Topic: Someone had to go and mention Order of Shadows...

[Lumi Kløvstad]

So now it's time to bring out a review for this underloved game. Yes, I still have the flip phone I bought this game for.
Because God of War Betrayal is pretty damn boss for a Java Mobile game. And because Order of Shadows is actually pretty okay, given the circumstances.

But, let's just cool off for a moment. As in my Lords of Shadow review, I will struggle to keep things neutral until I get to the end.

Castlevania: Order of Shadows was the first completely original Castlevania game found exclusively on the Mobile Phone platform, and it remains the only such offering; this is a credit Konami has been in no rush to usurp from it. It has of course drawn a large amount of heat from hard core fans over the years for it's lack of length and depth in comparison to the established series handheld and console releases.

Of course, this is a mere cell phone game, not meant for depth or length. In fact, it is meant for just the opposite; to keep the mind and hands busy while waiting for a few minutes at a stretch. In that, the game succeeds admirably, while holding true to the Castlevania roots that spawned it.

The story is simple. The Order is attempting to revive Dracula, and Rohan Krause (a warlock in the mold of Rondo of Blood's Shaft) is spearheading the operation. Alas, aside from Rohan, we see only one other member of The Order in-game, but given the name, it would suggest there's a few more members conducting nefarious schemes elsewhere. But, I digress. The only people capable of stopping Rohan Krause in time are the Belmont clan, and in this game, there's THREE Belmonts (something of a first for the series): Desmond (the main character), and his younger sisters, Zoe and Delores. Thing is, Rohan has also achieved something of a first for a Castlevania game: he managed to kill Desmond's father. A totally-not-the-main-villain character killing a Belmont? Hardly a frequent occurrence in the franchise, so I shall toss the man SOME credibility as a villain. It's either that, or I should detract credibility from a Belmont as a hunter. Throwing Rohan some credit is the option I'm more comfortable with. The three new Belmonts arrive at the Order's manor, and infiltrate it. Desmond is in charge of the actual slaying, and his sisters show up here and there to deliver some obvious information here and there.

The gameplay is simple, using the numberpad for main controls, but on phones with a control pad, it can be used instead in a more intuitive manner.
Desmond starts off with no skills and just the basic leather Vampire Killer, which will serve Desmond ably for the first leg of the game. You can find a flame whip upgrade for it after beating the third boss, and after beating Rohan Krause, the Vampire Killer achieves it's full power. In addition to the whip, you can collect over a dozen other weapons, like swords and throwing axes, but using these consumes hearts, which can be easily replenished in true Castlevania fashion by smashing candles and slaying enemies, which will also sometimes even yield weapons and alchemic weapons, which are one-time-use items you will be able to use when you start Stage 4. In addition, slaying each boss will grant Desmond a new skill, such as double jumping or sliding.

The game's graphics are of a quality that was appreciable for it's time, but are definitely outdated by modern phone games; the backgrounds possess a very Rondo of Blood coloration and style, though are decidedly far more limited. The sprites are very simple, and look like high-end NES Sprites, but the animation is really atrocious, just like the story's writing.

The audio is absent on the gameplay front (there are no voices or sound effects to speak of), however, the music is solid and original, and not bad considering the quality and scale of the game. Much of the soundtrack for the original Castlevania can be unlocked for play in the game itself after completion of the game. The old tracks are remixed in such a way that they wouldn't feel out of place on a GBA game, and the sound style is I guess what would happen if you mixed Harmony of Dissonance and Circle of the Moon's actual sound quality.

The controls are somewhat stiff, but this adds an additional layer of challenge to the game, albeit a layer that REALLY should have been added by some other means.

Speaking of difficulty, the first time I gave this game a playthrough, I had a really hard time with it because it has unspeakably bad hit detection, which resulted in MANY pointless deaths. The jumps are weird, because if you stop pressing the jump button mid-jump, Desmond will plummet like a rock. But it doesn't take long to learn how to turn that to your advantage, and chances are you won't miss a single jump by the middle of the game. Also, climbing stairs can be a hassle for a new player, as you have to learn where the "sweet spot" is, elseways you'll just be looking like a damn circus performer, leaping left and right. Just FYI, that sweet spot is when you've lined up Desmond's foot with the stairwell's base.

There is some backtracking, but it's purely optional and meant to supply ridiculously overpowered weapons for those who like to be show-offs.

Like the IGAvania entries in the series, the game features the ability to level up, but grinding in this game is discouraged by a large margin between levels, which encourages players to beat the game on their own skills. There's also healing items, which can be collected ad infinitum by smashing all the candles in a room and then leaving and re-entering and repeating, which unfortunately unbalance the game's urging you to beat the game on your own skills. Of course, any player can limit themselves, so whether you use the items you collect or not is entirely up to you.

The bosses have predictable patterns, but the shitty hit detection and stiff controls adds the challenge that rightly should have been there for entirely different reasons. Either way, the bosses are still satisfying to finally conquer, though you're more likely to be screaming "IT'S FINALLY OVER!!!" rather than "TAKE THAT!" as most of the battles end.

