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LTTP: Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow

Alright, after realizing you don't need to draw the magic seals perfectly, I am having a lot of fun with this one, even if Puppet master took me 35 tries or so to seal.

I am completely stuck right now in Subterranean Hell though. There's a room to the left with spikes I cannot progress through, and that's about all the exits that are left.

I'm thinking I have to go back to another area and use that Puppet Master soul on another part, but I did search before and didn't find anything. Oh well.

Great GREAT game so far, can't belie ve I ignored it all this time. I've owned it since January! Still got PoR to go through, too.
 
If I remember correctly, there's an option in the menu to practice drawing the seals before you have to use them after the boss fights.

Amazing game, though; enjoy.
 

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
I don't remember much, but, check the map again. There was probably something minor you missed.

Great game! Be sure to play the extras before you go onto PoR.
 
Yeah I practiced that seal and always got booted out before the first line was complete XD.. like I said, I know now that SPEED is more important so I should be fine.

OSG, what extras are in this one? I'm assuming a different character and boss rush?
 

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
Psycho Penguin said:
Yeah I practiced that seal and always got booted out before the first line was complete XD.. like I said, I know now that SPEED is more important so I should be fine.

OSG, what extras are in this one? I'm assuming a different character and boss rush?

I won't spoil it, but a mode that plays like oldschool cv games. Can't remember what else.
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Psycho Penguin said:
I am completely stuck right now in Subterranean Hell though. There's a room to the left with spikes I cannot progress through, and that's about all the exits that are left.
could it be the room where there are small unspiked isles on the floor but they're too far apart? if so, then you need
to doll-throw yourself, using the thow-boos ability, iirc
 
I was surprised at how hard this game was. Not used to my RPG/Action-Adventure Castlevanias having tough bosses after breezing through most of the GBA games. Also surprised at how... I dunno, macabre this was. Monsters and especially bosses felt a lot... darker than past Castlevanias.

Overall, one of my favorite Castlevania games.
 
blu said:
could it be the room where there are small unspiked isles on the floor but they're too far apart? if so, then you need
to doll-throw yourself, using the thow-boos ability, iirc

There's a large row of spikes I have to almost die jumping across, then a small gap with a wall next to it, followed by more spikes. The dolls die on the spikes when I throw them.
 

Mechar

Neo Member
Congratulations man! This game is by far, the best handheld Castlevania game and the best DS game. Hopefully you´ll have some time to play Portrait of Ruin wich is also good, but not as good as DoS. You´ll proably finish the game in good time before Order of Ecclesia arrives on October 22nd.
 

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
Psycho Penguin said:
There's a large row of spikes I have to almost die jumping across, then a small gap with a wall next to it, followed by more spikes. The dolls die on the spikes when I throw them.

Sounds like you are missing a soul then. I think you might need to use
the bat soul
to get past whatever it is.
 
Thanks for the praise guys, glad to see I picked a GOOD game to play for a change.. heh.

How would everyone rank the Metroidvania games?

OSG: Time to go find it then. Thanks for the help! :)
 

Brak

Member
Psycho Penguin said:
Thanks for the praise guys, glad to see I picked a GOOD game to play for a change.. heh.

How would everyone rank the Metroidvania games?

OSG: Time to go find it then. Thanks for the help! :)
I enjoyed Dawn of Sorrow a lot and then I unlocked Julius Mode which made me adore it.

In terms of ranking Metroidvanias:

Metroid: Zero Mission
CV: Dawn of Sorrow
Metroid Fusion
CV: Aria of Sorrow
CV: Portrait of Ruin
CV: Harmony of Dissonance

(Strangely I haven't played Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night)
 
If by Metroidvanias you're strictly referring to Castlevanias:

Dawn of Sorrow
Aria of Sorrow
Symphony of the Night
Portrait of Ruin
Circle of the Moon
Harmony of Dissonance

The first two are a dead heat, actually. There's a fair gap between the lower and upper half.

Here's hoping Order of Ecclesia ranks with the best of them.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
yes Julius mode is completely awesome in this game. Enjoyed it more than the main campaign. Aria was a bit better than this, and still stands as the best metroidvania
 

lyre

Member
Dunno if it's answered yet but there are two solutions to this puzzle if I'm thinking of the one you're stuck in:

1.
Puppet Master soul + Skeleton Ape (big skeleton that throws barrels) = long ranged teleporting
2.
The soul that you get from two skeletons carrying the giant dragon head that fires a ball of energy. The soul carries Soma across just about anything as long as there's ground and MP to consume

And beat the regular game asap; the true reason to play the game takes place after you unlock it.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
This game's J-Mode is BY FAR the best post-game addition to a CV yet. It's completely unrivaled, and unlike most post-game modes in Castlevania games, basically stands up as its own game, in my eyes.
 

