First off, if you haven't reserved the game and you think you're a Castlevania fan, get out there and reserve it now. Take a look at the free swag you get when you preorder:



You get a soundtrack CD, a 48-page art book with slipcover, plus a Castlevania branded stylus and DS game card case. That's amazing.

That's a hot looking box, and a Castlevania soundtrack cd sounds like a winning offer. This shit is free? lol

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

Yes, when you preorder. The only thing that concerns me is GS/EB running out, or keeping them for themselves. lol It pisses me off when you don't get the shit you're supposed to when you preorder. I had to fight to get the Ghaleon punching puppet when I reserved Lunar: Silver Star Story for PSX. Haha.

finally a special edition coming with a soundtrack

The last Castlevania release came with a soundtrack too.

k i'm preordering this shit tomorrow!! Can't do it now...it's late and I'm drunk.

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Beat me to it!

I'll make perfectly sure to gank yours Rein. Kekekekeke!

I get free shit all the time 'cause of that.

However, I will say that we *usually* wait until after the game comes out and we have leftovers. The majority of the time, we just don't remember to hand this shit out, as we have WAY too much fuckin stuff. (And usually only about 5-10 freebies) However, if the people knoew about it and ask we have no problem handing it out. (I try to keep one for myself though, wahahaha)

AND FUCK YOU FOR THAT PUPPET!!! FUCK YOU REIN! Bah, now that I actually read that, I'mma call the store closest to you and gank your stupid preorder crap like whut. Lunar's my favorite game and I was a sad boy (lolgirl) that day I did not recieve my puppet. ; ;

lol That is pretty cool, but I think it's funny how you sound like a kid opening a happy meal.

I'm pretty close friends with almost all of the employees at both GS/EBs so I usually get whatever I want. Like, I got a Super Monkey Ball monkey because I thought it was awesome. But I hate it when I don't and it sucks that if I hadn't known them, that I wouldn't get shit. And who knows, quantities may be extremely limited and only a very few people will end up getting them anyway. To which I would have to order it on eBay. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1zeffQKns

pretty good Portrait of Ruin review by 1up.com. lot's of gameplay footage, and good commentary.

some other cool videos: http://media.ds.ign.com/media/774/774649/vids_1.html

one thing that looks interesting is that you can manipulate the whip to go in different directions. that's a big improvement in the whip department.

Well, this isn't the first Castlevania where you can change the direction of the whip. Though it does seem like the most natural use of a whip out of them all.

Yeah this looks cool, might have to buy another DS game dammit lol.

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Eternus Ifrit Server Atariii LS member
75 BRD with a bunch of subjobs

Here's a more detailed look at what's included. This comes from the Gamestop website.

• Art Book: This 48 page book details the artwork of every game in the Castlevania series and features an embossed cover.
• 20th Anniversary Soundtrack CD: Spanning 20 years of music that has defined the Castlevania series, this soundtrack contains songs from nearly every Castlevania game ever made, including four never before released tracks from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
• Stylus and DS Game Case: Extendable stylus and transparent game case are both emblazoned with the Castlevania logo.
• Timeline Poster: Detailing key events and characters in the history of Castlevania, this fold-out poster features a timeline on the front and a Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin poster on the back.

that soundtrack would be nice to have, assuming the songs are good quality and not just directly ported straight from the video games themselves. If I'm going to listen to video game music outside of the video game, I want to here some real instruments and not just a keyboard.

The Castlevania soundtracks are pretty spot on. But the only ones that I own are Curse of Darkness and Symphony of the Night.

I hope they port SotN to DS some day. With all the success that Castlevania is having on DS, I wouldn't be surprised.

Doubtful, as they're releasing it on 360.

oh.

Yea, it'd be neat to see it portable though. I just really want to play the Saturn version in English.