Castlevania Dungeon Forums

The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: Dremn on February 25, 2014, 09:09:10 AM

Title: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on February 25, 2014, 09:09:10 AM

This thread was created for the sole purpose of reflecting on your final/personal feelings of the LoS saga.

Mercury Steam has kept their word and wrapped up their trilogy, now it is ultimately up to Konami what they wish to do with the franchise from here on out.

I'll write my personal feelings on the matter later but I wanted to post this now since the game is officially out today.

How do you feel about Mercury Steam's vision of Castlevania after all three games?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FhUdfu0x.jpg&hash=230b4e62388df6c8f7f2c82d5a3f860994684463)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F4gbZmnl.jpg&hash=58efebd5ad8336531aa4bbd98f8a18e37e435fd6)
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fsteacki.jpg&hash=5d63d1b0105b01d9873818edd3ec4ad5cb0d288a)

(I'll get better pics later lol)

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Hagathrom on February 25, 2014, 11:25:13 AM

...I've yet to pick up my copy of Lords of Shadow 2 so I can't talk about the Trilogy as a whole but I can speak about the 1st 2 titles and can honestly say that MS took everything that worked with past Castlevania titles and made them better.

* Castlevania Lords of Shadow

...

* Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate

...

* Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: X on February 25, 2014, 12:02:07 PM

My personal feelings..?

"The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night..."

Cheesy, but straight to the point.  ;D

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 25, 2014, 12:24:24 PM

mercurysteam has indeed succeeded in bringing the franchise to the forefront by gathering new fans, but at the same time has also succeeded in getting classic fans to be more vocal about the classic pre-los style returning

castlevania has almost always been a front-page headline, even with the GBA games which were also if im not mistaken critically acclaimed for the most part


subjectively i think this sub-series is cool for what it is & what it tries to do; comic book series do it all the time with alternate titles & universes for main characters. altho i am not really a fan of the "amalgam" of certain characters (leon+mathias=gabriel, trevor+alucard, etc) i recall only a few months after los1's release we here at the dungeon throwing the name "alucard belmont" around in a mocking manner, and lo & behold look what happens. its kinda cheesy and MS coulda been a LITTLE more creative with the property so it wasnt so damn predictable all the time

but the point of los saga is that after all these years castlevania still has selling power amongst a sea of neverending FPS clones and the like. lets just hope the next producer doesnt say assholeish shit like "4get everything u knew about castlevania, get on our boat or be left behind" but instead says shit like "we're gonna move the series forward by still embracing the past, please stick with us to see what we mean" programmers that will think outside the box rather than aping elements from other games & slapping the castlevania skin over it

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Nagumo on February 25, 2014, 12:26:25 PM

Ironically, MoF was the best thing to come out of this reboot.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Rugal on February 25, 2014, 12:45:41 PM

Quote from: X on February 25, 2014, 12:02:07 PM

My personal feelings..?

"The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night..."

Cheesy, but straight to the point.  ;D

I think I love you

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: uzo on February 25, 2014, 01:29:50 PM

the tl;dr version is as follows:

LoS was an interesting experiment. It was a passable game, that used "Castlevania" more as an attention getter rather than a game that was really following the series footsteps. It wasn't a bad game, just not really a good Castlevania game.

From there things just got worse. The one off experiment was lingering, and fixing things that didn't need to be fixed, while growing things that distanced itself from the franchise even further. I lost interest entirely after the first LoS.

I'm happy at the potential that they may be making games I care about again.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: mistressalucard on February 25, 2014, 01:38:27 PM

The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.

I really wonder why people get a game and play it so fast that literally the day it is out: what's next? 

No attack on the OP but amazon just delivered it like 30 mins ago here so... I won't even play it until tonight and this weekend.  I just don't get PLAY THE GAME FINISH FINISH!! and move on to the next one...  do people actually enjoy games or do they sit and play everything as fast as they can just to be done? 

I really am just curious because it takes me a few days to play them, I can't race through a game because I enjoy them (not saying someone who beats something in an hour isn't having fun too).  It seems a lot of game series go through this, the day they come out everyone is done in an hour and wants to know what's next.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Hiryu on February 25, 2014, 01:55:18 PM

Quote from: uzo on February 25, 2014, 01:29:50 PM

LoS was an interesting experiment. It was a passable game, that used "Castlevania" more as an attention getter rather than a game that was really following the series footsteps. It wasn't a bad game, just not really a good Castlevania game.

From there things just got worse. The one off experiment was lingering, and fixing things that didn't need to be fixed, while growing things that distanced itself from the franchise even further. I lost interest entirely after the first LoS.

I'm happy at the potential that they may be making games I care about again.

This.  Glad that the series lives on, but it's been a God of War clone that plays like a chore.  I didn't think Mirror of Fate was enjoyable either.  I'd rather have silly anime characters in metroidvania than that.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 25, 2014, 02:00:39 PM

i feel the same way mistressalucard, which is why i called out everyone in the los2 thread that beat the game in record time just by putting the game on easy, and no one had the balls to even admit it & just ignored my posts lol

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Nagumo on February 25, 2014, 02:09:59 PM

What I absolutely hate about LoS1&2 is that both of them are roughly one-third a Castlevania game and the rest is something completely different. The games aren't even structured like a Castlevania game. I honestly think when people said "this doesn't feel like a Castlevania game", consciously or unconsciously they were talking about the structure of the game. It's probably the major gripe I have with these games. Did they honestly think it was a good idea to add locations like Agharta and a futuristic city? I can still appreciate with MoF for being a western take on the Castlevania series, but I honestly can't figure out what it was LoS1&2 set out to do. To take out the things that made the series appealing in the first place, I guess?     

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on February 25, 2014, 02:41:35 PM

Quote from: mistressalucard on February 25, 2014, 01:38:27 PM

The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.

I really wonder why people get a game and play it so fast that literally the day it is out: what's next? 

I made this thread on release day because I figured no one would post in it yet, but when they spent enough time with the game they could eventually post their thoughts here.

I have not yet played LoS2 myself so I can only speak about the first two games and what I've seen from LoS2.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kaori on February 25, 2014, 02:55:45 PM

I've already mentioned my opinion a few times in other random posts, but I'll go ahead and post here as well.

It's really disappointing that I just don't like the LoS games, especially since I remember being SO EXCITED watching all the trailers for the original Lords of Shadow. I thought it was going to be amazing! I remember being so excited when I got my collector's edition of the first game...only to be disappointed as I started playing it more and more. It just wasn't what I was hoping for. There wasn't enough "Castlevania" to me. I think Nagumo summed it up pretty well.

Ultimately, I don't think the Lords of Shadow games were bad though. I thought that over all the environments and the atmosphere were pretty good! Out of Lords of Shadow and Mirror of Fate, I thought that MoF was the better of the two, as it felt more like Castlevania to me, but I still couldn't even really get into it. Lords of Shadow 2 from all the random pieces of it I've seen on Youtube doesn't really look that bad, but I won't be trying it given how I didn't like the first two games.

I think my biggest complaint about the first game at least were the titan fights, actually. Those titan fights were actually what made me hate the first game the most. I also didn't like the music. The music wasn't bad by any means, but it just wasn't what I would expect from a Castlevania game.

I do think that there are good things about the LoS saga though. Like I said, I think they did the environments and atmosphere well. I also like the story between Gabriel and Alucard.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: uzo on February 25, 2014, 03:08:17 PM

Yeah. I was really excited for the first game, despite the odd changes we saw. I was duped into the lie they crafted. The way they cut that one trailer was so deceptive, showing the castle in the rain (was never in the game) and overlaying Jason Issac's voice pretending it was Dracula. Just a lie trying to lure in the old fans, making them believe there would be an epic showdown of Belmont vs Dracula in the castle. Well, we know that never happened.

That helped put me off to the future games, and especially the people who make them. Such a dirty thing for them to do.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: X on February 25, 2014, 03:32:42 PM

Quote

I think I love you

LOL!!

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: darkwzrd4 on February 25, 2014, 07:00:28 PM

I watched a full playthrough of LoS2 on youtube and given the ending......

(click to show/hide)

both Dracula and Alucard alive at the end (but still vampires) and Satan permenantly dead

....the LoS storyline could be continued. 

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: beingthehero on February 25, 2014, 07:58:47 PM

I probably would've liked Lords 1 better if it was still what it was when the very first teaser was revealed at the end of 2008 - a stand-alone "dark fairy tale" that had nothing to do with Castlevania.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 25, 2014, 08:18:14 PM

so shouldnt most if not all the blame go to Hideo Kojima since he was the one that stepped in & said "hey this game should be the new castlevania instead" & konami obliged

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on February 25, 2014, 08:25:58 PM

Quote from: darkwzrd4 on February 25, 2014, 07:00:28 PM

I watched a full playthrough of LoS2 on youtube and given the ending......

