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I say that with a little hesitation because Symphony of the Night (referred to from here on as SOTN) is such an amazing game. But having recently played Dawn of Sorrow (referred to from here on as DOS) and Portrait of Ruin (referred to from here on as POR), I can safely say this is the best Castlevania on the DS, and safely say it's the best 2-d Castlevania since SOTN, possibly the best ever... possibly. But that depends on what you are looking for. I've played nearly every Castlevania since being hooked on the very first release on the NES when I was 10 or so. Castlevania 2 was one of my favorite games as a kid and I still enjoy playing the first 4 games on an emulator.
Ecclesia is an amazing Castlevania title that really ramps up the difficulty from the previous two DS installments. The music and sound effects are definitely the best of any Castlevania on a portable system, the tunes are much catchier than DOS and POR. The other big plus is the story, which is pretty fantastic. It's full of the usual twists and drama, but done in a very tasteful way without too much melodrama. With lots of fun side quests and optional dungeons towards the end of the game, replay is pretty high. Plus there are tons of hidden items and chests, which makes this a real treat for completion freaks. And it does track everything so that you know when you have completed the side quests, monster appendix, glyph list, and item lists. YES!
The single most amazing part of this game is the glyph system. It's virtually flawless. You can steal demon attacks by stealing their glyphs. This can be done in one of two ways: either taking the glyph that sometimes appears when you beat a certain type of demon, or stealing a glyph that a demon or boss is currently charging to attack. For example, one particular glyph can only be taken from a VERY tough boss later in the game, and you can't get it after you beat him. He doesn't always use it, and when he does it charges very quickly. So he's already tough to beat, but trying to get in close and take the glyph in time adds an extra level of difficulty. Now once you get various glyphs, you set them into particular slots. And every attack you use takes some MP (which charges up at a stately pace). So even your normal attacks are glyphs. Want to use a knife? We have a glyph for that. Want to use an axe? Hey, we gotta glyph for that! Shoot lightning bolts? We got an app... I mean glyph for that!
You can eventually pull stronger glyphs later on. So you can have a more powerful version of the axe glyph, or the rapier glyph. And then there are some glyphs with do other things, such as flying or turning into smoke. Fun! There are a ton of glyphs, and they allow the player to tweak their character to their style. Later you can have up to three glyph settings that you can change to on the fly. Useful.
The other feature that I love is that you have a pretty open ended exploration of the countryside. As you advance the story, new areas open up, and you can select an area to go to once you leave the area you are in. There is a village which you will come to be familiar with, and you 'free' the townspeople as you travel and they offer quests or shops in exchange. Some of the quests might be 'take a picture of this monster or demon' or 'return my cat' or 'find x number of this material'. As you advance further in these quests, more armor, items, accessories, and other special things come available. I love that you can 'find' the original Castlevania soundtrack and play it while playing the game.
There are also a couple of optional dungeons that you won't be able to complete until near the end of the game. They are tough, but they have some good rewards.
Speaking of rewards, there are a lot of hidden items in this game. More than any previous Castlevania I think. Many are found by pressing down on the cursor in suspicious areas. Others are found by breaking away blocks or walls. Then there are the other items which are in the open, just hard to reach.
Overall this game has more replay value than any other Castlevania title I have played. It's classic 2-D Castlevania, and Konami has definitely done justice to the series and given the long time fans something wonderful. New fans might be turned off by the difficulty, especially at first, but there are plenty of save points, usually near a boss, so it's never too frustrating.
Pros:
+ Music is among the best of any game on the DS. Period. Blows away POR and DOS.
+ Gameplay and control is exceptional, character moves fluidly; buttons can be customized.
+ Lots of replay, side quests galore, optional dungeons later on.
+ Massive amount of area to explore, various countryside locations in addition to the castle later on.
+ Overall pretty decent difficulty with some truly challenging boss battles... I mean PUNISHING boss battles.
+ Very nice game over screen. You will be seeing a fair amount of it.
+ Glyph system is one of the most creative, fun, and customizable features in a Castlevania games.
+ Great story that doesn't really eat up a lot of screen time, lets you get back to the action.
+ The classic Castlevania soundtrack can be unlocked in game, and one of the optional dungeons has a tune from Castlevania III remastered wonderfully.
Cons:
- Some of the areas are pretty straight through and small (like the swamp).
- Difficulty might turn off some players, especially near the beginning (Prison and Lighthouse bosses can be tough).
Overall this is one of the best 2-d games on the DS, if not the best 2-D side scrolling adventure game on the platform. It's one of the better Castlevania games ever made. It stretches the hardware of the DS to its limit and delivers an amazing game for such a small cartridge! Just an amazing and truly enjoyable gaming experience.
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Possibly, the best one of the Castlevania DS trilogy
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2011
Konami finally closes the trilogy of their best selling Castlevania games with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS. Released in 2008, it takes the best elements of the previous two games, brings a new story and main character to the table, retains the classic "Metroidvania" gameplay and tops it off with the usual bonus content to bring us, possibly the best one of the Castlevania DS trilogy. It's a great way to end the series on the DS and we all can't wait to see what's in store for the 3DS.Order of Ecclesia follows the new female main character out to defeat Dracula once and for all. Players who went through the previous 2 games know what means: new story (with twists), new castle, new side quests, new & classic enemies/bosses to defeat, collect and equip weapons, accessories & items and the ability to unlock bonus content within the game. Other than the new female main character, you can now collect "glyphs" (magic spells you absorb into yourself) and can mix and match two at a time to unleash special abilities to attack enemies or help you overcome obstacles. These glyphs can be obtained by defeating most enemies and bosses. As usual, your can save your progess in save rooms marked with a red square on the map screen.The PROS: With each new Castlevania DS game, there are bigger and better improvements seen and somehow, Order of Ecclesia boats better graphics and music than Portrait of Ruin. Playing as a female character is fun and the new castle/areas are huge and exactly what you want to see in a Castlevania game. The story comes with twists and the side quests return and completing them will net you money and extra items. The difficulty level is gradual and some bosses are harder than others; it's still as challenging as ever. As always, beating the game and fulfilling certain conditions lets you unlock bonus content in the form of extra game modes and a new playable character.The CONS: This game won't change the minds of those who stayed away from the handheld Castlevania games. As good as the game improved on everything here, making it the best Castlevania game on the DS, it's still more of the same which is fine for some people but not for others. While I like unlocking bonus content tucked into the game, it's nothing that you haven't seen before in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. Hopefully, the 3DS iterations of future Castlevania games will shake things up even further.If you must pick one Castlevania DS title to play, it should be this one. If you have any interest in playing the Castlevania DS titles, start with Dawn of Sorrow and work your way up to Order of Ecclesia. It is clearly the cream of the crop and belongs in your DS library. What an excellent way to end the DS trilogy.
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2011
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