DS User Reviews

Absolute masterpiece. The game has a good story, a lot of stuff to explore and the two characters play differently. What more do you want

An excellent game with a solid story, great pacing, and fantastic music—truly one of the best Metroidvanias ever made. As for downsides, the pacing—which I previously praised—can sometimes be tricky; there are moments where it’s hard to tell exactly which character is landing the hit because both heroes are standing in the same spot, so you just mash the button and see what happens. Still, it’s an excellent game that is a must-play.

One of the most underrated castlevania that you should try i think it's better than dawn of sorrow in many things.

7 personajes jugables y mucha variedad de contenido. Tiene algunas cosas mal, como el balance de armas y el reciclado de nivel cercas del final, aun así es un juego genial.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is like a hidden treasure for gamers who crave that classic vampire-slaying action. If you're a fellow gaming enthusiast, this Castlevania installment hits all the right **** storyline is a real page-turner, immersing you in a world of gothic horrors with that perfect touch of mystery. It's not just a mindless hack-and-slash; there's depth to the narrative that keeps you glued to your DS. The atmospheric vibe is pure Castlevania, and it's a nostalgic trip for **** let's talk gameplay. The dual-character system is the star here. You get two heroes to switch between, each bringing their own skills to the table. It adds a layer of strategy to the traditional whip-swinging mayhem, injecting new life into the series. Plus, the variety of sub-weapons and spells keeps the combat fresh and exciting.Graphically, it's not pushing the DS to its limits, but the art style captures that iconic Castlevania aesthetic. And the music? It's like a haunting symphony, setting the perfect tone for your vampire-hunting ****, here's the catch—it's not a walk in the park. The difficulty level might raise an eyebrow or two, especially if you're new to the Castlevania scene. But for those who appreciate a challenge, it's the kind of difficulty that feels earned, not **** sum it up, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is a must-play for Castlevania fans or anyone seeking a satisfying blend of classic action and strategic depth. The dual-character system, coupled with the engaging story and atmospheric soundtrack, cements its place as a standout title in the Castlevania legacy. Grab your whip, gather your courage, and venture into Dracula's realm for a gaming experience that's truly enchanting.

Portrait of Ruin really could have been better if we didn’t actually return to Dracula’s castle. However that is not the case, and while it’s not a bad game, a lot of potential was missed. Still Portrait of Ruin offers a lot to players and I think if you're even remotely interested in Castlevania you will have fun with this game.

Castlevania Portrait of Ruin is one of my favorite Castlevania games. The two character system adds another layer to the combat, there's a wealth of awesome subweapons and spells to try out, the portraits allow for more variety in the locations you'll visit, and the soundtrack is very memorable. It's an excellent game and a must have for the DS.

Adding a second selectable character into the spooky Metroid-style mix, this is a fun arcade adventure and probably the best instalment of the Castlevania series.

Just okay game, blank world and easy to get powerful weapon. Boss so easy because 1000 blades skill so imba. Music 7/10 Graphic 9/10 Gameplay 8/10 Boss 6/10 because very easy

It became my 3rd favorite CV game after Dawn and Aria. I like the painting concept. The difficulty of the game was balanced. It wasn't as hard as OOE. A wide variety of abilities and items. Level design was good overall. Music is nice. It was fun to play with 2 characters. But I think it is more appropriate to play with a single character in boss battles. There are quests in the game, but it is a bit difficult to do without looking at the guide. I finished the game 956%, I wasn't bored, the story was good too.

After being a little bit disappointed by DoS, this one made quite the shot for me. Nice dual mechanics which you can choose to use or not most of the time, nice graphics, fantastic musics. it may be a bit subjective but i find it to be more action-oriented than DoS, and that goes well.

Quite a wasted potential with exciting first half yet waste dual mechanics, simple narrative and annoying boss RNG

Don't let the Anime aesthetics and tropy characters turn you off, every thing else here is simply amazing. from the varied levels and playable characters, this ends up being the beefiest Castlevania experience. Want a Killer soundtrack featuring new tracks and remixes of old ones, including some from other Konami series? Did you prefer the Japanese dubs from past Castlevania games? New Game Plus? Multiple characters and different ways to play each time? Immense amounts of polish and room by room curated game design? Portrait of Ruin has it all in spades. While slightly different and less mature than previous Castlevanias, Portrait of Ruin is a knockout in it's own right. If you're looking for a game more like Symphony of the Night, Order of Ecclesial is that way. For those still here, buckle up and be sure to never skip the cutscene before fighting Death. I Debated with my self for a long time if this truly was the ultimate IGA castlevania experience. While Symphony of the Night does take itself more seriously and as a piece of art might be objectively better, Portrait of Ruin manages to strong-arm it's way to the top with sheer amount of content variety, replay-ability and top-tier game design. Portrait of Ruin is a completed work from a Master of his craft.

The content of the game is good, but for some reason this title is very buggy compared to Dawn of Sorrow, and Order of Ecclesia. It just freezes too much, and then you have to start all over again. It happens when you do fast travel, and special moves.

