Topic: Castlevania: Mirror of Fate Set for an E3 Unveiling

[NWR_DrewMG]

UPDATE: Konami kind of 100% confirms 2D 3DS Castlevania game, and the name is slightly different. 

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/30214

UPDATE 2: N1ntendo.nl was contacted by Konami and asked to remove the story. Additionally, the site discovered links to domain registrations from Konami revealing the title to be Castlevania: Mirror of Fate instead of Castlevania: Mirror of Faith. The domain, which is not active, resolves to the same server as the site of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

Check below for our original story.

UPDATE: A Konami representative says "we don't comment on rumor or speculation."

A new 3DS Castlevania game titled "Mirror of Faith" is rumored to be shown at E3 2012. 

Although not much is known about the game right now, the game is supposedly being worked on by David Cox and Enric Alvarez, who were involved with the recent Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for the HD consoles. The news came from the appointment schedule sent out by Konami for E3.

The Castlevania series has a prolific history on Nintendo handhelds, with six installments, all well received, between 2001 and 2008. The past few years, however, have seen no new games in the series, with the most recent being 2008's Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on Nintendo DS.

[Adrock]

Yes, please.

[Caliban]

Indeed, do want.

[LudicrousDa3ve]

Hopefully its more Castlevania than Lords of Shadow was. Does this mean Igarashi isn't involved? Will it follow in the reboot's timeline? C'mon E3, hurry up!

[broodwars]

Well, I really liked Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and Konami confirmed that that's getting a sequel so I'm content.  It should be interesting to see if this rumored handheld Castlevania, if it exists, follows the new timeline established in Lords of Shadow or the increasingly convoluted original timeline

[Adrock]

If David Cox is in charge, it's probably in the reboot canon established in Lords of Shadow.

[fixyourface0814]

Is it too much to ask for another straight up 2D Castlevania game? I'm kinda burnt out on the Metroid-Vania style at the moment, and The Adventure Rebirth was too small to whet this particular appetite.

[Ras]

Yes, fixyourface, yes!  You and I are a rare breed.  I, too, long for the days before Metroidvania.  To me, Super Castlevania IV and Rondo (and its PSN remake) are the pinnacles of the series.  While I enjoyed the handheld games, I really get tired of backtracking through the same rooms over and over.  Let me go on a linear journey and never once have to scroll left!

[fixyourface0814]

How I long for a Castlevania game of Castlevania III/Super Castlevania's quality. The Lords of Shadow game was decent, but overly long. The soundtrack was incredibly disappointing, as well.

All this said, my money is on either Metroid-Vania or 3D action platformer. :/

[Squalid Pumpkin]

The Nintendo handheld system says it's a Metroidvania, but the team working on it says it's a Lords of Shadow-type game. Whether it's a straight-forward 2D game, a Metroidvania, or a 3D action-adventure game, I'll be sure to play it.

If a linear 2D game, I want fantastic level design and an eight-directional whipping, but first and foremost the former. If a Metroidvania, I want the formula shaken up a little. If a 3D adventure, I want it to still feel like Castlevania and not try overly hard to derive itself from another 3D action series. Lament of Innocence felt like Devil May Cry, and warranted or not Lords of Shadow has been extensively compared to other games more than its own namesake. Hope I'm not being unfair.

[shinyray01]

now if has the same sprite artstyle as in the DS games, I'm sold on it.

[Adrock]

If Konami ever does another 2D Castlevania, I really hope they use detailed hand-drawn high-res sprites like Rayman Legends. Igarashi has been using the same old sprites for ages now. With all the power of today's hardware, there's no better time than now to upgrade the look of the series.

This also applies if Cox's team at Mercury Steam handles the game.

[LudicrousDa3ve]

I want more classic Castlevania than anything else. I enjoy the Metroidvanias, the 3D ones, and even Judgment, but they just don't match the early entries. Rebirth was awesome(I loved it enough to get the world record on it), but a shiny new one a little closer to SCV4 would be the bee's knees.

[AV]

let me coin a new term for games like this .


2.3D


games based on 2d plane with stereoscopic 3d images.

EX: Mighty switch Force, Mutant Mudds, this game

Thoughts?

[Chocobo_Rider]

[Padawan of Windu]

So incredibly excited - Order of Ecclesia is my favorite Castlevania, ever.  I just hope Iga is involved as well!

[Tora]

I liked the GBA games, and Order of Ecclesia on DS.  I see them as sizable 2D Metroid substitutes.  I wonder how the 3D effect would be emplimented, that would be interesting.

If this is as good as the older ones, I might seriously have to invest in a 3DS. 

I'm glad Konami knows how to get there stuff localized (I'm looking at you Nintendo of America) So we won't have to wait a insane amount of time to play stuff that everywhere else already has. > . >

[Chocobo_Rider]

I wonder how the 3D effect would be emplimented, that would be interesting.

I'm hoping for the parallax awesomeness that I've seen in the 3D Classics and several downloadable titles.

I think that's my favorite use of 3D technology so far.

Well, that and the Kid Icarus Uprising animes ...

If this is as good as the older ones, I might seriously have to invest in a 3DS. 

For me, that means following from part of the original timeline.  The reboot borrowed to heavily from other games and not enough from other CVs.  Of course, it felt more like real CV than Judgment, but, that's not saying a ton 

[fixyourface0814]

If it gives me some updated renditions of older CV tunes, then I can deal with yet another Metroid-Vania.