(click to show/hide)

both Dracula and Alucard alive at the end (but still vampires) and Satan permenantly dead

....the LoS storyline could be continued.

Personally hoping they close the book on it.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Mike Belmont on February 25, 2014, 08:30:56 PM

Quote from: beingthehero on February 25, 2014, 07:58:47 PM

I probably would've liked Lords 1 better if it was still what it was when the very first teaser was revealed at the end of 2008 - a stand-alone "dark fairy tale" that had nothing to do with Castlevania.

That´s exactly my thoughs. I insist, that for me the LoS saga is a spinoff of the main series. Not IGA series, nor Classic series. The entire series. For me, its a Castlevania-like game, from the POV of Dracula. For me the Castlevania added to the Lords of Shadow name was unnecesary. Think of Ghost & Goblins  saga, with is spinoffs Gargoyle´s Quest and the amazing Demon´s Crest. Even Maximo. Similar games, similar settings, but with other characters, with a different name.

Quote from: darkwzrd4 on February 25, 2014, 07:00:28 PM

....the LoS storyline could be continued. 

I think (and hope) that MS continue with the saga, but only in DLC. Please Cox, keep your promise, for once, and end the LoS with this trilogy!!!

Quote from: uzo on February 25, 2014, 03:08:17 PM

Yeah. I was really excited for the first game, despite the odd changes we saw. I was duped into the lie they crafted. The way they cut that one trailer was so deceptive, showing the castle in the rain (was never in the game) and overlaying Jason Issac's voice pretending it was Dracula. Just a lie trying to lure in the old fans, making them believe there would be an epic showdown of Belmont vs Dracula in the castle. Well, we know that never happened.

That helped put me off to the future games, and especially the people who make them. Such a dirty thing for them to do.

I have the same feelings after seeing that part in the trailer from the first LoS. It´s like "hey, It will be a Castlevania game, after all, with Dracula in it". Such a dissapointment.

Quote from: uzo on February 25, 2014, 01:29:50 PM

LoS was an interesting experiment. It was a passable game, that used "Castlevania" more as an attention getter rather than a game that was really following the series footsteps. It wasn't a bad game, just not really a good Castlevania game.

At this time, I see and judge the LoS saga as a game only. It has his good things. For me, the best are the graphics and environments. I like the boss fights (even the Titan´s). Overall, I give to this entire saga, a 8 over 10.

Quote from: crisis on February 25, 2014, 12:24:24 PM

... lets just hope the next producer doesnt say assholeish shit like "4get everything u knew about castlevania, get on our boat or be left behind" but instead says shit like "we're gonna move the series forward by still embracing the past, please stick with us to see what we mean" programmers that will think outside the box rather than aping elements from other games & slapping the castlevania skin over it

Totally agree. I dislike that Cox dude. I mean, I think that those words were unnecesary. I hope the next producer (american, european, japanese) does not follow the path of Cox.

Quote from: crisis on February 25, 2014, 12:24:24 PM

subjectively i think this sub-series is cool for what it is & what it tries to do; comic book series do it all the time with alternate titles & universes for main characters. altho i am not really a fan of the "amalgam" of certain characters (leon+mathias=gabriel, trevor+alucard, etc) i recall only a few months after los1's release we here at the dungeon throwing the name "alucard belmont" around in a mocking manner, and lo & behold look what happens. its kinda cheesy and MS coulda been a LITTLE more creative with the property so it wasnt so damn predictable all the time

My thoughs, too. I respect the MS work, because they have so much potential. I see as unnecesary the use of the names of past games, and the way of their use. I think is not too difficult to create new names and characters, like Gabriel and Zobek. I know that LoS pretends to be a reboot, but I think too that in the end, MS could be more creative in create that reboot.

PS Sorry about the long post. Very good thread, indeed.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: GuyStarwind on February 25, 2014, 09:04:41 PM

My opinion is best summed up from a part in the Harry Chapin song Mr. Tanner. I of course will make it fit the question.

Castlevania Lords of Shadows from Mercurysteam made its final debut today. It came well prepared, but unfortunately its presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards. Its story lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it
consistently interesting. Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.

But seriously if you enjoyed it more power to ya. I was actually really excited for the first game but my hopes were dashed and I soon couldn't get myself into the series.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: VEP on February 25, 2014, 11:13:03 PM

i just want to get on to what it used to be like...what did it use to be like well hell iunno ill let you know when it happens...

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 25, 2014, 11:52:25 PM

unfortunately it's never gonna get back to the way it was, people need to accept this fact.. those of us that are still clinging to the 90's/early-mid 2000's era of castlevania need to realize that konami arent gonna take steps backward to the way things were. its just the nature of the business

sure we may get a new refreshing metroivania at one point but games in that spirit that were released almost back-to-back like what we were getting with the GBA/DS games? its a done deal guys

which is why when konami introduces the next incarnation of the series, which may very well be even further removed from the "classic formula" of the 90s/early2000s moreso than lords of shadow is, thatll be the final nail in the coffin (pun intended) for some of us & those that have been disillusioned with the series for years now will no doubt completely give up following castlevania & find other things to enjoy (see: the entire anti-chapel forum *BURN*


i can already see the seeds of this happening right now. it was nice chatting with some of yous over the years!

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: machetespeghetti on February 26, 2014, 12:17:52 AM

I think a classic style CV game would work on a new gen system just make it extremely difficult. Like in the NES days games had to be difficult to make the lastability longer. Just add really good graphics, old and new cv music, loud explosions, and metroidvania type bosses.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Mike Belmont on February 26, 2014, 12:35:51 AM

I don´t like this tragic end to the Castlevania I love, @crisis :-\.

Castlevania will be my favorite franchise forever. Even if I love games like Megaman, Darksiders, Ninja Gaiden, Final Fantasy (pre-X), Ys, Sly, Ratchet & Clank, Zelda, Metroid, Demon´s Crest, Ghost & Goblins, and many more, Castlevania will be my numer one among all of them.

I will continue playing all those 90s/early 2000s games that I love, even if some people doesn´t like it, or even if reviewers gave it low scores. I will continue listening all the melodies that I love and gave me that Castlevania vibe that I fell in love in the begining, when I play Dracula´s Curse in mid-90s.

I have a little light of hope, that Castlevania will continue. In a digital game, like Ducktales, Strider or Bloodrayne Betrayal, or in a big or low budget console game. Like the words spoken by Saint Germain in the ending of Curse of Darkness: "There is one great battle yet to be fought--the final battle between Lord Dracula and the humans. Perhaps they will remember your fight. Or perhaps it will start anew". Or like Gabriel´s last words:

(click to show/hide)

"Who knows what fate has in store"

Whoever is the team that makes a new Castlevania game, I will not give up in following my beloved saga.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Ahasverus on February 26, 2014, 12:47:08 AM

I simply want this to end already because I feel dirty like a pariah for liking it.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: uzo on February 26, 2014, 01:24:00 AM

Quote from: crisis on February 25, 2014, 11:52:25 PM

sure we may get a new refreshing metroivania at one point but games in that spirit that were released almost back-to-back like what we were getting with the GBA/DS games? its a done deal guys

I don't mind a slower release schedule. The games were coming out too quick anyway, during the GBA/DS era. The quality was taking a hit.

Compare SotN to the rest of the exploration games, with the exception of CotM perhaps. The GBA and DS games were made basically annually. SotN took 2.5 years to produce.

If they took longer to make the exploration/2d games, I'd be happy. That is presuming they don't cheap out the budget and release a game every two or three years with still only one year of development time.

Though even if that was the case, the craving for a new game would help out sales a lot anyway I think.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: theANdROId on February 26, 2014, 02:03:25 AM

I've only played MoF, but I liked it.  Despite the teasers and previews for these games, I never clearly understood that they were essentially an alternate timeline, so I was initially a little miffed.  However, once I realized it wasn't really connected to the other Castlevania games (aside from the title and references to characters and such) I was okay with it.  It may not have been what I wanted it to be, but it was still a well made game that I enjoyed playing.

But I'm beginning to wonder if my feelings may change if/when I play LoS 1 or 2.  It seems like many people here, while ultimately displeased with the trilogy straying from the original timeline, were most forgiving of MoF...which is the only one I've played so far.  Perhaps I'll come post again whenever I play through either of the other titles.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Nagumo on February 26, 2014, 07:17:43 AM

I can accept Castlevania not returning to was it was before, as far as gameplay is concerned at least, because I'm confident that if anyone other dev team would make a new Castlevania game, it really couldn't turn out any worse than LoS. But if it's indeed just going to be LoS games fron now on, no drama, but there are still plenty of other gaming series that haven't become shallow sell-out versions of their former selves. 

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kamirine on February 26, 2014, 11:53:41 AM

I suppose I could sum it up best with the infamous quote from Cox himself: "Forget what you know about Castlevania!"

