JAVA | Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, the BEST or the WORST of the DS Trilogy? - SimplyAJ (Review)

What a rollercoaster of a game. It has it all. Ups, downs, and random loops!
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Songs Used:
1) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Sapphire Elegy (Nintendo DS)
2) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Riddle (Nintendo DS)
3) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Ebony Wings (Nintendo DS)
4) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Emerald Mist (Nintendo DS)
5) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Rhapsody of the Forsake (Nintendo DS)
6) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Welcome to Legend (Nintendo DS)
7) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - A Clashing of Waves (Nintendo DS)
8) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Chapel Hidden in Smoke (Nintendo DS)
9) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - An Empty Tome (Nintendo DS)
10) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Dissonant Courage (Nintendo DS)
11) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Chamber of Ruin (Nintendo DS)
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Special Thanks:
@SamWithoutAPlan - For helping me with shooting and general moral support! ► / samwithoutaplan
#Castlevania #NintendoDS #OrderofEcclesia #Konami

[@daryehl5910]

For me, OoE is the best of the trilogy. Mainly because of its difficulty. The artstyle is the best out of the three.

[@SimplyAJ]

Difficulty was definitely a step in the right direction, and I do agree, the art style is hands down the best of the DS trilogy.

[@fae_gavan7582]

I second that! Though, I do find OOE to be a bit linear on repeat playthroughs. Just a minor nitpick.

[@Nextilia]

I think it's better version from SOTN because you actually go and be outside of the Castle.

[@markgilbertarevalo2703]

I download it. My problem is her jump not responsive. I don't know why. Something like a delay and need to hold button to jump. But attack button is fine.

[@numapompiilius]

It kind of feels like a successor to Simon's Quest but in a good way!

[@winglesshawk6970]

Shanoa absorbing glyphs into herself sounds a lot like Bloodstained and Miriam absorbing shards (I think that's what they were called?)

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, pretty sure Miriam was heavily inspired by Shanoa. The shard system is basically a combination of the Glyph System from this and the Soul System from the Sorrow games. Probably leaning a bit more into the soul system side of things, but yeah, pretty neat regardless!

[@Hidden_Egg]

Absolutely, Bloodstained is very inspired by Ecclesia, from the fact that the glyphs (shards) are symbolized on the body to the general design of the main character. I love bloodstained but I really hope the next one goes more for the style and play that we got from Ecclesia. Harder difficulty, more serious tone, but still also elegant, haunting and beautiful.

[@safruddinaly5822]

That the reason i said bloodstained is bigger version order of ecclesia and not that different so i prefer order of ecclesia. I don't hate bloodstained it's just i preferred order of ecclesia. My friend get angry when i said that

[@wallacesousuke1433]

@@Hidden_Egg and someone on Reddit was swearing that Bloodstained had no inspiration from OoE like LOL come on!

[@wallacesousuke1433]

@@safruddinaly5822 me neither but OoE is better in almost every way, wish there were mods that make Ritual as similar to OoE as possible :D

[@tgr3423]

OoE ends up being my favorite Castlevania game because of the sum of its parts. The art, the music, and particularly the story imo are some of the strongest the series has to offer. The gameplay can swing either way depending on if you're trying to play a melee build or a spellcaster. I can feel the inherent weaknesses of the glyph system when trying to use the melee glyphs because it makes your MP just feel like a Dark Souls stamina bar, but the game really shines when delivering that immensely powerful caster fantasy that isn't commonly done in the Castlevania series without resorting to gimmicks (like the fighting game inputs in SotN or Magician mode in CotM). OoE enriches the lore in a way I never expected to want by showing the world without the presence of a Belmont, and honestly, it makes me enjoy time away from the vampire hunting family. It mythologizes them and makes the entire clan seem genuinely legendary. It also, in a way, makes Julius stand out all the better by making him seem like the culmination of thousands upon thousands of years hard work to become the Belmont who would finally annihilate Dracula for good.

[@SimplyAJ]

Very good points! Yeah, I love the Belmonts, but I do like seeing the era of time where the Belmonts aren't around, just to see how the world deals with the return of Dracula without them.

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

I like the glyph system, but I find that they can feel rather milquetoast and basic as weapons, in a way even the simple whip never was. The linearity of the game also prevents the player from obtaining some of the most interesting ones in the early game. At least you’re not bound to RNG and a non-functiong Luck stat to obtain them like in the Sorrow games. Glyphs like Magnes are a great idea, however. I wish the game had more platforming challenges to add variety to the adventure.

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, agreed. There were a lot of great ideas here, but the execution was just a bit flawed, unfortunately.

[@mightybackflip1104]

in my opinion albus mode is the best post game mode of the ds castlevanias. i found it to be even more fun than shanoas gameplay loop. i will never forget "A PICKLE SHOT!"

[@SimplyAJ]

Revisiting it this last time really made me enjoy it a lot more. It's just such a different and fun play style. I think the best optional mode might still go to Julius Mode due to the three playable characters and being the first to let you level up. But yeah, Albus mode is definitely super fun!

[@lenlimbo]

One thing that I always felt was neat is that Shanoa was definitely weaker than Jonathan, Charlotte and, obviously, Soma. She isn't a member of a legendary clan like the Morris or the Belmont, a prodigy like Charlotte or... well, Soma. She is gifted in that new magic system Ecclesia has created, which, even in story, seems to mimic the power of Domination, but it is a watered down version, as you said, and "normal" magic at that point had so many centuries of development that, while less versatile, is usually MUCH more powerful. The vampire hunter techniques too, for that matter, with the subweapon crashes from the Belmont clan and the techniques of the Morris being a much more refined and powerful version of what Shanoa can do with physical Glyph Unions. The exception being Dominus, of course, and I wont enter in details because spoilers. Dominus is the only glyph magic that can truly compete with the strongest powers of the other characters. All in all, I agree with you that the glyph system is a watered version of both the armory Soma and Jonathan had access to, and the magicks and skills that Soma, Charlotte and Jonathan could master, but the Glyph union system and some of the more uniques powers were awesome, and being able to spam spells was very nice, something the other three characters couldn't do without accesories that gave them infinite mp or insane regeneration. I realize this now, but it is a stamina system, like the one in Dark Souls, so we could say it is the Dark Souls of the DS Castlevania XDDDD

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, viewing it as a stamina system is definitely a good way to look at it. Granted, I think one of the things that makes Dark Souls stamina work is that, typically anyway, most enemies go down in 1-4 hits, and that might take your whole bar, or only part of it. Where as in this, you're swarmed by enemies sometimes and just don't have enough "stamina" to swing and defeat them all haha. But yeah, I probably should have gone into detail a bit more about Shanoa as a character, but, as a CHARACTER I think she's great. She's an awesome protagonist, just a shame that her attack system is what it is.

