Castlevania Dominus Collection Review – Enshrined Soliloquies

Castlevania is Back and Better than Ever

Following the release of the Castlevania Advance Collection a few years ago, my love for the franchise grew immensely, but I didn’t really think about it much until just recently, with the surprise stealth launch of the Castlevania Dominus Collection.

This compilation of the beloved DS entries, including the arcade title Haunted Castle, caught just about everyone off guard. And having spent time with and completing each of these games, the Castlevania Dominus Collection is undeniably my favorite Castlevania release to date.

The three main titles of the Castlevania Dominus Collection are Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia. Let’s delve into these individually. Dawn of Sorrow is a direct one-year sequel to the Game Boy Advance title Aria of Sorrow, which was featured in the Advance Collection. Soma Cruz is back as the protagonist, now caught in a new conflict with a cult that desires to remedy what they perceive as a misstep from Aria of Sorrow, with Soma refusing to embrace the power of Dracula.

The Familiar Strengths of Dawn of Sorrow

Dawn of Sorrow plays mostly the same as its predecessor, thanks to the re-implementation of the Tactical Soul System, which lets Soma absorb enemies’ souls, constituting their abilities. However, he can now upgrade several abilities by obtaining multiple copies of a soul. There is also an admittedly tacked-on system with the newly introduced Magic Seals, where defeating bosses requires players to input a specific button sequence. This was used with the touchscreen on the DS, but it has been translated elegantly on console, even if the concept feels needless on a gameplay level.

The general strengths of Aria are present in Dawn, perhaps to a fault. Despite the familiar addictive RPG and metroidvania progression components making themselves known, culminating in a satisfying experience, I often felt like I was retreading Aria of Sorrow. Admittedly, this is more of a minor gripe in retrospect than anything; I still had a terrific time. Further, the returning and unlockable Julius Mode, featuring three playable characters, offers more than enough gameplay distinction to set the title apart from its contemporaries.

The three main DS games included here are all exceptional action RPG experiences.

The Refreshing Gameplay of Portrait of Ruin

Portrait of Ruin is a significant shift, featuring two protagonists and childhood friends, Jonathan and Charlotte. These two task themselves with ridding the presence of new antagonists in Dracula’s Castle. Interestingly, this entry is technically a continuation of Castlevania: Bloodlines from the Castlevania Anniversary Collection since Jonathan is the son of that game’s protagonist, John Morris. Still, you don’t need to know anything to understand and enjoy this venture.

From a gameplay standpoint, Portrait of Ruin is a drastic yet refreshing change, thanks to both Jonathan and Charlotte being playable from the start. The former is more typical of your Castlevania protagonists, as he can wield several weapons like swords, whips, and knives. On the other hand, Charlotte is a mage who I honestly enjoyed playing as much more. She’s immensely powerful because her spell utility is diverse and bountiful in their respective damage outputs.

While playing, you can swap between Jonathan and Charlotte on the fly and even make it so only one is present at a given time. Plus, they have their own equipment setups alongside duo attacks that provide further options. When taking the characteristic metroidvania facets, notably the movement upgrades and puzzles that dictate progression taking both characters into account, Portrait of Ruin is a definite must-play that differentiates itself in a franchise where plenty of the entries can mesh together to the general onlooker. I also vastly enjoyed the increased environmental memorability in this title’s gimmick of exploring paintings.

The Distinction of Order of Ecclesia 

As for Order of Ecclesia, it’s the most memorable. Set sometime after Symphony of the Night, this entry features a new protagonist named Shanoa, a member of the Order of Ecclesia, which seeks to halt Dracula’s ambitions now that the Belmonts are no longer present. Glyphs called Dominus are seemingly integral to this goal. However, soon after the start of the narrative, a certain incident causes Shanoa to lose her memories and emotions. Regardless, she embarks on her quest to acquire the Dominus.

Order of Ecclesia stands out for its wholly altered presentation. Its artwork has a more gothic ambiance, contrasting the anime style of Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. This design also affects the overall tone, providing a genuinely severe potentiality of consequences that weren’t quite so present in the other two games. Granted, none of the stories in this collection are particularly memorable or noteworthy, as they primarily serve as the backbone and justifications for pushing events forward. But Order of Ecclesia has a captivating premise from its outset, and its endings feel like they thrive because of it.

Order of Ecclesia is my preferred entry in this compilation, chiefly thanks to its robust identity and genuine challenge.

