-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Koji Igarashi (Castlevania) Leaves Konami, Founding New Studio, Metroidvania GDC talk
- Thread starter V_Ben
- Start date
But IGA hates everything that he didn't work on and goes out of his way to discredit it, I've read that countless times in this thread alone.
Seriously though, my issue with Lords of Shadow isn't that IGA didn't work on it, I was playing Castlevania long before IGA was connected to the series anyway.
My issue is that the games felt the need to completely distance themselves from the rest of the series and act like they never existed. Had Mercury Steam made a game in the Castlevania series rather than rebooting it I would have been on board for it, but I see absolutely no reason to play their games, especially as I had no interest in it before Castlevania's name was put on it.
If this makes me stubborn/pigheaded/fanboy/etc I am perfectly fine with that. On the other hand I'm not going to trash the games as I've never played them. I personally don't view them as being Castlevania games, but like every subject, everyone has and is entitled to their own opinion on it.
Kickstarter would be more conducive to creating his own game. In reality, many larger Kickstarters use the exposure to leverage outside investments/loans.
I still think LoI was a great game and nothing is going to change my opinion on that. CoD wasn't bad but I think the changes they made from LoI weakened the game rather than improved it. I still enjoyed it for what it was though.
I'm sure he has plans and has been talking with people, I can't imagine someone would make such a large decision without at least having a plan and people ready to work with him on his next project. I think at this point even if you have a name people know you still need to have enough of the groundwork set for people to sign up for it so 6 months to a year sounds pretty realistic, although if everything is planned and they are actually working on it now maybe he could be ready to pitch it in as soon as 3 months.
Regardless I'm ready to drop some cash to kickstart whatever he is working on next assuming he goes the crowd funding route.
I mostly agree with you. They have issues, but they both have several things I like about them.
Most importanty the core of the games are lifted from Devil May Cry style Action which is something I love compared to LoS whose core is similar to GoW. I also prefer Leon Belmot to Gabriel, let alone Trevor and Alucard from MoF/LoS2.
MagnaderAlpha
Member
I'm pretty sure IGA reinstated CotM and the N64 games back into the canon(but as "side stories"), but still disregards Legends. At least that's what I've heard.
You're not wrong. Fuck me
RobFox64tm
Member
IGA seemed really humbled in that interview. It's as if he came to the realization of what's really important to both him and his fans.
Maybe, but where does that leave the Castlevania series now?
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
Good for him! Making coffee for Kojima is only fun for so long
I haven't followed the media for this series over the years so I don't know official or unofficial interpretations of the timeline as given by Konami and Iga.
But Super Castlevania IV, Dracula X, and Circle of the Moon never really try to fit into or progress the continuum. IV pretty much is a retelling of the tale of Simon Belmont, you could view it as a folklore entry describing the legends presented by the first few entries of the series. Dracula X was entirely a result of solving real life conflicts related to porting and localization. So it's half Rondo port/remake, half Rondo sequel, half alternate timeline. CotM which I'm playing now seems like it was made to be pretty standalone.
I typically find most of these games to be pretty standalone, even where you have a direct continuity there really isn't too much of a reason to play them in order, save for the two Sorrow games.
edit: The timeline seems pretty contrived and loosely fit together, it's not a contrived as Zelda though...
TheRealTalker
Banned
Amazeballs
Member
Castlevania should have ended with Aria of Sorrow, from a storytelling perspective that is. I'd love to Iga use his talents to create a new universe.
Oni Link 666
Member
I totally missed this until I just heard it on the Giant Bombcast!
Maybe Nintendo can hire him to make a Metroid game. Or maybe he can start a Gothic Metroid spinoff called Metroidvania.
I'd back an Igavania Kickstarter so hard.
Maybe Nintendo can hire him to make a Metroid game. Or maybe he can start a Gothic Metroid spinoff called Metroidvania.
I'd back an Igavania Kickstarter so hard.
Monado Blade
Member
Thanks for the link!
"When I left Konami, they told me I couldn't use the name Castlevania when talking about my plans. So it was actually really handy that the word 'Metroidvania' existed!" "
I knew there was a good reason for that term to exist!
Poofynamanama
Banned
I've never understood the God of War comparisons to be honest. Lords of Shadows gameplay mechanics have absolutely nothing in common with the God of War games besides the fact you use a long range weapon. I get Ninja Gaiden vibes, with the constant "hit and run" sort of mentality with a big combo mixed in once in a while (but obviously not as hard).
I am Christina Aguilera
Member
I just want to know who put the progressively aging birds in the nest and the confession room in SOTN. Whoever did those, I want to be in charge of my Castlevania. I know that IGA was an extremely hands-on assistant director on SOTN, and that he did a lot of writing, programming, and design work. If it was him, yes, I will back the inevitable Kickstarter immediately.
Potentially not having to tie a plot in a series of games like this to an event that *technically* only occurs once a century will probably be a boon for crafting ongoing narratives.
Potentially not having to tie a plot in a series of games like this to an event that *technically* only occurs once a century will probably be a boon for crafting ongoing narratives.
