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Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia | 
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| From: Konami
Category: Video Games
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $27.79
You Save: $2.20 (7%)
New (24) Used (6) from $23.49
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 245
Platform: Nintendo Ds
Genre: adventure_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Nintendo DS
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0 x 0
MPN: 24155
Model: 083717241553
UPC: 083717241553
EAN: 0083717241553
ASIN: B001CU4EJ0
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Intense side-scrolling action gameplay as you quest to collect elements that will help you in your quest against Dracula | | • | Explore all-new outdoor areas from the forests to the ocean | | • | Compete head-to-head via the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection | | • | Sell and buy items and equipment you have found while playing with other players utilizing Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection | | • | Utilize multiple abilities and attacks simultaneously with the all-new Glyph attack system |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The legendary Castlevania series is back in its 3rd installment on the Nintendo DS. Order of Ecclesia follows on the success of Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. This time you play as a member of the Ecclesia, an organization that has sworn to defeat the evil forces of Dracula. Use the brand new Glyph attack system that has more than 100 different combinations to battle Dracula and his minions throughout 20 explorable areas. Take part in side quests and collect items to power up your character in the next great Castlevania game produced by Koji Igarashi.
Replay more than once to discover multiple endings
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Castlevania: Definitely Not Easya December 3, 2008
Ggam Dizzle (Los Angeles, CA)
New to the Castlevania franchise, my first Castlevania game was on the DS.. Dawn of Sorrow. It was my favorite game for quite some time..
Portrait of Ruin followed, and I was somewhat disappointed. It's possible that it had in part to do with my extreme enthusiasm for Dawn of Sorrow that I felt that Portrait of Ruin fell short. I landed myself a nice 20th anniversary collector's edition though.
Fast forward to the present day. Order of Ecclesia was announced with much fanfare. I had hoped for an extravagant pre-order bonus in the likes of the Japanese release. We didn't get one, but what we did get was a beautifully animated, wonderfully difficult game that put its DS predecessors to difficulty shame.
The glyph system, a new feature in the Castlevania series, is a weapons/support system that the heroine Shanoa uses to gain features. Certain monsters leave behind glyphs when killed, certain statues retain glyphs when shattered, etc. They're scattered all throughout the game. Glyphs include rapiers, swords, blunt weapons, axes, bows, magic attacks, etc. There is a piece of equipment (I forgot what it was called) that allows the user to preset three sets of glyphs that the user can switch back and forth between using the L & R buttons. Up to three glyphs can be equipped: left arm, right arm, and support, activated by the R button.
At first, the controls seem clunky. Having to alternate buttons (X and Y) to use each weapon in each arm seemed awkward. Fighting became much easier when I realized that instead of alternating button hits, all I needed to do was to roll my thumb back and forth between the X and Y buttons to attack rapidly. This is, of course, limited by mana expenditure per attack.
These new features, new attack styles, new ways to obtain weapons and armor, etc. all have their counterbalances, which I believe makes the game difficult. Gaining gold is not easy, until much later in the game when a glyph is obtained that increases gold dropping. There is also an accessory equipment that raises gold drops. But it must be equipped as a glyph, in addition to the equipment that boosts the feature to maximum potential.
This leads to the age old dilemma in platformers: whether to grind it out for the things you need in stages you've already beat, or to find an even balance between gold increase, power stat increase, defense increase, and magic increase and to move through the game in linear fashion. Given the limitations of equipment, finding this sort balance makes beating the game without having to backtrack and grind rather difficult.
The experience curve is steep too. Constant playing and grinding netted me a whopping level 32! In which I still have difficult times beating bosses.
If you find the correct balance between glyphs to use for different bosses, different stat boosts for power ups, equipment that raise different stats, etc. the game would probably be a little easier. I didn't take the time to do that, so I blasted my way through the game using the strongest weapon I could find in every instance.
All in all, the game is hard, and in my opinion, it adds to the appeal of the game. Sometimes I forget to save because of the hassle of pressing Yes when I go to town to heal myself (yes, it's a hassle to me), and then I die, losing hours of gameplay. That frustrates me to a point where I would leave my DS sitting on my desk for days at a time without being touched. But I go back, because the game is deathly fun, and deathly hard.
I loved it.
