(Part One of this entry can be found via this link, I suggest you read it first before continuing. Also, brace yourselves for an even longer post this time)
It was around 2009 that I first heard that Konami is working on a brand new 3D Castlevania game for the then next-gen consoles; the Xbox 360 and PS3. Later I saw a teaser trailer leaked online.
The trailer showed a fully 3D model of Alucard, with a bloodied sword (either that's a powered up Alucard Sword or a whole new sword entirely), but the short teaser made me all excited nonetheless. I was thinking of all the possibilities that this trailer might hold for the supposed next Castlevania game:
- Could it be a direct sequel to Symphony of the Night? Just like that radio drama that was released in Japan?
- Could it be a teaser for the now legendary "Battle of 1999" where Alucard joins up with Julius Belmont and an unnamed member of the Belnades clan to finally rid of Count Dracula once and for all?
- Could it be a 3D remake of Symphony of the Night, a classic game that is still beloved by many Castlevania fans old and new?
And as I waited in anticipation for more news about the game, this trailer appeared.
At the time, it was then just called "Lords of Shadow". While it didn't have the "Castlevania" title on it, there are some vague, yet unmistakeable hints of Castlevania on it.
The main character's overall armor design is highly reminiscent of Simon Belmont's famous red armor in the game Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The crimson red and gold trimmings bear an striking resemblance with the former's design.
The scene of the then unknown hero kneeling in front of a cross in an abandoned church bore a strong resemblance with another popular Castlevania game; Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. The scene where Trevor Belmont kneels and prays before setting off on his adventure.
Add in the cross, the dagger, and the flaming whip (which turned out to be the cross itself) all evoked a sense of familiar trappings normally found in a Castlevania game. Which got me all confused at the end of the trailer when it showed the title to be "Lords of Shadows". I wondered if the game was perhaps an indie game that was sort of a fan's take on the series and made it their own.
Then Konami made it official: Lords of Shadow is a Castlevania game. And the franchise will now be handled by Mercurysteam and not IGA. With the following trailer, it gave me a glimpse of Konami and Mercurysteam's new vision for the series.
The trailer showed alot of promise. Infact, it showed the promise that a 3D Castlevania game CAN be good, after such terrible attempts made by IGA during his tenure. However, one of my biggest concerns was what will happen with Castlevania's timeline then? How will Mercurysteam's "Lords of Shadow" game fit in the timeline?
Then Mercurysteam announced that the "Lords of Shadow" game will not be connected to the classic timeline, but is rather a reboot of the series.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I felt that Mercurysteam disrespected my personal history with the series. However, seeing how IGA's last few Castlevania games I kept an open-mind about Konami's decision and hoped for the best. I mean Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's departure from the classic 2Dvanias helped the series achieve an immense popularity at its time, and so probably Konami is thinking the same thing with "Lords of Shadows".
However, after playing both the first Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3), as well as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (3DS), and watching an entire playthrough of Lords of Shadow 2 (PS3), I'm convinced that while Mercurysteam made a really beautiful looking game, it didn't feel like a Castlevania game to me at all. I mean sure its an okay 3D action game, but not quite Castlevania. Infact, as much as I hate to say this, both Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness (PS2) felt much more like a Castlevania game, than the Lords of Shadow trilogy. Quite honestly, the Lords of Shadow games felt like a mish-mash of several different things from many different games that poorly executed them and slapped a Castlevania logo on it. In the end, the "Lords of Shadow" trilogy felt like a shadow of its former self (accidental pun not intended).
The thing is, I WANTED Mercurysteam to deliver a definitive Castlevania game that would be this generation's "Symphony of the Night". I WANTED Mercurysteam to succeed in rebooting this legendary franchise, the same way Christopher Nolan masterfully rebooted the Batman franchise with his "Dark Knight" trilogy. But most of all, I WANTED Mercurysteam to create a worthy successor to the Castlevania franchise that I can actually embrace and love as much as I loved and embraced the classic ones.
They had everything going for them. Exquisite dark gothic art that successfully captures the look first set by Ayami Kojima in Castlevania Symphony of the Night, an ensemble cast of voice actors (where else can you find a Castlevania game that's full of star-studden celebrities voicing the characters? Also Patrick Stewart FTW), a promising storyline that will finally take the series seriously compared to its predecessor (while IGA's Castlevanias certainly tried, they just weren't taking it seriously), and most of all, a much better looking 3D game than the ones that came before.
