The true ending to "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow" re-imagined the classic feud between the Belmont family and Dracula as more of a family feud than in previous games. "Castlevania: Mirror of Fate," a prequel to "Lords of Shadow 2," brings out the son and grandson of Gabriel, or The Dragon, as he prefers these days.
"Mirror" was playable at e3 this year, which focuses more on 2D platforming that awkwardly mixes in the 3D elements of the original "Lords of Shadow." This was an issue for Polygon, " The timing and movement of whip slashes and doges in Mirror of Fatefeels similar, but with only two directions to move, enemies frequently trapped me, leading to frustrating defeats."
The Belmont family shows up two fold in "Mirror," first starting in 1073 when Trevor Belmont, trained by the Brotherhood of the Light, is tasked to go back to Bernhard Castle and kill his father, Gabriel. Compare that to Simon, who is given a sliver of a mirror to protect by his parents who are killed by The Dragon's forces; in the year 1103, he goes to find The Dragon and kill him.
From the ending of "Lord of Shadow," we had hoped the sequel would take place in modern times. Those got snuffed when the e3 trailer for "Lords of Shadow 2" gave us an epic battle between an army of knights, the above giant Burning Man replica and inevitably a final silver-haired warrior with a big sword. "Guess we're back in the good ol' 12th century, then!"
Well, maybe not. The official plot description mentions "Dracula returns once again, weakened and yearning for release from his immortal bonds. Facing a new and powerful threat, the vampire lord must reacquire his old powers - and only his castle holds the key. However, the famed Belmont clan also seek his ultimate destruction."
Gabriel, at his full power, just sucks one guy's blood and he can become a giant smoke dragon. By the end of "Lords of Shadow," an equally immortal Zobek could overpower the great Dracul without much effort. It's hinted just in the title that Mirror of Fate might have time travel or some time related issue, and where else do we think but Bernhard Castle would have something called a "Mirror of Fate" being used by an immortal vampire trying to kill Satan?
So! To rewind!
In the 25 years since "Lords of Shadow," Gabriel is undoubtedly trying to find a way to stop the Lords. The Brotherhood are wary because he might go power mad again, so they send Trevor to kill him. Trevor somehow acquires the Mirror of Fate, leaves his father weakened or for dead. Dad's "minions" kill him, but not before he gives a shard to his son, Simon. Simon winds up weakening his grandfather and Satan's minions enough to stall them for a thousand years, but it knocks Gabriel out of his castle. It does keep him alive, though. And so the true sequel of Lords of Shadow will give us the modernized Castlevania we've wanted since the original rebooted Nintendo DS Series, "Dawn/Aria of Sorrow."
Why would these two tie-in so heavily? Because Sony's pushing the ability to stop and play games from the PlayStation 3 to Vita with nearly every release, so why shouldn't Nintendo start toying around with the idea? Especially when the Wii U is two systems in one: the main unit and the tablet controller.
Konami, you can send our royalty checks to us when you're ready. Thanks!