Handhelds Protected Metroidvania | Castlevania Dominus Collection Review

Review Summary

The review argues that Metroidvanias can be difficult to assess because the genre blends different priorities. Super Metroid emphasizes movement and exploration, while Castlevania: Symphony of the Night focuses more on combat and boss fights. The reviewer sees the genre as a compromise that can offer many mechanics without making any one of them essential. The DS Castlevania games in the Dominus Collection, especially Order of Ecclesia, stand out for giving those mechanics more focus and making them matter.

Why Order of Ecclesia Stands Out

• Forward momentum and compact areas: Instead of relying on one sprawling map and frequent backtracking, Ecclesia divides its world into smaller regions connected by an overworld map. This preserves exploration and branching routes while reducing repetitive return trips.
• Purposeful enemy encounters: Its levels feel closer to classic Castlevania, with enemies and hazards that demand timing and attention. The reviewer particularly praises a difficult forest section where enemies press forward and the player must handle several threats at once.
• Active map and equipment systems: A map that remains visible during play reduces interruptions. The glyph sleeve lets players prepare weapon sets and switch between them quickly, encouraging active equipment use.
• Meaningful weapon choices: Enemies have different vulnerabilities, and weapons vary in reach, hitbox, recovery time, and other properties. A sword’s arc, for example, can be useful against enemies above or approaching from an angle, while a spear’s direct reach may suit other situations.
• Memorable boss fights: The reviewer finds Ecclesia’s bosses more engaging than Symphony of the Night’s. They also praise the option to earn medals by defeating bosses without taking damage, which offers a challenge beyond relying on character strength or absorbing hits.

Difficulty and Replay Value

The reviewer especially recommends the harder Level 1 mode, which prevents the player’s character from gaining levels and makes encounters more demanding. It changes more than enemy health and damage: enemies can appear more often, act more aggressively, and require different strategies. This pressure makes weapon weaknesses and the glyph-sleeve system more important, helping the game remain challenging as it progresses.

In the skull cave, for example, a hammer may work well on normal difficulty, but its slow recovery can be dangerous when hard mode increases the pressure from skulls. The review credits Bogg with a strategy of summoning a zombie to absorb enemy projectiles.

The Collection and Its Port

The collection includes the three DS games—Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia—as well as the arcade game Haunted Castle and M2’s Haunted Castle Revisited.

The reviewer praises the port and its save-state feature, which can make boss practice more convenient and reduce tedious trips back to save rooms. Haunted Castle Revisited is described as a fun bonus, though the reviewer would have liked a more demanding difficulty option.

Overall, the reviewer recommends the collection and sees the DS games as an important refinement of the Metroidvania formula. They also suggest that future games could combine exploration-based design with a more structured, linear arcade-style mode.

People and Sources Mentioned

The review refers to Wikipedia’s description of the Metroidvania genre and an interview with the developers of Symphony of the Night. Bogg is credited for the zombie-shield strategy. The reviewer also points viewers to an earlier review of Shadow of the Ninja Reborn. M2 is praised for its port and bonus content. The creator thanks the video’s Patreon supporters by name in the closing credits.