Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is one of those DS gems that still holds up. You start off with two characters—Jonathan, the whip-wielding vampire hunter, and Charlotte, the magic-slinging bookworm—and swapping between them on the fly is way more fun than it sounds. The whole "portrait" gimmick means you're jumping into these weird pocket dimensions inside paintings, each with its own theme, from war-torn cities to Egyptian ruins.

Combat feels tight, especially when you nail combos between both characters. I remember getting wrecked by some of the bosses at first until I figured out how to time Charlotte’s spells with Jonathan’s attacks. And yeah, it’s got all the classic Castlevania stuff: secret rooms, ridiculous weapon drops, and Dracula’s castle being its usual nightmare self. If you’re into metroidvanias, this one’s a no-brainer.