Because I honestly feel you damn near HAVE to in order to enjoy it.  Even after playing and finishing LoS2, I just never felt 'it'.  That 'it' that made me feel like it was honestly part of the Castlevania franchise other than the name being slapped on it and characters having names from the series.  MoF was the close and I still wasn't a hug fan if that one either.

I think it's just the story as a whole.  How hard was it to stick to the damn core script?  Family of bad asses fight Dracula. (Tagged, just in case):

(click to show/hide)

I feel the Belmonts got the shaft in this game: the two main Belmonts are merged into the main villain of the series and the favored non-Belmont hero, (not to mention Trevor fails to even kill Dracula unlike his previous incarnation, but that's what happens when you don't br

have friends to help I guess...), Simion is great but needs assistance to defeat a guy he beat all by himself previously twice technically. (Okay it's reboot, "forget what I know", but damn it, THAT'S the problem!  I shouldn't feel like I have to!) Poor Victor just gets defeated, spared, then sacrifices himself and killed off.  WTF happened to my Belmonts?!

And I never want Satan as the villain again. Seriously. He was unnecessary.  As much so as Dracula just being stuck as the villain like in PoR, when another vampire has the reins (but that's another rant for another day...) And Death did a better job at being a compelling jerk you wanted to face punch. (Once I get over him and Dracula having no bromance like usual.)

I could really go on and on just on the story alone but I am sleepy as fuck.  The gameplay isn't what I expected either. Or no, it's a coin toss.  The best way I can describe it, is the way some Sonic fans view later games: it's passable and all but something feels like it's missing. 

The music, fuck it.  I didn't need a remix of Bloody Tears or anything but it just wasn't Castlevania. It was a score to someone's Dracula movie.

And maybe that's my problem too: I always felt this series being a Castlevania game came in second, if not third to Mercurysteam.  But as Cox said recently, they focused on it being 'a mainstream blockbuster' and not some 'niche' series.  But there HAS to be another way, that sticks to what fans love but makes it an outgoing enough venture into the mainstream that Konami can approve of.

Ironically, I don't hate LoS.  I just hate it as a Castlevania game.  I'm done. Castle crumbled on this venture, thankfully.  Now give me Classicvania Megaman X or NSMB style or let's try something brand new.  I don't care, just get away from LoS.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: machetespeghetti on February 26, 2014, 02:57:07 PM

Simon watched from afar.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on February 26, 2014, 05:38:09 PM

Alright, time to finally post my final thoughts on this series;

I have a big love/hate relationship with the LoS series. I still don't see LoS1 as a Castlevania game, but it's a damn good action game. If it weren't for Mirror of Fate I probably wouldn't have been so excited for LoS2 because of the inclusion of the old storyline everyone wanted in the first place; Belmonts vs Dracula.

Before LoS even came out I remember all of the incredibly misleading trailers that released making everyone think LoS1 would be Super Castlevania IV in 3D because that game was apparently their "bible" while developing LoS1, and have the traditional Belmont vs Dracula storyline. What made it so exciting though was seeing the series receive a larger budget treatment for once. I still remember the scene with Jason Isaac's talking while the camera panned around Dracula's Castle, which never showed up in the final game. It was a clip from their prototype with Simon Belmont to help pitch the LoS series. Horribly misleading, I remember being so disappointed when it was Carmilla I ended up fighting instead of Dracula. They even included that familiar staircase leading up to the throne room.

In the end the only things LoS1 did that reminded me of SCIV was the moody atmosphere, the whip swinging, and the occasional heavy rearrangements of songs from IV. I was never a fan of how many QTE's it had and how gory some of the deaths were. Not to mention, of course, the glaring similarities it had to God of War. I don't care how much MS will defend the GoW complaints, there were too many things ripped from it down to Gabriel's basic combat animations, balancing on planks of wood, and the health fonts. GoW was their primary influence instead of Super Castlevania IV.

I liked Mirror of Fate for what it was because I expected it to be LoS in 2D, and that's exactly what we got. It has my favorite incarnations of Simon, Trevor, Alucard, and Dracula to date. The character and monster designs are really fantastic, and a welcome shift from how Tolkien inspired LoS1's bestiary was. Not to mention it finally made the series seem like it was about the Belmonts vs Dracula, and not Belmont-Dracula vs Satan.

LoS2 looks like a huge improvement from LoS1 and hopefully one day I'd like to play it. In the end, Mercury Steam did what they hoped to accomplish, so I applaud them for that. As a Castlevania fan, I just want to see Konami leave LoS behind and move onto something new. I'm pretty sure MS wanted the same thing if they had plans to make the original ending to LoS2 incredibly tragic and bittersweet. I can only hope now Konami returns to 2D Castlevania, or creates a reboot that encompasses our original desires for the LoS series before we knew much about it.

...just keep Satan the fuck out of it.

If this comes off as negative, I was going for something more in-between. I enjoyed the ride over the years, but I don't want to see the LoS series become the new face of the franchise. I fell in love with Castlevania because of the gameplay of the 2D games, mainly the ClassicVanias.

LoS's heavy focus on hack and slash and borrowing ideas from other franchises has very little to do with that.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: ChibiMaddiChan on February 26, 2014, 05:43:04 PM

OSM summed me up perfectly. Bravo to you good sir.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kale on February 26, 2014, 07:06:41 PM

Quote from: crisis on February 25, 2014, 02:00:39 PM

i feel the same way mistressalucard, which is why i called out everyone in the los2 thread that beat the game in record time just by putting the game on easy, and no one had the balls to even admit it & just ignored my posts lol

People play games on Easy?  :o

Does this game even have difficulty settings? I truly don't know. But if it helps me avoid QTE, I'd say go for it. Though on the PC, at least, there seems to be a tick just for that. MS, thanks, for not lying about it..... and then doing it, again.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 26, 2014, 07:47:16 PM

hay Kale long time no see  :-*

believe me, i was shocked too, when i noticed people that acquired the game a day or 2 before its official release date, then making posts on how amazing it is, then later that night posting on how theyre at the last boss fight already. lol wtf?

i says to them i says, "how u guys beated this 20+ hour game with almost no effort?" so i deduced that they must have set the difficulty to easy so they would have bragging rights by saying "i just beated the game, ask me anything"

of course no one confirmed or denied doing that. i consider myself a pretty decent (in fact more than decent) gamer as i love action games of this calibur, but not even i would be able to defeat lords of shadow 2 as quickly as these elite gamers, unless i put it on easy

there are indeed difficulty settings in los2, the easiest being called "Twilight Knight" LOL
it goes Twilight Knight>Creature of the Night>Lord of Shadow>Prince of Darkness (prince of darkness being unlocked only after you clear lord of shadow difficulty)

i am playing on Creature of the Night, cuz i know full well that if i started on los then i'll just get my ass kicked repeatedly. i always start games on the "normal" difficulty setting (unless am feeling confident enough to go immediately to hard, but not here)

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: thernz on February 26, 2014, 07:54:52 PM

Quote from: OSM on February 26, 2014, 05:38:09 PM

...just keep Satan the fuck out of it.

no

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 26, 2014, 08:20:38 PM

for me, having Satan in video game form is like showing God in video game form; i'd rather them leave it out & let the players imagination decide how they really look like

but for castlevania purposes, in the future, i kinda like the idea of Dracula usurping Satan for Hell's throne, but at the same time not actually showing him in any way shape or form, just imply it happened in the backstory. thus explaining why Dracula is considered the "ultimate evil" in the castlevania universe

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: VEP on February 26, 2014, 10:54:10 PM

Quote from: crisis on February 25, 2014, 11:52:25 PM

unfortunately it's never gonna get back to the way it was, people need to accept this fact.. those of us that are still clinging to the 90's/early-mid 2000's era of castlevania need to realize that konami arent gonna take steps backward to the way things were. its just the nature of the business....

I guess I am just a KCEK fan for whatever reason and ya those days are done...

Quote from: theANdROId on February 26, 2014, 02:03:25 AM

I've only played MoF, but I liked it.  Despite the teasers and previews for these games, I never clearly understood that they were essentially an alternate timeline, so I was initially a little miffed.  However, once I realized it wasn't really connected to the other Castlevania games (aside from the title and references to characters and such) I was okay with it.  It may not have been what I wanted it to be, but it was still a well made game that I enjoyed playing.

But I'm beginning to wonder if my feelings may change if/when I play LoS 1 or 2.  It seems like many people here, while ultimately displeased with the trilogy straying from the original timeline, were most forgiving of MoF...which is the only one I've played so far.  Perhaps I'll come post again whenever I play through either of the other titles.

I guess in regards to playing a castlevania not in a particular timeline is part of what I liked about the old castlevanias is that there was a mystery between the titles as at the time technically we weren't completely sure how they were connected. We could only wonder and theorize but perhaps ensuring a timeline made it easier to determine where new games could fit or not...The lack of a conscious effort to ensure complete fitment to a specific linear timeline made different producers of castlevania  less restricted...

