I just recently got into Symphony of the Night, which is the first and only Castlevania game I've played. (Well, the only Metroidvania styled Castlevania game)
 
I found SOTN all the way completely totally awesome and would definitely be interested in more of that. I am in possession of a DS. The problem is that there are several Castlevania games available on that system. Which one would make most sense for a complete series newbie to start with?

They're all actually quite different as far as I know. I didn't get far because they're so different to SOTN, at least at the start, so I can't provide that much of an insight.

Actually I liked Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance on GBA more. I'd say Dawn of Sorrow is alright, and it continues the story of Aria if you're already invested in it. I don't think I ever finished Portrait of Ruin or the other one.

I would say Ecclesia is the best (although only half of the game is really Metroidvania-y). I wouldn't start with Dawn of Sorrow, since that's actually a sequel to a GBA game. So maybe start with Portrait of Ruin.

I only ever played SotN and the old sidescrollers, so I have no idea.
 
You should play some Metroid though, Super Metroid imo, might be better than Symphony, or at least equally awesome in its own way.

Dawn of sorrow is the most straightforward, you're just a dude getting new powers/equipment and killing things, Portrait of Ruin has that thing of being constantly switching between the melee guy and the magic chick and The order of ecclesia  is pretty much like Dawn of sorrow except there are no weapons, instead the abilities themselves are weapons, all of them are great anyway, if you're worried about story progression they are just very loosely connected, apart from some cameos here and there the only thing persistent in all of them is Dracula and the castle pretty much.

Having played them all, anyone them will do though between them all I think Order of Ecclesia is my favourite. Maybe because it plays a little differently then your standard Metroidvania.

Ecclesia would probably get my vote, as I found Shannoa's style of play to be the best. The one with the twin castles (The name escapes me at the moment) would be a very close second, because it has a more traditional Metroidvania feel to it, as only the end of Ecclesia is like that.

You can play them in any order, really. Dawn of Sorrow is the only of the DS games that's a direct sequel (it continues from Aria of Sorrow for the Game Boy Advance), but the stories in these games are pretty shallow and you won't lose much by simply looking up details online.

I'd recommend starting with Order of Ecclesia simply because it's the best in almost every regard.

I really liked Portrait of Ruin for it's varied enviroment, sadly Ecclesia is the only DS 'vania game I didn't play.

I've only played Dawn of Sorrow so far, but it's pretty good.

A pile of suggestions in 15 minutes - AWESOME. Thanks a bunch.

I liked Portrait of Ruin the best, and I played all the DS games.

Yeah totally check out Order of Ecclesia. I really enjoyed it.

As you can see with all the different suggestions though, you are pretty save picking whatever one you can find first.

Dawn of Sorrow is the most like SotN and my favorite DS Castlevania overall, but it IS a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow. The intro pretty much spoils the ending of AoS, so you might want to consider that if you're ever planning to go back to the GBA games. Order of Ecclesia might be the safest bet if you just want something that you can easily jump in to.

Play Metroid , fella .

Dawn of Sorrows was the only DS castlevania game that I actually finished. Not saying the others aren't any good, its just that Dawn of Sorrows just seemed to gel better for me.

My advice would be pick up which ever one you can find cheapest, you can't go all to far wrong with any of them.

Ecclesia is the best metroidvania in the series behind Symphony of the Night. Start there.

Dawn of Sorrow is the best one, easily.

The only one that I've enjoyed other than SotN is Circle of the Moon on the GBA. That game is frigging pants. I need to replace my lost copy...

Your DS will also play GBA games, you can pick up all three GBA 'Vanias for pretty cheap used. All 6 of these games and the 2 GBA Metroids are great fun.

I'd recommend Aria of Sorrow, then Order of Ecclesia.

I really enjoyed Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia. Portrait of Ruin was alright but not quite as fun in my opinion. You can't go wrong with DoS or OoE. The former is easier so I'd maybe play that one first if you're planning on playing both anyway.

Ideally, I think the way to go would be to play Aria of Sorrow on GBA followed immediately by Dawn of Sorrow on the DS. I found those to be better games if you look at them as a single experience. If that isn't an option, I would say Order of Ecclesia if you're only choosing one DS game.

But if you really want to go deep, try Harmony of Dissonance. It's the most reviled game of all the portable Vanias but it's secretly the best one, post Symphony.

Dawn of Sorrow is the best and most similar to its predecessors. (Except for the gratuitous annoying draw-a-pattern mini game you have to do to defeat a boss. Fuck those!) Portrait of Ruin started going linear, and Ecclesia went balls-out linear and they lost a lot of the Metroidvania gated exploration that I love. All three are still fine games though.

The GBA games, Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow, are probably all better than the DS games. This might be nostalgia speaking. The formula did get a little tired after a while.

@sinusoidal: no, you're right. I played all 6 of those games last fall for the very first time and the GBA games are definitely better.

Portrait of Ruin.

Ecclesia is the best but really tough. And Dawn of Sorrow is bogged down by dumb DS stylus junk. All are worth playing, however.

guys I think that after over 4 years the OP has probably already made his decision.....

@onarum: Goddamit! I missed the necro...

The only handheld one I've played is Portrait of Ruin, but I remember really liking it. I also remember only ever using the one character, which probably means I played it wrong, but also means that if you don't like switching between people then it's certainly doable.

I'd go with Dawn of Sorrow, I feel like it's the most accessible and most like SotN. I just recently beat Order of Ecclesia, and it's good, but it has a bit of a weird structure (exploring smaller, non-connected levels until you get to Dracula's Castle in the last 3rd of the game) and it is beat-your-ass difficult. Portrait of Ruin is the one I still haven't finished, and I seem to remember it having some cheap, frustrating bits.

EDIT: Also, if you're lucky you can find a copy with the completely insane "Konami's Best" cover (as far as I know, the only game they ever re-released under this branding):

As much as I like Ecclesia I'ld say play Dawn of Sorrow first. Then again it has some kinda dumb touch screen stuff. Maybe Portrait of Ruin?

Hell, they're all really good. Pick up whatever's cheapest and go from there.

@boringk: Oh man. That cover crosses the line of being so stupid it's incredible. Duplication of esrb rating and everything.

@boringk said:

I'd go with Dawn of Sorrow, I feel like it's the most accessible and most like SotN. I just recently beat Order of Ecclesia, and it's good, but it has a bit of a weird structure (exploring smaller, non-connected levels until you get to Dracula's Castle in the last 3rd of the game) and it is beat-your-ass difficult. Portrait of Ruin is the one I still haven't finished, and I seem to remember it having some cheap, frustrating bits.

EDIT: Also, if you're lucky you can find a copy with the completely insane "Konami's Best" cover (as far as I know, the only game they ever re-released under this branding):

Huh. Weird. I was about to say that I really enjoyed Order Of Ecclesia but that it was too easy. I 100%d it with little difficulty. I think I preferred Dawn Of Sorrow, but it's been so long I can't recall.

Aria of Sorrow is the best Castlevania, better than SOTN. The difficulty feels just right and the souls system streamlines the sub-weapon mechanic (which I always found odd in SOTN). Its also much better than its immediate sequel Dawn of Sorrow which has terrible touch control gimmicks, bad level design and a horrendous change in art style (Dawn certainly isn't bad, I just found it disappointing).