Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, known in Japan as , is the third Nintendo DS installment of the Castlevania franchise.

Gameplay

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is a two dimensional platformer, featuring adventure and RPG elements such as the ability to equip armor and cast spells. A new combat system called the "Glyph System" allows the player's character, Shanoa, to collect icons called "Glyph symbols", which she can acquire by defeating enemies or conquering challenges. These symbols can be placed on her arms and back, allowing her to absorb powers and skills. The effectiveness of these powers and skills depend on their placement. There are several different kinds of glyphs, including weapon and magic glyphs. For example, when enough glyphs compatible with Shanoa's rapier are used, it will transform into an energy saber. There are over 100 different combinations for glyphs. Glyphs use MP (Magic Points) to work, and attacks, whenever they hit or not, will use up some MP. Glyphs can also be used to solve some puzzles.

There are many different types of locales, including forests, mountains, and oceans. There are a total of 20 locations, with an overworld map leading to them. It will also feature online play, allowing the player to trade items with other players or go head-to-head in a versus mode. The game will make use of DS-to-Wii connectivity with Castlevania Judgment, which will unlock content in both games.

Plot

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia takes place after Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, sometime in the mid 1800s. The Belmonts have vanished, leaving no one to oppose Dracula and his army as they spread across the land. Several groups of people form to battle Dracula, the most successful of which is the Order of Ecclesia and its greatest champion, Shanoa.

Characters

• Shanoa

• Albus
• Barlowe
• Dracula

Reception

Shane Bettenhausen in the August 15, 2008 1Up Yours podcast raved after his hands-on experience with the game, "It’s maybe... the best Castlevania ever", and called it a cross between Symphony of the Night and Simon's Quest, noting that the high difficulty level ("You will die a lot. You will die all the time") was balanced by the roleplaying elements. Bettenhausen also raved about the quality of the game, despite the length, noting there are "3 or 4 levels of things to find". He concluded his experience with the game stating "It’s all action-RPG oriented Castlevania at its best".

Development

The game will be worked on by the team who developed Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin along with Igarashi. In a Wired interview, Igarashi said, "We're doing another Nintendo DS version. There hasn't been an official announcement, but we're doing it... we want people to enjoy the PSP version Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, and afterwards we're announcing it. So, please wait a little bit". On January 25, 2008 a group of "leaked" screenshots from a DS Castlevania game that also showed Wii connectivity appeared. In response, Igarashi didn't give a direct answer if this was even the same game or said it was an official Konami product — he told IGN that "Konami doesn't comment on rumor or speculation". Eventually, it was confirmed by a later update that these were screenshots from Order of Ecclesia.

References

External links

• Official Japanese Website