Fun fact: The person who made the track for the opening area of the game, Invitation of a Crazed Moon, was in fact not Michiru Yamane, and was actually composed by another legendary composer, Yuzo Koshiro, composer of games like the Streets of Rage and the Etrian Odyssey series. He composed a few tracks for the game in fact, and I believe about 5 of the tracks in the game were composed by him.
Ooh neat, thanks for the extra added information! Yeah Yuzo is awesome as well. Did some tracks in Monster Boy, and I believe is even doing some tracks for Mina the Hollower as well.
As a teenager I slept on Charlotte too and just did the whole game with Jonathan but replaying it now after years I barely touched Jonathan and keep doing everything as Charlotte. Her magic is insane
I am dying for the DS collection to get announced/released to play this game specifically. Ecclesia looks awesome, and Dawn of Sorrow also; but, Portrait of Ruin's Belmont-esque gameplay with Johnathan is really what I am craving. Overall, you confirmed my hype by adding all of the other awesome elements that I was not aware about; however, I am skeptical about the questing. Personally, I really dreaded the quests in Bloodstained ROTN because it simply amounted to fetch quests and kill X enemies, so it felt very mundane side tasks instead of interesting side-content with extra stories/dungeons. From what I saw here, it looks more like in ROTN territory? Am I wrong? Nonetheless, if it is only 30ish quests then it should not be too bad to tackle. Thanks again for these awesome reviews man! They make great content to watch while in the treadmill hehe
Glad you're enjoyin' these! Just to clarify like... The quests aren't the MOST in depth things in the world. A Lot of RoTN was based on these games after all, plus this is a DS game from 2006 haha. So, for the most part the quests are things like "find these three items" or "defeat the [hidden secret enemy]" or like "get your INT above a certain threshold" etc. There ARE some quests that are like more "challenging" though, such as one that requires you to beat a specific respawnable boss with Charlotte's weakest book weapon. But yeah, I think they add just enough to the game to enhance exploring previous areas again.
Dude if they did the advance collection for all three GBA games I'm pretty sure that they're going to do a collection for the DS games as well they just got to iron out some things since we don't have a double screen no more
Yeah, honestly the only game that would be "difficult" with that would be Dawn of Sorrow, but even then, I do think there are work arounds. Switch is touch screen, PS5's Dual Sense has the touch pad. But yeah I'm REALLY hoping we get a DS collection, but I guess only time will tell haha.
i unlocked old axe armor mode , and i didn't even know you could do that suspend game mode trick .__." ........ i've also beaten the game on it's hardest difficult of level 1 locked old axe armor , i still have the save file which i named '99 hour waste'....... also i had no idea about any of the development so that was super cool to learn that the same music composer's first game she made the music for was bloodlines , portrait was my first castlevania so it was a cool surprise for me to later play bloodlines and come to find that some of the songs i was hearing in the older games were remixes of bloodline's o: ....
I know this is 1 year late and I just discovered your love for Igavania but try Castlevania Rondo of Ruin ( it's a rom hack ) Castlevania Rondo of Ruin is a Castlevania Portrait of Ruin romhack aiming to modify most of the games content. There is a new story, new items, sprites, weapons, music, and most of the games areas are modified in both small and big ways. Set 5 years after the events of Symphony of the Night, join Richter Belmont, Maria Renard and their companions as they work to unravel what has caused Castlevania’s early return to the world of humans.
Haha never too late for a suggestion! I've actually heard of that, but haven't checked it out yet. I'll def give ita go though. Seems like the perfect thing to throw onto a Steamdeck to play. I'll be sure to check it out!
I love this game. I've probably played through it a dozen times by now, and I have a blast every time. I did the same thing at first - I kinda ignored Charlotte. But the second playthrough had me trying her out more, and she's great. The gameplay truly shines when you use both of them, it just takes a while for that to click I guess.
I loved just running around with Charlotte because of her crowd killing capability. Jonathan is still really good for bosses except the first Desert boss. Definitely my favorite of the DS Castlevanias but they are all really solid.
Still waiting on Portrait of Sorrow, Dawn of Ruin, Symphony of Despair, Aria of the Night, or whatever the next game would have been called had this awesome confusingly named series continued.
Fantastic video for a fantastic castlevania game. I love how there is "technically" a 4th mode as well. Maria only mode, it's a glitched out version of richter mode where you only play as maria. You can't finish it cause you need richter to traverse but its still pretty cool. Can't wait to see you tackle Ecclesia!
Hahaha yeah. Unless it's like super relevant, I typically don't go too deep into the glitches of the games, since they weren't intended. Guess I could have talked about the Death Softlock, but, oh well haha. Or the duplicating quest rewards, etc.
Dawn of Sorrow fan coming to say otherwise. There's just something about Eastern European lovecraftian cults that unearth ancient secrets that drives everyone evil and mad.
I bought a second hand Nintendo DS with free R4 SKHD from Shopee. I played this game last week, and I'm addicted to it because of the soundtracks and it's story (even I didn't played the original and it's other games). This is my first Castlevania game I played, even I'm new to this franchise.
The first time I've seen Castlevania PoR I didn't feel like playing them bcs I just don't feel castlevania series as anime. That was until I found the hack that replace anime portraits with the traditional gothic style and I started playing it and loving it. I was an idiot. Although Konami missed their chance with multiplayer aspect of the game. A multiplayer Castlevania with actual lore and storyline would be awesome. I wouldn't even mind if they remaster Castlevania III with new graphics and movements along with PoR system. I think the timeline is the best to include multiple character. Maybe they can include Hector and pixel game CoD as dlc too.
