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

[Neobelmont]

Thanks for your kind post. How do I +rep you¿? 

There is -+ thing right at the top of every individual post, but I think you need to reach a certain amount of post to do it like 30 or something.

But it's cool  Also how could I forget lecgcy of kain never had the chance to play it, but I hear good things about it. 

Edit nevermind   

[Neobelmont]

Enough complaining and splitting hairs; it's brass tax time!

Here's where we get to some nitty gritty. I understand and can agree both sides discussing the fundamental game design. But, whether the ideas were borrowed/inspired or not from 2D Castlevania, in 3D execution, Lords of Shadow does play too much like God of War, and not like "Castlevania." (In turn, God of War can play like Lament of Innocence, which in turn plays like Rygar: The Legendary Adventure and Devil May Cry...again, not "Castlevania").

So, here's where the rubber hits the road: What plays like Castlevania in 3D?

Well...from my experience, I would argue, in a most basic fundamental sense, the Maximo series by Capcom (a 3D reworking of Ghosts N Goblins, which is an 80's action-platforming horror peer of Castlevania), and Konami's very own Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness.

There it is. I said it. Now, can anyone swallow their pride enough to admit it?

I knew you would say Maximo  Remember the time we talked about it way back when with the platforming aspects 

Edit my bad for doing a post twice in a row

[crisis]

hay boys, I remember years ago an interview with IGA-sama saying that he likes God of War & would like to "1-up" it with his game(s)..

in a Lords of Shadow promo item, there's an interview with David Jaffe (creator of GoW), saying how his team was inspired by the original CV games (the interview is in Japanese however, I can post a scan if someone can translate it *coughkouteicough*)


me myself? I feel that the gameplay in GoW is more fine-tuned than in LoS (granted, Sony had at least a 2 game head-start to perfect the formula); Kratos handles better than Gabriel, and the combat is a little bit more satisfying. The puzzles in GoW aren't as mind-numbing as they are in LoS, and the shimmying isn't as much of a chore as it is in LoS. Both are equal in the graphix department.

as for music, i said this before but if the soundtrack has more tracks like Belmont's Theme, then it'd turn out great cuz it's an awesome tune, despite the fact that it could easily pass for "TDKR Batman's Theme" LOL


Castlevania Lords of Shadow Music - Belmont's Theme


juslisten, and imagine the legacy of BatmanThe Belmont Clan.. very poetic

[beingthehero]

MS have proven themselves in my book, and I think these new games look great. It's a good thing that they have started their own storyline. By making their own story they show respect to other CV developers from the past, unlike IGA who felt entitled to strike games from the record. Does the title Castlevania Legends and the character Sonia Belmont ring a bell?

Yeah it was so awkward when IGA struck KO-G's games from the record, and KO-G became so pissed he worked on OoE's graphics in revenge.

Are we still doing the whole 'iga is sexist' troll thing again? I thought that went the way of the Rick Roll. I guess I'm just setting myself up for the whole 'LOL LOL YOU FELL FOR MY MASTER TROLL SOCIAL EXPERIMENT' and give me a -1 and my whole 8 o'clock hour will be absolutely ruined.

[Neobelmont]

hay boys, I remember years ago an interview with IGA-sama saying that he likes God of War & would like to "1-up" it with his game(s)..

in a Lords of Shadow promo item, there's an interview with David Jaffe (creator of GoW), saying how his team was inspired by the original CV games (the interview is in Japanese however, I can post a scan if someone can translate it *coughkouteicough*)


me myself? I feel that the gameplay in GoW is more fine-tuned than in LoS (granted, Sony had at least a 2 game head-start to perfect the formula); Kratos handles better than Gabriel, and the combat is a little bit more satisfying. The puzzles in GoW aren't as mind-numbing as they are in LoS, and the shimmying isn't as much of a chore as it is in LoS. Both are equal in the graphix department.

as for music, i said this before but if the soundtrack has more tracks like Belmont's Theme, then it'd turn out great cuz it's an awesome tune, despite the fact that it could easily pass for "TDKR Batman's Theme" LOL


Castlevania Lords of Shadow Music - Belmont's Theme

Not going to lie GoW(I have CoO and gowI) is fined tuned like the camera last time I remember, but it's not my cup of tea and I like greek myth.
Meanwhile who is going to watch the 3ds presentation on nintendos site in a couple minutes?

