Castlevania boxart: Order of Colada
Further proof that Konami's decision to dump its anime-inspired art direction was the right choice for the Castlevania series! This boxart for Order of Ecclesia, revealed at the game's Amazon product page, puts the previous two entries' covers to shame, especially the Konami's Best packaging for Dawn of Sorrow.
Also, we're amazed (and a bit confused) to see that the game will feature a giant plastic cocktail sword as a wieldable weapon! Why fumble with a vampire slaying whip when you can brandish a rapier that doubles as a drink stirrer?
Jump past the post break for comparison shots of the previous two Castlevania DS games' boxarts!
See also: Promotional Consideration: Behind the boxart
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Zealot @ Aug 6th 2008 9:39PM
I have nothing against anime art in general, but the previous two Castlevania box arts were definitely a slap in the face to the classy gothic horror imagery the Castlevania series is known for. I will mention, though, that I'm surprised that we get an entirely different box art than the Japanese--theirs had an image of Shanoa leaping in the air upon the backdrop of a full moon, and was similarly awesome to the NA art.
Andy @ Aug 6th 2008 9:41PM
Aww, come on - I think every game's box art should be a picture of the game's box art. ;)
John @ Aug 6th 2008 10:14PM
I love it, except for a small detail. Shanoa's hair is a bit out of control but I do like the effect it gives. The guy (I forgot his name) looks really cool too. Hopefully he as well as the old guy are playable.
Santos L. Halper @ Aug 6th 2008 10:32PM
What's colada?
FoliathR @ Aug 7th 2008 1:29AM
"(n) a tall mixed drink of rum, cream of coconut, ice, and fruit or fruit juice, usually mixed in a blender and served with a fruit garnish: banana colada; strawberry colada."
From dictionary.com =)
chibi_wings @ Aug 6th 2008 10:33PM
the order of ecclesia box art looks stunning (just like the game itself) ^^
Haohmaru @ Aug 6th 2008 11:27PM
It still looks anime-inspired to me, albeit in an infinitely more mature and artistic style than the FoxBox-style crap used in previous titles.
Matt G. @ Aug 6th 2008 11:29PM
I thought the Shanoa's sword looked like a plastic cocktail sword, too!
And it's amazing how much of a difference there is between this art and the box art of the previous two games. I had no idea. Besides those two, I've only ever played Circle of the Moon. This is like the first real Castlevania art I've seen.
But I'm actually rather disappointed that they changed the box art on us. Why?? I mean, they didn't do that the other two times. The JP art was kick@**.
chibi_wings @ Aug 6th 2008 11:53PM
I really don't understand why they do it either. Is there a reason why the NA box art can't be the same as the Japanese box art? I've also found that the European box art tends to keep the original box art a lot more then the NA releases. But sometimes I am glad they change the box art, because the NA ones end up looking a lot nicer. (FF IV Japan looked really busy, but the NA is nice and simple and I like it better that way)
kyle hyde @ Aug 6th 2008 11:33PM
I think that it could trasnlate like "leaked"
kyle hyde @ Aug 6th 2008 11:40PM
Could someone erase mi previous comment please.
Abscissa @ Aug 7th 2008 12:10AM
This still looks anime to me. Not nearly as bad as the last two Castlevanias, of course, but still a very far cry from the incredible Symphony of the Night style.
yeeh @ Aug 7th 2008 2:59AM
I stil like original box arts for most of the games. I also wonder
why they would like to change them for NA. Europe usually doesn't.
Europe also tends not to deviate from the original in terms of
translation as I read in what they did to advance wars dark conflict.
It just ruins it for me even though dialogue is better in the NA
version.
anyways, I found a very funny article regarding
differences in box arts.
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/why-japanese-box-art-is-better/a-20080729123833874037
HellsHammer @ Aug 7th 2008 3:11AM
I actually miss the old Castlevania art, consisting of overly muscular long haired men in animal skin short shorts, with huge weapons and a vampire's face in the moon.
Just like Conan, they were so gay, it went full circle back to tough.
supa_s @ Aug 7th 2008 4:37AM
lol giant plastic cocktail sword
Ponza Report @ Aug 7th 2008 7:00AM
Oh snap, I have an idea for a new stylus now. Thanks DS Fanboy! *goes and gets a red cocktail sword*
Kimiko @ Aug 7th 2008 8:18AM
Meh. I liked the Japanese box art much better.
Shanoa is the only playable character, right? Why then do we get another stupid dude on the cover?
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/nintendo.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/order-of-ecclesia-box-0-dsf.jpg
Ashley @ Aug 7th 2008 8:56AM
"HMmm... I don't have any references weapon, but I've got this plastic cocktail sword! That'll do!" *scribblescribblescribble*
JK @ Aug 7th 2008 9:03AM
Man, I never get tired of the "Metroidvania" mini-genre. I don't know what it is, but I've loved every post SOTN 2D Castlevania (even Circle of the Moon, which is the only one that requires a fair amount of grinding to overcome the frustratingly hard difficulty).
I know some people will call this game, "more of the same", but, the glyph system should provide a fresh new gameplay dynamic -- you're *forced* to get glyphs or you can't fight (as opposed to the soul collecting thing in the Sorrow games, which more for the ocd "collector" types than having any real use). Besides, if you were forced to choose, you know you'd play this over Kastlevania Kombat (what's next? a racing game? "Use your Wiimote to race legendary Castlevania characters, in a variety of vehicles such as Richter's horse and carriage -- and unlockables like Alucard in his speedy wolf form!").
Jacksons @ Aug 7th 2008 11:08AM
Yeah, I get more disappointed when they're not just another metroidvania type thing. The PSP one, while a nice remake of a hard-to-find game (and the original, and SotN) I still would have preferred a new metroidish entry, maybe with original Rondo as a bonus.
Oh well, really looking forward to this one!
Jac @ Aug 7th 2008 10:07AM
both boxes are actually great, though i like ours better..but that's because Albus is in the cover and he's a gunsmith 8)
but it's really nice to see Konami picked up the same Style Kojima used to draw for them.. I was led to believe the older art was simplified to try and make a series or something after i saw the intro for DoS...
I wonder what kind of merchandise will be of this game?
WalkingCarpet @ Aug 7th 2008 10:37AM
I'm a sucker for anything Castlevania on DS so... I'll probably pick it up. Even if the boxart sucks. Which this doesn't. I'm just saying.
gukid @ Aug 7th 2008 3:09PM
Though the art style has much been improved, the "Castlevania" and subtitle are still as ugly as ever. Coming from a real design point of view, the bevelling and cheap glow effect on the text pretty much ruin any design integrity this boxart may have had, and they've been using it for years. See the PS2 game covers for some even worse examples.
Though I suppose it sort of goes hand in hand with the even uglier "manditory bevelled sidebar" that NoA created for EVERY us boxart (see any japanese boxart for a good comparison). Maybe NoA needs to update the DS box design to match what it's doing with the console boxes? But please no more ipod white... even apple has given that up...