[@lenlimbo]

@@SimplyAJ Personally I liked it, it made me think instead of just attacking without pause. But I see where you are going, and I agree, it doesn't work as well as it does in the Soulsborne games. As far as I remember, the only places where it could be a problem for me were in those were medusa heads spawned, once I got used to it.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

What makes you think that? The more I think about her feats and powers, the more I think Shanoa is one of the strongest protagonists in the franchise! Charlotte is very weak melee-wise and needs Jonathan's help to execute her most powerful spells, whereas Shanoa can use giant *ss axes, lances, rock fists, make rain arrows and can easily spam AoE's all day (it's obviously limited during gameplay cuz otherwise the game would've been a breeze). She is easily on pair with Soma and Alucard, and above every Belmont, who all can't compete with her in the magic department

[@lenlimbo]

@@wallacesousuke1433 Easy. Lore-wise, Shanoa wasn't a threat to Dracula at all. Not until she used Dominus. The whole combat is Dracula playing with her and keeping himself busy until a Belmont or anyone related to them appears. It's not until he lowers his guard to finish her that she has an opening to unleash his own power on him. Jonathan? Canonically doesn't need the Vampire Killer to beat Dracula. Charlotte? Her magic CAN defeat Dracula. Each Belmont is stronger than their predecesors (and all of them can use the Vampire Killer freely, that speaks of the power of the clan), and Soma is potentially AS powerful as Dracula, who is, canonically, the strongest character in the series. Alucard, by that matter is almost a match in power to his father. Gameplay wise, Shanoa is very skilful, but outside of certain special glyph unions (the equivalent of dual crashes and weapon crashes), she can't deal as much damage as the characters I mentioned, and she also receives more damage. Don't get me wrong, I love Shanoa and how she plays, and the fact that she can even register, being a "new player", so to speak, among these monsters, it's one of the biggest compliments I can give her. But it's also thematically appropiate that she isn't as strong as established hunters, or that her magic system isn't as refined as the ones that had been around for centuries, maybe even millenia, like the Church's magic that characters like Charlotte and the Belnades use.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

@@lenlimbo "Jonathan? Canonically doesn't need the Vampire Killer to beat Dracula. Charlotte? Her magic CAN defeat Dracula." Where is that stated? Friendly reminder, NOBODY can beat Dracula without either the VK (Julius said that if Grant was indeed Dracula, he'd need to get the VK back ASAP, as he did when he went on to face Soma) or by using his own powers against him (Hector and Shanoa). Do you forget that the Belmonts "disappeared" once they were unable TO USE THE WHIP? If they can't beat Drac without the whip, why do you think a nobody like Jonathan can? "The whole combat is Dracula playing with her and keeping himself busy until a Belmont or anyone related to them appears." The whole combat vs Dracula has him laughing and playing around, no matter who is fighting against him (until he gets enough damage from the VK)! "that speaks of the power of the clan" No, that speaks of their special bloodline that conveniently is the only one allowed to use the whip without consequences (the VK killer lore never made any sense to me, but the franchise painted the Belmonts as the saviors of the day from the very first game so there's no retconning, which forced Iga to come up with Lament of Innocence and an attempt to explain why only the Belmonts have such privilege). "she can't deal as much damage as the characters I mentioned, and she also receives more damage." Now you're using gameplay elements that might or not be canon or just introduced for the sake of gameplay. Like, who needs hearts conveniently hidden inside candles to use special powers they already possess, or who hides chicken inside walls, or why would demons drop food and gear when killed? :D (at least mana makes sense as some sort of stamina) OoE was clearly made to be an ode to both Igavanias and Classicvanias, hence the massive bump in difficulty. In fact, in almost every Classic CV, the protagonists die in few hits so are they weak too, canon-wise? And even if Shanoa has normal/non-superhuman resistance to attacks, she can make up for it with tons of defensive glyphs, high speed, being able to dodge, heal herself, shapeshift and, has tons of ranged attacks and can even fly. And in OoE they put emphasis on elemental/physical weaknesses, that's why each enemy and boss requires different sets of glyphs to take more damage. It's hard to compare her damage to that of other protagonists, when, in Classicvanias there's no difference in attack types, a hit counts as a hit lol no damage number or anything until SotN introduced RPG elements to the series. It legit baffles me that Shanoa is ranked so low, it's so underrated by the community, like I'd never imagine I'd see the day she would be considered weak than Jonathan and Charlotte lol who as the game shows, had to team up and awaken the whip to save the day. "or that her magic system isn't as refined as the ones that had been around for centuries, maybe even millenia, like the Church's magic that characters like Charlotte and the Belnades use." I mean Shanoa was the only magic caster that managed to solo Dracula and his entire castle, Yoko got casually stabbed by Grant and became a mere NPC/blacksmith of sorts and Sypha got captured early on, had to be saved and become part of a small army to beat Drac. Oh well, the canon and writing in Castlevania is too inconsistent, vague and all over the place to easily draw direct comparisons but everything leads me to see Shanoa as an S-tier character for sure, sad that we didn't more games with her as protagonist, just imagine how more powerful an even more seasoned Shanoa would've become :P

[@hadesKIU]

I haven't played it yet, but based on your description and what I've seen, this game is the "Metroid Prime 2" of Castlevania. A more grand scope (Prime 2 had light and dark Aether and Eclesia has outside the castle), more linear progression, the presence of NPCs where there's usually few to none, and a higher difficulty with a focus on combat.

[@Maesterful]

So yeah it's basically better than it's predecessor in every way, apart from the music.

[@tanjelly72]

Order of Ecclesia is the only one of the 3 DS vanias that I feel I really got the chance to truly experience, if that makes any sense. I grew up playing DoS and PoR, and those 2 games make up a large portion of my earliest gaming memories. I've been playing them for as long as I can remember, and I can't remember a time where I didn't know the ins and outs of the games and their plots/stories. In contrast, I didn't even know OoE existed until I was a teenager, and even then it was very hard to hunt down a copy of it. I finally found one at my local Bookmans thrift store a few years ago, and I went in knowing literally NOTHING about it. I had never looked up anything about it online. The glyph system was interesting to me, as I found it similar to the soul system in DoS, yet still unique. The twist in the plot genuinely surprised me, as it was hidden well enough that I wasn't expecting it. And I'll admit that I teared up and even cried a little during the cutscene at the end of the game. I'm so glad that I got to experience OoE in this pure, untainted way, and I wish I could have that experience with DoS and PoR. Despite not having played it for nearly as long as the other 2, I can say with a surety that I love it just as much. All 3 are wonderful games that hold a place in my heart. If I had to pick a favorite of the 3, I'd probably have to choose DoS, but that might just be because it's the one I've played the most and am the most familiar with. Generally the two biggest complaints people have with DoS are the magic seals and the changed artstyle from AoS. I don't have an issue with the seals, and I actually like the artstyle of Dawn better than that of Aria, but that's just me. Long story short, I really truly enjoyed being able to go into Order of Ecclesia for the first time blind, and wish I could have had that kind of experience with Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. This whole comment is essentially just a long-winded way of expressing the saying that "You only get to experience something for the first time once."

[@SimplyAJ]

That's so awesome, though. It's always such a good feeling when you find a game in a series you didn't know existed. I think now a days, the combination of being older and information being SO readily available has taken that away from many people. I've had similar experiences back when I was a teenager. I remember finding Final Fantasy 9 while in a grocery story and had no idea it was even a thing yet. Same goes for both of the Oracle games in the Legend of Zelda Series. I was just walking by the game section of a Meijer while grocery shopping with my mom, and saw both games there. Took me by complete surprise, and there was no better feeling than suddenly finding a series you love has new entries that are already out and you didn't have to wait on haha.