[Tora]

@Ninsage

That would be amazing, I remember playing 3D classic Kid Icarus on my friends system and it looked really awesome.  I just hope the art style stays the same as the DS and GBA games.  I mean polygons are fine for backgrounds, but me as a hardcore 2D sprite enthusiast prefer the older arts on character models.  I also hope that the gameplay isn't to stuck in the last generation.  The 3DS is roughly as powerful as the Wii so they should build the game design with a console in mind.

   

The same problem comes to mind when I think about New Super Mario Bros. 2, I hope it's not a retro throwback again.  If Mario makes another old school 2D Game it won't even be retro anymore, just redundant and uninspired.  Hopefully EAD Tokyo are making it, and taking ideas from the Galaxy games.

Guess will just have to wait two weeks to find out.   Don't fail us now Nintendo...

[Chocobo_Rider]

@Tora

Yea, I thought the 3D Classics KI would be a nifty little bonus for a game I was going to purchase day one no matter what.  Lo and behold, I was completely blown away by the effort and detail put into the background artwork and updated controls.

Really pleasantly surprised.

I am also a big time fan of 2D sprite work.  I hope it becomes its own style genre instead of just something used in the occasional game here and there.

There was a time when polygonal graphics were new and so everyone had to use them or be branded out-dated.  I think we're reaching a time where no one needs to use polygons to show they can make a good game.  I hope this momentum continues!

[Tora]

@Ninsage

Man, I couldn't agree more.  We need more 2D hand-drawn games,  like RayMan Origins.  I really wish more games developers would do the same like for Mario. 

[broodwars]

For me, that means following from part of the original timeline.  The reboot borrowed to heavily from other games and not enough from other CVs.

Considering Castlevania was founded on "borrowing too heavily" from the works of others (originally, Western myths and Western horror movie monsters.  Later, from Metroid when Konami ran out of ideas), I don't put much stock in the "not enough Castlevania!" complaint when Lords of Shadow basically followed the same path the original game and Super Castlevania IV (which the devs have said was a direct influence) did.  There are aspects of the gameplay I'd have liked tightened-up and Gabriel's character arc could have been much better conveyed, but I found the mythology of the world displayed in that game quite interesting.  It's not a traditional Castlevania to be sure with its lack of heavy electronic music, but what was there felt relatively fresh and interesting (and I thought the music was quite lovely, if very ambient).

Considering all the emphasis Konami put on rebooting the franchise with Lords of Shadow (which was a reasonably successful game), I hope they have the strength of their convictions to stick with this timeline from here on out until the franchise inevitably needs to be rebooted again.  Otherwise, what was the point?

As for Mirror of Fate, I also think the franchise is due for a more "classic" 2D sidescroller approach, rather than yet another game ripping off the Metroid formula (which was cute back when we hadn't had a Metroid game in nearly a decade, but got old after the franchise made its return with the Prime games).  I also hope this isn't a return to the yearly installment formula that drove the franchise into the ground in the first place.

[Tora]

For me, that means following from part of the original timeline.  The reboot borrowed to heavily from other games and not enough from other CVs.

Considering Castlevania was founded on "borrowing too heavily" from the works of others (originally, Western myths and Western horror movie monsters.  Later, from Metroid when Konami ran out of ideas), I don't put much stock in the "not enough Castlevania!" complaint when Lords of Shadow basically followed the same path the original game and Super Castlevania IV (which the devs have said was a direct influence) did.  There are aspects of the gameplay I'd have liked tightened-up and Gabriel's character arc could have been much better conveyed, but I found the mythology of the world displayed in that game quite interesting.  It's not a traditional Castlevania to be sure with its lack of heavy electronic music, but what was there felt relatively fresh and interesting (and I thought the music was quite lovely, if very ambient).

Considering all the emphasis Konami put on rebooting the franchise with Lords of Shadow (which was a reasonably successful game), I hope they have the strength of their convictions to stick with this timeline from here on out until the franchise inevitably needs to be rebooted again.  Otherwise, what was the point?

As for Mirror of Fate, I also think the franchise is due for a more "classic" 2D sidescroller approach, rather than yet another game ripping off the Metroid formula (which was cute back when we hadn't had a Metroid game in nearly a decade, but got old after the franchise made its return with the Prime games).  I also hope this isn't a return to the yearly installment formula that drove the franchise into the ground in the first place.

I never really thought Castlevania was original.  Alucard's castle? I'm sorry that's about as generic a vampire setting gets, IMO.  It was always like Metroid, that's just how it was. On the topic of gameplay, I think instead of a classic style, they should try to make a next gen 2D game.  I really haven't seen any developer try to push hardware when working on a sidescroller and I think that CastleVania would be a perfect fit.  They could combine aspects from the 2D and 3D games. as long as the art style remains I'd be all for it. 

As for, the topic of over releasing...I really don't see that as a problem.  The games differ in settings and are all different.  Gameplay changes are minimal but the area's you explore feel fresh and the main game is usually pretty long.   We haven't seen a portable Castlevania game in about four years, I'm all for Konami making three games during the 3DS's life.  As long as there different.

[broodwars]

On the topic of gameplay, I think instead of a classic style, they should try to make a next gen 2D game.  I really haven't seen any developer try to push hardware when working on a sidescroller and I think that CastleVania would be a perfect fit.

I highly recommend you give WayForward's Bloodrayne Betrayal a try on XBL/PSN.  It's seriously a very good game, and I think it is trying to do pretty much that.  Really, what's more electronic gothic than a final boss that's a giant devil that warps around the room while doing the sign of the Devil with his hands and head bobbing to electric guitar riffs?

Yes, really.  He's totally doing the Wyld Stallyons thing.