Would love to see Jrose play Crystal Clear some day, and hell yeah AJ! I'm subbed because I love the castlevania games and your voice, so here's hoping it's all this high quality!
I've come here after a week of having the Dominus collection announced. Not gonna lie I'd played this game on DS and 3DS XL and was magnificent. I'd also tried to emulate it and it froze at random points So a collection was at hand to give us another official chance to play it
Thanks for another great review! Portrait definitely feels like the overlooked title out of the ds trilogy but added so much especially with it having two characters that play so different to each other
Yeah, Portrait seems to be the game people either LOVE or just completely forget about. Being the middle child of the DS, sort of makes sense I guess haha.
I didn't really care for this much when it was a current DS release, but I played through it twice in the past couple months, and I absolutely love many of the unique things it is doing. Meanwhile, Dawn of Sorrow doesn't quite hold up as much as I expected it to. It's not bad by any stretch, but it really feels like it is missing some of what made Aria such a good experience. No tickets to warp back to the shop area gets really old. Also, why did I have to kill Valkyrie over 300 times to get a single soul drop, while I was using Soul Eater? No thanks. I'll take Portrait's subweapon system and interesting quirks over Dawn any day. Like how you can kill zombies in City of Haze until they stop spawning and the Wight enemies spawn in their place. Little stuff like that really adds some charm.
This is my favorite Castlevania! I love the dual protagonist system, Charlotte is my favorite character to play as. This is the only game in the series I've ever 100%'d.
I'm super curious how it's gonna go when I revisit the third and final DS one, cause, it's uhh... pretty beefy too! But yeah, kind of wild how games used to just toss us all sorts of different modes and playable characters, and now we're lucky to get a single complete experience in a game haha.
I spent so many hours attempting Richter mode on Hard Max Level 1. Getting to the final boss was easy, but I was never able to beat the 2nd phase. Maybe if they do release a collection, I can give it another go!
Most definitely you should! Regarding the second phase of the final boss, I want to say there is actually a way to cheese it, which gets him to repeat his floating attack where he rains down fire, forever, but if you mess up the pattern, then, well... Yeah haha
I just started playing it a few weeks ago. WHat an excellent Castlevania GAME.........One of my favorites.....!! The art, music, characters, opening intro animation., the sisters and how their eyes are exact opposites with a erd and blue one..........LOVE IT.
One of my favorite Castlevania games! I remember my 1st introduction to this game! Back when I was able to see my dad, I wad able to spend a Christmas with him! He got me a lime green DS Lite with New Super Mario Bros & Portrait of Ruin! I had so many memories of the beginning of the game right down to the opening cutscene! When I sadly was prohibited from seeing my dad, I never got to keep the ds or the games. Years later I got a 2DS and I got NSMB and beat it along with so many other games! I was only missing one game and that was Portrait of Ruin! I asked for it for Christmas and my gamer uncle got it for me! I relived so many memories and beat it a few years ago! Such a fantastic game and very nostalgic!
That's neat to hear you were able to revisit the game that meant so much to you! I really do think it's the stories tied with how we get these games that makes them so neat sometimes!
I have been watching your channel periodically when I go in and out of my Castlevania manic obsessions, and I would like to thank you for your continued passion for games I am also passionate about. I really enjoy listening to other people who care about things that I do talk about them, because I am not particularly skilled at doing so. Thank you for your time and effort, and I hope you continue to enjoy creating content as much as I enjoy engaging in it
I also mostly used Jonathan on my first play through. Your channel is very informative and it really makes me want to play the games all over again. Well done sir. Keep up the good work.
Aha, thanks! It's all good, I just have fun makin' the videos. If they get more views, awesome. If only a select amount of people find them? That's cool too. At least this way, I can respond to most of the comments haha.
I really like Metroidvanias ...if they have good music and atmosphere of course, as Igavanias usually do. The formula where you use abilities, if they are good traversal abilities, to reach and travel through previously inaccesible areas usually clicks with me. I have designed 8 so far.
You got me AJ! I barely used Charlotte in my first playthrough because I was just so happy to have whip gameplay back in Castlevania. Finished Portrait 100% and I think it's my favourite Igavania. It's just so much fun.
Just found your channel. Really surprised you dont have more views especially with the obvious time you're putting into these videos. Loving them. Subscribed.
Portrait Of Ruin is good, but sadly it's my least fave in the DS Trilogy. It can drag a little long due to the different paintings you have to enter, but at least the progress was worth it in the end.
I think if they could have prevented that feeling had they either just cut the final 4 paintings, or made them unique areas unlike the originals. Doing each theme twice definitely can feel a bit like padding. Hell, another solution would be cut those paintings and just expand the castle itself.
@@SimplyAJ I kind of getting what they are doing given they did the same thing before(on HoD(GBA) & SOTN) to lengthen the game further. Despite that drawback, perhaps this game has my fave look of Death in the series, IMO.
This is my first Castlevania game in DS but I was not managed to finish it. I just finished it through emulator. I am just glad that Dominus Collection is released so that we can enjoy these games again.
Really enjoyed the video. Had never heard this game discussed before. Very curious to try now! Thanks for avoiding spoilers, got something new to look forward to playing ☺️
For sure! It's a great game, definitely one worth looking into. I imagine at some point it'll get re-released for modern consoles. Fingers crossed haha
Absolutely fantastic video. Really excited to watch more of your content. I love this game, arguably my favorite on the DS. I love the 2 character system and level design.
