Reviews – Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)

Get ready for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, the long-running franchise’s third installment for the Nintendo DS. The game takes place after the events of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. For some strange reason, the Belmonts have disappeared, leaving no one to oppose Count Dracula and his dark minions. Enter the Order of Ecclesia, which somehow found a way to fight the undying vampire.

Like every Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night, Order of Ecclesia mixes adventure and RPG elements. This time, however, new elements come into play. The Glyph combat system, for instance, replaces the use of physical weapons and changes the way magic is used to great effect. Instead of buying arms from a shopkeeper, they can be gained by absorbing new Glyphs.

As for magic, the combat system still uses a limited number of MP, but it now regenerates after a brief period and can be assigned to the two attack buttons (X or Y). The special attacks are no longer tied MP. Instead, the special attacks only use up hearts. The tweaks work beautifully, creating a balanced system that changes the way the game is played.

Another interesting change is the use of dual weapons. As Castlevania fans may remember, protagonists can be armed with a range of weapons, but they can only be used one at a time. In Order of Ecclesia, Shanoa, the protagonist, can wield two weapons via the Glyphs that can be gathered in the course of the game. Like previous Castlevania games, the weapon speeds vary so players must be judicious in using the right weapon at the right time for the right enemy.

Because of this change to dual weapons, the ways that boss battles are fought have also changed. Attacks are no longer limited to timing, but the fights have definitely become more engaging.

Of course, Order of Ecclesia wouldn’t be Castlevania without the free-roaming play that the franchise has adopted since Symphony of the Night. Take note that there are some differences that hearken back to the game’s older formulae. Instead of wandering around a huge castle and unlocking new paths whenever a new ability or weapon is gained, a new level is unlocked when one is successfully “cleared” by reaching its end. The free-roaming part comes in when Shanoa revisits levels every so often to unlock hidden secrets, thanks to a newly-acquired ability.

This modified structure makes exploration much easier than the typical, open-ended castle whose only means of shortcuts are teleportation rooms. Of course, the teleportation rooms are still here, but since the levels are given in bite-sized chunks, exploration is much more manageable.

Another aspect that makes exploration much easier this time around is the option to suspend a game like a quick save, until a player is ready to resume the adventure. Upon loading the quick save, the player is taken to the beginning of the last location before the game was suspended.

In a stroke of genius, Konami has finally returned the creepy visual style that Castlevania is known for. Order of Ecclesia looks appropriately dark and chilling. The hand-crafted artwork for the characters is particularly impressive, while the environments look utterly gorgeous and well-thought out. Order of Ecclesia looks so good it could serve as an argument that video games are indeed art. Adding to the creep factor is the fantastic audio that Castlevania is known for. The tunes are appropriately catchy, while the audio effects are certainly scary enough to cause shivers on one’s spine.

The only noteworthy “weakness” in Order of Ecclesia is its punishing, Contra-4-esque, hurl-the-DS-to-the-wall, tear-one’s-hair-off difficulty that can frustrate even the staunchest of Castlevania fans. Players will die in this game, and they will die often. From stage bosses that seemingly have no discernible pattern to deviously-designed levels that could make chest hair sprout for even the differently-hirsute.

Despite its unearthly difficulty, Order of Ecclesia is arguably the best Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night. If there is one DS game that shouldn’t be missed in 2008, it’s this. The shelf life is also quite considerable, thanks to extras like a boss rush mode, wireless/WFC race, and shop mode—in addition to the multiple playthroughs that the game demands. As of this writing, however, the action is still a bit hard to come by over at WFC. The Nintendo DS may have a fair number of good games this year, but not this good. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is a must-own, must-play, and must-finish sort of game.

9/10

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