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Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow Cheats & Secrets for Nintendo DS

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow key art

Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow Cheats & Secrets for Nintendo DS

The first game in a trilogy of Castlevania titles for the Nintendo DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow would originally release in the fall of 2005 just two years after its predecessor Aria of Sorrow. The game is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow and features the same protagonist and a similar castle layout. Additionally, the title uses many of the same gameplay mechanics as its predecessor, including the Tactical Soul System. Dawn of Sorrow is one of the few direct sequels in the Castlevania franchise and would kick off another successful handheld Castlevania trilogy on the Nintendo DS. Like its GBA predecessors and two DS-era sequels, Dawn of Sorrow is an “Igavania” title in the franchise and belongs to the Metroidvania subgenre.

Development on Dawn of Sorrow began in early 2005, taking much of what Koji Igrashi and his team had already built for Aria of Sorrow and adding to it for the Nintendo DS’ first Castlevania game. Igarashi would go on record stating that Aria of Sorrow’s success on the GBA would prompt Konami to readily greenlight a sequel, and the team was more than happy to continue Soma Cruz’s story thanks to the unique gameplay innovations Aria of Sorrow brought to the franchise (including the Tactical Soul System).

Like its predecessor, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow would achieve massive critical and commercial success. In addition to selling over 165,000 units in the first three months of its release, Dawn of Sorrow would become one of the highest-rated Nintendo DS games. The title currently sits at an impressive 90% review aggregate score and exists as a fan-favorite game in the Castlevania series.

Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow Premise

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow gameplay

The story of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow picks up where Aria of Sorrow left off and continues the saga of Soma Cruz. Using the “Best” ending from Aria of Sorrow as canon, Soma Cruz is able to resist Dracula’s possession, using his newfound power to beat back the Dark Lord and prevent his resurrection. Dawn of Sorrow picks back up one year after the events of Aria of Sorrow, with Soma Cruz now living in peace and believing his dark powers to be gone. When the enigmatic leader of a doomsday cult threatens Soma’s life, his powers reactivate, prompting this cult leader to proclaim him the Dark Lord and seek Dracula’s resurrection once again.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow‘s gameplay is very similar to that of Aria of Sorrow. In addition to both titles belonging to the “Igavania” subset of Castlevania games, both games feature the Tactical Soul System as their main gameplay mechanic. Soma Cruz can wander around the large, interconnected map of Dracula’s castle and defeat enemies using weapons and equipment (gaining strength by acquiring experience and leveling up). However, defeated enemies also drop Souls that Soma can use, each of which enhances his power in various ways. There are Bullet Souls that fire off magic attacks, Enchant Souls that provide stat bonuses, and Guardian Souls that provide continual buffs, debuffs, or summon familiars.

One new contribution that Dawn of Sorrow makes to the Castlevania formula is the Magic Seal system. This DS-exclusive mechanic sees players draw magic seals on the DS screen using the stylus after defeating bosses or as part of special story moments. The system would prove to be divisive, prompting its inclusion in the Castlevania series to be limited to Dawn of Sorrow.

Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow Main Characters

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow artwork

With Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow continuing the story of Soma Cruz and his allies, it makes sense that many of the same characters from Aria of Sorrow return in the sequel. In addition to Soma Cruz returning as the protagonist, players will once again cross paths with his allies Hammer, Yoko Belnades, Genya Arikado, and Mina Hakuba. New characters in Dawn of Sorrow come down to the game’s antagonists, led by the mysterious Celia Fortner. Main characters in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow include:

  • Soma Cruz: The physical reincarnation of the Dark Lord Dracula, Soma Cruz is once again thrust into a battle for his soul when a mysterious cult attempts to resurrect the powerful vampire.
  • Genya Arikado: A government agent and Soma’s best ally in the fight against darkness, Genya Arikado is the alias of Dracula’s son, the hero Alucard.
  • Yoko Belnades: Yoko is a witch in the service of the Roman Catholic Church who once again helps Soma on his quest to stop Dracula’s resurrection.
  • Julius Belmont: Julius is the latest in a long line of Vampire Hunters from the Belmont clan and an ally of Soma’s. He accompanies Soma just in case he is unsuccessful in preventing Dracula’s resurrection, promising to stop him if necessary.
  • Celia Fortner: Dawn of Sorrow‘s antagonist and the leader of a mysterious cult working to resurrect Dracula. She believes that either she or one of her lieutenants is meant to be the Dark Lord’s true vessel.
  • Dimitrii Blinov: One of Celia’s lieutenants and a secondary antagonist. Dimitrii is an arrogant and powerful warlock who believes he is the only rightful vessel for Dracula’s soul.
  • Dario Bossi: The other lieutenant of Celia’s, Dario is violent and ruthless. He is drawn to the cult by Celia with promises of more power.

