One of the first things I noticed when I first powered up the increasingly disappointing (sorry, it is) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on launch day was that during the opening sequence, the communication light on the DS flickers as if making a connection. What does this mean?

Well, early leaked screens of the game showed an option in the main menu of the game that appeared to generate some kind of link with a Nintendo Wii. Konami dismissed that suggestion and pulled the screenshot, which of course makes the whole thing look completely legit. Of course, at that point they were trying to hide that they were planning anything for Wii at all. If you look closely at the image here, which is the leaked screen, you’ll see the word “Wii” right above “GAME START”, partially obscured by the gold border around the menu item. Incidentally, this is actually what the menu looks like in the game. It’s a cool menu.

I would assume this is the DS looking for the Wii game, Castlevania Judgment. When it finds that game, I would bet it unlocks Shanoa, Ecclesia’s main character, as a playable fighter in the game. I mean, she’s already been confirmed for the game, so this makes sense that the DS game is the way in, right?

My committment to collecting the series means I have to get Judgment, but that may mean waiting for it to hit the bargain bin or Goozex. I liked Portrait of Ruin, but after giving up on Curse of Darkness and disliking Ecclesia so far, it really doesn’t look like the franchise is in an upturn. On the bright side, Nintendo Power’s confirmation that Trevor Belmont, Grant Danasty, and Sypha Belnades, all from Castlevania III, will be in Judgment got me pretty jazzed.

Oh, image from N-Europe.