So maybe the idea of a new timeline was in the air of trying to return to a less convoluted mess.. as we could make more castlevanias and fit them in

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 26, 2014, 11:13:52 PM

i agree, which is why i say OoE sorta did it right & overall pushed "metroidvania" in the right direction [gameplay wise]; it was ambiguous with the exact year it took place. all of the cv games before it had a specific year, right in the intro they told us what year the game takes place in. ooe however just said "sometime during the 19th century" and thats how cv should do it from now on. let us speculate on when it could take place, so we wont have to worry about the timeline being cluttered with exact dates

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on February 27, 2014, 01:51:46 AM

Quote from: thernz on February 26, 2014, 07:54:52 PM

no

p-please

Quote from: crisis on February 26, 2014, 08:20:38 PM

but for castlevania purposes, in the future, i kinda like the idea of Dracula usurping Satan for Hell's throne, but at the same time not actually showing him in any way shape or form, just imply it happened in the backstory. thus explaining why Dracula is considered the "ultimate evil" in the castlevania universe

Now this I would be totally fine with.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kale on February 27, 2014, 02:08:50 AM

Quote from: crisis on February 26, 2014, 07:47:16 PM

hay Kale long time no see  :-*

Sup, didn't think anyone really remember me. :D Stopped coming by because the place I work/worked at started blocking game sites, this included.

I saw Total Biscuit's video on it, and I'm so glad for the QTE option. I wonder how much that guts the game though. Looking at it though, I'm really liking it too much. But I can't say I really liked the first. I believe my opinions on it was surrounded by complaints about QTEs though.

As for God/Satan, I honestly don't care how they do it, have em in, have em out, not have em, whatever. I prefer the story, presentation... the game/media is unhindered by rules unless the rule is to prevent them being lazy.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Mike Belmont on February 27, 2014, 02:14:02 AM

Quote from: Kale on February 27, 2014, 02:08:50 AM

Sup, didn't think anyone really remember me. :D Stopped coming by because the place I work/worked at started blocking game sites, this included.

He, I think I remember you, too :P. By the way, have you tried to install a virtual machine in your work PC, if is permited? Is the way I follow. Windows 7 have one, and works really good. My PC filter block games sites, too, but in the virtual machine, I can see it ;D. You could try this, if you wish :P.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Morning star on February 27, 2014, 02:56:59 AM

When they get back to making real Castlevania games somebody please wake me up and let me know alright? That's my opinion...

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: zangetsu468 on February 27, 2014, 09:47:41 AM

My honest opinion:

LOS1 was a good action/platformer/combat game and I was particularly impressed with the combat system. It wasn't traditional Classicvania in 3d but it was close, and a very good game in its own rite. The main character? Brilliant, the closest we've had to Simon Belmont sporting his red tunic in CV II. The context was interesting but not original, and the story... that's really where the game fell short for me, but I didn't care because the good points outweighed that. I believe LOS still respected the original CV series mostly, but I don't buy the 'dark fairytale' aspect, should've been Transylvanian-medieval-gothic.

MOF... Average game... Gameplay was good but I expected more out of the game because it was LOS in Classic style.
Gabriel and Trevor = Great. However, I think the most disappointing aspect was that it disrespected Alucard and Simon, who were characters I really liked. There was no reason for Alucard to be called 'Alucard', it was still Trevor, MS just ripped that from the old series.. (Why couldn't he just be 'Trevor'?) The story cutscenes were irrelevant and the memento style gameplay did nothing for the game because there was no twist or story (aside from how Trevor became Alucard) for that matter - it was just using the most famous Belmonts to try and sell to oldschool fans. (The same wasy LOS did with the title, but at least the main Character was a new Belmont) .. The puzzles were terrible and the camera/ framerate was jittery. It felt like the same track was playing over and over. Added to the checkpoints in boss battles and the game was far too easy even on hard mode. and what was with the barriers appearing in battles? It meant you had to fight, but it also meant you could only fight a few enemies at a time, why not be able to be rushed by 10-20 enemies at once? Remember SOTN where you could blitz the inverted library or clock tower and get pack raped by hoardes of enemies?? Could the 3ds just not handle this? Environments were drab and uninspired.. No extremely hard mode (akin to Lvl 1 max hard cap) The Bad points definitely outweighed the good here.

LOS2 looks amazing to me, almost like a sort of 3d open world (SOTNish) CV, which many fans have been waiting on for a long time. Battle system looks innovated upon from the first game, the concept of the Castle rejecting its master seems interesting. It has me intrigued, but I won't have time to play it for the next month or so.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on February 27, 2014, 02:02:04 PM

I thought the series was a much needed breath of fresh air for the franchise and I love Lords of Shadow 1 dearly. It is a fun game, with beautiful settings, and good combat. I didn't pick up Mirror of Fate until the HD rerelease, but I enjoyed it as well. But not nearly to the extent that I've enjoyed any of the other 2D Castlevanias, I was basically playing Mirror of Fate for the story and didn't take the time to go back and 100% it after I was done, and then just youtubed the extra ending scene.

Also, Trevor calls himself Alucard for the exact same reason that Adrian calls himself Alucard and because the son of Dracula being called Alucard goes back to the 1943 film, Son of Dracula.

I am enjoying Lords of Shadow 2 very much so far. Everything seems improved over the first game except for the wide variety of settings, but this game takes place in one area and not all across the countryside on a long journey. The combat is much, much improved and I love the robust move list for the Void Sword and the Chaos Claws. The counter attack from jumping over enemies seems to work much better in this, and is a great way to get some hits in on blocking enemies when you don't have magic to burn on a shield breaker that works for the things that the sustained direct combo does not.

I really like this story as well, and how it brings up the fact that Draculas castle exists from his will, and makes me wonder if Dracula really wanted to and was at full strength if he could raise his castle from underneath this modern city and wipe it out in the process. I think that would have been a fun thing to explore for the final act of the game.

While I haven't beaten the second game yet, I believe I'm just past the midway point and I haven't had any problems with it so far story wise. So unless it goes pants on head stupid at the last minute I'm probably going to like this game just as much as the first.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kale on February 27, 2014, 06:43:36 PM

Quote from: Mike Belmont on February 27, 2014, 02:14:02 AM

He, I think I remember you, too :P. By the way, have you tried to install a virtual machine in your work PC, if is permited? Is the way I follow. Windows 7 have one, and works really good. My PC filter block games sites, too, but in the virtual machine, I can see it ;D. You could try this, if you wish :P.

I use my personal computer, it's blocked at the network level.

I'm probably gonna play the second one... but not mirrors of fate.

Anyway, how are those dreaded stealth sections? It seems really limiting like those later Soul Reaver games, where you can only do this at this spot or time.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 27, 2014, 06:49:53 PM

i dont think the stealth sections are that bad, but its really subjective. you either like em or you dont

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Trevelyan on February 27, 2014, 09:18:17 PM

With how good LoS2's Castle section turned out, I'm left wondering if it would have been better if Mirror of Fate was full 3D and had been 'LoS2', set 100% in the Castle.  Then the City/Modern day parts could have been a DLC/Add-on to finish the story.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: zangetsu468 on February 27, 2014, 10:24:53 PM

Quote from: Viskod on February 27, 2014, 02:02:04 PM

Also, Trevor calls himself Alucard for the exact same reason that Adrian calls himself Alucard and because the son of Dracula being called Alucard goes back to the 1943 film, Son of Dracula.

No he doesn't, Trevor can't beat Gabriel, Gabriel saves him by having him ingest some of his blood.
Trevor then wakes up x decades later for the first time in a coffin that says "ALUCARD" (who else but Gabriel would have made this coffin?)... He never called himself that in MOF infact Gabriel calls him that when the fight between Simon, himself and Dracula begins.
A few times prior to this Simon asked "Who are you?" and Trevor fled. He never named himself Alucard.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Ahasverus on February 27, 2014, 11:08:46 PM

Quote from: Trevelyan on February 27, 2014, 09:18:17 PM

With how good LoS2's Castle section turned out, I'm left wondering if it would have been better if Mirror of Fate was full 3D and had been 'LoS2', set 100% in the Castle.  Then the City/Modern day parts could have been a DLC/Add-on to finish the story.

I agree. MoF had the best story, it needed to be a full sequel but I guess they ran out of time as they needed to get rid of Castlevania before next gen.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: DragonSlayr81 on February 27, 2014, 11:49:28 PM

Quote from: crisis on February 26, 2014, 08:20:38 PM

but for castlevania purposes, in the future, i kinda like the idea of Dracula usurping Satan for Hell's throne, but at the same time not actually showing him in any way shape or form, just imply it happened in the backstory. thus explaining why Dracula is considered the "ultimate evil" in the castlevania universe

This is why I want "evil" Dracula back again. Sympathetic, anti-hero Dracula's fine for LoS, but now that it's over, spare us a tragic backstory. Give us someone twisted, dark, vile and ruthless. He doesn't have to be 2-dimensional, either.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Inccubus on February 28, 2014, 02:59:08 AM

Quote from: Kale on February 27, 2014, 06:43:36 PM

Anyway, how are those dreaded stealth sections? It seems really limiting like those later Soul Reaver games, where you can only do this at this spot or time.

