Nom: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Format: DS ver. US

Temps passé: ~ 14 heures

Status: Histoire terminée

Collection: Non

Très bon nouveau système de Glyphs et j’ai bien aimé le personnage de Shanoa. De plus, il nous propose des paysages variés. C’est du Castlevania à un très haut niveau !

Note/Appréciation: 92/100

I just recently finished this game for the DS. It’s rare for me to feel like I got my money’s worth after beating a video game, but I definitely got that feeling here. Aside from decent graphics and catchy music, the games was cool because:

• The game is long without feeling like a grind. It took me about 10 hours to beat the game…then it unlocked “Hard” mode (really? the game can get harder?) and “Albus” mode (playing the game as an alternate character.)
• The game is tough! Certain bosses took me 4-5 tries to beat. I’ll also admit that I couldn’t beat other bosses without doing some research online. And Dracula was super hard…I’m proud to say I beat him without any help or guides – but it probably took at least an hour and more likely 2. That relentless bat attack was brutal.
• The game is huuuuuge. I was browsing youtube for other people’s tactics vs Dracula, and I discovered that I had missed so many other weapons! Skimming the guides I also found out I had missed some of the top end equipment. And I knew that I hadn’t finished all the side quests the villagers had sent me

For old school Castlevania fans they had a lot of old enemies, features, and weapons, which was a nice touch. Personnaly, I can’t wait to get back and try the different modes and hunt down the last items. So if you’re looking for a great action DS game, I heartily reccomend Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.

Le Fouet Sacré de la famille Belmont a disparu, mais Dracula recouvre inlassablement ses forces. Plusieurs organisations ont été créées pour chercher le moyen de le détruire à tout jamais. L’une d’elles, l’Ordre d’Ecclesia, possède le pouvoir des Glyphes. Le fondateur de cet ordre, Barlowe, espère que le fruit de ses recherches suffira à débarrasser le monde du Seigneur du Mal. Vous incarnez Shanoa, une jeune femme destinée à recevoir Dominus, le glyphe le plus puissant de l’Ordre, mais Albus, l’assistant de Barlowe, vole le pouvoir et s‘évanouit dans la nature…

C’est ainsi que débute cette nouvelle aventure de Castlevania. Une aventure sous le signe du changement, principalement scénaristique. En effet contrairement aux autres épisodes, vous ne débutez pas l’aventure à l’entrée du Château de Dracula, vu que ce dernier n’a toujours pas retrouvé son pouvoir. Le schéma de ce troisième épisode sur DS prend un virage scénaristique plutôt agréable. Lancée à la poursuite d’Albus, Shanoa doit parcourir la région de Castlevania. Bien entendu inspirée de la Roumanie et sa région transylvanienne, le monde est composé de forêts brumeuses, de sombres cavernes, de marais. La région étant également côtière, des niveaux sous-marins seront également de la partie. Vous découvrirez rapidement un village dont les occupants ont disparu, qui deviendra le centre stratégique de votre aventure. Au fil de votre quête, vous libérerez les habitants de ce village qui reprendront leurs occupations, marchand, forgeron, et vous proposeront diverses missions, de la plus simple recherche d’objet à la plus dangereuse chasse aux monstres.


Les changements interviennent également dans le déroulement du jeu. Order of Ecclesia s’adresse d’emblée aux habitués du genre. Le débutant pourrait être rebuté par la difficulté, la différence de niveau entre Shanoa et les nouveaux monstres rencontrés étant assez importante. Les monstres frappent fort. Très fort. Le jeu nécessite de la concentration de la part du joueur. Dans les précédents, vous pouviez foncer dans le tas, potions en poche. Ici, les objets coûtent cher, et comme les monstres vous enlèvent facilement plus de 100 pv en un coup, ce serait un gâchis d’utiliser cette stratégie. Toute erreur ne pardonne pas. Et pourtant, une quête secondaire consiste à battre les boss sans jamais vous faire toucher. Chose qui paraît improbable contre certains (Blackmore pour ne citer que lui) mais qui satisfera l’expert, qui jubilera alors de botter le train des plus gros monstres en quelques minutes, dans des combats assez intenses, à grand renforts de saltos, glissades et esquives en tout genre.





Pour vous battre contre les créatures, point de fouet. Shanoa possède un pouvoir bien plus destructeur: les glyphes. Vous en trouverez certaines dans des réceptacles, mais les plus puissants seront souvent jalousement gardés par les monstres. Pour faire simple, les glyphes sont une variante de l’absorption des âmes de Aria of Sorrow (Gba) et Dawn of Sorrow, le premier épisode sur DS. La différence est que Shanoa peut les combiner pour créer des attaques surpuissantes. Elle utilise les glyphes dans chacune de ses mains, ainsi que dans le dos. Elle peut ainsi faire apparaitre des armes, épées, haches et bien d’autres, qui baissent un peu sa réserve de magie, la forçant à reprendre son souffle, la magie remontant automatiquement après quelques secondes. La technique la plus puissante reste l’union des glyphes. En combinant des glyphes identiques, vous avez la possibilité de créer par exemple une épée gigantesque, ou encore transformer vos mains en véritables lance-flammes. Mais si vous associez deux glyphes compatibles, la puissance de son invocation sera beaucoup plus impressionnante. Mais voilà: ces invocations sont coûteuses, et leur utilisation doit être parcimonieuse. En effet, une union de glyphe coûte des cœurs, parfois peu, parfois énormément. Et leur rechargement est assez laborieux, à part en retournant au village. Heureusement, Shanoa améliore ses capacités en ramassant des artefacts pour développer, ses points de vie ou de magie, mais aussi ses points cœurs.