[@MrKashifdon]

OoE is my second favorite, right after SoN. All the DS games were amazing in their own way, I truly hope we do get a DS collection soon

[@TANKTREAD]

Don't hold your breath for a DS collection for a single screen hand held console.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

@@TANKTREAD The stylus isn't used all that much so they could change the way it works or just remove it.

[@father042]

@@TANKTREAD They remastered games like Ghost Trick and TWEWY so it should definitely be possible

[@TonyTama]

Im ready to sound old. This was a game I had saved up money and traded and sold and essentially looked forward to getting on a part-time job check and went to a friends place to visit for thanksgiving but also get this game on release. I played the heck out of it in my junior year.

[@SimplyAJ]

Haha, yeah, looking back at thes games is definitely a quick way to feel old. If it makes ya feel any better, I was 22 years old when this game came out, so I feel ya haha.

[@yuumijungle548]

i also think the quests in portrait of ruin were done alot better, especially since the reward for beating all of them was a lot better as well.

[@19Szabolcs91]

I feel like this game was the culmination of Iga learning humility and embracing the entirity of the Castlevania legacy rather than just his own initial vision. Order of Ecclesia has a lot of things he criticized earlier - game being unrelated to the Belmont vs Dracula storyline, female protagonist, etc. It also came out around the same time Iga put the N64 games and CotM back in the timeline as "side stories"... which OoE also is. And obviously, the game itself is fantastic.

[@SimplyAJ]

That's a great analysis, and I'd love to pick Iga's brain on OoE in specific. Especially since he clearly based a lot of the ideas of Bloodstained on it as well.

[@sdjslkdjlsskldjslkdjsl8262]

westerners overhype how "against" female protagonists Iga was based on one probably imperfectly translated out of context tidbit from one interview.

[@josevitorcalfa2]

Best Protagonist, out of the box metroidvania wise, balanced in 90% of the game, killer OST... For me, this game was by far the best of the three DS games. I wish IGA went back to Konami to resume his work with the series...

[@grifftown]

new video letsgoooooooooo! edit: Great video! Loved the comparison to Castlevania II. Also maybe the lack of information on the games development led to some of the odd gameplay quirks you mentioned. Anyways... My own personal cure for hiccups is gonna make me sound ridiculous/insane but it's worked every freaking time since I was a child. Hasn't failed me once so here we go I guess. 1. Take a big sip of water and hold it in your mouth 2. Find someplace to lay upside down (always used like a couch or something to sit/lie upside down) 3. Do the ABCs in your head while holding your breathe and water in your mouth (if you cant hold your breath this long then for as along as you can) 4. Swallow the water while upside down Boom gets rid of my hiccups every freaking time. I used to get them a lot as a kid and for some dumb childish reason I decided "Why not combine as many cures I've heard about as I can?" LOL And yes... like I said it sounds insane but hey you asked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@SimplyAJ]

Hahah, well that's almost as complicated as what I typically do, which is like... Take a glass of water and drink from the opposite side of the glass. Like put your mouth on the far end, and bend forward and take a couple gulps. It looks and feels ridiculously, but tends to work sometimes! And yeah, would love to know more about the history of this game, but also, I can't read Japanese, so... would be hard to properly track down haha.

[@grifftown]

@@SimplyAJ ahahah that cracked me up never heard that one before! Gonna have to try it next time I get the hiccups, hell I'll try anything to get rid of them (just maybe not combine that with my whole upside down thing LOL) Anyways cheers to more great content to come and to no more hiccups!

[@Random-ig2qb]

The Glyphs are Shanoa’s Identity against just playing like other Castlevania protags. Most of the end game glyphs beat all the lvl3 weapons glyphs so those just become collectibles. There’s also a subtle design that using a certain attack attribute strengthens/levels that element, not that it’s a big deal. The tight spacing and linear paths work like mini-Colosseum stages. This entry could have been a spinoff series.

[@peacockfilletsteak]

I like the glyph system. Weapon choices are limited, but I think that's to its benefit. It feels more classic that way, and more focused. It trims the fat. Less is more. When I think about games like Symphony of the Night for example, I think about the insane amount of interesting weapons I will NEVER USE because they aren't my best weapon at the time that I found them. Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin have a wealth of weapons and abilities but how many did I actually use? Not a lot. Less is more IMO and I think Order of Ecclesia excels at this. Also MP acts more like stamina in other games, which I think is a cool way to implement magic and attacks seamlessly and maintaining the flow of gameplay without being like "Aw I'm out of MP, gotta use a potion", or otherwise just not using magic now because you're out.

[@NoVa_Dragoon]

"It just feels cumbersome swapping between high movement speed and flying" Redire not only being faster than the standard speed glyph but also allowing for essentially a flight replacement: (And also allowing you to skip straight to Eligors final phase gotta love that)

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, I had actually thought about mentioning Redire, since it IS a lot of fun to use. At the same time, though, it takes more practice to use effectively. I'd personally still have preferred if Shanoa could have just had the classic Super Jump haha.

[@azurecorviknight4189]

If i ported order of ecclesia to modern systems, im 100 gonna add Gravity Boots to her upgrades, it will only appear after Absorbing all of the Glyphs, unlike sotn, this wont cost mana to use.

[@bradyan53838]

Hi AJ! Thank you for your video! Castlevania is an important part of my childhood. Even today, I sometimes play these games again and again sometimes. Order of Ecclesia is my favorite among all these fabulous games. I didn’t play English version when I was a kid, so some terminologies are unfamiliar for me, but I still enjoy open and listen to every video talking about these games! I am so happy to find so many people love this game like me.

[@SimplyAJ]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@unknownuser494]

Can we talk about how rare armors in OOE and the only way to get them is from completing quest in which you require to grind ores and threads from enemies or from rare chest. Also how badly melee gets outclassed by magic. Yeah i agree brachyura and eligor are absolute mood killer if you replay Castlevania games.

[@SimplyAJ]

In this particular game, I think it's okay that magic is taking center stage, if only because they tried to give Magic a good co-role in Portrait of Ruin, but Charlotte was often overlooked in favor of Jonathan. The Glyphs system makes sense for leaning more into magic, I feel, story wise anyway. But yeah, honestly there weren't a lot of memorable drops in this game compared to previous titles. I don't remember farming enemies just to see what they would drop like I would in Portrait or Dawn. And yeah, Brachyura and Eligor really do just make the enjoyment come to an abrupt halt for like 5-10 minutes haha.

[@EXHellfire]

I love playing as Charlotte and Jonathan in PoR, as well as the other modes like sisters or Richter and Maria. The armour isn't that interesting. Still, nothing is as fun as Order of Ecclesia's Albus Mode, even if it's not as deep. In terms of sheer fun, blasting through this game as Albus is an experience no other CV offers. Personally my ranking for the DS games would be 1. Portrait of Ruin 2. Order of Ecclesia 3. Dawn of Sorrow But 1 & 2 are impossibly close.

[@sdjslkdjlsskldjslkdjsl8262]

It's better than I remembered it being after revisiting it. Every piece of music is memorable, creative enemy/boss spritework everywhere, relatively difficult and satisfying. Quite long for a handheld Castlevania. (The castle at the end, despite just being a "level," is comparable to the size of the entire SotN map. Maybe 20% smaller or so.) Dawn is close, but the touchscreen gimmick...

