Symphony’s successor?

Eleven years ago, Konami released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation. The game was the first Castlevania to break away from the linear stage-based gameplay, instead presenting players with a giant, open world to be explored and discovered at leisure. Subsequent entries in the series have used this formula, though as fans like me will tell you, none have been quite up to Symphony standards. I have been waiting more than a decade for a Castlevania which feels as fresh as Symphony of the Night did. With Order of Ecclesia, we may finally have it.

Glyphs

Unsurprisingly, Dracula has risen again. The disappearance of the Belmont clan, however, makes defeating him a bit more problematic. Organizations have formed to develop a way to defeat him, and one of these groups is your own Ecclesia. Ecclesia is responsible for the invention of ‘glyphs’ based on Dracula’s own power. The premise isn’t any different than what we are used to from the Castlevania titles, but it does help to explain the lack of a traditional weapon system.

The magical glyphs make up your entire arsenal, which has all the Castlevania constants such as axes and throwing knives with a couple of surprises like transformations and summons thrown in for good measure. You can equip two weapon/spell glyphs at a time, which allows for sweet combos the other games couldn’t manage. Experimenting is encouraged, as certain enemies will only fall to specific glyphs. Powerful ‘glyph union’ attacks can be performed as well, and mixing different glyphs can result in some very cool spells.

The trade-off is this – as glyphs are magic, they’ll drain your powers. Though they regenerate automatically, you will need to put a bit of thought into which glyphs you bring into battle. Spamming your most powerful spells, for example, leaves your powers depleted early on, and you will be a sitting duck for one of the game’s many bloodthirsty enemies. It is a new, strategic element we haven’t seen in Castlevania’s combat yet, and it definitely helps make it feel refreshing.

Castlevania, Rationalized

But Ecclesia’s combat system isn’t the only thing that has been tweaked – the level design is now shorter, more stage-based. The better part of the game takes place outside Dracula’s Castle, meaning areas are much smaller than before. The largest area clocks in at just about thirty rooms. This greatly lessens the tedious backtracking of previous games, and allows for a more streamlined, action-focused experience. If you want, you can charge through areas in a matter of minutes, but you can return later for new glyphs and equipment. These revisits always have purpose – you are not going to be wandering through hallways for fifteen minutes just to get to the next place you are needed.

The new design is definitely for the better, but if you are a Castlevania, purist fear not. The game climaxes at the dark lord’s doorstep, and it is one of the best designed maps in the series history. It has got the same huge scope of Dracula’s previous castles, and the inevitable bits of backtracking that come with it. The exploration the series is known for is definitely still intact, just presented in a much smarter way than before to ease newcomers into the experience.