Topic: MercurySteam's original pitch

[crisis]

Castlevania Lords of Shadow Simon Belmont Beta Footage

for those of you that are unaware, this was their original pitch for their idea of next-gen castlevania (sry for poor vid quality). it was still a reboot, but more in lines with CV1 in that it was a remake/retelling of that story. had this been greenlit instead of lords, then i wonder how things wouldve inevitably turned out? perhaps Lords of shadow 2 would've been a remake of Simon's Quest instead? or maybe Mirror of Fate would've been that, and Lords 2 would instead be a retelling of Dracula's Curse?

maybe the series would've been better off that way? a "soft reboot" of the mythos. perhaps the series wouldnt be in limbo as it is now. just something to think about

[Mike Belmont]

Oh, yeah, I remember that video from some time ago...

...Now that I think, that hooded warrior looks a lot like Victor Belmont (from LoS 2, of course) to me.

As for a "soft reboot", well, if the ambience present in this video would have been the whole first game, then I would like it a little more than the game LoS was. My only complaint, is the Combat Cross as a weapon... I prefer the Vampire Killer.

[Dremn]

It probably wouldn't be that much different.

Simon's got that cursed gauntlet Gabriel ended up having, I actually like his redesign in Mirror of Fate a lot more than the Simon we see here.

That being said though, a soft reboot sounds like a good idea.

[X]

I think Mercurysteam would have had issues with Ubi soft over Simon's design choice. To me Simon's outfit (hood and the like) says Assassin's Creed. That stylization is plain to the eyes.

I actually like his redesign in Mirror of Fate a lot more than the Simon we see here.

That would have been better for the original pitch too.

[Sean Noonan]

Always interesting to see stuff like this

[theANdROId]

Yeah...I wanna play this.  It feels more like Castlevania.  Maybe keep the way Gabe looked in LoS, but the atmosphere in this is more what I'd hoped for.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Ah... the what ifs.
And it looks like Simon is a member of the Creed. hehehe. I just remembered that Vlad was killed by an Assassin in the AC universe.

[GuyStarwind]

Still knowing them Simon being cursed would actually be the curse of being Dracula and in their version of Simon's Quest he has to kill himself in the end

[Kingshango]

I'd like to point out that the piece of artwork at the beginning of the video is the most Castlevania looking piece of artwork they've done and I wished LOS looked more like it. If that was from the one who left the company, then Mercurysteam lost hard.


That said, I don't think Ubisoft wouldn't mind that he looked like an assassin considering they've managed to get away with Victor's appearance. But im glad they've decided on the barbarian look for Simon in MoF.

[Shiroi Koumori]

I think Ubisoft doesn't mind copycats and even copy pasting of some of their code. (Wink wink Shadow of Mordor)
They would just say, "wow we really are ubiquitous and the industry loves us! More publicity for us, whee~"

[beingthehero]

I guess they weren't terribly original even then. But then again, CV1's cover was Conan the Barbarian traced over a frank frazetta painting while Joker with fangs laughs in the background, so Konami has always been copycats.

[Maedhros]

I think Ubisoft doesn't mind copycats and even copy pasting of some of their code. (Wink wink Shadow of Mordor)
They would just say, "wow we really are ubiquitous and the industry loves us! More publicity for us, whee~"

Shadow of Mordor copied Ubisoft code?
Or simply made something that looks like Assassins Creed? Two COMPLETELY different things.

[Belmontoya]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think the Simon design in MOF is terrible.

I love the barbarian Simon, and I think he is best that way. But the MOF version.... Ugh with that accent. It just made me hate him. I have to also add that I think the Trevor design from MOF was equally bad.

My vote for the best Simon design is a tie between Simon's Quest and SCV4. Although I think a modern rendering of the Simon's Quest design would look most unique and probably be the best if it were done well.

I think Gabriel from LOS looks great and I would have been more than happy if his name were Simon, just as he was. It was close to a Simon's Quest look.

[Mike Belmont]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think the Simon design in MOF is terrible.

I love the barbarian Simon, and I think he is best that way. But the MOF version.... Ugh with that accent. It just made me hate him. I have to also add that I think the Trevor design from MOF was equally bad.

My vote for the best Simon design is a tie between Simon's Quest and SCV4. Although I think a modern rendering of the Simon's Quest design would look most unique and probably be the best if it were done well.

I think Gabriel from LOS looks great and I would have been more than happy if his name were Simon, just as he was. It was close to a Simon's Quest look.

I am agree with you. To me, MS wants a Simon in MoF to look like the classic games (a barbarian from the first game; a redhead from the Chronicles version). I think that the design could be better. When I knew that Simon and Trevor will be the protagonist for MoF, I expected something different in their designs. I have nothing against Trevor design, but I simply don´t like Simon´s one.

The design for Gabriel in LoS was better, as you said, close to Simon´s Quest version.

[Kingshango]

I wonder how Dracula would have looked in their original remake? A throwback to the Bela Lugosi Dracula or the long haired old Dracula from the epilouge, only way stronger?