Famitsu interviewed Metal Gear developer Hideo Kojima recently and discussed his surprise involvement in the upcoming Lords of Shadow. Kojima explains that Castlevania hasn’t really ever been designed for the West, though developers like those at Mercury Steam have been influenced by the series to create the games they make now. The God of War brand is mentioned, and I’m inclined to agree with that. Having played God of War, I think it feels a lot like Lament of Innocence, which predates it by two years.
In the interview, Kojima describes his role as that more of an advisor than anything else, “leaving things to Dave and the developers at Mercury Steam” and “having them fix things based on my objective viewpoint.” Among the fixes he’s suggested so far: A reworking of the hero’s face, which Kojima said needed to be more “heroic” when Cox showed him the first cut of the trailer.
This fits with my expectation. I’m thinking that Hideo Kojima’s most important role in Lords of Shadow is to bring press attention to the game. In that sense, he’s a lot like Steven Spielberg with Boom Blox. Let’s look at this story. I’d post about developer Dave Cox on Castlemania even if Kojima weren’t involved, but would 1up post about him on their site?
Source: Famitsu via 1up