Games in the Castlevania Series

The Castlevania series continues to be one of the most important in gaming despite no new entries in more than 10 years. For almost 40 years, Castlevania has been the gold standard of the action-platformer genre, even going on to help become one-half of the “Metroidvania” portmanteau used to describe an entire subgenre of action-platformers. From the original game in 1986 to the most recent entry in 2014, Castlevania has endured as a pillar of both horror games and action-adventure titles. Mainline games in the Castlevania series include:

  • Castlevania (1986)
  • Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1987)
  • Castlevania: The Adventure (1989)
  • Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989)
  • Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (1991)
  • Super Castlevania IV (1991)
  • Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993)
  • Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994)
  • Castlevania: Dracula X (1995)
  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)
  • Castlevania Legends (1997)
  • Castlevania 64 (1999)
  • Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (1999)
  • Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (2001)
  • Castlevania Chronicles (2001)
  • Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (2002)
  • Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)
  • Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003)
  • Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2005)
  • Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005)
  • Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (2006)
  • Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (2007)
  • Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (2008)
  • Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (2009)
  • Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010)
  • Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (2013)
  • Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (2014)
  • Castlevania Requiem (2018)
  • Castlevania Anniversary Collection (2019)
  • Castlevania Advance Collection (2021)

Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow Cheats & Secrets

Like other Castlevania games, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow has plenty of secrets to uncover and hidden unlockables. Additionally, there are several cheats players can take advantage of with a Pro Action Replay cheat peripheral.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Easter Eggs

Mina Doll

Insert the Game Boy Advance Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow cartridge into the Nintendo DS’ GBA cartridge slot before turning on the console. With both Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow in the Nintendo DS, players will see a Mina doll in the background of Yoko’s shop.

Rare Ring

Insert Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow into the Nintendo DS’ GBA cartridge slot before turning on the console. With both Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow in the Nintendo DS, players will have the Rare Ring in their inventory when starting a new game.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Secrets

Unlockables

Beat Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow while meeting the following conditions to unlock the corresponding bonus:

UnlockableUnlock Conditions
Boss Rush ModeComplete the game with the Best ending
Julius ModeFinish Dawn of Sorrow while earning the Bad ending
New Game +Complete the game with the Best ending
Sound Test ModeComplete the game with the Best ending

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Endings

Players must meet the following conditions to earn one of the game’s three endings:

EndingHow to Unlock
Worst EndingDuring the second battle with Dario Bossi, defeat Dario without fulfilling any other conditions
Bad EndingDuring the second battle with Dario Bossi, use the Paranoia Soul to enter the mirror. You will face a new boss, Aguni, and defeat it before returning to the other side of the mirror. Grab the Magic Seal. Head to the center of the castle and enter the boss door without equipping Mina’s Talisman
Best EndingUse the Paranoia Soul to enter the mirror and fight Aguni during the second Dario Bossi battle. Grab the Magic Seal and head to the center of the castle. Enter the door after equipping Mina’s Talisman. Players will now get to play and beat an extended epilogue culminating in the “Best” ending.

Boss Rush Mode Unlockables

Complete Boss Rush Mode with the following times to earn special rewards:

RewardHow to Unlock
PotionBeat Boss Rush Mode in more than 8 minutes
Terror BearBeat Boss Rush Mode in under 8 minutes
NunchakusBeat Boss Rush Mode in under 7 minutes
Death’s RobeBeat Boss Rush Mode in under 6 minutes
RPGBeat Boss Rush Mode in under 5 minutes

Play as Alucard in Boss Rush Mode

Players can unlock Alucard for use in Boss Rush Mode after meeting certain conditions. First, players must beat the base game with 100% completion. Then, players must also beat the game in Julius Mode. After meeting both of these prerequisites, complete the following steps:

  • Boot up Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
  • At the Konami logo screen, enter the Konami Code: Up(2), Down(2), Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A
  • Do not press anything until the Konami logo appears again, then press Up, Down, and press and hold Up. You should hear the sound of a door opening.
  • Select Boss Rush Mode to play as Alucard.

