Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is an action role-playing game from 2005, created and released by Konami. It belongs to Konami’s Castlevania series and was the first game in the franchise to appear on the Nintendo DS. As a direct follow-up to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, it carries forward many of that game’s features.

The story picks up where Aria of Sorrow left off: Dracula has been vanquished, and his powers have passed to his reincarnation, Soma Cruz. With support from his friends, Soma manages to resist becoming the next dark lord. A cult emerges, aiming to kill Soma in order to summon a new dark lord. Soma and his allies work to prevent this outcome.

The game blends platforming and role-playing elements, keeps the “Tactical Soul” system from Aria of Sorrow, and maintains a dark, gothic atmosphere. New additions include the “Magic Seal” system, which requires the player to use the DS stylus to draw patterns to finish off powerful enemies; a distinctive anime art style for characters; and a multiplayer mode where two players compete for the fastest time on a pre-built level. Dawn of Sorrow sold well: over 15,000 copies in its first week in Japan, and 164,000 units in the United States (often cited as lifetime or first-month sales, though the exact timeframe is not reliably confirmed). Many video game publications gave it high scores, and it was regarded as one of the best Nintendo DS games of 2005. It was re-released in Japan in June 2006, and in North America in 2007 as part of the “Konami the Best” line. On August 27, 2024, it was re-released as part of the Castlevania Dominus Collection for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, alongside Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, and Haunted Castle Revisited.

**Gameplay**

The player controls the character from a third-person view, interacting with people, objects, and enemies. As in earlier Castlevania games and most role-playing games, characters gain levels by earning experience points from defeating enemies. Each level raises the character’s stats, such as hit points (how much damage they can take), magic points (how many magical attacks they can use), strength (physical attack power), and intelligence (magical attack power). The player can attack enemies with a variety of weapons, mostly medieval—swords, axes, spears—though handguns and a rocket-propelle