History YMMV / CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin

** Creator/TakahiroSakurai's role as [[VampireHunter Jonathan Morris]] is even more hilarious if you know he voiced [[{{Literature/Twilight}} Edward Cullen]] in Japanese, the same kind of monster Jonathan is ''hellbent to destroy''.

%%** Both GameOver screens.

*** However, it becomes incredibly easy if one takes advantage of the [[spoiler:door: just move Johnathan to right in front of the door, then turn around, activate [[NoSell Stonewall]] and have Charlotte start the spell. Charlotte will be under the overhang so no {{Death From Above}} spells can hit her, while Johnathan blocks all frontal attacks.]] Doing this makes the fight last about as long as it takes Sanctuary to complete.

** [[spoiler:Brauner believes Stella and Loretta are his daughters reincarnated, but this is never explored and we don't get any confirmation for one way or the other, though considering his actions and motivations it's hinted that he's just delusional.]]

** The UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo setting isn't used to its full potential. There are no Nazis dabbling in [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural]] or with [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]], or [[{{Magitek}} both]]. Given Dracula's AsLongAsThereIsEvil shtick, it could have been an interesting team-up. (Though this might be justified by the game taking place in 1944, one year before the war's end -- the Third Reich was on its last legs.) To compare, ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines'' is set in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and takes you on a tour of Europe for its six stages.

** The UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo setting isn't used to its full potential. There are no Nazis dabbling in [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural]] or with [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]], or [[{{Magitek}} both]]. Given Dracula's AsLongAsThereIsEvil shtick, it could have been an interesting team-up. (Though this might be justified by the game taking place in 1944, one year before the war's end -- the Third Reich was on its last legs.) To compare, ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines'' is set in UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne and takes you on a tour of Europe for its six stages.

** The UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo setting isn't used to its full potential. There are no Nazis dabbling in [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural]] or with [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]], or [[{{Magitek}} both]]. Given Dracula's AsLongAsThereIsEvil shtick, it could have been an interesting team-up. (Though this might be justified by the game taking place in 1944, one year before the war's end -- the Third Reich was on its last legs.)

* BestBossEver: The final boss fight, a team fight against [[spoiler:Dracula ''and'' Death]] at the same time. For many games, you're told that [[spoiler:Death is Dracula's]] right-hand man; here, you see for yourself why.

* FridgeHorror: The Circus of Fear. [[spoiler:It's mentioned that Brauner lost his daughters because of the first World War. The painting (and by extension, the stage) shows the aftermath of a circus and town torn apart by war. Put two and two together. Worse, as you go further into the level, the stage gets turned on its side, and then upside down, representing how Brauner's life was literally turned upside down. And then there's the boss...]]

** JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE!

** Legion, as usual.

** Both GameOver screens.

* TheScrappy: Vincent's [[NoHeroDiscount refusal to lower his prices]] even after being cured of vampirism has gained him some scrappy status. He's still far more likable than the inheritor of his name in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'', though.

* BestBossEver: The final boss fight, a team fight against [[spoiler:Dracula]] ''and'' [[spoiler:Death]] at the same time. For many games, you're told that [[spoiler:Death]] is [[spoiler:Dracula's]] right-hand man; here, you see for yourself why.

** Both GameOver screens. The regular screen is a bloody skull with its mouth open wide as if it were screaming, a sword going through its mouth and a snake in its eye sockets. In Sisters mode, there's a nun crying TearsOfBlood, looking directly [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the player]]. Yeeesh.

** Likewise, [[MsFanservice Astarte]], the 4th boss [[NefariousPharaoh that's based on]] [[TruthInTelevision a real life deity]], ain't half bad either. She is garbed in what can basically be described as a [[{{Stripperific}} golden bikini]], [[SexyWalk constantly struts her stuff]] and [[HartmanHips shakes her hips]] during battle, has lovely tanned skin, and a surprisingly deep yet sexy voice. [[DistractedByTheSexy Even Jonathan thinks she's beautiful]], and that's when he ''isn't'' [[CharmPerson charmed by her.]] What's '''not''' to love?

** Likewise, [[MsFanservice Astarte]], the 4th boss [[NefariousPharoah that's based on a real life deity]], ain't half bad either. She is garbed in what can basically be described as a [[Stripperific golden bikini]], [[SexyWalk constantly struts her stuff]] and [[HartmanHips shakes her hips]] during battle, has lovely tanned skin, and a surprisingly deep yet sexy voice. [[DistractedByTheSexy Even Jonathan thinks she's beautiful]], and that's when he ''isn't'' [[CharmPerson charmed by her.]] What's '''not''' to love?

** [[spoiler:Brauner believes Stella and Loretta are his daughters reincarnated, but this is never explored and we don't get any confirmation for one way or the other.]]

