Topic: Lords of Shadow sequel is coming out this year, hinted by David Cox over twitter

[Dark Nemesis]

I never considered LoS to be a rip off of GoW. In fact, I recall many folks considering LoS superior in combat to GoW.

I mean Theres no way you can call LoS a replica of GoW and not apply the same thing to Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid.

I don't speak specifically about LoS, but in general about games.

[uzo]

I don't want to sound like I'm jumping on the LoS Defense Force, but those comparisons of yours are a little bit too far to really be considered accurate in this, DragonSlayr81.

LoS departed from the series, but only in a few areas, and debatably not by much. Now hear me out before hitting that -1 button!!

In the context of this debate, I pose that the gameplay, specifically the God of War inspired/adapted properties, is NOT what causes the game to lose it's Castlevania feel. The major exception here I would let slide is the cliff hanging. That felt out of place to a degree.

As far as gameplay goes, it has mostly elements we've already seen in past CV games. LoI and CoD have already had what you'd consider a prototype battle system to the one in LoS. Sure it's similar to GoW, but how could it NOT be? It's a whip being used effectively in 3d space.

The stage to stage progression, something GoW has as well, predates all of these games back to the NES days. Nothing new there. The lack of exploration isn't a new concept to the series in a whole.

Even the concept of sub-weapon independent ammunition isn't much of a departure here. It's something that could have easily been in any other title, at any time. Even Portrait of Ruin had a somewhat protoype of this system allowing you to switch sub weapons at any time. I believe if the DS had more buttons, we could have easily have had a selection of multiple in combat at once. Given the limited number of sub weapons in LoS, and the central focus on versatility mid combat, this isn't that big a deal as I believe people make it out to be. I'm not sure if it was inspired by another game, but it wasn't necessarily a BAD call. I actually think for a stage based progression, its a really good idea. The single replaceable sub-weapons worked better in the exploration games, in my opinion, since there was easy access back tracking to get the one you want. Sure, you couldn't do that in the originals, and you hardcore classicvania fans are probably hammering that -1 button right about now, but realistically it was a little more frustrating than not to keep that kind of ideal alive in this game.

This brings us down to the factors I do think caused the game to feel astray from the rest of the series; Story, Character Design, Music. Each of these factors took a great departure from the original series conventions, and many fans don't feel at home with it.

Story, in the essence of Dracula-Belmont.

Music in the sense of the lost identity of the typical sound track feel.

And finally character design, mainly in the monster department. I'll admit I am still put off by the overly generic western designs employed in many of the designs. There were a few fantastic and very Castlevania like designs in the mix, though incredibly few against the multitude of contrasting designs. The walking coffins with root-leg-things is so Castlevania like. I also really liked the headless zombies, and the plant children of the maze garden. Not so much the goblins and trolls...

I think that's a fair assessment that both sides of the LoS debate should be able to accept.

[Nagumo]

Yeah, I never had a problem with the gameplay either. Though I'm sure the execution wasn't as good as in Shadow of the Colussus, I even like the concept of the titan fights. The best contribution Lords made to 3d vania's was more interaction with the enviroment, like the whip swinging and all the climbing etc. Combat seemed just fine to me as well, about the same level as the previous two 3d games, I suppose.

It's just other things that bug me, and Uzo already pointed out a few.         

[Flame]

Everything from after the besieged Village up until the fight with Cornell is what feels incredibly out of place. Basically most of Agharta. and it seems to be what everyone remembers most from the game. Probably because it's yknow, the first area.

[crisis]

it's funny you mention negative points uzo, my respect dropped considerably overnight it seems. SOME1 HAS A GRUDGE AGAINST MEH

The Titan battles just seemed like the developers wanted to 1-up previous games' titan battles, just because. Seems their mentality was like "you other developers aren't the ONLY ones that can pull these off!" They came off as less fun & more clumsy. Dracolich was just annoying, I couldn't wait for that battle to be over. So yeah, no more titan battles in LoS2 please. At least not in the fashion as in LoS.

I still think the combat in GoW is way more satisfying & intuitive (just completed the entire series on the hardest difficulty, shit was insane), and I felt the way Gabriel moved and handled was a tad bit awkward, especially with the platforming segments.

@MercurySteam, in conclusion, please fix the general aesthetic & music, and LoS2 will be more accepted as a "true" Castlevania, and don't be afraid to include the various charms & humor that the series is known for. And no, I'm not talking about corny Portal jokes & Monty Python references. Although I feel those were more Cox's input than anyone else's 


We deserve more than a Solid Snake eyepatch.

