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Konami has finally confirmed that the newest entry into whip-swinging, Dracula-hunting series will be Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS.

This time around, the Belmont family is nowhere to be found, but that hasn’t stopped Drac from taking a break from his plans to take over the world. With the Belmonts missing in action, other clans have taken up the battle, but only the Order of Ecclesia has had any success.

Enter Shenoa, a glyph mage. She doesn’t have a mystic whip, but she does have a unique power in her glyphs. They are magical items that can produce a myriad of effects from elementals like fire, ice, or thunder to creating bladed weapons like swords. These glyphs can be assigned to her hands and back, and certain combinations can have special properties.

Using glyphs requires magic points. Equipping the same glyph on both hands doubles attacking speed, but it uses up magical power more quickly. Though Shenoa is gifted in their use, she is not the only being capable of using glyphs; enemies can use them too. She can absorb the abilities of slain monsters to become more powerful, similar to the way other Castlevania protagonists have.

Considering the game is on the DS, it is no surprise that Order of Ecclesia will be two-demensional, but this time, the player will not be constrained to Dracula’s castle. Shenoa will have access to a world map, and a mountainous area and a sinking ship have been revealed so far.

Order of Ecclesia will also feature online co-op, but no details regarding how it will be implemented have been given thus far.

Fans of the series that are dying to sink their teeth into this newest installment will not have long to wait. It will be available this fall in North America.

Source: Kotaku