Castlevania Portrait of Ruin in my Opinion is the best Metroidvania I've ever played. First off the music is some of the best in the entire series with fantastic remixes of songs like Cross your Heart(known as crucifix held close in the game), Iron Blue intention and Simon's Theme. They also have great original pieces like Invitation of a Crazed moon, Gaze up at the Darkness, The Hidden Curse, and Jail of jewles. Even though this is not my favorite Castlevania soundtrack its pretty up there. Now that I've established the soundtrack but now let's dive into the gameplay. Now since this is a Metroidvania so there is a lot of familiar territory but there are some welcome changes . First off Side quests, for the first time ever you can undertake special tasks in different areas of Portrait of Ruin to get a stat boost, money, a new and powerful item or weapon ETC.. These range from punching butcher's meat, to entering button combos, or mastering a skill. Each new quest has a different fun and uniqe maybe a little difficult task. Unlike Order of Ecclesia most of these tasks are not endless Grind-fests and boring fetch quests and they feel more rewarding as you go on completing them. Now the core gameplay of explore the castle kill enemies collect relics, armor , weapons and leveling up hasn't changed much. Except now you have two chracters to play as that you can switch freely between them at anytime. They each have their own weapons armor and accseories. You can also obtain crush attacks that sap your mp like nothing else but they deal a lot of damage. All these things accounted for this game is actually not very easy especially towards the end. Thankfully unlike games like Harmony of Dissonnance and SOTH this game does get harder and thats a good thing. Overall after you beat the game you unlock 2 other sets of chracters a hard mode with 3 sub difficulties and a boss-rush mode. SO all in all for what ever you can find this game at its a really good deal. I will say there is a boss later on that will make you ooze with nostalgia if your a long running fan and its one tough cookie so be ready. But besides that Portrait of ruin is filled with content with 10 maps to cover, a boss rush mode, a total of 5 difficulties, and 3 sets of chracters to play as your gonna be here for a while.

I believe in all rights this is one of the best Castlevania I've ever played, and I've played just about every one of them. (This includes Castlevania 64.) As far as the level designs go it's pretty much Castlevania. Some areas with tons of floating platforms and a segment that always has giant turning cogs. This of course isn't a problem as it just feels like a Castlevania. (Much unlike Lord of Shadows which feels like a God of War wanna-be.) The two main roles of the game, Jonathan and Charlotte are both interesting characters who play off of one another. Like Charlotte's way of playfully **** at Jonathan or his insecurity that she helps him with. Charlotte has an adorable way to point out his flaws, and he has an adorable way to point out the horribly obvious. I believe that these two characters are better fleshed out then most Castlevania characters who just kind of waltz around and smack things with a whip in a silent stupor. As far as the story goes it breaks away from the generic Castlevania storyline which is nice to see. The main protagonist for the longest duration of the game (Brauner) has entirely different goals then most other enemies. (Who are not Dracula.) Of course for the sake of not spoiling anything I'll refrain from going any further. It was just nice and refreshing to see a new idea for Castlevania instead of some cult raising Dracula. Or some cultist priest raising Dracula. Or some other cult derived from the past cult of cultists who worship a cult of resurrecting Dracula. (See the pattern?) Pretty much...there is no cult. Then we boil it all down to the gameplay. Switching between Charlotte and Jonathan is a nice addition. Charlotte's spells make grinding for items much quicker, and everyone who's played Castlevania will be grinding for items. As for Jonathan he's the man you use for the boards you'll be traveling to. Then you switch back to Charlotte to annihilate the bosses. All in all, it's not a gimmick but a new way to play your Castlevania. In the **** gameplay is pretty much Castlevania. Before it got bad of course. (Insert lame God of War wanna-be title here with giant roided out meathead as the protagonist.) So, with that **** you like Castlevania, if you like interesting plots, if you like engaging characters, and if you like that good old Castlevania soundtrack then this is the game for you. If you own a DS you should definitely get this title. Also, I forgot to mention but the sprites look very nice as well. Pretty game for the DS. If you like mashing the square button a hundred times without having to worry about dying...then I feel for you.

Portrait of ruin is a tonka truck wishing it were a big-rig. It looks, smells, and acts like Castlevania, but at the core it's simply a watered down adventure game derived from more successful ventures of the same franchise. The anime art direction undermines the serious Gothic overtones that should prevail in any Castlevania entry. The characters are surface level and cliche. There is little to no innovation, nor are there any clever game play elements. Portrait is frustrating. Not in the sense of difficulty, or boss fights (both can be solved by simply gaining a few levels and trying again not much skill required there), but in that you find yourself meandering around lazy copy-and-paste environments filled with cheap challenges looking for the end of the dungeon so you can move on. Then, the game has the audacity to send you back through those levels on fetch quests for a fat, bald priest and a ghost with too much fashion sense. The game's redeeming factor, the boss encounters, save it from a score in the red, but it's not enough for me to recommend this title over others for the DS. The story is lame. The levels are lame. The action is decent. But then again, you can get incredible action, story, and levels with Order of Ecclesia, so go buy that instead.

At a distance Portrait of Ruin smells good. But when you give it a bite it isn't really that tasty. The Good: Great replay value since it's a long-lasting adventure (with many unlockables to go for besides a whole bunch of items); amazing soundtrack, well worthy of the tradition of Castlevania's melodies; good animation, especially in Dual Crush moves and in some boss battles. The Bad: Replay value is all based on doing the same things over and over; stupid dialogue, and story/plot running faster than it should; stretched rooms just to make a bigger castle. This new installment in the Castlevania series has the right ingredients: two different characters to switch between or to play together, a huge map to explore, many--really, many--items to get, relics to collect, side quests to solve, skills to learn and master, a superb soundtrack, and good animation/voice acting. So, after all, what's wrong with PoR? The problem is that under all this stuff rests buried a lazy production. The main question is about the replay value. OK, it may last for weeks or months, but what for? By unlocking some features you can play with other characters and under new difficult levelsâ

It's OK, but nothing special. Too short and kind of unimaginative. The story is incredibly boring and uninteresting, so it all comes down to the gameplay and level designs. They're OK but even after 10 hours I found myself thinking "OK, when is this going to get fun?" The dual character thing feels like a gimmick, I used Charlotte about three times and played as Jonathan the rest of the time.