Interview: Dave Cox - Castlevania: Mirror of Fate

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow — Mirror of Fate remains one of our most eagerly-awaited 3DS titles here at Nintendo Life, thanks to the simple fact that several of our staff are absolutely potty about Konami's long-running vampire-hunting franchise.

Following hard on the heels of the sublime DS 'Metroidvania' titles, Mirror of Fate looks set to continue the long tradition of top-notch portable entries for the series, with Spanish code-house Mercury Steam — the guys also responsible for the best-selling reboot Castlevania: Lords of Shadow — at the helm this time around.

Keen to know more about this intriguing title, we caught up with Konami's Dave Cox, who is acting as producer for not only Mirror of Fate, but also Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, which is due to launch on 360 and PS3 in the near future.

Nintendo Life: When did development on Mirror of Fate begin?

Dave Cox: At the end of 2010.

NL: The Lords of Shadow series has drastically rewritten some elements of the Castlevania canon — given the dedicated nature of the fan-base, have you encountered any resistance to this?

DC: This is a separate universe and time line, so the original mythology is unchanged. We haven’t rewritten anything.

NL: How hard was it to introduce characters such as Trevor and Simon Belmont into your re-imagined time line?

DC: It was easy; I love the original classic Castlevania games and wanted to establish the relationship of Dracula with the Belmont clan, so Simon and Trevor had to be a part of that.

NL: Where does fan favourite Alucard fit into the storyline?

DC: Alucard plays a major role in Mirror of Fate, and his story is one of the key features of the game.

NL: How close is Mirror of Fate going to be to the Metroidvania style of gameplay seen in the DS and GBA versions?

DC: This is more akin to Dracula’s Curse and features multiple branching pathways with specific character areas. Players can backtrack and explore the castle, but this is an action combat game, not an RPG.

NL: How will Mirror of Fate make use of the 3DS' unique features, such as the auto-stereoscopic screen, 3D camera and wireless functions, such as StreetPass and SpotPass?

DC: We use the stereoscopic screen to display the field of view in a rich and deep three dimensional plane. Players will feel they are looking into a miniature and highly detailed 3D world that looks like a diorama. We use the camera occasionally to move into the world for dramatic effect, giving players a real feeling of being a part of this world. I'm afraid I cannot talk about the other features yet.

NL: I know you've probably been asked this a million times, but is Koji 'IGA' Igarashi involved with Mirror of Fate in any capacity? What's his current role within Konami?

DC: No, Mr Igarashi is not involved and I don’t know what his current role is in Konami.

NL: Given the parity in terms of technological power between the PS3/360 and Wii U, is there any chance that we could see an enhanced version of Lords of Shadow 2 for the system?

DC: No, we have no plans for a Wii U version.

NL: That's a shame. Are you excited by Wii U and the potential innovations that the GamePad controller can offer?

DC: It’s a great console, but my team are focused on PS3 and Xbox 360 at the moment.

NL: You've stated that after Lords of Shadow 2 there won't be another Lords of Shadow game on home consoles, so where is the series headed from this point onwards? Will Mercury Steam still be at the helm, or is Konami open to letting other developers take on Castlevania? WayForward did a great job with Contra 4 on the DS...

DC: What happens to Castlevania after Lords of Shadow 2 is for others to decide. My team and the guys and gals at Mercury Steam want to look at other projects, and other worlds to explore.

NL: Thanks for your time!