[Munchy]

it's funny you mention negative points uzo, my respect dropped considerably overnight it seems. SOME1 HAS A GRUDGE AGAINST MEH

The Titan battles just seemed like the developers wanted to 1-up previous games' titan battles, just because. Seems their mentality was like "you other developers aren't the ONLY ones that can pull these off!" They came off as less fun & more clumsy. Dracolich was just annoying, I couldn't wait for that battle to be over. So yeah, no more titan battles in LoS2 please. At least not in the fashion as in LoS.

I still think the combat in GoW is way more satisfying & intuitive (just completed the entire series on the hardest difficulty, shit was insane), and I felt the way Gabriel moved and handled was a tad bit awkward, especially with the platforming segments.

@MercurySteam, in conclusion, please fix the general aesthetic & music, and LoS2 will be more accepted as a "true" Castlevania, and don't be afraid to include the various charms & humor that the series is known for. And no, I'm not talking about corny Portal jokes & Monty Python references. Although I feel those were more Cox's input than anyone else's 


We deserve more than a Solid Snake eyepatch.

Totally agree on the Titan battles (Bayonetta did these best), can't comment on the combat in comparison to GoW, but I actually did chuckle at some of the cuteness in the cutscenes. The Chupacabra blasting Gabriel with electricity and the skeleton introduction were both pretty funny.

[Ahasverus]

I agree with less titans.
But I'm all for more GIGANTIC bosses.You just can't deny the 3 titans are awe-inspiring from a visual stand point. The stone titan is a visual highlight for theentire generation IMO (Dat modeling). It helped the epic feel it was the flow that was flawed. Moe igantic bosses and call them titans if you want but no Shadow of the Colossus make it more (lika A LOT MORE) like the Chronos and poseidon GOW3 battles. Then you have the best of both worlds.

And Agharta was admitedly SHIT until past the Black guardian Fight. Both the Cornell's lair and his fight were when the game really begun. We can all agree with that.

[Munchy]

I agree with less titans.
But I'm all for more GIGANTIC bosses.You just can't deny the 3 titans are awe-inspiring from a visual stand point. The stone titan is a visual highlight for theentire generation IMO (Dat modeling). It helped the epic feel it was the flow that was flawed. Moe igantic bosses and call them titans if you want but no Shadow of the Colossus make it more (lika A LOT MORE) like the Chronos and poseidon GOW3 battles. Then you have the best of both worlds.

And Agharta was admitedly SHIT until past the Black guardian Fight. Both the Cornell's lair and his fight were when the game really begun. We can all agree with that.

Actually, going back to it I enjoyed Agharta a little more. It is more or less a conversion of the random Atlantis pillars-sticking-out-of-water stages of the old ones. I just hate Claudia's guts.

The Titans did look cool. I just with they were a little more thematic with Castlevania (except the Dracolich, who fit in much more so). I'd love to see their take on guys like Beelzebub or Legion (provided they look demonic and not just like big ol' knights. I kind of hated that aspect of TFO).

More than anything, I'd like the Titan battles just to do more. In LoS they wait for you to jump onto them, throwing some shit at you in the meantime, and then they just kinda jiggle and occasionally scratch an itch while you slowly kill them. They should be a little more proactive and aggressive in the next game.

[Profbeanburrito]

All I want from E3 is news on the LoS sequel. Hopefully a release date.

In fact all I really want from from Castlevania anymore is the LoS sequel and a 3DS remake of Draculas Curse. A collection would be nice too

[Flame]

I actually thought the Dracolitch was the best Titan in the game.

*puts up shield*

at least from a cinematic/visual standpoint, and the pure concept that the Necromancer just fucking revived what was essentially part of a fucking mountain to fight you.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Yeah I like the Dracolich battle.  But the other titans?  Not so much.

[Maedhros]

I never considered LoS to be a rip off of GoW. In fact, I recall many folks considering LoS superior in combat to GoW.

I mean Theres no way you can call LoS a replica of GoW and not apply the same thing to Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid.

SOTN is completely different from SM in terms of combat.

[thernz]

I think he meant in terms of exploration. Considering you collect powers in both to progress.

The two are pretty different in that respect still.

[Munchy]

Yeah I like the Dracolich battle.  But the other titans?  Not so much.

Well, it's basically a bone dragon type creature, isn't it?

[Rugal]

All of the titan battles in LoS were boring, tedious, and shitty.