Topic: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate 3DS (Discussion Thread)

[DarkPrinceAlucard]

Does this game have any classic tunes in it at all?

nope, none at all.

[Neobelmont]

Ditto.

A moment of silence for the death of the third entry in arguably one of the best series (Legends itself, exclusive of the rest of the Megaman franchise) in gaming.

My friend has legends. I have borrowed it on more than one occasion. Could never ever get into it as much as I wanted too. So I was looking toward this thinking third times a charm right? Well ... 

[Ahasverus]

Does this game have any classic tunes in it at all?

This one confirmed not. LoS2.. maybe.

[Neobelmont]

This one confirmed not. LoS2.. maybe.

That is one heck of a big maybe 

Maybe a slight tune like "beginning" in an other song like final confrontation. But a full one I will not hold my breath VK was a big tease 

[Nagumo]

So, how do you guys think this game compares to the previous 2d games?

[Shiroi Koumori]

So, how do you guys think this game compares to the previous 2d games?

This game finishes fast and is very "merciful" to gamers. You can die anytime you want and get revived with full health and magic.
There is only one additional cut-scene that you get for finishing 100%, and an added hardcore mode.
For my part, I won't be replaying this game.

I miss the 2d games. Nostalgia is strong for handheld ports, in my case.
Well, since I missed those 2d games already, I might as well replay all of those ds games in my 3ds and see how big things go. hehehe.

[Dark Nemesis]

So, how do you guys think this game compares to the previous 2d games?

First, the game is too short, second, the revive system seems broken, but in some boss fights, it's a big help. Unlike previous 2D Castlevania games, the replay value is non existence. Once you finish the game, there is nothing more to see or do and since you can chose chapters and replay them, there is no need to play it from the start. My thoughts? It's a nice experience for a first try, but after that, there is nothing else, you finish the game, it's game over.

[Darkson]

To be honest, that's how I've always felt about previous castlevanias.
Classic ones?: go though each stage, memorize the patterns, kill the boss, repeat till Dracula is banished and watch the castle crumble. For those, only Simons quest, 3, and Dracula x provided some sort of incentive to replay the levels and even then, its only a second time through if your use to thorough examination of levels. 3 had the ability to solo play as each of the four heroes, so there was more replay ability in that.

Igavania: outside of the artificial extension provided by the range of collectables, which honestly have little impact if you pay attention to the subpar combat, had a decent map but once you've completed that, you only had a play through as the bonus character left, and that was just retreading the ground you've already pass through once.

Mercuryvania: the lords of shadow series is essentially quite similar to the igavania games in that, outside of artificially extending the game through (mostly) worthless collectables, all it has is a singleplaythrough.

To me, castlevania simply isn't a series that is replay able constantly. Hell, I like collecting the items and even I can realize how its used to artificially expand the time. Once you've collected them all and 100% the game, the modern castlevanias really don't have anything else, like their predecessors, to immediately make one think "let's go through that again!"

Compare their replay ability to something like bayonetta or metal gear rising: in those games, the gameplay is so finely tuned that you can spend hours uncovering new moves, techniques, etc. not to mention, they are always a blast to play through and their combat doesn't suffer like castlevania does in certain games.

Or, if you'd like a better example: silent hill. One play through, you've merely scratched the surface of the depth in the game. Silent hill provides hours of examination into its themes, character motivations, and psychological horror/thriller motives. Heck, the other day, while playing 2 and having the town in the otherworld, I recognized that the lake had turned into a concrete lake. All the subtle nuances really add to the silent hill experience.

Point is: to me, castlevania is best seen as a "experience is, absorb it, finish it, forget, and come back later when the memories are murky" type of game. To be fair though, a good bit of games are as well...

[Maedhros]

Apparently the game was a huge bomba on sales department. Not really unexpected...

[uzo]

Apparently the game was a huge bomba on sales department. Not really unexpected...

Source?

After LoS's overwhelming success, I'm not sure I would have expected that. I guess it kinda depends on your definition of bombing too.

There's a double edged sword if this is true as well. It may be enough for Konami to believe that handheld is not the home for Castlevania anymore. This would lead to console titles, which we all want anyway.

The bad side is, it could also be seen as 2D Castlevania no longer sells. No one wants that. (I hope.)

[Shiroi Koumori]

There's a double edged sword if this is true as well. It may be enough for Konami to believe that handheld is not the home for Castlevania anymore. This would lead to console titles, which we all want anyway.

The bad side is, it could also be seen as 2D Castlevania no longer sells. No one wants that. (I hope.)

Much as I love to have another console castlevania after the LOS trilogy, I also want another handheld castlevania. There is something about being able to bring castlevania anywhere you go.

/sob is it really farewell 2d vania?
No! I shall keep my hopes up until Konami axes it.

[Zetheraxza]

This is a good strategy for Konami, they can make blockbuster games for consoles that goes by modern gaming standards while they can have side stories on handhelds that cater to classic gaming fans. Even if Mercurysteam does Contra, always have a handheld game. And by 2D, I think they mean sprites. Even if they do spriting, it has to be in par with Vanillaware standards. There's always going to be a side-scroller Castlevania.

[Kingshango]

Can't say that I didn't see the bad sales coming, M rated games on the 3DS don't fair well ( see RE:Revelations .)

I just hope this doesn't send Konami a bad message thinking nobody wants a 2D Castlevania game anymore.

[Maedhros]

Source?

After LoS's overwhelming success, I'm not sure I would have expected that. I guess it kinda depends on your definition of bombing too.

There's a double edged sword if this is true as well. It may be enough for Konami to believe that handheld is not the home for Castlevania anymore. This would lead to console titles, which we all want anyway.

The bad side is, it could also be seen as 2D Castlevania no longer sells. No one wants that. (I hope.)

Not showing up on NPD charts is pretty telling. Sly 4 sold 117k copies.
And not showing on the Euro charts (actually, in one country, it was the 9th most sold game).

[Flame]

Imo the game barely holds up to LoS. Not surprised at bad sales. It should have been a full 3D console game. going for a 2d mercurytroidvania was a bad idea.