* BestBossEver: The final boss fight, a team fight against [[spoiler:Dracula]] ''and'' [[spoiler:Death]] at the same time. For many games, you're told that [[spoiler:Death]] is [[spoiler:Dracula's]] right-hand man; here, you see it for yourself why.
* EvilIsSexy: Stella whose dress sports AbsoluteCleavage that bares her head-sized breasts. [[spoiler:And she turns out to be a subversion, as she still wears that even when she's good]].

** Miser Ring (increase power relative to your gold stash) + Gold Ring (increases the amount of money you can earn from candles relative to gold stash) + [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks Heaven's Sword (a weak, but long range sword Jonathan can swing real fast and can easily hit an enemy multiple times in one throw)]] or Holy Claymore (ridiculously powerful sword with slash and holy attribute) = [[CurbStompBattle Total Annhilation.]] The Heaven's Sword itself is an amazing InfinityMinusOneSword if you know how to [[SomeDexterityRequired short-hop-backdash-triple-sword-cancel]], which against larger enemies will carve out huge chunks in their HP because it deals so many damage tics.

** Charlotte's Dark Rift spell sucks in projectiles, spawns right above her and lasts for quite a while. This can trivialize bosses and monsters that focus on projectiles and/or staying out of reach by flying above you.

** Both Game Over screens. The regular screen is a bloody skull with its mouth open wide as if it were screaming, a sword going through its mouth and a snake in its eye sockets. In Sisters mode, there's a nun crying TearsOfBlood, looking directly [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the player]]. Yeeesh.

* TheScrappy: Vincent's [[NoHeroDiscount refusal to lower his prices]] even after being cured of vampirism has gained him some scrappy status. He's still far more likable than the inheritor of his name in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow', though.

** The skill mastery system in general. For starters, Charlotte cannot help you master anything, even though you'll be using her for about half the game. And Jonathan's just take ''forever'' to master. Almost every skill has a SP requirement in the thousands, and you get one or two from almost all monsters. You get SP as long as the monster has been A) damaged by the skill, and B) the monster dies by your hand, which is simple enough. The other big problem is the damage of the skills, since their power comes from the INT stat which Jonathan just doesn't get naturally. It is perfectly possible to finish the game without mastering a single skill ([[AllThereInTheManual or even realize there is such a system in the first place]]), using Charlotte sensibly and the few skills that are mechanically broken.

*** However, it becomes incredibly easy if one takes advantage of the [[spoiler: door: just move Johnathan to right in front of the door, then turn around, activate [[NoSell Stonewall]] and have Charlotte start the spell. Charlotte will be under the overhang so no {{Death From Above}} spells can hit her, while Johnathan blocks all frontal attacks.]] Doing this makes the fight last about as long as it takes Sanctuary to complete.

** The UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo setting isn't used to its full potential. There are no Nazis dabbling in [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural]] or with [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]], or [[{{Magitek}} both]]. Given Dracula's AsLongAsThereIsEvil shtick it could have been an interesting team-up.
* UnwinnableByInsanity: It's possible to render the Nest of Evil completely unescapable by not triggering the teleporter next to the entrance and then going all the way from the first floor to the bottom floor in one go and using the save point at the bottom.

* FridgeHorror / TearJerker: The Circus of Fear. [[spoiler:It's mentioned that Brauner lost his daughters because of the first World War. The painting (and by extension, the stage) shows the aftermath of a circus and town torn apart by war. Put two and two together. Worse, as you go further into the level, the stage gets turned on its side, and then upside down, representing how Brauner's life was literally turned upside down. And then there's the boss...]]
* GameBreaker: Sisters mode is incredibly easy for two reasons: the sisters float and hover in the air (at the cost of MP), and their method of attack is entirely done by the touchscreen. Stella does physical attacks by rubbing the stylus over, while Loretta launches a barrage of ice magic where the stylus is placed. With Loretta, even ice-resistant enemies fall in seconds (save for mage-type enemies). Attacking also consumes MP, but on the ground they recover it quickly. They're also immune to all status ailments. Of course, you have to beat the game just to unlock the mode to play as the sisters first, so there's not much of the game left to break.

* MemeticMutation: JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE!

* NightmareFuel: The Legion -- subverted thanks to the overly bright atmosphere of the boss music...
** In one of the miniquests, you have to get a tear located near a certain statue. When you take it... *Shudder*
** Both Game Over screens:
** The regular screen is a bloody skull with its mouth open wide as if it were screaming, a sword going through its mouth and a snake in its eye sockets. ''Damn''.
** In Sisters mode, a nun crying TearsOfBlood, looking directly [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou at the player]]. Yeeesh.

