Castlevania: Mirror of Fate

[Hero-of-Time]

Loving this.

 

I've never been a big Castlevania fan, well at least the Metroid style ones. I grew up playing the NES games and I still think Super Castlevania is the high point of the series for me. Despite not being a huge fan of the newer style games I decided to pick this up.

 

The combat is basic but I still find it fun, especially when you unlock a new move. Once you start pulling off combos and dodging attacks everything is very smooth.

 

The game, while fun, was lacking atmosphere, that was until I decided to plug my earphones in and BOOM the music and sound effects came into their own. It really helped bring everything together. This is definitely a game that benefits from having a set of earphones.

 

The boss fights have been quite challenging and take some time to get the hang of the attacks. I playing on normal and I was still getting mu butt kicked at times.

 

I went into this game kind of blind. I didn't really look at any reviews and was kind of expecting it to be a meh experience given how I feel about the other Metroidvania games. I'm glad that I took a chance and picked this up because so far this game has been a great experience.

 

One last thing. During the course of the game you will find dead bodies holding notes that explain their last moments. During my adventure I came across this...

 

 

LUIGI!!!!!!!!

 

I'm on the final act now. Time to crack that whip.

[flameboy]

Loving this.

 

I've never been a big Castlevania fan, well at least the Metroid style ones. I grew up playing the NES games and I still think Super Castlevania is the high point of the series for me. Despite not being a huge fan of the newer style games I decided to pick this up.

 

The combat is basic but I still find it fun, especially when you unlock a new move. Once you start pulling off combos and dodging attacks everything is very smooth.

 

The game, while fun, was lacking atmosphere, that was until I decided to plug my earphones in and BOOM the music and sound effects came into their own. It really helped bring everything together. This is definitely a game that benefits from having a set of earphones.

 

The boss fights have been quite challenging and take some time to get the hang of the attacks. I playing on normal and I was still getting mu butt kicked at times.

 

I went into this game kind of blind. I didn't really look at any reviews and was kind of expecting it to be a meh experience given how I feel about the other Metroidvania games. I'm glad that I took a chance and picked this up because so far this game has been a great experience.

 

One last thing. During the course of the game you will find dead bodies holding notes that explain their last moments. During my adventure I came across this...

 

 

LUIGI!!!!!!!!

 

I'm on the final act now. Time to crack that whip.

 

Ok so I've been slagging off the game but that is pretty darn cool.

[Captain Falcon]

Is the quoting somebody and replacing their words as "stuff" a thing you do or you trying to be insulting by claiming that my words don't matter?

 

I think Resident Evil 4 differs in that they made changes that fans were out there asking for. Certainly in terms of controls and for the most part it reinvigorated and rejuvenated the horror genre with a slightly more action twist. It didn't fundamentally turn the series on it's head, merely refined it. (Granted in 5+6 they've taken these changes too far.) Whereas this shift in focus has completely changed the nature the Castlevania series, now it's focussed on the combat rather than the platforming/puzzles along with the awkward enemy positioning playing havoc with your navigation. I don't think there was anyone out there clamouring for Castlevania to acquire a combat system ala God of War.

 

I'm a little miffed as to why you said it doesn't matter how it was publicised when you were the one claiming how the producer has done the rounds and people should know what to expect.

 

Nope, changing words to stuff is what I do when my reply is so short that next to a big section of quoted text, it looks silly. I originally intended to say something along the lines of "less agree to disagree" and I sort of did but then I kept change my words and adding to it until it morphed into the reply I gave but then I forgot to put your text back. I had considered just using the mention function instead of quoting but it was just easier to hit that quote button on your post. It certainly wasn't meant as an atempt to insult you or undermine the content of your post.

 

 

Let's pretend I agree to the premise that it is ok to mark a game down because it doesn't fit in with expectations from the game series. In that instance, you can make the argument that this is a bad game since there is a definite shift in game styles. However, the IGN reviewer is not some nobody who hasn't got a clue about games (despite his efforts to convince otherwise with his review). It's his job to kept up to date with the happenings of the business he works in. And when you couple this to the fact he is a self proclaimed super fan of the series, there is no way on the planet that he had missed all the attention this game has being getting lately - especially when the site has been posting developer exclusive walk throughs of the game. Therefore, it doesn't hold water that he should have been expecting a full on Metroidvania style game even if that were a valid reason to mark it down even though it is something that could have befallen other reviewers.