In terms of gameplay, Shanoa’s primary mechanic is fundamentally similar to Soma’s soul absorption, which is the absorption of glyphs. Glyphs are acquired either from the story or randomly dropped from enemies, and they have a vast array of utilities, ranging from combat to environmental alteration. There is definitely a more transparent reliance on magic throughout this entry, bolstered by how quickly Shanoa’s MP gauge regenerates by itself. Consequently, your general gameplay approach as Shanoa will likely be more defense-oriented than the other two games, especially since the bosses felt more challenging this time around.

Order of Ecclesia also stands out for its inherently different structure compared to the vast majority of this franchise. Contrasting the tried and true practice of exploring a sizeable singular location like Dracula’s Castle divided into numerous subsections, this game instead has multiple mini-dungeons spread across a world map. This design choice also has the byproducts of making progression more linear and increasing the difficulty since there’s less need to account for players wandering off the central path.

This individuality shines with additional unique factors: NPC sidequests and rescueable villagers. Throughout this entry, Shanoa gains access to a hub village with a few facilities that become unlocked as you save villagers trapped in the various dungeons. Those rescued may then provide quests with ample rewards, which somewhat mitigates the otherwise heightened sense of linearity seen throughout the main story’s progression. You also need to rescue all the villagers to achieve the favorable ending; thankfully, it’s not all that demanding.

To be entirely candid, Order of Ecclesia is my preferred entry in this compilation, chiefly thanks to its robust identity and genuine challenge, which made each encounter rather memorable. Plus, Shanoa’s characterization and the mystery surrounding the true nature of the Dominus she absorbs instill a fascinating, if brief, narrative. The only issue I have, which also applies to this collection as a whole and even the Advance Collection, is the lack of communication about whether you’ve missed upgrades in a particular room. Perhaps I’m spoiled by Ender Lilies, which changes the color of a room on the map if you’ve acquired everything, but I would have highly appreciated such an implementation here.

Substantial Extra Features and Settings

A meaningful detail worth emphasizing in this collection is how cleanly the touchscreen features have been remade. Besides the magic seals in Dawn of Sorrow being relegated to buttons, other implementations of touchscreen functionality are operated with an on-screen cursor that you can adjust the speed of. It can move quite swiftly, and it never felt like a chore to handle, so bravo to the team for this excellent transference. Speaking of, the multiple screens situated to the side of the screen, like the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection, perform their job of being perfectly readable without compromising the visuals. You can alter the screen layouts, too.

Alas, one last game has not yet been discussed: Haunted Castle. This 1988 arcade title that I’d never heard of until a few days ago is apparently not particularly popular amongst fans, and after playing it, I can certainly see why. The absurd stiffness of the controls and the inability to tell exactly what’s happening with the presentation and animations make it a frustrating, time-consuming experience. Ordinarily, I’d just leave it as a throwaway novelty I can appreciate from afar for preservational purposes. However, Konami went the extra mile by including a completely new remake.

I’m usually not a fan of older arcade games, but this remake, Haunted Castle Revisited, is shockingly well-designed and far more pleasant than the original. The controls are smoother, and the stage design feels cleaner and clearer with its tells, ultimately making it on par with my enjoyment of the other titles in this collection, which I did not even remotely expect. Haunted Castle Revisited is definitely worth the playthrough, regardless of your history with older arcade titles. Strangely, though, you’re unable to create save states or rewind throughout Haunted Castle Revisited, unlike the DS titles and the original Haunted Castle.

Speaking of, the Castlevania Dominus Collection has quite a number of extra features and content. For one, you have the aforementioned option to create save states and rewind a limited amount of time. Additionally, you can freely remap the controls per game, which is always worth appreciating since this is not a constant in console releases. Further, the titles have compendiums detailing enemy equipment, items, and more. Other settings include changing the color of the background, altering the volumes of the background music, sound effects, and voices, and even being able to change the format of the DS screen setup.

Haunted Castle Revisited is definitely worth the playthrough, regardless of your history with older arcade titles. 

Then, the main menu houses the typical collection features, notably a gallery and music player. The latter lets you craft playlists, though it’s doubtful many would even utilize this to begin with. Perhaps most significant is the option to swap between multiple regional versions of a title, making this compilation even more definitive. Regarding performance, the Castlevania Dominus Collection is pristine, making the gorgeous enhanced presentation even more prominent.

Yet Another Compiled Homerun

Following in the footsteps of the Castlevania Advance Collection, the Castlevania Dominus Collection continues the precedent of being a must-play, masterful collection. The three main DS games included here are all exceptional action RPG experiences with lite metroidvania components that make progression and exploration increasingly fulfilling. Moreover, the inclusion of Haunted Castle and its impressive remake, alongside the numerous customizable options, extra features, and strong handheld and docked performance, only add to the positives this package boasts.