Last year's Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow was a worthwhile debut for the twenty-year old series on the Nintendo DS, despite the strenuous soul-collecting system and the irksome touch-screen features. Now Konami's released a better game that does away with gimmicks and returns the series to prominence. Portrait of Ruin is the Castlevania game many players have been waiting for, bringing with it a play style that relates to old-school fans of the series as well as those who have gotten into its more dramatic chapters. To find such a balance might be considered impossible, but Koji Igarashi (aka Iga) and company have succeeded.

The game takes place in 1944. With World War II striking up many casualties, souls hang throughout the air in misery. It's the perfect opportunity for the return of Dracula, the dreaded vampire who has been making the Belmont family's lives a living hell over the years. Upon the appearance of his magical castle, two heroes emerge to finish him off once more. Jonathan Morris is not a Belmont, but he does have relations within the family, and carries with him a mighty whip, the Vampire Killer. Jonathan's friend Charlotte Aulin, a young girl who wields magic, aids him on his quest. Whatever she lacks in might, she more than makes up for it with her powerful magic spells.

Unlike previous Castlevania games, Portrait of Ruin brings both characters into the fray. This isn't one of those "let's follow the lead character" games, like Tails in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Diddy Kong in Donkey Kong Country. Over the course of the game, the character that's not in use can be called in at any time. The AI-controlled character can then perform different duties, like staying put on a switch or a platform or lending a hand during a boss battle. The boss battles alone are quite judicious. Morris can do plenty of harm with his whip, but then Charlotte can be called in to combine on a stronger attack to finish it off. It's a thoughtful system that puts a twist on the otherwise familiar gameplay.

Not that the game plays bad, mind you. Players who have gotten into the adventure-themed chapters will be thrilled with being able to travel through the castle and enter haunted paintings -- portals to new worlds. However, the game has a remarkable sense of old-school gameplay. The soul-collecting system has been done away with in favor of more traditional means, like whipping enemies and using items and weapons at certain points. The lame touch-screen segments have been scuttled away as well, although it can still be used if you need to position the AI character in a waiting spot. Best of all, there's a power-up system that gives each character new abilities that help them access previously unreachable areas.