 

But like I said, I don't agree to that premise from the outset.

 

And given God of War robbed its combat from the prior 3D Castlevania games on the PS2, it seems odd to accuse Castlevania of stealing it from that - the only thing GoW added in was the QTEs... itself popularised by RE4 ultimately robbed form Shenmue. Castlevania already had you fighting all the mythical creatures too - it was never just limited to vampires and skeletons. You only have to watch the combat in Lament of Innocence, released in 2003, to see it's not a million miles away with its whip based combo heavy fighting - it's the level structure that saw the biggest upheaval as linear CVs had all but disappeared.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, I finished the game today with 100% in 10:20 and I loved every second of it.

 

The opening of the last act is same as the demo and it runs a bit smoother in the actual game than the demo did, although other parts of the game are just as "rough" as the demo for framerate overall. Not long after the demo ends, there is a truly epic sequence of events that did leave me open mouthed and I was even more surprised that the framerate didn't fall of the face of the earth considering even the credits see stuttering against a black background with no 3D effects.

 

I enjoyed the story for what it was, even if that meant it being incredibly obvious but how the acts interweave their stories was neat with certain recurring characters.

 

Just a couple of things that seemed to get glossed over in the reviews. With regards to the bosses, although there are checkpoints that see you restart if you die with the bosses health deminished, you health is also deminished to the same point. Bosses have different attack patterns that change every time they lose 25% of their health and these mark the checkpoints. So say you got the boss down to just below 50% health and then died, when you restart, the boss will have 50% health, but then so will you. It doesn't give you full health so you can just go in all guns blazing without a care in the world as you grind away at them. EDIT: I think the amount of health you recover is dependant on the difficulty mode as playing this earlier on an unlockable, harder, difficulty saw me restart a section of a boss fight with less health than the boss had.

 

Secondly, the L button isn't just Block and Evade, it also allows you to cancel a lot of your basic attacks. You can't interupt finishing moves for combos or certain special moves but then that is part of the risk/reward strategy or you'd do nothing but use them moves all the time.

 

Also, hit stun. Not all attacks cause hit stun on enemies but that doesn't mean it doesnt exist because it does, but it tends to be linked to your most powerful moves or combo finished that have long wind up times which lets them get close enough to challenge your decision to use them. If every enemy suffered hit stun off of every attack, it would break the game as you would only ever have to use the area attack and nothing could ever hit you or even get close.

 

And as Hero said, you have to keep them head phones in to fully appreciate the music and have nothing else loud around you as the 3DS is quiet anyway. The credits music is wonderful so look out for that one.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Captain Falcon

[Hero-of-Time]

I finished this last night and although the last act was a bit meh I really enjoyed the game. The last boss took some doing. I died 3-4 times before I actually got his attack patterns down. I didn't get 100% like Captain Falcon though. My end percentage was 79%.

 

Great game and I highly recommend it.

[dazzybee]

Just bought the download version for £15 so be looking to plough through this after 999 and before the dreaded 6 day mentalathon at the end of march!! Loved the demo.

[Hero-of-Time]

Just bought the download version for £15 so be looking to plough through this after 999 and before the dreaded 6 day mentalathon at the end of march!! Loved the demo.

 

You can blast through it in 8-10 hours, so it's not very long. It saves on a regular basis which makes it ideal for a handheld game.

[Londragon]

Just bought the download version for £15 so be looking to plough through this after 999 and before the dreaded 6 day mentalathon at the end of march!! Loved the demo.

 

How'd you buy the download for 15 quid?

[Captain Falcon]

How'd you buy the download for 15 quid?

 

He got it from here.

[Dcubed]

I'm a little bit into Act 2 and I'm getting the feeling that I've seen all this game has to offer already... Repetition is setting in fast and there just isn't enough skill involved in the combat to keep things interesting (I'm playing on hard mode BTW)

 

The platforming and exploration elements weren't very interesting to begin with, but the combat was fun for a while. Now it's getting boring fast, with lots of kill rooms, samey enemies and not much evolution to the combat (all the characters seem to play the same, which kind of begs the question of what the point is of having multiple characters in the first place if all they are are glorified keys and different skins to act as bookends to a chapter)

 

Not getting much motivation to carry on... I knew it would peater out before the end, but not this quickly!

