JBoc924Long title I know, but today’s topic will be about all the comparisons linking Castlevania Lords of Shadow and Super Castlevania IV. For those who may think of that last sentence as a mistatement, let me assure you, there are alot of aspects that make Lords a Shadow a near remake of Super Castlevania IV, in essence of course. With that being said, enjoy!
There was a time when Lords of Shadow wasn’t even known to be an entry in the long-lasting vampire slaying franchise. Screens surfaced and left people wondering what game they were actually seeing. Then, hate it or love it, Konami unveiled a new 3D iteration in the Castlevania franchise, titled : Castlevania Judgement. That game, while poorly received, offered a huge amount of fan-service, the size of good ol’ Legion. What does Judgement have anything to do with Lords of Shadow? Well, for starters, Judgement was the reason why Konami held back in regards to tagging ‘Castlevania’ to the front of Lords of Shadow. They were really confident in the potential success of Judgement that they didn’t want to overshadow it’s ,at the time, impending release by announcing another 3d vania altogether.
Time passed and it became known to the masses that the trademarked Konami title: Lords of Shadow was in fact a Castlevania game. If that wasn’t enough, it was a Castlevania game being developed under the watchful eye of Hideo Kojima. Not to steal the spotlight from the main developers, MercurySteam, but having Kojima tagged to the project offered a sense of hope for long-time fans that they may finally be in the midst of getting the 3d Vania title they’ve been waiting for since the dawn of graphically capable consoles. The first batch of images cropped up, one of which is seen above, and reinforced this notion.
The images showed off a lone warrior in beautiful environments just waiting to be explored. The game was certainly not a dissappointment in it’s initial stages as a graphical powerhouse. Then, an actual full-length trailer was released at E3 09′ (which can be seen below). Another thing becamse certain, Lords of Shadow would be an epic cinematic experience suitably complimented by a talented group of voice actors, the likes of Patrick Stewart who does a beautiful job of narrating this initial trailer.
With this revelation of such care and dedication going towards this project came the start of what has become a growing concern. A majority of gamers saw this title as another “God of War” clone due to the hack-and-slash nature seen in it’s gameplay. This, in turn, evolved into a feeling that vania-fans greatly feel once a new 3d Castlevania is shown: fear. Fear, with it’s roots deeply implanted on the grounds of 3d vanias of old. From the N64 to the PS2, the overall consensus is that Castlevania belong in a strictly two-dimensional world and should be kept as far away as possible from potential 3d incarnations. Castlevania Judgement further solidfied this feeling. It’s safe to say, Lords of Shadow wasn’t off to a great start, but then , as more information by way of screens and gameplay videos surfaced, people started to plant seeds of hope in their minds. Especially due to Mercury Steam strongly referring to the original four installments of the now classic franchise as huge sources of inspiration.
As media hit fans we were introduced to Gabriel Belmont. A member of the Brotherhood that kept the land in which he resided safe from the evils that roam throughout. Fans were also introduced to the narrative, which saw Gabriel embarking on a quest to find pieces of a ‘God Mask’ that has the ability to resurrect the dead. The tail-end of that sentence referring to his deceased wife. To make matters worse, his wife, along with others who have been taken by death at the time have been stuck in a spritual state of limbo, not allowing their souls to either ascend to the heavens or descend to the depths of hell. Knowing this, Gabriel surely would give it his all to construct this God Mask and utilize it’s diving power to bring back his lost love. This is where the first of many comparisons came about, between Lords of Shadow and Super Castlevania IV.
In the SNES classic Super Castlevania IV, players took on the role of Simon Belmont and took part in a journey through different environments before finally making it to Dracula’s Castle. It’s important to note this, because Castlevania IV saw you spending alot of time outside the actual castle, as opposed to other vania titles before and after. What’s different though, is that while Gabriel’s scenario is told in a more expanded manner,Simon’s arc, and purpose, was simple: Rid the land of all the creatures of the night, and finally make it to Castlevania to put an end to Dracula’s rein. A simple tale, yet it was enough to entice gamers to go from stage to stage, all while having a good time doing it. Lords of Shadow still holds a tale that when stripped down to it’s core, is the same one told all those years ago on the SNES. It’s in the actual details where the differences lie.
As aforementioned, Gabriel’s tale involved many different thematic elements that all mold a tale of epic proportions. Just like an actual ‘epic’ like the Odyssey, you have a tragic tale of a lone soul going up against almost unbeatable odds, putting his life on the lie for something he desires. For Gabriel, it’ll be easier said than done, seeing as how collecting the pieces of the ‘God Mask’ isn’t as clear-cut as it may sound. He has to go through the, appropriately titled, Lords of Shadow , one by one, of which there are a known three before collecting each corresponding piece of the puzzle to brining his wife back. All culmintating in him finally going after the source of all this evil: Dracula. To put it quite simply, a huge amount of game time in Lords of Shadow will see you going through outdoor environments before making it to the Castle locales that fans know and love. A very strong nod to Super Castlevania IV indeed.
The similarities don’t end there. Super Castlevania IV introduced the ability to not only use your trusty whip to swing across gaps, but also the ability to swing your whip in multiple directions. A feature that hasn’t been prominently featured since it’s inception. Until now that is, as Gabriel’s combat cross has similar abilities albeit conducted in a 3D space.
From everything seen so far, it seems that Lords of Shadow isn’t strictly an all-out action-adventure experience, there’s a healthy dose of platforming involved as well. Swinging across platforms and hazards will likely invoke feelings of playing Simon’s adventure in Super Castlevania IV for the first time. Not a bad feeling to get mind you. Combat will also feel like it did in the SNES classic, which is an obvious bullet point due to action game’s evolution into three dimensions and the given ability to freely swing your weapon around you. It’s this throw-back to the gameplay mechanics of Super Castlevania IV that will make those nay-sayers who put this off as another failed 3D attempt think twice about their mental standing on this title. What better way to utilize such gameplay mechanic than by taking on massive bosses, that tower over Gabriel, by not only using combat but platforming as well.
One feature that has left a good impression on many a gamer has been the presence of huge bosses, or rather, titans. An example is the ice behemoth shown in the trailers that literally makes Gabriel’s stature look like an icicle falling of his enormous body. Another titan seen is one made of stones, which not only looks awesome, but brings back memories of a particular boss from Super Castlevania IV, both which can be seen above.
While not looking exactly the same, both titans still share a similar presence. It’s also worth noting that before all the symphonies, sorrows, and harmonies, Super Castlevania IV tries it’s hand at delivering a boss ecounter that is substantially larger than the main character. Lords of Shadow is just taking this a step further. It won’t be a surprise if these titans prove to be memorable encounters.
Castlevania Lords of Shadow will be releasing in less than two weeks, so you can bet anticipation is at an all-time high among fans, and newcomers to the series as well. For fans, it may be a relief to see how much of an influence Super Castlevania IV is to Lords of Shadow. The game’s producer Dave Cox even mentioned this very point, how he went back to the roots of the franchise in order to build this new title. Oh, and the fact that at one point Gabriel Belmont was supposed to be Simon Belmont doesn’t hurt as well.
It’s safe to say that the outcome of both Simon’s and Gabriel’s quests will be different when compared, but the actualy journey is the same in essence. A 3D spiritual remake of Super Castlevania IV? Lords of Shadow may in fact be the game to break it’s “3D curse”.
