The Castlevania series has had a long history. Releasing on the original NES back in the 1980s, the series has undergone multiple evolutions, and was one of the two series that established the "Metroidvania" genre of video games. With games like Symphony of the Night being known as an all time classic, the series has made quite the name for itself over the years. So when the series made the jump to the Nintendo DS, it wasn't too surprising to see games follow in SotN's legendary footsteps.
But then something changed.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia was the final Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS, and is a main title in the Dominus Collection. Produced by Koji Igarashi, the game featured a brand new female protagonist, and altered the "Metroidvania" style fans had come to know and love. Along with these changes came the introduction of new gameplay mechanics, and a setup that required long time fans to rethink the way they played the series. Thanks to this, the game itself is one of the more unique titles within Castlevania, and one of the more challenging ones.
With the game's rerelease within the Dominus Collection, and with it being spooky season, I felt now would be the perfect time to dive into the game, and see what makes it tick. While many fans may have missed out on it the first time around due to it being a DS exclusive, that thankfully is no longer the case.
The Story of the Order of Ecclesia:
As the name of the game suggests, Order of Ecclesia follows the story of the Order of Ecclesia; a group that has formed to protect the world from evil.
Many years ago, Dracula was defeated, but his evil powers continued to exist and influence the world. With the fear of his eventual return, and after the disappearance of the Belmont clan which had always stepped up to take out Dracula when the need arose, The Order of Ecclesia was created to stand in the clan's place. Using powerful "Glyphs," magical symbols that contain the energy of all living things, the clan fought against evil, and eventually developed the ultimate Glyph. The "Dominus."
By using the Dominus, Dracula would be able to be destroyed once and for all, but it required a user to inherit the power first. This is where our main character Shanoa comes into play. Destined to be the user of the Dominus, Shanoa answers the call of her master to come and obtain the power, but instead she's met by a surprising sight. Her "brother" Albus.
Once a member of the Order of Ecclesia himself, Albus has now betrayed the organization, taken the Dominus for himself, taken the villagers hostage, and released Dracula's minions once again. With his ultimate goal of reviving Dracula himself, Shanoa takes it upon herself to track him down, take back the Dominus, and ultimately save the world. Of course that's all going to be easier said than done.
The story itself is mostly told through a few cutscenes at the beginning of the game, and through the villagers that are rescued. Overall there isn't a lot of story scenes to the game, but there are more than enough to provide context to what is going on. The main form of storytelling actually comes from environmental ques, and from the bosses themselves. Overall the plot is about stopping Dracula's return, but there's still a bit more going on than meets the eye. That being said, gameplay is the main focus here, so people shouldn't go into this one expecting the greatest story of all time. This is Castlevania, and it doesn't stray too far from it's roots.
The Gameplay:
Order of Ecclesia's gameplay is that of a 2D action platforming game, with a high focus on combat and survival. The game has an equipment and level up system, where you get stronger from killing enemies, but it's not simply a game where you can brute force your way through. Instead the game makes full use of the "glyph" system, which allows Shanoa to absorb powers from enemies to unlock new abilities. These new abilities can be in the form of attacks, or they can allow her to pull off special moves like being able to transform into a cat person. With the game allowing you three skill sets to swap between at any time, with each skill set containing three glyph slots, Shanoa has access to nine abilities at any given time, and they become key to survival.
Instead of following a standard level layout, or the more open maps of previous Castlevania titles, Order of Ecclesia opts to go for a mixture of the two styles. Areas appear on the map for you to travel to, and each area contains multiple paths and hidden collectibles to find. Sometimes your way will be blocked until you obtain an ability from another area in the game, but most of the time they are self contained mazes of sorts. Each area is also unique with a different theme, such as an underwater stage, and each comes complete with a challenging boss to take down in the end.
The game itself is not an easy game, and it actually expects players to take the time to figure out what enemies are weak against. Even simple enemies that are a dime a dozen can one shot kill you if you aren't paying attention, and you must constantly remain on guard for the unexpected. Now days this is a pretty common theme in the "souls like" genre, but it was a newer concept back in 2008 when the game first released. Of course knowing and understanding this playstyle now days doesn't make it any easier, as Order of Ecclesia does not hold your hand at all.
