A game that Suceeds in Some Aspects, Yet Fails in Others.
Castlevania has had a vast history on Nintendo's handheld systems dating back to the original gameboy. This history on these consoles not only extended the life of the franchise but produced some the most memorable and successful games of that series. This said, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate attempts to revive this lineage with a new approach for the franchise. Developed by Mercury Steam, Mirror of Fate embraces the identity made by Castlevania: Lords of Shadow as it is a means to "bridge" the story between that game and the upcoming Lords of Shadow 2 slated for a fall release this year. Although it never quite reaches the heights made by it's predecessors, Mirror of Fate succeeds at crafting an identity that not only makes it it's own for this story arch, but as a meaningful Castlevania game that shows there can be good handheld games for this series again.
Story:
Initially set 25 years after the end of Lords of Shadow, players will take the positions of 4 characters throughout the game as they learn the origins of each and the impact they would have on the overarching narrative. This was where the game makes it's greatest strides because of the way it handles longstanding franchise characters. Simon Belmont and Alucard get a surprisingly well-told story for each which becomes one of most successful parts of the entire game and what makes it worth the time invested in it. From the beginning of the game, there will be moments where the end of Lords of Shadow's story reveals itself, so new players to this story-arch should be cautious when approaching Mirror of Fate. Another benefit for the storytelling was it's ability to integrate all the characters across these 4 separate stories into one complete narrative. Why this is important is simply for the development of the characters. To see these characters evolve across this story and how they can have an impact on Lords of Shadow 2's story has a tremendous amount of appeal for those who enjoyed the story told by Mercury Steam in the first Lords of Shadow. It does get disjointed at parts and has a slow burn, but once it gets going (and it will quite quickly), it will have your attention through to the end.
Gameplay:
Where the story becomes one of the games greatest strengths, the gameplay becomes Mirror of Fates greatest weakness. Across all characters, the same attack patterns that are present throughout each and have a lack of originality, becoming an obvious downside. Having only items and magic abilities differentiate between each characters is not only lazy in terms of game design but becomes tedious to manage. The basic attacks becomes serviceable for moving the narrative forward, but if one wants to seek out the game's many collectibles and maneuvering around Dracula's castle, the enjoyment of once exploring and discovering new spaces within becomes more of a chore. Being a 2D action plat-former with an adaptive combat system that was primarily used to accommodate a 3D space, aspects of the combat system become recognizably flawed and can be seen from the basic attacks. With every attack there is an incredible reach towards the enemy characters, having a significant affect on the difficulty of the game. Moreover, the four difficulty setting players will have the chance to use have minor effect given the way the attack commands are implemented on the 2D plane that Mirror of Fate was built around.
Presentation:
Where the presentation of the narrative through cutscenes and music are fantastic, the presentation of the gameplay and camera are disappointing. The cutscenes are paced really well and are accompanied with great voice acting done for each character across the story. The music is also fantastic with the composer having done the first Lords of Shadows which was also a standout for that game. Much like Lords of Shadow, the camera and display of the combat can be awkward at points of the game. As Alucard, there will be moments where you will be asked to solve puzzles and the camera will zoom out to give you a complete picture to solve that puzzle. Unfortunately, this makes your character incredibly small to see, affecting one's ability to act out the solutions for that puzzle. Gameplay will also take significant frame-rate hit when action is frantic (in this case when you fight more than one enemy). The default camera view is fine, but there will be moments where you will be asked to climb down certain parts of a wall that restrict your view of the surface below you, making these moments act out in chance to get to where you need to go which can be frustrating to deal with.
Overall, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate is a successful return of the Castlevania series on the handheld if not stumbling along the way. The narrative, characters and presentation all become the games greatest parts and serve to make whatever the proper sequel becomes more interesting to pay attention to going down the road. What hold this game back from reaching where it's predecessors went lie solely on the gameplay aspects. Playing this game gradually becomes a chore simply due to the lack of unique moves and surroundings for each character (having unique items and magic powers wasn't enough for me). Both the camera and performance of the gameplay also hamper the experience for those who particularly worry about those aspects of a game. But for those who simply want to play another portable Castlevania game that will have an affect on the upcoming console sequel (especially for those who liked and appreciate this story-arch) then I would recommend those to give this game a chance. If you dig deep and plow through the monotony of the gameplay, you will find an enjoyable game out of Mirror of Fate.
