With that said, it must be noted that Ecclesia presents a fair challenge that can easily be surmounted by most players with a bit of time, strategy, and the right glyphs. You won't be able to fly through stages like you did most areas in the last few games, but it's important to note that every enemy and boss that you face has a predictable pattern reminiscent of Robot Masters in Mega Man. Once you figure out an area's enemies, equip a few effective glyphs, and proceed confidently (and carefully) to its lair, even the most difficult of bosses become manageable within a handful of tries.

It should also be noted that since there are much less save points along the way (and many more chances to die), the game gives you a bit of a break through "Magical Tickets" that are cheap and instantly warp you out of a dungeon and back into town. This means that no matter how much HP you have or the circumstances, you can zoom out and retain your earned experience and treasure. This may seem minor at first, but when you're getting your ass handed to you by mountains of monsters, it's nice to be able to strategically explore without penalty instead of simply dying with nothing to show for it.

In the end, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is a game with phenomenal presentation, formidable challenge, and stands out as one of the most original titles to come out of the Iga camp in quite some time. Instead of making a huge castle that anyone can breeze through, it forces you to slow things down and proceed as if every step were your last. Few games that I've played lately have felt as rewarding, and I chalk that up solely to its high level of challenge that makes the first boss as much of an adrenaline rush as the last. Quite simply, anyone searching for a solid, challenging action/platformer would do right to pick up Order of Ecclesia. It's a beautifully hand-crafted game that oozes old-school sentimentality, and is easily one of the finest DS games of this year.

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