Interview: Konami's Koji Igarashi

We sit down for a chat with Konami's Castlevania man, IGA, to discuss Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for DS, and the upcoming Wii fighting spin-off Castlevania Judgement.

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Kikizo: Did you think the DS touch-screen elements in the previous Castlevania games didn't work quite as well as you wanted them to?

Igarashi: Well, in order of Ecclesia, using the touch screen simply wouldn't be very helpful. You're already using the D-pad and buttons a lot, so it'd be difficult for the player to use the touch-screen in conjunction with these controls. There are a lot of minor areas in these games where we could - and have - used touchscreen controls, but it's not a necessary element, so we opted to simply forego them this time around.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Kikizo: Do you see Order of Ecclesia as being the last Castlevania game on the DS, or will the DS continue to be the principal platform for the franchise going into the near future?

Igarashi: I would definitely like to develop still more Castlevania games for the DS platform! For the US market, though, the retail price on DS games are traditionally very low - $30, maybe $40 if the game card itself has a larger capacity. The development costs for Castlevania do tend to be higher than average for a DS game, so it's hard to get some concepts for the series approved. I love the DS and want to continue work on it, but I'm not sure if it's the best option from a pure business standpoint.

Kikizo: We saw your presentation at Game Developers Conference last year, where you said - very emphatically, I might add - that 2D games will never die.

Igarashi: Ah, yes! [laughs]

Kikizo: So do you have plans for doing other 2D games, besides the Castlevania series?

Igarashi: To be honest, we've got a lot of Castlevania on our plates right now! [laughs] I haven't even thought of doing something else. If there's an opportunity, I definitely want to look into it further, though.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Kikizo: Would you have any plans to remake older Castlevania titles, like you did for Dracula X on PSP? Maybe for release on services like WiiWare or Xbox Live Arcade?

Igarashi: Castlevania has a lengthy legacy of great games, and I'm definitely interested in revisiting them if I get a chance. However, every time I've tried to pitch something like that, I just get told I should make a new game instead. But yes, if there is another opportunity like there was with Dracula X Chronicles, it's something that I would definitely like to do.

Kikizo: Yes, we think a lot of people would be very happy to see something like that! Especially if something like that would come out around the same time as Judgement.

Igarashi: [laughs] It might be a bit difficult, since the release dates of Judgment and Ecclesia are already so close!

Kikizo: Thanks for your time.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia was released this week in North America, and is out in PAL territories next month. Castlevania Judgement is out on November 18 in North America, and some time next year in PAL territories.

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