Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

[Nester the Lark]

This slipped out quietly this past week, but it wasn't really an official announcement.

In an interview with Game Informer, Castlevania producer Koji "IGA" Igarashi mentioned that he's working on a third Castlevania game for the DS. His comments, however, are a vague and confusing. We know that he's finishing up Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, but it's unclear if the DS game is like a port or something completely new.

GI: With Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles getting approved, which means the game is more or less finished. When do you think we’ll hear about what you’re working on next?

Igarashi: I will be working on a DS version, but I am thinking of moving to the home consoles for the future. I will continue to use 2D for the DS version, but I’m still trying to figure out which console to do the home console versions. I think the Xbox 360 would be the best platform for the U.S. market.

. . .

GI: So your new Nintendo DS project, would it be a port of The Dracula X Chronicles or an all new game?

Igarashi: I would like to create something new, not a simple conversion. Simple conversion titles might be better served by the Virtual Console, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. I think I’ll do something new for the DS.

. . .

GI: Do you think we’ll hear more about your next DS project at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show, or do you think we’ll hear about it, like it always, at Konami’s Spring Gamers’ Day, next year?

Igarashi: I’m not sure. (laughs) But the next DS version is well into development right now. We will make an announcement in the near future, and we hope you all look forward to it.

So, he doesn't sound too sure about what he would like to do with the new DS Castlevania, but it's "well into development." I think IGA's taken a page out of Miyamoto's interview handbook.

In any event, I loved Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, so I'm looking forward to more news on this!

[Wildcat]

Aye, I'll be watching for info on it myself. Loves me Castlevania. I hope it feels a bit less sloppy this goaround...I liked Portrait of Ruin a lot, but it felt like some of the level design called for things that didn't get to happen. And I REALLY hope we cease reusing older sprites...I'd love to see a truly ALL NEW Castlevania.

[Nester the Lark]

I wasn't going to bring this up because it's strictly rumor and nothing more, but Kotaku picked up on it, so what the heck.

Basically, some alleged screenshots from the new DS Castlevania popped up yesterday, and there's absolutely no verification for their authenticity. I first heard about them thru this thread at the Castlevania Dungeon forums.

If you read thru the thread, you'll learn that these shots first appeared on the Portrait of Ruin forum at GameFAQs. They were supposedly posted by a translator named Ben Norman, whose account was verified as a VIP's. However, his account has since been suspended, and the related thread referencing the images (at a Photobucket account) was deleted.

I, personally, have no speculation to offer. However, I am reminded of the "Castlevania: Dual Moons" hoax that preceded the official announcement of Portrait of Ruin in 2006. Konami's Gamer's Day press event is likely to happen in the next month or so. Both Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin were officially unveiled there. The same will likely happen for the new game, so I see no reason to jump to conclusions. We'll learn about the "real" game soon enough.

[Wildcat]

I saw those, and I do hope that they are real. I like the art style infinitely more than the anime designs DoS and PoR used (although I did like a majority of the PoR art that wasn't in the game, but for the anniversary), and if it's fake, they're well done indeed. Please oh please oh please be real...

[TV Eye]

I hope this one will use better 2 1/2D graphics, just like New Super Mario Bros. I don't know why the previous Castlevania's didn't.

[Nester the Lark]

A bump and a title change...

According to Famitsu, those leaked images of a new DS Castlevania were apparently real, and the trademarked name "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia" is, in fact, attached to it.

Scan 1
Scan 2

GoNintendo speculates that the "Wii" menu item seen in the leaked title screen suggests that there will also be a new Castlevania for the Wii.

Source: GoNintendo

[missingno.is back?]

I still want to get the first two DS Castlevania titles.

[Wildcat]

Yay! Those shots looked excellent, so I'm glad they're real. ^_^

[Nester the Lark]

Kotaku has covered the official announcement for Order of Ecclesia. It doesn't say too much that wasn't already deciphered, but it does reveal the gameplay system a bit. Apparently it has something to do with glyphs that provide "magical weapon abilities."

The main character is a woman named Shenoa. This marks the first time an "official" Castlevania game has had a female as the main protagonist. (Castlevania: Legends on the original Game Boy featured Sonia Belmont, but it was retconned.) The game will also have a two-player co-op mode, suggesting a possible second playable character. Whether the two-player mode would be like the ones seen in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin isn't mentioned.

The game is currently scheduled for release this fall.

Konami sure loves the DS. We've had two great Castlevanias with a third on the way, an outstanding Contra game, and a terrific classic arcade game collection. You have to wonder if we'll ever see any DS installments of Metal Gear or Gradius.

[Fryguy64]

I would be very surprised if we didn't eventually get a DS Metal Gear. Surely it makes sense to remake the original MSX games in birds-eye 3D now, right?! Just a thought!

[Nester the Lark]

You would think the DS would be perfect for a Metal Gear game seeing as how the system has a built-in radar screen. But in general, the series is tied to Sony systems. (Aren't there already three or four of them on the PSP?)

Anyway, IGN has an interview with Koji "IGA" Igarashi. It's a pretty good interview. They discuss 2D vs 3D, as usual. They also ask about the "Wii Connect" option from the leaked screenshot, to which IGA says we'll have to wait.

MTV Multiplayer teases about the possibility for a Wii Castlevania, but won't say anything until next week.

EDIT: IGN's article also teases about more info next week. They also point out that a delay into 2009 could be likely (seeing as how IGA hinted at it in the interview).

[Nester the Lark]

I found some new things while browsing GoNintendo.

Here's the first trailer for the game, featuring lots of character art and plenty of actual gameplay footage. There are some interesting graphic effects.

Also, here's an interview with Koji Igarashi that's kind of interesting. Again, he's asked about a Wii version, but he says it's "top secret" and they'll "announce it in the near future." Intriguing!

Other interesting bits include that The Dracula X Chronicles on the PSP sold well, but not as well as he had hoped. He also thinks the price of DS games in Japan is too high, which makes it too risky to put a big budget into a DS game. And if Nintendo makes a successor to the DS, he hopes it has more RAM.

[Wildcat]

I find it interesting that the trailer is in English. I watched it on Konami's Japanese site, of all places, seeing the English title, the English dialogue, and all the while seeing kanji everywhere else.

Looks like magic is a major part of the game. Charlotte was extremely fun to play as in PoR, so I hope that the gameplay is similar to that. Also, looks like grappling is a major gameplay factor, using a spear to stick to special tiles in the walls. Bosses look like fun, too, and I dig the varied environments. Awesome awesome! ^_^

[Nester the Lark]

From what I understand, Shanoa uses nothing but magic. She equips glyphs (up to three at a time) that can take the form of weapons, but using them drains magic power. However, the magic power regenerates quickly when not being used.

On another note, I didn't mention this before because there isn't much to it, but it seems there's going to be a comic adaptation of Curse of Darkness, and an advertisement for it mentions that there are upcoming Castlevania games for both the DS and Wii! It's not exactly an official confirmation, but it adds fuel to the fire (which IGA, himself, has been dancing around).

[Wildcat]

Awesome indeed, then. As I said, I thought Charlotte was great to play as - something fresh and different from the usual CV formula. So hearing that Shanoa is a magic-user is exactly what I would want.