Gaming to Go: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
by Matthew Madeiro 
{ Nov 10th 2008 at 7:24PM }
Surprised? The Castlevania series typically isn't associated with speedy, high-intensity gaming, so I can say with utter honesty that I had no intention of writing about IGA's latest delicious Metroidvania whenever I finally got my hands on Order of Ecclesia. The game has surprised so far in being pretty different from its immediate predecessors in both combat and environments, the combination of which is like a clean, refreshing punch in the face.
It's hard, guys. Really hard, in fact, but with the kind of irresistible challenge that'll have you firing up your DS at every free moment to try and beat that next boss or just make it through the next level without failing too miserably. In that regard Order of Ecclesia is surprisingly well-suited for this week's edition of Gaming to Go, as in at least the first half of the game you'll encounter numerous levels which can be run through and completed without losing vast amounts of time. Whether you'll make it to the end of that level alive is an entirely different matter, mind you, but that's half the fun! Want to hear more? Click the big button down there and see why masochism is good.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
aj @ Nov 10th 2008 7:56PM
I think the intensely frustrating boss fights ruin the rhythm of the game. I play along a stage (which can take a while, what with all the dying involved), things get into a rhythm, and then BOSS FIGHT that goes sooooooo slowly that it hurts.
The game is only awesome as a on-the-go experience if you have memorized every single glyph and glyph combination and aren't the kind of person who will put a game down after the 90th game over in the same bloody fight.
Jacksons @ Nov 10th 2008 8:13PM
I've heard nothing but complaints about the boss fights from all my friends. I'm a pretty big fan of Castlevania, but I have to admit, I'm still on the fence.
Well...and I have a lot of other games I'm enjoying at the moment. But still!
CnEY?! @ Nov 10th 2008 8:52PM
I dunno, for the MOST part the boss fights didn't seem that long...
Admittedly some of them are seemingly unfairly rough - the method I went about defeating the giant skeleton did take a ridiculously long time, and I had a ton of trouble on Goliath and nearly gave up completely on the game, until I realized I could duck under his stomps and completely pre-empt the "I rip off E-Honda and punch you to death nao kthxbai" move - at which point that battle became actually possible to win.
For the most part though, I've found the boss battles fast-paced enough. Sure it might take a couple of minutes to wear the boss down, but that's sort of to be expected. Also, for the most part I've had no trouble surviving the levels themselves (I'm sure my tune will change by the time I'm finished with the game though).
As for the game overall, I can already say I'm much more a fan of it than I was of PoR, which I seriously put down. I thought my main turn-off with PoR was its broken-up levels (its over-the-top bratty main characters took a close second, and its insane boss fights a tight third - I seem to recall having way more trouble with some of those than Ecclesia's). Somehow Ecclesia's levels have not managed to turn me off in the same manner.
I think I still hold Dawn of Sorrow in highest regard out of the DS games... But I suppose I should hold judgment until I finish Ecclesia.
SephFinale @ Nov 10th 2008 8:17PM
WE NEED MORE DIFFICULT GAMES.
I was surprised, sad, and amazed at how difficult the boss fights were. I was only sad because it actually took me forever to beat some of them, like that damn giant skeleton when you get to the prison...
But then I got to play as Albus, and that skeleton didn't last more than three seconds. >:3
I just hope he's in, you know, that Death No-- Castlevania fighting game.
Zealot @ Nov 10th 2008 8:39PM
Part of why OoE is so much more pick-up-and-play than the previous GBA/DS Castlevanias is because there are just so many ways out of the levels. Between warp points, magical tickets, and all-around shorter levels in the first half of the game, you can be back in Wygol Village, healed, and saved instantly. I've resisted temptation to use these easy ways out in order to make it harder on myself, but OoE was definitely made with portability in mind. If this was any other Castlevania, magical tickets would either not exist or be 10000 gold each and it'd take ten minutes to get from save point to save point due to the winding castle paths and numerous enemies to wade through.
I also agree that the difficulty is really imbalanced, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The only downside is that Castlevania is generally known for bosses that require a combination of strength and strategy to defeat, but some of the bosses in OoE just force you into "nuke them before they nuke you" mode [coughblackmorecough]
And there are ways around the supposedly "slower" second half of the game once you have the Rapidus Fio glyph. I seriously made it through the clock tower damageless in thirty seconds with that.
Matt Madeiro @ Nov 12th 2008 1:56AM
That's an excellent point about the magical tickets providing easy access to the safety of Wygol village. Like you, I've so far tried to use as little of them as possible, so it didn't even occur to me that providing them for so cheap in the general store is a very clever and very subtle way of making OoE one of the most portable Castlevanias yet. It's hard to complain about getting stuck in a long, hard level when you can teleport out at any time, isn't it?
Great observation!
Matt @ Nov 10th 2008 9:08PM
I canNOT beat that damn giant skeleton in the 3rd level.
Goddamnit.
Eric E @ Nov 11th 2008 2:29PM
you can do it, just be patient, i hate it too, but if you just swing back and forth and don't get cornered, only hitting him on his left when he kicks or is walking toward you, you can get a perfect.
