DS #2809: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (USA)

[tatumanu]

Anyone noticed the simon quest joke at the beginning of entering the last place of the game?
Trying not to spoil the fun.

 

[Szyslak]

There wasn't much to it, so I figured I would scan the pertinent sections of the instruction booklet if anyone's interested (local download).

Thanks, I can't believe how skimpy that book is! Something's wrong when nearly half the manual is about the wifi modes.

Yeah, it's pretty weak. The whole booklet is only like 20 pages long, and it's got the English, Spanish, and French versions of the instructions.

Maybe it will help people figure out the online stuff though.

 

[CockroachMan]

Am I the only one finding this a lot harder than the last two games.. don't remember dying so much on those

 

[ConJ]

nope not just you. im sure its a little harder than the previous 2 ds games. have to say i am loving it though. really nice game!

 

[Dark]

I wish they did the map like Castlevania DOS.

 

[Doomsday Forte]

Am I the only one finding this a lot harder than the last two games.. don't remember dying so much on those

True that. Bosses will cause at least 80% of your deaths, and it'll take a while for you to learn their patterns.

I feel like I'm playing the older Megaman titles where you spend at least one life trying to learn how the boss attacks and everything. It's still fun as hell though. I feel adequately challenged without it being like "Jesus Christ this is fucking ridiculous!!" hard.

 

[Vater Unser]

My first impression of the game was a lot better than my current impression

Just why the hell do they keep splitting up the world into tiny parts?

This sounds harsh, but I really hope the game will get a LOT better soon, because IMO the design is pretty poor so far when compared to the other DS Castlevania games (and SotN of course

). It's all linear, there are way too few secrets, and the only real challenge comes from the unfair bosses (like that crab thing in the elevator. I mean, some attacks are outright impossible to dodge, and how the fuck should I know you're supposed to jump between the tiny 1-tile-gap just next to the elevator in order to finish off the crab? I figured that out by pure coincidence.)

I also HATE how you're now reliant on finding the most effective Glyph for each boss, or else you're certainly done for.
Which brings me to the next point: You're obviously supposed to use the hammer glyph to beat the giant enemy crab, and all you do is sit in the left corner and bash it. What kind of boss 'design' is that? The boss could've been so much better, but it does the same two attacks all over again, and neither of them can hit you if you're kneeling in the lower left corner. And like I said, it occasionally executes an attack which is pretty much impossible to dodge. So what you gotta do is memorize the pattern, give the boss all you've got, and hope you're not making any mistakes, because 7-8 hits will kill you. Oh, and if you're unlucky enough to fall down the plattforms, it's likely you'll get hit multiple times.
You even fight the boss in three different locations where the plattforms are arranged differently, but that's totally pointless, because you'll still be kneeling down in the left corner. That's just bad design if you ask me. Even after you've memorized the pattern, you'll die over and over again because of simple mistakes or unexpected behaviour of the boss. And it's not like the design of the boss itself has any originality. It's basically a rip-off of the second boss in Metal Slug 2 and X, but without any of the coolness.
That skeleton boss at the beginning of the game wasn't any better, either.

So, unless the quality of the level-design improves throughout the game, I highly doubt this one will meet my expectations (read: meet the quality of SotN, DoS or PoR)

What a pity.

 

[sfunk]

My first impression of the game was a lot better than my current impression

Just why the hell do they keep splitting up the world into tiny parts?

This sounds harsh, but I really hope the game will get a LOT better soon, because IMO the design is pretty poor so far when compared to the other DS Castlevania games (and SotN of course

). It's all linear, there are way too few secrets, and the only real challenge comes from the unfair bosses (like that crab thing in the elevator. I mean, some attacks are outright impossible to dodge, and how the fuck should I know you're supposed to jump between the tiny 1-tile-gap just next to the elevator in order to finish off the crab? I figured that out by pure coincidence.)

I also HATE how you're now reliant on finding the most effective Glyph for each boss, or else you're certainly done for.
Which brings me to the next point: You're obviously supposed to use the hammer glyph to beat the giant enemy crab, and all you do is sit in the left corner and bash it. What kind of boss 'design' is that? The boss could've been so much better, but it does the same two attacks all over again, and neither of them can hit you if you're kneeling in the lower left corner. And like I said, it occasionally executes an attack which is pretty much impossible to dodge. So what you gotta do is memorize the pattern, give the boss all you've got, and hope you're not making any mistakes, because 7-8 hits will kill you. Oh, and if you're unlucky enough to fall down the plattforms, it's likely you'll get hit multiple times.
You even fight the boss in three different locations where the plattforms are arranged differently, but that's totally pointless, because you'll still be kneeling down in the left corner. That's just bad design if you ask me. Even after you've memorized the pattern, you'll die over and over again because of simple mistakes or unexpected behaviour of the boss. And it's not like the design of the boss itself has any originality. It's basically a rip-off of the second boss in Metal Slug 2 and X, but without any of the coolness.
That skeleton boss at the beginning of the game wasn't any better, either.