Thanks! Yeah, it's seriously just a really solid game. It's just so cool how they basically took the Julius Mode mechanic from Dawn and perfected it into a full game haha.
Finished the video, definitely agree with your thoughts. I remember picking this game up in a Gamestop in America while on holiday, and they had their "Can return used games for any reason no questions asked for a full refund" policy in effect I used them like a free rental service while I was there, and picked up Portrait of Ruin fully intending to return it after completion, but I absolutely couldn't bring myself to do so. I ended up keeping it and 99.99% completing the game, by beating it in every mode and with every character, except for one mode: Old Axe Armour, on the hardest difficulty, capped at lv.1 I got to and fought the last boss hundreds of times, but it eventually broke my spirit and I never completed that particular challenge
Sometimes, I like to go back to games years later with the mindset of "I'm better at games now, so I bet I could do it," so who knows, maybe if you tried again, you'd be able to beat the challenge! Or ya know, just replay the game and enjoy it however you want, cause it's great haha.
I think the reason why Johnathan can't use the whip is because he's not a direct descendant of the last person who used it. I usually use Johnathan but Charlotte does come in handy in certain scenarios. There's a boss that can charm Johnathan so using Charlotte is recommended. It is funny seeing Johnathan say that the boss is beautiful and then he gets charmed and apologizes to Charlotte after she beats the boss. I also used her black hole ability to block a Frankenstein Monster's machine gun. I didn't know you could open a dark gate.
I have only 3 issues with Portrait of Ruin 1.-Going between portraits is a pain and a half, specially during Wind's quests, there should be a way to teleport not only between the castle but also between portraits 2.-The level design loves to get cheeky with its enemy placement and more often than not you get blindsided with enemies jumping out of nowhere or after you commit to leaps of faith. 3.-I think this is the Igavania that has the least amount of I-Frames after hit which leads to really cheap deaths if you position yourself badly only once Other than that i think its my 3rd favorite Castlevania game right after Aria and Rondo
I absolutely loved what they did with the dual-character system in this game and the subweapon system was pretty cool. I really like playing as Charlotte, but I do prefer Jonathon's movement/defensive capabilities most of the time. I liked the idea of going into paintings, although I think it eventually took away from the experience and lead me to dreading every time I encountered a new one I had to explore in order to progress. The quest system is bit strange and lot of them are just a slog to complete. Portrait also has one of the coolest final bosses in the series.
If you don't mind me asking, what caused you to dislike Circus Levels? I have VERY little experience with them, only playing one in Wario World and possibly one in a Mario game (maybe? Once upon a time?) and I don't specifically remember hating them.
Honestly, I think its just the aesthetic, and the music. The generic "circus" music you hear just doesn't vibe with me. Take for instance Carnival Night Zone in Sonic 3. Where as it's a carnival and not a circus, the music is pretty similar. Design wise, a lot of the circus themed levels are also typically very gimmicky. Strange level layouts that clash with the rest of the game's structure, etc. Just not a fan haha.
@@SimplyAJ Carnival Night Zone. That explains it a lot. I haven't played Sonic 3 but even *I* know the evil spinny platform gimmick in that level! You also make a great point about the level layout. There's a reason that carnival/circus stages being fundamentally problematic: They're usually small and very specifically laid out. If you make an accurately laid out carnival/circus level, it's a bad video game level design. If you make an inaccurately laid out one, it's disingenuous and defeats the point of the theme in the first place. After that, all you're left with is (as you said) aesthetic and gimmicks. I don't encounter them enough to dislike them on sight, but now I can see why you do!
I wouldn't say it necessarily has to do with which game someone played first. I played Dawn of Sorrow before Portrait, and still prefer Portrait. Same reason a lot of people prefer Mario 3 over Mario 1, even having played Mario 1 first. But yeah of course everyone has their own favorite DS Castlevania games, all three are honestly fantastic.
After 2003 the guy who created sotn Koji Igarashi was elevated to the head of Castlevania. This is why the games on both the gba after circle and the ds are all very close to it. Portrait is one of the best games, it’s not just the best ds game but one of the best Castlevania games.
Love the game. Spent an incredible amount grinding with Jonathan, it was very relaxing beating up skeletons and seeing the subweapons and techniques actively change once mastered. Always had a soft spot for the Dual Crush "Holy Storm / Thunder Crush(in japanese)" but there were other fun ones like "Axe Bomber", the pro wrestling tag move. 17:11 what you say about revisiting old tracks and re-doing them with new hardware and new tech is basically what Yuzo Koshiro does all the time, even in his spare time. The absolute madman wasn't happy with Actraiser's OST due to the limitations of the SNES' sound chip so he re-recorded and recomposed the tracks for the PC-88's CD tech, which was new at the time and he hid it as a "beta version". ua-cam.com/video/x1MgDqdm0Wg/v-deo.html Ultimately, Actraiser released on SNES only and that beta stage ost never got fully released or finished. Then, nearly 20 years later, he got to redo the whole thing for the remake : ua-cam.com/video/egRkYNE1PRU/v-deo.html According to the man himself, he really enjoyed working on it once again.
For Portrait of Ruin, I think it could use a little more time in the oven. It's good, but some tweaks, like to make the buried chamber less forgettable, fix the crashes, and balance the hard mode would definitely elevate the game even further.
