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News - First Castlevania DS info and screens revealed!
The February 2005 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly reveals the first solid info about Castlevania DS, along with some screens. Here's a summary of the preview:
-The game will be a direct sequel to the GBA Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. You'll once again play the role of Soma Cruz, and all of the surviving characters from AoS will return.
-The game takes place in 2036, one year after the end of AoS. Celia Fortner, the founder of a cult that "believes their god to be perfectly good," wants Soma dead, since he did not become the reincarnation of Dracula and fulfill his "destiny" in AoS. Soma decides to take the initiative and heads to the cult's headquarters to confront them.
-The top screen will function as a map, similar to those in previous 2D Castlevania games. It will also display important info about the player's status. The action will take place on the bottom screen.
-Gameplay will be similar to AoS and the PS1 classic Symphony of the Night. Basically, open-ended 2D side-scrolling platforming and exploration.
-AoS's Enemy Soul system will return, and there will be a lot more of them to collect.
-The game will feature many new weapons.
-Michiru Yamane fans will be happy to hear that the SotN composer will be supervising Castlevania DS's music production and will compose a few tracks as well.
EGM spoke to Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi, who explained how Castlevania DS will use the DS's touch-screen capabilities:
"This time, killing bosses requires more than just steady attacks: Once you drain the enemy's hit points to zero, the Magic Seal entry sreen pops up. You then use the stylus to draw a certain shape on the screen and "seal" the enemy. If the shape is drawn incorrectly, the enemy regains some of its energy and the fight continues."
Igarashi goes on to explain the reasoning behind this:
"Since it's a pure action game, I did not want to mix the use of buttons at the same time as the stylus." The only time the player will have to use the touch screen is for the Magic Seal system of boss battles; everything else will be controlled by the use of the regular buttons.
Igarashi also revealed some very intriguing multiplayer and community possibilities:
"...I'm hoping to find space for a versus mode if time allows." (speaking about wireless multiplayer)
Perhaps the most exciting revelation for Castlevania fans is Igarashi's promise of Enemy Soul trading and the exchange of customised maps, by way of the DS's wireless capabilities. This implies that players will be able to create their own maps, which is a neat feature never seen in Castlevania games.
Update: You can expect to get your hands on Castlevania DS sometime in fall of 2005.
And now, here are the scans (note that most of the pictures are enlarged, so the quality will be better on the small DS screen):
Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly
-The game will be a direct sequel to the GBA Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. You'll once again play the role of Soma Cruz, and all of the surviving characters from AoS will return.
-The game takes place in 2036, one year after the end of AoS. Celia Fortner, the founder of a cult that "believes their god to be perfectly good," wants Soma dead, since he did not become the reincarnation of Dracula and fulfill his "destiny" in AoS. Soma decides to take the initiative and heads to the cult's headquarters to confront them.
-The top screen will function as a map, similar to those in previous 2D Castlevania games. It will also display important info about the player's status. The action will take place on the bottom screen.
-Gameplay will be similar to AoS and the PS1 classic Symphony of the Night. Basically, open-ended 2D side-scrolling platforming and exploration.
-AoS's Enemy Soul system will return, and there will be a lot more of them to collect.
-The game will feature many new weapons.
-Michiru Yamane fans will be happy to hear that the SotN composer will be supervising Castlevania DS's music production and will compose a few tracks as well.
EGM spoke to Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi, who explained how Castlevania DS will use the DS's touch-screen capabilities:
"This time, killing bosses requires more than just steady attacks: Once you drain the enemy's hit points to zero, the Magic Seal entry sreen pops up. You then use the stylus to draw a certain shape on the screen and "seal" the enemy. If the shape is drawn incorrectly, the enemy regains some of its energy and the fight continues."
Igarashi goes on to explain the reasoning behind this:
"Since it's a pure action game, I did not want to mix the use of buttons at the same time as the stylus." The only time the player will have to use the touch screen is for the Magic Seal system of boss battles; everything else will be controlled by the use of the regular buttons.
Igarashi also revealed some very intriguing multiplayer and community possibilities:
"...I'm hoping to find space for a versus mode if time allows." (speaking about wireless multiplayer)
Perhaps the most exciting revelation for Castlevania fans is Igarashi's promise of Enemy Soul trading and the exchange of customised maps, by way of the DS's wireless capabilities. This implies that players will be able to create their own maps, which is a neat feature never seen in Castlevania games.
Update: You can expect to get your hands on Castlevania DS sometime in fall of 2005.
And now, here are the scans (note that most of the pictures are enlarged, so the quality will be better on the small DS screen):
Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly