Castlevania Order of Ecclesia DS Review

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia

DS Review
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Players: 1-2

To this point, Castlevania has managed to be a very successful series on the Nintendo DS, and that continues once again with Order of Ecclesia from Konami.

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia is pretty much the end result of years of work on the dual-screen handheld from Nintendo.  I can safely say right now to start things off that this is one of the best Castlevania games I have ever played, and is a must-buy on the Nintendo DS.

Now comes the task of explaining why this is a must-buy game on the Nintendo DS.  The game is quite a challenge to say the least, as this is not something that anyone can pick up and play, and be able to complete.  The game is tough, an extremely challenging adventure that will really push even the most veteran Castlevania fans out there.

That is not a bad thing to say the least though, as it really appeals to the hardcore gamers out there on the DS who want something that will push you to the limit.

That is not to say that the game is impossible, as it is not once you get the hang of it and get deep into it.  Just don’t expect to blast through it easily.

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia starts out pretty slow to be honest, as you do a lot of building up your character and such to start things off.  From there though, the more you get into the story and such, the more you will be drawn into the game.

One thing which I truly enjoyed about this game was the variety in the areas that you get to play in as you make your way through the game.  The areas are very linear, as you will literally just be going from one stage to another.  This makes the game very straight-forward, but at the same time allows you to focus more on the missions and such.

The game revolves around the character Shanoa, with a story that will really draw you in once you get deeper into the second half of it.

In regards to the graphics and audio aspect of the game, this is a masterpiece to say the least.  The gaem has some amazing visuals with some fantastic direction, colors, details, animations, etc.

The game has a very nice style to it overall with plenty of new attacks and such.  To be honest I was blown away with the look of the game, great stuff.

The audio is the same as the music and sound effects does a great job of tying you into the entire experience.  Some very impressive atmosphere to say the least with the audio.

The whole battle system in place here is also something that has to be talked about a great deal, as there is a brand new magic system here which adds a lot of strategy and depth to the game.

This all revolves around the idea of this new Glyph system, which will have you building up things as you go along.  In the Glyph system, you will build up magic, weapons, and a variety of other things along the way.  The thing is that you will not get a lot of these till later in the game.  What this makes though is for a very fun second play-through.

As for the longevity here, there are plenty of reasons to keep on going, such as playing through a second time with new difficulty modes, as well as other bonuses.

I am going to try not to spoil anything for gamers, but there are some great modes as well as an online gaming mode for you to play with.  One thing I was a huge fan of is the Boss Rush mode, don’t worry you’ll see once you play it.

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia is a must-buy on the Nintendo DS, there is no other way to say it.  The game is beautiful, extremely deep, and is a blast to play while posing a major challenge.  An absolute gem on the Nintendo DS!

Graphics: 9.0 Fantastic use of colors, animations, and areas, very impressive!

Audio: 9.5 The audio is amazing with some tremendous music, as well as sound effects.

Gameplay: 8.5 The game works well with the magic system adding a great deal of depth.

Replay Value: 9.0 Once you get deep into the game, you will immediately be hooked.  There are plenty of bonus things here, as well as online play.

Final Score: 8.9

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