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Another year, another Metroidvania-fashioned treat, right? If the steady frequency of the portable series is leading you to believe that Konami is getting lazy, think again. While Dawn of Sorrow may have officially stripped the games of their beautiful and compelling artwork, replacing it with fanart-level anime characters, Portrait of Ruin is further proof that none of that really matters.
We all know that Konami could easily get away with unleashing increasingly similar Castlevania games onto the handheld market; replace a boss here, redesign a hallway there, etc. With that said, it's that much more admirable that they've taken a real effort to do something a little different with this installment. Aesthetically, being thrust into Drac's castle is a familiar experience. From room to room, these dwellings are rife with everything from new screen-dwarfing monsters to the hopping fleamen we've always loved to hate. It's the new gameplay features, however, that really separate it from the preceding installments.
Most notable, of course, is the fact that you're playing as two characters simultaneously. This is much more than a simple gimmick, and serves to refine the way in which the current breed of Castlevania games is played. From the start, you can swap instantly between Jonathan Morris (a surname nod to the Genesis classic Castlevania Bloodlines) and Charlotte Aulin, or you can play as both of them at the same time. The latter is implemented nicely in certain situations, such as the early ability to use the other character's shoulders as an extra jumping point, or in instances in which one needs to save the other from some sinister binds. There's also a variety of special attacks that involve both Jonathan and Charlotte, some lending crucial and devastating results on bosses.
Speaking of bosses, they're as big as ever in Portrait. Those contained within paintings seem like a subtle homage to the older, more linear games, mostly because of the straightforward way these levels-in-artwork are designed. There's honestly not a lot of frustration with them either. Though the difficulty is up a bit overall from Dawn of Sorrow, it's very balanced, and you shouldn't have much trouble annihilating each boss after a little powering up and some quick thinking. Best of all, there's no more of that clumsy, tacked-on stylus work that was present intermittently in DoS. Crushing on screen blocks may be missed, but it was frustrating to work hard at trouncing a boss, only to find yourself fumbling for the stylus so you could seal it and not worry about having to fight it some more. Maybe it's a personal problem, but it's hard to imagine that a ton of people were enthusiastic about entering boss battles while holding a piece of plastic in their mouths in quick-draw anticipation.
One thing that will likely elicit mixed reactions from fans is the level design. On one hand, it's some of the best that the series has seen in quite some time. The player is offered the occasional reprieve from the confines of the castle, and is thrust into some very nice looking outdoor areas. The way one reaches these non-castle levels is an essential element of this installment's titular gimmick. Throughout the expansive inner walls, various paintings are hung that can be used as gateways to new areas separated from the current plane. These range from pyramids lodged deep in the desert to haunted forests, and provide some much needed variety, as well as the most creative and memorable areas of the game.
The dark side to this comes later in your quest. Remember how refreshing some of those levels within the paintings were when you first discovered them? Well, you'll be revisiting their nearly identical counterparts before you're done. This reliance on recycled, symmetrical maps is sort of disappointing in the wake of what is otherwise a stellar experience. Still, it can be said with the greatest possible confidence that this is the only detrimental element to the whole. Portrait of Ruin is fantastic and, while opinions will vary, stands a notch above Aria of Sorrow as my favorite portable Castlevania. Between the perfectly portioned main quest and bonus modes that allow solo or wifi co-op play, you'll want to go ahead and seal this in your DS for the foreseeable future.
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