A comeback to more difficult gaming is what the series on the whole needed to keep it going. Beautiful and innovative.
Castlevania happens long before the most recent games in the series, in the 1800's or so. The Belmont clan has disappeared and with them the legendary whip, the Vampire Killer. To find new ways to get rid of the perpetual Dracula, various organizations have been formed. Order of Ecclesia is one of the most prominent ones, making glyphs to battle the forces of evil. However, these glyphs aren't enough to defeat Dracula. The leader of Ecclesia, Barlowe, then stumbled upon a solution: "Dominus". You play Shanoa, a young woman who is supposedly the only one who can harbour the power of Dominus. Albus, her colleague, was furious when he heard he was not the one who would control Dominus. He steals Dominus, taking Shanoa's memories with him, and thus begins Shanoa's quest to regain Dominus, and more importantly, her memories. Additionally, Albus has imprisoned the villagers of a small town, who you will have to save to progress in the game.
Castlevania has always been slightly more flash than substance as of late. This is not a bad thing if it is executed well, but having a good story is better than none. This is something Ecclesia succeeds in doing. The story isn't at the level of a best-selling novel, but it does a good job in making it interesting. The characters are well-made, the script is clean and understandable and the environments coalesce with what is happening perfectly.
The gameplay of Castlevania has changed over the ages, from subweapons, to souls, to even more subweapons. Ecclesia takes a different approach, introducing glyphs to the world. Glyphs are basically a amalgamate of subweapons and standard ones. Glyphs can be assigned to two buttons, and using them one after another can make you chain attacks. Shanoa has a superior MP-regeneration rate, which coincides with the fact that each glyph costs a bit of MP when it is used. You can also set a glyph on the R button, which causes a continuous effect until you are struck by an enemy. Finally, by pressing up+X you perform a Union glyph, a combination of the glyphs you are equipped with. These cost hearts, which are again used for the first time since Harmony of Dissonance. Union glyphs are large, powerful attacks that can often mean the difference between life and death.
Using glyphs takes some time to get used to, especially those who changed the control scheme to the standard A-jump, B-attack setting. However, when players become accustomed to the use of glyphs, it runs as smooth as you could hope for. It also adds some novelty to the old Castlevania formula.
Like most people have already heard of, Order of Ecclesia is more difficult than any of the other other handheld Castlevanias. This is truly an understatement. The enemies can be brutal, plentiful and in the most inopportune places. Also, recovery items are scarce and expensive in the shops. Money isn't as plentiful either and the gold coins of the previous games are completely gone. The difficulty of the enemies pale, however, in comparison to the bosses. Except for the first boss, all of the other bosses are incredibly powerful, with a lot of HP and a plethora of different attacks.
Order of Ecclesia also does what the Castlevania series has been waiting so long for, but that is renovation. A lot of the games enemies are completely new or taken from older games, for example Symphony of the Night. That isn't the only renovation, either. For the first time in ages, you venture outside of a castle and into the wilderness. There is a village/hub where you can talk to villagers you have saved from Albus' magic, finish their special missions and go to the shop to buy some merchandise. You'll go to all kinds of places, swamps, ruins and even greater places that I will not reveal to readers for the sake of spoiling the story. The telltale save points and warp points are here as well, but the spacing of the save points is much larger than in other titles, making the game even more difficult.
In regards to the games overall look, it's not much different to the other DS installments. However, there are several noticeable points. Shanoa's jump is more natural looking, the enemies move slightly more fluid and the overall polish of the characters and enemies is more polished and smooth. While speaking to someone, the character pops up in full view while speaking, and their look has changed as well. Thankfully, Ecclesia doesn't have the bland anime look of Portrait of Ruin, going for a more realistic but artistic look.
The sound of Castlevania is and has always been unique. It has a medieval feel to it and sounds beautiful alongside the game itself. It is well implemented and will change at the right places. The verdict? The game's music is in one word incredible.
One of the most important parts of a game is whether or not playing the game through again is worthwhile. When finishing the game, you can play the game on the hard setting, either through a brand new game or a new game +, where almost everything is carried over. You can also set level caps to make it even more challenging. You can also go through the game in Albus mode, playing through Albus' part of the story. There's also Boss Rush mode, time trials where you fight the bosses of the game all in a row. Finally, there is a new Practice Mode, where you pit yourself against a legion of enemies to, well, practice. With all this, it is almost impossible not to find something to do after the first playthrough.
All in all, the game is a raving success, thriving on it's heritage but still being something that feels completely fresh. Old Castlevania fans and new ones are sure to appreciate and love Order of Ecclesia, while new Castlevania players can see what Castlevania is all about. An incredible addition to anyone's DS library.
-Calvinsora