At this point, there's not a lot left to say about the next classic-in-the-making Castlevania. You'll run, jump and whip a path through a gory, gothic castle while discovering secret areas and new abilities, just like the past four handheld games. This time, however, you've got two vamp hunters to control and a series of haunted paintings that warp you out of the castle into environments most Castlevania games have never seen. The single-player game may sound familiar, but the Wi-Fi enabled ... » Read More

25 Aug 2006

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - updated hands-on

DS Preview | Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

We all know that Dracula's castle returns every 100 years, but what happens when all kinds of crazies try to bring him back sooner? Plenty of chances to see why Castlevania is the king of 2D adventure, that's what. A mad artist (and his undeadly attractive daughters) has created possessed paintings that need to be vanquished, and it's up to Jonathan Morris and his gal-pal Charlotte to dive in and tear 'em up from the inside out. Fans of the series already know how Portrait of Ruin plays - run ... » Read More

11 May 2006

E3 06: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - hands on

DS Preview | Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Dracula seems to rise up every year now. Hey, we're not about to complain - every time he shows up, the world is treated to another adventurous vampire hunt that trumps practically every other 2D game out there. Portrait of Ruin already feels like it won't be the exception to the Castlevania rule. You can switch between whip-wielding Jonathan Morris and magical sorceress Charlotte Orlean. With a simple button press, you can switch between these two any time, and even summon the other down to ... » Read More

9 May 2006

Pre-E3 06: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

DS Preview | Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Today, we got a much deeper look at the new Castlevania game than we'd ever gotten before. Though it was announced before the show, all we really knew was that it would feature two characters. We now know that these two can work together in various different ways, and that the game features a slight departure from the castle-based design of the last several titles. The "tactical soul system" from Dawn of Sorrow (DS) and Aria of Sorrow (GBA) has been scrapped in favor of more traditional ... » Read More

The Knowledge