Order of Ecclesia is odd. It's the one game in the series I have never had any real love or affection for, and I heavily doubt that I ever will.
That said, I initially didn't like Harmony of Dissonance very much. I found the graphics cartoony (my initial meeting was the Castlevania Double Pack on GBA SP, so bear in mind I was watching it with the screen light on all the time), the music grating on my ear-parts, and the story cliche.
Now it may be one of my top 3 Castlevanias, though it will never be the top.
It's still a superb turnaround of opinion for me, because I was able to eventually appreciate that it sort of represented everything Castlevania had been up to that point: a Belmont protagonist using the whip, the Metroidvania play style, yet with some old-school-like stages that were a tad bit more linear than the rest of the game, some old bosses come back to bug you once more (the Giant Vampire Bat, Skeleton Knight, Legion, and the Minotaurs spring to mind), Ayami Kojima's weirdly effeminate men (the series will just never be what it used to be without them!), a simple, uncomplicated plot to move things along, cute, weird, and funny easter eggs scattered throughout the game, and of course, Dracula (kinda) at the end of it all, with an unlockable character (or two) to serve as a reward for a Dracula killed, a damsel saved, and a job well done.
In short, that game is TEXTBOOK Castlevania. Possibly the most textbook Castlevania ever.
I love that game so very dearly.
It just took me a while to realize it.