NDS Soul of Darkness (DSiWare) NDS ROM

[CSmith327]

Game Description:​

Soul of Darkness is an Action-Adventure/Platformer 2D video game published by Gameloft and developed by Gameloft released on July 5th, 2010 for the DS.

Soul of Darkness is a side-scrolling platformer similar to later entries in the Castlevania series, such as Symphony of the Night. The game is divided into eleven levels, making it more linear than a typical Metroidvania game. The player has access to two weapons. At the start of the game he has a fire sword and after one of the first boss fights he also gets access to an ice spear. Both weapons can be upgraded with the use of purple soul shards which the player earns for each enemy defeated. Weapons can be upgraded in four categories (power, combo, critical and magic) and at certain intervals they are leveled up. Magic is used for a special attack. For the fire sword it summons fireballs around the player and for the ice spear it's a ranged attack.

The different capabilities of the two weapons are also used for some puzzle solving. The fire sword can be used to activate contraptions that unlock doors while the ice spear can be used to turn water creatures and fountains into ice which then can be jumped onto. The spear itself can also be used as a platform as it sticks into walls when thrown. At certain places the player can transform into creatures that allow him to get through some passages. For example the beetle can get through low passages and has abilities such as walking on the ceiling. To get through water sections Kale can transform himself into a fish.

As a child, Kale's family was attacked by vampires leading to the death of both his parents. After this Kale devoted himself to tracking and hunting down vampires. At one time he saved a girl called Lydia who lost her memories from the horror of a vampire encounter. They fell in love and have since lived together. However as Lydia is getting nightmares they travel to Ominos, a small city that often appear in Lydia's dreams. As they arrive they find out that it's a city only inhabited by death. It's not long until they come across a vampire who captures Lydia, telling her that it's time for her to return to her family. Now Kale is on his own and has to find Lydia.

This game was originally released for Java and BREW based mobile phones back in 2008 and was later ported to DSi in 2010. It's one of the more interesting DSiWare releases and is a pretty solid Castlevania clone.

How to Play:​

(Using the MelonDS DS core in RetroArch)

1. Make sure you have the MelonDS DS core installed in RetroArch (the one that has DS twice in the name, it's the better one imo)
2. Download the bios files required for DSi emulation from this page (you will need to find NAND versions for the region matching the version you get) I've not been able to find a working Japan NAND and any help finding one will be appreciated.
3. You will need to rename the files according to what the Core Information page for the core in RetroArch says. With the core loaded go to Information -> Core Information from the menu to see it.
4. The bios files go into your RetroArch System directory (C:\RetroArch-Win64\system if on Windows with default install location)
5. In Core Options for MelonDS make sure that Boot Mode is set to Direct instead of Native in the System section.
6. Load the zip containing the .nds file and the game should boot up and play fine.

Included are .cia versions that can be installed on a custom firmware enabled 3DS using FBI.

Download Links​

• Soul of Darkness (DSiWare) NDS ROM

 

[Raiza33v]

THANKS GOD,,,,my request had been granted finally, hell yeah!!!

 

[Godmode]

Worked fine for me using the MelonDS DS core in RetroArch. 10 of the screenshots are ones I took using it. You have to follow the instructions I gave in order to get all the system files it needs to work. There's like 4 bios files you need for DSi emulation to function. The files are different than standard DS bios

im obviously doing something wrong but its ok.

 

[Raytheon]

i think it's insane how gameloft was basically just 'we will make shitty versions of real games but they actually aren't that shitty'

the unsung heroes of the early mobile generation

It's a bloody shame so few of their catalogue was ported into WiiWare.

 

[omerKar]

when mom tells you:" you have Castlevania at home"

 

[keyblader1985]

I remember this; it's short but I had fun with it. Back when Gameloft was known for doing knockoffs of popular series, like Crystal Monsters.

 

[CSmith327]

I had bought this back in the day for the DSi after playing the Java version. Not very different tbh but the second screen helps, not a bat game at all, just a bit linear. I remember also downloading it on the 3DS and the scaling made it look terrible.

If you press and hold start or select on a 3DS when a DS game is launching it'll make the screen be at pixel perfect 1:1 screen size. Not a lot of people seemed to notice that, but it really makes the games look a shit ton better than letting it blur out by resizing it. It works for R4 flashcarts and regular DS cartridges too

 

[Kage-Maru]

I had bought this back in the day for the DSi after playing the Java version. Not very different tbh but the second screen helps, not a bat game at all, just a bit linear. I remember also downloading it on the 3DS and the scaling made it look terrible.

