Topic: Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror Of Fate HD

[Flame]

I don't get the fanbase sometimes.

Fanbase: "WAH THEY TURNED HIM INTO A WOMAN AND PUT HIM IN BDSM CLOTHES! WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CONAN SIMON FROM CV1?"

MS; "Okay, here, have a more traditional Barbarian styled Simon, incorporating what people liked from his previous design"

Fanbase: "WAH I HATE HIM THEY MADE HIM BRUTISH AND BARBARIC!"

Well the hell did people expect from a BARBARIAN. They made him look like one, so they gave him a backstory and character to match it, rather than being a babrarian in look only for no apparent reason.

I thought people loved new Simon, it was like the one thing unanimously agreed upon by the majority of the fanbase that was good about MoF, despite the split feelings about the LoS saga as a whole. All of a sudden I'm seeing more and more dislike for new Simon popping up all over.

[Maedhros]

Wow, different people have different opinions... who would've thought...

[Ahasverus]

.

Yep, Simon as a Barbarian was the way it should be, we didn't need another moody hero, and even less with simon as he was a barbarian in the beginnig. It also made his ending more emotional. Simon, Dracula and Trevor have been nailed in this series.

[Dremn]

I thought people loved new Simon, it was like the one thing unanimously agreed upon by the majority of the fanbase that was good about MoF, despite the split feelings about the LoS saga as a whole. All of a sudden I'm seeing more and more dislike for new Simon popping up all over.

I pretty much love all of the new designs for the Belmonts and Alucard, but you really can never please everyone.

[Intersection]

It was a nice change from the "noble" Belmont trope, which Trevor filled just fine. Adds a little personality.

But that's just the thing; Simon didn't have any personality. Just like every one of Mirror of Fate's protagonists, he wasn't given any true character. In the end, I don't mind Simon's redesign in itself as much as the dirt-poor writing and characterization that went into the game he was cast in. Instead of giving us some compelling insight into Simon's nature and purpose, Mirror of Fate simply relies on empty dialogue and made-to-order clichés to develop its disappointingly insubstantial story.

But as for Simon's looks, I'll admit I may have spoken too fast. They're actually rather decent.

Flame:
I don't represent the "fanbase" and I don't pretend to. I hold my own opinions, even if I'm the only one to share them. I don't expect them to feel offensive to anyone.

[Maedhros]

You guys need to stop talking like we're some type of hivemind... we are individuals, with strong different opinions on every matter. "Oh my god, why can't u like wat I like, I'm gonna cry" posts are annoying.

Just because you guys like barbarian Simon, doesn't mean that everyone HAS to love it.

The only design from MoF that I like is Alucard... and not even on the game itself, but in artwork, specially in LoS2 artwork, that's much better than anything in MoF.

[e105beta]

But that's just the thing; Simon didn't have any personality. Just like every one of Mirror of Fate's protagonists, he wasn't given any true character. I don't mind Simon's redesign in itself as much as the dirt-poor writing and characterization that went into the game he was cast in. Instead giving us some compelling insight into Simon's nature and purpose, Mirror of Fate simply relies on empty dialogue and made-to-order clichés to develop its disappointingly insubstantial story.

So it was kind of like every side-scrolling Castlevania ever?

EDIT: No, that's a bit unfair. PoR and the Sorrow had a bit more time dedicated to dialogue, but hot damn if they weren't completely cliche-ridden.

Fact of the matter is MoF Simon has more purpose and more characterization than any previous rendition, and in general the MoF cast has more effort pur into their characterization than pretty much any Belmont before, ignoring Gabriel and Leon

[kadosho]

Been playing a bit through the first few levels with (intro level w/ Gabe) and Simon's quest. I actually love the redesign they gave our old buddy. It feels fluid, and you can maneuver swiftly to get past each level. Plus the controls are dead-on! *Surprised that even Simon is given an adaptive power-up vs certain areas.

I can't wait to keep exploring, I love the design, the levels, and the music is so haunting you get immersed within the world.

[Flame]

When exactly does this come out for PC?

[Maedhros]

Who knows.

[e105beta]

When exactly does this come out for PC?

It's a mystery.

[Intersection]

So it was kind of like every side-scrolling Castlevania ever?

No.
If the plot elements of many Castlevania titles seemed relatively scarce, they were always judiciously presented, and developed just enough of a story to keep the game in motion and allow a more focused approach towards its gameplay aspects.

In other words, side-scrolling Castlevania games didn't always say much, but they always said enough. There's a difference between intentional narrative brevity and poor narrative construction. Mirror of Fate tried to compensate for its comparatively modest plot line by artificially bolstering its narrative with scores of strangely convoluted exchanges and recurrent dramatic platitudes -- and it ultimately stumbles over its unnecessarily cumbersome structure. To put it simply, MoF tried to say too little with too many words -- and ends up getting tongue-tied.

I finished Mirror of Fate without caring in the least for its characters. And that, even in a Castlevania game, is unacceptable.

[Bergaron]

When exactly does this come out for PC?

They are pricing game sales on PS3, XBOX to decide if they sell it in PC. It appears that were positive and they will take, it is expected for Christmas with access to the demo LOS2.

[Flame]

Yeah it's about time THAT came to PC too.

I hope LoS2 doesn't do the same thing in regards to making people wait for the PC release

[e105beta]

No.
If the plot elements of many Castlevania titles seemed relatively scarce, they were always judiciously presented, and developed just enough of a story to keep the game in motion and allow a more focused approach towards its gameplay aspects.

In other words, side-scrolling Castlevania games didn't always say much, but they always said enough. There's a difference between intentional narrative brevity and poor narrative construction. Mirror of Fate tried to compensate for its comparatively modest plot line by artificially bolstering its narrative with scores of strangely convoluted exchanges and recurrent dramatic platitudes -- and it ultimately stumbles over its unnecessarily cumbersome structure. To put it simply, MoF tried to say too little with too many words -- and ends up getting tongue-tied.

I finished Mirror of Fate without caring in the least for its characters. And that, even in a Castlevania game, is unacceptable.

That's completely nonsense.

Claiming the earlier games were "judiciously presented" as an excuse for them being scant, while at the same time claiming that MoF did nothing to establish Simon's (or any character's) personality is silly. Alucard in SotN is somehow more developed than Alucard in MoF, despite the fact that all we really learn from SotN is that Alucard is a half-vampire who favors his human side and will fight his father despite their blood relationship?

And there's not "scores" of cutscenes in MoF. There's maybe six per character, all together equaling 22 minutes in a 9 hour game (That's 4%), and individually they're pretty brief, with very few lines actually said outside of a select few.

Bias is fine, I'm not expecting you to like MoF all of a sudden, but your argument is really weak.

EDIT:
castlevania aria of sorrow - cutscene dracula reborn

I mean, this isn't exactly wonderful writing.