Play as Alucard in Julius Mode

Use the lower-right entrance to enter the Demon Guest House. Upon entering, Alucard will have a conversation with Julius and join your team. Alucard’s equipment includes the High Jump Boots and Alucard Sword. Additionally, Alucard can transform into a bat and use the Hellfire ability to hit enemies from range.

Chaos Ring

To earn the Chaos Ring while inside the Abyss, players must collect 100% of the Souls in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. The Chaos Ring grants near-infinite MP and a massive stat boost to Soma.

Bell

Collect the Hippogryph Soul while in the Abyss and then head to the Dark Chapel. Find the room in the Dark Chapel with the three bells, using the Hippogryph Soul under each bell. One of the three bells will drop the Bell item that you can sell to Hammer.

Crown

There is a room in the Demon Guest House containing a bed, a Waiter Skeleton, and a chair. After entering the room, the Waiter Skeleton will throw Curry at you and run into the wall. Walk over to the chair and press Up to sit in it. After roughly fifteen seconds a Crown will appear on the floor in front of you. You cannot equip or use this item and the description simply reads “5000 points”.

Gold Ring

Find the room with the gold slot machine door in the lower portion of the Subterranean Hell area. The door will only open if the last three digits of Soma’s Gold total are 666. After meeting this condition, the door will slide back to reveal a room with the Gold Ring waiting inside. Equipping the Gold Ring causes enemies and candles to drop money more often.

Konami Man

Use the Bat Company Soul to land on the spot with no spikes in the Clocktower spike maze and crouch. The Konami Man will fly towards you, prompting Soma to catch him. You can sell the Konami Man to Hammer.

Shaman Ring

There is another gold slot machine door in the Condemned Tower just after the Harpy pathway. If the last three digits of your Gold total are 573, the door will open to reveal the Shaman Ring. The Shaman Ring greatly increases experience gain.

Three 7s Clothing

The final gold slot machine door awaits players in the Garden of Madness. This door requires players to have the last three digits of their Gold total equal 777. With 777 as the last three digits in their Gold total, the door will open to reveal the Three 7s Clothing. Wearing this armor will boost Soma’s Luck, Intelligence, and Constitution by 7.

Hidden Ability Souls

Obtaining 100% Soul Completion can be a tricky and time-consuming process. Many players might get to a point where they have every Soul except for the final two in the index. These “Hidden” Ability souls belong to the Procel and Mudman and are easy to miss.

Enemy SoulLocation
ProcelSubterranean Hell
MudmanAbyss

Secret Monsters

There are three “Secret” Monsters players can find to get a complete Bestiary. These monsters are the Yeti, Mothman, and Flying Humanoid.

Yeti: Equip the Waiter Skeleton Soul and head back toward the castle’s entrance. You should be able to spot the Yeti walking in the background. Activate the Waiter Skeleton Soul (tossing a plate of Curry) to lure out the Yeti, and then attack him to earn his Soul.

Mothman: First, level up the Rycuda Soul to at least Level 2. Head to The Pinnacle and find the area with two Final Guards and a light between them. Use the Rycuda Soul to hit the generator for the light and cause the Mothman to appear.

Flying Humanoid: Find and equip the Mandragora Soul. In the room between the Zephyr boss arena and a Save Room, use the Mandragora Soul to lure out the Flying Humanoid.

Free Potions

Enter the Subterranean Hell section of the castle and look for the see-saw-like contraption with a boulder on it. Hitting the contraption with a Hammer-type weapon will launch the boulder into the bells above it. Successfully ringing these bells with net Soma with some free potions.

  • First Bell (Lowest): Potion
  • Second Bell (Middle): High Potion
  • Third Bell (Highest): Super Potion

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Glitches

Easy Boss Rush Mode

Equip Soma with the Valmanway Sword and the Devil Soul. With this combo, players can easily take down Boss Rush Mode in 5 minutes or less.

