Castlevania Mirror of Fate is a 2D Action Platformer in where we take on the role of many characters throughout our journey, all sharing the single goal of taking down Dracula. It was originally released on the 3DS and later ported elsewhere with an increase in visual fidelity, though very much remains a humble looking game albeit with a nice cell shaded art style. The story takes place after the first Lord of Shadows game and kicks of with us playing as Simon Belmont. One doesn’t necessarily have to have played the prior title to understand or appreciate the plot here, but it will spoil the mind-blowing ending it had, so if you plan to play it, do so before taking on Mirror of Fate.
With it’s move to the 2D plane, it is easy to think that it features combat similar to the rest of the series in that vein. It does not; instead, it has the LoS fighting system that contains various combos, juggles, and things that make battles more in-depth than simply pressing the attack button. I wouldn’t call it superior, though it is a notable difference from what you are used to from the 2D variants of Castlevania. All things considered, it for the most part gracefully transitioned into this more limiting plane, aside from the rare moments where there are enemies on both sides of the screen, making rolling or defense feel kind of clumsy. You can block attacks though every enemy has multiple unblockable moves wherein rolling is your only option, and getting sandwiched between two of them can get ugly real fast.
If you are feeling brave, you can also try to parry specific attacks to leave your foe wide open for a counterattack. Unblockable moves are made apparent by a bright yellow glow that forms as your enemy winds up, in which case it’s best to back off. It nearly feels like a fighting game more so than an action one as simply trying to rush your opponent will likely end badly for you. You have to place close attention to your distance, the range of their attacks, and their move sets to take them down. They also can withstand quite a bit of damage so you’ll never encounter more than a few at once nor ever be able to quickly mow them down despite having a leveling system. As you fight and win your skirmishes, you gain experience points and eventually gain another level. This does not make you more powerful in your usual RPG sense, instead, it teaches your character new combo extenders or moves to master.
Despite who you play as over the course of the story, your primary weapon will be a whip. Each character plays very similarly to one another, aside from some negligible differences such as jumping back instead of rolling when dodging. Your level carries over between everyone as well, so your understanding and gains from battling the undead will never become defunct. This does lead to each character feeling the same, though their secondary items are unique. Some can throw axes, others can shoot bats with one having a boomerang-like weapon. They are hardly game-changing and have a limited amount of uses depending on how many heart icons you’ve collected. Many of their abilities also having slight distinctions like having to phase through an enemy to regain health versus simply hitting them to do the same. In the latter case, it does take up mana from the meter under your health instead of using up hearts to use your abilities.
It honestly does not handle transferring to another character all that well. Even if all of your moves and experience carry over, the secondary items do not. They all have unique secondaries exclusive to them, and by the time you gather them all, you are quickly forced into the shoes of someone else, never to play as that character again. You’ll never truly get to experiment, master, or have fun with the abilities you have gathered before having to start from square one to slowly acquire them all over again. Which brings me to the exploration. You are free to backtrack whenever you want if you so choose, but it is a linear game with your destination always being clear. This is not like the Metroidvania level design of the post Sympathy of the Night 2D titles in where the areas are all interconnected. It is, for the most part, a straight shot to where you need to go with some minor backtracking. You’ll have to go out of your way to ever see many areas more than once.
That in itself is not a bad thing, in fact, I prefer the linear gameplay of the first and third Castlevania. The problem is how they tried to have both linearity and the incentive of exploration of later 2D titles. Scattered about the place are treasure chests that can increase your either your life, magic or the amount of item usage via carrying more hearts. Innocent enough, but here comes the issue and the reason that being stripped of your abilities various times bothered me so much. Those valuable chests are nearly always locked behind some arbitrary barrier that requires an ability to bypass, and they are often in plain sight staring you dead in the face. It gets progressively more annoying every time you are stripped of your gear and play as a new character being unable to get to them once more. And due to its linear nature, it is quite a trek back at times when you finally receive what you need to get to finally get your hands on them.
Aside from the combat, a large portion of what you’ll be doing is climbing and platforming to navigate your way through the castle. From skimming across a rope while trying to avoid fireballs being flung your way to timing a jump in the hopes of not getting electrified, Dracula will not make it easy for you. The traps that litter the castle are just as deadly as any enemy you’ll face with the added bonus that many never deactivate, which also adds even more to that previously stated backtracking problem. Regardless, it is quite a bit of fun to carefully make your way across the first time and does add a nice element besides having only combat. It is rare to find an area where you can simply walk through it unhindered. Getting past any zone feels like an accomplishment, and since it is mostly linear, you’ll rarely see the same places twice if you choose not to.
Making your way to Dracula is a grand adventure with the environments being quite a treat to look at as well. Despite this title’s 3DS origins, it looks nice thanks to its stylized cell shaded graphics and excellent art style. Strangely enough, it is in a weird aspect ratio that will cause the game to be surrounded by small black borders as you no doubt noticed from the screenshots. Every character you play as takes an entirely different route to Dracula and faces unique bosses throughout their journey which makes them feel unique even if they play mostly the same. Where having different characters really shines is in the story itself. It is an intriguing and emotional tale in where the driving force of the plot becomes more intriguing as you gain new perspectives on the events that occur during or before you step foot in that castle. The fantastic orchestral soundtrack also amplifies the emotions they want you to feel and really helps give the castle a moody vibe.
Voice acting on the other hand, is another story entirely. It is sub-par with a few moments coming off as unintentionally funny due to it. This title will last you around 8 hours to get through and contains a secret ending if you manage to 100% it. If you have either the PC or console versions, it will also have a boss rush mode with an online leaderboard to show off your scores, granted you manage to survive the ordeal. It’s a nice addition, though your level, as well as power, do carry so people that collected all the treasure chests will have an easier time getting a better time. Overall, Mirror of Fate is a game marred by some serious flaws, mainly in the level design department, but does manage to come through as a fun journey. The in-depth gameplay with many different creatures to face and interesting story will keep you going until the end. It is an intriguing take on the 2D Castlevania formula if nothing else, with much to offer for those that give it a chance.
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