[RichterB]

I knew you would say Maximo  Remember the time we talked about it way back when with the platforming aspects 

Oh, yeah! Ha-ha. How time flies. (And how I still keep waiting on Castlevania )

I am finding a flaw in the thinking of people in general.  Here's what I'm reading, here:

-The closest thing to a well-translated 3D Rendition of Castlevania is "Castlevania64" and "Legacy of Darkness" (which I agree with)
-That formula needs improvement. (which I can agree with, somewhat)

But then there is:
-Castlevania's current direction is a rip-off of God Of War/Dante's Inferno/Bayonetta/Devil May Cry (which I also agree with to some extent)

However, how does one 'add' to the formula that was the closest to what Castlevania is to most fans (CV64/LoD) without seemingly 'borrowing' elements from these current-gen games?

Take the LoS approach:
-You've got some platforming, but it's no longer jumping, it's shimmying (though in MoF it seems to be more jump-focused, as well as hanging on ledges and bounding off walls).
...but that's like Assassin's Creed and Shadow of the Colossus.
-You've got a battle-oriented combo system with weak and strong attacks, dodging and jumping, and QTE finishing moves.
...but that's like God of War and other battle games (DMC, Bayonetta, Dante's Inferno, etc.).  How can one have a battle system at all that is not like these games while at the same time being fresh and new a good?  The IGA/MetroidVania games had a dodge move and had no combo system, but then the heroes would wipe past the enemies very easily (Ecclesia solved this a little bit by making the game punish you for your recklessness).
-LoS/MoF enjoy throwing enemies at you and locking you in a room, forcing you to make use of the battling system.
...but that's like old Final Fight and Streets of Rage and other beat 'em ups, where the screen would stop scrolling until you defeated wave upon wave of enemies in order to pass.

So, essentially, the new definition of an "Action Game" is now one that possesses these aspects.  The market seems to have decided this, for it is the games with the huge bang&wow factor are the ones that MercurySteam is borrowing (or at times, taking back) elements from.

Personally speaking, I wish I didn't have to wail on enemies for as long as that Executioner video showed.  It diminishes the power of my weapon, it makes my character seem weak and pathetic, and seems to just be a gimmick to make the gameplay appear longer than it should be.  Cut the health of those enemies by about 50%, and give 'em a stun animation and maybe things might improve.

BTW, that Executioner?  Totally seen him before.

on that last point. But honestly, Jorge, this commentary was webmaster material par excellence. That's the heart of it, I think, not that Konami's paying attention. Media is the message and the buck stops there for what Konami wants to make. This new definition of "action game" is similar to the movement we're seeing, most prominently at E3 2012, of games being more and more like interactive Hollywood movies than games (though I would argue the writing is more like trumped up direct-to-video writing in terms of narrative). Regardless, as far as building off the N64 games, which I do think is the best option, personally, most of it is technical: You'd continue to improve the camera control, use the new processing power to have more moving obstacles and enemies at times, and give the visuals an HD boost. As far as gameplay, I don't know if it would break the game to have a move like Circle of the Moon, where you can spin your whip around you to protect you from 360-degrees at times, it would be good to see some tweaked or added sub-weapons, have branching exits at times, have a few more remixed classic tunes alongside the nice ambient music, bring in the grappling-point swinging teased in the early Beta/model test video. You could boost some of the horror elements that the N64 team scrapped/toned down during development, such as being tricked by villagers who are vampires, or exploring caves and getting cornered by vampires and having to lead them into the light, etc. Really, on a fundamental level, it was all there on the N64. It just needed a more powerful platform and some time to grow out its ideas naturally moving forward.

