Summary
The Nintendo DS was home to some of the bestCastlevaniagames made in the post-Symphony of the Night era. Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia all boast the boss battles and soul abilities that helped define this franchise in the 2000s. And now, with this collection available on modern platforms, you can experience their toughest challenges.
If you like hunting down achievements as much as hunting down vampires, this collection will be just what you’re looking for. Here are the eight most difficult achievements to get across these three classic Metroidvania titles. Make sure you bring enough potions and anti-curse items to survive everything Dracula’s shifting castle will throw at you.
8Sisters Of The Sanctuary (Portrait of Ruin)
Near the end of the second title in the trilogy, Portrait of Ruin, you will face a duo boss battle against the witch sisters, Loretta and Stella. If you defeat them normally, you will trigger an early bad ending to the game. But, if you defeat them with a special spell, you will unlock not only this achievement but the second half of the game that will lead you to the true ending.
If you want to experience this fight in its true capacity without using the purify spell, enter Boss Rush mode to face them for real.
If you can locate the secret purification spell and use it as Charlotte in the boss battle, you will purify the witches of their brainwashed spell. It takes a long time to charge, which makes it difficult to pull off. Be sure to also try facing these sister witches in the unlockable boss rush mode for a harder version.
7Divine Bloodline (Portrait of Ruin)
Once you destroy the final barrier at the top of the castle, you can head straight to the final boss of Portrait of Ruin and complete the game. However, there is a final side-quest you can accomplish that will make the final battle much easier: defeating a memory of the legendary Richter Belmont.
Talk to the sisters after you have purified them to access this optional boss battle. You have to fight it alone as Johnathan, as the prize is the legendary Vampire Killer whip that only he can use. It’s one of the toughest battles in the game, and you might need a lot of healing items, but it’s worth it as this weapon is extra effective against the last boss.
6Perhaps The Strongest Team (Portrait of Ruin)
After getting the last two achievements, you may now go against the final boss, which is another duo: Dracula and Death. This is easily the hardest boss in the game, but if you have Vampire Killer and use a strength buff from Charlotte, it will be very doable.
If you use Vampire Killer for this boss fight, don’t bother using any secondary moves like the dagger or the javelin. They do far less damage and are not worth using. Save your MP for buffs from Charlotte.
It will feel like a bullet hell at times, as you’ll need to dodge Dracula’s fireballs and Death’s scythes. Keep in mind that it’s only phase one of a two-part battle. This achievement triggers when you defeat phase one, even if you lose in phase two.
5As Long As We Are Here (Portrait of Ruin)
Phase two of this fight sees Dracula absorbing the soul of Death, transforming into a vampiric demon with massive wings and claws. His attacks are much harder to dodge this time around, and he deals far more damage as well.
One of the hardest things to deal with is when he summons his massive claws that fill up the entire screen. You will need to summon your partner and attack both claws simultaneously or they will crush you and deal massive damage.
4Apocalypse Glyph (Order of Eccelsia)
Like in most Castlevania games, Dracula is the hardest and final boss in Order of Ecclesia. Ecclesia is not onlyone of the best Metroidvanias in the series, but is also the hardest game in the Dominus collection, so you absolutely need to bring your A-game when fighting this fierce version of the vampire king.
Using your flying ability here is a bad idea as Dracula reacts to it immediately with anti-air fire pillars. Also be on the lookout for his swarm of bats attack, as this can kill you within seconds if caught in the wave.
Don’t use a crouching slide when trying to avoid his bat swarm attack. The slide will carry you too far and you will land in the danger zone of bats.
3A Promise Fulfilled (Dawn of Sorrow)
Dawn of Sorrow may be the easiest game in the trilogy, making it agreat Metroidvania for beginners, but the unlockable Julius Mode will challenge even diehard fans of this series. Unlocked after getting the true ending in the base game as Soma, you start the whole game over playing as Julius instead.
You have his strong whip and his iconic secondary items associated with the oldest Castlevania games, but you have no menu or healing items. you’re able to still level up, but your health bar is all you have, just like in the old times. Without potions or food to heal, every boss battle feels that much more stressful.
2Vampire Hunters (Portrait of Ruin)
After getting the true ending in Portrait of Ruin, you will unlock Richter Mode. Being the main character of Rondo of Blood and the playable character in the prologue battle of Symphony of the Night, Richter Belmont isa beloved hunteramong Castlevania fanatics.
Take advantage of Richter’s super jump ability during boss battles. It can be used to easily dodge multiple attacks.
Richter Mode is like Julius Mode as you cannot use healing items at all. You start out feeling very strong and agile thanks to these many abilities, but Portrait of Ruin has some very difficult bosses later on, making this by far one of the hardest achievements in the Dominus collection to earn.
1Wielder Of Magical Gun Agartha (Order of Ecclesia)
It should come as no surprise that the hardest game in the collection has the hardest achievement. After defeating Dracula as Shanoa, you will unlock the ability to play as her brother in Albus Mode. Albus is the most unique character to play in this entire collection, as he primarily uses projectile attacks fired from his magical gun, Agartha.
The key to beating this mode and earning this achievement is getting familiar with its unique controls and moveset early on. Different enemies have different resistances and weaknesses. The best way to defeat the hardest bosses in this mode is to figure out which attacks they are most weak to, and which attacks are safest for you to use in terms of their cooldown and recovery.
