Though blessed with the most exhilarating combat system, Ecclesia's short and weak story weigh it down.
biggest change, perhaps, is the inclusion of a female lead character, a rarity in CV.
In Order of Ecclesia, the main character, Shanoa, is a disciple under an organization formed to combat Dracula. Through a strange magic, known as Glyphs, they are able to channel weapons and magic. This sets the basis for the battle system in OoE. Weapons cannot be bought in this game. Rather, Glyphs must be harnessed from defeated enemies. Unlike Dawn of Sorrow, the first DS installment, every enemy you find does not surrender a Glyph, nor does collected more than one identical Glyph boost the corresponding Glyph's power. Instead, you have several physical Glyphs (rapier, sword, lance, hammer, bow, axe, knive) which come in three various levels of strengh and several magical Glyphs (fire, ice, lightning, dark, holy, curse, stone). Aside from those, there are support Glyphs which can increase you attributes or grant special abilities. On each arm, you can equip one Glyph and one on your back. In addition, you can use a Glyph Union, which combines your arm Glyphs to create a new,
more powerful attack.
Unlike other Castlevania games, the player doesn't travel around one large castle. On the contrary, you have a world map dotted with locations that appear as you progress further in the game. The last location remains true to Castlevania. Some players harbor distaste for this new system, but it is a fresh addition made to "break the mold" as I said before.
As expected from a Castlevania game, the musical score is incredible, most often matching the theme of the area. More spectacular, however, are the exceptional sound effects. Several enemies have certain phrases when they appear or are killed and the sound of attacking an organic enemy with a blade adds a most authentic feel to the game. After beating the game, players will be allowed to listen to the musical score via the Music Box, a feature available in all three DS games.
Unfortunately, Ecclesia's excellent gameplay is thrown off by it's weak story. Initially, first-time players will be confused concerning the story, as Albus has stripped Shanoa of her memories and stolen the only Glyph powerful enough to destroy Dracula. Even as the game progresses, you come no closer to understanding Albus's motives. The epiphany comes at you all at once, allowing no gradual progression of story, but a hard-hitting drastic change of place. Having been stripped of her memories, Shanoa seems bland and tiresome at times, but through saving villagers captured by Albus, you can interact with them, and maybe find the more human side of Shanoa, a side of her critisized for not being present in the game.
From different standpoints, this game can be said to be both hard and easy. From where I stand, this game is not difficult at
all. The initial game can be completed in under fifteen hours at a normal pace. Shanoa levels up quickly, so there is never any need to backtrack (you can play the game from beginning to end without having to revisit a single area, unless demanded by the game) to level up because you can't beat that next boss. In fact, any of the bosses can easily be dispatched at level one and without taking a hit. Flawlessly defeating a boss enemy presents a medal to commemorate the event. OoE doesn't allow users to rely on brute force, but rather strategy. Using the right combination of Glyphs and surrounding objects, bosses are easily defeated. At times, common enemies tend to deal more damage than the actual bosses. But after a few times dying, players should realize the weaknesses of the enemies and how to properly exploit them. Basically, the game gets easier as you go along. Luckily, there are two bonus dungeons for those bored with the generally easy main gameplay.
Following the trend of the past two titles, Wi-Fi connectivity is present. Following more closely in the fashion of Portrait of Ruin, OoE lets you challenge a friend to a race through pre-designed courses and a shop mode, where players call sell their items with other players. Making vast improvements, up to four players can travel around a plaza, each with their own store set up. You can buy items either from yourself or other players at half the retail price. They ear whatever money they make from the sales.
Graphically, Order of Ecclesia is the most visually stunning of the three DS games. Blood effects are, of course, an integral part of the game, but now enemies are mroe animated, their movements seeming more natural that other games. Background designs seem bland, but the boss enemies sport an increased attention to detail that might distract players from the ongoing battle.
Overall, Order of Ecclesia is a solid game. Extra game modes don't help the replay value and easy difficulty, unfortunately, allow veteran players to continue a tradition of powering their way through the game, whether in or out of the castle.