JBoc924
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has been out for almost a week now, and I was luckily able to obtain a copy early. So by the time it’s street-date came around, I already had beaten the game once. Now, flash-forward almost a week later and here I am today having completed the game 4 times. Yes, it’s pretty apparent that I love this game.
Back when ‘Lords of Shadow’ was announced, sans Castlevania in it’s title, I was really excited for it. I instantly knew it was a Castlevania title even if they weren’t attaching said title to it. Not only because of the protagonist’s gear resembling that of Simon Belmont’s in Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, but also because of…’of’. It may sound juvenile, but when ever Konami issues trademarks for future projects I always look for a title with ‘of’ neatly planted in the middle. So yeah, that’s how I knew this was a Castlevania title all along. And that’s how I, and other writers, instantly coined Harmony of Despair as being as such too.
Some time after the revelation that it was in fact a new entry in the Castlevania franchise, the degree of my anticipation sort of decreased. Not because I wasn’t impressed by what I was seeing, but because other titles sprouted that just took my attention away from what would later become one of the best games I’ve ever laid hands on.
I enjoyed the hell out of that initial trailer, and I was full of all these theories as to what events could unfold in this game. But then,as aforementioned, my attention swayed elsewhere, unfortunately. I mean, I was still following the game and digging as much info as I could about it, but I didn’t mind waiting for it. It wasn’t until E3 this year, then followed by Gamescom, in which I went in full anticipation-mode. Oh and of course, that god-awesome Tokyo Game Show Kojima-cut trailer.
I was never in the “this doesn’t look like Castlevania” camp. I always held a 100% belief that Mercurysteam’s reboot of the classic franchise was a true Castlevania experience, even if it was taking the timeline fans have grown accustomed to and put it aside in favor of a new vania-universe. One in which we were introduced to a new Belmont, by the name of Gabriel. His motivations also made his character a much more multi-dimensional Belmont than ones featured in games past. As became common-knowledge to anyone seeing any of the trailers, Gabriel is on a quest to resurrect his deceased wife, Marie, by way of a powerful relic, a God Mask. Now that I’ve beaten the game 4 times, I can safely say that the narrative is much more complex than it might originally seem.
I won’t go into spoiler-territory (but I will later this week) for the sake of all those who are still going through Gabriel’s trials. But I will say, it’s one of the best stories I’ve experienced this year. Yeah I played Mass Effect 2 and Heavy Rain, 2 heavily story-driven titles that released this year, but they just don’t capture the magic that Mecurysteam’s writers have conveyed so masterfully in Lords of Shadow. Players can sympathize with Gabriel, as we can all probably recall a time in our lives where we may have wanted to bring someone back that we’ve lost. Whether it be a simple broken relationship, or as portrayed in the game: death.
Oh yeah, and about that Kojima-cut trailer. One of the best trailers I’ve ever seen for a game, even though it was in another language. Everything from the Super Castlevania IV Dracula battle, theme gracing the trailer’s intro, to the reveal of an interesting individual that many people went speculation-heavy with. Yeah…people thought he was Alucard. Like I said, I won’t go into spoiler territory, but the identity of this individual will shock you, and it’ll make you say “about time!” when concerning this franchise.
There are many things that have factored into fans throwing this off as not being “castlevania” one of the reasons being the abundance of out-door environments. Something that brings me back to Super Castlevania IV. While the game doesn’t have as much out-door stages as Lords of Shadow, it relates due to the player having to go through these levels before actually making it to the castle. In Lords of Shadow’s case, it doesn’t end there. That’s all I’ll say. Also the whole debate about Dracula being in the game or not, and IMDB listing Jason Isaacs as his voice actor, once again, I won’t spoil, but you’re gonna love what you get in this game in relations to that.
There are also other references thrown about that will surely invoke memories of previous vanias to veterans. From musical tunes to sub-weapons and bosses, there’a lot here that will justify this game as a part of this franchise even if it strays away from series’ conventions like medusa heads mermen,etc. This is in fact a reboot, but it also is in essence what Castlevania is all about. When stripped down to the simplest of elements, Castlevania is about an avatar of courage going up against the embodiment of all evil. And yes, Lords of Shadows includes that exact conflict.
Another complaint floating around has been related to the music in the game. Another reason why veterans refuse to accept this as being a part of their beloved franchise. Yes it’s true, there’s not that many classic tunes that return from the previous games, but what is here is absolutely beautiful. Oscar Araujo deserves a lot of praise for his work on this game’s score. It beautifully compliments the events of the game while also serving as one superb stand-alone piece. Don’t be surprised in finding this bad boy on my iPod. The music is just that good.
I can keep going on and on, praising this game till I run out of words to use…only then I will just switch gears to another language and continue the praising. This game holds a special place in my library and in my time as a gamer. I’m a huge fan of the Castlevania franchise, holding love for both the non-linear and linear titles in the series. And this game just blew me away. Especially that post-credits scene. One of the finest endings I’ve ever witness, and yes I have played many games in my time as a gamer, so don’t throw that counter my way! I have already beaten the game 4 times, and I’m already planning on starting my 5th run. The gameplay mechanics in this game just make it a joy and even a fresh experience upon multiple run-throughs. Take all those choppy-frame-rate comments and go else-where, this here is pure fun through and through. And as I said in my 10 out of 10 review, this game isn’t ‘epic’ that too cliche’ of a word, instead, this game is Biblical.
Thank you MercurySteam. Now don’t take too long in delivering the DLC to us please!