[@SamWithoutAPlan]

02:56 All videos like this from now on pls

[@SimplyAJ]

New April Fools video comin' up

[@femtohimself71]

I really didn't mind the limited weapons for a couple reasons. cause the magic made up for it. it's more than just a whip :^) slash with a sword, stab with a lance, dive kick, slide, then zap with some lightning that was enough style for me. and then, if I wasn't feeling that load out anymore, I just swapped it out. sure I like, variety but I also like *simplicity*. you can do a lot with less. it grants accessibility. frankly, I don't necessarily like the idea of 100's of combinations of weapons and souls. it's overwhelming and I like control. also if "luck" or "RNG farming" are involved in that given system, ughh. trying to tame 100's of combinations for a desired outcome isn't controlled. I prefer to master a system, than be a slave to it. even if the stamina bar restricts me in a sense, that too is something I can master and gauge. There's "i'm badass at this game" type fun, or "lets see what I get" gamble-y sense of fun.

[@icelevel2437]

Portrait of Ruin is my favourite game in the series, but you are so right about the soundtrack being a bit lackluster. It also suffers from it having so many remixed tracks, although I love the Haunted Castle remix in Dark Academy.

[@rockwarriorofoak]

You should make an in depth Castlevania "bonus mode"/"new game plus" video. I looked it up and I only found 1 video on it, and it was kinda meh. I love the idea of an introspective on "which one has the best extra mode."

[@SimplyAJ]

Ooh, that could definitely be a fun idea!

[@samwill7259]

I discovered you at just the right time "I Finished A Video Game" just released a huge video that has gotten me interested in Castlevania in a way I never was before and now I can go in depth, game by game, with you!

[@nightcrawler5]

It's a great series that's being seriously neglected by Konami. Big sad.

[@SimplyAJ]

I've actually had that video show up in my timeline a well, just haven't had the time to watch it, but it's definitely in my list to get to haha. Glad you're able to see my stuff as well!

[@espset1234]

Its cool to hear your perspectives on this one. I was pretty into these games when I was younger, and when OoE dropped I was pretty hyped, and therefore gave it a more than fair shake. So when I realized that I didnt really care too much for it and stopped playing it, it felt strange seeing so much praise for it, as of I must've missed something... But nah, I think I will stand for my perspective, and what you say about the map resonates 100% with me, it just doesnt do it for me. The glyph-system basically also just removes "weapons" in the traditional sense which has more downsides than benefits, at least in my eyes. I'll give it another shake later down the line, but there is dozens of castlevania-games I wanna re-visit or try before going back to this one👍

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah that's fair! I think it's okay to accept not liking something, even if you really WANTED to like it. There have been too many games where I tried to convince myself that I liked it, purely cause I liked the series. On that note, I do think it's fine to revisit games you didn't like either, to see if your perspective changes. Had I not done that, I'd have never gotten into Dark Souls, since I originally did not like those games at all, but after revisiting them later on, grew to love them. That being said, I hope you find some enjoyment with this one! If not, well, like you said, there are a ton of other Castlevnia games to play instead haha.

[@espset1234]

@@SimplyAJ yeh😄 I've been feeling like I really want to do a deep-dive into these eras of Castlevania-games soon. I got the Requiem-collection and have ordered the Advance Collection from Limited Run Games, and looking forward to going through them. Never played Symphony, Circle or Aria before, so thats going to be cool! Anyways, the point I wanted to make is that your videos on these games have really amplified this idea, they are awesome! Very good job man👍 Just because you might be interested, this idea had led me to try to go down the rabbithole of using downscalers to try to get the ps4-version running on a CRT-tv😅 Should make for a potentially really cool way of re-experiencing these games! Hopefully it turns out the way I hope👍

[@nightcrawler5]

Another great video review! I agree with you on the problems with the short "passage" stages. Even though I do like the variety of biomes, they seem superfluous, and the world would have felt more cohesive if players could just go from one location to another without being bounced back to the world map.

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, the biomes were great, and so many of the art used in the stages were fantastic, just a shame that they went with such a linear approach. Hell, even if they didn't do branching paths, having like.. some easy jumping sections like shown in the Simon's Quest footage would have made them feel so much less .... "boring" haha

[@safranromanji9815]

After replaying it, one major flaw becomes all the more apparent: the camera. You have huge or fast bosses that can act outside of your field of vision, and that makes it hard to anticipate attacks. Some challenges become infuriating just because of this, and you clearly feel the difference between fights when you can actually see where the attacks are coming from, and those in which you can't, leaving you to avoid them through painful trial-and-error until you know the patterns. Ecclesia really could use a bigger screen.

[@FuriousMaximum]

I like the way this game turns the tables, making you think it'll be mostly linear stages, and then at the end you get a good, big, Dracula's Castle with several sections.

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah finding out we had Dracula's Castle waiting for us at the end was a huge plus the first time I played it. It really did do everything that Simon's Quest wanted to do.

[@somacruz10]

They could connect all outside world in one level or something and put teleporters between levels, and I think they could use map for teleporting so they still use map but make it more immersive.

[@clessili]

I still remember buying this one with my allowance and thinking we'd get an other awesome new entry in ~2010, based on the release dates of the two other games... and then it turned out to be konami's last metroidvania...

[@nashurbina]

To be the last Metroidvania Castlevania game I think its pretty good. Although I didn’t like it as much as the other 2 DS entries I seem to understand why people love many of the good stuff this game did. I’m currently trying to give it a shot again bc of the lack of Castlevania in the world haha. Great video!

[@SimplyAJ]

Thanks so much! I definitely feel like the Castlevania series as a whole is one I can revisit multiple times over the years and find different ways to enjoy them. The DS games in particular really strived to give us multiple play styles, so it's nice knowing that, if you wanted, you could boot one of these up and just play completely differently than your original attempt to give yourself a new experience. But that being said, yeah, we're sorely lacking in Castlevania as of late. If you haven't already, I highly recommend looking into 2 games: Castlevania ReVamped, which is a remake of Castlevania 1, but turning it into a Metroidvania (and obviously taking some liberties with new areas etc.) and my personal favorite up and coming game: The Transylvanian Adventure of Simon Quest. This one is still being worked on, but it checks a LOT of boxes for me personally in what I want in a CV game. It clearly takes inspiration from Simon's Quest, while having some more "Metroidvania" style gameplay, while also drawing inspiration from a handful of other titles as well. It's a rad game, that I'll probably end up talking about in the future haha.

[@davidromero2704]

Order of ecclesia was a game i didn't like at first, but grew onto me me the second time i played it a few years after and had me wondering if criticised it too much and wondered why i didnt like it.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

I guess in terms of setting it's the best since you are outside the castle for once but damn this game is hard. 1:16 I really hate the fact that Symphony of the Night is not immediately available on that despite it being advertised on the box. It's not that easy to unlock. It's actually easier to unlock Maria who can actually help you to unlock SoTN more easily. Some people just want to play Symphony of the Night but you have to be decent at the other game in order to play it. I think future bundles of these 2 games have SoTN available from the start which it should have been. Order of Ecclesia takes place in the early 1800s. It's unclear exactly when but sometime between 1800 and 1834 (possibly 1827-1834 since some of the younger members don't appear to be born in the 18th century). Some of the people in town were born in the 18 century and have an actual age which is how I came up with that date.

