You’re Not the Boss of Me Now

Though Ecclesia boasts some great innovations, its biggest selling point is purely traditional – the bosses. The game boasts more than twenty varied boss encounters, all of which feel straight out of the 16-bit era. In order to best the beasts, you must learn the intricate attack powers of each, and figure out how to best dodge and counter-attack.

The bosses have more powers than necessary, which makes the fights overlong, but all in all the battles are blasts. It is a great feeling to figure out a boss’ pattern and beat it after being trounced multiple times. And you will die – a lot. Ecclesia is the hardest Castlevania since the series switched to the action/adventure genre. The good thing is that the game never feels cheap or unfair. I never found that I could blame dying on anything but my own poor reflexes, the reason for this is easily explained: the controls are that great. It is a very old-school design, and definitely one that is appreciated by this very old-school gamer.

Despite streamlined level design, the game offers up all the content you’d expect from a Castlevania title. The main game should last you ten hours or so, but to find all the hidden glyphs and complete all the quests could take upwards of thirty. There are 100 glyphs to collect, and since they are so fun to experiment with, I continued looking for them after I completed my first play-through. While the quests seldom amount to more than fetch-quests, they are still worthwhile as they will add new equipment and items to the general store. There are also Race and Boss Rush modes which are fun distractions, and the option to play through the game as supporting character Albus. Albus uses firearms to attack, which are long-range but have longer reload times, mixing up the combat a bit.

Music to my Ears

Castlevania games have traditionally been strong in the audio/visual department, and Ecclesia is certainly no exception. The art has definitely benefited from the move outside the castle, and the new locales all look very fresh. Featuring snow-topped peaks, monster-infested swamps, and of course huge Gothic buildings, Ecclesia looks better than any past Castlevania title. It is a shame to see levels which are just clones of others, but with a different colour palette. However, suitably grotesque enemies, amazing boss designs and impressive animations make that seem like a teensy nitpick. The sound is astounding; with what are easily some of the best, most infectious tunes in series history. While the English vocal track tends to grate, there’s always the option to change to Japanese, which is definitely appreciated.

The Best Castle Yet?

In this reviewer’s humble opinion Order of Ecclesia is the best Castlevania title yet. As much as I still love Symphony of the Night, it is not as beautiful, as well-designed, nor as -fun- as Ecclesia is. The design caters to fans of the old-school, action-based titles, while still offering up what new series fans want. To put it very simply - If you have a DS, this game belongs in your collection.