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

[MelancholySpork12]

More footage from IGN: http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/02/04/castlevania-3ds-simon-belmont-commentary

I don't know if it's been posted already...

Looks decent tbh. It's still a Coxvania but at least they're trying a little harder to make it true to the series. I like the art style and the combat looks okay. He said that there isn't going to be a lot of backtracking, but there will be some exploration. Honestly the fact that the game is 2D most of the time helps a lot for me.

The game BETTER have Simon's theme in it...

EDIT: Also, swimming! Interesting.

[Nagumo]

The game BETTER have Simon's theme in it...

Good idea.

They won't do it.

[Kingshango]

They said that both Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2 will not have any remixed tunes unfortunately and it's a new score entirely.

[Inccubus]

LOL at the apple-crunch sound for picking up meat. It's severely disconcerting for that sound to come from that substance.

The Belmonts are so manly they eat whole turkeys in one bite and grind the bones to dust in their mouths.


The backgrounds are fantastic, but it seems they went overboard because the character models looks kinda assey in comparison. Some of the areas seem kinda empty reminding me a little of the emptiness I felt during LoI. I think this illustrates why it's good to have enemies that go down in one hit. So you can have something to interact with while you're exploring without having to completely derail the pace of the game or have damned arena battles. Speaking of which, I saw one that wasn't a boss fight and no es bueno. Also, fuck Cox & MS for all the shiny ledges & shit. Here's the thing. My player character, as is common in most modern platform games, can grab ledges. I can see that shit simply by jumping towards a ledge and seeing what happens. (Although I'm sure you've insisted on interrupting my gaming experience with an inane textual reminder that this is, in fact, the case.) I'm not a moron, and most gamers are relatively cognizant enough to visually identify a ledge or outcropping without having to make them more annoying than the lights on a police cruiser. And, if MS was worried we might get confused with things that look like ledges but aren't then here's an idea for you. DON'T PUT SHIT IN THE BACKGROUND THAT LOOKS LIKE A LEDGE BUT ISN'T ONE!
On a similar not, is it really necessary to make the 3 foot tall lever switch randomly placed in the abandoned wooden house glow with a golden sheen? And, once again, thank you for the texual reminder that I can interact with the plainly obvious prop with the action button. I wasn't entirely sure if the action button in this game was for the same purpose as the action button in EVERY OTHER GAME I EVER PLAYED BEFORE!

That said... hooray for red curtains. Not dying from contact with standing bodies of water is nice too.

[MelancholySpork12]

They said that both Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2 will not have any remixed tunes unfortunately and it's a new score entirely.

The hell..? What possible reason could they have for doing this? Does Cox just actively dislike fan service?

I'm trying really hard to like MoF but Cox isn't make it easy on me.

[Neobelmont]

gabriel is a pokemon master

Castlevania 3DS Producer Commentary - Gabriel Belmont

[Akuma]

I can make the assumption of what the Lost Soul is now.

[TheFly22284]

Slightly off-topic, but am I the only one who would love some Lords of Shadow action figures?

LoS: Gabriel, Pan, Zobek, Cornell, Carmilla, Satan. Each has a piece of the Forgotten One. 
MoF: Trevor, Simon, Alucard, Sypha, Dracula. Each has a piece of the Daemon Lord.
LoS2: Decrepit Dracula, WhicheverModern Belmont, and who knows what else?

I just think the designs really lend themselves to collector's items.

[VladCT]

Also, fuck Cox & MS for all the shiny ledges & shit. Here's the thing. My player character, as is common in most modern platform games, can grab ledges. I can see that shit simply by jumping towards a ledge and seeing what happens. (Although I'm sure you've insisted on interrupting my gaming experience with an inane textual reminder that this is, in fact, the case.) I'm not a moron, and most gamers are relatively cognizant enough to visually identify a ledge or outcropping without having to make them more annoying than the lights on a police cruiser. And, if MS was worried we might get confused with things that look like ledges but aren't then here's an idea for you. DON'T PUT SHIT IN THE BACKGROUND THAT LOOKS LIKE A LEDGE BUT ISN'T ONE!
On a similar not, is it really necessary to make the 3 foot tall lever switch randomly placed in the abandoned wooden house glow with a golden sheen? And, once again, thank you for the texual reminder that I can interact with the plainly obvious prop with the action button. I wasn't entirely sure if the action button in this game was for the same purpose as the action button in EVERY OTHER GAME I EVER PLAYED BEFORE!

