Rumor: New 3DS Castlevania to debut at E3

[varkias]

That's really all I have, I'm sad I might have to buy a 3ds now.  Sounds like the producer for Lords of Shadow is involved.

[amauriel]

An article on it if anyone is interested in the few specifics they've found:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/22/report-new-castlevania-game-coming-to-3ds

[jobocan]

I really hope the rumor is true in saying that it's a 2D adventure, I don't want another Lords of Shadow-style mess to continue ruining the franchise. Really hated Lords of Shadow, and I won't be giving the sequel a chance either.

[varkias]

Sweet! Thanks Amauriel.  I agree jobocan, I enjoyed Lords of Shadow tho but I think we all really want SotN-type depth/gameplay

[jobocan]

Sweet! Thanks Amauriel.  I agree jobocan, I enjoyed Lords of Shadow tho but I think we all really want SotN-type depth/gameplay

Indeed. While I really like the classic Castlevania style (the original NES game being my favorite in the series) and would like to see more like that (downloadable maybe?), SotN, the GBA games and the DS games were all fantastic. Order of Ecclesia in particular was really fun. I hope they continue making games like that, and I think they know that this is where the series truly shines.

[scott]

Battle of 1999.

Personally, I would love to play a game based on Julius Belmont whooping (whipping?) Dracula's ass. Sure we know how it ended already, and that it would be kinda a cliff hanger, but who cares? It would be epic.

[jobocan]

Sadly no Battle of 1999, we'll probably never see that, sadly.

http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=178092

It features Trevor Belmont and continues with the Lords of Shadow continuity (so Konami pretty much just abandoned the old continuity for no reason). Seems like it may possibly be a side-scrolling game, but it uses a Lords of Shadow/God of War style of control scheme. And it's still done by MercurySteam. My hype for this has dropped to just above 0 (I'm keeping some hope alive just because it's Castlevania).

[scott]

This saddens me to no end.

[gaiages]

I have very mixed feelings about this.  I was really hoping for a Metroid-vania like the series' portable entries in the past... so this one being a Lord of Shadows sequel is a little off putting.  Who knows, it could be 2.5D like Dracula X Chronicles!  That'd, er, be good, right...?

I haven't even tried the original Lord of Shadows... I've heard mixed things about it, but I guess I'll have to pick it up and make my own opinion of it soon.  xp

[scott]

Don't get me wrong. Lords of Shadow was a good action game. They just mess around with WAY too much stuff story wise. The Combat Cross is a pretty sweet weapon, and the magic system is interesting. The game really did nothing new, it seemed to borrow elements from other good action games and slapped the Castlevania moniker on the package.

There are only 2 sections of the game that really gave me the Castlevania feel. One was the Clockwork Tower and the other was the Music Box level. The rest of the game is a blur of air combos and some mediocre puzzles. And don't even get me started on that flippin' Chupacabra... if there was any more annoying and flow killing section of a game, it's that little prick. By the time I was done with it, I felt like I never wanted to see it ever again... it just gets repetative and boring. Also, I never thought I would say I was sick of listening to Patrick Stewart, but this game really made me not want to listen to his voice anymore.

Was I impressed with the Titan fights the 1st time through? yes. Did I play the game until completion? yes, 100%'d the achievements just because I felt the need to, since it was Castlevania. Is it possibly the best 3D Castlevania game in the series? yes.. but at the same time, it coulda not been a Castlevania game at all and just been a really cool someotheractiongame.

[jobocan]

Yeah, I think that's one of the big reasons I HATE Lords of Shadow.

It's a pretty disappointing action game to be sure, what with the fact that mashing button works better than trying to be strategic, but that's not really the problem. If that was it, I just wouldn't care about it, same as I do with God of War. What I actually hate is that there's Castlevania in the title when it has nothing to do with Castlevania whatsoever. That and the whole reboot thing, where they just outright destroyed the old continuity to make this new one "canon" (as this new game announcement seems to prove) when there was no reason to reboot at all. Not to mention the really stupid extra scene at the end, that was just... ugh. Yes, I did play through the whole story (okay, that's a lie, I didn't play the final level, I just watched my friend play that one).

They literally took another game and put Castlevania character names in it and VOILÀ, one ruined franchise. Seriously, Lords of Shadow wasn't originally meant to be Castlevania, and now the whole series is messed up.

[varkias]

ugh... who is asking for this crap!?  How does Konami not realize what the people want?