[@REblll]

Hell yes, trilogy is now complete

[@SimplyAJ]

Now... to just do the NES Trilogy. And the N64 Games. And PS2 games. And every other game I missed hahaha

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

I have doubts about a Castlevania DS Collection happening. How are you going to do the stylus controls? I suppose you could just remove them in Dawn of Sorrow since there is a patch for that but Sisters Mode in Portrait of Ruin has a lot of stylus controls. I don't know how you could replicate that on a console.

[@SimplyAJ]

Well, PlayStation Controllers do have a touch pad, and the Switch is touch screen, but only in handheld mode. They could also map the touch segments to a right analogue stick, but yeah, there's certainly changes that would have to be made.

[@alpergundogdu5491]

Agree with you on normal weapons being glyphs was quite bad but I didn't mind the map too much. The village side quests were very entertaining and gave me a sense of belonging for the character I am playing and also a safe space where you can freely try out glyphs or unions...Above all, the art in this game has been definitely the best one in all the castlevania games I played.

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, the art is absolutely amazing in this entry, for sure!

[@P4brotagonist]

I have absolutely no clue why, but I just did not enjoy Order of Ecclesia. Everything about it SHOULD have made it one of my favorite games. The art was amazing. The animation was so fluid. The story was interesting. The gameplay was a bit unique. And yet I couldn't get into it. I tried like 5 times. Dunno why...

[@SimplyAJ]

Honestly, that's fair. The game has a lot to it, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna be "good" for everyone who plays it.

[@alexoniscenko1233]

The magnet glyph + the one you get in training hall is much bterr than running fast or flying.

[@SimplyAJ]

It's certainly much faster than running or flying, but the issue is the skill gap. It's not exceedingly hard to use, but it's not as intuitive as just flying or doing a super jump, and instead requires some since of timing to navigate through rooms with various enemies and obstacles. I didn't really mention it in the video, purely for the fact that it's pretty optional tech, and while it IS fun, a majority of casual players will get it, use it maybe a couple times, and drop it haha.

[@yuumijungle548]

i also think the green chests are a terrible design, its pretty stupid that some of the most important gear you need to clear some quests like the thiefs ring and the gold ring are only obtainable by pure chance in certain location in green chests only, sure in portrait of ruin you can also only get the gold ring from gold skeletons, but farming enemies feels alot better than farming chests by having to reload an area constantly, i think its horrible design, important items like these should be quest rewards, not random rewards from green chests that you will probably never see after 10+ full playthroughs unless you look up online how to get them.

[@yuumijungle548]

btw what really pisses me off is that you can save glyph set ups, but your actual armor will not get saved, usually against bosses you wanna go all glass cannon with barbaric gear and against regular enemies you wanna use max defense with platinum armor, its really annoying to switch back and forth constantly, because the game allows you to only swap glyph set ups.

[@TheDannylarson]

I just found a copy at the flea market and found this video researching the game, I played the gba games but never the ds ones, I'm glad their are soo many

[@SimplyAJ]

Oh wow what an awesome find for the flea market!

[@smugnick5458]

Bruh I jus dropped 120 dollars on this lmao

[@TheDannylarson]

@@smugnick5458 don't feel bad, if its a game I want ill pony up too, when it hits like 500 then I do some serious thinking 🤣

[@mortalslide]

How in the world are you only at 6k subs I watched this and another video and based on the quality expected at least 10x that. Here's hoping the algorithm blows you up

[@SimplyAJ]

Aha I appreciate it! Eventually, it'll get that high, hopefully anyway!

[@ReverStar]

I personally like Portrait of Ruin the most. Mostly because the plot and characters in OoE are pretty forgettable. OoE at least had the best music, gameplay, and makes the best use of the DS's hardware. But PoR had better connectivity when compared to OoE.

[@SimplyAJ]

I definitely think I do prefer PoR over OoE, but they're still pretty close. I think it also comes down to how long do I want to spend on each one? Sometimes OoE feels like it drags a bit, and as I mentioned in this video, there's a couple of boss fights I just do NOT like haha. If I could remove the crab fight entirely I would.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

I'll take Shanoa and Albus (Barlowe is meh for sure) over any of the anime caricatures from PoR (excluding Brauner, very interesting villain) any day of the week, and although half the maps in OoE are literal corridors I still prefer the "open" world and map variety of OoE over the repetitive maps from PoR (also, the latter recycles so many past enemies from SotN, Rondo and Sorrow games and introduces many lame enemies such as Zachinno, Crossbow Armor, Killer bees, Labolas and Nyx).

[@coryfusting9294]

I feel Symphony, Aria and Order are the top tier Castlevania games. I really do like Order for the mysterious timeline, the gameplay, few repeat sprites and a solid story. Also that moment when you realize Bloodstained's story is just a shittier version of Order of Ecclesia.

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah Bloodstained really was like an amalgamation of Order of Ecclesia and the Sorrow games. I really enjoyed it for what it was, but it definitely has its flaws. Will totally be getting to that eventually. I still haven't covered Symphony yet, because I have... A LOT to say on that one, so it's gonna take some time haha.

[@DrsJacksonn]

Highly valid criticisms. I wish we could get another Castlevania game in this style, but addressing everything you're sayin here.

[@SimplyAJ]

Same! Makes me wonder how I would have felt back then had I known that this would be the last ever REAL Castlevania game to be released. I always just assumed we'd get more, and yet... here we are haha.

[@yuumijungle548]

and yeah the final nail in the coffin are those two autoscroller bosses, pluss the wall guy, i mean at that point, you wanna just equip dominus agony and rush through the last few bosses to get it done with as quickly as possible, huge downgrade from portrait of ruin.

[@Mindskarred]

Discovered this video through random OOE search and I gotta say it's you style and way of talking is great! While I don't agree with every statement I think your Castlevania series definitely deserves more views!

[@SimplyAJ]

Oh awesome, thanks so much! Yeah, I typically try to make it very clear that like, even if I'm voicing a certain opinion, it doesn't mean it invalidates anyone else's haha. I like hearing what other people think, but for the most part, I pretty much love all these games to death. I

[@danielramsey6141]

And the fact that Albus Never got included in “Harmony of Dissonance” continues to piss me off. As much as it makes me happy that Iga tried to make that game work! Boss Rush feels incomplete, Albus and Hammer never got a chance to be added into the This Castlevania game. As for Order of Ecclesia! I had no Idea how HARD this Dame game is! I am seriously struggling with it, especially at this Lighthouse Boss! But I feel a few exploits are more than enough to get me through.

[@MainManJaggi]

Yo AJ. I'm pretty new to your channel, but I'm loving your content. Especially the Castlevania related content, as it was a big part of my childhood and teenage...hood. Any chance of you doing one on Lament Of Innocence for the PS2? It's got flaws, but it's definitely my favorite Castlevania game. The atmosphere was peak, and the soundtrack was fantastic and pretty different.

