Castlevania - best DS game?

[briareos_kerensky]

So, Castlevania is one of those series I've never got into (I blame Simon's Quest), and I'm interested in playing some of them. I've played Super Castlevania IV back in the day and Rondo of Blood when I got the PCE few years ago, but always ignored titles with a more RPG-esque approach like Symphony.
Among the many DS games, which is the best and more similar to SCIV?

[Nu-Eclipse]

None of the DS games are similar to the classic home console 'Vanias that you mention.

The DS games (along with the GBA games before them) help to usher in the "Metroidvania" era of turning Castlevania from quality action-adventure platformer to weak Metroid wannabe with more emphasis on exploration and RPG-esque elements, hence the term.

[briareos_kerensky]

Yeah, I know that and that's why I never had much interest in them, but I guess at least one of them will be more linear than the rest, right? Or, cutting the question short, which is the best?

[Shozuki]

Not really, they are quite different. I love the Vania's all incarnations and the PCE exclusive is my personal favourite.

On DS, I'd recommend the first game on the system, Dawn of Sorrow. You can skip Harmony of Dissonance at all costs - it's not very good in honesty.

[mezzanine]

I'd go with Order of Ecclesia. The story in DoS continues on from the last GBA title, if that matters to you.

I've only played half of DoS and nothing of Portrait of Ruin, so I can't say it's the best, but OoE's levels are pretty straightforward (at first, you do revisit them). The glyph (weapons) system is well done, you'll need to have the right setup for different situations. Oh and I hope you like learning boss attack patterns!

[ShadowDancer]

Aria on GBA If you can (aria of sorrow) then Dawn of sorrow on the DS. You're in for a treat if you haven't played them before

[Arashikage]

Aria of Sorrow on GBA remains my favourite handheld Castlevania title, it is brilliant. Dawn of Sorrow is also good but I left the series during Portrait of Ruin, I just didn't find it at all engaging. Order of Ecclesia certainly looks like a return to form though.

[Asura]

I've played all the GBA Castlevania games to some degree. The only one I finished was Dawn of Sorrow, and the only other one I played for more than 2hrs was Circle of the Moon.

That being said, Circle of the Moon was a very early GBA game when nothing else like that was available, so that's probably a factor.

Long and short of this is I'd recommend Dawn of Sorrow, even if it is a sequel to a previous game - you get everything you need to know.

[nakamura]

All of the games of that era were decent but I probably enjoyed Order of Ecclesia the most on DS and Harmony of Dissonance on GBA.

[Asura]

Harmony of Dissonance on the GBA looks odd on a modern GBA Micro/SP screen.

Circle of the Moon (and some other games) faced a lot of criticism at the time for being too dark, on the GBA's non backlit screen, so the second wave of GBA titles were really colourful, with powerful highlights and outlines around key elements. That was fine for the GBA, but they look strange on the newer machines.

[briareos_kerensky]

I'll go with Ecclesia then. Thanks everyone.

[Shozuki]

Lol my brain when I said Harmony of Dissonance, I actually meant Portrait of Ruin.

Ecclesia is a good'un. Be interested to know your thoughts given you havent played one prior...