La progression reprend donc les bases de ces prédécesseurs avec ce petit côté RPG très plaisant. Shanoa améliore ses pouvoirs avec les fameux artefacts mais également en rossant du monstre, qui vous donneront des points d’expériences en rendant leur dernier souffle. Le hasard joue également un rôle, car à sa mort, votre adversaire peut laisser derrière lui un objet, potion ou équipement, afin d’améliorer votre défense. Les villageois pourront également vous venir en aide, après que vous ayez réussi leurs missions, en vous offrant des armures, des accessoires, de l’argent ou encore en approvisionnant l’échoppe. Vous aurez la possibilité au cours du jeu de créer trois configurations de glyphes, reprenant le concept de l’âme du Doppledanger de Dawn of Sorrow qui permettait d’en utiliser deux. Vos recherches des glyphes vous mèneront à trouver de nombreux passages secrets, de coffres cachés, certains n’apparaissant qu’en ayant l’idée saugrenue de s’accroupir dans les endroits les plus improbables. Chaque zone traversée en ouvrira une autre jusqu’à la ce que vous ayez retrouvé Albus. A ce moment là, sans spoiler bien sûr, vous aurez la fin alternative du jeu, si vous n’avez pas rempli les conditions nécessaires au rebondissement qui ouvre la deuxième partie du jeu.





Jusque là, vous aurez passé entre 8 et 10 heures, et vous pourrez en ajouter encore quelques unes, jusqu’à une quinzaine pour finir la quête principale. Après cela, seront débloqués les classiques modes Boss Rush, New Game +, le mode Albus, histoire de prolonger le plaisir. Ajoutez également des petits modes multi-joueurs, le mode Achat-Vente, les courses, qui sont jouable en local, mais également en wifi. Dans le fond, Castlevania Order of Ecclesia est un quasi sans faute, tout comme dans la forme.
Les graphismes sont du même niveau que les précédents, voire un poil plus fin pour certains monstres qui ont été redessinés (les zombies, les armures géantes…). Certains monstres qui étaient passé à la 3D dans Portrait of Ruin, comme les Peeping Eyes, sont revenus à une 2D beaucoup plus fine. Les Boss sont toujours aussi repoussants, et certains sont plutôt impressionnants, un simple boss peut ainsi être aussi grand que le Boss de fin de Dawn of Sorrow, ne laissant apparaître que ses jambes dans l’écran. Le choix des couleurs est beaucoup plus réfléchi, à l’inverse de Portrait of Ruin qui proposait par exemple un menu rose bonbon qui faisait particulièrement tâche. Order of Ecclesia propose des décors sombres et gothiques qui font honneur à la série. Le design des monstres est comme on l’a dit toujours aussi bon, et bonne nouvelle, celui des personnages aussi! Sans pour autant atteindre la sensibilité des dessins d’Ayami Kojima (Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow), ceux de Order of Ecclesia relève le niveau des précédents opus DS grâce à un style plus sombre, plus adulte. La musique n’est pas en reste, les morceaux sont toujours aussi bon, avec un seul regret, les disques bonus que vous pouvez dégotter dans le jeu sont les morceaux issus des épisodes NES, dans un format MIDI assez rebutant, comparés aux très bons remix comme le thème de Simon dans Portrait of Ruin. Le son est également efficace, et les voix sont en anglais, mais également disponible en japonais (de meilleure qualité) en passant dans les options. Et même la traduction est cette fois-ci correcte, sans les coquilles un peu gênantes des autres épisodes.


Vous l’aurez compris, Order of Ecclesia est quasiment irréprochable, Konami fait preuve de bon sens en suivant de près une série affectionnée par beaucoup de joueurs. Les erreurs du passé sont corrigées, et il est difficile d’imaginer ce que nous réserve la suite de la série. La difficulté peut rebuter les joueurs connaissant peu Castlevania, mais une fois le gameplay maîtrisé, Order of Ecclesia se révèle être le meilleur des trois épisodes de la DS.

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Graphismes: 9/10
Son: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Durée de vie: 9/10

Le Verdict: 9,5/10!

Genre: Action
Développeur: Konami
Nombre de Joueurs: 1 à 4
Support: Nintendo DS

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Castlevania has provided years of hack-and-slash/RPG action for eager fans of the series. It’s no surprise then, that it should be a smash hit on the Nintendo DS. Its newest incarnation, Order of Ecclesia, provides the same white-knuckle challenge with more of some familiar characters, storyline, and gameplay. To compare it to series great Symphony of the Night is a bit farfetched, but what is presented here can stand well on its own two feet.

