Thx, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is now on my wishlist :D

Hehehe, you're welcome If you like Ecclesia after playing it, you should give the other DS Castlevanias a try. 

Ecclesia was a bit unorthodox in the MetroidVania formula, because it departed from the overall "Castle" theme, giving you various locations through a world map. Plus, it didn't have a weapon/magic system per se, instead, you have a Glyph system (which are obtained from enemy drops, map locations, or even absorbed when enemies use them), which can be combined in different fashions.

For example, you can absorb a Sword Glyph and a Fire Magic Glyph and equip them at the same time, unleashing the Sword attack with X and the Fire Magic attack with Y. There are tons of other combinations to try, some of them are actually needed to progress through the game, because most enemies have very distinctive weaknesses/strengths that if you don't exploit them, you won't be able to survive. 

Also, on a side note, Ecclesia is the hardest exploration castlevania game ever released. But as you're a Demon's Souls fan, that's nothing you can't handle

Right now I'm playing Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia is next on my list. Honestly though, Castlevania has some of the coolest enemies in gaming.

^^ Yeah just watched some gameplay vids and it looks epic ...

... but im totally new to the series, seriously do not know how i missed it :s

U guys think its worth checking out the gba games and working up to  Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia video  ? 

In my opinion it's totally worth it, although be warned. You might be seriously turned off by Harmony of Dissonance (GBA Castlevania number 2), it was pretty bad. Thankfully, Aria of Sorrow, it's one of the best Castlevania games ever made

Portrait of Ruin is my favourite exploration Castlevania. I though that no other would ever dethrone Symphony of the Night, but PoR is simply amazing.

The ability to switch between Johnathan and Charlotte and combining their attacks with the R trigger was one of the best implementations that the series could ever have. Plus, the story is also pretty good, Stella and Loretta are some of the best Antagonists ever created, right alongside Elizabeth Bathory in Bloodlines.

But what takes the cake is the final battle. Nothing beats that epic double-team battle!!  

@lestatdark, just bought all the ds castlevania games today , going to get the gba ones tomorrow. u have made me wana try these games. the series never really peaked my interests, but after hearing u talk about the games and also how u say they are similar to demons souls in some form, has pushed me to buy them. thanks for the push :)

You should also give Symphony of the Night a try, it's up for download on both PSN/XLIVE. It's the game that spawned all the GBA/DS ones, and it's still pretty much one of the best. 

Castlevania as a series, was reborn with this new type of gameplay. I always loved the series, since the NES days, but it was getting a bit stale, after Vampire's Kiss. SOTN was like a breath of fresh air and it kept the series as amazing as ever. 

They're a bit similar to Demon's Souls, in the difficulty and open-world aspect. Also, the different approach possibilities are similar, since you can focus on using magic alone or go all weapons blazing. It does differ in the aspect that it uses a rigid old school level up system. It's pretty much similar to the one introduced in Zelda 2: Adventures of Link

@lestatdark, ok will do that. and thanks for the extra info as well.

@lestatdark

Is that Simone Simons in your picture?