harmony-of-despair
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Rumor: Castlevania 'Harmony of Despair' is 2D, 6-player XBLA game
A trusted source has told Joystiq that "Harmony of Despair," the title of a recent European trademark, is indeed a Castlevania game. Our source indicates that the game will be a 2D multiplayer Xbox Live Arcade title, featuring six-player co-op and a versus, fighter-style survival mode. These details follow a recently-pulled post on never know tech, which purported to showcase screenshots of Harmony of Despair. The site described the game as a "Metroidvania" side-scroller, featuring characters from recent Castlevania games. The characters, however, appeared to be rendered as tiny GBA/DS-esque sprites, and the game camera is apparently capable of being zoomed out to reveal entire levels (presumably in place of a map screen; or to show multiple characters in different rooms). So it looks like we might be getting the long-awaited 2D "high-definition" Castlevania, after all. Although, "just make the GBA sprites really small on the screen" isn't exactly the technique we were hoping for.
EU Harmony of Despair trademark hints at new Castlevania
Siliconera dug up a European trademark filed by Konami for something called "Harmony of Despair," and they correctly point out that it certainly sounds like another Castlevania game. Since the classic Symphony of the Night, Castlevania games are often subtitled with music-themed "X of X" titles, including Lament of Innocence and Aria of Sorrow, and the upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. There's no indication in the trademark exactly what the game will be (it's just marked as "video game software" and related services), and while Dawn of Sorrow, the series' first DS title, gave an acronymic hint to the system, obviously Harmony of Despair doesn't. Wait -- "H.D."? It must be for the rumored iPhone HD releasing later this year! Mystery solved!
