Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia -- A New World.

When I haven't been otherwise busy or working away at the final couple of achievements for Fable II I've been plugging away at Castlevania. I stated in my initial impression that I was expecting more of the same. But that's not really what I got. I still have a Metroidvania game, make no mistake about that. I just have a Metroidvania game that likes to pretend it's related to the original action style Castlevania titles. Portrait of Ruin used jumping in and out of paintings from within Dracula's castle as a means to try and expand and breathe some new life into the castle design. It's an illusion that worked moderately well. I mean it was greatly appreciated at the time but it failed in that it reused the same assets too much. Order of Ecclesia borrows a little bit from Castlevania: Bloodlines and a little bit more from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Bloodlines was a pure action entry on the Genesis that showed you moving around a world map. It gave you a sense of location. Order of Ecclesia does the same thing. Only this time you're allowed to reenter the stages as much as you want. Simon's Quest also offered up a sense of place with its structure of traveling between towns and mansions. Order of Ecclesia offers up a town of its very own. As you play through the stages of Order of Ecclesia you'll happen upon villagers to rescue. Rescuing each villager allows them to return to town. In town you'll be able to undertake quests for the villagers. A certain villager for example wants different types of ore that he'll turn into armor that will then show up in the village shop for you to purchase. Going on further quests down his line will result in better and better armor showing up in the shop. There is a villager that will do the same for accessories and another for healing items and others who offer up less useful but nonetheless cool items like classic Castlevania music tracks to play as the background music whenever you'd like. This new quest structure feels far more important because of the feeling of direct benefit instead of padding or busywork. The world of Ecclesia feels fresh. It feels good to be outside the castle. I'm sure we'll end there, which is fine, but for at least half the game you're somewhere else. And that goes a long way towards feeling fresh. Next time should cover the new combat approach...