However, despite that, they failed to make a convincing Castlevania game for me. How could that happen to a team that's just full of promise and potential? How could a team that seems perfect to take the reigns of the series having shown full knowledge of the series' storied past (as shown in their work with the teaser trailer) fail to live up to the hype? And after Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2's sucked so bad (again accidental pun not intended), I begin to ask myself why...
Then news came that Mercurysteam had internal problems brewing during the development of Lords of Shadows 2. Having had experience working in the gaming industry, I know just how internal problems within studios can affect the product your team is working on. And after seeing tons of poor reviews of Lords of Shadows 2, I'm inclined to believe that this was the case.
However to be completely fair, I DID feel that Mercurysteam truly did try to make a really great Castlevania game. And that despite throwing the classic timeline out of the window, they did show some reverence to the games that came before (which I'll expand on a later post). There were moments of genius that I actually applaud Mercurysteam for (Mirror of Fate comes to mind), however it was largely negated due to some really poor decisions on Mercurysteam's part (Lords of Shadow 2 comes to mind). That said, I truly felt that if Mercurysteam didn't have those problems, they would have delivered a truly great game, even if most of the time it doesn't feel like a Castlevania game at all. More of which I'll expand on the next post.
- TO BE CONTINUED AT A LATER POST -
Then Mercurysteam announced that the "Lords of Shadow" game will not be connected to the classic timeline, but is rather a reboot of the series.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I felt that Mercurysteam disrespected my personal history with the series. However, seeing how IGA's last few Castlevania games I kept an open-mind about Konami's decision and hoped for the best. I mean Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's departure from the classic 2Dvanias helped the series achieve an immense popularity at its time, and so probably Konami is thinking the same thing with "Lords of Shadows".
However, after playing both the first Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3), as well as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (3DS), and watching an entire playthrough of Lords of Shadow 2 (PS3), I'm convinced that while Mercurysteam made a really beautiful looking game, it didn't feel like a Castlevania game to me at all. I mean sure its an okay 3D action game, but not quite Castlevania. Infact, as much as I hate to say this, both Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness (PS2) felt much more like a Castlevania game, than the Lords of Shadow trilogy. Quite honestly, the Lords of Shadow games felt like a mish-mash of several different things from many different games that poorly executed them and slapped a Castlevania logo on it. In the end, the "Lords of Shadow" trilogy felt like a shadow of its former self (accidental pun not intended).
The thing is, I WANTED Mercurysteam to deliver a definitive Castlevania game that would be this generation's "Symphony of the Night". I WANTED Mercurysteam to succeed in rebooting this legendary franchise, the same way Christopher Nolan masterfully rebooted the Batman franchise with his "Dark Knight" trilogy. But most of all, I WANTED Mercurysteam to create a worthy successor to the Castlevania franchise that I can actually embrace and love as much as I loved and embraced the classic ones.
They had everything going for them. Exquisite dark gothic art that successfully captures the look first set by Ayami Kojima in Castlevania Symphony of the Night, an ensemble cast of voice actors (where else can you find a Castlevania game that's full of star-studden celebrities voicing the characters? Also Patrick Stewart FTW), a promising storyline that will finally take the series seriously compared to its predecessor (while IGA's Castlevanias certainly tried, they just weren't taking it seriously), and most of all, a much better looking 3D game than the ones that came before.
However, despite that, they failed to make a convincing Castlevania game for me. How could that happen to a team that's just full of promise and potential? How could a team that seems perfect to take the reigns of the series having shown full knowledge of the series' storied past (as shown in their work with the teaser trailer) fail to live up to the hype? And after Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2's sucked so bad (again accidental pun not intended), I begin to ask myself why...
Then news came that Mercurysteam had internal problems brewing during the development of Lords of Shadows 2. Having had experience working in the gaming industry, I know just how internal problems within studios can affect the product your team is working on. And after seeing tons of poor reviews of Lords of Shadows 2, I'm inclined to believe that this was the case.
However to be completely fair, I DID feel that Mercurysteam truly did try to make a really great Castlevania game. And that despite throwing the classic timeline out of the window, they did show some reverence to the games that came before (which I'll expand on a later post). There were moments of genius that I actually applaud Mercurysteam for (Mirror of Fate comes to mind), however it was largely negated due to some really poor decisions on Mercurysteam's part (Lords of Shadow 2 comes to mind). That said, I truly felt that if Mercurysteam didn't have those problems, they would have delivered a truly great game, even if most of the time it doesn't feel like a Castlevania game at all. More of which I'll expand on the next post.
- TO BE CONTINUED AT A LATER POST -
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