S&S Review: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirrors of Fate
Format: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Mercury Steam
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: M
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate brings the classic Konami franchise over to the Nintendo 3DS, and it adds a lot of new flavor into mix. If you've been waiting for a good Castlevania game for the 3DS, the wait is over.
Mirror of Fate casts you in the role of three different characters, Simon Belmont, Alucard, and Trevor Belmont. If you're familiar with the original Lords of Shadow game from 2010, then the sequel will make a bit more sense to you if you're just going in fresh. I haven't gotten real invested in a Castlevania narrative for quite some time now, but Mirror of Fate managed to pull me in from the start. The gorgeous art style mixed in with some good voice acting really drew me in from the first cinematic. The story does get a bit confusing at times, but with the interchangeable characters, you'll always take risk. The 3DS hardware does a good job with the game's visuals, the smaller screens on the portable really enhance the game's level of detail, making all of the player models and environments appear that much crisper. I've always thought that the 3DS's power gets a little overlooked, but since it's direct competition is the PS Vita, that's expected. The 3D effect is the system's biggest feature, but it's one that I've never liked. In Mirrors of Fate, if you have the 3D effect at a high setting, then it hinders the game's overall aesthetic. If you want the game to look the best it can, you may want to leave the 3D off.
Mirror of Fate is one of the more easier Castlevania games to just pick up and play, which may be a little off-putting for hardcore fans of the franchise. The game takes bits and pieces from the original game, and fuses in some Metroid style exploration. When you mix in the two, you get a pretty good game. Although the inclusion of exploration does mix things up a bit, the bread and butter of the game is still it's combat. Pulling off flashy combos is just as satisfying as before. Death dealing hits with the trusty whip is a ton of fun, and when you mix up a number of magic abilities, you'll be pulling off combos with ease. As you kill off enemies, you'll begin to level up and unlock new moves like the cool air juggling ability. The combat in the game is some of the best out of the series' and it shows, especially when you come across the game's multiple bosses. Since you'll be controlling three different characters, you'll also be learning new abilities that are specific to each character. The game does a good job of keeping the core abilities spread out across each character, so when one character's act ends, the next protagonist won't feel too much different from the last. The 2.5D perspective is great in combat, and it works well with platforming as well. Thanks to some forgiving checkpoints, the platforming never becomes frustrating, which is always welcomed. The only negative component I found in the game were the dull puzzles, they were overly simple, and didn't require much thought.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate is a great 3DS game. It features some of the system's best visuals, and when you add in satisfying combat, you got yourself a winner.
S&S Rating: 8/10
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