Today, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. announced the development of the upcoming Nintendo DS Action roleplaying game, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. This title was once again created by Koji Igarashi, and developed by the same team that worked on the first Castlevania DS title.

The story follows two main characters, vampire hunter Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Orlean - a young girl with tremendous magical abilities, during World War II. Many lost souls are wandering the world as this conflict has left them in search of salvation. Desperate to remove themselves from torment, they seek to reconstruct Dracula's castle, with the help of two vampiress sisters. This leaves Jonathon and Charlotte to save the world from impending doom and quash the evil uprising.

"For 20 years, the Castlevania series has set the standard for excellence and innovation in the action genre, and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin continues this trend with all-new features that expand the handheld gaming genre," said Dennis Lee, Group Manager at Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "The game's two different characters give players unprecedented variety in completing their quest, while the expanded battle system makes it more fun to take on Dracula's minions."

Players can freely switch between the two main characters at will, each with their own set of abilities and skills that may be useful in certain situations. This title introduces powerful summon attacks, where both characters unleash the strongest of their attacks to defeat over 100 different enemies and bosses. So far, only two areas available for exploration have been mentioned: A desert area and a place called Misty Town. The last bit of information unveiled is that players will be able to collect weapons and items as they battle across the world, being able to level up their characters and give them new abilities and skills.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin has been given release dates so far in North America and Europe, though they're only generalized as Fall 2006 and November 2006, respectively, at the moment. Though the new site has yet to be opened, Konami mentions that the official site for this game will be located on the official Castlevania site. Given the announcement, only a couple weeks before E3, readers should expect more information shortly.