Let's face it: Koji Igarashi has been making the same basic game for the last ten years. A large semi-nonlinear castle, multiple weapons and armor items to equip, magic spells, item shops, and multiple endings depending on whether you've equipped the proper item at a critical juncture or not. Harmony of Dissonance, one of the GBA games, was practically a love letter to Symphony. Aria of Sorrow, the final (and best) GBA game, broke with tradition as far as plotline, but kept most of Symphony's devices intact while adding a maddening, grind-heavy magic system.
Dawn of Sorrow, the immediate sequel to Aria, and the DS' first Castlevania game, was really more like Aria 2.0, featuring similar plot devices, environments, and enemy designs. And then came Portrait of Ruin, which actually felt like a break from the norm again, with two playable characters, unique environmental puzzles, epic boss fights, and locations set outside of the usual castle theme (like Egypt). However, the magic grinding from Aria and Dawn was made worse by the fact that spells were split between the two characters, and the method of leveling up physical spells was beyond ridiculous.
So perhaps you can understand my anxiety toward Order of Ecclesia. While the core, surface-level gameplay of post-Symphony Castlevania games remains virtually unbeatable, the deeper intricacies of that gameplay have become stale and repetitious over time. In fact, some aspects of the game, like the magic system, have become worse. As I'm sure you all have read, Order will feature a "Glyph" system that promises to allow up to 100 kinds of special attacks. After the last few games, I can't help but wonder if a Glyph is just a magic attack I'll need to grind for. I hope it's not, and I hope that Order delivers new gameplay devices and, hopefully, a brand-new plotline. I eagerly await its arrival, but I am restraining my fanboyism until I actually play it.
In the meantime, all of you DS gamers who don't yet have PSP's should really check out Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. It's a remake of Rondo of Blood, a game which never made it to our shores in its original form. Both an updated version, as well as the original game, are packed within this tiny UMD. And if you search hard enough in the updated game, you might another full game or two. It's a great package, and I highly recommend it.