AcademicSaucer
Member
i really want more info on igas presentation in gdc
http://schedule.gdconf.com/session-id/828360
If that doesn't suffice then I'm guessing your just asking for the actual presentation itself. In which case we all must wait for Friday.
That's a bit of a stretch.
Graphics Horse
Member
Haha, that's great.
keisuke999
Member
What I'm hoping for is not JUST metroid-style exploration. The SotN leveling, loot system as well. Basically SotN, but bigger and better.
Fucking bullshit.
I think he just saw the current trend of developers going rogue, and finding success through KS, and decided he'd jump on the bandwagon too. He's gonna try to replicate Mighty No. 9.
UnObtainium17
Member
Well shit. Surprised it took him this long. This move can't be any worse than whatever the fuck konami is asking him to work on.
Yeah, because they have released a lot of Metroidvania games lately, huh?
It's obvious Konami isn't interested in making more games like those, and that's basically confirmed by his departure.
This isn't even close to true.
The systems core, from the hit pauses to the magic system (though it is a bit more diverse because they cut the Rage in two) are both lifted directly from God of War.
I'm not saying they haven't alterd and changed it, but the very core of that combat system is the God of War system.
Rhazer Fusion
Member
I wish him the best. Wow, like Konami needs to lose anymore talent.
ToastyFrog
Inexplicable Treasure Hate
Hang on, lemme dig in the couch cushions for a sec... Hey, look! I just found Castlevania: Judgment's budget.
.... AND harder!
Lee Chaolan
Member
Yeah, that link is awesome. lol. Both those super jumps are epic, Richter's as well.
Man, I hope he goes the Kickstarter route. Can't wait to throw my money at a new Iga "Metroidvania" <3
Monado Blade
Member
He should just call his new startup "IGAvania", then all the games he releases can be called IGAvania games. Lol
tiggerkiddo
Member
Will be interesting to see what he does next. A 2D Metroidvania game would be very welcome but if he wants to branch out, that will be good too.
Valjean Lafitte
Banned
I wonder if the decision was a birthday resolution, because today is IGA-san's birthday!
I am friends with him on FB, and just posted this to his wall:
Hopefully Kinuyo Yamashita could contribute to the music as well!
Nicko
I can't believe no one has asked this, but how did you become Facebook friends with a prominent Japanesen game developer?
He pretty much adds everyone.
How could I miss this news?
Goemon
Suikoden
After SotN, IGA produced a few standout metrodivania IMO.
I agree with you that N64 CV games for the slack they get now, at the time were quite good efforts although not comparable with the height of the 2D CV games that preceded them and that under him the was a shift in thematic probably to capture the "younger" handheld audience.
I think people are happy because they long more new metrodivania games, not because they think IGA is especially talented.
After SotN, IGA produced a few standout metrodivania IMO.
I agree with you that N64 CV games for the slack they get now, at the time were quite good efforts although not comparable with the height of the 2D CV games that preceded them and that under him the was a shift in thematic probably to capture the "younger" handheld audience.
He's right though. But you know it.
Hagihara certainly had a special touch, but so does Koji. I agree people just want more, but I would give credit to SotN being on the PS1 and being more strongly backed than the handheld entries. Just playing as Alucard I think really drove some of the design choices that aren't really pushed when playing as a hunter. You never really quite feel that sort of power again in the series.
RobFox64tm
Member
I disagree. For starters, SotN only gives you that sense of power because the game is a bit on the easy side to begin with. It also felt to me like there was a lot of redundancy in the magic and item systems in SotN. It's nice to have the options, of course, but how many people actively chose to use brass knuckles in a serious playthrough of the game? Don't get me wrong, I like that you collect so much stuff, and it does add a fair amount of replay-ability to the game, but too many of the equip-able and usable items in the game more or less did the same thing as other items or magic. Later games seemed to diversify these items a lot more, and on top of that, they reached the perfect balance of power and difficulty in Order of Ecclesia, where the challenge actually made getting stronger in that game far more rewarding.
I'm talking about presentation and attention to detail. Certain the series continued to polish self on many fronts. SotN is still king in many regards.
He isn't right.
The very nature of the hit pause was something created by God Of War to establish big hits and give players the chance to be able to recognize whats going on as well as give them time to react when fighting in mobs.
No other major action series used this tech, DMC focused on Style and never slowing the player down (well until DmC which actually lifts the idea just as Castlevania did) and Ninja Gaiden was all about the counters, and to use the slow down would actually harm the game design.
Castlevania LoS took the base system, which this is a corner stone of and used it. To say it's nothing like God of War is pure bullshit.
RobFox64tm
Member
Care to elaborate with some examples? I think I understand what you might be saying here, but I can't help but think the differences between the nature of being on a console and being on a portable may play into the presentation aspect, in which case I agree somewhat. Audio, for example, never quite reached the high standard set by SotN due to hardware constraints associated with the GBA and DS sound capabilities. Besides that though, I felt that everything else was improved on gradually as the series evolved. Order of Ecclesia seemed like the culmination of those learned lessons to me. I honestly can't think where SotN's attention to detail was somehow more robust than OoEs (both were top notch, or at least they seemed to be to me).
Hit pause is something that is present in all the old Castlevania games fyi.