Shadowmaster wrote:
I don't think it should have been left out completely so much as it should have been made easier without use of the mist form. There's an obvious path in the level that you're supposed to follow, but the fact that Agreus' AI is so aggressive and actively tracks you no matter where you are, along with the fact that it's hard to discern where to go when you have to pay attention to Agreus as well makes the part way harder than it should be. I think they should have added more bells to distract him and made it a bit more apparent what you're supposed to do and where you're supposed to go without attracting his attention, or at least indicated that mist form was an effective method of beating the maze.
Well, the way Agreus just "knows" where you are, and stays near you through instinct is kind of tough, but the lack of indication of mist form being an effective method let me know that the devs WANT to make you think of a solution yourself, and make use of your arsenal of skills and items that are mostly neglected in a lot of video games. I agree that the bells should have been more frequently placed, however.
The devs want to make you feel angry when you screw up, and fear when he runs after you. After all, isn't that what games are all about? Immersion? I beat the maze in probably less than half an hour, almost searching a walkthrough for it. The maze was despicable, very despicable, but it stuck true to the classic Castlevania style, where you actually use your "powerups" to progress through the game, rather than using just your whip for the whole game. I like that.