Castlevania Dominus Collection [PC] | REVIEW

The Castlevania titles on the Nintendo DS are fondly remembered by fans as being some of the best entries in the series, so seeing them all brought together in Castlevania Dominus Collection feels pretty special – especially since they’re very impressive ports that manage to utilise the multi-screen layout of the Nintendo DS console in an accessible and intuitive manner.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Castlevania Dominus Collection consists of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, with each title highly-regarded when originally releasing on the Nintendo DS back in the noughties. As an added bonus, you’ve also got Haunted Castle, the first Castlevania arcade game, to play too, both in its original and a re-imagined form. The less said about its original form the better, but it’s still a cool treat to see it included given that it has been inaccessible to play before.

Each of the three games follow the classic Metroidvania-formula that Castlevania fans would have loved for years, with a host of wonderfully designed locales to explore that are packed with enemies to kill, puzzles to unravel, abilities to discover, and vicious bosses to take down. It’s a formula that the series has mastered over the years, with these Nintendo DS releases aging incredibly well in the years since their release and still offering enthralling adventures (it’s crazy that Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is nearly twenty-years old now).

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a sequel to the Gameboy Advance title Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, with returning protagonist Soma Cruz facing off against a cult that looks to resurrect Dracula. I wouldn’t worry too much if you haven’t played its predecessor, especially since the narrative is pretty easy to follow, but a few small details might be better appreciated by returning players. One of the core hooks revolves around using the souls of enemies to empower Soma Cruz, with these granting additional abilities to unleash that can give you the upper-hand over the vicious creatures you face off against.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin spices things up by giving players two characters to play as simultaneously, often using them in tandem in order to solve puzzles or beat foes – it also features paintings you can dive into, taking players to unique locales that vastly differ from Dracula’s castle. I guess that makes it the Castlevania title that’s the most similar to Mario 64, right? The narrative takes place during World War II, with protagonists Charlotte Aulin and Jonathan Morris working together to take Dracula down.

“Castlevania Dominus Collection offers a fantastic collection of titles that still stand out as some of the best in the Castlevania series.”

Finally, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia puts players in the role of protagonist Shanoa, who works as part of the Order of Ecclesia – an organisation who use magical glyphs known as ‘Dominus’ to vanquish those that look to work towards Dracula’s resurrection. Unfortunately, one of her colleagues steals these glyphs, with Shanoa having to get them back. I think this is my favourite of the three titles, with the glyph system (that sees you utilising glyphs dropped by enemies to your advantage) and the dual-wielding of weaponry making for some satisfying showdowns with foes. It also offers a more fleshed out world, with the game’s world map system seeing you venturing between varying locales during your quest.

Whilst each game still feels fantastic to play, the fact that they released on the Nintendo DS does mean that they’re a little more unique in their presentation. You’ll notice this immediately when playing, with the gameplay shown on a big window on the left and the map and your stats split into two little screens on the right to compensate for the lack of dual-screens. Take a look at the screenshots and you’ll see what I mean.

This was something I really liked. The old-school visuals (which still look gorgeous, by the way) mean that having the main game display in a smaller window isn’t to its detriment, whilst having both the map and your stats permanently displayed on the side makes it easier than ever to track exploration. Of course, there are also moments where you have to use what would have been touch-screen controls in the game (such as drawing glyphs), but this is handled by having the player hold down a shoulder button and use the analog stick – it’s not perfect, but it’s adequate enough to deal with these moments when they arise.

There are other quality-of-life features included that make the experience more accessible, with players able to rewind the action if they get caught out in a tricky situation (which is something that’ll happen a lot… these are challenging games) or use save states if a quick checkpoint is needed. I’ve seen some folk complain that you shouldn’t use features like these because they tarnish the experience, but honestly? I’m a fan of their inclusion, with the save state feature particularly saving a LOT of time when dying against the same boss over and over again. And if you don’t like these features? Don’t use them, nobody is forcing you.

Check out some screenshots down below:

One of the more interesting bonuses of Castlevania Dominus Collection is the inclusion of Haunted Castle, which marked the series’ arcade debut. Honestly? It’s not that great, with the tough difficulty and dated mechanics making it a chore to play. However, it also comes with a re-imagined form, which has significantly improved visuals, a less brutal difficulty curve, and more satisfying mechanics that actually make it pretty fun to play. Whether playing the original version or the re-imagined take on Haunted Castle, its presence in the collection is undoubtedly cool, with it marking a bit of Castlevania history that a lot of series fanatics might not have had the chance to experience before.

The package is fleshed out further with art galleries, the soundtracks (which features some real bangers), and the box art and manuals for each title. These are always my favourite inclusion in classic collections like this, so it’s great to see that Konami have included plenty of neat little extras that delve into the wonderful design of each title.

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2369900/Castlevania_Dominus_Collection/