Except for the first one and Agreus, they become completely absurd once you've beaten a couple of bosses. They really expect anyone to believe Gabriel needs to tiptoe around some fat demon guards after you've already killed full fledged Acolytes of Satan?

That is not to say they are innately bad. It actually looks kinda fun to run around as a rat. Where I find that MS has dropped the ball is in not incorporating it into the rest of the game play at all. You get to turn into "mist" at will, but that's it.

My reflections on the series...

LoS1 is a bit overrated by some. It borrowed too much from other franchises and not enough from the series it's supposed to be part of. Unfortunately the 'shout outs' to the old school fans ended up feeling more patronizing and self-serving than anything else. Hated the music direction. The setting was ok, story was pretty good, the voice acting was even better. Beyond the game itself the trailer and Cox's shenanigans felt like trolling more than marketing.

MoF is a half-assed mess that is only compounded by Cox's further shenanigans (fuck you. having a character you play for a short intro stage doesn't count as one of the playable characters) and the shoehorning of the 3D combat into a 2D game. The separation of combat and platforming made it too easy. The boss checkpoints made an already easy game even easier. No es bueno. The music still blows. The story was way too predictable. The setting wasn't bad looking and at least it was very Gothic.

LoS2 is better than LoS1 for exactly two reasons being able to turn off QTEs, and the ledges no longer glow brighter than the sun. Again, I'm not a fan of the music in the slightest. There's nothing open world about this game beyond what you get with a typical Metroidvania. When they mentioned open world I was expecting more along the lines of Xenoblade Chronicles. Yeah, none of that here. I felt the writing in this one was weak and often felt absurd, especially concerning Victor whose only real purpose is to make Gabriel "the first and last Belmont" which is a huge plot hole in that it contradicts the existence and continued survival of Alucard who no matter how you spin it is still Trevor BELMONT. The SotN gave me a sense of constipation in that they were so forced and just felt completely out of context. In the end after watching the game I'm left with no desire to play it. It's the same as LoS1 with some improvements, but not ones that matter to me in a meaningful way.

I'm glad it's over. Now go back to your roots Konami.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: e105beta on February 28, 2014, 03:24:28 AM

Quote from: Ahasverus on February 27, 2014, 11:08:46 PM

I agree. MoF had the best story, it needed to be a full sequel but I guess they ran out of time as they needed to get rid of Castlevania before next gen.

MoF is hands down my favorite LoS game.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on February 28, 2014, 12:29:46 PM

Quote from: zangetsu468 on February 27, 2014, 10:24:53 PM

No he doesn't, Trevor can't beat Gabriel, Gabriel saves him by having him ingest some of his blood.
Trevor then wakes up x decades later for the first time in a coffin that says "ALUCARD" (who else but Gabriel would have made this coffin?)... He never called himself that in MOF infact Gabriel calls him that when the fight between Simon, himself and Dracula begins.
A few times prior to this Simon asked "Who are you?" and Trevor fled. He never named himself Alucard.

I had forgotten about his coffin already having Alucard on it. Well throw it up to poorly written continuities then, because in Lords of Shadow 2, Gabriel calls him Trevor and he says "No father, Trevor is dead, I am Alucard." But that aside, Castlevania is always going to call the son of Dracula in any version, Alucard.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: zangetsu468 on February 28, 2014, 01:21:40 PM

That's really poor writing seeing Gabriel names him in MoF.
Yes he may be Alucard's equivalent in the MSverse, but it doesn't excuse poor storytelling when they've made a whole 3 games.. God people used to slam the og canon for chronological anomalies like the centennial resurrection, and how many games did that have..

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on February 28, 2014, 01:31:24 PM

"Dracula rises but once a century* and my role is over..."

1094 - Lament of Innocence
1476 - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
1479 - Curse of Darkness
1576 - The Adventure
1591 - Belmont's Revenge
1691 - Castlevania
1698 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
1748 - Harmony of Dissonance
1792 - Rondo of Blood
1797 - Symphony of the Night
1830 - Circle of the Moon
1897 - Dracula
1917 - Bloodlines
1944 - Portrait of Ruin
2035 - Aria of Sorrow
2036 - Dawn of Sorrow

*Some conditions may apply.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Shinobi on February 28, 2014, 01:50:31 PM

Quote from: Viskod on February 28, 2014, 01:31:24 PM

"Dracula rises but once a century* and my role is over..."

1094 - Lament of Innocence
1476 - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
1479 - Curse of Darkness
1576 - The Adventure
1591 - Belmont's Revenge
1691 - Castlevania
1698 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
1748 - Harmony of Dissonance
1792 - Rondo of Blood
1797 - Symphony of the Night
1830 - Circle of the Moon
1897 - Dracula
1917 - Bloodlines
1944 - Portrait of Ruin
2035 - Aria of Sorrow
2036 - Dawn of Sorrow

*Some conditions may apply.

Circle of the Moon should be replaced with Order of Ecclessia, it's already removed from or isn't really a part of canonical timeline in the first place as some people said.

Back to the topic, IMO maybe it was not Gabriel who write the name "Alucard", maybe another case of breaking the fourth wall or some sort to show the player a hint what will become of Trevor afterwards.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on February 28, 2014, 02:19:18 PM

kid dracula takes place in 11797

time reaper says he comes from 10000 years in the future

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: zangetsu468 on February 28, 2014, 10:06:49 PM

Quote from: Viskod on February 28, 2014, 01:31:24 PM

"Dracula rises but once a century* and my role is over..."

1094 - Lament of Innocence
1476 - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
1479 - Curse of Darkness
1576 - The Adventure
1591 - Belmont's Revenge
1691 - Castlevania
1698 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
1748 - Harmony of Dissonance
1792 - Rondo of Blood
1797 - Symphony of the Night
1830 - Circle of the Moon
1897 - Dracula
1917 - Bloodlines
1944 - Portrait of Ruin
2035 - Aria of Sorrow
2036 - Dawn of Sorrow

*Some conditions may apply.

Yeah rises once every century, but forced (early) resurrections are a grey area, because it was never stipulated whether the count needed to be physically resurrected or whether he would simply rise after 100 years of slumber. IGA himself made the comment in an interview that every century humanity 'loses faith in god' which indirectly leads to resurrections, thus it doesn't need to be 100 on the money.
Richter says he rises but once every century, but he's not saying when in that century. Furthermore, I've not played LOS2 so please don't spoil - I have no idea how resurrection works in the MSverse.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on February 28, 2014, 10:58:23 PM

Quote

to make Gabriel "the first and last Belmont" which is a huge plot hole in that it contradicts the existence and continued survival of Alucard who no matter how you spin it is still Trevor BELMONT.

Simon and his descendants don't know Alucard was Trevor. They only know Dracula was a Belmont.

On the naming of Alucard- Dracula names him after killing him, because he never learned his name. He did however, go against him, and so he named his tomb "Alucard", in memory of the unknown son that opposed him, Dracula.

Trevor himself adopted the name at some point, probably after MoF, or during it when he learns thats what his father calls him.

The question is where Dracula learned Trevor's real name. I suppose it couldn't be too difficult for him to figure it out eventually, by the time the siege happens.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Inccubus on March 01, 2014, 01:58:05 AM

Quote from: Flame on February 28, 2014, 10:58:23 PM

The question is where Dracula learned Trevor's real name. I suppose it couldn't be too difficult for him to figure it out eventually, by the time the siege happens.

Someone in the Brotherhood of Light had to know about it. Not to mention Trevor wasn't isolated his entire life at minimum he has to have been running around doing heroic shit for a few years before taking on Gabriel. Point being he has to have had some amount of fame. Then there is also the possibility that Sypha would likely have had relatives that would have know about him.

Having Alucard on the coffin is a bit odd. I could be an easter egg. It could be a plot hole. It could be an easter egg that causes a plot hole.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: X on March 01, 2014, 03:44:23 AM

Quote

It could be a plot hole. It could be an easter egg that causes a plot hole.

Awww, why did you stop there?? the easter egg, plothole thingy was just getting good!

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Shiroi Koumori on March 01, 2014, 03:56:29 AM

Quote from: X on March 01, 2014, 03:44:23 AM

Awww, why did you stop there?? the easter egg, plothole thingy was just getting good!

What plot hole? It's a black hole! An abyss that leads to nothingness that was spawned by numerous creative differences and eventually its true reason was forgotten in the depths of time.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: zangetsu468 on March 01, 2014, 06:37:41 AM

Quote from: e105beta on March 01, 2014, 05:27:04 AM

I dunno, Lost Village looks pretty damn German.

