Can we expect to sit through 20-minute cutscenes in between whipping vampires in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow? In a recent interview Hideo Kojima explained his level of involvement in the new 3D Castlevania reboot.
The revelation that Lords of Shadow, the new God-of-War-esque Castlevania game, didn't look horrible at all was fantastic news for series fans already, but knowing that esteemed designer Hideo Kojima would be adding his unique touch to development was the icing on the cake.
How much influence does Kojima have in the creation of Lords of Shadow, however? Are we going to start seeing codec conversations and political commentary in our Castlevania? Probably not. "Kojima Productions is playing more of a support role," Kojima told Famitsu. "This has become a big project, one with the idea that we needed to make a Castlevania which had that same kind of feverish Western support, and that's why Kojima Productions came in to help."
Kojima himself doesn't seem to have any direct input in development, but is sort of sitting back and sharing nuggets of wisdom to push the project in the right direction, having developer Mercury Steam "fix things based on my objective viewpoint" when he sees fit. So far he's done things like suggest the main character's face look more "heroic."
And apparently the man is satisfied with what he's seen so far. "I think it's safe to look forward to this title both as a Castlevania game and as an action game," he said, saying that "it's got great gameplay and great action, and the graphics are good even to Japanese eyes."
I never thought of Hideo Kojima as a sticker, something you could just stamp on a product as a useless advertisement ploy, but I can't shake the feeling that this is quickly becoming a recipe for disaster.
We all know that Kojima's best results yield from him giving undivided attention towards his games during the development process. In this game's case, he sounds more like a school teacher editing an essay.
This game is vitally important to the Castlevania franchise, and so far, it doesn't look like it has any depth or unique gameplay; I pray, for the love of all that is good and holy, that they don't fuck up.
If Mercury Steam really wants Hideo Kojima to have a role in this game, they NEED to utilize his full potential.
HardRockSamurai: I never thought of Hideo Kojima as a sticker, something you could just stamp on a product as a useless advertisement ploy, but I can't shake the feeling that this is quickly becoming a recipe for disaster.
We all know that Kojima's best results yield from him giving undivided attention towards his games during the development process. In this game's case, he sounds more like a school teacher editing an essay.
This game is vitally important to the Castlevania franchise, and so far, it doesn't look like it has any depth or unique gameplay; I pray, for the love of all that is good and holy, that they don't fuck up.
If Mercury Steam really wants Hideo Kojima to have a role in this game, they NEED to utilize his full potential.
I don't think the Castlevania franchise is in that much trouble, at least from what I've seen.
I was surprised back when I first saw the trailer for this game. The main character didn't look like a woman. If that is really Kojima's doing, then I can respect that.
All I can say is that it looks pretty awesome so far, I hope it turns out well, and that hopefully Kojima will produce Zone of the Enders 3 sometime soon.
Did anyone else notice that Kojima and the duck have EXACTLY THE SAME EXPRESSION?
Because if you didn't, for your own sake, don't notice it. This picture is now my god. And my god wants slaves and dried corn...
@topic, I was bothered that newer Castlevania was starting to lose gameplay focus, getting bogged down in cutscenes and other designer conceits. Since Kojima is God of Designer Conceit, I can't imagine this is going to help matters.
randommaster: I don't think the Castlevania franchise is in that much trouble, at least from what I've seen.
Oh, the 2D games have been great. It's the 3D Castlevania games that are in trouble :)
Oh, well, yeah. Wasn't there only one? And didn't it suck more than ******* when the ***** are ******* in ******* for ******* lizards?
Actually, there are five 3D Castlevania games. To be fair, some of them were considered to be pretty good, but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about this new game.
randommaster: I don't think the Castlevania franchise is in that much trouble, at least from what I've seen.
Oh, the 2D games have been great. It's the 3D Castlevania games that are in trouble :)
Oh, well, yeah. Wasn't there only one? And didn't it suck more than ******* when the ***** are ******* in ******* for ******* lizards?
Actually, there are five 3D Castlevania games. To be fair, some of them were considered to be pretty good, but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about this new game.
