NDSPOWER

This is the first Castlevania game I have actually finished. I remember playing the originals, a little bit of “Symphony of the Night” and “Lament of Innocence” which I always intended to go back and finish… but I just never got around to it yet.

Order of Ecclesia is a good game. It brought me back to the side scrolling flavor that has long been forgotten in next gen consoles. It’s interesting when you can have more fun playing a 2D games over 3D games.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews for OoE that praise it as a 10, that it is one of the best Castlevania’s of all time… I don’t really know if that is true, if it is true then I’d be disappointed in the series as a whole. Order of Ecclesia is a very good game but I don’t think that the plot and game play can’t justify a 10. On top of that it’s hardly  original in the game play department. The key here for me is that I actually finished this game and that means it has good “flow” it keeps the levels and dungeons tight enough that you will want to move on the area. I think the balance of effort vs. rewards in OoE is much better than the previous games where you could easily get lost or back track for hours.

Obviously everyone is going to have a different opinion here, some people like the large scale maps with infinite back tracking while others will enjoy OoE for the nice clean game flow. I personally like OoE a lot more than other Castlevania because it kept me addicted.

The graphics are very nice and clean I have no complains. I love the artwork and the weapons. I did not care for the sound track very much. I think I’ve heard alot better in other CV games. The game play is really good, nothing to in depth but I think it works well for the action game that it is. The plot is ok, nothing to special… even with the plot twists it’s nothing eye-opening or mind blowing.

I think overall Order of Ecclesia is a very fun game with a lighter Castlevania experience. I pretty much recommend it to anyone who likes the side-scrollers that require good timing and dexterity. It can be pretty challenging at times but it is very beatable with some patience.

Rating: 7/10

ndspower.admin DS Reviews Castlevania, Order of Ecclesia