Topic: I knew it! Castlevania: Lords of Shadow!(SPOILERS HERE, PLZ USE THE SPOILER TAG)

[Saner]

the thing is, will this game sustain the classic Castlevania themes and awesome music?  will it be composed by the one who did SOTN's music, CoD's music, and OoE's music and stuff?

That would really preserve the mood and essence of Castlevania

[gappvembe]

Castlevania or not, I planned on getting this game anyway 

[Reinhart77]

if i had a ps3, i'd buy it if it weren't a Castlevania game.  but it'd need to be a Castlevania game to get me to buy a PS3.

[Oralox]

In Reply To #64

NO, NO, NO, and NO!!!!
THEN A HELL NO!!!

FRESH NEW and Kojima = HELL YEAH!!

[Reinhart77]

there have been many other musicians and artists other than the ones involved with SotN that have maintained a sense of Castlevania.  you don't "need" them.  i'm not sure on the relationship between all the parties involved here, but it seems like this game is "almost" being outsourced, so i wouldn't expect direct involvement by anyone on Iga's team.  i do imagine that Alucard's game will still be made by the traditional team though.

[Danial]

From a business point of view, it's in Konami's best interest to give Kojima a crack at CV.  CV is their oldest and most recognizable imprint, giving it to their number one producer is just smart, and may finally push CV into the respectable cash cow it deserves to be.

The interesting thing is that we haven't heard much from Iga since that Alucard trailer.  From what little info we had on it, his game was going to be the third one in the Dracula X series, and connect to the SotN Audio Drama.  What we've seen of Shadows doesn't seem to fit into any of that.  I'm thinking Konami either is going to do both games exclusive of each other, or Iga is being replaced by Kojima as the CV producer.

[Clara E. Leet]

In Reply To #64

Considering the continuous diminishing quality in Yamane's work (An entire soundtrack of masterpieces in Bloodlines and SotN as opposed to a handful, if that, of shiny tracks in the newer games) I hope new faces all around are brought to the table. And it's obvious that the character designer is quite talented, too.

[Saner]

In Reply To #70

I dunno, but she still has that mood that makes Castlevania what it is. I mean look at CoD, simply epic tracks.  and she did OoE too right?  those had outstanding tracks too.   Well they should at least bring back the classic CV tracks into the game.   Simon's theme, BLoody tears, etc.

but yeah Kojima may help boost Castlevania to higher levels of popularity.

[Reinhart77]

i just can't see Kojima becoming the new helm of Castlevania.  could he "love" Castlevania as much as Iga?  at this point, i can only think of his work as a spinoff of Castlevania.  but we'll see.  Iga certainly has been quiet lately though.  i do have to wonder.

[crisis]

It's an odd choice and interesting presentation, but to be honest, I'm not really that impressed with this direction.

Lets see what happens Wednesday.

[Eric Roman]

In Reply To #51

games like CV3 were pickup and play but they were still hardcore hard.

AMEN, yo!  Kids Today going on about their 3D Action Nonsense... >;|

Personally, I've been waiting for about 1,999 SotNs to see a new director lead the game, as opposed to a guy who's been fellating the Dracula X affair (Whip's Memory, ANYONE?!) for the last decade.

That is, if indeed this Lords of Shadow thing turns out to be the next stage of CV.

[Reinhart77]

Lords of Shadow seems to be much more of a Tolkein-like fantasy than a gothic horror game (the title looks like "Lord of the Rings" to me).

[Danial]

In Reply To #75

I don't think there is such a thing as a "true" castlevania anymore.  Even CV1 deviated from Vampire Killer.  CV2 was definitely different.  CV3 was similar to the first but added multiple players and paths. 

I see Castlevania as an idea more than a specific game.  Each game of the series adds a little something new to that idea.  Not changing what CV is, but adding to it's definition.

If Shadows is a CV game, I hope they stick with the future motif.  I like the idea that sometime after Soma, the end of the world happens and, like mentioned above, we end up in a Vampire Hunter D type of scenario.  Perhaps used as a soft "reboot".  A new beginning with new problems, while not entirely ignoring what came before.  It would be an interesting way to give us a medieval type fantasy world and not be hampered by how the modern world deals with vampires or what limitations have been put on Dracula or the Belmonts in any given time.

[A-Yty]

What is "true" Castlevania?

Before SotN, people said it was timelimited platforming. After the worst of the 3-D games, it was SotN. When SotN clones kept pouring in, people wanted to go back to the basics.

I don't think there is a definite style of Castlevania. As long as there's good music, gothic imagery and action, it's Castlevania to me (even if it's a shitty Castlevania). Even with the change from Beefcake Barbarians to Attack of the Bishies or repetitive hack'n slash I feel the atmoshpere has been kept. I trust Kojima would catch that same drift even if he were to implement his convoluted and sometimes silly plots into CV.

What I'm saying is we shouldn't be so rigid about this. 2-D can't go on forever and with 3-D attempts having been mediocre at best (by any game standards), I don't see 2-D being an essential ingredient for a good CV.

Edit: Danial, you bastard. You beat me to the punch 

[Reinhart77]

well, it kind of depends how they decide to brand it.