In the mid-1800s (read: after the events that transpired in Symphony of the Night), the Belmonts have all but vanished. Because Dracula still poses a potential threat, a measure of protection is still very much warranted. Out of all the hopefuls planning to take precautions against his return, the Order of Ecclesia emerges as the most successful. The Order has put together a collection of glyphs who draw their power from Dracula’s own. These glyphs, entitled Dominus, are bestowed upon Shanoa, a member of the Order. However, before she can properly receive the glyphs, they are stolen by fellow Order member Albus. Shanoa pursues the glyphs, and on her quest discovers Albus’ purpose in stealing the glyphs. Some cunning twists are revealed as Shanoa realizes exactly why Albus decided to throw a wrench in the plan. Though this Castlevania adventure abandons the cast of characters gamers are already familiar with, the introduction of gallant Shanoa and the mysterious Order is an interesting take on the storyline. Providing plenty of twists and engaging, interesting characters, this story is one to remember.

If you’ve ever played a Castlevania title before, then you should know just what to expect. Smooth, solid action, challenging monsters, and varied locations abound. This is all quite familiar territory. Order of Ecclesia brings you more of the same satisfying Castlevania action that you’re used to, but this time around there are a few tweaks to get used to. While you will continue to side-scroll, defeating enemies to gain experience and level up with, the fighting system has been altered with the introduction of glyphs. The newly-implemented Glyph system is unique from both installments on the DS, and admittedly will disappoint those who are looking for a bevy of new, original spells and abilities at the very beginning of the game. Glyphs themselves can be found from completing puzzles or simply by conquering foes. Once you have obtained some, they can be equipped on Shanoa’s arms and back. Usage of the Glyphs’ special abilities consumes MP, and a good lot of them are actually required in order to make progress in some areas of the game. With over 100 glyphs to discover throughout, finding new and interesting abilities isn’t an issue, but the pacing of glyph discovery is a bit strange. Also, if you don’t quite fancy this new system, then there are not enough physical weapons or items to make up for the discrepancies. This leaves the game feeling a bit unbalanced in the combat department, as that is the most important aspect of a Castlevania title. Most of the challenge in Order of Ecclesia draws from some incorrigible bosses. This time around, level design has been downsized considerably. Areas are more linear than they have ever been, and this is one of the game’s weaker points. Those more interested in exploring levels to see what treasures are available may be turned off by the downsizing of once many-faceted, perilous grounds. Rather than exploring Dracula’s castle, you’re actually leaving to traverse a number of different areas, most of the while tracking down the stolen glyphs needed to combat the rebirth of Dracula. But once you’ve had your fill of one area, it’s likely you won’t ever really need to come back. However, after trekking through the first few hours of the game you soon discover that there are a plethora of different quests to undertake, all of which will take a good portion of time to complete. Speaking of time, you’d better have a lot on your hands. This game is difficult. You’ll become great friends with the Game Over screen, many of the times due to cheap deaths. This is not a title for casual gamers. Prepare for onslaughts of tough enemies and austere bosses that will test even the most hardcore of gamers’ limits. Though Order of Ecclesia is a solid Castlevania title, one glaring flaw aside from level design is the fact that the entire first half of the game feels more like a preparatory ritual for the rest of the game. In the second half you really begin to feel as though momentum has most certainly picked up. You’ll find more glyphs, fight a variety of familiar monsters from previous titles, and story exposition that is much appreciated after the gnarled plot twists have been exposed. Combine this with the stark difficulty and potential players will be driven away.

The visuals are gorgeous and detailed, as evidenced in character portraits. Castlevania has always been at the forefront of gorgeous 2D graphics (and some 3D at different points), and Order of Ecclesia does not stray from this norm. Painstaking detail has gone into creating each and every area. Though what’s presented has been crafted with love, you still will discover that a good half of the enemies you encounter are indeed palette swaps of previous monsters or rehashes from other games. Still, the amount of artistic effor imparted into this release is magnificent, as always. Not many DS games can look as great as each and every Castlevania seems to manage. Audio Following suit with the fantastic visuals, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia brings with it some beautifully orchestrated tracks. Another magnificent soundtrack that you might want to consider adding to the collection. Baroque-inspired compositions will ring in your ears long after you’ve put the DS to rest for the day. Shanoa’s voice clips while performing attacks are an entertaining addition as well.

There is no real multiplayer to be seen in Order of Ecclesia, save for an extremely lackluster race mode that pits you against a fellow gamer in order to see who can reach the end of an area first. There is also a shopping mode that will likely bore you to death, so multiplayer in Order is very much an afterthought. There’s no real reason to bother getting into it unless you’re just dying to share the adventure with another human being.

When the story mode has been completed, veterans will find much to enjoy about the sheer amount of unlockables available to keep the experience fresh. While running through many a linear path during the course of the game will wear on the nerves, unlocking the slew of extra content at the end is worth slogging through even the most boring parts, enhancing replayability. That is, if you can even manage to make it to the end. If you complete the game, there’s more than enough extras to keep you coming back for more, if only to see how much better you can do than your previous playthrough.

 Any fans of the previous Castlevania games will find much to enjoy here, as well as masochists who enjoy frustrating moments in video games. Joking aside, this is a brilliant entry into the series that deserves your time and attention. Despite several of its flaws, this is a worthy handheld adventure that will be sucking up your free time for months if you allow it to.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on the Nintendo DS is a game I have spent a lot of time with recently.
In need of something to do, I decided to try my hand at writing a review. It’s something I may find myself doing more in the future, whether it be a full and detailed review (like this one), a short impression (like the Mirror’s Edge demo) and perhaps other types too (I was originally going to list ‘pros vs cons’ for this one, but wrote too much on the intro).