[@SimplyAJ]

Hey thanks so much! Yeah these games mean a lot to me. I didn't necessarily want to JUST be a "Castlevania guy" but once I started revisiting them, it was hard to stop haha. I do plan on covering the PS2 ones eventually, but as for when? Not sure. But yeah, the ideal plan is to cover EVERY Castlevania game. Probably the NES ones first, then the PS2, but yeah. Hopefully sooner, rather than later!

[@MainManJaggi]

@@SimplyAJ Awesome to hear, my man.

[@CommanderXephy]

I really thought OoE was an interesting addition to the series. My first playthrough was a bit frustrating - I had no idea I had to rescue villagers, so I got the bad ending and had to go *all the way back* and do everything again. I found it easier to restart the game and do it all again than to go back and try to see what I did wrong. I did enjoy it overall, though. It was fun and memorable. Great video as always, AJ! Can't wait to see what's next! (Maybe Rondo of Blood because it keeps frustrating me and it's the only thing keeping me from getting a Plat in the collection on the PS4???)

[@SimplyAJ]

Thanks so much! As for what's next, I'll probably do something other than CV for just a little bit (mainly so I don't pigeon-hole myself, or get burnt out) but will return to covering them soon (similar to what I did in between the GBA games and the DS games). So, Rondo of Blood is definitely on the list! If that's the only game keeping you from the platinum, I'd definitely suggest playing as Maria if you're not already, as she makes things wayyyy easier than Richter haha.

[@CommanderXephy]

@@SimplyAJ If i can get past the second official stage I'll have to do that haha, thanks for the tip!!

[@MarioKartCitySeven]

Nice video, I wish you would have talked a bit more of the story and characters development because I think it goes way further than previous CV games, but I guess you wanted to avoid spoilers. OoE is probably the best for me, one of the last 2D CV with peak pixel art, gorgeous music, multiplayer features (worth to mention), hard to level up, stunning artworks. And I hope Konami's devs didn't crunch that much because releasing masterpieces after masterpieces in only 1-2 year time each time (all CV GBA and then all CV DS) was truly impressive.

[@SimplyAJ]

Yeah, truth be told, I try not to talk about story stuff TOO much just for that exact reason, but in the future, I think I might just start giving people time codes they could jump to if they wanna avoid story spoilers, cause sometimes, it definitely is worth talking abou them haha. Yeah, honestly, there's no real way of knowing what sort of crunch they were under. Logically, and unfortunately, we're talking about the video game industry, from nearly 20 years ago, so I'm sure there WAS crunch since people didn't speak out that much back then. On top of which, ya know, Japanese work culture is just absolutely brutal anyway. But really, whose to say if they crunched or not to make these. I'd certainly hope that the devs that worked on these games were able to do so and not destroy themselves making them.

[@MarioKartCitySeven]

@@SimplyAJ Yeah I think it's a good idea or maybe if you really want to talk about the story without spoilers, you could mention some elements that can give everyone the eager to experience it by themselves! But anyways, you did a great job and I will definitely check your other videos! And about the crunch, I had a colleague from the industry who worked at Konami back in the days, and yeah, I will not talk on his behalf but the picture he made about the working environment wasn't attractive at all. So yeah, I hope it wasn't to hard and that they got the recognition they deserved!

[@fae_gavan7582]

OOE is tied with DOS as my favorite DS title. While DOS is less linear, I found it too easy. In terms of hard mode, OOE put up the best challenge. Portrait was a bit too hard with hard mode activated, and DOS was not challenging enough.

[@zeroXshinobi]

I remember getting this game and initially disliking it. The reasons I wasn’t enjoying it was because of the non castle setting, high difficulty due to how different shanoa played, and the very grim atmosphere….then realized as I continued to play…this WAS Castlevania!!! It’s easily top 5 in the entire series for me.

[@MainManJaggi]

I kinda missed out on OOE during the years I played the other handheld Castlevania games heavily, unfortunately. And it's just clunky as all hell on a mobile emulator. Games that require quick responses just don't work well on those. But man I do like watching it.

[@SimplyAJ]

Oh yeah it's a great game to watch, especially the randomizer for it.

[@xPhantomxify]

Are you going to make a video like this for the Advance Wars games on the DS? Or the underrated Megaman Star Force games?

[@SimplyAJ]

Ideally, I'd love to cover the Star Force games, and well, all the Mega Man Games. I'm a big Battle Network fan specifically. Just gotta find the time!

[@xPhantomxify]

@@SimplyAJ Yes all the battle network games are good too. I think star force is underrated because at first people were put off by the battle perspective, but the game actually has depth, is fun and has an interesting story. Thats why it could be interesting to revisit and discuss it

[@TehZergRush]

I'm going to make a point of playing the GBA and DS trilogies in 2023. I've let my back log get out of control so I'm going to reduce buying significantly and increase playing in 2023. Happy holidays and happy new year! I hope your channel has a great 2023 as well! Got my fingers crossed for Metroid games, or a Bloodstained reviews! Thanks for the content!

[@SimplyAJ]

Well conveniently, these aren't like TERRIBLY long games, so you could easily get through them in just a couple of days. But yeah same to you! I've got plans for a lot of upcoming videos, and those are definitely on the list, just depends on when I can get to them haha.

[@TehZergRush]

@@SimplyAJ Oh, don't worry, the back log is much larger than those games!

[@Waffletigercat]

Not all of the arm glyphs had three variants. There aren’t multiple strengths of Lapiste or Nitesco, for example.

[@nracicot]

I didn't even consider that this game had flaws until now. It's still my favorite of the series because of the atmosphere and art style though. I like your take on the Castlevania games, because it sounds honest, unbiased, and with details about the gameplay, which I often overlook. I would like to have your take on Symphony of the Night, Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness and maybe have a top 10 of your favorite Castlevania games.

[@Cenriquezm]

Most of the flaws he mentioned weren't actual flaws. The only negative I would agree with him is the map system. A fully interconnected world would have made this game perfect.

[@nracicot]

@@Cenriquezm Actually, I liked the map a lot, because it gives a sense of overview, a graphical brake and I felt satisfying to unlock new parts of the map. Still, doing a fully interconnected world would have been cool, but isn't that what's been done with Castlevania Lecarde Chronicles?

[@SwordofMyFathers]

HEY EVERYONE HOW'S IT GOING?

[@FerPaleta]

Great video! I hope the next one is for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, since it takes everything from the Iga games to make a great new one.

[@SimplyAJ]

I'm definitely going to be getting to it in due time. I 100% it when it first came out, but there's been so much more additional content since then, I definitely want to make sure I do it the justice it deserves haha.

[@ShadyHitchhiker]

I never gave this game a fair chance back in the day, but given this review I'm not entirely convinced that was a bad idea

[@SimplyAJ]

Honestly, don't let my review hold you back from trying this game if you have any interest in doing so! I still think it's a fun game, and when I FIRST played it, I didn't have as many issues as I did with it on my most recent playthrough, cause ya know, tastes change with time haha.

[@SoraXKokiri]

Nah OOE is, if anything, one of the best entries of the series. It did things differently and people always get upset at the change but trust me this game is a gem.

[@mattc1647]

I've never played a Castlevania game, but loved your review. Found your channel from JRose11

[@SimplyAJ]

Haha well thanks so much for watching! I cover other games outside of Castlevania as well, so hopefully I'll end up covering a game you enjoy at some point haha.

