Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin -Nintendo DS- 9

May 7, 2025

     Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS, and is the fifth portable entry in the classic series to follow in footsteps of the masterpiece that was 1997’s Symphony of the Night. PoR goes to great lengths to freshen up the formula by incorporating a dual character system and by venturing outside the castle setting to exotic locals. I just reached the end credits of PoR, and I felt this was another excellent title that continues the same quality we know and love from the finest of the portable Castlevania’s.

     In PoR, you play with two characters on screen at once, Johnathon Morris and Charlotte Aulin. Johnathon uses basic weapons and subweapons similar to previous characters in the older Castlevania games, while Charlotte uses magic spells with different books she fights with. You switch between making one character primary while the other does their standard moves with A.I., but you can press the right trigger to use their secondary attack or press up and x to perform a special dual crush attack. I thought both characters were perfectly balanced with their own strengths and abilities, and I used them both 50/50% of the time.

     PoR is indeed a metroidvania, but the flow and level layout is a little different this time around. Dracula’s castle itself is rather small, but inside specific rooms hang mystical paintings that whisk the player away to far-away lands. These self-contained areas include an Egyptian pyramid, a circus of clowns, and the city streets of Europe. This variety does a lot to separate PoR from the usual Gothic settings we have grown used to, while still retaining the spirit and atmosphere of the series.

     A big part of that spirit and atmosphere is the gorgeous artwork within these environments as well as the character and monster design. The 2D sprites are beautifully drawn, and the backdrops are a marvel to explore. And equally outstanding is PoR’s soundtrack. “Iron blue intention” was originally in Bloodlines, but the remix here is vastly superior in my opinion, and one of my all time favorite tracks. “The Gears Go Awry” and “Bad Situation” are two other bangers amongst many more.

     Most of the enemies make their return from previous Castlevania games, but they are just as fun as ever to slaughter as you level up your characters. The boss fights are awesome and challenging, culminating with an epic clash with both Vlad and Death at the same time in the finale. There is also a series of sidequests that provide even more hours of content and motivation to keep exploring. (I completed 28 of the 37 Wind’s quests, which included me unlocking and conquering the Nest of Evil section.)

     I loved PoR just as much as I remember loving Dawn of Sorrow when I played that two years ago. The dual character fighting and teleportation to different regions gave PoR its own unique flavor from the other games in the Castlevania series, and I was fully engrossed throughout the whole campaign. I rate PoR a 9 out of ten.