For now, I’ll leave you with this. It’s kinda long (about 4 or 5 pages I think?), and its in .pdf format.

Click here to read the review

Scott.

Bueno bueno, por fin le he podido meter mano al último y tercer Castlevania para la portátil de Nintendo y las sensaciones no pueden ser más positivas. El Dawn of Sorrow había dejado el listón muy alto y el Portrait of Ruin la verdad que no me terminó de enganchar, pero lo poco que llevo jugado a este Order of Ecclesia me está gustando mucho.

Algunas novedades como la absorción de glifos o ir desplazándose por un mapa general, dentro del cuál iremos completando distintas misiones me parece adecuado. El nivel técnico de nuevo raya el sobresaliente y se coloca por encima de las dos entregas anteriores. Eso sí, la dificultad ha variado un poco y se ha incrementado. En esta ocasión los enemigos por muy débiles que sean son un poco tocapelotas. Seguro que es un aspecto que valorarán positivamente los amantes de esta mítica saga.

Por otra parte el número de ataques con los que contará Shanoa, la nueva protagonista del juego, será bastante elevado. La absorción de los glifos que he comentado permitirán que ejecutemos ataques de armas, magias, invocaciones o llevemos a cabo transformaciones. De nuevo las posibilidades son muy amplias en cuestión de combinaciones. El argumento esta vez gira en torno a la ausencia de las resurreciones de los protagonistas que siempre daban caza a Drácula, por lo que una orden que llevaba tiempo fraguándose para evitar esta situación entra en escena, siendo Shanoa la elegida para llevar a cabo la misión de eliminar por enésima vez al conde.

No os lo podéis perder si os gusta esta saga, se mantiene fiel a los cánones establecidos por ella y además se convierte en una de las mejores a nivel general. Esperemos que Konami e Igarashi sigan llevando a cabo este buen trabajo con la DS y veamos nuevas e interesantes entregas, aunque no estaría nada mal una aventura en 2D para alguna de las plataformas de sobremesa de esta generación

A série Castlevania já possui dois ótimos jogos para o Nintendo DS: Dawn of Sorrow, continuação para o aclamado jogo de GBA Aria of Sorrow e Portrait of Ruin que também foi bem aceito pela mídia e pelos fãs. Com dois sucessos já estabelecidos no portátil da Nintendo, será que Order of Ecclesia conseguiu superar as expectativas dos fãs e da mídia ou será a primeira grande bomba da série no DS? Clique em more para descobrir.

Dados Técnicos

Plataforma: Nintendo DS
Jogadores: 1 ( 2- online)
Gênero: Platformer
Desenvolvedora: Konami
Lançamento: 21 de Outubro/08

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia acontece em uma época onde o clã Belmont já não existe mais e o chicote sagrado está perdido. A humanidade para se proteger das forças do mal (também conhecidas como Drácula para novidade da série), cria diversas organizações para pesquisarem métodos para defenderem a humanidade contra o Lorde das Trevas. Entre essas diversas organizações criadas está a Ecclesia.

A história gira em torno de três membros da Ecclesia: Shanoa, Barlowe e Albus. Barlowe, líder da Ecclesia, anuncia ter conseguido criar um poder capaz de derrotar Drácula, este poder foi chamado de Dominus. Barlowe então convoca Shanoa para receber Dominus através de um ritual, porém Albus interfere o ritual e rouba Dominus alegando que o poder e a missão de derrotar Drácula haviam sido prometidos a ele por Barlowe. Como conseqüência da interferência de Albus, Shanoa perde todas suas memórias e emoções.

Order of Ecclesia não possui uma história muito complexa por focar apenas em torno de três personagens principais, mas é o suficiente para manter jogadores interessados até o final do jogo.

O poder dos Glyphs e a vila de Wygol.

Glyphs são as grandes novidades quanto à jogabilidade para este novo jogo. Glyphs são “símbolos” utilizados para conjurar armas e poderes mágicos. Glyphs são normalmente pesquisados e utilizados por membros da Ecclesia, portanto todos os golpes de Shanoa dependem de Glyphs que são obtidos ao longo do jogo.

Glyphs são obtidos matando determinados inimigos, destruindo algumas estátuas especiais ou encontrando-os espalhados pelos vários estágios do jogo. Os mesmos são associados aos botões Y, X e R do portátil, sendo possível unir dois Glyphs (pra cima + Y ou X) para um ataque ainda mais devastador. Algumas uniões resultaram em ataques especiais que podem servir muito bem contra chefes.

Até o momento percebe-se que o sistema de Glyphs é baseado primeiramente no sistema de almas que data desde Aria of Sorrow. Assim como AoS, o uso de Glyphs consome MP, portanto todo ataque de Shanoa terá um certo custo em MP, porém para evitar que jogadores devam ficar longos períodos sem atacar o MP de Shanoa recupera-se rapidamente.

Diferentemente dos jogos anteriores da série no DS, Order of Ecclesia possui uma brutal dificuldade. Os chefes do jogo são desafios difíceis, forçando ao jogador a aprender rapidamente seus padrões de ataque e fraquezas. Não espere fechar esse jogo sem morrer algumas vezes.

