Halloween is nearly upon us, and if you’re a gamer like me, the first thing that springs to mind when you want something that sets the mood might be Castlevania. But this Halloween also marks the tenth anniversary of what was pretty much Koji Igarishi’s swan song for the franchise, and for me, one of Castlevania’s most memorable entries. Looking back upon it, I realize it was quite significant in other ways. Many rail about underrepresentation of women in media, including video games, but Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is something I hold high as an example of bucking such trends.
A little background for those not raised on an NES. Back in 1986, a modest little title called Castlevania debuted on the system. A straightforward side-scroller set in 1692, about Simon Belmont’s quest to storm Dracula’s castle and slay him with the Vampire Killer, a holy whip handed down across generations. It swiftly gained a following due to its daunting challenge and gothic horror atmosphere. Many sequels came out in the following years, but the franchise got supercharged when Koji Igarishi took over, giving us Symphony of the Night in 1997. Transforming it into an action-RPG hybrid which played like Super Metroid, its popularity soared again, and many more Castlevania titles of its type followed.
But alas, no game designer’s career goes unblemished. There was a Castlevania game shortly released afterward called Castlevania Legends that he didn’t work on, which had the first FEMALE Belmont, but Igarashi struck it from canon later. One interview apparently had him commenting that a woman warrior would’ve been out of place in the mid-1400s or something, drawing some ‘What the hell, dude?’ reactions from fans. A Dreamcast game called Castlevania Resurrection was supposed to give Sonia Belmont another shot, but Konami cancelled it due to the system’s lagging performance.
That’s not to say the series was devoid of playable female characters. The first appeared in Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, where Trevor Belmont could recruit one of three characters and swap places at any time. One was the sorceress Sypha Belnades. One of Richter Belmont’s goals in Rondo of Blood was to rescue four kidnapped maidens. The first you can find, his 12-year-old sister-in-law Maria Renard, becomes playable from that point on. Castlevania on the Nintendo 64 (the original and the expanded re-release called Legacy of Darkness) had Carrie Fernandez, a young sorceress who has her own story arc. Dawn of Sorrow had Yoko Belnades for a playable ‘bad ending’, a tribute to her ancestor Sypha’s romp. And Portrait of Ruin had Johnathan Morris in the lead role, but he was accompanied by the young witch Charlotte Aulin, and the player can choose between either one at any time, or play as both simultaneously.
But none really let a lady take the lead, devoting the entirety of a game to a female character. But then, shortly before Halloween back in 2008, Konami dropped Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia into gamers’ laps. It was more or less Koji Igarashi’s last stab at the franchise, and he went out with a bang, basing the design of its main character on his WIFE.
So now we had Shanoa. The first thing some might notice is that the character wasn’t exactly designed with sex appeal in mind. Breasts aren’t that big, and they can’t be seen thanks to that chest plate. The only part of her body that’s ridiculously exposed is… her back. Her ENTIRE back. It’s usually covered up by her long hair anyway, and the ‘sexy back’ thing is actually relevant to the plot. With the designs on her shoulders and back, Shanoa can utilize absorbed ‘glyphs’, which let her do, well, just about ANYTHING. Sprout wings and fly, run at super speed, turn into a tiger-woman, throw fire, ice and lightning, conjure swords, hammers and scythes to use as melee weapons. The sheer number of things Shanoa can do once she builds up an arsenal of glyphs is insane, putting gaming mainstays like Samus Aran and Mega Man to shame.
Shanoa is part of an organization called Ecclesia, which seeks alternate ways to fight off Dracula now that the Belmonts have vanished. In the process, she loses her memories and her emotions after a fellow agent Albus steals the glyphs for Dominus, which is supposed to accomplish just that. The whole game is about unraveling the mystery behind Dominus and regaining what she’s lost, if possible. Again, that’s the thing that made Order of Ecclesia so significant. After 22 years, the franchise had a (canon) entry that put a woman firmly in the lead. Oh sure, there’s extra modes with different characters, but the main game is ALL about Shanoa. And between how she slowly learns more about herself and all the cool shit Shanoa can do, it makes for a very entertaining and subtly feminist game.
This extends even further into the game’s trappings. There are no Belmonts in this game, or even Dracula’s estranged son Alucard. The Vampire Killer never shows up. The game is unafraid to leave out many of the staples one expects in a new Castlevania game. This helps bolster the notion that this is Shanoa’s story and hers alone, that the game is confident letting this new character carry this latest entry on her shoulders. Also, there are the game’s bosses. Except for Dracula and Death, NONE of the bosses from previous Castlevania games return for this outing, further cementing how Igarashi and company DID NOT phone this one in. They’re all entirely new creations for Shanoa’s adventure. Get ready to see a lot of them, since you WILL NOT breeze through them on your first try.
Which is another reason I personally see this as a feminist game: no fear of being soul-crushingly difficult. Maria Renard was basically Rondo of Blood’s easy mode, N64 Castlevania wasn’t too difficult, and Portrait of Ruin had some bosses that would rip you to shreds if you got careless. But not until this game did I feel Castlevania once again dared to do a reach-around and pull out your reproductive organs through your asshole. I was overjoyed to have another Castlevania game that made it hurt so good. Not since I powered through Castlevania III on the NES did I have that delightful feeling, the perfect difficulty balance. Because you, the player, is having it so hard, it gives the impression that it’s grueling for Shanoa herself. No scaling things back just because she’s a woman. No, Shanoa gets one of the most punishing games in the series all to herself.
Case in point: To get everything in the game, you must get medals from each boss. Which can only be earned by defeating each one WITHOUT TAKING A SINGLE HIT. Yes, this includes Dracula himself.
Speaking of Dracula, Shanoa’s battle with him is one of my all-time favorite in the series for being quite different. Typically, once he takes enough punishment in his first phase, Dracula will stop teleporting around and transform into some monstrous, demonic abomination. Here, he’ll just start walking around and unleash a new wave of attacks that’ll wipe Shanoa out if you get sloppy. It was unexpected and exciting, further showing how Igarashi and company were determined to make Shanoa’s outing fresh and unique. Oh, and how could I not mention Shanoa’s lament as she’s about to finally enter Dracula’s castle? She utters the line that had people raised on an NES like me squealing like little girls, and would work great as a real-life feminist rallying cry:
“I am the morning sun, here to vanquish this horrible night!”
We champion films like 2017’s Wonder Woman and hope that 2019’s Captain Marvel will push boundaries further. But this Halloween, perhaps we should take a moment to look back a decade and reflect upon a certain video game that helped in its own small way...
Side notes: Koji Igarashi also worked closely with Michiru Yamane, and her compositions are LEGENDARY. And I think they’re back together again now that Igarashi has gone independent for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a similar game that ALSO stars a woman.