Topic: Koji Igarashi Leaves Konami, Founding New Studio, Metroidvania GDC

[Nagumo]

It's a bit sad people here and on NeoGaf seem more excited for IGAvania instead of what Konami will do with the series next. Can't say I blame them, but the large following IGA still seems to have makes me think Konami messed up a little bit by letting him, by all means a respected and charismatic producer, and let the bumbling duo Cox and Alvarez step up and produce their highly polarizing reboot. Especially since LoS and MercurySteam may have turned out to be a one-trick pony in the end, perhaps Konami should have just played it safe from a business point of view and should have left IGA doing was he did best, instead of getting greedy. I'm an optimist, so there's definitely potential to get the series back on track, but on the other hand there's also potential for great disaster.     

[Shiroi Koumori]

It is not just here or there. A lot of people are excited for IGAvania all over the internet that is because a lot of Castlevania fans in this generation were weaned on IGAvanias, myself included, and it is obvious that these fans will follow where IGA is heading.
I am really looking forward to his talk at the GDC, and I hope they stream it somewhere.

Konami messed up big time, not a little bit, in my opinion, by ignoring IGA. But due to the insistence of Konami to produce a 3Dvania, that is what they got, disappointed fans and the IP now in limbo.

Here's an IGN commentary.
Koji Igarashi Leaves Konami - IGN Conversations

I hope Konami gets its act together and create a great Castlevania game or else the franchise we love would vanish like Suikoden. And we might have to change our forum name. 

[Chernabogue]

What Konami should have done is putting IGA at the head of MercurySteam.

[Shiroi Koumori]

It would not be possible as said by IGA himself, and I quote from Kotaku.

"Couldn't you still have been in charge?" I (Brian Ashcraft) asked.

"It would've been difficult, with them in Europe and me in Japan," he said. "And since the quality for our 3D Castlevania games wasn't that high, it wasn't really our place to tell them how to do one. They had that expertise."

[beingthehero]

I am really looking forward to his talk at the GDC, and I hope they stream it somewhere.

Or at least have a transcript of it. The only reason I think it'd be hard to get a recording or stream is that GDC tends to hide their stuff behind a paywall, and that paywall is about $400-$500. Not even kidding.

I also realized that this would be a golden opportunity for him to bring back Hirooka Masaki for a project. His art is still probably the best Castlevania has had.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Or we can just wait for the interviews at the end of the conference.

Oh and AlphaOmegaSin also gave a comment regarding this news and surprisingly with lesser expletives than usual.

[zangetsu468]

Thing with Iga is, he would have come good in the end, 3D, 2D, whatever. When MS had their glory and what went up needed to eventually come down, he was CV's proverbial rock. It's incredibly ironic that he's leaving right now and I believe Konami deserve it tbh. Rather than trying to reboot the series again, Konami really need to sort this out, or just let the series rest in peace. The Dracula Belmont reboot was a one trick pony which will not work again, because the backbone of CV fans are not swayed by such tactics.

[Ahasverus]

I don't agree with IGA vcontonuing the series. At the time IGA's ideas were getting stale and there was simply not excitement anymore. Also, Castlevania HAD to work in 3D and MS at thr least showed that it indeef worked. We just need a new not arrogant producer and studio director who can respect the series legacy and stop the "forget everything". and "we can do better". I feel that the resentment to the new series comes more from the arrogance because gameplay wise stealth side it's good. Hopefully the new studio will respect the series and not trash talking it and build over its foundations. And hopefully Konami gives the 2D games to a 2D studio. That is the only way to regain some goodwill and not losing new fans.

[Viskod]

God, a 3D Castlevania game with Lords of Shadow 2s combat engine, and all of the fun and varied sub-weapon attacks from Lament of Innocence, with classic music. Dream come true.

From Igarashi, I would love something akin to a 2D survival horror game with his typical RPG elements. Maybe give weapons durability so you can't just mindly hack/slash/shoot your way through everything and really up the horror atmosphere all while keeping it done in excellent sprite work.

