Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

—Review Score: 8/10—

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for Nintendo DS is a new iteration of Konami’s staple 2D action game. Incorporating most of the features in previous Castlevania, this game is very familiar to the veterans.

Gameplay is the meat and potato of any game, and OoE delivers itself pretty well in this department. Utilizing battle system similar to Dawn of Sorrow, with interchangeable glyph as weapon/skill, OoE is fun to play. The glyphs can also be combined to create more powerful techniques/attacks. However, the use of glyph forego any weapon in this game, so no almighty Belmont whip for this time…

An improvement over other Castlevania title is the areas of game, OoE features several areas instead of only Dracula’s castle. All this exciting gameplay element gets better with the inclusion of another playable scenario and multiple ending as Castlevania titles usually have. Various New Game+ modes also adds on the replayability value. Not to forget that OoE is very punishing for new players, the difficulty of this game is considerably higher than previous Castlevania titles in NDS.

OoE boasts 2D graphics with pretty good sprites and good artworks on the characters. This formula is certainly interesting for old school gamers. One gripe is that the weapon models are not as many as previous Castlevania titles. The audio is pretty decent for an NDS game. There are several memorable BGM tracks. However, the voice acting is not the best they can be, although a Japanese voice option is always a fresh thing to have.

On the down side, the storyline is not that appealing. The main character is no longer a Belmont clan. Instead, we get Shanoa, a girl with special power that can harness the power of glyphs. Shanoa is a part of Order of Ecclesia, a religious sect trying to prevent Dracula’s resurrection during the absence of Belmont clan. The story is not that intriguing, but it’s still managed to be interesting in such a way.

Considering all the aspect, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is a great title for Nintendo DS with exciting gameplay, punishing difficulty, and old school visual appeal. This game is a fine title for 2D action lovers.

(Picture Credit: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Official Site)