A friend of mine recommended me playing this game, so I tried. And gave up...
So what made me playing this game? I have a friend of mine who's very into games and has played them all. He always knows what's best and what should be avoided. He recommended me to SO playing this awesome game. And then there is gamespot. Giving this game 8.9 out of ten. And lastly there are the players who love this game, all of them!
So I tried, but became rather confused very early in this game. I have never played a single Castlevania game, but really wanted to try one out because of the big hype. But I cannot understand why fans love this game other than it's presumably nostalgic look and gameplay. This game begins with a lot of talking. And there is more talking. And finally there are monsters to be slain, YAY! And then there is more talking. I am being transferred to my first stage. Wait, there is a little more talking before the level begins. But now, I finally get to enjoy the gameplay. Okay, the gameplay is in 2D-scrolling. A little bit unusual for todays DS-games, but okay, I am used to these kinda games. My first enemy, a skeleton. Jesus, is he awfully animated!!! :O I slay him down with my knife and continue. With time going on I meet large wolves, floating eyes, armored warriors, skeletons and bats. All of them horrible ugly and not in the slightest especially well animated. I think that may be due the fact that this game was released in 2005 and to keep the nostalgic look of previous Castlevania games. But I think that doesn't make it any easier for newcomers to get into the hype of the game. Finally I have to do something with my stylus: Writing a magical seal. Cool! What's it for? Defeating enemies? Creating barriers? No, it's for opening doors and finishing bosses once you have already defeated them! What's more, if you fail to write the seal in time, the boss regains his health and you have to do everything again... yeah... that was a kinda annoying game concept -.-'
I battle the boss, am close to killing him (he has taken like at least 20 of my knife's blows, it can't go on much longer, can it?). But NO, I died. Oh well, I sure have to start at the last checkpoint. But, oh wait, what happens? The WHOLE game restarts as if it had crashed and the menu doesnt show up my created save game! Why??? The reason is simple: I hadn't saved in the game. But I dont have any clue how to save! Nobody explained to me how and where! X( So I have to do EVERYTHING AGAIN!!!!!!!
Talking, stabbing, killing, learning seals, killing end boss. But wait, here in the room to the left is a statue where you can save O_o DOUGH!!! Why is everybody in this game talking like s*** but NOBODY can explain for a newbie like me where to save???? Just HOW in the world could this game get a 8.9????
Okay, after saving the game and killing the boss, I have to go to the next room. There lies a sword on a higher platform I cannot reach, despite how high I jump. I look in my equipment and learn that I actually got a flying armor, preventing me from falling faster. I try that on, but can still not reach the platform. So I go back and kill stuff to level up. When I finally reached level 4, I am somehow able to jump further and higher than before, making it easy for me to reach the platform.
It is here where I am still not fully sure if leveling up really enhances your jump power or if it just was me who is dump and not able to jump to that platform after hundreds of tries before leveling up more. Correct me if I am wrong. Okay, I got the sword. Tadada! Now warp me to the next level!
Wait... nothing happens... I can go to a next area and believe it or not: This stage isnt finished! I still have to continue going mindlessly around and killing more monsters, while not having ANY clue exactly WHERE to go, WHAT to do and WHY I have to go all that way. My level of annoyance towards this game starts to reach its peek. I really REALLY want this game to give me "the blow", to make me like it, love it, want to play more. But nothing comes, nothing! Just more and more killing, jumping, leveling, getting new weapons and armor, buying, upgrading, continue killing and jumping. When I finally reach another stage where I evidently have to use my flying armor to reach a distant platform, but after hundreds of tries don't reach it (not even GRAB it ffs!!!), my theory that leveling up enhances your jumping/floating power becomes more and more logical.
That was the point where I gave up. I simply have neither the time nor the enthusiasm to spend my gaming time leveling up just to reach another platform! I may be wrong at this point, but if that's the case, someone ENLIGHTEN ME!! I'm no game noob, I have played many action and platform games before, but this game is simply annoying, time wasting, awfully ugly, boring, monotonous in its gameplay and out of its time! And the only time the stylus is used is when writing seals. It feels like an unnecessary add-on with no reasonable function! Just simply annoying and stupid. This game could have been made for GBA other than the NDS. There is no reason to run it on the newer platform, neither for the graphics nor for the little bit of stylus gameplay. Hopefully someone (like my dear friend) will enlighten me with this game, what I did wrong and what I should do to start taking a likening to this game. Otherwise I will never ever pick up Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow ever again. Such a disappointment!