castle's chaos. Soma's second appearance is in Dawn of Sorrow, where he returns into battle to combat Celia Fortner's cult, which seeks to kill Soma and revive the dark lord. Although Soma believes that his powers have been lost, they awaken, and he proceeds to a replica of Dracula's castle in order to confront Celia's cult. In the castle, Soma learns of the "dark lord's candidates", who were born on the day of Dracula's demise and possess supernatural powers as a result. Soma manages to best the first candidate, Dmitrii Blinov, although he inadvertently absorbs Dmitrii's soul in the process. Soma proceeds to defeat Dario Bossi in two instances, stripping him of his power after the conclusion of their second fight. As a result, Celia slays a doppelgänger of Mina to induce Soma to become the dark lord, but fails due to a talisman Mina gave him earlier in the game. Dmitrii's soul escapes from Soma's body into the doppelgänger, and he increases his powers, having copied Soma's power of dominance. Soma manages to defeat his monstrous form "Menace", and realizes at the end of the game that his fate is his own to determine. Soma additionally appears in the "Julius Mode" found in Dawn of Sorrow, where the storyline follows the assumption that Soma succumbed to his darker nature and became the new dark lord. He is the final boss of Julius Mode. Reception Soma's character has received praise and criticism from several video game publications. GameSpy noted that although Soma fell into the stereotypical role of "an effeminate-looking man who does all the slaying", the original scenario that Aria of Sorrow presented provided a better context for his character. The fact that Soma was not a member of the Belmont clan, the protagonists of most Castlevania games, was lauded by IGN and RPGamer, with the latter commenting on how it contributed to the "depth" of the storyline. The manner in which Soma's "power of dominance" translated into the Tactical Soul system featured in both games was widely acclaimed; IGN commented that it contributed "significantly" to the overall feel of Aria of Sorrow, and RPGamer celebrated the "triumphant return" of the Tactical Soul system in Dawn of Sorrow. Reviewers also complimented Soma's graphical representation. GameSpy noted the "good animation on easily viewable sprites" in Aria of Sorrow, and GameSpot called the graphics in Dawn of Sorrow "intricate and gorgeous",