Topic: Do you like IGA?

[warfreak]

Well, here's the ultimate thread that will probably spawn a lot of debates. Do you like IGA's works and would you like him to continue on Castlevania? Would you like someone new to work on it? Or maybe you don't care? 

Personally, I like his works, and the direction he brought the series. Especially SotN.

[cecil-kain]

I like IGA because he's a Castlevania geek --like me.

Many people here question his leadership, but at the end of the day --this man is the reason Castlevania is still alive.

The real question here is if its time for him to pass the torch to some new blood.  I'm not certain I know the answer to that...  I'd really hate to see Castlevania degenerate the same way the Megaman franchise has --although the series has become a tad stale since AoS...  We haven't reached the point where the suits are driving game development at the expense of the artistry and overall quality.  Although I think this may be changing.  Do we really need a new Castlevania every single year? 

If IGA were to step down, I'd like his successor to be another zealous, Castlevania Geek living and breathing the mythos, an passionate artist who isn't afraid to tell the suits to go f*ck off when he's pressured to cut corners and stay on a contrived business schedule.

[impulse]

In Reply To #2

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get away with telling your boss to f-off in Japan

Anyways, I've been a fan of Iga's for a while. I think he's really passionate about the franchise and each individual game. On the other hand, I DO think it's time for some changes, I'm not saying throw Iga out on the curb, but maybe he should share some of the responsability, or take on a lesser role in the development.

[A n t r a x x]

Koji Igarashi's probably a really nice guy; prolly quite smart too. I could see him being a pretty cool dude to hang with (so long as he took the damn hat off first).

However, I think he is past his prime. SOTN was his magnum opus and I just don't think he can personally top it. (That doesn't mean someone else can't. I say let the former head of KCEK give it a go again, if he's still around). As such, IGA's Castletroids have really only gotten more predictable and trapped in their element; that being to try to match the overall grandeur that was SOTN but just never quite reaching it.

But he doesn't have the same talent in his team anymore, or if he does, they are stretched too thin. The proof is in the constant downspiral in the art department and the general lack of polish as he seeks to make the castles larger, the systems more complex and just this going with the general idea that more begets more.

He has made some awesome contributions to some of the sub game systems in both the 2D and 3D outings. I love all the replay value he manages to get into a game. I think more than a lot of his peers, he is successful at this. His equipment switch (character switch, in POR), his weapon-building and his constant ability to give us secondary quests in some form is also an impressive trait as a developer he has upheld.

You really can't complain about how he has kept the series alive this long, and consistently makes decent, fun games. Also, he hired two very talented female artists and they have done just as much to shape the identity of Castlevania today.

But I hate his story telling, and his more an more lame excuses to cover his tracks due to bad, sloppy writing. I can't take the story seriously anymore, and at least before I didn't have to because there wasn't much there. Game's don't need stories -- Mario is proof of that -- but if you're going to attack something as potentially complex and ambitious as a milennium-running story arc, you better be ready and confident to do it. Yeah he at least tried to make something of it all, but it's just not working for me. I already would like to see some of these plots redone, actually (LOI in particular, and I think HOD needs to be retconned due to retarted, boring characters and lack of an interesting plot at all... made for a cool twist as far as the castle goes at least).

He started something interesting with Soma and the concept that Dracula was never going to be what he once was. Soma's not necessarily an interersting character though, and the endings to the Sorrow games come off as sappy and trite compared to what could have been the ultimate showdown of good vs evil. Especially in DOS, that DBZ/Sailor Moon friends save friends with LOVE -- ugh -- CRAP! Hey I'm all for throwing the power of love into the mix, but you gotta be more clever and subtle than that. The series deserves nothing less. I dunno... maybe he's not done with the Sorrow part yet though.

I also really don't understand how he's so horrible at developing an accurate 3D castle. Capcom's done it 4 times now with its Devil May Cry series. We all thought LOI was just a baby step for the series and forgave it at the time, but when IGA gets a second chance, and he blows it even worse, it's not a good sign that he's up to the task. And even HE admits it. COD was trying to be too big and as a result a lot of corners were cut in design to get there. I am worried that Order of Ecclesia might suffer a similar fate.

I just think IGA's time at KCET is drawing near. He doesn't seem to have much more innovative ideas left in him, and maybe KCET as a whole just needs to try something different than the SOTN formula anyway. We saw interesting potential in how they handled the Rondo remake (and yes I'm also thankful he gave us that).

