Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

"A change to the Castlevania formula: A look at the new Glyph system"

I am writing this under the assumption that you have played a Castlevania game before. If you haven't, quit reading and get your hands on either Portrait of Ruin or Dawn of Sorrow, both of which are incredibly good DS games. I am going to focus my attention on the new glyph system for the bulk of this review, then I'll discuss level design, difficulty, graphics, and sound.

The Glyph System aka the Gameplay 8/10

The glyph system works much like the soul collection system from DoS and AoS. You kill the bad guys until they drop a glyph at which point you absorb it. The biggest difference is that glyphs include both basic weapons and magic attacks. This means that you use magic for everything. This also means that the magic system and the heart system has changed from the previous games.

-The new magic system:
The new magic system works quite well. Your magic replenishes so fast you don't have to worry about running out. The weapons still fall into the same basic classes - short swords, long swords, broadswords, axes, hammers, bows, and introduces sickles (they work just like axes). The magic spells also fall into the same basic genres - fire, wind, ice, dark, and light. The glyphs can be cast very quickly, and there is no delay when you cast magic spells which is nice.

-The new heart system:
In the previous games, hearts were used for subweapon attacks and magic was reserved for powerful combo attacks. In this game these roles have been reversed. Magic covers all your basic attacks (main and sub-weapons), and hearts cover the powerful combo attacks. The big flaw here is that hearts don't replenish over time the way your magic does, or the way your magic did in previous games. I found myself stuck multiple times because I needed hearts to kill the enemies efficiently, but I needed 15 hearts to use a combo attack, but was only rewarded with 1 or 2 hearts after I killed said enemies. I never had this problem in previous games because my attacks that used hearts only ever used 2 or 3 hearts at a time. The other problem that is created by using more hearts then you can earn is that enemies and destroyable items will only drop money if you have full hearts. Since I almost never have full hearts, getting money has been a big problem, and with the difficultly of this game, I find myself needing that money to get potions and (ironically) heart restores.

Level Design 8/10

The levels are a little different than in the other Castlevania's. This game uses a world map system that actually has you exploring the country side, rather then just exploring Dracula's Castle. The game still has the Portrait of Ruin problem of having the same basic levels twice (ie, there are two underwater levels, two mountain levels, two forest levels, two destroyed village levels, etc.). I like the new level design, but it does play just like the old level design, which I also like, so take that for what you will.

Difficulty 7/10

This is really what has hurt this game the most. While I have enjoyed the challenge, when coupled with the new glyph system, the difficulty has really hurt the overall gameplay experience. The main problem is that by making the enemies harder, you need stronger attacks to kill them. To use these stronger attacks, you need hearts, which don't replenish. Since you're constantly running out of hearts, you are always picking up hearts, not money, but you need money because the bosses are tough, and you need either potions for extra health or heart restores for more hearts.... but you don't have any money because you've been collecting hearts... but you need the hearts because.... AAAHHHH. Ultimately it is a big nasty cycle that I blame on the difficulty, not the gylph system.

Graphics 9/10

This game looks better then the previous games in the DS series. While the graphics always look good in Castlevania games, the previous two had a problem with the enemies looking too childish. The best example is the maids from DoS and PoR that attack you with vacuum cleaners... really?... Anyway, the bad guys are more serious and the look is darker then the previous 2, which is a welcome improvement.

Sound 9/10

There is more talking in this game. The characters actually have a variety of sound clips rather then just one stale line over and over again. As for the music, it is as epic and grand as the previous games.

Overall 7/10

This is obviously not an average score, and I would rate it higher, but I hold Castlevania games to higher standards. While I like the game,

glyph system + increased difficulty != great Castlevania experience I have come to expect

Even though it didn't work too well in this game, I think the glyph system could be used again in other Castlevania games, but it does need some work.

On a different note:
Does anybody remember when these game were played with WHIPS... WHERE DID THE WHIPS GO???!!! BRING BACK THE WHIPS!!!! I love Castlevania, but seriously... I want to play one with a whip again...

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/08

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