* TheScrappy: Vincent's [[NoHeroDiscount refusal to lower his prices]] (even after being cured of vampirism) has gained him some scrappy status. He's still far more likable than the inheritor of his name in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow', though.

** The skill mastery system in general. For starters, Charlotte cannot help you master anything, even though you'll be using her for about half the game. And Jonathan's just take ''forever'' to master. Almost every skill has a SP requirement in the thousands, and you get one or two from almost all monsters. You get SP as long as the monster has been A) damaged by the skill, and B) the monster dies by your hand, which is simple enough. The other big problem is the damage of the skills, since their power comes from the INT stat which Jonathan just doesn't get naturally. It is perfectly possible to finish the game without mastering a single skill ([[AllThereInTheManual or even realize there is such a system in the first place]]), using Charlotte sensibly and the few skills that are mechanically broken (Cross, Bible...).
*** One of Wind's quests requires mastering the Cross, Bible, and Holy Water. According to LetsPlay/PinkKittyRose, the most efficient way she found to master all these was nearly ''two hours'' of non-stop minotaur farming.

* ThatOneBoss: FrankensteinsMonster isn't actually too hard, with [[MightyGlacier hard-hitting but easily telegraphed attacks.]] It's when you meet [[WolfpackBoss two of him]] in the Nest of Evil that fit hits the shan. You can't reliably predict what one of them will do because the other is off screen or surrounding you, about to sucker punch you. Abusing the NotCompletelyUseless Clear Skies spell is almost mandatory here. The worst part? This is the FIRST room of this floor. The boss at the end of the floor? [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Abaddon.]]

** The [[spoiler:purification of Stella and Loretta, where casting Sanctuary takes 15 seconds and Charlotte cannot get hit during it or it fails, nor can she go offscreen, and if either character gets hit, that's like a 3KO, and it's even worse on Hard mode. Trying to do this at low levels can make it pretty much a LuckBasedMission. [[NoSell Stonewall]] is your friend here.]]
*** Worse? [[spoiler:Sanctuary has a range of one screen-width with Charlotte as the center. Since you'll be playing as Jonathan keeping the sisters to one side so Charlotte doesn't get hit, it's possible for the spell to ''miss''.]]
*** One saving grace is that [[spoiler:you only need to hit one of the sisters with it for it to work.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[spoiler:Brauner believes Stella and Loretta are his daughters reincarnated, but this is never explored and we don't get any confirmation for one way or the other.]]
** [[spoiler:Of course, it might've just been put in to show how insane he is.]]

* UnwinnableByInsanity: It's possible to render the Nest of Evil completely unescapable by not triggering the teleporter next to the entrance and then going all the way from the first floor to the bottom floor in one go and using the save point at the bottom.

* HellIsThatNoise: You will likely come to dread "SISTER!" "Ready, sister, I shall KILL YOU!", since it heralds Stella and Loretta's CombinationAttack.

** The UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo setting isn't used to its full potential. There are no Nazis dabbling in [[{{Ghostapo}} the supernatural]] or with [[StupidJetpackHitler super-science]], or [[{{Magitek}} both]]. Given Dracula's AsLongAsThereIsEvil shtick it could have been an interesting team-up.

* FridgeHorror / TearJerker: The Circus of Fear. [[spoiler:It's mentioned that Brauner lost his daughters because of the first World War. The painting (and by extension, the stage) shows the aftermath of a circus and town torn apart by war. Put two and two together. Worse, as you go further into the level, the stage gets turned on its side, and then upside down, representing how Brauner's life was literally turned upside down. And then there's the boss...]]

* NightmareFuel: The Legion -- subverted thank to the overly bright atmosphere of the boss music...

** Death can also have shades of this, being Death and all.

* BestBossEver: The final boss fight, a team fight against Dracula ''and'' Death at the same time. For many games, you're told that Death is Dracula's right-hand man; here, you see it for yourself.

** The skill mastery system in general. For starters, Charlotte cannot master skills, even though she will be using them the entire game. And Jonathan's just take ''forever'' to master. Almost every skill has a SP requirement in the thousands, and you get one or two from almost all monsters. And you only get the SP reward if you make the kill with the weapon in question. Which is almost always difficult, since their power comes from the INT stat which Jonathan just doesn't get naturally. It is perfectly possible to finish the game without mastering a single skill ([[AllThereInTheManual or even realise there is such a system in the first place]]), using Charlotte sensibly and the few skills that are mechanically broken (Cross, Bible...).

** Miser Ring (increase power realitve to your gold stash) + Gold Ring (increases the amount of money you can earn from candles relative to gold stash) + [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks Heaven's Sword (a weak, but long range sword Jonathan can swing real fast and can easily hit an enemy multiple times in one throw)]] or Holy Claymore (ridiculously powerful sword with slash and holy attribute) = [[CurbStompBattle Total Annhilation.]]