ShareThis
3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
The Castlevania series has a storied history on Nintendo consoles, from the tough-as-nails NES entries to the totally different 3D titles on N64. With so many great titles on Nintendo hardware, it’s hard to single out just one, but when it comes to replayability I have to recommend Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on DS. Featuring the great combat, exploration, and light RPG mechanics that Symphony of the Night popularized (creating the “Metroidvania” genre), Dawn of Sorrow is one of the best modern Castlevania titles. It is easy to play in short bursts thanks to its handheld hardware, and it is well suited to multiple playthroughs thanks to the huge variety of skills and weapons. Maybe you used spears on your first playthrough; now see if you can beat the game with a greatsword. If you want an extra challenge, try to find all of the secret monsters and gain their special abilities. For now, your only option to play this great game is on its original system, but it will only run you about $20.
Fantastic list and write-ups Sam. I find myself coming back to most of these as well. My personal list would include Super Castlevania IV as well (score another for the SNES!) Like you said, “sadly, there isn’t enough time to replay everything.” Happy Gaming!
Never feel bad about telling people to play Ocarina of Time =) Dawn of Sorrow gave me a chuckle, because every time I see the box art of that game, it makes me think of Konami’s re-release of it. The cover for the re-release was… an image of the original box. Hahaha. That game is freaking awesome, though. All three of the DS Castlevania’s are out of this world. Wonderful list.