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Castlevania - Portrait of Ruin: Reviews

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Game Score: 10/10

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin/ Gallery of Labyrinth

Hello. Castlevania is one of the longest running series' out there, going at it for more than 20 years. From it's humble 8-bit beginnings, Castlevania has become one of the best series' out there, although highly underrated. Now, Castlevania has also evolvd it's gameplay. If you played the first Castlevania back then, you would've thought, "This game wouldn't even last to make a sequel, the gameplay is horrible." Well, that thought is now the exact opposite today.

Now, this game itself exhibits high-quality, excellent gameplay, graphics, music, and more. From the amazing graphics, to the swift, steady, and smooth gameplay, to the amazing, dancable music, this game is high-quality in almost all aspects.

Now, this review will start by detailing the story, then I wiill go into the music, gameplay, etc. The hype for this game made actually playing it quite a disappointment for the fans, for some reason, but don't let that steer you away.

Story

The story of this particular game is really quite different. You, Johnathan Morris, and Charllote Aulin, must invade Dracula's Castle and whip it like there's no tommorow. Ok, seems quite normal at first, until you find out who the real mastermind is. I won't go into the story, so s not to spoil it for you, but man, this is such a great improvement from the usual "Barge in and kill everything" story.

Now, Castlevania has usually had a good story, with a few minor exceptions. Some games, such as Lament of Innocence, Symphony of the Night, and Simon's Quest, had such great stories. Back then, the usual story or a video game is "Go in, kill, and save the princess". Such games like Ghoul's n' Ghosts, Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, etc. however, Castlevania's story back then was so new, so different, that the story alone made it great.

The story of Castlevania began, release-wise, with Simon Belmont. He went to go kill Dracula, then watch the castle crumble into itself. That story was reused so many times, that it became qutie boring after the release of Castlevania: Legends. This specific game not only elongates the story, but adds in a few other things. The thing that really stands out are the different endings. That does it for the story, I guess. Just remember to expect something great out of this game's story.

Story - 10/10

Sound

-Music - The music of this game is something you should expect from all Castlevania titles: Greatness. The songs are unique, some of them reused from older games and made into remixes. The music is lively, creepy, and the way Castlevania should be. The songs usually have a rock beat, and, in fact, were meant to rock. The music just wants to make you stay there all day and listen to it, which I sometimes do.

-Sound Effects - The sound effects are awesome. The whip sounds like a whip, sword slashes sound like sword slashes, and explosions sound like explosions. Everything is how it should be. To think that only a few years ago, almost all the monsters sounded prettymuch the same, and everything you did had similar sound effects.

Sound - 10/10

Graphics

AAGH! My EYES! No, just kidding, the graphics are great. Seriously, don't get paranoid after that statement. Castlevania has had great graphics since the NES days. The graphics aren't eye-burningly bright like Harmony of Dissonance, and not cornea-squeezing dark like Circle of the Moon. It's also not grey and pale like Aria of Sorrow. Rather, the graphics resemble that of Symphony of the Night, but a little bit brighter. The character sprites look beautiful; the enemy sprites amazing.

Everything is in the right shade, the colors just right, not a pixel out of place. The backgrounds look marvelous. You don't have to worry about the Evil GFX Monster coming out and blowing up your eyes. Rather, we have the Benevolent Graphics Angel sprinkling fairy dust or something on your eyes. I don't know, I'm not Tinkerbell. Anyway, yeah, the graphics for this game are awesome.

Graphics - 10/10

Gameplay

Oh no! A Medusa Head hit me, and I'm gonna fall into that pit! Yeah, that is what you would've said if you played any of the original 8-Bit games. However, this game far lowers the cheapness and difficulty of those unfair, annoying monsters. You move as the leaf in the wind, or something like that. You get the slide, double-jump, super-jump, and much, much, more.

The game runs smoothly, and gracefully. You won't have any problems getting to that room you need to go to, you're pretty much guaranteed happy sailing.

Gameplay - 10/10

Difficulty

Castlevania game's difficulty has tremendously lowered- all for the better. Back then, Castlevania games were almost impossible to beat without cheating. It was a difficult venture. Now, however, the difficulty is more balanced; the equillibrium is now on the Jedi side of the force. The game's difficulty will increase over the journey, instead of staying the same, or even getting easier. Think of Symphony of the Night. Remember the Inverted Castle? Remember the hell you went through? Good, time for that again.

Difficulty - 9/10

Extras

The game has amazing ectras, with awesome unlockable modes. There are a bunch of secrets, easter eggs, and everything, to make the gaming experience more awesome.

Extras - 10/10

In conclusion, this game is worth spending your money on. Not only do you get your game, but Konami also get's their moey to continue to make more great games like this. This game is awesome in almost every aspect. Don't let the people who got their hopes crushed because of the hype get you down. This game will make your day. It's not really short, not too long, but pretty good. The extras give you more reason to continue playing. There's even another mode with an alternate story, but that's something for you to figure out.