Topic: Should I give DoS a chance?

[VladCT]

That and the resized Alucard sprites are annoying too.

Problem is, if we're going to restore his original size, then we'll have to resize his hitbox as well, and saying that the process will be complicated would be quite an understatement. Then again, I have no experience in hacking, so who knows?

...bosses - not bad, but nothing special.

Hey, Zephyr was pretty good for some kicks if you happen to be a fan (or have some knowledge) of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventures series.
Shame that he didn't drop steamrollers.

[Flame]

Music isnt all that great either, and its sad that a DS game cannot top a GBA soundtrack. (Aria's is still vastly superior to DoS's) But there are a few that stand out here or there, the Chapel theme, Condemned Tower, Bloody Tears... And even the clocktower theme is starting to grow on me.

Play the game, and play Julius mode. Julius mode is great. Though it could be better. (there is no excuse for Julius' sprite having a solid black outline) And It's great to finally get the Neo Dracula battle against Soma.

[DarkPrinceAlucard]

Play the game, and play Julius mode. Julius mode is great. Though it could be better. (there is no excuse for Julius' sprite having a solid black outline) And It's great to finally get the Neo Dracula battle against Soma.

Yea julius mode is definitely one of the best things about this game.

Its actually the only CV games (that I know of) that actually gave a story to the unlockable characters game mode.

usually games like symphony and Lament of Innocence, for example, just let you play as the unlockable characters with no story to it at all.

Julius mode actually offers some story such as when you meet Alucard and Yoko and also when you finally find Soma/dracula for the final battle.

Its not much but it was something that the others neglected to do.

[PFG9000]

You should absolutely buy it and play the hell out of it.  The story isn't great, but it's no worse than most Castlevanias.  Who ever got into Castlevania for the stories anyway?  I always thought the fanbase largely agreed that Story just isn't there in the series.  Castlevania's always been about gameplay and atmosphere, and DoS has that down pretty well (moreso in gameplay than atmosphere, but certain areas have pretty nice atmosphere). 

In my opinion, Dawn is worth playing for the boss fights alone.  Two of them are especially memorable, and one of them is just about the best, most inventive boss fight in the CV series. 

(click to show/hide)

(Gergoth)

[crisis]

In Reply To #17,

Actoulee, Poltlait of Ruin's "Sisters Mode" serves as a prequel with some dialogue segments (particularly with Blauner)

[Archangel]

Okay, I´ve managed to play DoS. A friend of mine knows a friend who was kind enough to lend it to me
I´ve completed the Story Mode just now.

So yeah, it was very entertaining. And it was nice to see some familiar bosses I´ve encountered in PoR Nest of Evil. Gameplay simply rocks. But those last two magic seals are really tricky to pull off if you don´t practice enough (thank god you have the chance to practice them!).

Well, I don´t know what to think right now about DoS. It´s a good game with some nice details, like snow falling off from cars, or those secret monsters.... but I can see where guys like darkwiz4rd are coming from. The story really is kinda bleh, but I´ve expected worse. And the drop rate for souls can be hellish.

So, as you can see, I´ve mixed feelings right now. I´m wondering how Julius Mode will turn out...

[Flame]

Julius mode has Bloody Tears. One of the best renditions of. That's all you need.

I WILL say, the difficulty seems a bit unbalanced at times, since the levels are made for Soma, and the magic meter runs out quickly, but its no biggie.

[Charlotte-nyo:3]

All I'm saying is, give peace DoS a chance!

[Successor The Cruel]

I'm not a fan, and Dawn of Sorrow is a game that I would not recommend to someone else.

It pretty much bastardizes the characters of Aria of Sorrow. I have an emotional investment in those characters, so that's not something I'm going to turn the other cheek to. The atmosphere is way off, and that goes along with bastardizing the characters. The general anime trope-ish deal permeates the entire game. The graphics are actually not that nice to me. There are some stunning areas, but they are rare, and most of the graphics bleed laziness. The new sprites do not gel with the reused Symphony of the Night/Rondo of Blood sprites at all. The differences between the styles are actually pretty jarring. The Tactical Soul System is surprisingly worse, as it's become way too grind heavy. The music is mostly boring, empty jingles.

The good things are that the boss fights are really cool, the difficulty has been ramped up, and the extra game modes are way better than anything the series has had before in that area.

[e105beta]

Okay, I´ve managed to play DoS. A friend of mine knows a friend who was kind enough to lend it to me
I´ve completed the Story Mode just now.

So yeah, it was very entertaining. And it was nice to see some familiar bosses I´ve encountered in PoR Nest of Evil. Gameplay simply rocks. But those last two magic seals are really tricky to pull off if you don´t practice enough (thank god you have the chance to practice them!).

Well, I don´t know what to think right now about DoS. It´s a good game with some nice details, like snow falling off from cars, or those secret monsters.... but I can see where guys like darkwiz4rd are coming from. The story really is kinda bleh, but I´ve expected worse. And the drop rate for souls can be hellish.

So, as you can see, I´ve mixed feelings right now. I´m wondering how Julius Mode will turn out...

How long did it take you to get a Great Axe soul? Just curious.

[Archangel]

I´m not sure, but at least 3 hours.

But the real pain began when I tried to get a Final Guard soul. Even with a maxed out ghost dancer to increase my luck I´ve kept on killing them half a day. It was ridiculous.

[e105beta]

Oh word, I forgot about the Final Guard soul. Didn't help that they took forever to kill until you got the Kasier Knuckles.

[Odile Kuronuma]

Yeah you should give it a chance...to see how bad it is compared to AoS.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Julius Mode is worth suffering through the story to get to. Best extra mode in Castlevania history.

[Archangel]

Finally beat Julius Mode

It was awesome! It was a nice tribute to CV3. Oh, and after beating Paraonia... it was so awesome to discover that Alucard is the only one to not have a reflection in the mirror!

Yeah, I know, this is kinda offtopic, but I recently finished CV1, too! Then I thought: if I can beat this hell of a game, then I should be able to kill Aguni, too. Seriously, I died so often because of this guy.... man.

J-Mode really added to the experience. Really nice.