Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

 DS
  • Publisher: Konami
  • Release Date: Dec 5, 2006
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 51
  3. Negative: 0 out of 51
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  1. My Gamer
    72
    Taking into account that the story doesn't really go anywhere until you're about 4 hours in, it could turn some people away. However, the fun boss battles, wide variety of skills, and the everlasting charm of playing a Vampire Hunter is there, and kept me coming back for more.
  2. Eurogamer
    70
    I just didn't feel the same magic, the same excitement that flowed from "Sorrow."
  3. Gamer 2.0
    69
    Personally, we can’t deny our thirst for some unique touch-screen play, a deeper storyline, and a less-linear experience all around.
  5. NTSC-uk
    60
    The core mechanics have barely changed since the days of Symphony of the Night and as we pointed out in no uncertain terms when we reviewed Dawn of Sorrow , the format is growing stale now.

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best DS Game of 2006
12
#12 Most Discussed DS Game of 2006
5
#5 Most Shared DS Game of 2006

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 134 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 105 out of 134
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 134
  3. Negative: 4 out of 134
  1. sprintinmario
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    Castlevania Portrait of Ruin in my Opinion is the best Metroidvania I've ever played. First off the music is some of the best in the entireCastlevania Portrait of Ruin in my Opinion is the best Metroidvania I've ever played. First off the music is some of the best in the entire series with fantastic remixes of songs like Cross your Heart(known as crucifix held close in the game), Iron Blue intention and Simon's Theme. They also have great original pieces like Invitation of a Crazed moon, Gaze up at the Darkness, The Hidden Curse, and Jail of jewles. Even though this is not my favorite Castlevania soundtrack its pretty up there.

    Now that I've established the soundtrack but now let's dive into the gameplay. Now since this is a Metroidvania so there is a lot of familiar territory but there are some welcome changes . First off Side quests, for the first time ever you can undertake special tasks in different areas of Portrait of Ruin to get a stat boost, money, a new and powerful item or weapon ETC.. These range from punching butcher's meat, to entering button combos, or mastering a skill. Each new quest has a different fun and uniqe maybe a little difficult task. Unlike Order of Ecclesia most of these tasks are not endless Grind-fests and boring fetch quests and they feel more rewarding as you go on completing them. Now the core gameplay of explore the castle kill enemies collect relics, armor , weapons and leveling up hasn't changed much. Except now you have two chracters to play as that you can switch freely between them at anytime. They each have their own weapons armor and accseories. You can also obtain crush attacks that sap your mp like nothing else but they deal a lot of damage. All these things accounted for this game is actually not very easy especially towards the end. Thankfully unlike games like Harmony of Dissonnance and SOTH this game does get harder and thats a good thing.

    Overall after you beat the game you unlock 2 other sets of chracters a hard mode with 3 sub difficulties and a boss-rush mode. SO all in all for what ever you can find this game at its a really good deal. I will say there is a boss later on that will make you ooze with nostalgia if your a long running fan and its one tough cookie so be ready. But besides that Portrait of ruin is filled with content with 10 maps to cover, a boss rush mode, a total of 5 difficulties, and 3 sets of chracters to play as your gonna be here for a while.    … Full Review »
  2. sparriskrigaren
    Oct 4, 2011
    6
    It's OK, but nothing special. Too short and kind of unimaginative. The story is incredibly boring and uninteresting, so it all comes down toIt's OK, but nothing special. Too short and kind of unimaginative. The story is incredibly boring and uninteresting, so it all comes down to the gameplay and level designs. They're OK but even after 10 hours I found myself thinking "OK, when is this going to get fun?" The dual character thing feels like a gimmick, I used Charlotte about three times and played as Jonathan the rest of the time.… Full Review »
  3. tom974
    Mar 18, 2021
    8
    After being a little bit disappointed by DoS, this one made quite the shot for me. Nice dual mechanics which you can choose to use or not mostAfter being a little bit disappointed by DoS, this one made quite the shot for me. Nice dual mechanics which you can choose to use or not most of the time, nice graphics, fantastic musics. it may be a bit subjective but i find it to be more action-oriented than DoS, and that goes well.… Full Review »
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