Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Review for Nintendo 3DS

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Review for Nintendo 3DS

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold

Developer MercurySteam continues its foray into the Lords of Shadow storyline with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate. Their goal is to create a fully realized title that takes advantage of the unique features of the 3DS. Overall, Mirror of Fate does the series justice and proves to be an intriguing intermezzo that continues from the events of the original console title while setting up a dramatic climax for the upcoming Lords of Shadow 2. However, considering the pedigree of the series, noticeable flaws in Mirror of Fate could be a turnoff for those devout fans who expect nothing less than a pristine presentation.

Gabriel Belmont guides us through a prologue and tutorial, teaching us the combat basics while reenacting an epic showdown. We then fast-forward via a cutscene to several decades later where Gabriel’s grandson Simon awakens from his nightmare, a reverie which forces him to relive his escape from Dracula’s wrath and witness the sacrifice of his mother to save him. Now fully grown and physically able, Simon ventures to Castlevania to avenge the murder of both his mother and his father.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Screenshot

Armed with his leather whip to start, Simon has only a few attacks at his disposal. The direct attack targets enemies in front, while the area attack covers a wider arc though with less power. Both attacks, as well as blocking and dodging, can be performed on the ground or in midair. Each enemy has a glowing indicator when an unblockable attack is about to be unleashed, giving you a quick moment to adjust your defenses. Some attacks cause foes to become disoriented, allowing you to perform a cinematic quick time event to finish the job. These finishers still provide a flourish beyond the standard dispatching methods, and can even tip the scale during boss battles should you fail at inputting the proper button combination.

You are attacked from all angles and regularly flanked, but your collection of attack combinations increases as you level up. Some allow you to send weaker foes skyward, where you can proceed to juggle them into submission. Others unlock some powerful melee punches, though I rarely made use of these as it was much more strategic to keep enemies a whip’s length away. In fact, you could choose the less mentally taxing path and race through the adventure using only the basic attacks, though this route turns redundant rather quickly, and stringing together ground and aerial combos with a finishing move is much more satisfying.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Screenshot

The three main playable characters—Simon, Alucard, and Trevor—all perform the same basic attacks and combos, as well as share the same level and health and mana gauges. They differ with their secondary attacks, some of which are required to access certain sections of the castle. Certain abilities are more superfluous than others, but all are still a nice convenience to have should one care to use them.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Screenshot

The sprawling castle has many different explorable sections, from the dungeon to the kitchen to the theatre, though a map indicator always pinpoints your target destination, which is a fairly linear venture. Searching the nooks and crannies rewards you with lore-laden scrolls that also give you experience; chests that will boost your maximum health, mana, or secondary item limit; and bestiary entries that are viewable from the title screen. Some of the upgrades are perched on platforms or behind doors and requires the Combat Cross or secondary items to obtain, though a question mark keeps you aware of its location for future backtracking. You can also create up to fifty manual notations on the map, though I found this a useless feature in my adventure, as the rewards were typically in plain sight or only slightly off the beaten path.

The backdrop itself is, for the most part, a stunning display. Though filled with massive open rooms, hallways, and stairwells, the castle feels even more immense with the 3D slider cranked to full. The rooms are rich with detail, and the outdoor vistas showcase a waning sun in the distance and ominous towers much closer. The underground stonework provides the only lackluster art design, with drab, gray walls that would have benefitted from even a hint of phosphorescent algae. Otherwise, the Gothic style in both the architecture and character design is presented accurately and vividly.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate Screenshot

The somber orchestrations with reverberant crescendos during the boss battles also fit the era, accompanied by a smattering of Gregorian chants. However, as good as the compositions are, they sound terrible coming through the 3DS speakers. Scratchy distortion is painfully obvious with the volume at full, so I suggest a good pair of headphones. Having all the white noise cancelled out allows for a more immersive experience. Though you might want to plug your ears during the cinematic cutscenes, as the voice acting is horrendous. Simon’s Celtic accent just screams Mike Myers, and the melodramatic scripting pushes the dialogue beyond cheesiness.

Keeping to the main quest, you’ll likely breeze through the story in under ten hours, with a couple extra hours tacked on should you decide go after the all the upgrades and bestiary scrolls. The story itself is predictable yet authentic to MercurySteam’s revision of the Belmont history, and is punctuated with some intense climactic moments. However, after completing this single-player-only affair, there’s very little incentive to begin the quest anew. Perhaps as the launch of Lords of Shadow 2 draws near, you’ll want to take another glance in the Mirror of Fate to have the story fresh in your head, but that’s the only reason I can think of.

When all is said and done, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate is a fine action platformer and an acceptable entry to the series. The level design is a far cry from the expertly crafted side-scrollers of the past, and certain story elements and audio blemishes may irritate devoted fans, but the adventure as a whole is certainly one worth undertaking. Dracula’s castle is the best looking I’ve seen in the series, and the growth of the combat system throughout the course of the game always presents new tactics to test out and perfect. With an impressive 3DS lineup for 2013, Konami’s newest title in the beloved Castlevania series solidifies a spot amongst the marquis titles already released and yet to come.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.2 Graphics
Apart from some stale sublevel stonework, the Gothic design is full of eerie details and the 3D depth expands the perimeters of Castlevania. 4.5 Control
Controls are fluid and responsive, with blocks and strikes responding the moment you need them to. Scaling the platforms is an accurate endeavor. 3.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The orchestrations are beautifully scored, though you’ll want to listen through headphones. The effects are passable, but the voice acting is terrible. 3.2 Play Value
A decent sized adventure with some collectibles tucked away. However, it’s a story you’ll only need to experience once. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Discover the history of your bloodline – Play as multiple characters throughout history, as you battle your ancestor Dracula, each time learning more about your history and why the Belmont clan must atone for the sins of their forebear. Dare you tempt fate?
  • Choose your character – Multiple characters to enjoy, each with unique abilities and skills across different eras. Take control of the legendary Trevor and Simon Belmont and more, as you battle Dracula and his evil minions.
  • Share new abilities through your lineage – Pass onto your descendants your newfound abilities in each era and discover the true destiny of the Belmonts. Featuring a huge array of combos and a deep strategic combat system, this Castlevania is an exciting action game with tons of depth.
  • Battle massive bosses – Experience titan fights in full 3D, climb, traverse and overcome huge bosses. Use your secondary weapons and magical abilities to take down these awesome foes.
  • Features unrivaled Nintendo 3DS Visuals – Experience super high resolution and detailed 3D polygon graphics with side scrolling areas and full 3D sections combined.
  • Utilize Focus & Magic – Use magic to turn the tide of battle! Kill enemies to gain experience and buy new combos and abilities using your travel book. Play well and you will be rewarded.

  • To top