Edited March 14, 2013 by Dcubed

[Kagato]

So being a huge Castlevania fan and loving the old Metroid-vania style games i was really worried about this game after hearing the most recent 8-4 podcast. Is it true that the maps on some of the areas are practically straight lines? Are there major perfomance issues when only battling a couple of enemies at a time? I dont know why the gave the handheld version of the series to Mercury Steam, the previous 2d games always seemed to review and sell well...

[Andyliini]

I just beat the game with 100% completed. It took me just short of 11 hours to do it, so it didn't take that long. The areas are quite small, and altough there are some areas that are basically just straight lines, most of them have branching paths and some even open areas.

 

Personally, I didn't see performance issues at all, the game run fluently all the way through, even when fighting multiple enemies at once. I had the 3D on the whole game, and it really adds to the atmosphere of the game, especially on the backgrounds.

 

A good play it was, though the combat became very repetitive towards the end. The music was quite forgettable, but the game was fun to play as long as it lasted. It was short, there's no denying that one, but then again, it had more of a Castlevania feeling than Lords of Shadow (which is not a huge achievement, but nevertheless).

 

If I remember correctly, Cox told in an interview once, that Lords of Shadow 2 will conclude the story of Dracula, so perhaps another team will tackle Castlevania after MercurySteam.

[Captain Falcon]

I dont know why the gave the handheld version of the series to Mercury Steam, the previous 2d games always seemed to review and sell well...

 

Work on Mirror of Fate sort of started before Lords of Shadow had hit the market. MS had just finished work on LoS and needed to start work on a new game. It was decided that whatever the game would be, it would be for a portable device and I'm guessing that's when they were trying to decide between the 3DS and Vita as a target platform.

 

Lords of Shadow then saw release and did rather well and then they were charged rushing out the two bits of DLC which were never planned at all. The developers have since gone on to say they wish they hadn't done them as they don't like them much - I think it is something to do with how they had to handle the story in the two bits because of the smaller nature of DLC and the fact there weren't able to tie it into the main game story as they would have liked compared to if they knew they were going to be doing them.

 

Anyway, it did well and then they got asked to make a sequel and that's the point at which their portable game came to be Castlevania as they saw the chance to add a bit more to their version of the story.

 

As for the previous games, yeah they reviewed well but sales have been on a steady decline which each new entry despite the huge install bases of the GBA and DS. Lords of Shadow is the best selling CV game of all time and that only sold about 1.5m across both the 360 and PS3. None of the NES games ever broke the million seller barrier and neither did Super Castlevania 4 either despite being well received by fans. I think Circle of the Moon sold a million copies but the other portable entries weren't close to that.

 

In some ways, CV for Konami is like Mega Man for Capcom - there are 80 plus MM games and only 4 have ever sold more than a million copies (2,3,X and one of the Battle Network games) and then people wonder why they don't make them. I'm sure had LoS failed, CV would have gone into some kind of hiatus too and could still do once LoS2 has shipped since regardless of sales, it concludes MS's take on the saga.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Captain Falcon

[Ike]

Picked this up today, traded some old games in so thought I'd pick this up.

 

I'm a bit funny with Castlevania, didn't really like the DS games, liked LoS but didn't finish it. Played under an hour of this and so far I'm liking it.

[Eightbit]

There's a bit at the beginning of the game where you have three (terrible) soldiers to back you up. Two of mine died instantly but then the last one I protected for quite some time before he succumbed to death, how long did everybody else drag them through the game?

[Kagato]

It seems the game just isnt for me, i enjoyed Lords of Shadow but this just feels like they jammed the 3d sprites and moves onto a 2d plane and there dosent seem to be much in the way of exploration at all. I was lucky enough to be able to convince a friend to let me have an hour on his copy and something just dosent feel right, ill probably end up buying it when it goes down in price as im planning on playing Lords of Shadow 2 and dont want to miss any of the story, still, @Captain_Falcon is right, fans of the series havent done themselves any favours and this may well be what we are stuck with going forward.

