Review Surfing – Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
October 28, 2008 by Mike
More and more critics are speaking up about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. What’s interesting is that many of these staunch critics are known to be rather stingy in praise and generous in handing out censure (i.e. Destructoid, 1UP). Upon playing the franchise’s third installment for the Nintendo DS, the curmudgeons are now singing a different tune.
Are you wondering what the pernickety game journos are saying about Order of Ecclesia? Look no further—we being you several raves from the harshest known critics known to gaming.
The character artwork is fantastic.
1UP: (91%) “Sure, the level designs, bosses, and narrative all feel a lot more traditional as you ascend toward the castle’s shadowy, bat-filled parapet, but Ecclesia’s refreshing gameplay changes give this Castlevania an addictive edge that was absent in Konami’s previous DS effort, Portrait of Ruin. With this game, series director Koji Igarashi proves that he can still breathe new life into this long-running, often self-cannibalizing franchise.”
Destructoid: (90%) “Order of Ecclesia isn’t a move forward towards a bigger and more complicated Castlevania, but instead reaches a hand out to those who may have abandoned the series when it lost its action-oriented focus. Everything that makes Castlevania what it is; huge bosses, monster slaughtering, as well as weapon gathering and castle raiding, is all here, and it’s done spectacularly.”
Game Informer: (83%) “In many ways, this new 2D riff on Castlevania delivers everything a Belmont fan could want. On the other hand, it’s yet another iteration of Symphony of the Night’s decade-old design, and the brutally difficult boss battles leave little room for casual players to jump on the Castlevania train.”
As you may have noticed, Daily Nintendo has already weighed in on Order of Ecclesia. While Order of Ecclesia may be derivative of 1997’s Symphony of the Night, the quality of this latest installment can’t be ignored. Let’s just hope that succeeding follow-ups would introduce changes to the aging formula. For now, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is the DS game to own.
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[...] and effort is the recently-released Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS. The critics loved it, and so did we. Perhaps the only major complaint that could be leveled against Order of Ecclesia [...]