I'd love it if Igarashi could cooperate on something like that with that excellent sprite artist that worked on that Mercenary Kings game and the Scott Pilgrim game.

[ChibiMaddiChan]

I leave for a few days, and IGA leaves Konami?!  THE FUCK?!  No more Metroidvania ala with Castlevania in the title?!  No 1999 game?!  My heart...it hurts. What happened man...I thought things would get better with Konami getting a new President! (Insert Obama joke here.)

...Well there went my dream if back to back Alucards or Draculas fighting each other before putting differences aside to kill Galamoth once and for all. 

Okay, seriously, where the hell is the series going now?  LoS is done--they just gonna continue on that universe and milk it, change it into something MS never intended?  Drive CV to the state the Silent Hill series is in now?  Go back to Classicvania (yeah, wishful thinking)? Try something brand new? 

Am I the only one scared shitless on where my beloved series is going?  I know it's ever changing, mind you, but I've been with this series since CV III (I went back and played 1 and Simion's Quest), and I'm getting worried.  I really hope we hear something at E3 or TGS...with MS leaving to work on other stuff, IGA leaving Konami to make Van Hellsing fights Dracula just like in that CVM games, and no sign of returning to Classicvania...what's CV gonna do now?

[ChibiMaddiChan]

God, a 3D Castlevania game with Lords of Shadow 2s combat engine, and all of the fun and varied sub-weapon attacks from Lament of Innocence, with classic music. Dream come true.

From Igarashi, I would love something akin to a 2D survival horror game with his typical RPG elements. Maybe give weapons durability so you can't just mindly hack/slash/shoot your way through everything and really up the horror atmosphere all while keeping it done in excellent sprite work.

I'd love it if Igarashi could cooperate on something like that with that excellent sprite artist that worked on that Mercenary Kings game and the Scott Pilgrim game.

And just like that, you are now my favorite person.  Have a cookie you sexy beast you!  I have two now, fuck yeah!

But seriously, I love the sound of your LoS idea.  Sounds like a 3D Simion's Quest on roids.

[Viskod]

Well, again. There's no reason we can't get those games. Igarashi doesn't own any of that. And I wouldn't call adding a 4th game to a second timeline "milking" it, when the traditional timeline has many more under its belt.

[Kingshango]

IIRC, Mercurysteam owns the LOS engine so I doubt the next 3D Castlevania game will look/play like the Lords of Shadow games.

Either the next Castlevania will run on the FOX Engine or (if outsoruced) some other 3rd party engine.

[Ahasverus]

If LoS2's ending weren't such a clusterfuck I'd like a continuation, but it really did its work on closing the trilogy.. by making impossible to make it better. If I was the new Director I'll kind of merge LoS and LoI origin story and continue from there, but not starting with an origins story but with an exciting reimagining and then tell the story by pieces.

I'd start with a Bloodlines reimagining, for example, that way you introduce The Belmonts as a legend already, could tell a tragic story because Eric's and Jonh's desmise and of course surprise because its setting is amazing and could be exciting for the general public.

[The Silverlord]

I'm very curious about the timing of this.  Did he wait to until the Castlevania IP was up for grabs again, and Konami denied it to him?

That's a possibility, given the timing.  I'll sure bet it wasn't a decision to be taken lightly, to leave Konami.

Perhaps IGA got wind of what was on the horizon (which may be nothing at all!), and either he wasn't going to be part of it, or he didn't like it—the straw that broke the camel's back.  Maybe the Lords of Shadow 2's release played a factor in his thoughts, made him reflect on what once was.

Speculation . . . but all the best to him.  Will be very intriguing to see what happens next . . .

DMC4 ... a rushed, hot-garbage attempt at bringing back elements of DMC1 but done badly

DMC4 ran at a stupidly slick 60fps and its combat system was (and still is) an absolute delight to play.