[Captain Falcon]

It seems the game just isnt for me, i enjoyed Lords of Shadow but this just feels like they jammed the 3d sprites and moves onto a 2d plane and there dosent seem to be much in the way of exploration at all. I was lucky enough to be able to convince a friend to let me have an hour on his copy and something just dosent feel right, ill probably end up buying it when it goes down in price as im planning on playing Lords of Shadow 2 and dont want to miss any of the story, still, @Captain_Falcon is right, fans of the series havent done themselves any favours and this may well be what we are stuck with going forward.

 

Well, that's not quite what I said. The point I was making is that either yes, the fans aren't buying the games they claim to love, or more probably that the fan base just is no where near as big as their collective vocality would have people believe and this is reflected in sales (both recently and historically). Plus, those 2D games clearly weren't reaching out to new people either as that would imply the fanbase was even smaller than first thought.

 

It's not that the fans have done this to themselves as if the games don't appeal outside their group, that's nothing to do with them unless the games were being targetting specifically at them... in which case you can still blame Konami and IGA. What it really comes across as is that new current favourite buzzword/phrase of "self entitlement" - the market is diminishing and something needs to be done but they kick up a stink as soon as it changes but they really equal to few in number to have much sway.

 

LoS2 is currently being shown off to selected media outlets and by all accounts, it should be quite special but it could get caught up in the next gen wave and be left out in the cold.

 

 

And here is the official Captain Falcon review for Mirror of Fate:

 

 

Breaking away from tradition is never an easy task. Knowing the path you do not want to tread does not guarantee you will find the one you should be following. Much as its bigger brother broke away from the series’ home console tradition, so too does this portable endeavour by the same people. For all the controversy generated by Lords of Shadow, it never managed to overshadow the success of the title in a franchise that has continually struggled to reach an audience its heritage may suggest.

 

The fast paced combat that was the heart of the last outing takes centre stage once more and whilst there have been a few concessions to fit the smaller screen, the loss of a gameplay dimension and fewer buttons, what is left is a leaner experience. Slowly introduced over the game, and across multiple heroes, there is just enough meat on the bones come the final showdown to keep players entertained. Exploration is limited, and rewards even more so, but the developers can still catch you off guard with some impressive boss encounters and generous check-pointing makes defeat a more manageable prospect over the ten hours or so it will last.

 

Graphically, initial impressions are mostly positive though it’s clear some compromises are being made right out of the box. The game blends “cel-shaded” story driven cut scenes with an aesthetic taken directly from the home console offering. Both look impressive, and the 3D effect really brings the dank gothic interiors of the castle to life, yet they still prove an odd match even by the time the credits roll around. It’s a stark contrast to the more colourful outings of the past and yet the consistent style helps to make the world feel more cohesive as a result though possibly at the expense of a perceived lack of variety. The sacrifice for such vistas is a frame rate that sits a little lower than ideal for an action orientated game but it never feels unplayable and whilst it may fluctuate a little, it’s not the distraction it otherwise could have been.

 

After winning awards for the previous game, it’s no surprise to see Oscar Araujo once again at the helm when it comes to the score. Tunes are sparse in nature and consequently tend to repeat yet the quality and complexity of said pieces is evident and felt a good match for the environments that rely just as heavily on sound effects when crafting their mood.

 

Mirror of Fate is Lords of Shadow reigned in for handheld play by a developer mindful of their target platform. Stripped of most of its excess, the gameplay experience becomes fairly one note, though some light puzzling and platforming helps to break it up, and whilst people looking for the latest iteration of a famous Symphony may balk at such a prospect, those looking for a different take may well find this more to their liking.

 

 

 

[welsh_gamer]

Got this last week, as I wanted one more Club Nintendo leaflet to get another digital game to sell on! Never played a game in the series before, unless I dabbled with one on the NES as a kid, but I found this enjoyable enough. At first, I wasn't too keen, got bored after 20 mins, but when I resumed the game the next day, I really got into it. Didn't care much for the story, but the gameplay and combat was good fun, but it would of been nice if there were more puzzles in the game. Finished it in around 8 hours and a 75% completion rating.