Castlevania Dominus Collection

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: Windows (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox Series X
Release Date: 28 August 2024
Price: $24.99 USD / $36.50 AUD – Available Here

Overview

It was a matter of time before we got an anthology featuring the Castlevania titles released for the Nintendo DS. Although it feels kinda natural for it to be shadow dropped on a Nintendo Direct, most players probably didn’t expect the inclusion of a remade version of the infamous Haunted Castle – the original Castlevania arcade game. Is it finally good? We’ll take a look into that and also on how Konami fared in adapting the Nintendo DS’ gimmicks to the “touchless” screen.

Koji Igarashi was one of the directors responsible for Castlevania Symphony of the Night. He wanted that same kind of intricate narrative for the series going forward. The stories in this collection are the culmination of his team’s continued effort in bringing fresh and interesting lore to the franchise. That said, the series lost a lot of its edge in its portable incarnations, toning down the grittiness the franchise was usually known for.

Story

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow follows the events started in the Gameboy Advance title Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which was included in the previously released Castlevania Advance Collection. Just one year after the events in Aria of Sorrow, a mysterious cult wants Dracula “alive” and well, as the existence of a dark entity is integral for God to be truly “good.” Once again, players take control of the enigmatic Soma Cruz and must put a stop to the cult’s machinations while preventing Soma’s dark fate from coming to pass.

As an admitted Castlevania fan, Igarashi was committed to keeping the series’ legacy alive. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin pays homage to the awesome Castlevania Bloodlines for the Sega Mega Drive. The story takes place during World War II and features John Morris’ son, Jonathan, as one of the playable characters. Furthermore, players get to witness the fate of other characters related to Bloodlines which is a welcome addition, especially for older fans.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia doesn’t follow any particular game’s storyline, but its events are set up just after Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Coincidence or not, Order of Ecclesia is a return to form for the series, bringing back, to some extent, the darker tones and moody presentation found in Symphony of the Night. In the mid-1800s, the Belmont clan vanished without a trace. To fill in their gap and defend humanity from Dracula’s ever looming threat, many institutions are formed. The Order of Ecclesia is the most prominent among them. You play as Shanoa, an agent from the order tasked with retrieving a stolen power that is humanity’s last hope against Dracula. In the game’s hub village, players can interact with NPCs that give a bit of insight on the game’s world and Shanoa’s personality. This, combined with the game’s dark presentation, makes for a somewhat “mature” and involved storytelling.

In conclusion, the stories in these games feature iconic characters and descendants of old heroes well-established in the Castlevania lore. Their portrayal is as one-dimensional as ever but their design is fresh and enticing. The writing seldom tries to stray from the series’ usual clichés and dialogues are generally monotonous. Fortunately, the stories are easy to follow, with fun twists and even some humorous moments.

Gameplay

This collection includes strong action-adventure titles ported with precision by M2. The DS games are emulated accurately without any semblance of input lag. The inclusion of Haunted Castle in this collection would surely raise the collective eyebrows of series’ fans if not for the addition of Haunted Castle Revisited. The original game is known for its unfair difficulty and weak campaign with stages that feel unfinished, especially towards the end. Haunted Castle Revisited’s gameplay was redesigned to feel more like the series’ console counterparts. The stages are still short and overly simplistic, but most bosses received a significant and much needed rework making them the highlight of this remake. However, I’m not fond of the removal of obstacles in certain sections. I also feel that the difficulty was too undertuned with only bosses providing a satisfying challenge. That said, M2’s effort in reconstructing Haunted Castle from the ground up is impressive and the game offers some challenge and novelty between its two difficulty settings.

Despite being designed around the particularities of a portable console, the DS titles deliver fun and feature-rich gameplay on par with what could be found on big consoles at the time. In truth, I’d argue their quality is superior to most games, indie or not, that try to emulate the same style even today. Their 2D gameplay is satisfying, combining exploration, combat and RPG elements. Each game plays very similarly, building upon the core elements of the previous title while introducing changes and expansions. Furthermore, there’s enough distinction between player characters with each bringing their own set of skills and upgrade mechanics. Difficulty is normally on the low end with some spikes here and there. That said, the gameplay is more focused on exploration, giving players a lot of areas to discover and a never-ending supply of items and skills to collect. Nevertheless, the games lack more creative level layouts and enemy encounters. 

Dawn of Sorrow brings back the same system used in its prequel. Using the power of dominance, Soma can absorb the souls from defeated enemies, converting them into weapons, familiars and skills. As the first game in the series released for the Nintendo DS, its touch-screen gimmicks are more prominent but that failed to bring any interesting new ways to play. Regardless, M2 did well in adapting those particular features for use with a standard controller. The right stick serves as a pointer while the right trigger “touches” the screen. The seal system is now activated with simple button prompts. This control scheme is shared between all games, and works well enough. Players can also use a mouse if playing on PC.

In Portrait of Ruin, players can control two characters interchangeably, but they can also be on the screen at the same time assisting each other in combat, puzzles and platforming. Jonathan can use a variety of weapons and martial arts while Charlotte is a sorceress who wields powerful attack and support spells. This provides a fun dynamic where players are encouraged to change between the two characters and test different loadouts.

Order of Ecclesia has players pick specific missions laid-out on a world map in what may look like a classic Castlevania. Indeed, new missions appear as the story progresses, but exploration is mostly non-linear. Additionally, missions can be revisited at any time, and some paths are only accessible further on with the use of new abilities. Similar to Castlevania 2, there’s a hub village that’s populated as Shanoa rescues people met during missions. The difficulty is higher than in the previous two games with enemies dealing a lot more damage. Furthermore, curative items and save points during missions are also not as plentiful. That said, the fast-paced exploration is intact but players need to be more mindful of enemies and effectively exploit their weaknesses.

Visuals

To display the multiple screens in the DS titles, M2 opted for a hybrid configuration that accommodates both screens at the same time while adding two more panels displaying character stats and enemy information. It’s a functional and practical solution but those looking for an option that stretches the playable area to cover the entire screen will be disappointed. Furthermore, scanline and smoothing filters can be selected for both Haunted Castle games but are strangely not available for the DS titles.

Audio

The soundtrack which was already solid, now sounds even better as that grainy, noisy sound typical of games on the DS was removed. The song compositions were made by a number of new artists, but also feature long-standing Castlevania composer Michiru Yamane and even Yuzo Koshiro, known for the music in Streets of Rage. Suffice it to say, Castlevania Dominus Collection features an extensive selection of quality tunes that can be listened to at the players’ leisure in the gallery mode.

Overall

M2 once again delivers a quality collection featuring great games that run without hitches. Add to that an extensive gallery mode featuring dozens of artworks across all titles and even a robust and easy to access sound mode. Last but not least, we also get an entirely new “classicvania” with Haunted Castle Revisited. All in all, Castlevania Dominus Collection is an amazing anthology that should not be missed by fans and newcomers alike.

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