using his Pokemon powers and his own version of Dance of Illusions.
But if you're just going off the artwork, Aria is awesome and Dawn is terrible.
This. Yes, in AoS the Julius´ mode "bad ending" implies a Julius battle against Dracula (Soma), but we never seen that battle. In the other hand, in DoS we have the Soma story, and the Julius story (if Soma became Dracula). Finally we have another Belmont vs Dracula battle (with Alucard and Sypha, eh I mean Yoko).
Agree with the art direction. There were totally opposite, and I prefer the AoS one. DoS is not bad at all, but I prefer the first one.
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See, Aria's art style doesn't seem entirely different from Dawn for me personally. Maybe this is because I didn't play these games until years after release but I never thought the anime style clashed or was otherwise bad in any ways. First time I played "Rondo of Blood" and experienced those amazing anime cutscenes I loved it, so why not here?
Yeah, is true. The fact is that after play and see the art in AoS, the anime style was DoS was surprising to me. Now, taking the example of Rondo of Blood, we have first the anime art style, then in SoTN we saw a different style for Richter and Dracula. Personally, in RoB/SoTN I prefer the anime style for Richter and Dracula. The same is apply to the DXC, with Maria.
In shorth words, I prefer the art used in a game in the first edition of those games, because that´s the way I known them first.
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I prefer Aria, just because Dawn's got a degree of...blandness to it. A lot of the areas have washed-out colors, and there's the annoying anime style (though not as bad as PoRk's). I dunno how to explain it. I think Dawn was trying to be like SotN, but by trying to emulate that while also using a brighter/kinda bland art style, they dropped the ball IMO. SotN worked so well because it had a very dark Gothic approach to most of its art direction, whereas Dawn just...again, washed-out colors that I don't think translate well for a supposed SotN-styled game.
And I liked Aria's everything better. I think Aria is actually closer to emulating SotN than Dawn, but that's just me; totally ignoring that Harmony WAS a direct SotN clone in more than once sense on this one, though.
And Aria did the crazy-priest-leader thing a hell of a lot better. Celia doesn't stand up to Graham even a smidgen.
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I remember reading a videogame´s magazine in which IGA tells that the anime style used in DoS was for atract a younger audience to the game (or the entire franchise, I can´t remember).
And Aria did the crazy-priest-leader thing a hell of a lot better. Celia doesn't stand up to Graham even a smidgen.
Yes, indeed. Afterall Graham has a Dracul-esque fight (with two cool forms). Celia in the other hand gets sacrificed at the end (is this a spoiler???), without have a realy fight.
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I remember reading a videogame´s magazine in which IGA tells that the anime style used in DoS was for atract a younger audience to the game (or the entire franchise, I can´t remember).
Yes, indeed. Afterall Graham has a Dracul-esque fight (with two cool forms). Celia in the other hand gets sacrificed at the end (is this a spoiler???), without have a realy fight.
Yes, you are correct for both statements. Graham>Celia all the time.
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I think all up Aria is my second favourite CV after OOE.
However, this is my breakdown:
Graphics: Dawn
Music: Aria
Castle design: Aria
Gameplay: Tie
Boss Fights: Tie
Difficulty: Dawn
Story: Aria
Replay value: Dawn
Artwork: Aria
Aria wins, just barely but it wins. For the record, the whole mirror/paranoia scenario of Dawn was really cool and something Aria didn't have.
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Aria wins, just barely but it wins. For the record, the whole mirror/paranoia scenario of Dawn was really cool and something Aria didn't have.
The mirror thing, gameplay wise, was very cool, but a very cool idea for a "mirror castle" lost.
Story-wise, I found it terrible. Paranoia gives you the power to enter mirrors, but DMITRII is the one called "Dmitrii The Mirror" (If you talk to Yoko, she'll mention this)... I think his unwittingly absorbed soul should give Soma the ability to enter mirrors, since Dmitrii's power is to be your reflection...
Anyway, I like both games equaly, but Aria wins for it's darker tone.
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and there's the annoying anime style (though not as bad as PoRk's).
charlottereactionface.jpg
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The mirror thing, gameplay wise, was very cool, but a very cool idea for a "mirror castle" lost.
Yeah but that was done and dusted in HoD. I'm personally glad that this wasn't another replica of that.
Story-wise, I found it terrible. Paranoia gives you the power to enter mirrors, but DMITRII is the one called "Dmitrii The Mirror" (If you talk to Yoko, she'll mention this)... I think his unwittingly absorbed soul should give Soma the ability to enter mirrors, since Dmitrii's power is to be your reflection...[/quote]
Maybe it was an oversight which was originally planned to be this way?
The fact that Soma and Celia never fought could have just been the developer throwing that as a twist and forgetting about Dmitri's title.
Logistically you're correct. Some games do things like this and it pisses me off (ALBW... :rollseyes:)
Anyway, I like both games equaly, but Aria wins for it's darker tone.
Agreed, and it was the first CV game with a thrilling story.