I agree it probably could have used a bit more time, especially to make Charlotte feel just a liiiitle better over all (like, she doesn't get the same type of movement tech Jonathon does, which is a shame). I can't say I've ever experienced any crashes though.
Mm, well there hasn't been any sort of re-release if that's what you mean. So officially? No. Unofficially? Well, a quick internet search will give you the answer and method haha
I see an alternate timeline 90s ad where an apartment building is in an uproar over the “loud couple” next door, just to reveal some dude sitting on his couch playing this game.
As much stuff as portrait has and as much as dawn had a number of problems, I can't help but feel that dawn just felt bigger and more challenging. And I liked the soul system better than the magic powers you had in portrait.
Haha, well truth be told, there's ALWAYS something in my cup, but I tend to drink it pretty fast, so sometimes it ends up empty by the time I get through the lines in the way I want to haha.
I love the imagery of PoR, as well as it's setting along the Bloodlines branch of the series; but it does feel like the weak link of the DS collection IMO.
Ahh, Remembered when i threw DS when i'm 8 when i got game over first time, luckly my DS isn't die by throwing, after that, i never touched that game ever again. i'd grab and play this game again when i'm free.
Lol, we just got the DS collection! Portrait of Ruin looks better than I expected, just finished Dawn of Sorrow, and I hated it. Definitely the worst of the 3, Order of Ecclesia is my favorite.
For me, Dawn of Sorrow is slightly better in a few areas. Portrait of Ruin is among my favorite Castlevania games. Also being a direct sequel to Castlevania: Bloodlines helps too.
A Castlevania game review uploaded during a blood moon..? You magnificent bastard, I love it!
I love your comment lol
@@magvs_mæstro216I’m gay
Fun fact: The person who made the track for the opening area of the game, Invitation of a Crazed Moon, was in fact not Michiru Yamane, and was actually composed by another legendary composer, Yuzo Koshiro, composer of games like the Streets of Rage and the Etrian Odyssey series. He composed a few tracks for the game in fact, and I believe about 5 of the tracks in the game were composed by him.
Ooh neat, thanks for the extra added information! Yeah Yuzo is awesome as well. Did some tracks in Monster Boy, and I believe is even doing some tracks for Mina the Hollower as well.
Came here from Jrose11. You have immediately earned my respect by talking about this game. One of THE MOST FUN Castlevanias, ever!
Haha, glad ya liked it! Yeah Portrait is absolutely fantastic.
JONATHAN CHARLOTTE JONATHAN CHARLOTTE
In Sisters mode: Loretta! Sister! Loretta! Sister!
The music is indeed incredibly amazing.
we did it old heads T-T we finally got the best three on modern hardware, now we just need the 3d games out of Konami jail
As a teenager I slept on Charlotte too and just did the whole game with Jonathan but replaying it now after years I barely touched Jonathan and keep doing everything as Charlotte. Her magic is insane
People sleep on Portrait of Ruin
They absolutely do!
I am dying for the DS collection to get announced/released to play this game specifically.
Ecclesia looks awesome, and Dawn of Sorrow also; but, Portrait of Ruin's Belmont-esque gameplay with Johnathan is really what I am craving.
Overall, you confirmed my hype by adding all of the other awesome elements that I was not aware about; however, I am skeptical about the questing. Personally, I really dreaded the quests in Bloodstained ROTN because it simply amounted to fetch quests and kill X enemies, so it felt very mundane side tasks instead of interesting side-content with extra stories/dungeons.
From what I saw here, it looks more like in ROTN territory? Am I wrong? Nonetheless, if it is only 30ish quests then it should not be too bad to tackle.
Thanks again for these awesome reviews man! They make great content to watch while in the treadmill hehe
Glad you're enjoyin' these!
Just to clarify like... The quests aren't the MOST in depth things in the world. A Lot of RoTN was based on these games after all, plus this is a DS game from 2006 haha. So, for the most part the quests are things like "find these three items" or "defeat the [hidden secret enemy]" or like "get your INT above a certain threshold" etc. There ARE some quests that are like more "challenging" though, such as one that requires you to beat a specific respawnable boss with Charlotte's weakest book weapon. But yeah, I think they add just enough to the game to enhance exploring previous areas again.
So you haven't played these DSvania games just yet?
Your wish was granted!
R U happy?
@@alexh2790 Yes it was!
Dude if they did the advance collection for all three GBA games I'm pretty sure that they're going to do a collection for the DS games as well they just got to iron out some things since we don't have a double screen no more
Yeah, honestly the only game that would be "difficult" with that would be Dawn of Sorrow, but even then, I do think there are work arounds. Switch is touch screen, PS5's Dual Sense has the touch pad. But yeah I'm REALLY hoping we get a DS collection, but I guess only time will tell haha.
Castlevania Dominus Collection is here!@@SimplyAJ
You were right!
i unlocked old axe armor mode , and i didn't even know you could do that suspend game mode trick .__." ........
i've also beaten the game on it's hardest difficult of level 1 locked old axe armor , i still have the save file which i named '99 hour waste'.......
also i had no idea about any of the development so that was super cool to learn that the same music composer's first game she made the music for was bloodlines , portrait was my first castlevania so it was a cool surprise for me to later play bloodlines and come to find that some of the songs i was hearing in the older games were remixes of bloodline's o: ....
12:21 In Harmony of Despair (the PS3 / XBone multiplayer one), they gave Julius 8-direction whipping!