It's not just IGA, if Konami really wants to grow the series, than they have to grow the funding with it. More funding would also allow higher talent, and someday even a better producer. I'm not saying IGA necessarily should be cut from Konami, but if you want to breathe some fresh air into Castlevania, let someone else have a go at it. IGA wants to try other series anyways.

[The Last Belmont]

yeah I think he is ambitious and wants to do a good job and has tried to make everygame he's released a good solid game and not to just rake in the cash which I respect. I also like how he's trying to broaden CV's audience. I think he does tend to get carried away plotwise in some cases though like in LoI I think he went a bit overboard in that department. rewriting dracula's whole origin was sort of unnecessary in my opinion as I've always like the vlad the impaler drac. However I loved establishing the belmonts power at the time of the crusades and showing the vampire killers origin was awesome but the whole ending scenes and deathfight (cool as it was) just wasn't necessary to me Walter should have

[Alexc2808]

Do you mean... like like? 

[Dark Nemesis]

I like IGA, but i think that every new Castlevania is the same with the previous at the graphic's section, with poor scenarios! The only new is the game play system. All the others are the same.

 What i believe is, that Konami must give more time, freedom and funds to IGA and IGA with he's turn, he should listen more to what funs want for the series and before every new game to make a gallop poll and see if what he's going to make will be acceptable from the world!

 So i want to conclude, that IGA has talent and i don't think that it is necessary for him to leave konami and the series!

[crisis]

Hmm.. I don't know. The guy has good intentions and ideas HOWEVER, his overall execution needs more polish. It seems that most of the general fanbase has a grudge against IGA for not creating the next 2D game on a home console. I've noticed that in a lot of his interviews he's always asked on his thoughts of another epic symphony-esque title on console, but he's always reluctant towards it.

The fact of the matter is, the next console game, be it 2D, 3D or a combination of both, is going to make or break CV & in turn decide IGA's fate with the series.

[Azmodan]

I think he's a decent guy, and he's trying to make something of the series. I applaud him for his efforts, though the results can be severely lacking.

Maybe with Hideo Kojima finally leaving, Konami will start wanking off to IGA and Castlevania, but that's a far cry.

[Alexc2808]

In Reply To #8
Do you honestly think Iga would be allowed to make a 2-D castlevania on a home console?  You do know he is not in charge of Konami right?

[Thomas Belmont]

No. However, I loved what he did for Castlevania with what he did with SotN. However, he should have retired afterwards. I HATE his storytelling. In my opinion, the story line is a joke. It died after Symphony. And each game gets more and more lackluster with every new release. Each 2D game is basically the same game and the 3D games have been disappointments. He even knows this, yet he continues only for the fans to suffer.


And I've noticed that many people feel that Iga has been keeping Castlevania alive. How the hell can anybody be sure of this? Maybe if somebody else was in charge of the series Castlevania would be bigger and better than God of War, Grand Theft Auto, etc.

[Alexc2808]

In Reply To #11
Symphony of the night had a generic lackluster storyline...  Sure Alucard was cool, but the story is nothing special at all.
AoS, DoS, LoI, CoD, even HoD had much MUCH more depth stories than SoTN did.  Even PoR had much better ideas, just not as well executed.

[DraimanBelieve]

I think that IGA is great and he has kept Castlevania alive.  Remember this is the guy who brought us Symphony of the Night which is a magnificent game.  Its the greatest 2D game ever.  Now I even I will admit that you know 6 Metroidvania titles is kind of pushing it.  Thats why I think he is trying to do somethings a little bit differently with the series at this point. IGA wants Castlevania to be great in 2D or 3D but he says it best, that they have to give him a good budget to work with and they never do. 

When someone doesn't give you the money to build something that you envision its not gonna come out polished or even at 100% of what it could've been.  I think that the next game might be a breath of fresh air for the series if early impressions of the game are a CV2 inspired game.  I would love to even see something on like the Wii thats purely awesome.  IGA shouldn't go, without him Castlevania might fall completely off the map.  As far as his team and their talent? 

He doesn't have a very large team and he did say that he is trying to hire new staff who can hand draw really well.  His team might not be big but they are very talented and make up for their lack of size with their heart. He wants to train as many good artists as he can to do great hand drawn artwork but he needs money for that too.  I see nothing wrong with Castlevania except people getting all nit picky and saying that you know that the art direction sucks (although that looks to change).  IGA created the greatest Castlevania game ever and he is still capable of producing another epic Castlevania title.

[crisis]

Do you honestly think Iga would be allowed to make a 2-D castlevania on a home console?

[CVfan13]

In Reply To #1

Yeah, I like the guy. He's done a decent job with the series, but of course there are a few things he could improve on.