 

[Felipe]

Just finished the game, it has 11 levels, here are my opinions:

The Good:

1 - Good graphics.
2 - Fun to play.
3 - Music kinda reminds of a castlevania.
4 - The way you level up your stuff is cool.
5 - Apparently infinite continues allow you to keep going close to where you died.

The Bad:

1 - Man, the writing seems to be done by a 10 year old or someone close to that age.
2 - The jump: you'll need to press the jump button first, then the d-pad to move to the place you want.
3 - No saves aside save states if you wanna keep your progress. Strangely the game (maybe fault of melonDS, no retroarch here) reports that the savegame is corrupted??? I didnt find any place to save in-game or out-game.

It would be nice to have a sub-section to DSiware stuff, just saying.

 

[pawaclutter]

i think it's insane how gameloft was basically just 'we will make shitty versions of real games but they actually aren't that shitty'

the unsung heroes of the early mobile generation

 

[CSmith327]

not even working on melon for me.

Worked fine for me using the MelonDS DS core in RetroArch. 10 of the screenshots are ones I took using it. You have to follow the instructions I gave in order to get all the system files it needs to work. There's like 4 bios files you need for DSi emulation to function. The files are different than standard DS bios

 

[Godmode]

No, Drastic doesn't have DSi support. Like I just said like an hour ago the only current emulators that support DSi emulation are MelonDS (and it's two cores in RetroArch) and no$GBA

not even working on melon for me.

 

[FLABBY]

Played the java version aaaaages ago when I was a lad. Wonder if this version's any better.

 

[brunobelo]

This is a really cool game, I have played it back in the day. It's a competent Castlevania clone, but the controls are a little stiff. But the same is really great.

 

[CSmith327]

Does this work on drastic?

No, Drastic doesn't have DSi support. Like I just said like an hour ago the only current emulators that support DSi emulation are MelonDS (and it's two cores in RetroArch) and no$GBA

 

[shinobimerc]

Does this work on drastic?

 

[Felipe]

desmume has no DSi support whatsoever. Only MelonDS and no$GBA do. But no$GBA sucks ass and all the no$ emus are terrible since they focus on debugging instead of playability

I see, thanks for the tip. For some reason i thought desmume had support for it. I'll have a try with melonDS to see if i'm able to run it.

 

[CSmith327]

Anyone was able to run this on desmume? If so what bios did you use?

desmume has no DSi support whatsoever. Only MelonDS and no$GBA do. But no$GBA sucks ass and all the no$ emus are terrible since they focus on debugging instead of playability

 

[Felipe]

Anyone was able to run this on desmume? If so what bios did you use?

 

[CSmith327]

If DSware games are having backups, there is hope for that four sword zelda game to be backed, lets go!!!

Already did. It was the first DSi title I added. Search for Four Swords and you'll find it

Post automatically merged: Mar 28, 2026

These DSIWare Games works on R4 SDHC in DSi Xl? In my tests, unfortunately, all the ones I tested show an error when starting, is there any specific procedure?

I think R4 cards aren't capable of playing DSiWare at all. No matter if you convert them to raw .NDS files or not. The only way to play backed up DSiWare titles on a real DSi is to use a tool called NAND Title Manager and install the backups of them onto your device NAND storage. But I don't think you can use the .nds converted versions for that. You need to find the decrypted data of the game that's extracted out into a folder with the game files in it. I believe there are pages on archive.org that have those. I could be wrong and maybe you can use .nds files with NTM tho. I use a 3DS instead of a DSi. The files in all these posts are for playing them with either MelonDS or a 3DS with custom firmware.

Post automatically merged: Mar 28, 2026

Images are too blurry

Ten of these are the official screenshots taken from the Nintendo page for the game and 10 of them were taken by me and set to match the resolution. Sorry for how tiny they are. The DS has a tiny resolution even with both screens combined

 

[Tumsfestival]

These DSI uploads are killer! Thank you!

 

[CanAvar]

I wish this game would be released on the Switch!

 

[fiskburk]

If DSware games are having backups, there is hope for that four sword zelda game to be backed, lets go!!!

 

[Raytheon]

Played the Java version of this game before. It's a great Castlevania clone.

 

[Xdqwerty Xdqwerty]

Images are too blurry

 

[Felipe]

A castlevania's clone? Almost approved. I need to play to confirm this. Thanks for it.