I might be confusing it with another franchise, then, or I may just have missed them. What systems were they for?
randommaster: I don't think the Castlevania franchise is in that much trouble, at least from what I've seen.
Oh, the 2D games have been great. It's the 3D Castlevania games that are in trouble :)
Oh, well, yeah. Wasn't there only one? And didn't it suck more than ******* when the ***** are ******* in ******* for ******* lizards?
Actually, there are five 3D Castlevania games. To be fair, some of them were considered to be pretty good, but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about this new game.
I might be confusing it with another franchise, then, or I may just have missed them. What systems were they for?
There were two really crappy ones on the N64. Another two were basically Devil May Cry clones, but they still got a mostly positive reception; they were for the PS2.
And lastly, there was a recent Castlevania FIGHTING GAME on the Wii; needless to say, that one sucked ass.
randommaster: I don't think the Castlevania franchise is in that much trouble, at least from what I've seen.
Oh, the 2D games have been great. It's the 3D Castlevania games that are in trouble :)
Oh, well, yeah. Wasn't there only one? And didn't it suck more than ******* when the ***** are ******* in ******* for ******* lizards?
Actually, there are five 3D Castlevania games. To be fair, some of them were considered to be pretty good, but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about this new game.
I might be confusing it with another franchise, then, or I may just have missed them. What systems were they for?
There were two really crappy ones on the N64. Another two were basically Devil May Cry clones, but they still got a mostly positive reception; they were for the PS2.
And lastly, there was a recent Castlevania FIGHTING GAME on the Wii; needless to say, that one sucked ass.
Why is it needless to say that? It could have sucjed elbows, or something.
randommaster: I don't think the Castlevania franchise is in that much trouble, at least from what I've seen.
Oh, the 2D games have been great. It's the 3D Castlevania games that are in trouble :)
Oh, well, yeah. Wasn't there only one? And didn't it suck more than ******* when the ***** are ******* in ******* for ******* lizards?
Actually, there are five 3D Castlevania games. To be fair, some of them were considered to be pretty good, but that doesn't stop me from being concerned about this new game.
I might be confusing it with another franchise, then, or I may just have missed them. What systems were they for?
There were two really crappy ones on the N64. Another two were basically Devil May Cry clones, but they still got a mostly positive reception; they were for the PS2.
And lastly, there was a recent Castlevania FIGHTING GAME on the Wii; needless to say, that one sucked ass.
CastleVania 64 was awesome. Never played the second one though. And I'm planning to buy CastleVania Wii when it hits £10 or less. And Lament of Innocence on PS2 was decent, it was more exploration based than Devil May Cry.
Keane Ng... you just love that picture dont you... its the 3rd time i see it here on the escapist... thats how i want people to remember me... as someone who sat in a duck XD
milomalo: Keane Ng... you just love that picture dont you... its the 3rd time i see it here on the escapist... thats how i want people to remember me... as someone who sat in a duck XD
Expect that picture to come up whenever Kojima is related. It's become a running "gag"
I have not played a 3D Castlevania game, and it will take more than Kojima having small involvement to get me to start. I love the 2D ones too much to taint them with polygons.
They're totally different types of games, and really can't be compared. And MGS2, while good, was not nearly the best with that fucked up storyline that made no sense until MGS4 came along and tied up the loose ends.
Eric the Orange: Why Keane,Why!? Why must you torture me with the ducky pic.
But anyways, 3D Castlevania games have never stood up to there 2D cousins, so i'm not really all that excited.
Yeah, but Castlevania games have never stood up to Metal Gear games, so it sort of evens out.
Eh, 2D Castlevania games are action side scrollers, where as MGS games are stealth based. Kinda like compairing apples to oranges. Or apples to chunks of lead even.
Eric the Orange: Why Keane,Why!? Why must you torture me with the ducky pic.
But anyways, 3D Castlevania games have never stood up to there 2D cousins, so i'm not really all that excited.
Yeah, but Castlevania games have never stood up to Metal Gear games, so it sort of evens out.
Eh, 2D Castlevania games are action side scrollers, where as MGS games are stealth based. Kinda like compairing apples to oranges. Or apples to chunks of lead even.
