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

[Kingshango]

He would start as a black man, but would eventually turn into the Alucard (a white, pale, androgynous man) of this canon.

I read it twice, then I got it. lol

And he'll be able to moonwalk on stairs!

[Nagumo]

Judging from what I read and (briefly) seen so far, it seems like this game is going to be a brawler instead of your traditional Castlevania 2d game. Did any notice that too?

[A-Yty]

I read it twice, then I got it. lol

And he'll be able to moonwalk on stairs!

Super Castlevania IV- Moonwalk

[Kingshango]

I've been hearing some impressions from people who played the demo and apparently framerate problems are present, especially when there are more than three enemies on screen.

Hopefully this is an old build and that they can fix that.

[Dremn]

Judging from what I read and (briefly) seen so far, it seems like this game is going to be a brawler instead of your traditional Castlevania 2d game.

That's what it's starting to sound like.

Depending on what I hopefully see soon I may pass on this. :/

[Neobelmont]

Well at least I know that we do not have to preform QTEs to kill certain enemies now it's just a quick way thanks Jorge

I've been hearing some impressions from people who played the demo and apparently framerate problems are present, especially when there are more than three enemies on screen.

Hopefully this is an old build and that they can fix that.

Really framerate problems why can't Mercurysteam fix that? Like LoS they might not fix it. 

[e105beta]

I've been hearing some impressions from people who played the demo and apparently framerate problems are present, especially when there are more than three enemies on screen.

Hopefully this is an old build and that they can fix that.

Hopefully.

Seriously, what is with them and framerate?

[beingthehero]

By brawler, it might be something like OoE, where the emphasis is on dodging and careful attacks rather than easily knocking aside enemies.

[The Silverlord]

Judging from what I read and (briefly) seen so far, it seems like this game is going to be a brawler instead of your traditional Castlevania 2d gameplay. Did any notice that too?

It does seem rather heavy on the combat.  I would've argued that if the demo level was one storming the castle gates, then those screenshots would naturally emphasise combat more, but then again who's to say it couldn't be done very differently.  There aren't many platforms in the screens thus far.  I think I recall some members here did once suggest comboing in a 2d scroller as a possible way to upgrade or re-invigorate Castleroid in the wake of  stagnation, but Mirror may involve a system which is too extensive, asking too many enemy hits.  We need to see more. The whip-swinging looks cool, but as RichterB highlighted as a concern, I hope there are some player-controlled swing/momentum and physics, rather than simple-button grapple points.

I do actually quite like the music in the latest trailer, piano notes over strings . . . and nice to see a Cross flying across a screen.

WB Lone Child, don't let the madness bring you down mate.

[DarkPrinceAlucard]

I just read the new info and 1 of the 2 new characters does not have to be a belmont.

If Trevor really is going to become Alucard (which with every bit of new info is becoming more likely) Than they could simply count Alucard as a seperatre character and have him fight Gabriel at a different time period like 200 years after Simon or something.

The last Belmont could either be Richter or Julius since those 2 are the most famous next to Simon and Trevor and MS seems to be going for the "popularity" factor here.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I can read Spanish.  **goes into Translation Mode**

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Konami's  confidence in Spain-based development studio "Mercury Steam" remains intact.  In fact, it's gotten stronger.  And it is this spanish Company that not only has been asked this task to create "Lords of Shadow 2" but to also create an additional title for Nintendo 3DS.  We will venture into the deepest darkest part of this Studio to hear the tale of how Dracula will receive the 3D treatment.
"Because we're the shiznit" (colloquial translation, lawlz).  This is the response we got from Enric Alvarez (founder of MercurySteam) when we asked him why Konami had chosen to trust in his company to bring forth "Lords of Shadow".  Now, that same answer could be applied as the reason why the Japanese has once again chosen to trust in them, and not only to make "Lords of Shadow 2" but also for the Nintendo 3DS title.

