The second chapter within the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow saga, the 3DS’s Mirror of Fate, brought the series towards its roots than it’s been in years. Side-scrolling action made a comeback, with a small amount of Symphony of the Night-style exploration in tow, however also maintained the mix-driven combat established inside the first Lords of Shadow game. The mix of the proper elements from different corners of the series worked well, and the reimagining of the relationship between the Belmont family of vampire hunters and Dracula provided a captivating if somewhat predictable twist. Unfortunately, a small variety of design choices got within the way of the great things, but in porting Mirror of Fate to consoles, Konami had a gamble to finally fix those failings. Mirror of Fate goes further than the anticipated visual upgrades, making small improvements that result in a far more enjoyable experience.
The story in Mirror of Fate picks up after the realization of the 1st Lords of Shadow and follows the trails of 3 characters: Simon Belmont, his father Trevor Belmont, and Alucard. Each in their stories is told separately, but these threads weave together by the tip of the sport. Unfortunately, end result of the heavy hints specified in the start, the intended component of surprise ultimately falls flat.
Plot aside, Mirror of Fate is an easy affair with few innovative constructs, but what’s there feels tight. Along with your map and its handy objective icon, you navigate the halls of Dracula’s castle, keeping off zombies, seething, skull-headed rat-dogs, and undead knights, with an occasional challenging boss fight along the manner. It’s not tricky to move throughout the castle, but a plethora of platforming sections keep things interesting. The character’s whip-like Combat Cross let’s them grapple and swing from chandeliers and broken bits of chateau, then circulate hand-over-hand climbing sections where you ought to leap over chasms before pulling yourself as much as solid ground. The orchestration of those sections present an inexpensive challenge, but more importantly, you are feeling like you’re exploring the depths and heights of Dracula’s castle, in preference to sticking to standard paths laid by hallways and staircases.
The three-character setup is a fascinating method for storytelling, nevertheless it also enables just a little variety in play styles. That isn’t to assert the Belmonts and Alucard are wildly different from each other, but each comes with a touch different repertoire of movement and attack abilities. Whatever the character in question, the game’s combat system makes it easy to thread together a sequence of direct and area attacks, well-timed blocks that could stun enemies, and evasive maneuvers. Due to the tight, responsive controls, it is easy to mash your approach to victory, but every encounter provides opportunities to illustrate mastery over the nuanced timing and complicated commands.
None of this has changed for the Mirror of Fate HD update, where the obvious changes are within the visuals. It isn’t immediately apparent which textures or models are old, but what’s here shines on a bigger, clearer display. Mercury Steam’s beautifully twisted gothic designs for Mirror of Fate finally get the presentation they deserve, and though the in-game models appear rough round the edges in comparison to console-native games, Mirror of Fate HD’s presentation is surprisingly strong.
What’s a guy but a cheerful pile of secrets? Wait, is that right?
Interestingly, the graphical boost is not the only difference between versions of Mirror of Fate. Least of all, the controls has been loosened a little, allowing you to make use of the D-pad to govern your character. Beyond this, the biggest change is the removal of the majority of quick-time events. Once I reviewed Mirror of Fate the 1st time around, I lamented the indisputable fact that the sport constantly shoved in quick-time events. Would like to open a treasure chest? Prepare to tap the A button a dozen times. Able to deal the overall blow to a tough boss? Prepare for a chain of button presses that can not be missed. In both scenarios, you’ve proven your abilities and should not be subjected to laborious inputs for the mere sake of it. In most instances, quick-time events were faraway from Mirror of Fate HD in favor of allowing the action or cutscene to progress without further input.
These are small changes, however the latter has far-reaching implications at the game at large. I now not view Mirror of Fate as a terrific Castlevania game suffering from annoying design issues. Now, on the subject of the HD port, the positives rise to the skin in preference to the negatives, and Mirror of Fate finally appears like a good addition to the series. It has the main intriguing story in any Castlevania game thus far, no matter if it’s kind of predictable, and the emphasis on combat above exploration is an excellent trade, primarily since the combo system is so fluid and sports a great amount of depth. Mirror of Fate at the 3DS might not has been the side-scrolling, vampire-hunting adventure that all of us hoped it might be, but with its heightened presentation and revamped mechanics, Mirror of Fate HD is a large step within the right direction.