Review

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS)

The Fight Against Dracula Continues

Game Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Genre(s) Action

Name: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Genre: Action/Platformer
Platform: Nintendo DS

The Castlevania series is one of the most unique long-running franchises in video game history. In addition to being incredibly prolific, spanning over two decades and numerous consoles and handhelds, it has somehow managed to remain fresh and enjoyable no matter how many depressingly-subtitled installments come out. Sure, not every Castlevania title ever made has been a winner, but for the most part, they have been solid, with the recent DS installments in particular garnering much critical acclaim. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is no exception, being possibly the best handheld game in the series yet. Though I worried that, by now, the formula of exploring rooms on the ever-present quest to destroy Dracula may have gotten stale, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is an incredibly fun game that fans of the franchise will definitely want to spend time with.

For those who haven’t played a game in the Castlevania series recently, some things have changed since the days of old-school vampire hunting. Ever since the landmark installment Symphony of the Night came out on the PS1, the franchise has managed to blend aspects of action, platforming, and role-playing games, a combination that has worked out really well. Order of Ecclesia has not strayed from this working formula, although it has made some changes since the last game in the series, Portrait of Ruin. For one thing, Order of Ecclesia strays from the standard castle setting with many different environments to explore, like mountains, underwater caverns, and old churches, to name a few. Another notable difference is the lack of collectable weapons, which have been replaced by the new glyph system. The glyphs are directly tied to the game’s plot and make equipping weapons and spells a bit different than it has been in prior installments.

Shanoa, the game’s protagonist, is a member of the Order of Ecclesia, an organization dedicated to eradicating Dracula. Shanoa is the Order’s best hope of accomplishing this, as she has been chosen as the human vessel for the Dominus, three powerful glyphs that Ecclesia hopes can be used to defeat the Count. Unfortunately, the glyphs are stolen by Albus, another member of the Order, leaving Shanoa with a bad case of amnesia and a mission to find Albus. On her way, she encounters many different, less powerful glyphs that serve as her weapons and magical powers throughout the game. After absorbing the glyphs, Shanoa then wields that particular ability.

The glyph system is probably the most interesting addition to the game and has good and bad points. Shanoa can equip three glyphs at once and swap between combinations easily, and for the most part, I really liked collecting and combining glyphs to see what worked best with different foes. However, I can’t say I was thrilled about the lack of actual weapons to buy or find. Since some of the glyphs essentially serve the same purpose, taking the form of swords, axes, lances, and the like, I would have rather just collected them the old-fashioned way—especially considering that the use of a weapon now takes up MP. This isn’t a big deal, as MP replenishes automatically (assuming you’re not cursed), and after a while I got used to not being able to go to the town store and buy more powerful weapons.

Most Castlevania games, even the ones on handheld systems, have managed to look and sound fantastic, and Order of Ecclesia is no exception. The game is beautiful, even compared to Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, which were also very nice-looking DS games. Order of Ecclesia trumps them both graphically and is probably one of the best-looking games on the system. I don’t always notice the soundtrack in games, but like I said, the music is definitely memorable in this series. The harmony always sets the mood perfectly, and the sound effects are great as well. Certain details, like a lonely ghost moaning “Where are you, beloved?” or Shanoa’s cries when being attacked, really stand out. Of course, there are times when the effects get repetitive, but overall, the sounds of Order of Ecclesia are remarkably good.

Even though Ecclesia allows Shanoa to get out of the drab castle setting and explore multiple environments, the basic formula is still the same: search every room from top to bottom, taking out constantly-respawning enemies, trying to find hidden items and areas, and surviving a boss fight or two. In addition to finding Albus and the three glyphs of the Dominus, Shanoa also must rescue villagers from a local town, most of whom serve some purpose upon being rescued. Some, like the shop owner or armor maker, allow for better products to be made available for purchase, while others, like an old woman with a sketch pad, give you separate and optional side quests to complete for additional collectables. Rescuing and helping out the villagers is beneficial, and also adds another layer of challenge to the game, which helps keep the franchise from feeling stale.

While the exploration is just as addictive as it has ever been, there were a few locations that seemed completely unnecessary and felt a bit tedious. Luckily, there are not many of these, but you’ll know them when you see them—they literally consist of walking from one end of an area to another, with no platforming, secrets, or any interesting characteristics whatsoever. It’s odd, because most of the levels are very well designed, so to reach places that seem to have no thought put into them is a little disconcerting—why not just leave them out entirely? It’s not a major complaint, and there are still enemies to kill and experience to gain from going through, I just wish every locale had been given the same attention.

The Castlevania series is one that has always had notable difficulty, and Order of Ecclesia continues this tradition. Though not comparable to the early and brutally unforgiving installments in the series, Ecclesia is definitely a challenging game. Unfortunately, there are some points where the game crosses the line from challenging to frustrating. Boss fights are sometimes poorly and unfairly designed, and health items are expensive and rare. You have to collect a bunch of items just for healing potions and food to be available from the town store, and while there is a save point before every boss fight, you should expect to get killed quite a bit. That being said, the difficulty makes it all the more satisfying every time a difficult foe is defeated.

After having enjoyed the last two DS games in the Castlevania series, Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, I really wasn’t sure if Order of Ecclesia would be able to hold my attention. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this game, and there are so many things to love about it. Excellent visuals and sound aside, the gameplay is just as great as any Castlevania has been in the last ten years. It’s no Symphony of the Night, but it’s still pretty damn great. It’s not easy to keep a franchise going strong for over twenty years, let alone putting out installments on a handheld system that are legitimate and worthy entries in the series, but Konami has managed to pull it off once again with Order of Ecclesia.