[jobocan]

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow hit the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010, but its direct sequel, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate is coming to the Nintendo 3DS. Like its predecessor, Mirror of Fate occupies a completely different Castlevania universe than the long-running timeline that was first established on the NES—but unlike Lords of Shadow, the gameplay in Mirror of Fate is far more reminiscent of Castlevania’s Nintendo DS entries, like Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia.

Back to 2D—Sort Of

Mirror of Fate features polygon-based graphics, but it plays primarily in 2D and 2.5D, with the occasional shift into a fully 3D environment. Whereas Lords of Shadow had an emphasis on combat and action, Mirror of Fate encourages nonlinear exploration and discovery.

Mercury Steam, the team behind Lords of Shadow, is developing Mirror of Fate as well. “We felt that traditionally Castlevania games had done well on handheld, and indeed found a home there to a certain extent,” producer Dave Cox told Nintendo Power. “The whole team really felt we could do something special and memorable on the format that would immerse players totally. The N3DS has allowed us to create something totally unique and exclusive to the format that we think players are going to absolutely love.”

Say “Hi” to the Belmonts (Again)

The story for Mirror of Fate picks up 25 years after the end of the events that played out in Lords of Shadow. Dracula is gearing up to give humanity hell, and a young vampire hunter named Trevor Belmont steps up to stop him before things get too hairy.

The name “Trevor Belmont” should ring a very familiar bell for Castlevania fans, but again, Mirror of Fate takes place within Lords of Shadows’ continuity reboot, so this is not the same Trevor you know and (presumably) love. You should still recognize some of the threads connecting the characters, though: the gameplay in Mirror of Fate stretches across time, and players will eventually be able to control Trevor’s descendent, Simon Belmont. Two other unnamed characters are in the game as well. As Mirror of Fate progresses, you’re able to switch between the four characters at predetermined points and work through Dracula’s castle during different time periods. Each warrior boasts different abilities, and even though they’re exploring the same castle, there are marked differences between their experiences. Some paths may be closed off to characters that can’t double-jump, for example.

Hey You, Let’s Fight

Even though Mercury Steam primarily wants Mirror of Fate to be about exploration, combat still plays a big role in the game. Simon wields the fabled Vampire Killer whip, while Trevor utilizes the Combat Cross that made its debut in Lords of Shadow. Trevor can attack enemies directly with the X button, or execute a weaker, wide-reaching assault with the Y button, which is ideal when he’s surrounded by enemies. Trevor also has access to defensive blocks and dodges, can use light and shadow magic, and can wield secondary weapons like a glaive and an electric bomb.

Simon Belmont doesn’t have his ancestor’s talent for magic, but he has some familiar secondary weapons at his beck and call, such as throwing axes and burning oil that works well against crowds of baddies. He can also summon mystical guardians to fight for him, or protect him from harm.

Mirror of Fate’s home base—the Nintendo 3DS—lends the vampire hunters some help, too. You can use the touch screen to leave notes for yourself and mark places that you might like to re-visit later, and SpotPass and StreetPass will come into play, too—though the game’s publisher, Konami, is keeping those functions a secret for now.

Old Guard, Meet the New Guard

Some fans have had a hard time getting used to the darker, grittier take on Castlevania that was introduced to them in Lords of Shadow, and it’s too early to tell if Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate will make them feel at ease. However, it’s a good sign that Mercury Steam wants to re-embrace what has made Castlevania so much fun on the Nintendo DS: exploration. At the very least, it’s intriguing that Trevor and Simon make a return of sorts. There’s no vampire hunter like an old vampire hunter, even if that vampire hunter is still kind of new.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow--Mirror of Fate is scheduled to hit the Nintendo 3DS in Fall 2012.

Hmm... but I'm not convinced about this at all until I see it in action.
It features Trevor, Simon, and 2 currently unnamed characters, is side-scrolling and is apparently about exploration. But it's MercurySteam, so I'm being very skeptical.

[jcalder8]

The info that has been released so far sounds promising but I will wait until the official announcement.

[gaiages]

Fun fact, everyone, though it's only a little related.

Not only is this 3DS Lord of Shadows being made, but Konami is also making another sequel, Lord of Shadows 2, for the 360 and the PS3.  Clicky.

I guess Mirror of Fate is a spin-off of the reboot...?

EDIT: Odd, looking up at jobocon's post, Mirror of Fate is supposed to be a direct sequel as well... but if that's the case, why doesn't it get the 2, or a 3 if it comes after the new console game?  Crazy developers...