Topic: Lords of Shadow Sequel Ideas (spoilers...a lot of them)

[Dremn]

I would like to see a new protagonist take up the Belmont surname since Gabriel is now Dracula. Trevor? Simon? Richter? Someone new? Personally, I want to see Simon become the new protag.

[ZenTzen]

I hope that if a sequel is made they dont make the setting in the future like the ending suggests, we have almost a 1000 years from each point were a new canon can be introduced, maybe introduce some of the old characters(but not exagerated like what they did with DmC) and stories reimagined, like Leon, Trevor, Sypha, Grant, Simon, Richter, Alucard, Maria, etc, also, make the Belmont/Dracula dynamic more fleshed out instead of a he wakes up lets kill him, also make the battle cross(Vampire Killer)more important, it would be a waste not to take advantage of that.

Also, some of the old subweapons could be reintroduced like the cross bommerang, or the watch which could only be used with magic expending it faster than normal to prevent abuse and having different properties with the kind of magic its used with and maybe using it on the platforming side of the game, introduce classic monsters like mummies, frankenstein monster or frankenstein himself, gorgons, mermen, ghost dancers, or bosses, like succubus, Medusa, Slogra and Gaibon or Legion(legion in glorious LoS 3d would be epic with all the bodys as the outer shell falling of as we hit it and stuff).

[thernz]

I would have like more reliance on the magic system, switching between Light and Dark when combating enemies. As in, enemies that are weak to Light, and others weak to Dark. Make it as important as weaknesses and strengths in OoE, and make magic easier to accumulate for that heightened emphasis on magic. Even have some attacks that are seemingly unblockable, forcing you to switch between Light and Dark, though then it'd be better to just get rid of the magic meters to not be cheap. IKARUGA-VANIA. Maybe the patterns can be more rhythmic to have some similarity with the older Castlevanias.

Also, considering the high emphasis on dodging, I'd make evasive maneuvers easier to control, and even strip down the combat system since all those fancy moves are really fluff. Instead there could be a few attacks, each with a truly unique property. Or actually slow down on having to dodge so much and build up on the combo potential of moves. Like make it hard to actually hit an enemy but when you do, you can pull off intense combos for a great pay off.

I would like a less stratified game world if it wants to continue building on the exploration motif, or at least make actual alternate paths that wind and meet up, or even lead up to small secret stages.

Also, no QTEs. lol.

[Kingshango]

If the sequel is made 6 things must happen

1. Give us camera control.

2. I would like to see another combat engine used instead of the God of War formula. Come on there are other combat styles you can use now that it's obvious Gabe wont be using the whip anymore. If it's possible get Hideki Kamiya for support instead of Kojima next time.

3. No disrespect to Oscar Araujo but other than a few song's the score is pretty forgetable. Im not saying "Get Yamane to redo Bloody Tears for the millionth time" but Castlevania music needs to be hummable and memorable for the player to sit through without getting sleepy. Either get someone else to do the music(Im in favor of Jasper Kyd or Yuzo Koshiro) or tell Mr. Araujo to put some damn organs in his music next time.

4. QTE's have to go, I don't care if they're popular to use I rather have a activated cutscene after a bossfight than get surprised by a QTE at the end of a bossfight.

5. I would like to see an expansion on the light/Dark magic system.

6. New enemies are all good but I would like to see ALL of the series staples make an appearance, Medusa, mummies,bone piller, the creature, Slogra and Gaibon ect. In fact just rip the bestiary from all the Castlevania games and redo them in 3D.

[jediblaster]

I actually shudder a bit when I think of a sequel.  If Cox and crew's objective was to reel in new fans to a "dying" franchise, and if some names of places and some characters/enemies were used from previous castlevania games purely so the long time fans would not be "peeved", then what would the sequel look like castlevania wise?  Would it have even less of that classic castlevania now that they have a "new fan-base"?

[Alutwon]

Look at it this way (I read this somewhere on this board i think) imagine if only the first 4 Cv's were made 1,2,3, and super 4 and then LoS was made. How would this game hold up as a sequel to those 4 games? Pretty darn good. Everyone keeps throwing around "that castlevania feel" term and in truth this game is more "castlevania" than anything we've had in the past 10 years. LoS reminds me quite a bit of the old games is all I'm saying.

[Munchy]

If there were to be a sequel, it'd be crazy if they made a 2.5D one for XBLA/PSN/Steam (since WAAAH 2D WON'T SELL AT RETAIL NO MORE WAAAH). I'd love to see Mercurysteam's visuals at work in something like that. And holy hell, if they made it like Simon's Quest...

The ending still has me kinda dumbfounded so I'm not sure I can say what I'd like from the story. Mainly the whole Dracul thing... No, what? Explain yourselves. (Or don't and just add to the confusion because it'd be funny and in keeping with Castlevania tradition)

[eternal night]

The ending is pretty straightfoward really. Someone posted an analysis of the ending and brought up some really good points showing that it is very likely Gabriel ascended into Heaven after defeating Satan. If the interpretation is correct, we actually see this happening in the cut scene after defeating Satan. The Gabriel that is left behind is the dark half that will later be referred to as the Prince of Darkness/Dracula.