O jogo possui várias áreas para exploração, algumas grandes e bem variadas entre ambiente externo e interno. As áreas do jogo são selecionadas através de um mapa e ao se avançar no jogo, você poderá retornar para áreas anteriores para realizar quests ou visitar algumas partes antes inacessíveis.

Entre os mapas disponíveis está a vila de Wygol, cujos habitantes foram seqüestrados por Albus. Shanoa deve resgatá-los nos vários outros mapas do jogo e ao fazer, a pessoa retorna para a vila e oferece algumas quests que podem ser feitas. As quests do jogo consistem em coletar alguns itens especiais, tirar fotos de inimigos, entre outros e como premio a pessoa que pediu a quest fará itens como armaduras e poções que serão vendidos na loja da vila.

Realizar quests, treinar Shanoa e dominar o uso de Glyphs faz desse Castlevania uma experiência duradoura e desafiante.

Novo Castlevania, novo visual.

Ao contrário de Dawn of Sorrow e Portrait of Ruin que possuem um visual anime, Order of Ecclesia opta por um estilo de arte mais gótico e mais fiel as raízes da série e que ficou muito bem no jogo, sendo que graficamente OoE é levemente superior aos jogos anteriores do NDS. As animações dos personagens estão melhores, os cenários estão mais bonitos e variados e os efeitos das armas e mágicas estão melhores

O som do jogo também está muito bom e também possui vários trabalhos de voz de boa qualidade.A trilha sonora muitas vezes impressiona e nunca deixa o jogador cansado, minha recomendação vai para a musica de Minera Prison Island.

Infelizmente (ou felizmente para alguns), OoE quase não possui nenhum uso para a tela de toque do DS. Uma pena, pois a mesma já havia sido bem utilizada em Dawn of Sorrow e é um dos recursos mais interessantes do console.

Assim como outros Castlevania no DS, OoE possui uma boa quantidade de extras ao se fechar o jogo como Boss Rush Mode, Albus Mode e uma dificuldade hard para os que realmente querem provar a habilidade. Além desses há o modo online que consiste em disputar corridas com seus oponentes ou vender/comprar itens das diversas lojas online. Além disso, ainda haverá a possibilidade de se conectar OoE com Castlevania Judgment para liberar ainda mais extras.

Acertos e Erros.

* O novo sistema de Glyphs é muito bom, mesmo sendo muito similar ao sistema de almas de AoS e DoS. Há uma boa variedade de Glyphs e as uniões tornam o sistema ainda mais interessante.

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* Um novo estilo de arte, gráficos, som e trabalhos de voz de boa qualidade fazem desse título um dos mais bem produzidos no DS

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* Não faz praticamente nenhum uso da touchscreen e um modo online que não é dos melhores.

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* Vários estágios, side-quests, fases secretas e extras ao se completar o jogo. Uma dificuldade brutal e que deve manter jogadores presos ao jogo por um bom tempo.

Conclusão

Castlevania Order of Ecclesia é um dos melhores jogos para o DS e com certeza um dos melhores jogos da série. O novo sistema de Glyphs é interessante, há muito extras no jogo e uma ótima direção de arte fazem desse jogo mais um grande jogo para o NDS. A exploração é incentivada, os chefes são difíceis e desafiadores e a história é interessante. OoE entrega aos jogadores um novo Castlevania que inova em alguns conceitos e que agrada os jogadores antigos da série. Não deixe de conferir um dos melhores jogos para o portátil e um dos melhores Castlevania já criados.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. [Insert more pleasantries here . . . or not].

Here it is, Saga 05, where Shanoa journeys to the Skeleton Cave and learns more about Albus’s plans for the villagers of Wygol.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

Avis personnel : Encore une fois de plus, je n’accroche toujours pas à la série des Castlevania.

The Shanoa Saga fell behind schedule last week, but with its latest release, it’s back on track. Check it out as Shanoa fights a giant crab then enters an underwater cavern.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

Saga 05 will be up soon, and then the blog will be back on schedule. For now, here’s Saga 04.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

Por Clarice dos Santos

Como alguns já devem ter reparado, sou uma fã assídua de Castlevania: dos 24 títulos lançados nesses 22 anos, já joguei 20 deles, sendo 11 detonados – logo logo serão 12*RS*.

Lembram-se do primeiro Castlevania? Lançado para NES, posso afirmar que este é o Castlevania mais difícil que já joguei, seguido de Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest, lançado dois anos depois para a mesma plataforma.

Forte neblina, o uivo dos lobos, seres misteriosos, zumbis famintos por carne humana e morcegos com sede de sangue: estes e mais outros elementos foram alguns dos motivos de esta criação da Konami sobreviver por 22 longos anos e conquistar uma legião de fãs ao redor do mundo.

Infelizmente nem tudo são rosas: além dos detalhes citados no parágrafo anterior, um outro detalhe que contribuiu para o sucesso da série foi o estilo “plataforma”, uma das marcas registradas de Castlevania e para os fãs estava ótimo assim. O tempo vai passando, os consoles se aperfeiçoam e, obviamente, novos jogos devem ser lançados e adaptados para a nova tecnologia. Eis que surge, em 1999, Castlevania 64. Para muitos fãs da série uma grande decepção. Tive a coragem de detonar esse jogo, mas não conseguir por as mãos em Legacy of Darkness, lançado no mesmo ano e para N64 também. Quem iria imaginar que depois de Symphony of the Night – um dos maiores sucessos da série – poderiam ser feitos esses dois fiascos?