Easy Experience

Players can easily earn tons of experience very quickly, further boosting any gains with the Shaman Ring if they have it. To use this method, players will need the following items and Souls: Dracula’s Tunic, Demon Mail, Gungner, Valmanway Sword, Shaman Ring, Chaos Ring, Imp Soul, Black Panther Soul, Mothman Soul, Succubus Soul

In Soma’s Set A, equip the following items and Souls:
Armor: Dracula’s Tunic/Demon Mail
Weapon: Gungner/Valmanway Sword
Accessory: Shaman Ring
Bullet Soul: Imp
Guardian Soul: Black Panther
Enchant Soul: Mothman

In Soma’s Set B, equip the following items and Souls:
Armor: Dracula’s Tunic/Demon Mail
Weapon: Gungner/Valmanway Sword
Accessory: Chaos Ring
Bullet Soul: Succubus
Guardian Soul: Black Panther
Enchant Soul: Mothman

Find the large Iron Golem in the Lost Village near Yoko’s shop. Equip Set A, using the Imp Soul and either of the weapons to easily kill the Iron Golem. Any time you run low on magic, switch over to Set B and replenish MP fast using the Chaos Ring. When running low on health, use the Succubus Soul in Set B to quickly drain HP from the Ghost enemies nearby. Using this setup, players can easily earn 3,500 XP every few seconds.

Easy Gold

Head to the Lost Village and begin farming the Axe Armor enemies until one drops an Axe. Then, head to Yoko’s Shop and upgrade the Axe into a Battle Axe. Then upgrade the Battle Axe into a Bhuj. Take the Bhuj to Hammer’s shop and sell it for 10,000G, repeating the process as many times as you like.

Easy Soul Eater Ring and Gold

After earning the Mimic Soul, equip it and head to the Clock Tower. In the bottom-right area of the Clock Tower, there’s a Save Room with a spike pit just outside. Equipping the Mimic Soul will reward you with money equal to the amount of damage Soma takes. Repeatedly jump into the spike pit, earning 500G every time and having easy access to a Save Room to heal. Use this method to easily save for the Soul Eater Ring.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow Pro Action Replay Codes

If players have a Nintendo DS and a Pro Action Replay peripheral, they can use any of the following cheat codes to alter gameplay. Alternatively, players using an emulator can enter any of the following cheat codes into the emulator’s “Cheat” menu.

CheatCode
All Accessories020f9af8 99999999
020f9afc 99999999
020f9b00 99999999
120f9b04 00009999
220f9b06 00000009
All Armor020f9ae8 99999999
020f9aec 99999999
020f9af0 99999999
120f9af4 00009999
220f9af6 00000099
All Items020f9a9c 99999999
020f9aa0 99999999
020f9aa4 99999999
020f9aa8 99999999
020f9aac 99999999
120f9ab0 00000999
All Weapons020f9ac0 99999999
020f9ac4 99999999
020f9ac8 99999999
120f9acc 00009999
220f9ace 00000099
Enemy Database Complete (100% Souls)020f99b0 99999999
020f99b4 99999999
020f99b8 99999999
020f99bc 99999999
020f99c0 99999999
020f99c4 00999999
020f99c8 99900000
020f99cc 99999999
020f99d0 99999999
020f99d4 99999999
020f99d8 99999999
020f99dc 99999999
020f99e0 99999999
020f99e4 99999999
020f99e8 99999999
020f99ec 99999999
Library Complete020f9a8c ffffffff
Low Game Timer020f991c 00000060
Infinite HP120f9cf0 0000270f
Max HP120f9cf2 0000270f
Infinite MP120f9cf4 0000270f
Max MP120f9cf6 0000270f
Max XP020f9d28 002dc6c0
Infinite/Max Gold020f9d2c 000f423f

Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow Cheat FAQs

What’s the best weapon type in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow?
Each of the different weapon types has its own advantages, but there are a few specific weapons that stand out as the best in the game. Upgrading the Axe will eventually see it transform into a Bhuj, which players can further upgrade into the Death Scythe. The Valmanway Sword is also an excellent weapon and is Dawn of Sorrow‘s version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night‘s Crisseagrim.

What is the best Soul in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow?
Bullet Souls are the Souls that players will use for special magic attacks in Dawn of Sorrow. Some of the best Bullet Souls in the game include Mandragora, Great Axe Armor, Warg, Erinys, and Guillotiner.

How many endings are there in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow?
There are three different endings in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Which ending players earn depends on certain conditions being met during the second encounter with Dario. To earn the Best ending, players need both the Paranoia Soul and Mina’s Talisman.

How do you unlock Julius Mode in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow?
Unlocking Julius Mode is fairly easy in that players simply need to beat Dawn of Sorrow and earn the “Bad” ending.

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