The St.Sebastian de Los Reyes-based (in Madrid) company has won its position in the videogame world, first with "Scrapland", followed by "Jericho" (the latter's development being one that showed that they were not comfortable due to the things that CodeMasters demanded), and later on with the same 'dark lord' which would become his best ally (note-not sure what this means exactly).  An this, without mentioning its collaboration with Kojima (Studios), and now almost distant friends with them, since, according to Alvarez "This studio now flies on its own wings".
"The Belmont Damnation"

With its own wings to fly with, it starts its own project, "Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate" which we're sure will become one of the most anticipated titles for the 3DS in 2012.  Not all of MercurySteam is in the project; for this they have assigned a small section of the studio comprised of some 20 people, but the desire to surprise is an innate ability these developers have, for they want to expand the universe of this popular franchise.

Thus, as Lords of Shadow told us of the origins of Dracula and his connection with the Belmont clan, this videogame, marketed as a sequel, invites us to move forward 25 years in the future to get to know four characters in total.  For the moment, they have only unveiled two of them, the emblematic Simon (whose name we know from previous Castlevania entries), and the important figure that is Trevor Belmont, a knight of the Brotherhood of Light, looking to avenge his mother.

And in order to not divulge more details and ruin the experience of discovering for yourselves the passionate plot of this work, we will only tell you that all of this will have a climactic conclusion between 'father and son', (that is Trevor and Dracula).  "For us it was very important that the player feel emotionally implicated by the story" says Alvarez "even though this is not going to be necessarily what they have known in the past with this Saga, whic is more recommended since they will not know exactly out take on this."

Metroidvania, return to the classic 'scrollers".

It definitely seems that in this new Stereoscopic handheld entry we will find out many details about the Belmonts, even getting to jump between entirely different eras.  Everything is encapsulated in a videogame that attempts to signify a return to the 'classics' of the series, but in 2.5D, maintaining a 'sidescrolling' aspect even though there is a 'depth' to the scene.  The objective?  The game's director "Jose Luis Marquez" explains that "we are not attempting to follow the established path, but rather to focus on following our own.  Because of this, our game is not inspired in other Castlevania titles, but rather inspired by our own Lords of Shadow".

The result is a work that its creators define as a "Metroidvania", as it's quite centered on exploration, with a labyrinthine structure that entices us to return and retrace our steps.  In this respect, Enric Alvarez was very surprised when we asked him if the game was Linear.  His response was "Absolutely not.  In each level you can have alternate paths and you can backtrack through the different stages in multiple ways.  There is great freedom here, more so that the people anticipate".

To illustrate this, during the playable demo he allowed us to see a map (located on the touch screen) where one can highlight that each stage possesses 'different depths', and it's very useful since we are likely to get lost, and essential in order for us to get an even better sense as to how to proceed forward in certain circumstances.  He commented that there will be the possibility to write 'notes' on the map with our stylus.

Crosses, Whips, and lots ofHoly Water
But exploration isn't everything.  If the combat scenarios were important in Lords of Shadow, in the 3DS version they will not take a back seat.  Of course, the placement will change because it is now a sidescroller.  However, the 'timing' (the precise science which will teach us the fundamental moves such as attacking, defending, counterattacking, or dodging offensive maneuvers at the right point in time) will remain.  In this sense, the same focus on enemy tactics that the original has, the sequel will have, only with more focus on aerial attacks and a combo system based on alternating between the X button (direct attack) and the Y button (area attack) during enemy encounters.

In the battles, not excluding Boss Battles (which require somewhat of a pattern-learning strategy to defeat), the opportunity to level up and earn experience, and to learn new combos and different hits, and also, the ability to gain special powers, exists.  This, coupled with the ability to carry equipment, in order to take out enemies when they are 'flashing' (?) and possessing a combat style that differs depending on which protagonist we are currently playing as (Trevor with his combat cross and Simon with his whip) appear to make certain that the game's result will be a versatile, attractive one, with lots of variety.

