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Konami continues to expand upon the Castlevania concepts laid forth in the well-respected classic, Symphony of the Night, and has been trying to add some spice to the series through the DS installments. Having played all three DS entries in the franchise, I find myself tipping my hat to Order of Ecclesia as the best title of the DS trio and one of the best in the series to date -- a well worthwhile portable game to own.

Players take on the role of Shanoa, a young woman who possesses a power to absorb magically imbued symbols into her body called Glyphs. She can attach one Glyph to each arm and another to her shoulders. These mysterious tattoos change up the mechanics of the game a considerable amount. While Shanoa can equip the standard pieces of armor and accessories, she carries no weapons. All of Shanoa's arsenal -- magic and weaponry -- is combined into a collective pool of magical powers through the Glyphs which consume MP whenever they are used. This new system adds a fresh dynamic to the experience -- players can add shoulder powers to create passive effects to aid them or special transportation, and the arms can be equipped with standard weapons like swords and axes or magical powers like ice and electricity. These abilities can be used in tandem or one can dual-wield them. This allows for the satisfying ability to attack in rapid succession with two copies of one weapon or go back and forth between two different weapons -- not to mention the fact that everything takes up MP (which quickly recharges when not in use) adds some moments of strategy to the mix.

The Glyph system isn't the only interesting concept melded in -- the quest system from Portrait of Ruin is brought back and generally improved. The level variety element from that same game also returns, with a sizable collection of separate areas, many of which contain areas that can't be accessed until later -- that is, until the last third of the game, which sprawls into a more traditional labyrinth of interconnected rooms: a giant, sprawling castle. So there's the best of both worlds as far as level concept is concerned. This allows for a wide variety of locations as well as a large, cohesive and connected environment. Some level elements are reused with color swaps, granted, and there is some recycling of rooms, but it's not as bad nor as noticeable as it could be.

With all of this set in place, Ecclesia provides a very slick and challenging action/platforming experience with RPG elements blended in. As the game progresses, enemies get rather tricky, and overall, the action is pretty tight and engaging. The new elemental system (in which different types of weapons increase in effectiveness when used more often) allows players to fit into their own style, and it encourages the swapping of weapons to find the right weaknesses of enemies. The boss battles are fairly difficult, too -- probably some of the hardest the series has offered thus far. Of course, level grinding can temper their difficulty, but they are still generally challenging, nevertheless. The final boss, in particular, was a beast to fight, though manageable -- after I died numerous times trying to figure out his enjoyably cruel yet nostalgic attack patterns.

Ecclesia offers some interesting treats, too. Some of the quests for the townspeople are intriguing (such as the ones in which you must take snapshots), for example, and there's a bevy of secret sprite artifacts to collect as well as eight 8-bit tracks from the original Castlevania which can be set to play as the background music at any time -- a wonderful feature to the game that other franchises should give a go. That's not to say that Ecclesia's original score isn't worth hearing, as it is by and large well-executed and drives the action well (though not quite as catchy as Dawn of Sorrow's music). Add in an alternate playable character after the game is completed, some new difficulty challenges and boss rush modes, and you've got some extra goodies for the dedicated fan.

Another thing worth mentioning is the presentation -- the anime art style from the past two DS titles is replaced by a much more traditional and detailed style, including a few expressions for good measure. Some voice acting is thrown in on occasion, and it's effective (though it would have been nice to hear a bit more). I especially liked a nice touch in one boss battle in which some voice dialogue was incorporated into the fight itself. The graphics are top-notch 2D with very fluid animation for the protagonist and attractive animation/design of enemies (of which there is a surprising amount of new assets used rather than recycled sprites). The locations are rather varied, from ocean to prison to mountain to forest, and sport very detailed backgrounds with occasional but effective use of 3D.

 

One gripe I have includes the story's somewhat lack of engaging material (though it does do an admirable job at trying), which is a minor complaint, really. More significant issues, however, include the tedious and annoying "Pokevania" elements returning from Dawn of Sorrow, with many abilities being rarely dropped by monsters (which means lots of grinding to acquire them) and the very random chances of finding quest items (half of the early quests I couldn't accomplish until late in the game because I simply didn't happen upon the right pieces of random loot). Fortunately, these problems will only bring frustration to those seeking to find everything and really have little effect on the main experience. Lastly, the WiFi is, again, generally pointless and feels very tacked on. This doesn't hurt the experience at all since it's completely optional, but it is disappointing to see that it has hardly changed. One can't fault it for being there, as Ecclesia is adequately complete without it, but it is notably lacking in what it attempts to do all the same.