Dois anos depois, com os jogos de Game Boy Advance (GBA), a Konami volta a investir no 2D, mas em 2003 cedem ao 3D novamente com Lament of Innocence para PS2: não sei se muitos gostaram, mas na minha humilde opinião este foi o melhor Castlevania em 3D que já foi lançado, ao contrário de Curse of Darkness que saiu também para PS2 e não agradou todo mundo: ter que “criar” armas para derrotar determinados inimigos e passar em algumas fases não foi de muito agrado não, sem falar que era muito lento para jogar – você fazia um super-hyper-ultra machado, mas demorava uma década para levantá-lo, de que adianta?

Enfim, com o lançamento do Nintendo DS, a Konami lança mais dois jogos para o console: Dawn of Sorrow e Portrait of Ruin. O primeiro é a sequência de Aria of Sorrow, lançado para GBA, e conta com o uso da stylus para desenhar “selos” usados para derrotar os chefes e também para quebrar alguns blocos de gelo presentes em algumas fases. Tanto DoS quanto PoR são bons jogos, mas com o clima “anime” e sem alguns elementos góticos característicos da série quebraram um pouco o encanto deles.

Um outro detalhe que podemos notar ao longo dos anos é que a dificuldade da jogabilidade está mudando: o jogo está mais fácil. Para a felicidade geral da nação, isso não está presente em Order of Ecclesia(OoE), o último título lançado para Nintendo DS.Novamente o clima gótico prevalece e o jogo é extremamente difícil.

Estou quase detonando OoE e posso assegurar que muitas coisas que os jogadores reclamavam em fóruns que “O jogo está ANIME demais!” ou “Está muito colorido!” foram dispensadas.

Não sabemos muito sobre Shanoa: só que sabe manipular Glyphs – como as almas de Aria e Dawn of Sorrow – o que faz muito bem, e que é uma mulher forte e ausente de sentimentos. A jogabilidade é muito boa, a stylus só é usada para ir de um teletransporte ao outro no mapa e SÓ, mas até para isso ela é dispensável pois as setas do console também são usadas para tal finalidade.

Vou parar por aqui, senão escrevo alguns SPOILERS xD. O que tenho a dizer é que, apesar de alguns erros, a Konami consegue se superar e dar a volta por cima. Castlevania Order of Ecclesia está longe de ser uma decepção, ofuscando os antecessores da série para o DS, mas ainda não chega aos pés de Symphony of the Night.

Bom, vamos ver Castlevania Judgment. Este não boto fé, mas não nego que estou curiosa para ver.

The brand new Shanoa Saga blog has been updated and is ready for viewing. Please stop on by as the Shanoa Saga pages here will soon be deleted.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

The Shanoa Saga has finally made its move to its own blog, and the first three installements of the blog, the third of which is new, are now available. Thank you for your patience.

Saga 01

Saga 02

Saga 03

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

I think that the “Metrovanias” that Konami has been releasing for the last decade or so are gaming’s equivalent of Dragonlance novellas, or something like that; they’re amusing and fun experiences, but generally not worth dwelling on. All told, I’ve played Symphony of the Night, Circle of the Moon, Aria of Sorrow, parts of Harmony of Dissonance, Dawn of Sorrow, parts of Portrait of Ruin, and now Order of Ecclesia, and I’ve got to say I’m damned if I can remember a whole lot of notable stuff about any of them save Symphony of the Night, which is the only one I’ve bothered to play multiple times. Oh wait: I do remember JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE! JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE!

…Just had to get that out of my system.

Order of Ecclesia took an interesting tack with the Castlevania standards; all your moves use MP, so you’ll have to manage the meter, the difficulty level has been cranked up significantly, the Glyph system feels pleasantly customizable without making me feel like I gotta catch ‘em all, and it’s nice to have a world map with multiple level setpieces and Dracula’s Castle. When it comes down to it, though, there’s not much I’m going to remember about it except that I got to play as a woman this time, and not just a rather womanish-looking dude.

Kind of makes me wish I could mod the game so I was playing as Wesley Snipes from Blade though.

pat m.

I just picked up Meta Gear Acid (Ac!d) for the PSP and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the DS. After having played the heck out of Acid 2, I can say that they are different. Acid 2 makes a lot of improvements to the system, while on the surface, the story in Acid 1 sounds a little better so far. As for Castlevania, i’m only 3 maps into it, but I can definitely say that this is one of the best experiences outright i’ve played in quite some time. I’ll say this, the music is fantastic and the character art is amazing. I’m looking forwarding to getting further into this.

On a side note, in Fallout 3 i’ve finally reached level 5. But, everytime I level up I always have this feeling of if I screwed up my perks and specials. Anyway, I’m starting to wander aimlessly because to me, it seems like some of the quests are broken. For example, Lucy West sends me on a quest to deliver a letter to her family, but when I get to the area and find them, my quest notes still say I need to deliver the message. So I went back thinking it would update, and tell her but the quest still says deliver the letter. *sigh*. There’s another quest with the water repair guy that seems broken too. Maybe i’m doing them wrong, I dunno, but I am following the steps i’m sure.

