It's been about 2 years since I played Aria of Sorrow, and the feeling I remember compared to Dawn of Sorrow is that - if Aria of Sorrow was a 8.5 or 9 out of 10 (in retrospect I'm inclined to say it's better than Circle of the Moon, even though that game has a special place in my heart), then I would say Dawn of Sorrow is an 8 to 8.5 out of 10. Looking back at Aria's length, I think Dawn is a larger, more expansive game but at the same time the soul system felt way grindier and the magic seal system is not great and I'm glad they made a workaround for it in the Dominus collection. The touch screen features (especially for the Dominus collection) hamper the game, I think. It kinda stinks it continued to fail to make any effective use of its 2035-36 setting, there's really nothing futuristic about it or any real differentiator from other games, and the cult's castle layout makes no sense. The more I think about the game, the more disappointed I get, honestly. All that said, I'd say this is more slightly above average than blown away. A great way to get back into the Castlevania games after a 2 year gap since I last played Aria of Sorrow, though. Genuinely pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to pick things back up and get right back into it. Always a very addictive formula once you find a groove.