Not only does the game leave it up to the player to experiment with the dozens of skills and abilities to figure out what works, but an energy limit prevents you from freely abusing them. A stronger attack that ultimately doesn't work will leave you with your energy drained, and will allow the enemy to destroy you in no time. On the other hand, an effective move that doesn't use as much energy can be exactly what you need to win. The problem is, if you aren't aware of your surroundings, even testing abilities can lead to your death. It's not as big of a deal against a boss with a save point outside of it, but in the levels with standard enemies can cause you to replay the last 20 minutes if you're not careful.
With that being said, it is still fun to test out different glphys to see what they can do, and mixing different ones together will allow Shanoa to pull off an additional special magical attack as well. These too can become key in winning fights, with at least one fight in the game requiring it. Of course, that's another challenge the game will throw at you.
While most games have bosses you simply have to kill, Order of Ecclesia likes to throw puzzles into the boss fights themselves. Not only do you need to figure out what works best against a boss, but you also need to realize if it's even a real fight or not. There are multiple points in the game where specific actions must be taken to win, and the game is not always clear about this. It happens during exploration as well, as there will be roadblocks that you can overcome even if you don't realize it, but boss fight puzzles can waste your time if you're not careful. Instead of dying over and over again to a boss, sometimes it's better to sit back and think about your options before you try again.
As for the weapons and abilities themselves, Shanoa will be able to use a wide variety of tools, such as swords, knives, hammers, axes, magical blasts, and more. She is very versatile, and can be customized to fit each player's individual play style. Even if there is a weapon or magic attack that you don't like, there's always an alternative to it as well. The game's made to be challenging, and made to force you into trying different things, but it doesn't make you do anything you don't like.
For long time fans, Order of Ecclesia will have a lot of familiar sights and enemies to take on, but that familiarity will not be enough to make the game any easier. It doesn't matter if you are a newcomer or long time fan; Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is a challenging game, and that challenge will provide countless hours of fun.
Extra Content:
Order of Ecclesia offers quite a few extras during it's main adventure, as well as for it's post game. Villagers rescued during the game will provide side quests to take on, and there are plenty of hidden glphys to discover. Of course you can also work on leveling Shanoa up to the level cap, but the game's made to level you naturally as you progress.
When it comes to post game, an extra character is unlocked, and said character has a completely different playstyle from that of Shanoa. There's also harder challenge modes to take on, so there is plenty to keep everyone busy after the credits roll.
Should you play it?
If you are a fan of 2D side scrollers, action adventure games, love exploration based gameplay, and are looking for a good challenge? Then Castlevania: Order of Ecclessia is the perfect game for you. Everything the game does, it does very well, and there isn't anything fundamentally wrong with it. Can it be frustrating at times? Of course it can be! But does that make it a bad game? No, it does not.
As long as everyone going into Order of Ecclesia realizes that this game is a challenge, then there really shouldn't be any complaints. Some areas are obviously easier than others, but overall the game maintains a good balance, and features natural progression. To reach the game's final area does take a bit of work, but it doesn't ask you to do anything outside of the game's main exploration aspect. It's nothing cryptic like Castlevania II, but it does require paying attention and searching every nook and cranny. Of course now days it's easy to look up the answer online, but those who rather experience it themselves will eventually do so given enough time. The combat can also take some time to fully figure out, but with so many options available, the game really does have something for everyone.
While the original game is harder, the Dominus Collection adds in the ability to create save states and rewind time. This means you can save during challenging bosses, or even rewind time if you get hit or make a fatal mistake. This effectively allows anyone to finish the game given enough time and patients, but the features are completely optional. If someone wants to play through the game as originally intended, that's something they can do. And if someone is afraid of trying the game simply because of that challenge? They can have comfort in knowing that they can cheat death as much as they want. They're great features to have for sure, and makes the game much more accessible.
Overall Order of Ecclessia is a great entry within the Castlevania series, and Shanoa herself is an interesting character. She might not be a Belmont, but she's a great character all on her own. Again if you are a fan of 2D side scrolling games and like a challenge, then this is the game for you. I strongly recommend it.
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