I personally hope that the sequel does not jump ahead 900+ years. I hope we get to see some of what happens in-between, all the while knowing that Satan's return is immenant and an epic adventure awaits for us in the present-day. Regardless of what happens though, I'm on board for it and I'm excited to see what's in store next.

[uzo]

The after credits ending was retarded. Just putting that out there.

The game was great until Zobek was like GABRIEL, I TRICKED YOU INTO DOING MY BIDDING and then Satan was like ZOBEK, I TRICKED YOU INTO DOING MY BIDDING. And then Gabriel repents, and comes to peace, then 900 years later is a pussy emo Dracula in NYC 2010.

So there was no Dracula, or Castlevania in the actual game. And no Slogera fight. You didn't even get to fight Zobek... I almost want my money back.

OK. You had your chance, now pass the torch. Some one else's turn. Preferably someone with enough writing talent to keep the story together at the end.

I'm really thinking back to that rumor that all the Castlevania stuff was thrown in after the fact, and it was not meant to be one originally. If you think about it, without any of the name references and ultimately useless details, there is nothing distinctly Castlevania abut the title. The ending movie seemed like a quick toss in at the end as well. "Oh, well we need Dracula, cause now it's a Castlevania game, but Dracula inst actually in the game, better toss something in quick at the end!"

The music was pretty terrible too. There's only like two good tracks. In a few stages the music cuts out. I didn't even notice right away when it did. Bland cookie cutter orchestral, is not what Castlevania needs.

Oh, and, for the record, no goosebumps.

Don't get me wrong though the gameplay, environments, and combat were all top notch. I enjoyed those parts of the game. The story was all good till Satan showed up, then it was all down hill from there.

[Tobias]

The after credits ending was retarded. Just putting that out there.

The game was great until Zobek was like GABRIEL, I TRICKED YOU INTO DOING MY BIDDING and then Satan was like ZOBEK, I TRICKED YOU INTO DOING MY BIDDING. And then Gabriel repents, and comes to peace, then 900 years later is a pussy emo Dracula in NYC 2010.

So there was no Dracula, or Castlevania in the actual game. And no Slogera fight. You didn't even get to fight Zobek... I almost want my money back.

OK. You had your chance, now pass the torch. Some one else's turn. Preferably someone with enough writing talent to keep the story together at the end.

I'm really thinking back to that rumor that all the Castlevania stuff was thrown in after the fact, and it was not meant to be one originally. If you think about it, without any of the name references and ultimately useless details, there is nothing distinctly Castlevania abut the title. The ending movie seemed like a quick toss in at the end as well. "Oh, well we need Dracula, cause now it's a Castlevania game, but Dracula inst actually in the game, better toss something in quick at the end!"

The music was pretty terrible too. There's only like two good tracks. In a few stages the music cuts out. I didn't even notice right away when it did. Bland cookie cutter orchestral, is not what Castlevania needs.

Oh, and, for the record, no goosebumps.

Don't get me wrong though the gameplay, environments, and combat were all top notch. I enjoyed those parts of the game. The story was all good till Satan showed up, then it was all down hill from there.

Well, the fact that Zobek wasn't all goodly and on Gabriel's side should have been quiet obvious by the end.  Not minding that Gabriel was been devoured by his anger, calling him the "Prince of Darkness" with pride, letting him do EVERYTHING by himself while watching from safety.

As for Satan and Zobek, it was a bit strange, but again makes sense.  How could a mere necromancer cut Heaven off from the Earth after all.  Besides, it was foreshadowed several times in the game itself.

Look at the game as the first in a series, which is what it is and what it is meant to be.  We just watched what Gabriel became without Marie (and his moments of clarity when she was near) and saw his despair at losing her completely.  We know that it won't be hard for him to return to that dark place, especially knowing that he was the hand that killed her.

I found that the story stayed together the whole way.  Characters were consistent, and all the surprises were properly foreshadowed/telegraphed.

Besides, what is in a Castlevania game that wasn't in this one?  Lament of Innocence didn't have Dracula.  Does that mean it isn't Castlevania?  Simon's Quest didn't have the Castle.  Does that mean it isn't Castlevania.

If anything, Lords of Shadow was far more Castlevania than Lament of Innocence, because while neither had Dracula, Lords of Shadow had the actual, proper Castle Dracula.

Saying that it isn't "Castlevania" seems to be the go to excuse to try and dismiss the game because of personal dislikes.  Frankly, I found it better than the average Castlevania because it varied itself.

[Ahasverus]

I think the only "bad" part of the ending was Zobek's dialogue, I mean, it's neccessary and absolutely makes sense, but admitedly is cheesy as hell. I would  have like to have that informtion in a more creative way. but story is great.
It all makes sense because, you know, Dracula's Castle ALWAYS has somekind of chapel in it, and I always asked to myself "Why is Dracula not allied with Satan and still has a chapel?", this is why, Dracula is not Satan's friend at all.

