In Portrait of Ruin (which I will now abbreviate as PoR), you play as young, 18-year-old vampire slayer Jonathan Morris and his friend Charlotte, a young, sixteen-year-old witch, on their hunt to rid the world of Dracula once more. The game takes place in 1941, during the second-world-war, and so that comes into the story as well, but barely. Basically, Dracula took the souls of all the soldiers killed in battle or something... I don't really know, it's not like the story matters here anyways. That being said, however, there is one twist that I didn't see coming about half-way through the game that I didn't see coming, but once again, does it really matter? The point of this game to run around and whip the shit out of stuff, not to care about what's actually going on! Oh, yeah, and one more thing: you can't use the vampire killer to its fullest yet at the beginning of the game, so it's kinda the worst weapon that you can have for the majority of the game.
PoR doesn't keep any of the elements that Aria of Sorrow or Dawn of Sorrow introduced into the series. In other words, you're basically just another vampire killer, nothing special here. That means that there are no more magical seals (THANK GOD), no more soul-stealing, and a much more complex character equip screen. Which I hate, by the way. But really, the big twist on the gameplay here is that the game follows a two-partner setup. Jonathan is your typical Castlevania hero, whereas Charlotte specializes in magic. Jonathan is the one who you'll be spending most of your time playing as, but don't forget about Charlotte here. Her magical spells can really help you out of a pickle, and if you decide to actually use Charlotte instead of just hit the R button for a quick hit of her spell, you can supercharge any spell you're currently using to take off much more damage, as well as occasionally last longer. Unfortunately, though, instead of equipping Charlotte with weapons such as magical wands, the developers decided to use books instead. I'm really not kidding here. This means that weapons for Charlotte to use are hard to come by, and by the time you do get a better one, Jonathan is likely already equipped with a weapon that's way more powerful. Granted, a lot of the books Charlotte find are magical, meaning that maces or axes or swords (or even knights on horsebacK0 will come flying out of them, but they usually have a far more limited range than any weapons Jonathan uses, and there are probably only 5-10 different books in the game that Charlotte can use. I'm just guessing of course, but really, I'm not exaggerating at all. Luckily, Charlotte's spells are still useful. So don't forget that!
The game uses the same engine that powered Dawn of Sorrow, so that means it still looks pretty damn gorgeous. Granted, some of the environments have a tendency to blend into each other, and many enemy sprites have been reused, but this is easily overlooked when enemies cast their spells or use their weapons, showing off some beautifully detailed animations, and sum simply astounding special effects. I often found myself being immersed in the game so deeply that I forgot I was looking at a DS screen, and all the pixels on the crappy DS' resolution kind of smoothed out and created perfectly rounded and detailed enemies. It's these kinds of immersive moments that really make the game look stunning.
The sound effects in this game have been tweaked and improved over Dawn of Sorrow's, meaning that those annoyingly loud and short screams that were in the previous game have vanished now, and instead have been replaced with much nicer sounds. Also, enemies have a tendency to banter and talk to you more often now, making them seem much more real than Dawn of Sorrow's typical, screeching fair. For example, when playing as Charlotte and approaching the Zacchino enemy, he will crouch down on one knee and proclaim his love to you. Run away from him at this point, however, and you'll see his flower wilt, while he sadly screams "Don't reject me!". The same wonderful touches have been used to bring the Succubus and Lilith creatures to life. Hearing them try and seduce Jonathan is amusing, and their screams such as "filthy cow" at Charlotte just showed me how much effort the developers put into this game. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that the music is absolutely phenomenal!? PoR features many more upbeat tracks than DoS, and they really do a great job of immersing you in the world.
PoR will last you a very long time. That is, if you decide to go for the good ending. Stop right after you beat the sisters, however, and you'll be pretty sad. Besides, that ending is pretty damn sucky. Fulfill the proper conditions, however, and you'll be treated to four extra paintings and three more boss battles, all of which will have you tearing at your hair before long. If you have the skill and time to beat these portraits and bosses, however, and you'll be rewarded with two more Boss Rush courses, a Sound mode, two extra playable characters, each with their own, unique partners, and a brand new way to play the game, Jonathan + mode. Stick with it a bit more after this, however, and you may unlock another little goodie, although I won't divulge into any further detail.
In the end, PoR is an absolutely exceptional game, and even though it isn't quite as good as Dawn of Sorrow was, it's still a damn good time.
I give Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin 93/100 Vampire Killers.
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