Would love to see them bring Harmony of Despair to modern consoles.
I know this is 1 year late and I just discovered your love for Igavania but try Castlevania Rondo of Ruin ( it's a rom hack )
Castlevania Rondo of Ruin is a Castlevania Portrait of Ruin romhack aiming to modify most of the games content. There is a new story, new items, sprites, weapons, music, and most of the games areas are modified in both small and big ways. Set 5 years after the events of Symphony of the Night, join Richter Belmont, Maria Renard and their companions as they work to unravel what has caused Castlevania’s early return to the world of humans.
Haha never too late for a suggestion! I've actually heard of that, but haven't checked it out yet. I'll def give ita go though. Seems like the perfect thing to throw onto a Steamdeck to play. I'll be sure to check it out!
@@SimplyAJ Please do you'll be surprised! Also, check Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow Definitive Edition+ that one is a Masterpiece 10/10.
Julius can attack with the whip in any Direction in Harmony of Despair
I love this game. I've probably played through it a dozen times by now, and I have a blast every time. I did the same thing at first - I kinda ignored Charlotte. But the second playthrough had me trying her out more, and she's great. The gameplay truly shines when you use both of them, it just takes a while for that to click I guess.
I loved just running around with Charlotte because of her crowd killing capability. Jonathan is still really good for bosses except the first Desert boss. Definitely my favorite of the DS Castlevanias but they are all really solid.
18:25 you were right hehe
Hell yeah!
Still waiting on Portrait of Sorrow, Dawn of Ruin, Symphony of Despair, Aria of the Night, or whatever the next game would have been called had this awesome confusingly named series continued.
Ide say both Portrait of Ruin and order of ecclesia are my favorites. Naturally SOTN is legendary.
I definitely think the DS games are some of the best. Each has theirs pros and cons, but across the board, they're just a really solid experience.
One of my favorite Castlevania s
I re-played the DS trilogy last year for Halloween
Hey, Yuzo Koshiro also participated to compose some songs, so it's no coincidence that the game music is so good.
Fantastic video for a fantastic castlevania game.
I love how there is "technically" a 4th mode as well. Maria only mode, it's a glitched out version of richter mode where you only play as maria. You can't finish it cause you need richter to traverse but its still pretty cool.
Can't wait to see you tackle Ecclesia!
Hahaha yeah. Unless it's like super relevant, I typically don't go too deep into the glitches of the games, since they weren't intended. Guess I could have talked about the Death Softlock, but, oh well haha. Or the duplicating quest rewards, etc.
Simple answer, YES, it is the best DS Castlevania game!
Dawn of Sorrow fan coming to say otherwise. There's just something about Eastern European lovecraftian cults that unearth ancient secrets that drives everyone evil and mad.
I bought a second hand Nintendo DS with free R4 SKHD from Shopee. I played this game last week, and I'm addicted to it because of the soundtracks and it's story (even I didn't played the original and it's other games). This is my first Castlevania game I played, even I'm new to this franchise.
Yeah the soundtrack is DAMN good. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series if you decide to play them!
portrait of ruin is my favorite castlevania, above symphony, above aria, i think its the perfect castlevania experience.
The first time I've seen Castlevania PoR I didn't feel like playing them bcs I just don't feel castlevania series as anime.
That was until I found the hack that replace anime portraits with the traditional gothic style and I started playing it and loving it. I was an idiot.
Although Konami missed their chance with multiplayer aspect of the game. A multiplayer Castlevania with actual lore and storyline would be awesome. I wouldn't even mind if they remaster Castlevania III with new graphics and movements along with PoR system. I think the timeline is the best to include multiple character. Maybe they can include Hector and pixel game CoD as dlc too.
Luckily, the portraits are the least important thing when it comes to the gameplay haha
@@SimplyAJ i know. I was stupid. I judged the game but its cover
Would love to see Jrose play Crystal Clear some day, and hell yeah AJ! I'm subbed because I love the castlevania games and your voice, so here's hoping it's all this high quality!
Thanks so much! I'll pass it along to him haha. Glad you're enjoyin' my content too!
I absolutely love PoR just amazing!
It's definitely a great game!
I've come here after a week of having the Dominus collection announced. Not gonna lie I'd played this game on DS and 3DS XL and was magnificent. I'd also tried to emulate it and it froze at random points So a collection was at hand to give us another official chance to play it
I just love your videos and your nostalgia for the classics. Amazing work! Please keep ‘em coming.
Thanks so much! Haha, honestly, that's the plan! Got a TON of ideas listed out, it's just a matter of having the time to get them all made.
Thanks for another great review! Portrait definitely feels like the overlooked title out of the ds trilogy but added so much especially with it having two characters that play so different to each other
Yeah, Portrait seems to be the game people either LOVE or just completely forget about. Being the middle child of the DS, sort of makes sense I guess haha.
I didn't really care for this much when it was a current DS release, but I played through it twice in the past couple months, and I absolutely love many of the unique things it is doing. Meanwhile, Dawn of Sorrow doesn't quite hold up as much as I expected it to. It's not bad by any stretch, but it really feels like it is missing some of what made Aria such a good experience. No tickets to warp back to the shop area gets really old. Also, why did I have to kill Valkyrie over 300 times to get a single soul drop, while I was using Soul Eater? No thanks. I'll take Portrait's subweapon system and interesting quirks over Dawn any day. Like how you can kill zombies in City of Haze until they stop spawning and the Wight enemies spawn in their place. Little stuff like that really adds some charm.
