Topic: Castlevania: LoS - Mirror of Fate (SPOILER DISCUSSION)

[uzo]

Well that was underwhelming.

Oh well, shows over. Terrible/10

[Zetheraxza]

Simon, Julius: Red Hair
Simon, Julius: Res Beard
Simon, Julius: Same People (LoS2 Spoiler)

Belmont Vampirism. 2nd game, again the same thing. The third one will be two, probably. That's what LoS saga is about! It's not Belmonts' relationship with Dracula, it's Belmont Vampirism. I think they shouldn't have shown Alucard. That pretty much killed the plot twist and besides, the first LoS had the ultimate plot twist more like a 3 in 1 deal with Dracula Gabriel, Zobek being alive and Modern times, ESPECIALLY THE MODERN TIMES so pulling off M Night Shalamayan won't part that. At least the story seems nice and don't forget, it's a 3DS game, they're not striving to make some uber. It's a canonical side dish. LoS2 is the main course.

[Black Cat]

LOL and the joke-fest begins.

I'm kind of surprised I'm not as annoyed by this "twist" as I thought I'd be. I actually felt really bad for Gabriel (but damn dude did you have to stake his ass ) and Trevor but that detail about the mirror seems unnecessary.

[Kingshango]

Somehow im not as disappointed in the story as I should be, probably because we all saw it coming months ago. And I agree with Zetheraxza, they should have never have shown Alucard in the first place since that was obviously suppose to be the "super duper plot twist." Then they make said plot twist so obvious that the reaction is "Well that would have been shocking if I didn't know that already." Kinda like a preview to a alien invasion movie where everyone thinks the aliens will attack but the director says No they won't attack the humans." Then they put out a teaser poster of the aliens blowing up a famous landmark.

Well at least I like how Alucard came to be at least.

[Akuma]

LOL and the joke-fest begins.

I'm kind of surprised I'm not as annoyed by this "twist" as I thought I'd be. I actually felt really bad for Gabriel (but damn dude did you have to stake his ass ) and Trevor but that detail about the mirror seems unnecessary.

Well I thought the scene in itself was sad because it showed that even though Gabriel became what he is, he still has some humanity inside him if he went out of his way to save his son, only for the son to turn on the father.

It's a whole tragic damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.  Either way Gabriel still loses.  He either loses a son or gets killed/hunted by one.

[Black Cat]

Good point. I'll give MS credit in the drama department.

Completely agree that Alucard should've been kept secret. That was always by biggest peeve with the theory. This ending might be better received by the offline/blackout crowd who've never even seen a trailer.

[TheFly22284]

I'm actually quite pleased with the plot development. It might be overwrought and cliched, but if it seems cliched its largely because of how so much of western narrative is indebted to patterns of the monomyth. Very few people call George Lucas out on this, however much they may hate the Star Wars prequels. Just because it's familiar doesn't mean that it isn't effective. It's really a matter of execution.

If I'm being completely frank, which Sam Adams number three tells me I should be, I don't quite get the fetish of surprise. If a story is crafted well - and whether or not the LoS sub-univerise is well-crafted is, admittedly, a matter of taste - then "predictability" shouldn't matter. If surprise were all that mattered, then I would never feel the need to replay a game or reread a book or rewatch a film. For better or worse, MS seems intent on tapping into a familiar but effective narrative tradition.

Although I'm the first to admit that there was a jarring disconnect between the narration of the chapter introductions and the cutscene content in LoS, they were pretty intent on making Dracula a classically tragic hero, and I think they succeeded without the Deus Ex Machina that was the Crimson Stone in LoI. (For the record, LoI is one of my favorite CV games, but still...). For my money, Mercury Stream took what was just window dressing in the classic timeline - Christian iconography - and turned into a full-bodied theme. This might be alienating, and again its execution might seem hamfisted if you don't buy it, but I liked it.

Within this context, then, the Trevor/Alucard connection, while "predictable," really serves their purposes both of establishing Dracula as a tragic figure and of reimagining central characters and relationships from the classic timeline. I can't comment on the gameplay - I have not played it yet, although the framerate problems of the demo really don't register for me - but the plot seems to be moving in a satisfying direction. I don't personally care if it seems derivative, as long as it makes me care more about the character. For what it's worth, I actually find the narrative arc here far more satisfying than LoS, which still ranks as one of my favorite CV games behind CV4 and Ecclesia.

I should probably be working on my dissertation. Adieu. (Sadly, the Dracula chapter warranted exactly zero Castlevania references...)

[Akuma]

Huh.  Interesting.

Boss List:

(click to show/hide)

Simon:

Night Watchman
Necromancer
Succubus

Alucard:

Reaver
Daemon Lord Resurrected
Dracula


Trevor:

Axe Boss (from demo)
Lady of the Crypt
Axe Boss (another one)
Daemon Lord (QTE Fight)
Dracula

Subweapon List

(click to show/hide)

Simon sub weapons and abilities:

Axe
Oil Flask (Like Holywater)
Spirit of Belnades
Spirit of Schneider



Alucard sub weapons and abilities:
Mist Form
Wolf Form
Bat Projectile
Stopwatch
Shadow Claws (For climbing)
Demonic Wings (Double Jump and Glide)

Trevor sub weapons and abilities:

Boomerang
Electric Bomb
Light Magic
Shadow Magic
Speed Boots

[Foffy]

Huh.  Interesting.

Boss List:

(click to show/hide)

Simon:

Night Watchman
Necromancer
Succubus

Alucard:

Reaver
Daemon Lord Resurrected
Dracula


Trevor:

Axe Boss (from demo)
Lady of the Crypt
Axe Boss (another one)
Daemon Lord (QTE Fight)
Dracula

Subweapon List

(click to show/hide)

Simon sub weapons and abilities:

Axe
Oil Flask (Like Holywater)
Spirit of Belnades
Spirit of Schneider



Alucard sub weapons and abilities:
Mist Form
Wolf Form
Bat Projectile
Stopwatch
Shadow Claws (For climbing)
Demonic Wings (Double Jump and Glide)

Trevor sub weapons and abilities:

Boomerang
Electric Bomb
Light Magic
Shadow Magic
Speed Boots

So, following IGAvania tradition, there is content reuse?

[Akuma]

Hard to say.  I just asked a guy who completed the game to give me a list of this stuff, but the topic got deleted before I could ask for the general bestiary.  It is two days before official release after all.

[Lelygax]

You cant PM him?

[Akuma]

You cant PM him?

I could try.

Edit: I cannot.  The person probably got modded for it.

[Zetheraxza]

So, 11 bosses in total... That's pretty good actually. I wonder if we'll get to see the secret ending before the release. Just two more days, and I'm still looking for my 3DS...

[Kingshango]

supposedly the secret ending is just Alucard finding the stake that was attacted to Gabriels combat cross, then flying away from the castle while Simon looks on as the castle collapses.

[Akuma]

Well technically Trevor is still the first to defeat Dracula.  :I