On another side note, I finally downloaded Left 4 Dead demo (PC)! I’m gonna play tonight with my brother. I played about 5 minutes last night, before my son turned off my computer, and it was pretty cool. I’ve got it reserved on the 17th. Can’t wait!

|D

The Shanoa Saga has moved from its old home at Jon K Langdon Presents to establish itself as a true blog. Eventually, the entire blog series will be moved to this blog, but for now, archived pages for The Shanoa Saga can found at:

The Shanoa Saga at Jon K Langdon Presents

My next post wasn’t scheduled until late tomorrow night, but I have an announcement to make. Due to the number of pages being created for this blog on a weekly basis, I have decided to truly separate each series into its own blog. In the coming days, you will be able to find your favorite blog series at the following places:

The Chicken Chaser Chronicles: A Fable II Blog

The Shanoa Saga: A Castlevania Order of Ecclesia Blog

and the venerable

Cor Blimey! It’s A Dragon Quest IV Blog

I want to assure everyone that the decision to break up this blog in separate blogs was done with haste and for monetary reasons.

With its star attractions moving on, what will become of Jon K Langdon Presents? Well, who knows? You will have to stay tuned to find out.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

Yeah, go me! I finally got around to finishing Order of Ecclesia just yesterday. I’ve been tinkering about with the new modes I’ve unlocked, and they’re quite fun. The ending was a bit iffy, I guess, and the boss didn’t really have much of a second form (more of a ’second phase’) – but then I’ve never really finished a Castlevania game before. Circle of the Moon we technically cheated to finish…and I forget the ending, except I think his castle crumbles. Which happens here too. In fact, I get the feeling it always happens. That’s why the castle’s always different, cos it gets rebuilt. Yeah, that must be it.

Anyway, yeah. Now just to wait for World Tour which arrives (hopefully) on Friday. I’m gonna learn how not to suck at drums (pffft yeah, that’s likely.) and hit up the vocals, but of course I fear I’ll default to the guitar. I intend to try very hard not to however, to show my mom up. Har har.

While I’m waiting though, I need something to occupy me. Maybe a second playthrough of OoE? Actually, I started hard mode but one bit has got me sooooo stuck. It’s not the heavily increased amount of enemies, they’re just a bit annoying is all. No. It’s the environmental hazards. I scoffed at the 2 slow moving guillotines before. Now? I quake in fear of the very rapid, very tightly stuffed together guillotines, all 5 of them – and that’s only the ones I can see on the screen, as I barely passed the first two. I fear, FEAR, what the rest of the game will be like.

Anyway, with that said I’m gonna move off and keep celebrating my awesomeness for beating Dracula. Seeya next time.

Scott

Look at me posting on time and stuff!

Saga 02, part two of The Shanoa Saga: A Castlevania Order of Ecclesia Blog series is now available.

Stay tuned after the weekend for the next Cor Blimey!.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

Developer/Publisher: Konami
Year: 2008
Fun Fact: the 10th Castlevania game released this decade (I think)

There’s been a handheld Castlevania game every single year since 2001 (counting the GBA port of the original NES game) but Order of Ecclesia is the BEST, which is quite an accomplishment given the extremely high regard and ratings the other releases have received. The latest release, starring fair, amnesiac maiden Shonoa, takes some of the strongest elements of past Castlevania games and combines them into an airtight new game.

Introduced in Ecclesia is a world map, breaking somewhat from the strict Metroidvania setup of most of Castlevania outings since 1997. The world map works more or less like you’d expect allowing the player to move freely from one area to another. The areas are unveiled over the course of the game and provide a wide variety. Some areas are basically straightforward action levels similar to what one might expect from pre-1997 Castlevanias. Others require more exploration and treasure-hunting. In other words, if you love the Metroidvania playing style, it’s still here, but it’s not the exclusive design idea.

The game features all of the RPG elements of recent Castlevanias, as well as side quests that seem somewhat Zelda-ish, as in inane little errands performed by request. Some of these side jaunts will reward the player with useful items, while some seem less worthwhile. Magic Points are included and every single offensive maneuver uses some of them but, thankfully, they auto-replenish. The items that use most of the magic are ‘glyphs’ aka weapons. Glyphs are somewhat similar to previous Castlevania ideas in that many of them are dropped by enemies and provide some new ability. The glyphs are equipped just like weapons and used in the same manner. Various glyphs can be combined for abilities and especially strong attacks. Some can also affect performance and status – my favorite allows Shonoa to move at seriously fast speeds.

Unlike most of the Koji Igarashi-produced Castlevania titles, Ecclesia is actually difficult! I died many, many times at the hands of bosses, especially. In fact, it was equipment that got me through the final boss fights more than my stats. Along with the surprisingly high difficulty level is a surprisingly high-quality story. It’s not epic but it makes some sense and offers something more than the ’some jerk wants to resurrect Dracula’ line.

Grade: A+
Conclusion: Get it!

The second of my promised new blogs has been uploaded:

<a href=”http://jonklangdon.wordpress.com/the-shanoa-saga/saga-01/”The Shanoa Saga

I hope you enjoy reading The Shanoa Saga: A Castlevania Order of Ecclesia Blog series.

Happy Halloween! And see you Monday with a new Cor Blimey! and Chapter Three.

More to come,

Jon K Langdon

So recently, I realised I have a habit of starting games but never finishing them. It’s a problem I have that I really need to sort out, and so I’ve decided that it’s time I buckled down and finished one.
But that’s not looking so easy any more.