Regardless of context, it appears that way, because it's supposed to imitate Castlevania.
The best argument is that Yoko and Arikado are associates, Arikado works for a top secret Japanese organisation. Thus if he's investigating something it's most likely going to be in Japan. Alucard is the best source of tracking any kind of paranormal activity to do with Dracula or his Castle... Second, Soma is still an exchange student as far as anyone knows. Third, Mina's main place of living is the Hakuba Shrine. The game does nothing to explain to the viewer that the context has shifted. 

On a lighter note, if anyone could build a towering replica of Castlevania it's Japan, they have 1:1 scale gundam!

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on March 01, 2014, 07:13:31 AM

Quote from: zangetsu468 on March 01, 2014, 06:37:41 AM

Second, Soma is still an exchange student as far as anyone knows.

he's just a Japanese student in the Japanese version of the game.

Though, exchange student will always be canon to me.  Just works better

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Mangoaxe5 on March 03, 2014, 08:57:31 PM

Still don't like the Lords of Shadows games(or the Lords of Shit) games as I call them.

First of all Castlevania didn't need a reboot. There was still plenty of room to fit more games on the timeline plus the 1999 game.

Second the LOS games barely have any thing to do with Castlevania. The Castlevania references feel forced, and why is Satan the main bad guy in a Castlevania game?

Third the character designs are not Castlevania. Castlevania games have a gothic atmosphere, but the LOS games have a genetic fantasy feel. It feels more like a rip-off of Lord of the Rings and Pan's Labyrinth.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1265.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj518%2FDarkMisa666%2FPanCrop_zpsfbcd5df9.jpg&hash=b3f36c1c193fb221e99b92d834dd7b06ebba99d8) (http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/DarkMisa666/media/PanCrop_zpsfbcd5df9.jpg.html)
This does not belong in a Castlevania game. 

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on March 03, 2014, 09:22:51 PM

cox clearly told everyone from the start, "this is Castlevania but NOT as you know it." so nobody can say they werent warned since the beginning.

that said there are indeed several elements within the los saga that harken back to castlevania of old, and has been proven time & time again if you refuse to see it then youre just blind to the facts. CHristianity has been a constant theme in the series so them finally introducing Mr. Satan wasnt that big of surprise. and hes only there as an enemy for Dracula, not the entire Belmont clan. Dracula doesnt get along with neither God OR Satan, and thats intruiging to some of us. but im not gonna make a list of "castlevania stuff in los" b/c thats redundant. theres a cow in SotN. we have a chainsaw-wielding enemy in OoE. no way a laser gun straight out of Terminator will ever be seen in a castlevania... positron rifle. its just the chaotic nature of the series & will continue to introduce "foreign" elements here n there as it always has


now, i also agree with u that castlevania didnt need a reboot. there are a lot of empty slots in the timeline that would take almost a decade to fulfill, if given the right attention it deserves. they dont all have to be 2D games

while i was playing order of ecclesia for the first time, when i was traveling thru the first forest area, with "Emerald Mist" playing
Castevania: Order of Ecclesia ost 17- Emerald Mist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDynplObnQE#)

you know what i kept thinking of? what kept running thru my mind, "damn, i cant believe this, the saga i first started in 1986 im still playing in 2008, the story of the Belmonts vs. Dracula is still going on..." and it gave me warm feeling inside similar to chocolate. i realized this long-running canon is still being fulfilled with new entries & characters. thats what i love about castlevania canon

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on March 03, 2014, 09:46:30 PM

Quote from: Vampfox on March 03, 2014, 08:57:31 PM

Still don't like the Lords of Shadows games(or the Lords of Shit) games as I call them.

very mature

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First of all Castlevania didn't need a reboot. There was still plenty of room to fit more games on the timeline plus the 1999 game.

Not nearly as much room as you would think.

Quote

Second the LOS games barely have any thing to do with Castlevania. The Castlevania references feel forced, and why is Satan the main bad guy in a Castlevania game?

Considering the series is based on Judeochristian mythology, it was only a matter of time, since older games referenced hell and heaven quite a bit. Remember Satan's ring? or Hell in Dawn of Sorrow? This isn't new. Demons have been part of castlevania for a long time, too. Also forced? that's entirely subjective. the 'what is a man" linedrop in LoS2 is forced for sure, but many other references felt fine to me, and in many cases, very subtle. some were pretty missable.

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Third the character designs are not Castlevania.

neither are these.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20090424044624%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2Fb%2Fb4%2FSimon.jpg&hash=b642df3d998d00effabfa03b4643721ab159f8cb)

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic3.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20090424045654%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2F6%2F6e%2FGrant_1280_1024.jpg&hash=0467f2c94b78e024e3276edc8624ab37ebb1c4bd)

And what exactly defines castlevania character design? because  this

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20080227202436%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2F1%2F13%2FAlucard.jpg&hash=f82b42048f1a3052f22abc80090960c425dbc0d5)

Was most certainly "not castlevania" when compared to classicvania character design.

And let's not go into Simon's Kojima design, with the pretty face and leather, and how people felt about that compared to barbarian Simon.

or perhaps Johnathan Morris ridiculously anime getup. Soma suffers from this a little too in Dawn of Sorrow, but can be excused because "lol future". And for 2025, his Aria outfit was surprisingly retro. And it fit a purpose too. To make him look regal.

Character designs are entirely subjective, and for all it's faults, at least the main character designs were pretty standard fare for Castlevania. Trevor and Simon and Gabriel stand out. Gabriel specifically, since he's basically identical to CV2 Simon sans hair color.

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Castlevania games have a gothic atmosphere, but the LOS games have a genetic fantasy feel. It feels more like a rip-off of Lord of the Rings and Pan's Labyrinth.

have you even played MoF or LoS2? Lords 1 is more fantasy for a reason. It was a series origin story. They wanted to show a more fantasy world for the era before Dracula, so that once Dracula comes into the picture, everything gets much more gothic in atmosphere. MoF has a thick gothic atmosphere, as do the Castle segments in LoS2.

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(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1265.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj518%2FDarkMisa666%2FPanCrop_zpsfbcd5df9.jpg&hash=b3f36c1c193fb221e99b92d834dd7b06ebba99d8) (http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/DarkMisa666/media/PanCrop_zpsfbcd5df9.jpg.html)
This does not belong in a Castlevania game.

Neither does this.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs22.postimg.org%2F4uu468gtd%2Fneither_does_this.png&hash=ff775760dba628ed6949904bceb031dcbc04155a)

But no complains there?

Also, Pan is a mythological figure. I find it odd that you are not opposed to Medusa, Harpies, Valkyries, Golems, Demons, but Pan is somehow not allowed.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: e105beta on March 03, 2014, 10:00:58 PM

Quote from: Vampfox on March 03, 2014, 08:57:31 PM

Still don't like the Lords of Shadows games(or the Lords of Shit) games as I call them.

First of all Castlevania didn't need a reboot. There was still plenty of room to fit more games on the timeline plus the 1999 game.

Second the LOS games barely have any thing to do with Castlevania. The Castlevania references feel forced, and why is Satan the main bad guy in a Castlevania game?

Third the character designs are not Castlevania. Castlevania games have a gothic atmosphere, but the LOS games have a genetic fantasy feel. It feels more like a rip-off of Lord of the Rings and Pan's Labyrinth.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1265.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fjj518%2FDarkMisa666%2FPanCrop_zpsfbcd5df9.jpg&hash=b3f36c1c193fb221e99b92d834dd7b06ebba99d8) (http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/DarkMisa666/media/PanCrop_zpsfbcd5df9.jpg.html)
This does not belong in a Castlevania game.

You mean like this?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg4.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20081107205516%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2Fa%2Fa9%2FBlackfomor.gif&hash=51ad2fbe9a41123b76ad71b2a9d97702e312d327)

or this?

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20111223053236%2Fcastlevania%2Fimages%2Fb%2Fb5%2FAdramelech.gif&hash=0a8139ab49850abd14ed93fd3594a86edf415599)

Get over yourself, bro

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Maedhros on March 03, 2014, 10:38:12 PM

I'm glad it's over and I hope it stays this way.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kingshango on March 03, 2014, 10:43:23 PM

Quote from: Maedhros on March 03, 2014, 10:38:12 PM

I'm glad it's over and I hope it stays this way.

I'd abandon that hope if I were you.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on March 03, 2014, 10:47:54 PM

Quote from: Maedhros on March 03, 2014, 10:38:12 PM

I'm glad it's over and I hope it stays this way.

I would agree with you- the last thing the LoS series needs is to be milked like the classic timeline was- it's rare for a series to actually have a decisive end.

That said, given the absolute lack of closure that loS2 provided, I'd probably accept another game or DLC.

To be honest, I'm kind of sad it's over. it was a very wild ride, despite the divisive nature of it. And I enjoyed seeing MS reinterpret old characters and concepts.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Maedhros on March 03, 2014, 10:55:21 PM

Quote from: Kingshango on March 03, 2014, 10:43:23 PM

I'd abandon that hope if I were you.