Thing is, modern game devs, as pointed out by Egoraptor, think that mainstream gamers are idiots.
Then again, there are quite a bit of the new kids that aren't helping either.

[Harrycombs]

That area attack was insane. It crosses the entire screen. Why would you ever use the axe when you can do that? They really need to tone down the whip. The backgrounds look gorgeous and I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but I am worried that the combat is going to be far to easy, and if the combats a breeze, whats the point of playing? Look at Demo 4, around the 5 minute mark. He stands in the middle of the room and can hit everything.

Also, fuck Cox & MS for all the shiny ledges & shit. Here's the thing. My player character, as is common in most modern platform games, can grab ledges. I can see that shit simply by jumping towards a ledge and seeing what happens. (Although I'm sure you've insisted on interrupting my gaming experience with an inane textual reminder that this is, in fact, the case.) I'm not a moron, and most gamers are relatively cognizant enough to visually identify a ledge or outcropping without having to make them more annoying than the lights on a police cruiser. And, if MS was worried we might get confused with things that look like ledges but aren't then here's an idea for you. DON'T PUT SHIT IN THE BACKGROUND THAT LOOKS LIKE A LEDGE BUT ISN'T ONE!

I'm more worried about weather this sort of platforming will translate well at all into a 2D game. I guess the way he grabbed some of those ledges were reminiscent of the GBA Metroid games, but I'm worried this platforming is just there to lengthen the game rather than to add anything to the core combat. I doubt they will be able to pull off classic Clocktower like platforming with the direction they're going in.

[Harrycombs]

Thing is, modern game devs, as pointed out by Egoraptor, think that mainstream gamers are idiots.
Then again, there are quite a bit of the new kids that aren't helping either.

There have always been new kids. This is clearly the sign of a developer with no confidence in their abilities. Look at Portal. In the developer commentary, they make it quite clear that they spent a lot of time on how to subtlety guide the player along without making it blatant. They used things like temporarily locking a door to make you look down into the chamber so you can have a birds eye view of the puzzle. Mercury Steam just takes the easy way out with their blinking lights.

[crisis]

Slightly off-topic, but am I the only one who would love some Lords of Shadow action figures?

[DragonSlayr81]

I just don't like the whole ledge thing altogether. For something in 3D, like LoS, it's alright(I guess), but for 2D, I think it breaks up the pace. Something that would keep the pace and be ideal for getting up and down walls would be something similar to the wall jump in the Mario and Mega Man X games(or even the original Ninja Gaiden games). It allows you to manually jump back and forth quickly so it doesn't break up the pacing. Also, regarding jumping towards ledges, hanging then pulling yourself up, just make ledges far enough to regular jump(or double jump depending on the character and where the platforming segment is located within the context of the game's story progression). I see Simon and Alucard moving fast through corridors, ripping through enemies(well, the ones that don't take forever to kill), then they get to a point where they have to do the wall/ledge shimmy and it just feels disjointed. It's like, "Okay, let's kick some ass! Some major speed monster killing, look at me sprint through these castle corridors! Oh, a hole leading doward. Okay, hmmmmm, is it right hand then left hand? Gotta be careful and take me time on this one!!". 

The backgrounds ARE really beautiful. If anything, IMO, MS outdid the original LoS as far as capturing the "Castlevania feel" regarding the look of the areas(and the monsters, as the zombies are more traditional and less Silent Hilly like in LoS).

Aside from that, what I did like was that some of the bosses(other than the one with the Plague mask), particularly the Executioner, seemed less durable(like if their skin was made out of adamantium). The original demo footage where the Trevor fought the Executioner had him take forever to go down. The recent footage, there seems to be a trick to get his health down faster(that blue aura field), which I like.

[Dremn]

No Simon's theme is a serious missed opportunity, booooo.

[Kingshango]

gabriel is a pokemon master

Castlevania 3DS Producer Commentary - Gabriel Belmont

The atmosphere in the prologue tho.