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
Yeah, Skeleton Ape is the answer.

You know about the Katana and the five hit trick yet? I absolutely loved the game after this. Think I replayed it about six times. PoR was good too but didn't like the concept so much.
 

Gig

One man's junk is another man's treasure
Mejilan said:
This game's J-Mode is BY FAR the best post-game addition to a CV yet. It's completely unrivaled, and unlike most post-game modes in Castlevania games, basically stands up as its own game, in my eyes.

You lost the badass back-dash from Aria of Sorrow. :/

Oh, and NUNCHUCKS!!!
 

ghibli99

Member
Glad you're enjoying the game, man!

AlexM said:
lol dubble wut?
Way to be a jerk. He just said that he has a condition that makes his hands shake (could be tremors, etc.), and you laugh at him.
 
Thanks for the help on the spikes thing. I'm assuming it leads to an unneeded secret and not the path to the next area, because I really hate when random enemies drop souls that you need to progress. like.. how am I supposed to know?
 

Gig

One man's junk is another man's treasure
Mejilan said:
What does this have to do with my post?

Like I said, in the Aria's secondary mode/game you had the cool vanishing backdash and then it wasn't their in Sorrow.

And they totally nerfed the Red Minotaur soul.
 

lyre

Member
Psycho Penguin said:
Thanks for the help on the spikes thing. I'm assuming it leads to an unneeded secret and not the path to the next area, because I really hate when random enemies drop souls that you need to progress. like.. how am I supposed to know?
Good thing you're playing DoS and not Aria, cause the latter requires enemy soul drops to get the non-fake (but very awesome) ending.

Cheers
 

lyre

Member
Dawn of Sorrow gives you what you need to get the non-fake ending in a cutscene, tho you have put two and two together to know how to get to it. No grinding whatsoever.
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Gig said:
Like I said, in the Aria's secondary mode/game you had the cool vanishing backdash and then it wasn't their in Sorrow.

And they totally nerfed the Red Minotaur soul.

Ahh. A VERY small price to pay. In just about every sense, J-Mode got upgraded from a stupid side-mode to a full blown alternate quest!
 

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
lyre said:
Dawn of Sorrow gives you what you need to get the non-fake ending in a cutscene, tho you have put two and two together to know how to get to it. No grinding whatsoever.

Yep. You'll even know when you have finished everything, because the path to the end won't budge unless you meet the requirements.
 
Gig said:
Like I said, in the Aria's secondary mode/game you had the cool vanishing backdash and then it wasn't their in Sorrow.

And they totally nerfed the Red Minotaur soul.

For good reason. There were a few really broken souls/weapons in Aria.

Getting the souls for the good ending in Aria wasn't really hard.
 

Hive

Banned
Psycho Penguin said:
Alright, found out where I needed to go :D There was an area I could use the Puppet Master soul in the Dark Chapel.

Condemned Tower time.

ohh buddy! ^o^

Is there anything better than J-mode in CV?? I mean, it made me go back and relive CVIII and CVIV. Such a great homage to the CV of old~
 
Hive said:
ohh buddy! ^o^

Is there anything better than J-mode in CV?? I mean, it made me go back and relive CVIII and CVIV. Such a great homage to the CV of old~

CV4? Didn't spot any features from there.

Only thing missing was a Grant type character.
 
Julius Mode sounds awesome.

I started Kirby Squeak Squad earlier but I don't want to be banned for making too many topics :lol

Back to DoS now! I want to unlock this Julius Mode!
 

jax (old)

Banned
I replayed all the DS CVs recently. So fucking awesome. :) I actually went to jbhifi (aussie retailer) and they had POR. I was quite impressed.. a some "niche" title still on retail shelves this long after launch. GOod stuff.
 
Jax said:
I replayed all the DS CVs recently. So fucking awesome. :) I actually went to jbhifi (aussie retailer) and they had POR. I was quite impressed.. a some "niche" title still on retail shelves this long after launch. GOod stuff.

I actually found PoR for 19.99 USD brand new earlier this year at a tiny game store here. I was pretty hyped. :D

I still haven't opened it.
 

Yaweee

Member
I loved this game so much. The meaningful alternate mode really gave the Metroidvania series the longevity it needed-- a trend that continued in Portrait of Ruin with its crapton of extra modes.

While people say Julius mode is where it's at, I think it gets a lot of credit for just being fundamentally different than the main game, not because it is all-out better. Both are very satisfying adventures.
 
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