[@thirteenthirtyseven4730]

I’ve always felt that its artstyle give OoE a strong identity thay sets it apart from the more childish DoS and PoR. I loved it for that. One small gripe I’d add to the list of its imperfections is a second hidden level system. When you kill enemies or absorb glyphs, a hidden counter goes up that - when reaching high levels - makes a huge difference. This applies to both playable characters and even more annoying for Albus as there is no way (I know of) to autogrind. Why isn’t a single visible progression stat sufficient? The whole things feels like the designers needed to tweak the balancing and in doing so threw the players a curveball..

[@irusu.]

You need to of course alternate attack depending on the animation that's whatever I love that

[@TheExFatal]

I think this is my least favorite of the DS trilogy, and it mostly comes down to very weak exploration - it's non-existent. The locations are quite literally linear and the map screen makes every location feel very segmented. Had the exploration been on DoS' or PoR's level, the game would've been one of my favs.

[@javaghoul6302]

Hey AJ you should do a Bloodstained review eventually! I would love to see your opinion on that game 🙂

[@SimplyAJ]

First: I love the name haha. But second, yeah I definitely would love to! I backed Bloodstained, so I've played a couple early iterations as well. I haven't revisited it in quite a few years now though, so I'd definitely want to play through and mess with all the new content. It's a great game (and series, honestly), so it's definitely one I'll end up covering at some point in time haha.

[@robincray116]

15:40 You could have speed and flight. Redire. The boomerang that has a magnet point on it. Combine with magnet ability it is the fastest traversal item combo in the entire DS series. You get it by completing the training hall, how could you miss it?

[@SimplyAJ]

Bold of you to assume that I missed it, simply because I don't talk about it. That being said: Redire is not the solution to the problem I mentioned here. For 1) It's a completely optional ability that you have to go out of your way to find, and there will and are people who could easily miss it. 2) It's not exactly the most intuitive to use. It's a lot of FUN to use, sure, but you don't have nearly as much control with it as you do with running at high speeds and performing a high jump. Instead, you go where the Redire goes, meaning you have to time your throws to get exactly where you want to be, so there's a bit of a learning curve.

[@robincray116]

@@SimplyAJ If you knew about it you should have mentioned it.

[@SimplyAJ]

@@robincray116 Or, I could just, ya know, make the video I want to make and talk about what I want to talk about. The whole issue I brought up was that there wasn't a super jump in this game, it was instead replaced with wings. Redire isn't a replacement for the super jump either. It's a completely different style of movement from super jumping. Just because it exists, doesn't mean that it's what -I- (as in -me-, as in, -my opinion-) wanted. A lack of a super jump was one of the only disappointing things for me. (But also, I even showed footage AND talked about the training grounds just 20 seconds prior to the timestamp you provided. So maybe you could have used some context clues that I had indeed been there before). Point is, it's always a bad look to come into someone's comments and tell someone how they "should" have made something based purely off of your weird preconceived notions about what you think they did or did not know. It's the same as backseat driving/gaming/whatever.

[@robincray116]

@@SimplyAJ If one wants to complain about the lack of movement options, they should at least consider all the movement options and why they don't suit. You clearly didn't do that in your video. It does a disservice to your audience. That is my point. I doesn't help your YT career in the long run if one does this kind of stuff and continues to do so. If your response is that "You can't tell me what to do and make your own video". That is fine I certainly can but it still won't change your glaring omission, it still won't change the fact your video is lesser for missing that part out.

[@SimplyAJ]

​@@robincray116 You're moving the goal posts. I was complaining about the lack of a super jump, and it being replaced with the something that ISN'T the superjump. That's literally it haha. I didn't do a "disservice" to my audience. I'm not selling this game, I'm simply talking about my opinions about a game that I enjoy. That's it. I'm not being PAID to talk about this game, or promote it, or anything of the sort. I just thought "hey, I want to talk about Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia" and I wrote a script and did just that. The absolute audacity to come in and talk about my "KZbin career" and doing a "disservice to my audience" is utterly insane. These videos are dumb little passion projects that I make in my free time. Nobody who makes anything is going to make the "perfect form" of anything, and it's people like you leaving the absolute most nitpicky comments that push people AWAY from making videos and talking about things they genuinely enjoy.

[@flutter5373]

your shirt made me think of the Simon's Quest handheld game I had as a kid

[@SimplyAJ]

Ooh the Tiger Electronic? I had that too! Kind of wish I still did haha

[@flutter5373]

@@SimplyAJ yea, the Tiger one, I was terrible at it lol, wish I could play it today though

[@SOTNHacked]

The only thing OOE got right was the difficulty on normal and the character portraits sadly. Hard difficulty was unbalanced garbage and unfun to play; the sprite work was trash and inconsistent; most of the music was mediocre (though 2 or 3 tracks really did slap); shanoa's attacks were very unbalanced, and most of the actually cool looking ones were next to useless. The sound effects had very little impact to them, and the stages were very boring and overall bland. With the new enemy designs also being pretty bad and most boss patterns being just boring. And most unforgivably: how they limited how often you can use even the most basic attack. As if they were attempting to make some low grade version of Dark Souls stamina system. I was very disappointed with it. It felt like a lazy, mediocre game made by amateur devs. Sadly. Regardless: great vid!

[@mercutiolavantine5584]

"We're going to have a DS collection at some point!" ... 💨🍃🍂

[@SimplyAJ]

I'm not giving up hope! ONE day! Eventually! Hopefully.

[@mercutiolavantine5584]

@@SimplyAJ I hope so, I love the DS trilogy so much 😭

[@Waffletigercat]

I still really like OoE. I just wish the hidden equipment in the castle didn’t allow you to one- or two-shot any boss. lol Completely tanks the difficulty unless you forcibly limit yourself to not use the combo.

[@KaijinZSurohm]

Any plans to review Curse of Darkness? Probably my favorite 3D Castlevania Hector was a fantastic Protag.

[@SimplyAJ]

I do plan on reviewing EVERY Castlevania in due time. After this one I'll probably take a small break from CV Content for just a bit (similar to after I reviewed the three GBA games), purely cause I don't want to get pigeon-holed as JUST a Castlevania guy haha. But yeah, I 100% will get to Curse of Darkness eventually!

[@KaijinZSurohm]

@@SimplyAJ Makes complete sense. Between avoiding being pigeon hold, and overall burnout, I look forward to what you send out. I'm glad jrose spotted you, I wouldn't have known otherwise.

[@KhrysCobrado]

I wish they have netflix series about Shanoa

[@ihorolkhovskyi429]

My 5c here. For me OoE is the worst Castlevania, that was made after SotN. I'm not a big fan of "classic" games, I really like the touch of Metroid in the exploring and map system. As mentioned, linear system is bad. Also, Shinoa sometimes really moves like into water all the time, but I do suspect some "non-original platform" issues here, but DoS and PoR were way better in "character responsiveness". What is really good is art work. It's simply amazing. But overall story and some characters and quests? Really? Like I saved you and supply you and you're selling me stuff with a grumpy face? It all could be presented much better, with this storyline I see that some villagers are really deserved to be in statsis just for being assholes. And yes. Difficulty sometimes where it's not needed. I play games to have fun, not to struggle. Maybe I'm too casual for this one, but I don't have any issues with any other Igavanias.