You see, recently I got hold of Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the DS, and have been really quite enjoying it. It’s a really fun ‘metroidvania’ style instalment in the series, and that’s good for me, because having played the original ones as an experiment I found myself unable to enjoy them. Remembering that my first Castlevania game was Circle of the Moon on GBA (which I reached the final boss on and then got stuck, moving onto other games as I got them), I realised it was likely I wouldn’t take too well to the retro style games. So, I’ve been tackling the newer ones as they came. Sadly, I’ve never really managed to finish one of those, either, but Order of Ecclesia looks promising. Or, should I say, did.

You see, the problem is that I have reached a dead end, and there aren’t any guides available yet – which is good, because I sometimes get a bit snarky about using guides, as I did with the Ace Attorney series – if I have come so far alone, I get a bit cavalier and go off on one about not wanting any help whatsoever. And perhaps, if the people writing guides on Gamefaqs don’t hurry it up, I’ll manage to finish it off myself.

But there are other obstacles, and they take the form of other games. Oh, and a naggy girl on my case about writing something. But that’s not what I’m here to go on about.
These games are an old favourite of mine, Timesplitters 2, which I picked up again a couple of days ago since my copy was broken, and Battlefield:Bad Company, which is set to receive a patch featuring new maps and trophies tomorrow.
After my little trophy spree with Linger in Shadows (which, for £2, I recommend as an interesting little toy, and the trophies are nice too) I have acquired a taste for these achievements that really started back in the summer holidays when I spent long periods of time tinkering with flash games on Kongregate, which has little achievements for you to complete there. I love the idea myself, as these achievements and trophies encourage you to play deeper into the game, and to do more than just play through the main storyline. However, in this case, the Battlefield trophies are the reason I will be playing through the main storyline – since I held off, knowing trophies were on their way, and for everything but online play, they weren’t retroactive.

As for Timesplitters 2, it’s there because I love the series, and knowing a 4th is on its way I wanted something to quench my thirst while I wait ever so patiently for that dream boat to come sailing in.

For now, I will be returning to Dracula’s Castle, in the hopes of finding my breakthrough and coming closer to making the night a safer place to be.

Adios.

Scott.

Computer problems.

Coming Up Next Week:

• Cor Blimey! It’s a Dragon Quest IV Blog returns with the conclusion of Adena’s journey to the tourney.
• Premiere of The Chicken Chaser Chronicles: A Fable II Blog series

• Premiere of The Shanoa Saga: A Castlevania Order of Ecclesia Blog series

Each blog series will be updated once a week, Cor Blimey! on Mondays, Chicker Chaser on Wednesdays, and Shanoa Saga on Fridays, starting next week. This also means that while I will preserve the pages of Cor Blimey! already published, future installments will be longer to accommodate the less frequent posts. I might eventually edit the pages to fit the new format, perhaps split each chapter coverage into three parts. We’ll see.

New blog series mean the site will have to undergo a major visual change. Stay tuned!

More to come

~Jon K Langdon

It’s going to be a crazy two months ahead. Due to the approaching Black Friday, games are being pushed out in time for the holiday season, and the buyer frenzy. Just on DS and PS3 alone, we’ve got a mass amount of titles that will make you either flinch in agony as your time is whittled away, or leap for joy at all the drooling goodies.

We’ve got Little Big Planet coming out on the 21st, in addition, on that very same day is the new DS Castlevania – Order of Ecclesia. Let’s not forget Rockband 2 is being released for PS3, which I happily preordered.

On November 11th, is supposedly Dragon Quest IX for DS, Eternal Poison for PS2, Castlevania Judgement, and super-drool Mirror’s Edge! And the day after that is Valkyria Chronicles! A week from that day is Tomb Raider Underworld!

Some of you may already have Eternal Sonata, Dead Space, and Bioshock on your radars too.

Personally, I’m going to skip Eternal Poison and Castlevania Judgement. I’ll have to let a few of these games pass “Day One GET” in favor of my wallet and my time constraints. I’m still trying to play Uncharted!

I’m definitely going to get Valkyrie Chronicles. Played the UK demo, and I’m supremely impressed with the game mechanics.

Mirror’s Edge is an obvious DAY ONE GET. What I am kicking myself for though, is the fact that when I registered this blog, mirrorsedge.com was available, and I didn’t take it. Why? I’d say a sudden lapse of stupidity.

Another GET is Tomb Raider Underworld. I’ve always loved Tomb Raider, and seeing it improve so much over the last two games has really injected new love for the series for me. May not be a Day One Get though, but definitely one of the higher priorities.

I’m also a huge Castlevania fan, and can’t wait to see what this new DS installment will bring to the table. The new combat system sounds interesting, and I’ve always wanted to see a female lead since Dracula X.

Little Big Planet is already preordered. I don’t have to say anything else. The reviewers have said their word, and I agree. Beta showed me the light.

The demo for Eternal Sonata didn’t impress me very much. I really like the art style. It’s beautiful. But it doesn’t seem to add much to the RPG genre. Nothing interesting at least. I was really anticipating this game when I saw it on the 360, but after playing the demo, decided that I’ll buy it “when I have time”. I have enough RPGs to tide me over for potentially the next 5 years!

If I can’t purchase all my wants, then hopefully, someone else will for my christmas present.