Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

"The third Castlevania for the DS..."

-Gameplay: Overall 9/10

Controls: 10/10

Your standard Castlevania controls with a few tweaks. B to jump, X,Y, and R to use various Glyphs (more on that later), L to back dash, etc. The A button is used to sort between three sets of Glyphs once the feature is unlocked (relatively early in the game).

Battle System: 8/10

The battle system employs magical symbols called Glyphs. These Glyphs take various forms, such as a sword or an axe, or are elemental magical attacks. There are also support Glyphs that allow for things such as increased speed and attack strength. You can mix and match various Glyphs to fit your playing style, which adds some amount of customization. However, using two of the same Glyph works all too well. Using Glyphs takes MP, which regenerates fairly quickly when not in use. Glyph Union attacks can also be used and use up Hearts (another meter not related to HP or MP) and MP. Glyph Union attacks vary based on the Glyphs combined, which adds a bit more customization, but unfortunately this feature takes a hit since: A) The attacks are only slightly stronger than the individual attacks in most cases, B) Hearts take far too long to replenish during levels, and C) there are only so many combination attacks.

Level Design: 8/10

Most of the levels are designed well, with various enemies and multiple routes to explore. A few of the levels are fairly linear, with one even being literally just 3 connected rooms side by side.

Enemy Design: 9/10

Many old enemies are remade in this one (including the enemies everyone loves; Cave Trolls, Imps and flying Medusa heads), along with multiple other new faces. Most of the bosses in this game are a bit intimidating and present a good challenge. Some of the more challenging boss fights are only so because of the lazy decision to vamp up their HP, but it's a challenge nonetheless.

-Story: 6/10

The story is quite...mediocre to say the least. While there are some plot twists and the like, overall the story can be summarized (albeit crudely) as: "A member of an organization sets out to vanquish Dracula".

-Graphics: 9/10

Nice background, boss, and sprite designs that vary fairly well. No complaints here.

-Sound: 8/10

The music is nice, but not quite as good as other Castlevania titles. The monsters in the game each have their own sounds and voices, some more creepy and annoying than others, but fit generally well. No voice acting during cutscenes of course, but the characters sometimes utter various phrases of dialogue. Of course, this can get very annoying if you die over and over on a boss, which you're likely to do the first time around.

-Play Time/Replayability: 8/10

The initial storyline only takes so long to complete, maybe 8 hours or so give or take a couple of hours. Of course, there's much to do endgame, such as leveling, completing the maps and bestiary, and collecting items. Upon beating the game Hard Mode and Albus (another main character) Mode are unlocked, which add to the replayablity. You can also choose to restart the game with everything from the past file sans important abilities required to progress through the game, which is fun in itself since you can utterly destroy the enemies you may have had trouble with before.



-Overall: 8.5/10 rounded up to 9/10*

The game is, simply put, fun, and it'll last you a decent amount of time for your money. The graphics are great and the sound is all right. The story is...forgettable, but I weighted it as quite a bit less since really, who plays a Castlevania game for the story? Especially considering the last boss is always the same guy...

*For overall totals I didn't just straight up take the average of the scores. Some categories are more important than others...

-Final Recommendation: The game is definitely worth buying.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/08

Game Release: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (US, 10/21/08)