[@SimplyAJ]

That's a fair assessment. I will say the underwater movement can be uhh... Not great, to say the least. It's extremely slow, and there are quite a few sections where you have to traverse underwater. But yeah it's fair to want to play games for fun and not to struggle. OoE is easily one of the harder games in the series.

[@ihorolkhovskyi429]

@@SimplyAJ Also forgot one thing, It's a constant tempo breaker. Means I've got myself more time in menu trying to find a good glyph combination sets for specific area. You got into new screen, you see the enemies and than - going to menu and changing your previous physical and magical set to a new combination. And by sets I do mean I'm not changing only A set, usually it's A/B sets. I can admit, that this is a "deep rock-paper-scissor system", but for me it's a tempo breaker.

[@yuumijungle548]

this game has the best art in any castlevania, probably also has the best story, i like that the combat is very fast paced, but for some reason it gets old pretty quick for me, i just dont like it as much as portrait of ruin gameplay wise, still love it tho. its like he said, there is pretty much no variety, every playthrough will feel exactly the same, you dont really have options when it comes to weapons, since its pretty clear which glyphs outclass each other in every way, you basically have to play the game exactly as the game wants you to, i actually like linear games, but this is on another level.

[@patrickjones2843]

I looked up where alot of rare materials where to save myself from spending hours on the quests. If you play this or SotN do yourself a favor and look up where to go / what to do next. Some of it is just bad game design dont torture yourself.

[@doctorgadget3580]

Anyone reviewed the Iga castlevania against bloodstained?

[@dylangaletti395]

I knew saving villagers in Chasm seemed familiar for some reason. Lol

[@SimplyAJ]

Aha, yup!

[@E4L-1989]

Anyone else here sent by Jrose 😂

[@SimplyAJ]

Aha, well thank for comin' by, regardless!

[@Necore]

Drinking something cold or eating an ice cube helps.

[@SimplyAJ]

I've always done the "drink from the opposite side of the glass" technique

[@yuumijungle548]

lol i also thought of path of pain when i did the training area recently xD

[@jampinjax9194]

I wished you talked more about the plot cause I really think this game hits way harder than the previous two games. Still a good video!

[@SimplyAJ]

I will say it definitely has a more serious play than the previous two entries, yeah. Maybe in the future I'll try to do a some videos talking specifically about the plots of the Castlevania games, if that's something people would find interesting haha.

[@iamLI3]

excellent review , i don't consider ecclesia a good castelvania game...

[@safruddinaly5822]

I just feel for me people just play castlevania for sake on hating the game. I don't know about other people think but yeah that what i think

[@specialnewb9821]

I won't say much about the gameplay. It's fun, but Castlevania games are too hard for me to get far. But Shanoa is the coolest looking character in the franchise.

[@Zephhi]

imo it’s one of the best Castlevania games easily

[@Tt-yr9ri]

Order of Ecclesia is the best Castlevania in my opinion.

[@joshrobinson2409]

Loved this game shanoa is my favorite character, and its like who cares if there are repeats of the weapons I think you actually are splitting hairs as aside from the melee glyphs you have really fun ones in draculas castle and there are all kinds of combos you can do for variety so yeah your nit picking also the glyph sleeve is not mandatory I played with out using it once so yeah

[@SimplyAJ]

I mean, an opinion is an opinion, whether it's nitpicking or not. What some people view as insignificant, others don't. I clearly enjoy the hell out of this game, I just wished the glyph system wasn't so watered down, since it's taking the place of bother the weapons AND the spells, so coming off the previous two games, it has a rather lackluster selection. OoE is still a great game, and I revisit it pretty much every year, the same way I do with all the other CV games.

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

You don’t get it, Shanoa just likes to go through stages for fun instead of going around them on the map screen. Seriously, every time you finish a stage it feels like you’ve just taken a stroll through the level and returned to where you came from, only to randomly unlock the next one.

[@SimplyAJ]

Ahaha, indeed. It's all Shanoa's fault at the end of the day!

[@leargamma4912]

It isn't random. These areas connect to one another because it feels like a real country/area you are exploring to track down albus.

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

@@leargamma4912 What I was trying to say is that it feels like you’re selecting a level and not going on a journey, since you can istantly go to any level you have already unlocked, instead of the levels actually being connected.

[@leargamma4912]

@nicoloenricorimoldi7425 yeah. You can do that. Isn't it neat you have the ability to choose where you go in a VIDEO GAME? If you had to backtrack like in the previous titles just to get to the set-piece levels, You would be complaining about that instead.

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

@@leargamma4912 I don’t mind the map system as it is now, I was just poking a bit of fun at its side effects. Still, the integration between Metroidvania design and linear levels could have been better.

[@Voidaram]

I've just beaten this game for the first time today While i definitely think it could've been better, i still think it's a great game and in my opinion MILES better than portrait of ruin and harmony of dissonance which are games that bored me to death with barren level design and a very limited character respectively. I think this game is about as good as the sorrow duology but not quite Symphony of the night level of good.

[@NoNameNoWhere]

Portrait of Ruin was a slog for me the first few times I played it. Eventually I pushed through my boredom and ended up enjoying it. Harmony of Dissinance? I tried and tried and couldn't get far in it. And that says a lot considering I beat Circle of the Moon, which was a decent 6 out of 10 for me. Order of Ecclesia is my favorite Castlevania game. Though, I do understand why people feel differently.

[@lirolo8343]

The magic in this game kinda feels like a stamina bar

[@dankaka]

Castlevania for Ds Castlevania portrait of ruin is absolutely splendour is just G.O.A.T. Castlevania order of ecclesia is kinda ok ok. it's just playable atleast it's not terrible. Castlevania Dawn of sorrow i don't know because I don't have it.

[@wallacesousuke1433]

Portrait is fun and nice but it's nowhere near close to OoE

[@Cyan1d3.0c3aN]

I genuinely think this is one of the best games of all times but I’m also looking through 15 inches of nostalgia goggle lenses so

[@siomaiwrapper5229]

This was my fave among the 3 ds castlevanias.

[@zuljaras]

Also, this is the only Castlevania game where you see Dracula that actually walks :D Lords of Shadow do not count as you play Dracula there :D

[@SimplyAJ]

Aha yeah! I always loved that we get to see him actually walk around. It's so goofy looking, but still great. Gotta love that he's also voiced by Patrick Seitz, aka DIO from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. That dude can't stop being vampires.

[@Un.knowns]

Hey AJ! It’s AJ! (My nickname is AJ cause I am a junior)

[@SimplyAJ]

Aha, yeah I am definitely not a Jr. I've just got a mouthful of a name that my parents decided to condense into 2 letters haha.

[@Un.knowns]

@@SimplyAJ I honestly just prefer to be called AJ because of my own…how do I put it? Not sure, just memories. AJ just makes me more confident with it. Anyway! Having a monster of a name seems like it could be a pain to announce.

[@nweditor875]

OoE is great game easilly in my top five favorite for sure.

[@NT35000]

The formula's getting better. Keep at it

[@SimplyAJ]

Aha thanks man!