Joystiq hands-on: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Classic 2D Castlevania is here to stay. At least, that's how we feel after playing the latest in the series to hit the Nintendo DS, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. While the game stays true to the flat-faced games we've seen in the past, there's enough here in this little square cartridge to make things feel fresh ... blood fresh.

One of the elements that stands out the most in this new Castlevania is the glyph system. In order to carry out actions, characters absorb glyphs (which are usually either weapons, i.e. a rapier, or magic, i.e. flying fire balls) and assign them to the X and Y buttons. You can equip the same glyph more than once, making things slightly more economical. You have a green bar under your red health bar -- this is a magic gauge. This depletes as you use your glyphs, but refills quickly as soon as you stop performing any actions with them; it basically regulates your attacks, so you won't be able to mindlessly breeze through the game.
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The R-button glyph is set for special abilities like the magnetic bubble -- the very first one you'll come across in the game. Holding down the R button creates this magnetic bubble around your character. If there are special metal spots around, your character will be pulled into them, but not far enough to reach them. Instead, you'll have to release from the bubble which will create a force and propel your character; you can adjust the direction and climb up to high platforms, or sail across large ravines. As for stylus control, there doesn't seem to be any. Control seems to be entirely made up of face buttons, shoulder triggers, and the d-pad.

In Order of Ecclesia, you'll have several places to explore. You'll be brought to an overview map, where you can choose a destination. Aside from vampire-infested castles, you can visit forest and towns ... or at least just one town, Ecclesia. While that's an interesting bit to take note of, this next one takes the cake. Those who love Japanese voice acting can breathe a sigh of relief: the game has dual audio for English and Japanese. By now you've probably seen some screenshots of the game; you can tell that the action is all on the bottom touch screen, while a mini-map conveniently sits on the top screen. There's not much else to say about that really,, except that the result of this setup means the mini-map will quickly become a very useful tool.

There are extra modes in the game like Practice mode: this requires you to choose from three different stages and make a speed run through them. Boss Battle takes you on a series of timed boss fights. We faced off against a giant crab-like monstrosity in a vertical tunnel, and then a guy with a large wolf-like shadow. There was also a gargantuan red-shelled thing, which required the use of the magnetic bubble to dodge attacks. These are just some examples of boss fights you'll find scattered around the main game.

While we didn't get to really delve into the game's storyline, all we can tell thus far is that you play as Shanoa -- a sultry vixen with long, flowing ebony locks who's looking for ... something. So, all right, we focused more on the gameplay, but that should tell you that we've had our healthy portion of fun with this one. This is definitely a title to keep an eye on for both Castlevania fans and Nintendo DS owners alike. It's creeping up soon -- October 21 to be exact.