Even if they make another one, it's over for me. I won't play another game from this series ever again. They are not fun for me, so why should I?

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on March 03, 2014, 11:04:08 PM

That's a very silly and kind of immature mindset. So all because they made another game you didn't like you are done with the franchise?

people didn't leave when Dawn or Portrait or Judgement happened, so it's silly to leave just because of a castlevania game you didn't like. You don't have to play it, and there's still tons of older CV games to waste time with until a game you do like comes out.

All because I don't like what's become of Mega Man, doesn't mean "I'm done" because of Xover and Legends 3's cancellation. I'll just wait.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Maedhros on March 03, 2014, 11:07:40 PM

Quote from: Flame on March 03, 2014, 11:04:08 PM

That's a very silly and kind of immature mindset. So all because they made another game you didn't like you are done with the franchise?

people didn't leave when Dawn or Portrait or Judgement happened, so it's silly to leave just because of a castlevania game you didn't like. You don't have to play it, and there's still tons of older CV games to waste time with until a game you do like comes out.

All because I don't like what's become of Mega Man, doesn't mean "I'm done" because of Xover and Legends 3's cancellation. I'll just wait.

Some people liked Dawn or Portrait and even judgement. I had fun playing Dawn and Portrait, I didn't playing LoS. It's how it is, nothing immature about it. I'm sick of the concepts they tried, sick of the storyline, sick of the ambient music. I don't want it to continue.

It's good that you want, maybe you'll get it. It's over for me, though.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on March 03, 2014, 11:36:21 PM

Quote from: Maedhros on March 03, 2014, 11:07:40 PM

Some people liked Dawn or Portrait and even judgement. I had fun playing Dawn and Portrait, I didn't playing LoS. It's how it is, nothing immature about it. I'm sick of the concepts they tried, sick of the storyline, sick of the ambient music. I don't want it to continue.

(click to show/hide)

Some people hated Dawn and portrait and did not enjoy them as much as their predecessors. portrait in particular infuriates me because of what a cheap soulless game it is, riding on Bloodline's name, and relying on people buying it because it's a sequel to a game it does NOT honor. And I really disliked the way Castlevania sounded on the DS. Dawn of Sorrow's soundtrack grinded on my ears way harder than it should have. I think in fact, Aria, despite inferior hardware, sounded better than Dawn. In dawn, you could have told me Michuru Yamane was not involved at all, and i would have believed you. I was also sick of metroidvania. I lied it. But IGA drew it out for far too long. I enjoyed LoI for not being a Metroidvania. It was a dungeon crawler beat em up, kind of game, and I was happy with that change of pace.

Then Curse of Darkness managed to mess that up, and Judgement well, to be fair would not have been nearly as bad if not for the art style and redesigns-

The Adventure Rebirth caught me by surprise, and I loved every second of it. Classicvania reborn? what miracle is this? then came Harmony of Despair, and proved that IGA was just out of ideas. I never asked for a multiplayer Castlevania. I never asked for all the music to lose all charm and become generic rock, or for the levels to be the frankenstein copypastes they were, or the fact that they tried to actually integrate plot into it unsuccessfully.

Then LoS happened. And it was so different from what we were getting that it was a breath of fresh air. I didn't care that the trailer lied about Dracula, I enjoyed the story as is. It was actually fairly standard for Castlevania. Belmont's wife is taken away, (this time killed and not kidnapped) And Belmont sets out for revenge against the evils of the land that caused it. The game was not all inside the castle! it was familiar classicvania areas! the castle itself was cool and big! Satan? What? Wait is that Jason Isaacs?  Awesome! Well fuck it, let's kick his ass anyway!

the plot twist at the credits was pretty shocking, if not very bizzare, for a Belmont to become Dracula- It's about on par and actually almost worse than Legends making Dracula the grandfather of Trevor, but I was curious as to where they would go with the story. It was pretty cliche, And pretty much identical to LoI, which itself ripped off the Coppola movie. Only it fused the mathias and leon characters together. moF had a strange out of order story, but it was interesting enough. Simon was great, he was Simon just like right out of the NES days. muscles, barbarian look, a BEARD! and even a leather whip! Which then upgrades to chain! Alucard? there's Alucard? Alright, lets' get to the chase on this- we all knew the plot twist and it was silly. Though Alucard's story was also pretty standard. '"I hate you vampire dad! Im gonna be your opposite!" And aside from his bare chest and pale blueish skin, he looked pretty similar to his SotN design superficially. the came Trevor, the pre-alucard. And while his gameplay was not too thought out beyond "he works like alucard just because", his story was the best of the three. I genuinely felt the feels when Dracula kills him and discovers his identity, trying desperately to revive him, and failing to do so, gives him a prince's burial within his castle- within what was his own throne room no less!

From there, i was just really intrigued by the new take on the mythos and franchise. LoS2 definitely did not live up to it's hype, but I enjoyed it for what it was. a different vision of castlevania than what we had been getting.

Now look at me, i went off on a wall of text.

my point being, I, and many other people, feel the opposite you do about the DS games and the LoS games.

there's absolutely nothing wrong with disliking them. That's your right to do so. But at least try to understand that some people just feel the exact opposite. :P And they didn;t quit when push came to shove and they didn't quite get what they were expecting, or wanted. With a fandom it's aaaall about patience.

You think waiting for LoS to blow over is bad, ask Dalkstalkers fans some time how long theyve been waiting for a new game at all!

Quote

It's good that you want, maybe you'll get it. It's over for me, though.

Actually, aside from DLC for LoS2 and maybe some side game, I'm ok with it ending. I'd like to see someone else give Castlevania a try. Who knows, It might be 10x better than LoS or anything that came before, and catch both our interests :P I'd still like to see a CV2 remake, or well, what MS originally wanted to do, a CV1 remake. In THREEEEE DEEEEE with the same production values that the LoS series had.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kale on March 04, 2014, 12:48:09 AM

So... i beat it.... Want to hear my thoughts? Amazingly enough, there was things I did like in this game.

Right now, I'm doing the challenges, and finding the rest of the upgrade/etc. Those challenges are...... pretty annoying, I have to say. But maybe it's because I just started sucking really really really bad for some reason. I was doing great the night before, but when I played in the morning, I was getting hit left and right.

It's worth a run through, at a discounted price.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on March 04, 2014, 03:32:40 PM

I'd love another Lords of Shadow, I really like Gabriels Dracula, but I don't really like the series jump to modern day, so I am torn. I want another Lords of Shadow game with Gabriel as Dracula, not being mopy about being Dracula and not set in modern day. But yeah, I ain't gonna get that. The Alucard DLC will just have to suffice. I suppose.

Lords of Shadow was a great series overall, and a great way to bring new fans to the franchise and that's always a good thing. I just wish the second game hadn't had the troubles it had. It really pisses me off when I find out that a good thing, could have been a great thing, if not for the meddling of an egomaniac or two.

I just hope the next Castlevania game is good, and if the next major console game is going to be on the PS4/XB1 then I hope we get a handheld game in the meantime to tide us over while that one is in development for the next two to three years.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: uzo on March 04, 2014, 05:18:14 PM

Might as well just remake CV4 and or SotN. At this rate we're never going to see anything close to that quality again.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on March 04, 2014, 05:30:08 PM

not unless its fanmade.. we'll have to start a kickstarter or something (and it might not even turn out as expected lol. great, maybe, but excellence? that takes years n years lol & is still a crapshoot)

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: riverman on March 04, 2014, 11:06:25 PM

Just happy it's the last MS vania. 

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Ahasverus on March 04, 2014, 11:32:46 PM

I just had an epiphany.

Satan in the Lords of Shadow series serves the same role as Dracula in the old one. He's the guy that throws some few one liners and get his ass kicked 5 minutes after his appearance at the end of the game.

(click to show/hide)

Next Castlevania series to be Satan's origin story confirmed.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kale on March 05, 2014, 12:07:16 AM

Boss battle, WTFs of LOS2....

Spoilers...

(click to show/hide)

There is a boss fight in the game, and I found it to be pretty awesome. One of the things I actually liked. However it was followed by a WTF moment.

You fight Victor Belmont, your decensdent. He behaves pretty much like you in the first game with your knives and such. It was just cool. But immediately after that, he drops a stone, and becomes a Giant and invincible. WTF?!

Someone tell me what the fuck that is all about. Please. Because... seriously, if anything was just plainly retarded, that seems to be the winner.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: e105beta on March 05, 2014, 12:08:46 AM

Quote from: Ahasverus on March 04, 2014, 11:32:46 PM

I just had an epiphany.

Satan in the Lords of Shadow series serves the same role as Dracula in the old one. He's the guy that throws some few one liners and get his ass kicked 5 minutes after his appearance at the end of the game.

