The CastleVania series is one of the longest running franchises in the videogames industry today. With more than twenty releases spanning three decades, the series is yet to find its balance in the 3D arena of modern consoles. However, the 2D releases from the series continue to be some of the most critically acclaimed Konami titles on any format. It’s with no surprise then, that CastleVania: Dawn Of Sorrow is Konami’s first venture into NintendoDS production, which since has been followed by Konami’s other 2D success story – Yu-Gi-Oh!: Nightmare Troubadour.

            Fans of the series certainly won’t feel out-of-place with the latest instalment; CastleVania: Dawn Of Sorrow is the next chapter after the Game Boy Advance’s CastleVania: Aria Of Sorrow and from this draws much of its gameplay values. You begin with only a minor piece of the map, displayed on your selected screen, filling-in the blanks as you progress. Travelling along the open path will eventually grant you with Boss Fights and story-enhancing sequences. Playing much like the 2D Metroid titles, the two series are certainly in a league of their own.

            As you progress you will attain Magic and Items that allow you to advance to areas that were previously locked and the title has a constant sense of development - demanding your attention and installing a need to see that next area you’ve just received access to before ending play. The title also enhances the Souls System that was seen in CastleVania: Aria Of Sorrow. Upon killing enough of an enemy type (the Soul is randomly generated) you will be granted an ability reflecting their arsenal. These range from throwing bones, to floating, to creating a shield around your avatar, Soma.

            Huge bosses intersperse the incredible variety of enemies, although fans may be disappointed that many of CastleVania: Aria Of Sorrow’s sprites make a return appearance. Each Boss Fight marks a stage of progression within the title and there’s never a poor placement or arrangement to these battles. Trade-marking CastleVania’s 2D entries, many of the Boss Fights will actually symbolise a junction at which the player has the choice of their direction from that point, creating a far less linear title than much of its limited competition.

            The use of the NintendoDS’s Touch Screen, however, is pretty far from inventive. Managing your items on the Touch Screen is a thoughtless designation of the technology and the only aspect which helps to further the ingenuity is the requirement to cast spells in order to defeat Bosses. Having to link points on a circle in order to take down the beast at first seems a reasonable placement for the technology, but soon deteriorates into frustration as with each failed attempt to cast one of the few spells on offer the enemy regains what is seemingly a rather large chunk of health.

            CastleVania: Dawn Of Sorrow pushes very few graphical boundaries. With the sprites firmly rooted in their Game Boy Advance heritage, the special effects are the only feature that put any demand on the NintendoDS’s added horsepower. The sound is pretty much spot-on but, once again, doesn’t really make any progress on the title’s Game Boy Advance predecessor.

            CastleVania: Dawn Of Sorrow is a masterpiece of game creation. Never letting-up with it’s astoundingly well designed areas and amazing Boss Fights; it pushes gameplay boundaries not in the definition of play, but in the realisation. CastleVania: Dawn Of Sorrow positions itself as one of the best titles on the NintendoDS without making any exemplary use of the Touch Screen or Microphone features, and yet the public will no doubt overlook it based purely on this factor.