Summary
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow introduced the mechanic of harvesting enemy Souls for combat abilities, like throwing bones or launching fireballs.
- Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, the sequel, added more Soul types to collect, requiring persistence for rare drops like the defensive Spin Devil.
- Players can acquire powerful abilities like Skull Archer's bow attacks or Manticore's extra scorpion tail attack for strategic advantage.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow added one of the coolest gameplay mechanics in the series. The hero, Soma Cruz, could fight enemies and harvest their Souls to use in battle. From throwing bones to launching fireballs, the game offered a lot.
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Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a direct sequel that also stars Soma and it adds a lot more Souls to collect. They come in three types: Bullet, Guardian, and Enchant. It can be hard to get some of them from monsters without luck, so players will just have to try and try again. Of the many players can find in the early stages, these Souls are the ones with grinding for.
8 Spin Devil
Create A Defensive Tornado
- Location: The Lost Village
- Soul Type: Guardian
The Spin Devil can be found around the early parts of The Lost Village stage. It literally looks like a devil trapped inside of a whirling vortex. This ability will plant Soma in place while a wicked tornado wraps around him.
It’s a defensive ability as players can move but enemies cannot damage him either. It’s a good technique to deploy when there is a massive amount of enemies on the screen from zombie armies to skeleton patrols but it does use a lot of magic in return.
7 Ouija Table
Heal HP And MP Upon Sitting Down
- Location: The Lost Village
- Soul Type: Enchant
The Ouija Table is a possessed piece of furniture found in the building just above Yoko’s shop in The Lost Village. The ability is one of the hardest to get because of the rarity. If acquired, players can equip the Soul and then regain HP and MP if they sit down in a chair. This may explain to players why there are so many chairs scattered throughout the game. There’s another good healing ability that players can gain from The Creature which looks like a taller version of Frankenstein’s Monster. It’s an even harder one to get but players should be aware of these two healing abilities.
6 Skeleton Ape
Enhance Throwing Abilities
- Location: The Lost Village
- Soul Type: Enchant
The Skeleton Ape monster can be found on the other side of the bridge that connects The Lost Village to the next area. This creature will throw exploding barrels at enemies. From the ability to the name, this could be a nod to Donkey Kong who also likes throwing barrels in games.
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The acquired skill does nothing on its own but it will enhance other abilities wherein players throw things. For example, the Skeleton monsters give players the ability to throw bones and Skeleton Ape, as an ability, will throw that bone further.
5 Bomber Armor
Create An Explosive Bomb
- Location: Wizardry Lab
- Soul Type: Bullet
Bomber Armor is a suit of armor similar to the Axe Armor except it is red in color and it will throw bombs at players. It is located in the Wizardry Lab. It’s just as easy to kill but it’s tricky to get the attached ability.
It will allow players to place bombs on the battlefield which will detonate after a short span. It’s not a good ability to use against fast enemies but it is a strong one against bosses. Players can set the bomb down as a trap similar to the Bomberman games or they can enhance the skill with the Skeleton Ape ability.
4 Skull Archer
Use Magic To Enhance Arrows
- Location: Wizardry Lab
- Soul Type: Guardian
Skull Archer is one of the strongest abilities in the game and not just in the early stages. It shouldn’t be that hard to get from the titular enemy in the Wizardry Lab either. With it, players can manifest a bow and do their best Hawkeye impression to annihilate enemies.
Drawing it continuously will drain MP but it will also enhance the attack which players may not even realize. Using about half of a full bar slot and an entire full bar on a boss may kill them within a few shots. It truly is a game-breaking ability if players can use it right, so they should get it as soon as possible.
3 Manticore
Grow A Trail To Add An Extra Attack
- Location: Wizardry Lab
- Soul Type: Guardian
Manticores are legendary creatures that have appeared in many RPGs from Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow to Dungeons & Dragons. Their appearances change in fiction like this one that looks like a lion with a scorpion tail and some dragon-like wings. That scorpion tail is worth noting because it’s what players can gain from the ability.
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When deployed, Manticore, as the ability, will manifest a scorpion tail onto Soma and attack enemies whenever players use their weapon. An extra attack in any game is great, so this is another must-have for players enjoying this Castlevania experience.
2 Une
Use Plants To Hurt Other Enemies
- Location: Garden of Madness
- Soul Type: Bullet
Une is a seemingly harmless plant that players can find first in the Garden of Madness area which feels like somewhere set up by Poison Ivy from the Batman series. A few hits while crouched should kill it quickly and while it won’t do much damage to careful players, the attached ability is still worth getting.
Players will throw out their own Une plant which will sap away life energy from monsters before dissolving. A well-placed Une can do a lot of damage to larger, lumbering creatures from bosses to normal enemies like The Creature or Golem. It’s another ability that is better with the Skeleton Ape too.
1 Mini Devil
Create A Familiar To Follow And Protect Soma
- Location: The Dark Chapel
- Soul Type: Guardian
Mini Devil can be found hovering around The Dark Chapel which is a few areas into Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. There are several abilities players can acquire early on that will summon a familiar by their side.
Among them, Mini Devil is the best and it will float by Soma’s side and auto-target enemies by blasting them with wind magic. It will drain MP while it is deployed but not a lot for the damage it can cause. To save MP, players would be wise to summon and dissolve it only in areas congested with a lot of monsters.
Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
- Released
- October 4, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
