Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow Endings guide

All good things must come to an end, and that’s certainly true for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. While it’s easily one of the best Castlevania games, getting to its conclusion can be bittersweet. Here’s how you can get the best possible ending.

Getting the best ending can be kind of an obtuse process. But it’s not just about getting the sweetest cutscene. It’s also about those delicious unlocks! Whether you want to be sure you’re on the right track or you’re finding out what went wrong, we’re here. And don’t worry about spoilers; we’ll keep it as clean as possible.

How (not) to get the worst ending

Unless you’re thorough, it’s very easy to miss a key requirement for getting past the first ending. There’s a boss named Dario, who you’ll end up fighting twice throughout the game. The second time will be in a part of the map called The Pinnacle. When you get to him, you may notice something extremely suspicious about his fight. In the background is a giant mirror with a demon reflected in it.

If all you do is beat Dario, you’re granted the worst ending in the game. This provides no rewards and is basically the same as a “Game Over.” If you’ve noticed giant mirrors in other parts of the castle, you may have guessed that you need to interact with them somehow. This is the key to correctly defeating Dario.

You’ll need a boss soul from a monster called Paranoia. To find him, go west from The Pinnacle’s lower reaches to enter a new part of the Demon Guest House. Simply move west through this new area, and you’ll come across this boss. Defeat him, take his soul, and you can use it in any large mirror in the castle. That includes using it in Dario’s boss room and fighting the demon inside. This will allow the story to progress correctly.

How to get the bad ending

While still a bummer of an ending for our heroes, this one can at least unlock Julius Mode. This is a new gameplay mode where you take control of Julius, Yoko, and Alucard as you play through the entire game with unique powers. It’s a fun bonus mode and well worth unlocking. But you should probably just move on to the next ending and get it later.

After you surpass the worst ending above, you’ll be challenged to meet Celia in the locked room of the Garden of Madness. There’s a key item that affects whether you get the bad ending here or if you open up the rest of the game. If you want to unlock Julius Mode quickly or want to see what happens, enter the central chamber without Mina’s Talisman equipped. A cutscene will play, and then the credits will roll. Technically, Julius Mode is a sort of “what if?” continuation of these events.

How to get the best ending

The real ending requires you to best Dario by defeating his mirror-verse demon and by confronting Celia with Mina’s Talisman equipped to your accessory slot. Once you do these two things, you’ll open up a secret path in The Tower that goes down. Follow that path and finish the last portions of the game. You’ll reach the final boss, defeat them, and finally get your best ending.

Defeating the game’s best ending unlocks Julius mode, as well as a slew of new options. The most interesting is a New Game Plus mode. Above your save file is a “Clear” icon. Selecting it allows you to start the game over at level 1, but you keep all non-essential souls, equipment, and gold. You’re also granted the ability to play the game in Hard Mode, giving you an extra challenge. If you beat the game’s Hard Mode, your reward is a unique Hell Flame soul. This gives you Dracula’s old “fireballs from the cape” maneuver he’s used since the original Castlevania.

You’ll also unlock a Sound Test and a Boss Rush Mode. Aside from being a fun challenge, Boss Rush also has some unique unlockables to send back to your main game. They are time-based requirements, and unfortunately, you can’t unlock everything if you do it right the first time. You’ll have to play through the mode at least five times, provided you can get the best score right away on each occasion.