Oh yeah the Wight actually was a bit of a scare the first time, if you had no idea that it was going to spawn haha
This is my favorite Castlevania! I love the dual protagonist system, Charlotte is my favorite character to play as. This is the only game in the series I've ever 100%'d.
Yeah she's super underrated for sure!
I'm always baffled when you do these Castlevania videos...there's just so much CONTENT
I'm super curious how it's gonna go when I revisit the third and final DS one, cause, it's uhh... pretty beefy too!
But yeah, kind of wild how games used to just toss us all sorts of different modes and playable characters, and now we're lucky to get a single complete experience in a game haha.
Ez 40 minute video
@@winglesshawk6970 I dunno if my voice could hold out for that long
@@SimplyAJ I’ve heard you talk for longer 😂
I spent so many hours attempting Richter mode on Hard Max Level 1. Getting to the final boss was easy, but I was never able to beat the 2nd phase. Maybe if they do release a collection, I can give it another go!
Most definitely you should! Regarding the second phase of the final boss, I want to say there is actually a way to cheese it, which gets him to repeat his floating attack where he rains down fire, forever, but if you mess up the pattern, then, well... Yeah haha
I just started playing it a few weeks ago. WHat an excellent Castlevania GAME.........One of my favorites.....!! The art, music, characters, opening intro animation., the sisters and how their eyes are exact opposites with a erd and blue one..........LOVE IT.
I don't even think I noticed that detail about the eyes, nice find!
@@SimplyAJ the more I play it the more I love it. It's a perfect blend of all the classics...I'm impressed and I put it up there with SOTN
One of my favorite Castlevania games! I remember my 1st introduction to this game! Back when I was able to see my dad, I wad able to spend a Christmas with him!
He got me a lime green DS Lite with New Super Mario Bros & Portrait of Ruin! I had so many memories of the beginning of the game right down to the opening cutscene! When I sadly was prohibited from seeing my dad, I never got to keep the ds or the games.
Years later I got a 2DS and I got NSMB and beat it along with so many other games! I was only missing one game and that was Portrait of Ruin! I asked for it for Christmas and my gamer uncle got it for me! I relived so many memories and beat it a few years ago! Such a fantastic game and very nostalgic!
That's neat to hear you were able to revisit the game that meant so much to you! I really do think it's the stories tied with how we get these games that makes them so neat sometimes!
Thanks for sharing this personal connection to the game!
I have been watching your channel periodically when I go in and out of my Castlevania manic obsessions, and I would like to thank you for your continued passion for games I am also passionate about.
I really enjoy listening to other people who care about things that I do talk about them, because I am not particularly skilled at doing so.
Thank you for your time and effort, and I hope you continue to enjoy creating content as much as I enjoy engaging in it
I also mostly used Jonathan on my first play through. Your channel is very informative and it really makes me want to play the games all over again. Well done sir. Keep up the good work.
Thanks so much! They're definitely worth visiting again if ya got the time to. I've been having a blast replaying all these.
This video is well put together, that's why it saddens me to see it has so little views. You deserve more bro
Aha, thanks! It's all good, I just have fun makin' the videos. If they get more views, awesome. If only a select amount of people find them? That's cool too. At least this way, I can respond to most of the comments haha.
I really like Metroidvanias ...if they have good music and atmosphere of course, as Igavanias usually do. The formula where you use abilities, if they are good traversal abilities, to reach and travel through previously inaccesible areas usually clicks with me. I have designed 8 so far.
You got me AJ! I barely used Charlotte in my first playthrough because I was just so happy to have whip gameplay back in Castlevania.
Finished Portrait 100% and I think it's my favourite Igavania. It's just so much fun.
JRose brought me here! We need to hear the ridiculous rap! Please!
Haha, in due time, I'm sure we can figure out a good way to release it! It's still 100% up to him though hahaha
imma need the extended version Jrose rap n them singles. Gotta make it into fire🔥
Looking forward to checking out your videos
Haha, I'll pass it along. Thanks so much for the support
@@SimplyAJ You're the man! Keep up the great work 👍
WOAH this guy looks like a jrpg character XD
Just found your channel. Really surprised you dont have more views especially with the obvious time you're putting into these videos. Loving them. Subscribed.
Aha, thanks so much, I appreciate it!
18:23 Nostra-freaking-Damus 😂😂😂
NostraDominus, some would say~
Thumbs for the hindsight of DS Collection being release
I'm here for "I'm a poliwhirl in a poli woooorld!" (I actually haven't heard that yet but looking for it)
Hahah, hopefully in due time!
Just wanted to shout you out for your amazing work editing!
Thanks so much!
Well, it didn't take long to get to 3k subscribers. You go, AJ!
Honestly, blown away, thanks so much!
Aj video! Heck yeah! Love this game. The gameplay was top notch. Hearing Johnathan! Charlotte! Brings back memories. Great video as always.
Thanks so much! Makes ya wonder if those voice actors are doing anything relevant today haha.
The best, BY FAR! subbed.
Aha, thanks, I appreciate it!
I never bothered with side weapons, so I didn't know they changed appearance once fully leveled, very interesting 🧐
Portrait Of Ruin is good, but sadly it's my least fave in the DS Trilogy. It can drag a little long due to the different paintings you have to enter, but at least the progress was worth it in the end.