I appreciate how this game revisits certain neglected plot points, such as Leon's gauntlet and the Gandolfi family, and also the revisiting of the forest called Eternal Night, and though minor points all, one can certainly say "Oh! I remember those!". Also, when you fight Medusa, you can see Simon Belmont frozen in stone in the background; an interesting touch. It also has a somewhat amusing twist after the credits.

This game won't ever win awards, but I stand by my decision to buy it. It was a good use of $7 for a phone game, though I wouldn't pay that much for it now, given how the products on the market have evolved since Order of Shadows' release. When I can play a good, gorgeous, and deep midquel to Dead Space on my Xperia for the same price, it does reflect badly on how Order of Shadows has aged. Order of Shadows is not a deep game, but that fact actually worked in it's favor once upon a time. I won't give it a score or anything, but once before I counted it as worthy enough to be on my phone. If it is rereleased for less (anywhere from $1-$3), perhaps I might do so again.

[Reinhart77]

after releasing several "lesser remakes" of Castlevania titles, i was very pleased that they decided to create an original title for the phone.  that way, you didn't have to compare it with the original.  wasn't a great game, but worth playing when stuck in a waiting room. 

i liked the premiss of actually hunting down the bastards that try to bring Dracula back.  if someone had found their base in Belmont Legacy comics, Castlevania Chronicles, or Rondo of Blood, and took them out "before" bringing back Dracula, it would have saved the Belmonts a lot of trouble. 

i also liked the small scale of the game and the fact you could earn infinite of any items.  i'd then replay the whole tiny game with a single weapon set. 

i've got my old phone that had the game on it on my Castlevania collection shelf now.  being the container for this game is its only purpose now.

[PFG9000]

I've never played Order of Shadows, because I've never had a phone that supported it.  Is there an emulator that can play it?

[Ahasverus]

It HAD to be you -______-
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Jk/ Heheh  OoS is terrible, but you know what I liked? the atmosphere O.o It was a CV with sense of time. I liked that.

But again, terrible, it's Haunted Castle on meth.

[JR]

I've never played Order of Shadows, because I've never had a phone that supported it.  Is there an emulator that can play it?

I'm wondering the same thing. I searched for it one time, but couldn't find anything and just forgot about it altogether.

[VladCT]

As bad as the game itself may be, the music is good enough for me to say that it actually managed to uphold Castlevania's legacy of quality music. In fact, I wish Jorge would arrange Daring Assault (or whatever the first stage theme's name is) so I can add it to my CV music mini-library on my cellphone (as the track being at least close to CD-quality is one of the requirements).

[Kale]

It HAD to be you -______-
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Jk/ Heheh  OoS is terrible, but you know what I liked? the atmosphere O.o It was a CV with sense of time. I liked that.

But again, terrible, it's Haunted Castle on meth.

This makes no sense... considering this.

[beingthehero]

Castlevania: Order of Shadows First Level Theme

Some of the music was good.

I never did play the game, though. ;_;

[Puwexil]

There was a Flash-based demo of the game up on some site around the time of its release... only you could continue playing infinitely by refreshing the page. They eventually fixed the error, but that's how I played through the whole game.

It was not worth the effort in the least.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

As bad as the game itself may be, the music is good enough for me to say that it actually managed to uphold Castlevania's legacy of quality music. In fact, I wish Jorge would arrange Daring Assault (or whatever the first stage theme's name is) so I can add it to my CV music mini-library on my cellphone (as the track being at least close to CD-quality is one of the requirements).

I'll see what I can do.

[e105beta]

I'm assuming the "someone" in question is me, and I will say this: I liked the music.

But the game? I'd rather play Tetris.

[shelverton.]

Stage 1 music is boss. It's honestly one of the better CV themes I've heard in the last yen years. Other than that I couldn't really take this game seriously. The controls were awful (which was probably partly because my old phone was awful, but still) and the level design felt pretty uninspired. Then again, how much can you do with a game like this? The Aria of Sorrow mobile port was just as terrible even though the source material was excellent.

[knightmere]

I had the game years ago when it came out and beat it. I no longer own the phone i downloaded it on so I no longer can play it. It wasn't that bad and is not nearly as horrible as Haunted Castle.  The gameplay was a interesting hybrid of retrovania and SoTN item collection and leveling.   It plays really straightforward  The only that takes getting used to is the shitty controls.  The characters really lame and the story isn't worth mentioning at all.   Its not really a good game but its not even close to being the worst in the series.

[The Bad Lieutenant]

Castlevania: Order of Shadows - Daring Assault (Roland Mix)
This.

[VladCT]

I'll see what I can do.

Thanks. Another two awesome tracks came to mind: this and this. Sorry to add to your already absurdly long request list but Order of Shadows' soundtrack desperately needs more love, and the AST feels a bit lazily done to me for some reason, not to mention it's missing quite a few tracks.