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After many rumors circulating, it’s finally official. Mercury Steam is continuing their Lords of Shadow story with the release of (wait for it) Castlevania: Lords of Shdow – Mirror of Fate (that’s a mouthful!) exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. The latest issue of Nintendo Power (June 2012) reveals the game and offers some details to get excited about until the game’s trailer debuts on May 31 with Konami’s pre-E3 show.
Mirror of Fate’s plot takes place 25 years after the end of Lords of Shadow, and it tells the tale of Trevor Belmont as he goes up against Dracula, whose ready to unleash hell on all humanity. Of course, one should keep in mind that this version of Trevor is reimagined to fit within Mercury Steam’s LoS universe. And guess what? Simon’s in the game, too.
Trevor will be joined by his descendant, the iconic Simon Belmont (whose appearance is inspired by his red-haired look from Castlevania Chronicles) as well as two other, unidentified characters. I’m pretty sure one of them will be Alucard, making this a reimagining of Dracula’s Curse within the series’ new timeline. All four characters will be playable and each will bring forth their own set of special abilities, and each will be playable in their own time period, with different paths within the castle (the game’s main setting) opening up depending on who you’re playing as.
Yes, that’s right, the game will take place within the confines of the titular castle in this 2.5D time-spanning adventure which will see the perspective change from strictly side-scrolling to full 3D. While Lords of Shadow was a more linear, action-focused experience, Mirror of Fate will be nonlinear and more focused on exploration, like the classic Metroidvania titles. But let’s go back to the gameplay.
Mirror of Fate will once gain utilize the light and dark magic system introduced with Gabriel in the original game when playing as Trevor. He’ll also use a combat cross like his ancestor (complete with a direct and wide attack) complemented by secondary weapons such as an electric bomb and the classic cross. Simon will be utilizing the classic vampire killer whip and he’ll have his own set of sub-weapons including the axe and holy water. Hell, the red-haired macho-man will also be able to summon mystical guardians to aid him in battle.
Speaking with Nintendo Power, the game’s producer, Dave Cox, explains why they decided to put the game on a handheld: “We felt that traditionally Castlevania games had done well on handheld, and indeed found a home there to a certain extent.” He goes on to state: “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.” Speaking of which, the game will make good use of its portable home by allowing for hand-written notes on the touch screen to help you explore the castle. There will also be StreetPass and SpotPass functionality, but Konami isn’t ready to reveal the specifics yet.
It’s a very good time to be a Castlevania fan and next week at E3 I’ll be gladly sharing my thoughts on the playable demo with you guys. We won’t have to wait until next week to get a look at the game, though. Konami’s pre-E3 show is on May 31, and we’re sure to get a full trailer for the game there. In the meantime, check out some scans below from Nintendo Power (thanks to Gonintendo), showing off the issue’s cover featuring Simon Belmont as well as some good ol’ whipping and swinging! It’s worth noting that the cover below is one of two, the second one offers a look at Trevor in all his glory (one cover was exclusive to subscribers while the other was available to everyone).
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