Following this past Saturday’s crazy rumor of Retro Studios developing Star Fox – Metroid: Fusion Saga for Wii U, I’ve waited the necessary 6 weeks since my last update on this particular Wii U/3DS game and can now confirm to you that one of the titles that I was hinting at, on the last day of 2011 was Castlevania for 3DS and Wii U! Before I get into gameplay details, allow me to show you how this story evolved.

The New Year’s Eve “crowd pleaser” hint was in reference to Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III, though as I stated before, since I was only able to confirm it as a Wii U title and not one in development for 3DS as well, I held back to prevent from incorrectly labeling it as a dual title.

Then on February 1st, in my E3 2012 Q/A preparation article, I unfortunately had to hold my tongue back when reader “tobiferret” asked me if I knew anything about a Castlevania 3DS announcement.

A good chance at why the reader asked if Paul Gale Network knew about Castlevania 3DS is because in December, 2010 I had the following to say in this article: “…that artists and 3D modelers have already begun to work on the next Castlevania game and that it’s for 3DS. Furthermore, talk has gone around the studio how to cleverly make use of the 3DS’ 3D cameras.” I hope you could see why I couldn’t answer you fully, tobiferret, and that’s because of the fact that a Wii U Castlevania game had since come into the mix.

In a following story on April 8th, I mentioned that there was another duo to this “shocker”, but at this point reached a deal of non disclosure with my source. It was agreed though that in 6 weeks I could share the revelation and so here it is.

One last bit…before I continue, there is one more person I have to shout out to, and that’s NeoGAF user, “GhostTrick“. I had to give a non-100% accurate response, only because of the nature of my NDA, which would be lifted a mere two days (ahem, now).

The above literature may not be necessary, but I feel that I owe you all the most accurate explanation as to why I operate PGN the way I do. I have sources, but they go beyond that title, as many of them have become good friends. Only do I reveal information when I can and I can simply hope that you respect that. With that being said, here’s what I can tell you and keep in mind that this information represents just part of what I’ve learned between December 21st, 2010 and April 8th, 2012.

Castlevania: Mirror of Fate

– Nearly a 1.5 year development cycle.
– Stars two different playable characters.
– Features co-operative play with the prospect of 3DS and Wii U being able to interact with each other.
– The game is indeed a 2D Castlevania experience.
– Like mentioned in the rumor PGN received back in 2010, the goal was to find creative ways to utilize the 3DS’ cameras and this has been achieved in part due to the very name of the game, “Mirror of Fate”.
– The forward facing camera will act as a mirror and the outward facing cameras will come into play for a new puzzle solving mechanic.
– A Wii U version of the same game was in contention when I reported the “shocker” announcement in 2011, but has since become Konami’s decision to give the system one Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2 (not exclusively, however, as other platforms will too see a release, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita).
– More interestingly perhaps, was the idea that Mirror of Fate on Wii U would be the same game as its 3DS brother, treat the U-Control as the 3DS’ bottom screen and your TV as the 3DS’ top screen, be able to play the game across both platforms, use the Wii U’s forward facing camera as a mirror to “capture your reflection and reveal your fate”, and so on.
– Instead, Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2 on Wii U will be a different game which was safer for Konami, since it could 1) be an upgraded port of the Xbox 360/PS3 build and 2) still be able to retain some of its originally intended plans when it was Mirror of Fate, including some 3DS connectivity.
– The development of Wii U’s own ground-up Castlevania sku could still happen, I’m being told.

Koji Igarashi and Paul Gale

Know that this is not a rumor like Star Fox – Metroid: Fusion Saga, do expect to see these games playable at E3 2012, and realize that this particular source of mine is accurate, but even still…won’t reveal EVERYTHING to me. And I don’t blame the fact, for I’d rather know some and not all, since I am a gamer before a journalist and I appreciate being “wow’d” just as much as all of you.

Thank you for your time and support. It’s an honor and pleasure to be able to finally reveal one of the coolest games I’ve known about for quite some time. I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on these upcoming games.

Update: My source has discovered, yet too late for this article’s publishing, that Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2 on Wii U is in fact “not happening”. The title will be coming to other consoles, but not Nintendo’s next gen platform at this time. How such wrong information was given to my source is unknown, but my friend has deeply apologized for it and so to must I for sharing inaccurate information. That’s the problem of sometimes putting up news that you haven’t seen with your own eyes. I promise you though, the 3DS game is real and is on its way. I repeat once more though….no Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2 on Wii U right now and thus, no interactivity with its 3DS brother. I have to admit, I’m disappointed that we’re not getting this cool crossover, but still look forward to both games individually.