BUT ITS NOT FUN AT ALL SO DON'T BOTHER.
anyone want to buy a copy? ;)
hijinx @ Nov 10th 2008 11:22PM
Every time a new CV game comes out people mention the difficulty. They're not really getting harder though--the games just don't seem as hard in retrospect. Every time I pick one up, I find myself remarking at the difficulty, but when I really give it some thought, OoE doesn't even have as many seemingly unfair boss fights as the previous DS titles. The sense of accomplishment is a part of the fun though, and I really feel like CV games of late are just hard enough (and could stand to be harder... not that I'm asking for it.)
OoE is great. It's not really all that different in formula from the other non-belmont ones. The only real difference is the particular metaphor used to explain the various attack buttons. I still find DoS to be the best of the DS titles, even if this one has (even more so) stunning art. They all have fantastic art (and I wish they'd port SotN.) It's a real shame about the writing in PoR though.
Finally, there's no reason for 2D to die. Not all good gameplay paradigms fit within a 3D model... we've all seen our fair share of games ruined by the 3D craze in the Saturn/PSX era. CV's particular formula is something I'd buy into for the rest of my life (assuming they keep the quality up)... you just can't do that in 3D. (Not that 3D CV has to be bad...)
Raytia @ Nov 11th 2008 9:11AM
Something to note - try beating any of the bosses without taking damage. For those going for 100% completion playing this game is a real challenge just to get those damned medals. I still cant beat the crab boss in the Lighthouse w/out being hit. I'll be doing well and then boom one hit and I lost the medal >< Adding that element into the game, esp. for the 100%'ers I think really ups the difficulty a ton.
Mokano40 @ Nov 11th 2008 7:01AM
I don't know, but i don't like this castlevania as much as the others, it seems shorter in terms of locations.
Alana @ Nov 11th 2008 3:22PM
How are you all stuck on the skeleton? I beat him pretty easily, but now I'm stuck on the stupid crab boss. Waaaay harder!!
aj @ Nov 11th 2008 5:37PM
I was stuck on the skeleton forever.
The crab isn't so bad. Well, actually he is bad, but his weakness is easy enough to figure out. But then you have to finish him off in a completely ludicrous way that a lot of people genuinely did not think of at first. And why not? For 99% of the game the environment can't be interacted with like that. So why would anyone assume that the rules of the game would change just this once?
I'm currently stuck on the big shadow guy in the final stage. You know, the one who says something evil then just kills you in one hit because you start the fight in a corner?
I could probably beat him, but I just put the game down and went to play some Zelda. There is "hard", which is good and gives you a sense of accomplishment, and then there is a second form of "hard", in which you only get a headache and you just stop playing the game because the boss fights get progressively retarded. I like the glyph system, but the weaknesses in the bosses to specific attacks means that you have to try about a million combos. That's not winning by strategy, that's just an exercise in patience.
Zealot @ Nov 11th 2008 6:26PM
I will take YOUR SHADOW!
Seriously, though. If you've come completely to your wits' end, there's a way to be really cheap and kill Blackmore in 10 to 15 seconds if you don't care about a sense of accomplishment and just want to get on with the game. Kill Peeping Eyes until you get an Eye for Decay, then scour the clock tower until you find a breakable wall. Get the Death Ring out of the chest in that secret room, go back to Wygol and buy 9 Heart Repairs, and be ready to spam the Vol Umbra + Vol Luminato union glyph when you get into battle with Blackmore. If you're around level 50 you should be doing 800+ damage per attack. Just make sure to un-equip the Death Ring when he's about to attack because, in exchange for it drastically boosting your stats, you die in one hit. After each of Blackmore's attacks, re-equip the Death Ring, refill hearts with your Heart Repairs, and spam away until he dies, which should be in seven to ten hits depending on your level.
I'm practicing cheap kills for New Game+ so I can get all of the boss medals. Although I killed him this way, I didn't save and did it a slightly harder way, just using the Nitesco + Melio Secare union for the first 3000 or so damage and, when out of hearts, blasting Nitesco and hoping that my dodging skills were up to par. Good luck.
CLShortFuse @ Nov 13th 2008 11:21AM
The game is not hard at all.
The game requires a little bit of grinding, but if you you go rare item hunting (killing enemies) you'll level grind up to and beyond where you "should be" (meaining the game gets too easy).
All bosses follow a pattern. Learn the patterns, it's as simple as that. Use your wavedash (back dashing) and be patient. You get a medallion for killing a boss without getting hurt. It's not that hard really, after you learn the patterns. Of course, if you're going all in without trying to learn boss patterns, you'll die quickly and easily. Sometime you have to wait up to 5 seconds for an opening to attack (and it may not be that long). Don't expect to get the medallion on your first try.
Find a weapon you're good with a stick with it. I personally favor the Falcis type for range and power.
Remember you can cancel your attack (and dodge attacks) by backdashing (and you can cancel your backdash with jump). Won't work every time but will allow you to sneak in attacks against bosses.
Don't rely too much on attack type weaknesses against bosses. Slash attribute tends never to never be gimped by bosses.
I'm up to Dracula now and hopefully have 100% on all items, weapons, quests and room locations (on all maps) (pending the final boss fight room).
His first form doesn't seem too hard. It's just comes down to what it always does. Finding an attack pattern that is effective enough (hurts hard enough but minimizes the risk of damage).