Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)

Orizio

Anyone play this? Considering buying it, as I enjoyed the two earlier versions on the DS and its been getting good reviews.

However, I bought Civ Revolutions and the newest FF and they didn't do much for me, so I'm wary of spending more money on the my DS.

Mr E

Yeah its very good. I'll confess that I'm finding it harder than Dawn or Portrait (which is a good thing!). Rather than having one huge castle to explore, this game is divided into smaller areas (about the size of the main areas in the older games). The more you play, the more areas you get access to (via a world map). Its a good kick up the arse for the series and keeps things fresh - great variety so far.

I like it, and I recommend it.

Retr0gamer

I'm not sure about Civ Revolutions but FF Tactics on the DS is one of the most boring games ever so no wonder you feel that way about it.

To be honest you really can't go wrong with a handheld castlevania. They have all been exceptional and this one looks amazing and the reviews seem to back it up. You'll need to get it from the states since it's been delayed in europe.

valleyoftheunos

Looking forward to this, getting a friend to bring it back from the US next month

Orizio

Any ideas as to a release date in Ireland?

Mr E

Early next year.

johnny_ultimate

Kind of forgot about this in the current onslaught of games, but looking foward to it. Might order it to pass the commuting hours. Recent Castlevania convert. Loved SotN and liked Dracula X (still prefer the more exploration based style, but theres plenty of hidden stuff too) but never got around to the DS ones. Will definitely play this, as it looks fantastic. Shame that the embarrasing looking Judgement is getting made though. Not what the fans want, and it would be great to see a new Wii or Xbox/PS3 version of old school Castlevania instead of some forced, uninspired beat 'em up.

tman

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Shame that the embarrasing looking Judgement is getting made though.

Thats the first that I'd heard of it... Can't see it turning out to be anything but terrible:(
Working nights tonight so might bring my DS in and get stuck into this, already have about 5 brand new games on the go right now, what's another one!

SotN was only a recent enough discovery for me, but ended up being one of my favourite games of all time... I just wish they'd do the series justice on the current gen

valleyoftheunos

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Shame that the embarrasing looking Judgement is getting made though. Not what the fans want, and it would be great to see a new Wii or Xbox/PS3 version of old school Castlevania instead of some forced, uninspired beat 'em up.

Whilst I agree that it looks awful, The creator of Castlevania (whose name I cant remember) Is fully behind Judgment and involved according to reports I have read. So as appaling as it looks it cant be said to be without top level involvement. A full on Castlevania adventue is what the Wii is crying out for, not a shoite weapons based fighter.

Chumpski

Looking forward to playing this but have a pile of DS games to play at the moment, one of them being Dawn of sorrow. I'm happy waiting for the euro release.

That Wii castlevania sounds crap alright, won't bother with it.

Mr E

Played this alot over the weekend, and (Minor Spoiler) - Thrilled to find out that after 14 or 15 tight self contained areas, you

find that dracula's castle is a full size castle to explore

. Fantastic!

Love the fact that the bosses are a challenge too. You can't just wade in and spam the attack button. Battles can last up to 10 minutes, where you have to pick and choose your shots.

Retr0gamer

Mr E wrote: »

Love the fact that the bosses are a challenge too. You can't just wade in and spam the attack button. Battles can last up to 10 minutes, where you have to pick and choose your shots.

I'm loving the sound of this

o1s1n

I started playing this yesterday. Really really great game. Haven't turned my ds on in ages but this is going to keep me going a while.

valleyoftheunos

Got stuck into this over the weekend whilst on a couple of flights. Its really good, pretty tough too but with a good curve, keep going back and you figure out the strategies you need etc. The bosses too are pretty tough aswell.

The controls are tight and the glyph systems woks well, the visuals are top notch and it doesn't hurt that the heroine is easy on the eye. I only really use the DS when I'm traveling but I have two trips coming up over xmas and I reckon this might last me right through.

Mr E

Yeah finished it a few weeks ago (including all quests and the 2 secret levels.... shhhhhh!).
You can be a bit overpowered at the end once you get certain glyphs (and understand how to use them), but its still a terrific game and my GOTY on the DS. Racked up over 16 hours altogether on it (it'll take less if you have no interest in the quests).

valleyoftheunos

I have spent much longer on it than the save file suggests, I have died a lot!