Symphony Of The Night-Inspired Hazewalker Wants To “Wow” Wii U Players

David Pierce got in contact with Siliconera to talk about his new game, Hazewalker. It’s a sidescrolling action game that mixes 3D characters with 2D backgrounds that draw inspiration on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Pierce also spoke about the unique features that the Wii U version of Hazewalker will have, which includes using the second screen as a guidebook while you play through the game.

[eyeofcore]

Looks good... Hopefully it will pleasantly surprise me...

[MrSwankSinatra]

Honestly, I'm sick of these knockoffs trying to be Castlevania: Syphony of the Night or Super Metroid. It's like almost every week I'm hearing about one these indie games trying to be SoTN or Super Metroid. I thought the indie scene was supposedly "Super-Creative" doesn't seem that way to me. Most indie games are just trying to be old games i've already played.

[Joydivision39]

And I'm tired of people like you complain about developers trying to give us the same experience sotn did. Do us all a favor and stop complaining. By doing that you save a dog everyday.

[MrSwankSinatra]

It may be complaining, but that doesn't make my comment any less true.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Many of the most creative ideas take their inspiration from things that have come before, and when you've got high notes like Super Metroid to work off of, of course they'll be one of the most frequently mentioned inspirations.
The inspiration isn't an issue; what matters is the individuality and personality that the devs bring into their interpretation of the elements that the past classics have brought forth.
Shovel Knight is a perfect example of taking everything good about 2D platformers and doing them even better, and we should be hoping that the same can be said about others that are up and coming, like this one.
Not being ***holes that shoot them down as "knock-offs" the instant they mention a classic as an inspiration.

[Dannycr]

Funny, because, based on your assessment, SoTN could be considered a Super-Metroid Knockoff.

Thankfully, IGA and Konami decided to be INFLUENCED by the amazing game Super Metroid is and bless us with the magnificence that is SoTN.

[Nevers0ft]

To a point I agree. There is a disproportionate amount of 2D "Metroidvania" titles being released. Sure, many of them play very well but I wish some indies would look at other genres that aren't as well catered for nowadays (like 2D scrolling shooters)

[Sly-Lupin]

I don't think its possible for me to be even slightly impressed by a 2D platformed these days. Especially from an indie studio. Especially on a Nintendo platform.

[jimmywolf]

that a bit harsh, i love 2d games. Dust: An Elysian Tail even Thu not on the Nintendo console, is a very good game.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Those last two parts are the key parts that makes your opinion untrustworthy.
You've got an open bias against both indies and Nintendo and are giving this a dismissal based off of those two factors.
And that's just narrow-minded and sad.

[Sly-Lupin]

Not my fault so many indie developers are focusing on samey platformers or shallow gimmicky platformers, or that Nintendo thinks the one thing it needs MORE of are these low budget platformers.

And that narrow mindset is yours, for reading between the lines. I never said, and never would say, that these games can't be good. Hell, we've had a slew of fantastic indie 2D platformers and even Nintendo has delivered marvelously. Donkey Kong Country Returns, Rogue Legacy, Guacamelee, Shovel Knight, etc., are all fantastic games.

But my problem is that I'm an adult gamer. I've played a lot of games, and as a result have very high standards. Also: I use the word, "impressive" literally.

And to impress me, an impressive game needs to be both very, very good... And introduce a new and interesting mechanical or narrative concept. In the last decade, I've only been impressed by a small handful of games, for example.

[Sly-Lupin]

What games am I missing out on? How am I biased against Nintendo? How am I biased against Indies?

You're the biased one here, insisting that this discussion occur in some nonsensical "console war" context. The simple fact of the matter is that the 2D platformer genre is stagnant as hell: there's only so much that can be done moving from the left side of the screen to the right, and jumping.

(EDIT... and to make it explicit, since you seem to need that: both the Indie scene and Nintendo's platforms are supersaturated with 2D platformers. Saturation makes it hard for individual titles to stand out. The harder it is to stand out, the harder it is to impress. Especially with a genre as played out as 2D platformers).

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

High standards are not an excuse; you literally just bashed both Indies and Nintendo consoles with no decent excuse.
That was the entire point of your post.
Not your taste in games or how "impressive" they have to be.
If the level of how impressive they have to be, was the main point of your first post, then you wouldn't have bothered including the last two sentences, because your first sentence covers the point about 2D platformers not having impressed you adequately enough.
You could have left it at that and you would have made a mature and fair frame for the picture that is your opinion.
But you went on when you should not have.

You don't have "high standards", you have a bias against both indies and Nintendo, and are bypassing what could otherwise be games that might impress you, with the quality of their gameplay, once you've tried it, based off of that narrow-minded bias.
Then you are trying to shove the label you've earned onto others for "reading between the lines" when you drew the lines, and everything in-between them, with your own two hands with those last two sentences.
Which, by the way, is not something an experienced and worldly "adult gamer" does.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

How are you biased against indies and Nintendo?
Are you even reading the things you type?
"ESPECIALLY from an INDIE studio."
"ESPECIALLY on a NINTENDO platform."

If you cannot see why that looks and sounds biased, then there's nothing more to discuss here, because you can't even tell how biased your being.

[MSBAUSTX]

I like it so far. if it is customizable as far as armor, skills, and looks of the character and has good smooth gameplay, I am fine with it. I love Mirror of Fate on my 3DS and it is side scroller.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I took a look into Mirror of Fate, and after realizing just how similar it was to the rest of the Lords of Shadow series, I had to give it a pass.

That reboot basically turned the series into a combat-focused God of War clone, and I missed how it used to be.
Comparatively, I'm having more fun with Circle of the Moon, a GBA game, and Curse of Darkness on PS2.
Ironically, it was when Castlevania started becoming Metroid-vania style, that I started enjoying it most.

I liked the earlier ones to a fair extent due to their difficulty, but the replay value didn't go up for me until the exploration elements went up due to the Metroid style infusion.
Maybe I'm just having the same issue with Lords of Shadow? Not enough exploration elements to whet my appetite, as an adventure game?

[MSBAUSTX]

Mirror of fate is a side scroller and God of War isnt. Also God of war is strict linesr, where mirror of fate encourages you to go back to old places you have been and get the hidden stuff with new Items you have unlocked.

Not to mention you can get it for like 10 or 15 bucks now. Its worth it if you like anything castlevania. It plays exactly like any Castlevania game as well they just added some combos in to it which was needed. It was fun for me. It comes down to personal preference wich is cool.