So there was no Dracula, or Castlevania in the actual game. And no Slogera fight. You didn't even get to fight Zobek... I almost want my money back.

It's because this game is about Dracula's rising, there's no Castlevania (Calling CV as Dracul'a sCastle however Carmilla's Castle is ONE AND THE SAME with it, READ THE FUCKING SCROLLS please, it's the same Castle that the Bernhard family once had and that's the Castle Dracula takes as his own). I like the tidbit that Castlevania is also a separate entity to Dracula (It's real nature is not explained, and I like it, it's more misterious) that has been a mystery since centuries before (No one was ever able to make a map for it... chaos creaure anyone?). There's no Slogra because Dracula has not created it, is that simple. If we had fought ALL castlevania enemy then ot would have meant that Dracula actually didn't create anything himself but recycled every design of the Lords of Shadow. That¡s absolutely dumb, and so is your argument, you simply don't get it, IGA storyline has been soo retarded simple that some fans just can't get a multilayered story.

The music was pretty terrible too. There's only like two good tracks. In a few stages the music cuts out. I didn't even notice right away when it did. Bland cookie cutter orchestral, is not what Castlevania needs.

Are you real musician? With musical formation? no? then STFU, I am and I must tell this soundtrack is wonderful, Yamane's tracks had only 3-4 chords progression with almost no variable dynamics, now, THAT's bland, don't think a catchy melody makes a good composition. Araujo's score is a RONDO-based composition, don't know why is it?, then you don't have the right to criticize this.

MercurySteam, Alvarez, Cox... you are my hero, you saved this saga from mediocrity and dumbness, congratulations and thank you a lot =D

[crisis]

There's no Slogra because Dracula has not created it, is that simple. If we had fought ALL castlevania enemy then ot would have meant that Dracula actually didn't create anything himself but recycled every design of the Lords of Shadow. That¡s absolutely dumb, and so is your argument, you simply don't get it, IGA storyline has been soo retarded simple that some fans just can't get a multilayered story.Are you real musician? With musical formation? no? then STFU, I am and I must tell this soundtrack is wonderful, Yamane's tracks had only 3-4 chords progression with almost no variable dynamics, now, THAT's bland, don't think a catchy melody makes a good composition. Araujo's score is a RONDO-based composition, don't know why is it?, then you don't have the right to criticize this.

You just love making excuses for MercurySteam, don't you?

Slogra & classic enemies not being in LoS because Dracula didn't create them? That's very laughable. Why would they tease us with that image of Slogra being designed in the first place? For DLC? I don't think so, cuz that image was released almost over a year ago. There's no reason they couldn't have included it. The decision to not add any classic monsters was MercurySteam's, NOT because "Dracula wasn't around yet," or any other excuse you want to come up with. But hey, as long as the noobs are happy then who cares about the "old, messed up CV universe," right?

and for the record, pretty much anything from Yamane is better than LoS' mediocre OST. Just sayin'.

[Alutwon]

I have to agree with Ahasverus on this. Reason being is that mercury stream has been pretty consistent with the story and the inclusion of the Slogra corpse at the end (AFTER Dracula has been around for 1000 years) just tells me they know where they want to go with the story.

[Tobias]

You just love making excuses for MercurySteam, don't you?

Slogra & classic enemies not being in LoS because Dracula didn't create them? That's very laughable. Why would they tease us with that image of Slogra being designed in the first place? For DLC? I don't think so, cuz that image was released almost over a year ago. There's no reason they couldn't have included it. The decision to not add any classic monsters was MercurySteam's, NOT because "Dracula wasn't around yet," or any other excuse you want to come up with. But hey, as long as the noobs are happy then who cares about the "old, messed up CV universe," right?

and for the record, pretty much anything from Yamane is better than LoS' mediocre OST. Just sayin'.

Yeah... Or they're working on it because it's planned for the OTHER two games they've got planned.

Besides, if Gabriel kills Slogra before becoming Dracula how is Slogra supposed to exist to menace the Belmonts that enter the Castle in the years to come?

[Nagumo]

Saying that it isn't "Castlevania" seems to be the go to excuse to try and dismiss the game because of personal dislikes.   

Assuming that you mean people say this game doesn't feel like a Castlevania because of personal dislikes then it seems more like the other way around. People love to triumphantly exclaim—"This game Castlevania references! The main character is a Belmont, he fights with a whip, obscure reference this, tagged on names that etc etc." Though pretty much all of these points are superficial or aesthetics the game happend to share in common with other titles in the franchise. Just because the main character happens to wield a whip-like weapon which he uses in a manner completely alien from how it was handled in say SCVIV doesn't mean it is a similarity of any relevance. People are making excuses like that up because they like the direction Mercury Steam has taken with the series but just don't want to admit it isn't much like the series they are a fan of in the first place. I really can't stand such kind off retarted fanboyism. It the most dumbest and annoying thing ever.