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Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Faith (3DS)

Foffy

Banned
Really? I just don't think this can be considered "awful," no matter what we're comparing it to:

Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow-Review-Belmont-Castle.jpg


Opinions, I guess. I'd love it if they brought back Kojima and Yamane, though.

I'm talking artwork mainly. The art direction in the game is bipolar. The best part of the game in terms of artistic direction is easily the vampire arc. The arc right after it is perhaps the most blanded in the whole franchise.
 
It's awful compared to Kojima's work. And for that comparison, it may sound berating, but that's just how important Kojima's artwork was with creating a dark identity for the franchise.

Maybe if we judge the art of the games by looking at the covers and artworks instead of what is in the game. LOS really uses its art so much better than any previous 3D attemp.
 
Well fuck, is IGA the next Team Silent now? I wonder if this will even be Metroidvania even if it's 2D. Goddamn Konami, where's my next Sorrow game? :[
I also can't say that I'm a fan of the Lords of Shadow art style. It just didn't feel like Castlevania to me at all.
 

LeleSocho

Banned
People talking shit on LOS's art -- have you played the game?! Like, the part that actually takes place inside the castle?! Because that part was simply incredible.
Yes i played it.... it's like five order of magnitude worse than anything Ayami Kojima ever created.
 

Barryman

Member
I'm talking artwork mainly. The art direction in the game is bipolar. The best part of the game in terms of artistic direction is easily, the vampire arc. The arc right after it is perhaps the most blanded in the whole franchise.

I never looked at the concept art, so I can't speak about that. I was talking about the art direction of the actual in-game assets.

If you look at my edited post (which I changed before I saw yours), it seems we probably agree on this more than it would seem. The third act is definitely a big letdown.

If you'll agree that the epilogue has incredible art, we can squash this once and for all ;)
 

Foffy

Banned
Well fuck, is IGA the next Team Silent now? I wonder if this will even be Metroidvania even if it's 2D. Goddamn Konami, where's my next Sorrow game? :[
I also can't say that I'm a fan of the Lords of Shadow art style. It just didn't feel like Castlevania to me at all.

It's more of Konami simply transferring their franchises to external companies. Every single one of their franchises has now been handed to external developers in some way.

EDIT: Yes, it does...well, inside the 'cathedral', at least. The city wasn't.
 

Skilletor

Member
It's more of Konami simply transferring their franchises to external companies. Every single one of their franchises has now been handed to external developers in some way.

EDIT: Yes, it does...well, inside the 'cathedral', at least. The city wasn't.

Who is even making games anymore at Konami aside from Kojima's team?
 

jj984jj

He's a pretty swell guy in my books anyway.
I hope it's true because I like 2D Castlevanias and would like one for the 3DS.

I'm not defending anybody. I'm stating my stance. You were the one who said that anything done by WF would immediately be better than Mercury just because it would have sprites. I disagree.

There's no telling what Wayforward would give us because it could be like Bloorayne, or it could be like Shantae <3. There's no telling what Mercury will do with a 2D castlevania because they've never done one.

My stance on either developer is wait and see.
I said that because I have more faith in WayForward than MercurySteam to produce a great 2D action game. It wasn't meant to be taken quite so literally, but at least I'm not just as impartial toward WayForward as a developer with nothing to show.
 

Skilletor

Member
I said that because I have more faith in WayForward than MercurySteam to produce a great 2D action game. It wasn't meant to be taken quite so literally, but at least I'm not just as impartial toward WayForward as a developer with nothing to show.

Cool. :)

But seeing as how the rumor says WF isn't making it, I'm going to go ahead and see what MercurySteam produces instead of playing in the land of make believe.


PES, I think....and I think that's honestly it.


EDIT: Trippy cathedrals? Hmmmmm..how Technoeuropean.

Crazy. Also pretty crazy that Kojima isn't even making the latest MGS. Konami is in bad shape.
 
Yes i played it.... it's like five order of magnitude worse than anything Ayami Kojima ever created.

You know you can't take a comment like this seriously when they focus in qualifying something as worse rather than praising the other. You could just say that anything Ayami Kojima created is five orders of magnitude better. But you clearly only care to point out the defects of the other.
 

Foffy

Banned
Cool. :)

But seeing as how the rumor says WF isn't making it, I'm going to go ahead and see what MercurySteam produces instead of playing in the land of make believe.




Crazy. Also pretty crazy that Kojima isn't even making the latest MGS. Konami is in bad shape.

Well, by latest do you mean Rising? I would have grandly preferred (and maybe some here will concur) that Platinum Games should be using the engine and gameflow of Rising for a Shinobi game, and not a Metal Gear title. Seems more fitting there.
 

g.r.e.

Member
I don't know how Mercury Steam will pull off a 2D Castlevania, but since their work is usually great, I'm not too worried about it. ;)
No IGA is a good thing.
I still remember people bitching about IGA and the staleness of the "Sotn" formula. Why do people want him back now? :lol
 

LeleSocho

Banned
nonsense hyperbole, I have no idea how to respond substantively.

Not at all, the gothic style of Kojima became an icon of the series to the point where when you think Castlevania you think of something like this

now once you have this in your mind and at one point you can only find something that at best looks like this

you can easily comprehend how the art of LoS is shitty compared to the one of Ayami Kojima
 

Skilletor

Member
Well, by latest do you mean Rising? I would have grandly preferred (and maybe some here will concur) that Platinum Games should be using the engine and gameflow of Rising would for a Shinobi game, and not a Metal Gear title. Seems more fitting there.