(click to show/hide)

Next Castlevania series to be Satan's origin story confirmed.

That...could actually make for an interesting game if done right.

Not a Castlevania game, obviously, but interesting nonetheless.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on March 05, 2014, 12:11:19 AM

Quote from: uzo on March 04, 2014, 05:18:14 PM

Might as well just remake CV4 and or SotN. At this rate we're never going to see anything close to that quality again.

I don't think we'll ever see the old canon again to be perfectly honest.

It's either more LoS or something new.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Trevorcard on March 05, 2014, 01:11:37 AM

Quote from: Kale on March 05, 2014, 12:07:16 AM

Boss battle, WTFs of LOS2....

Spoilers...

(click to show/hide)

There is a boss fight in the game, and I found it to be pretty awesome. One of the things I actually liked. However it was followed by a WTF moment.

You fight Victor Belmont, your decensdent. He behaves pretty much like you in the first game with your knives and such. It was just cool. But immediately after that, he drops a stone, and becomes a Giant and invincible. WTF?!

Looks kinda of similar in use to pillars that Cornell used in Lords of Shadow 1 in order to power himself. Could be wrong though.

Someone tell me what the fuck that is all about. Please. Because... seriously, if anything was just plainly retarded, that seems to be the winner.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: darkwzrd4 on March 05, 2014, 01:26:51 AM

I just finished the game and I didn't like it. The enemies fought in the city were generic and never really changed, the stealth sections were horrible, the ending sucked, and like in the other lords of shadow games the enemies took to long to kill.

I did however like the fact that you had three weapons each with its own skill set and special abilities.   Not to mention that the Victor fight was pretty cool. I mean the game actually gave us a Belmont vs. Dracula fight but we fought it while in control of Dracula this time.

Now I just hope that if the franchise keeps going that we either go back to the old cannon and finish it up (unlikely) or Konami hands to reins over to someone else like From Software or some other game developer and let them reboot it again. I really would like to see what someone else would do with it. See what they're vision of Castlevania is. I just don't want to see another metriodvania or another God of War clone. We need something different. Something fresh, but still somewhat faithful to the source material. You know, something beyond simple name drops (which is pretty much was Mercurysteam did).

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on March 05, 2014, 01:46:21 AM

some people dont wanna see another 3Dvania, metroidvania OR classicvania


so where does that leave us

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Dremn on March 05, 2014, 02:02:17 AM

Quote from: crisis on March 05, 2014, 01:46:21 AM

some people dont wanna see another 3Dvania, metroidvania OR classicvania


so where does that leave us

canceledvania and 4DVania

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: theplottwist on March 05, 2014, 02:48:47 AM

Quote from: Kale on March 05, 2014, 12:07:16 AM

Boss battle, WTFs of LOS2....

Spoilers...

(click to show/hide)

There is a boss fight in the game, and I found it to be pretty awesome. One of the things I actually liked. However it was followed by a WTF moment.

You fight Victor Belmont, your decensdent. He behaves pretty much like you in the first game with your knives and such. It was just cool. But immediately after that, he drops a stone, and becomes a Giant and invincible. WTF?!

Someone tell me what the fuck that is all about. Please. Because... seriously, if anything was just plainly retarded, that seems to be the winner.

(click to show/hide)

^ My exact reaction when I got to this part. The stones are much like Cornell's indeed, since even the gimmick is the same.
I will never understand why the heck does he get giant like that.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: crisis on March 05, 2014, 03:11:39 AM

its a role-reversal

in every cv game belmont fights 10-foot tall dracula
this time, dracula fights 10-foot tall belmont


could just be mercurysteam poking fun at that detail

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: KaZudra on March 05, 2014, 10:03:43 AM

Just finished the game at 110%, and I have to say, despite it's flaws, I like the game much more after the second playthrough.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on March 05, 2014, 12:09:13 PM

If you think things are taking too long to kill you really need to work on upping your mastery of the weapons. At level 3 Mastery, the whip and the claws are just beastly. Anything but the largest enemies go down in just a couple good hits and even the larger ones don't last long.

All of those little guys that spawn with armor in front of the Shop in the City of the Dead? You can plow right through the whole group with the claws on and using the auto-combo you get for holding down the area attack button and wipe them out instantly.

I really took the time to master different moves to increase the power of the main weapons so by the time I had those floating dark monks spawning in places, I didn't even realize they could combine or turn into something that looked like Aguni from Dawn of Sorrow because i was killing them too fast.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: EstebanT on March 05, 2014, 05:22:10 PM

Quote from: Viskod on March 05, 2014, 12:09:13 PM

If you think things are taking too long to kill you really need to work on upping your mastery of the weapons. At level 3 Mastery, the whip and the claws are just beastly. Anything but the largest enemies go down in just a couple good hits and even the larger ones don't last long.

All of those little guys that spawn with armor in front of the Shop in the City of the Dead? You can plow right through the whole group with the claws on and using the auto-combo you get for holding down the area attack button and wipe them out instantly.

I really took the time to master different moves to increase the power of the main weapons so by the time I had those floating dark monks spawning in places, I didn't even realize they could combine or turn into something that looked like Aguni from Dawn of Sorrow because i was killing them too fast.

I have no problem with them. It's the little jailer minions that kick my ass for some reason.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on March 05, 2014, 05:49:32 PM

Those are the guys I was talking about that I eventually could just wipe out like nothing. Try the Chaos Claws and use the auto combo you get when you hold down area attack.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: EstebanT on March 05, 2014, 06:00:44 PM

Ah. Crap. I have no idea how I misunderstood what you said. Without Chaos magic they suck.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Sindra on March 05, 2014, 08:54:43 PM

http://www.originalsoundversion.com/draculas-dirge-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-ost-review/ (http://www.originalsoundversion.com/draculas-dirge-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-2-ost-review/)

My review of the Lords of Shadow 2 soundtrack.

I have to say that I'm disappointed by the way the story went in LoS2, and thusly how it wraps the series up. Granted, this may be helped by the forthcoming DLC, but the story of the game seemed much more forced, confusing and unsatisfying than in the first game and even Mirror of Fate. I'll let a bit more time go by and the DLC to see if this helps my stance any, but I'm just disappointed that an aspect that I actually liked about LoS1 was so neutered by the second game.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Trevorcard on March 05, 2014, 09:08:04 PM

I was wondering what are your guys favorite moment and worst moment of the game. I will start. My favorite moment was the whole Toymaker sequence, the boss battle, the assembling of the story on stage and the music. I wish the whole game was like this. The worst moment of the game was train sequence which I was bastardized version of the Uncharted train sequence and where the game absolutely jumped shark

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Kale on March 05, 2014, 10:35:54 PM

What train sequence? I don't remember this...

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Maedhros on March 05, 2014, 11:01:00 PM

Toymaker sequence, for sure, is my favourite part. Specially after a shitty boss fight with Agreus.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: e105beta on March 05, 2014, 11:36:21 PM

Quote from: Trevorcard on March 05, 2014, 09:08:04 PM

I was wondering what are your guys favorite moment and worst moment of the game. I will start. My favorite moment was the whole Toymaker sequence, the boss battle, the assembling of the story on stage and the music. I wish the whole game was like this. The worst moment of the game was train sequence which I was bastardized version of the Uncharted train sequence and where the game absolutely jumped shark

Best: Zobek
Worst: Victor's death

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Flame on March 06, 2014, 12:52:41 AM

Best: The music. i can't choose actual sequences, I like too many. But the music stands out most to me

Worst: Victor's death, hands down. In fact it's even worse than the ending to me. At least you can swallow the ending as "open ended" or try and make it make sense, but not Victor's death.

also FYI I liked the train sequence. I was like, WOOOOW, I loved that line by Dracula too- "Only I live forever!"

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Neobelmont on March 06, 2014, 01:45:34 AM

Quote from: Kale on March 05, 2014, 10:35:54 PM

What train sequence? I don't remember this...

Where you're fighting some monster with one horn and he tried to take you down with him.

Anyways Favorite moment fighting Victor Belmont so awesome


Least Favorite moment Victor dies it baffles me that not even 20 mins in he dies. and the riders of the storm that one segment where you have to avoid the electricity ahhh!!!! worst than Argeus I tell you all!

Quote from: Flame on March 06, 2014, 12:52:41 AM

Best: The music. i can't choose actual sequences, I like too many. But the music stands out most to me

The music was very boring to me not one track stands out to me. LoS seems to be the only game in the Los series to have memorable music was belmont's theme being the one for me. It just hit me in so many way that it is without a doubt my favorite song in the Los series, heck It's in my top ten for overall favorite cv music.

Title: Re: The Lords of Shadow series has come and gone, time to reflect on it.
Post by: Viskod on March 06, 2014, 12:54:03 PM

Quote from: e105beta on March 05, 2014, 11:36:21 PM

Best: Zobek
Worst: Victor's death

I concur.