And there will be lots of action.  We will be able to double jump, grab edges, rappel, climb, bounce off of walls, etc.  The platforming segments of "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate" will be vast and will be peppered by puzzle segments, which will range from the typical "Find a key to open a door" to more complicated cases later on.
Vampiric 3D

In any case, this last point will be one that may be more confirmed in the future, not really about the graphic aspects, which actually look pretty solid so far.  From what we have seen, we can confirm that this is one of the more spectacular-looking games on the 3DS so far.  With an engine specially designed in-house in Madrid, this title takes every advantage of the 3DS machine, with 3D models designed with 3D in mind, and with great level of detail, including the textures.
Even though we are dealing with a sidescrolling game, the backgrounds are not just flat walls.  They are dynamic backgrounds and even though stuff can be seen far off in the distance, it is a joy to see background objects receiving great amounts of detail on the scene.  The result is a very immersive and excellent work that, while still not final, gives us great optimism, even more when we consider that everything is designed 'from the ground up' (there are no recicled assets from Lords of Shadow).

Last but not least, the 3D effects is done really well, and creates a great diorama for our eyes.  Sincerely speaking, we don't think we can ask for more when it comes to the graphcis and of the voiceacting the protagonists have.  The sound effects are very high quality as is the music, done by Oscar Araujo, the same composer responsible for the score of Lords of shadow.  It seems we have come across one of the Games of the Year for this Nintendo platform, but in order to confirm this fully, we will have to wait.  "Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate" will not appear on store shelves until nearly the end of 2012.
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[knightmere]

I saw a very quick gameplay trailer on spike today and thegameplay looked very similar to the original LoS.  Not enough footage though to get a big picture.  I'm sure tommorow we will see more at the 3DS event.

[crisis]

He would start as a black man, but would eventually turn into the Alucard (a white, pale, androgynous man) of this canon.

[Dominus]

Well here is a site with some hopefully new info and new screenshots


http://www.3djuegos.com/juegos/avances/13904/3445/0/castlevania-lords-of-shadow-mirror-of-fate/

Hope someone knows how to read spanish really well (I can't have to look for the key words before I understand them).

MS is "da shit" according to Enric Alvarez and thats why they got CV

20 persons form MOF developement team. A small part of the studio (That explains the cutscenes)

Trevor fights to avenge his mother

Drac and Trevor will fight. Its important for MS to make the player feel emotionally compelled with the story. That doesnt mean that newcomers will be lost with the story but it would be better if they had played LoS (for the story sake)

We are going to get to know the details about the Belmonts as we play through different eras

While akin to the Scrollervanias, their objetive is " to not follow the established path but to look upon ourselves. Thats why our game is not inspired in the other CVs but in LoS"

The result is a Metroidvania (that kinda contradicts what they said earlier but whatever) Its not linear. You can choose different paths and go thrtough he levels in different ways. The freedom is bigger than we might thing

In the demo they saw in the lower screen. The scenarios will have different "heights" and that will be useful to not get lost. You'll be able to use the stylus to write notes in the map

Combat similar to LoS (with the obvious sidescroller differences) but with emphasis in the aerial combat and a combo system using Y(area attack) and X(direct attack)

It'll have bosses, chances to get exp, new combos and special abilites. Ability to load "tackles" and do special attacks when the enemies shine. Different combat depending of the character (Trevor=Cross, Simon= Whip) which asures a result varied and attractive

Ability to grab on ledges, double jump, jump between walls, rappel. Puzzles go between "get a key for a door" to complicated stuff

One of the better graphics in 3DS. Made by MS themselves. Dinamic looking backgrounds. No assets recycled from LoS. Araujo music

[cecil-kain]

Well at least I know that we do not have to preform QTEs to kill certain enemies now it's just a quick way thanks Jorge

Don't be too sure...  Check out the action at 0:09-0:12....  QTEs are definitely in the mix.

Nintendo 3DS 3rd Party Games Trailer - E3 2012