So, unless the quality of the level-design improves throughout the game, I highly doubt this one will meet my expectations (read: meet the quality of SotN, DoS or PoR)

What a pity.

I wasn't particularly fond of that boss battle either but I think some of your gripes are a little unfair. I'm not sure what to make of your complaint about weapon efficiency, you're free to use the sickle if you want

. And the other weapons can be used right before he attacks but the hammer is indeed the most effective weapon. As for the three different locations in which you fight him, you do have to switch up your strategy between sections if you want to avoid getting hit. People have gotten the medal for this boss, meaning they didn't take a hit, and I assure you this isn't because of dumb luck.

I'm forced to agree with you about the lack of secrets, I want a Castlevania in which half the walls are actually breakable

.

I'm not sure if you liked Megaman 9 but I also feel that this was a return to roots, albeit in a more subtle way, in the fact that the game is primarily focused on pattern recognition/memorization and finding out the most effective strategy by trial and error. As for the short levels, yeah they could have been a bit longer per section but I'm pretty sure this game is vaguely the size of the other ones in a measure of rooms. It just feels shorter due to the smaller individual levels. Also:

Spoiler

There's also the very sizable castle toward the latter half of the game

That being said, I find it hard that you think PoR was a quality title while this one is not

. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed PoR but the game was pretty lazy at parts, as in playing the same levels twice. I can get why this game might not jive with you though, it certainly felt different when I started it and I actually hated the glyph system at first, but it has grown on me. I hope you manage to appreciate it too as it's a fine game.

 

[feds4u]

This is my favorite portable CV game so far. Keep em coming IGA

 

[jtroye32]

how do you get the wing glyph in the place where the wind is blowing you to the left? there isn't not enough time to suck it up before the wind pushes you off.

 

[Ferrariman]

I wish they did the map like Castlevania DOS.

Yep, and the sad thing is, I bet they could have.

 

[kradrats]

my g6 lite can't hold a save

does anyone know how to get this working on my g6L ???

 

[sfunk]

how do you get the wing glyph in the place where the wind is blowing you to the left? there isn't not enough time to suck it up before the wind pushes you off.

I spent way too long getting this one. All you have to do is use the magnet at the very top to pull yourself to the left and aim toward the ground so that when you release you will hit the ground and slide toward the right edge of the platform. If you aim it correctly you won't slide off. In the meantime while you are sliding, hold up and Shanoa will begin to absorb the glyph as you are sliding in a rightward direction. The wind will then push you left but you'll have enough time to absorb the glyph.

 

[jtroye32]

how do you get the wing glyph in the place where the wind is blowing you to the left? there isn't not enough time to suck it up before the wind pushes you off.

I spent way too long getting this one. All you have to do is use the magnet at the very top to pull yourself to the left and aim toward the ground so that when you release you will hit the ground and slide toward the right edge of the platform. If you aim it correctly you won't slide off. In the meantime while you are sliding, hold up and Shanoa will begin to absorb the glyph as you are sliding in a rightward direction. The wind will then push you left but you'll have enough time to absorb the glyph.

thanks! gonna give it a a go

 

[tatumanu]

my g6 lite can't hold a save

does anyone know how to get this working on my g6L ???

it works prefectly with me. try with safe mode plus force r/w.

 

[Joey R.]

Is there any way to avoid needing to constantly switch glyphs to be able to inflict "some" damage on enemies? They all have a plethora of resistances/weakness, so I'm forced to be pressing A+L/R every two seconds...

Edit: Nevermind. I got to that boss that looks like a giant chained Frankenstein monster and that's where I'm leaving it. It's frigging impossible, it kills me with an unavoidable barrage of quick punches.

 

[docoweatpie]

Anyone want to exchange friend codes? I'm looking for Queen of Hearts head equipment. I'll sell anything you want.

 

[Master Mo]

Is there any way to avoid needing to constantly switch glyphs to be able to inflict "some" damage on enemies? They all have a plethora of resistances/weakness, so I'm forced to be pressing A+L/R every two seconds...

Edit: Nevermind. I got to that boss that looks like a giant chained Frankenstein monster and that's where I'm leaving it. It's frigging impossible, it kills me with an unavoidable barrage of quick punches.

There is a way to avoid that by getting behind him!

 

[Torte]

^ Way to make a baseless statement.

 

[Raestloz]

I am rather disappointed with this game. It's just the same as the other Castlevanias

I think they think pretty hard when they decide the title is Castlevania Order of Ecclesia, which might make us assume this is a continuation from the Castlevania series, which might make us think, maybe, just maybe the gameplay is pretty much the same with another title in Castlevania franchise, like you expect wow, it's a fuckin' Devil May Cry style! But of course, this is a Castlevania! what do you expect???