 More Castlevania December 3, 2008
Liam M. Donovan (I need to move)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It has the same formula as the rest of the "Metroidvania" games in the Castlevania series: go through a bunch of different areas, collect weapons and magic, and level up so that you're strong enough to face Dracula and seal his powers. It's a formula that works well, and works well enough to go through several iterations.
The combat system has been reworked for this game: this uses a newly-created 'Glyph' system. A weapon glyph can be attached to each arm, and a passive glyph can be mapped to the 'R' shoulder button. Holding doesn't use a subweapon, but combines the two weapon Glyphs to use a powerful attack. Every time you use a Glyph, it costs MP. It makes the system of magical weapons a little more believable, and your MP usually regenerates fast enough that you won't run out.
The two biggest problems I had with this game were the length and the difficulty. The game is extremely short; by far the shortest Castlevania game on the DS. I completed my first playthrough of the game in eight hours, and I had found all of the secret areas. The only real difficulty comes with a few of the bosses: they all take a couple of tries to figure out their patterns. But the only area I had trouble moving through was the Clock Tower in Dracula's Castle, and only because it had areas completely covered in spikes. A lot of the bosses were fairly easy, too. Most of them took very little skill, and the only problem was figuring out the right combination of Glyphs to use.
And the secret areas and items were fairly disappointing, as well. One of the secret areas is just a rehash of an arena filled with tough monsters, and the other is an obstacle course. I cleared them both pretty easily, and the only reason to clear them is for completion's sake. You get items to finish a couple of sidequests, but the rewards from both the dungeons and the sidequests they help you complete are of little use.
After beating the game, you unlock Boss Rush, Hard mode, and the ability to play as Albus, the gun-wielding antagonist from the beginning of the game. Boss Rush will unlock items that are fairly useful, especially if you're playing through the game on Hard mode. But playing as Albus leaves a lot to be desired. It's just a carbon-copy of the regular game, with a different character who will never unlock any new abilities, and can't do any of the sidequests or treasure hunting that make the "Metroidvania" style of Castlevanias so appealing.
I was excited when this game came out, but I'll have to be more frugal about what games I buy on release in the future.
 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, just a bit outside the plate November 30, 2008
Afrobattousai
When I received this title, I figured it would be similar to the combat system of Portrait of Ruin. However, getting used to the fact that every attack drains a part of your resources takes some getting used to. Besides that, the game is very well done and entertaining. For the price I paid for it it is a good buy, but that could differ depending if you are a fan of the series or not.
Best. Castlevania. Ever November 24, 2008
Michael J. (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
this is my first review on amazon, and could possibly be my last, but i'd like all castlevania loyalists, to check this game out, it is absolutely incredible, the animation is beautiful ,the gameplay is surgical, ,you cannot blame your death because of the game or the enemies, true it is difficult, but the first castlevanias were the most difficult, the bosses in this game will kill you multiple times, but the thing of that is.. persistence.. if you persist you will triumph, and that is the best feeling when you go up against a boss and it has beat you fifteen twenty times, and then you GET it... and you boot the game back up and you win! the story-line is also very excellent, the music is hauntingly beautiful, the level design is incredibly creative and beatiful, do not worry about no back-tracking, the levels have quite a bit of depth in them, this is without question one of my favorite games of all time, symphony of the night on ps1 was incredible, brilliant, and a masterpiece, ,and this is the DS's Masterpiece... if it is not the greatest castlevania, it is right NEXT to Symphony of the night.
BUY THIS GAME, ENJOY THIS GAME, So Konami will make others!
Great handheld Castlevania with "just right" difficulty November 24, 2008
Luca Ben
If it's one thing that Konami excels at, it's 2D Castlevania games. Order of Ecclesia is another Metroidvania style game with another Non-Belmont character in the lead (Some may hate this, but I for one love it. Keeps things fresh). A welcome comeback was the more subtle and more western feel towards the character art, something I've rather took a distaste to in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. The music was mostly amazing with some rather odd sounding tunes, but the collecting of classic Castlevania tracks offset that for me. The graphics are a definite improvement from the previous DS Castlevanias and the quality shows in all the levels though they are recycled.
The key thing that pulled me toward this title was the increase in difficulty. For me it just felt right, the overall toughness of enemies, the planning ahead to use the right Glyphs for the right job.
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