Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (悪魔城ドラキュラ 蒼月の十字架, Akumajō Dorakyura Sōgetsu no Jūjika, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula: Cross of the Blue Moon") is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's best-selling Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Konami's Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and incorporates many elements from its predecessor. The game was commercially successful, selling more than 15,000 units in its first week in Japan and 164,000 units in the United States three months after its initial release.
The game takes place in the fictional universe of the Castlevania series, where the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan wage an endless conflict against the immortal vampire Dracula. Dawn of Sorrow continues the storyline found in Aria of Sorrow, in which Dracula has been completely defeated, and his powers assumed by his reincarnation, Soma Cruz. With the help of his allies, Soma avoids becoming the new dark lord. A cult forms to bring forth a new dark lord by killing Soma. Soma and his allies move to ensure that a new dark lord is not created.
Dawn of Sorrow incorporates many features from previous Castlevania games: the combination of elements from platform games and role-playing video games, the "Tactical Soul" system featured in Aria of Sorrow, and a dark, gothic atmosphere. (more...)