Depends on your definition of Castlevania. Mines not limited to one type of gameplay, so to me, CV64 is just as much Castlevania as are SotN and LoS.

I get this to an extent. I mean, I've enjoyed parts of some of each, but I always lean back toward one vision or another. Are you saying that, for instance, if Castlevania games were all like Judgment, it'd still be fundamentally Castlevania to you?

[beingthehero]

I think everyone has an unspoken agreement that the less we speak of Judgment, the better.

[DragonSlayr81]

hay boys, I remember years ago an interview with IGA-sama saying that he likes God of War & would like to "1-up" it with his game(s)..

in a Lords of Shadow promo item, there's an interview with David Jaffe (creator of GoW), saying how his team was inspired by the original CV games (the interview is in Japanese however, I can post a scan if someone can translate it *coughkouteicough*)


me myself? I feel that the gameplay in GoW is more fine-tuned than in LoS (granted, Sony had at least a 2 game head-start to perfect the formula); Kratos handles better than Gabriel, and the combat is a little bit more satisfying. The puzzles in GoW aren't as mind-numbing as they are in LoS, and the shimmying isn't as much of a chore as it is in LoS. Both are equal in the graphix department.

as for music, i said this before but if the soundtrack has more tracks like Belmont's Theme, then it'd turn out great cuz it's an awesome tune, despite the fact that it could easily pass for "TDKR Batman's Theme" LOL

Side note, mentioning Jaffe and music, part of me would've loved his original pitch to feature 80s metal as the soundtrack. He said that the dark imagery of 80s metal(Iron Maiden, Slayer and such) kinda inspired the ultra brutalness of the game.

[Neobelmont]

Oh, yeah! Ha-ha. How time flies. (And how I still keep waiting on Castlevania )

 

Depends on your definition of Castlevania. Mines not limited to one type of gameplay, so to me, CV64 is just as much Castlevania as are SotN and LoS.

While there are different styles to me it's all about whipping stuff when it come down to it and platforming.

[Buflame]

dunno if posted yet, but here is the extended trailer and it confirms at the end the trevor-alucard plot and alucard presence on mirror of fate as the "fanservice" char.

http://www.meristation.com/es/nintendo-3ds/noticias/enric-alvarez-konami-nos-dio-libertad-total-a-nivel-creativo-tecnologico-y-narrativo-para-castlevania/1782922

[RichterB]

hay boys, I remember years ago an interview with IGA-sama saying that he likes God of War & would like to "1-up" it with his game(s).

I don't know where it is, but I saw a similar interview with Dave Cox when he was showing off a gameplay vid of Gabriel getting the dark crystal. He said that he always thought God of War = Castlevania and 3D, and really wanted to make that happen. Of course, he also said somewhere that Castlevania's 3D combat is like Street Fighter, as well. Hmm...

While understandable to an extent, I just don't think this mindset is best for Castlevania. But that's me.

[MKKhanzo]

I think everyone has an unspoken agreement that the less we speak of Judgment, the better.

BUT I LOVE IT! (Seriously, as a fighting game player, fuck Obata)

[Inccubus]

Cox just confirmed on his Twitter that Sypha is Trevor's wife...

This actually makes me happy. Even if the new family tree feels jarringly different.

Also, the 10+ hits to take out a Skeleton Knight made God murder a puppy, two kittens, and a baby dolphin.

EDIT: I knew someone was gonna give me a -1 for this. It was a silly joke, guys. Really?

[Neobelmont]

Long Video

E3 Stage Shows - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirrors of Fate - E3 2012 Demo

The feed with no lag 

[Reinhart77]

loving all the new gameplay footage.  as for which Belmont it will be, i dunno.  if they decide to show the "next" Belmont, i would have to pick Christopher (in the US, Chris was thought to be Simon's descendant, rather than ancestor).  Christopher would make an EXCELLENT homage to early Castlevania handheld game titles.  If they decide to skip over a bunch of generations and make it closer to when LoS2 occurs, I'll be expecting Richter.  Save Julius for LoS2 please.  i don't dare hope for Sonia, but it's possible.