Oh, I agree. MGS Rising is in much better hands and looks more interesting because of Platinum games.
 
now once you have this in your mind and at one point you can only find something that at best looks like this


you can easily comprehend how the art of LoS is shitty compared to the one of Ayami Kojima

That's not a good example of LOS art, LOS art is rendered in-game when you play. Even games with amazing in-game art like Psychonauts, or Metroid Prime doesn't have half decent artworks like those of Kojima. Those are pretty much paintings about the games, but the game does not look like that.
 

Barryman

Member
I'm happy I read this topic, it led me to listen to Wandering Ghosts off of the SotN soundtrack. So funky...

EDIT: And I am once more outraged that the XBLA release of SotN didn't have I Am the Wind playing over the credits...
 

Anth0ny

Member
Can't wait. 2D Castlevania, Luigi's Mansion 2, Paper Mario and possibly Zelda? 3DS' lineup is looking mighty fine right now.
 

Foffy

Banned
I seriously, seriously hope they get a composer other than Araujo. I mean shit, even Pachinko games are getting amazing tracks, and outside of a few standouts, all we had in Lords was generic background music. For Castlevania, this is disgraceful.

But we very likely will get Araujo again. Maybe the music isn't his fault, as Konami wants to get rid of the 'feminine' style of pre-LoS games.
 

Barryman

Member
I seriously, seriously hope they get a composer other than Arujo. I mean shit, even Pachinko games are getting amazing tracks, and outside of a few standouts, all we had in Lords was generic background music. For Castlevania, this is disgraceful.

Agreed there for sure, LOS's soundtrack was dreck.
 

linkboy

Member
I don't know how Mercury Steam will pull off a 2D Castlevania, but since their work is usually great, I'm not too worried about it. ;)

I still remember people bitching about IGA and the staleness of the "Sotn" formula. Why do people want him back now? :lol

Same reason people are complaining about the new Bond films since a lot of the gadgets were taken out.
 

LeleSocho

Banned
That's not a good example of LOS art, LOS art is rendered in-game when you play. Even games with amazing in-game art like Psychonauts, or Metroid Prime doesn't have half decent artworks like those of Kojima. Those are pretty much paintings about the games, but the game does not look like that.
Too bad that the ingame stuff is worse than the artwork i chose for LoS that's why i bolded "at best"... the previous artwork is sure more appealing than this
xhFJU.jpg




also Kojima's style is well transported in the games within the possibilities of the genre (2d sidescroller)
 

Atolm

Member
Not at all, the gothic style of Kojima became an icon of the series to the point where when you think Castlevania you think of something like this


now once you have this in your mind and at one point you can only find something that at best looks like this


you can easily comprehend how the art of LoS is shitty compared to the one of Ayami Kojima

No. Look at the unlockable art gallerys LoS has. The art is much better than anything else from the series.
 

Foffy

Banned
No. Look at the unlockable art gallerys LoS has. The art is much better than anything else from the series.

Some is, but not most, and certainly not all. The Dracula artwork is indeed one of the best depictions on him in the whole franchise.
 

7threst

Member
Reading this thread makes me wonder: can Konami ever satisfy fans? I think not. Nothing wrong with wanting a game a certain way, but I also like something new and unique within a franchise I really love. And I think Mercurysteam can deliver that.
 

Teknoman

Member
Reading this thread makes me wonder: can Konami ever satisfy fans? I think not. Nothing wrong with wanting a game a certain way, but I also like something new and unique within a franchise I really love. And I think Mercurysteam can deliver that.

They can, they just need to bring in a few more elements from classic games. Remixes of well known themes, classic enemies reappearing in some fashion, etc.
 

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
Well I'm pro Mercury Steam. Iga hasnt done much to improve/evolve the series that much. The Sprite work was mostly poor until order of Ecclesia which looked pretty. Gameplay was fine and all but it was mostly the same thing over and over with 1 or 2 gimmicks to make the difference. As much as I liked the Metroidvania I rather have something more along the lines of Classic Castlevania games. I believe deeply that Mercury Steam can make something 2.5D play more like the Classics stage based which gives me IMO more visual variety compared to the ones after Symphony of the Night.

Kojima and Yamane I will miss them but the new music and visuals aint bad either. Fanboys will hate on the art direction of Lord of Shadow but the artistic direction is wonderful even if its a departure for what you are used to. At least it aint anime like that DS game I dont even try to remember the name.

Hopefully they make it a good one with less errors than Lords of Shadows. I expected to be more polished now.
 

Foffy

Banned
Reading this thread makes me wonder: can Konami ever satisfy fans? I think not. Nothing wrong with wanting a game a certain way, but I also like something new and unique within a franchise I really love. And I think Mercurysteam can deliver that.

I think Lords of Shadow is a pretty good action/adventure title, but a bad Castlevania game. The only part that hits that note well is the Vampire arc, and that's only one-third of the experience. It abandons many tropes the franchise had going for it that it only infuriates me, and in fact introduced things David Cox said the game would never try to do. Why are checkpoints and QTEs for bosses in my Castlevania? How do I turn them off? Those seem heavily against the aesthetic and approach to the core experience that has made Castlevania what it was, and that's just in direct gameplay. If you analyze it deeply, they changed too much over and under the hood to make it even seem closer to Super Castlevania IV, the "bible" Cox used for the game. There's barely any of that in the game.
 
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