I think if they could have prevented that feeling had they either just cut the final 4 paintings, or made them unique areas unlike the originals. Doing each theme twice definitely can feel a bit like padding. Hell, another solution would be cut those paintings and just expand the castle itself.
@@SimplyAJ I kind of getting what they are doing given they did the same thing before(on HoD(GBA) & SOTN) to lengthen the game further. Despite that drawback, perhaps this game has my fave look of Death in the series, IMO.
This is my first Castlevania game in DS but I was not managed to finish it. I just finished it through emulator. I am just glad that Dominus Collection is released so that we can enjoy these games again.
Coming over here from the month of JRose to see a portrait of ruin review?
For this reason I am IN
Thanks so much!
Really enjoyed the video. Had never heard this game discussed before. Very curious to try now! Thanks for avoiding spoilers, got something new to look forward to playing ☺️
For sure! It's a great game, definitely one worth looking into. I imagine at some point it'll get re-released for modern consoles. Fingers crossed haha
Absolutely fantastic video. Really excited to watch more of your content. I love this game, arguably my favorite on the DS. I love the 2 character system and level design.
Thanks! Yeah, it's seriously just a really solid game. It's just so cool how they basically took the Julius Mode mechanic from Dawn and perfected it into a full game haha.
Finished the video, definitely agree with your thoughts.
I remember picking this game up in a Gamestop in America while on holiday, and they had their "Can return used games for any reason no questions asked for a full refund" policy in effect
I used them like a free rental service while I was there, and picked up Portrait of Ruin fully intending to return it after completion, but I absolutely couldn't bring myself to do so.
I ended up keeping it and 99.99% completing the game, by beating it in every mode and with every character, except for one mode: Old Axe Armour, on the hardest difficulty, capped at lv.1
I got to and fought the last boss hundreds of times, but it eventually broke my spirit and I never completed that particular challenge
Sometimes, I like to go back to games years later with the mindset of "I'm better at games now, so I bet I could do it," so who knows, maybe if you tried again, you'd be able to beat the challenge!
Or ya know, just replay the game and enjoy it however you want, cause it's great haha.
Great review. Very energetic! PoR is my first Castlevania that I have played by myself.
Thanks so much! The other games in the series are definitely worth checking out if you're interested!
I think the reason why Johnathan can't use the whip is because he's not a direct descendant of the last person who used it. I usually use Johnathan but Charlotte does come in handy in certain scenarios. There's a boss that can charm Johnathan so using Charlotte is recommended. It is funny seeing Johnathan say that the boss is beautiful and then he gets charmed and apologizes to Charlotte after she beats the boss. I also used her black hole ability to block a Frankenstein Monster's machine gun.
I didn't know you could open a dark gate.
Great video! Are you still planning on doing one about Order of Ecclesia?
Thanks so much! Yeah I actually already did a an Order of Ecclesia one, if ya haven't seen it yet!
@@SimplyAJ oh yeah! I don't know how I missed it on your channel. Thanks!
Gunna go develop a game where the circus comes to the desert just for this guy to make a video review of
I have only 3 issues with Portrait of Ruin
1.-Going between portraits is a pain and a half, specially during Wind's quests, there should be a way to teleport not only between the castle but also between portraits
2.-The level design loves to get cheeky with its enemy placement and more often than not you get blindsided with enemies jumping out of nowhere or after you commit to leaps of faith.
3.-I think this is the Igavania that has the least amount of I-Frames after hit which leads to really cheap deaths if you position yourself badly only once
Other than that i think its my 3rd favorite Castlevania game right after Aria and Rondo
I absolutely loved what they did with the dual-character system in this game and the subweapon system was pretty cool. I really like playing as Charlotte, but I do prefer Jonathon's movement/defensive capabilities most of the time. I liked the idea of going into paintings, although I think it eventually took away from the experience and lead me to dreading every time I encountered a new one I had to explore in order to progress. The quest system is bit strange and lot of them are just a slog to complete. Portrait also has one of the coolest final bosses in the series.
I think my ONLY gripe with the dual-character thing is that I wish Charlotte had some good movement tech at the end of the game, too. She deserves it.
Awesome job on the month of jrose, time to watch some castlevania videos!
Thanks so much!
Getting better man. We love to see it
Aha, thanks dude!
As usual, great video, we can see u effort :D
Thanks!
A good look into the game. But I cannot believe you left out Yuzo Koshiro's involvement! He composed the entrace theme, and others.
I just realised Im enjoying a cup of java ☕️ while watching another great java castlevania videos 😂 gr8 video dude 👏👏
Haha, awesome, glad you enjoyed it!
Love Castevania Portrait of Ruin has my favorite cheat code of all time.
If you don't mind me asking, what caused you to dislike Circus Levels?
I have VERY little experience with them, only playing one in Wario World and possibly one in a Mario game (maybe? Once upon a time?) and I don't specifically remember hating them.
Honestly, I think its just the aesthetic, and the music. The generic "circus" music you hear just doesn't vibe with me. Take for instance Carnival Night Zone in Sonic 3. Where as it's a carnival and not a circus, the music is pretty similar.
Design wise, a lot of the circus themed levels are also typically very gimmicky. Strange level layouts that clash with the rest of the game's structure, etc. Just not a fan haha.
@@SimplyAJ
Carnival Night Zone. That explains it a lot. I haven't played Sonic 3 but even *I* know the evil spinny platform gimmick in that level!
You also make a great point about the level layout. There's a reason that carnival/circus stages being fundamentally problematic: They're usually small and very specifically laid out.
