G-pinions

I'm not too thrilled with how Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow wrapped up, and I'd like to bitch about it for a minute. Ignoring my column in which I raved about it (I didn't expect the latter half to disappoint like it did), there are quite a few problems that really start to show the more you play the game. I can't tell if it's a result of lazy design or a tight schedule, but any hint of purposeful level design and pacing pretty much hits a wall shortly after the halfway point. Backtracking becomes a chore, collecting necessary souls becomes tedious, and the story and physical direction of play starts blurring into boring. One of the great defining characteristics of Symphony of the Night was it's simple exploratory enjoyment, which made hopping around fighting guys, over and over and over, incredibly enjoyable. It was like eating the worlds most delectable pie, and then having two more similar pies set down in front of you. Dawn of Sorrow expects you to eat that initial pie, and then asks you to eat it again, already digested once. Not only is it gross, but it makes you kind of regret eating any pie in the first place.

I guess there are several reasons why exploring would get old in a DS game (shite D-pad, tiny screen to stare at for hours), but that should be taken into account when creating a game so reliant on self-motivation. Maybe more touch-screen elements would have helped; maybe not. I just know that the game lost a lot of steam just when I was really getting into it, and that makes me a sad panda.