This is what Dracula sees right before he dies. Again.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Simon Belmont is a legend. His whip and badly animated saunter are forever etched into the annals of video game history. (And let’s not forget his brief television career on Captain N: The Game Master.) After a few years, good ‘ol Simon was getting a little long in the tooth, and he had to retire. They say talent skips a generation, and in the Belmonts’ case, it was more than a few. There were sons and cousins and former roommates of Simon’s taking a hack at Dracula and his hordes of undead henchman, armed always with a whip, a few axes and some holy water. The Castlevania series came to embody the word ‘formulaic’ when it came to videogames, in both its many 2D and 3D variations.

During the last few installments, most notably on the DS such as Dawn of Sorrow and the exquisitely designed Portrait of Ruin, Castlevania for the most part dumped the Belmont name, and started to wean itself off of the tried and true whip-jump-and-throw repertoire. In the most recent DS addition, Order of Ecclesia, there is no Belmont, no Whips, no Holy Water, and it may just be the best Castlevania game I have ever played.

Shanoa, the main character, is a total and undisputed badass. This girl swings giant swords, hammers, ice pillars, wind, fire, bats, arrows… you name it, this chick will whip it out of her item list and clean your clock with it. The game is a nearly perfect 2D Adventure RPG, with an excellent item and equipment system reminiscent of the last few Castlevania entries. Where this game really shines, though, it what is called the “glyph” attack system.

Throughout the game, Shanoa will encounter and absorb, (And in some case steal from her enemies) magical glyphs that give her both passive and active offensive and defensive abilities. She can also put two or three glyphs together into combined attacks that kill massive amounts of enemies both big and small in endlessly creative ways. The action and navigation is fast paced and relentless, and the levels are excellently designed. (A close second to the amazingly innovative Portrait of Ruin) Sure, there’s a plot, (Find and kill Dracula who’s slowly resurrecting himself through the dark unholy magic of the secret of the…zzzzzz) and a village of people whom you must save and then barter with for items and money, and some crazy enemy item drops to boot. (Cheesecake? A Cup of Coffee? A Nurses Cap?) But it is the nearly endless abilities of the game’s heroine Shanoa which makes this game an absolute must-play for Castlevania fans. True, it’s not Symphony of the Night, (and I can’t believe I’m saying this)… it might just be better.