If you make an accurately laid out carnival/circus level, it's a bad video game level design. If you make an inaccurately laid out one, it's disingenuous and defeats the point of the theme in the first place. After that, all you're left with is (as you said) aesthetic and gimmicks.
I don't encounter them enough to dislike them on sight, but now I can see why you do!
This is my first ever castlevania game. And I love the series afterward ❤😍!
Glad to see you've broken 3k already :)
Love from Jrose fans ♥
Yeah this has been wild and completely unexpected, but I'm immensely grateful!
This is what I think. Everybody has there own favorite ds castlevania game, there is no bad one. It all has to do with which one someone played first.
I wouldn't say it necessarily has to do with which game someone played first. I played Dawn of Sorrow before Portrait, and still prefer Portrait. Same reason a lot of people prefer Mario 3 over Mario 1, even having played Mario 1 first.
But yeah of course everyone has their own favorite DS Castlevania games, all three are honestly fantastic.
After 2003 the guy who created sotn Koji Igarashi was elevated to the head of Castlevania. This is why the games on both the gba after circle and the ds are all very close to it. Portrait is one of the best games, it’s not just the best ds game but one of the best Castlevania games.
this is probably the most "traditional" castlevania on the ds. were playing as a belmont-adjacent character who can use whips.
Love the game. Spent an incredible amount grinding with Jonathan, it was very relaxing beating up skeletons and seeing the subweapons and techniques actively change once mastered. Always had a soft spot for the Dual Crush "Holy Storm / Thunder Crush(in japanese)" but there were other fun ones like "Axe Bomber", the pro wrestling tag move.
17:11 what you say about revisiting old tracks and re-doing them with new hardware and new tech is basically what Yuzo Koshiro does all the time, even in his spare time. The absolute madman wasn't happy with Actraiser's OST due to the limitations of the SNES' sound chip so he re-recorded and recomposed the tracks for the PC-88's CD tech, which was new at the time and he hid it as a "beta version".
ua-cam.com/video/x1MgDqdm0Wg/v-deo.html
Ultimately, Actraiser released on SNES only and that beta stage ost never got fully released or finished. Then, nearly 20 years later, he got to redo the whole thing for the remake :
ua-cam.com/video/egRkYNE1PRU/v-deo.html
According to the man himself, he really enjoyed working on it once again.
Oh that's awesome! Yeah cool to hear about someone so passionate about their own work that they want to revisit it and make it that much better.
For Portrait of Ruin, I think it could use a little more time in the oven. It's good, but some tweaks, like to make the buried chamber less forgettable, fix the crashes, and balance the hard mode would definitely elevate the game even further.
I agree it probably could have used a bit more time, especially to make Charlotte feel just a liiiitle better over all (like, she doesn't get the same type of movement tech Jonathon does, which is a shame). I can't say I've ever experienced any crashes though.
Is there any way to play this now, without a DS?
Mm, well there hasn't been any sort of re-release if that's what you mean. So officially? No. Unofficially? Well, a quick internet search will give you the answer and method haha
JONATHAN CHARLOTTE JONATHAN CHARLOTTE JONATHAN CHARLOTTE JONATHAN CHARLOTTE JONATHAN CHARLOTTE
I see an alternate timeline 90s ad where an apartment building is in an uproar over the “loud couple” next door, just to reveal some dude sitting on his couch playing this game.
As much stuff as portrait has and as much as dawn had a number of problems, I can't help but feel that dawn just felt bigger and more challenging. And I liked the soul system better than the magic powers you had in portrait.
I love these castlevania games but I really dislike the mortal kombat fatalities input you have to do just to get some basic spells/attacks.
Love it keep it up bro.
JONATHAN
CHARLOTTE
YES! I loved it more than any other title!
Loving the content
Thanks man! Glad you're enjoyin' it
I’ll liked the video and subscribed bc there’s actually something in your cup this time.
Haha, well truth be told, there's ALWAYS something in my cup, but I tend to drink it pretty fast, so sometimes it ends up empty by the time I get through the lines in the way I want to haha.
@@SimplyAJ Haha, that’s completely understandable. Thanks for the great content.
I love the imagery of PoR, as well as it's setting along the Bloodlines branch of the series; but it does feel like the weak link of the DS collection IMO.
Ahh, Remembered when i threw DS when i'm 8 when i got game over first time, luckly my DS isn't die by throwing, after that, i never touched that game ever again. i'd grab and play this game again when i'm free.
here is a good advice: dont ever sell your longsword, learned the hard way
Lol, we just got the DS collection! Portrait of Ruin looks better than I expected, just finished Dawn of Sorrow, and I hated it. Definitely the worst of the 3, Order of Ecclesia is my favorite.
Order Of Ecclesia when!!!
Tomorrow, actually!
@@SimplyAJ Yoooooooo, awesome! Been binging them while away on holiday and I'm already up to date :)
Crazy they gave Charlotte, Raging Fire early in. Lmao
Totally agree it has the best final boss fight... but it's my 3rd best castlevania
You doing for guts from berserk haircut?
For me, Dawn of Sorrow is slightly better in a few areas. Portrait of Ruin is among my favorite Castlevania games. Also being a direct sequel to Castlevania: Bloodlines helps too.
the ds games are some of the best metroidvania style games, that rival and in some ways surpass Symphony of the Night if i may be so bold to say that
This is top tier, if people want to call it the best one I can see that.