Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow set the bar quite high for the DS's next Castlevania. What amazes me about Portait of Ruin is just how quickly it proves itself more than a worthy successor.

Exhibit A is the wealth of core gameplay elements. There are two characters: Jonathan, a brash young man with a whip, and Charlotte, a magically endowed schoolgirl. Controls for managing this dynamic are surprisingly fluid; the X button will toggle which character you play as, and the A button will summon or dismiss the other character to your immediate aide. Your ally can attack, take damage, help you solve puzzles, and even grant new abilities - for instance, jumping off your partner's shoulders to achieve new heights.

Jonathan uses physical attacks and special techniques, and the weapon-switching system that's been developed over the past several 2D Castlevanias; that is, he uses several different types of weapons, from short swords and long swords to maces and axes and spears. Charlotte is a bit different, her primary weapon being a book that can manifest itself as a sword (and, I suspect, other things as I get more of them), but her primary means of attack is through casting powerful magic spells. Unlike Jonathan's techniques which cast instantly, Charlotte's spells will have a less powerful effect unless a casting time is fully satisfied. It's just the amount of time to make the difference between loosing a quick volley and unleashing a killer spell.

Exhibit B is the storytelling. So far the plot sequences are a bit dialog-heavy, but they really flesh out the characters very well, despite an abrupt intro. There's also a great supporting cast, namely a monk who runs the game's shop, and a ghost who teaches you new abilities in return for fulfilling his Quests.

Exhibit C is the game's sheer length. Granted, I cannot really know this for certain yet, but my projection is that this will be a lengthy adventure. The titular "portraits" (ruinous ones, at that) are Mario 64-style paintings that lead to new worlds to explore, with their own environs and bosses. Each of these has its own world map, in addition to the map for Dracula's Castle. Thus, after only a few hours, I have greater than 100% map completion.

Exhibit D is the sensory experience. It's a definite graphical step up from the already well-off Dawn of Sorrow, and all the art is crystal clear and visually engaging. The audio is perhaps even more impressive, with not only pleasing music, but some of the richest sound effects in any game. Jonathan and Charlotte yell out each other's names when you switch characters. Spellcasts and certain attacks have spoken accompaniment as well, as do the NPCs. And not only does it sound great, it's in English!

I'm already floored. Unless PoR stops itself short, this promises to be a triumph of a game all around.

Progress: 101.9%