Chunks of lead that are easily Konamis most beloved franchise, and have single handedly propelled Mr. Kojima into the position of the second greatest developer who ever lived. So chunks of lead that are actually just lead covered diamonds.
Eric the Orange: Why Keane,Why!? Why must you torture me with the ducky pic.
But anyways, 3D Castlevania games have never stood up to there 2D cousins, so i'm not really all that excited.
Yeah, but Castlevania games have never stood up to Metal Gear games, so it sort of evens out.
Eh, 2D Castlevania games are action side scrollers, where as MGS games are stealth based. Kinda like compairing apples to oranges. Or apples to chunks of lead even.
Chunks of lead that are easily Konamis most beloved franchise, and have single handedly propelled Mr. Kojima into the position of the second greatest developer who ever lived. So chunks of lead that are actually just lead covered diamonds.
When I said cunks of lead I didn't mean to say that MGS is bad, just that it's very different than Castlevania. And two such different things are hard to compair.
Eric the Orange: Why Keane,Why!? Why must you torture me with the ducky pic.
But anyways, 3D Castlevania games have never stood up to there 2D cousins, so i'm not really all that excited.
Yeah, but Castlevania games have never stood up to Metal Gear games, so it sort of evens out.
Eh, 2D Castlevania games are action side scrollers, where as MGS games are stealth based. Kinda like compairing apples to oranges. Or apples to chunks of lead even.
Chunks of lead that are easily Konamis most beloved franchise, and have single handedly propelled Mr. Kojima into the position of the second greatest developer who ever lived. So chunks of lead that are actually just lead covered diamonds.
Uh...
Y'know, you really should remember that not everyone shares your taste in games :P Castlevania's a damn classic series.
HardRockSamurai: I never thought of Hideo Kojima as a sticker, something you could just stamp on a product as a useless advertisement ploy, but I can't shake the feeling that this is quickly becoming a recipe for disaster.
We all know that Kojima's best results yield from him giving undivided attention towards his games during the development process. In this game's case, he sounds more like a school teacher editing an essay.
This game is vitally important to the Castlevania franchise, and so far, it doesn't look like it has any depth or unique gameplay; I pray, for the love of all that is good and holy, that they don't fuck up.
If Mercury Steam really wants Hideo Kojima to have a role in this game, they NEED to utilize his full potential.
Well, I don't know wheter this is such a bad thing. Remember, Miyamoto also had a similar role during the development of Metroid Prime, and that game turned out fantastic.
...used to ride a duck just like that at a playground in Italy...
Regardless, I'm interested in how much Kojima can bring to this franchise. He has a very... eh... unique touch that I'm not sure will be welcome be most fans of the franchise.
Of course, most fans of the franchise don't play the 3-D ones, anyway.
Kojima Talks Castlevania Involvement
Can we expect to sit through 20-minute cutscenes in between whipping vampires in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow? In a recent interview Hideo Kojima explained his level of involvement in the new 3D Castlevania reboot.
The revelation that Lords of Shadow, the new God-of-War-esque Castlevania game, didn't look horrible at all was fantastic news for series fans already, but knowing that esteemed designer Hideo Kojima would be adding his unique touch to development was the icing on the cake.
How much influence does Kojima have in the creation of Lords of Shadow, however? Are we going to start seeing codec conversations and political commentary in our Castlevania? Probably not. "Kojima Productions is playing more of a support role," Kojima told Famitsu. "This has become a big project, one with the idea that we needed to make a Castlevania which had that same kind of feverish Western support, and that's why Kojima Productions came in to help."
Kojima himself doesn't seem to have any direct input in development, but is sort of sitting back and sharing nuggets of wisdom to push the project in the right direction, having developer Mercury Steam "fix things based on my objective viewpoint" when he sees fit. So far he's done things like suggest the main character's face look more "heroic."
And apparently the man is satisfied with what he's seen so far. "I think it's safe to look forward to this title both as a Castlevania game and as an action game," he said, saying that "it's got great gameplay and great action, and the graphics are good even to Japanese eyes."
[Via 1UP]
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