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The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: LionelMandrake on April 11, 2012, 12:23:25 PM

Title: The story behind the story?
Post by: LionelMandrake on April 11, 2012, 12:23:25 PM
Hello all,

A few weeks ago I dug out my old'n'gold NES (which had been sitting in closet for about 10 years) and had a go at a playthrough of the three Castlevania games available on it. And they were as amazing as I remembered. So I got curious - who is the man behind these? Who had the first idea, wrote the first story, made the first game? There's mixed information around (Wiki says Akihiko Nagata, but there's not much to back that up), other sites state that the creator is unknown. And there's almost no information around about Akihiko Nagata, other than some links to Konami.

Could somebody help me with this?

Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Nagumo on April 11, 2012, 12:29:24 PM
Nobody knows! It's a secret. The reason Castlevania had such a weird credit sequence (James Banana, Boris Karloffice, etc) was because the developers wished to remain anonymous. Akihiko Nagata was part of the Vampire Killer team, but I believe it was confirmed that team was not the one that made Castlevania.   
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: JR on April 11, 2012, 12:50:38 PM
Did the developers push the fake name thing, or was it Konami?? This interview (http://www.originalsoundversion.com/beautiful-music-beautiful-lady-kinuyo-yamashita-interview/) with Kinuyo Yamashita makes it sound like they simply weren't allowed to use their real names (although it also says that the developers were the ones who actually chose the names to put on the credits).
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: LionelMandrake on April 11, 2012, 01:13:23 PM
Thanks for the answers! And isn't that just mysterious. Has anybody ever had a go at finding out? Seems like such a waste - maybe the greatest game series ever created and nobody (outside of Konami?) knows who started it all.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 11, 2012, 01:17:05 PM
I'll ask Ms. Yamashita to see if I can learn anything else.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: crisis on April 11, 2012, 01:22:30 PM
Excerpt from a 2005 interview with IGA & former members of the CVD that have since disappeared:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/c0mbat/intB-3.jpg)


debate over, jorge lock this thread plz, aarghh?
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 11, 2012, 01:44:57 PM
Just because IGA doesn't know, doesn't mean the mystery is over.  It actually means quite the opposite.
There's no harm in talking about it and seeing if there hasn't been some new information.  A long time has passed since 2005 and any information, no matter how tiny, could be useful and worth talking about...

I'd also thank you to not tell me to come lock threads.  Junior-Moderating is not cool (I think there's something in the rules thread about it, actually).  I expect that kind of crap from a n00b but not from someone who's been around as long as you have.

I will not lock.  If there's nothing else to be said, then the thread will die peacefully.  Otherwise, carry on.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: crisis on April 11, 2012, 01:59:47 PM
I thought I was making an inside joke Jorge, but obviously not  :(


I can post the entire interview with the other questions that were asked, if you guys want
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 11, 2012, 02:05:26 PM
Joke went over my head, I'm afraid.
Post the interview for the inquiring OP, please.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Las on April 11, 2012, 02:37:54 PM
Wow this story is amazing. One of the longest running(and imo one of the best) franchises in video game history and the creator and team is pretty much kept hidden. Wow. The girl that did the soundtrack for cv1 people know about her by now. She does other video games too, but started their. I read an article online with her commenting to someone on a forum i believe. But yeah i dunno who created it either. Man kudos to the man or woman who had the concept, sure is kick ass,huh?
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: crisis on April 11, 2012, 03:40:28 PM
Some points of interest:

Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Puwexil on April 11, 2012, 04:02:56 PM
Official acknowledgement aside, you'd have to be blind not to notice all the Vampire Hunter D -derived design elements and references throughout the series. It's certainly not something isolated to Igarashi's games, either, although the D/Alucard relation might be the most obvious and prominent. None of it has proven intrusive to the series' identity or character, fortunately enough, shameless as though in parts it may be. It's just rather appropriate pop culture osmosis at work.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Ahasverus on April 11, 2012, 04:53:51 PM
Not even Cox knows it, and he's an administrative. I think we'll never know.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: LionelMandrake on April 11, 2012, 09:53:06 PM
Seems like the mystery just keeps getting deeper. I'm trying to rack my brain as to why Konami decided to keep their identitys secret? It wasn't common practice back then, was it? And no other Konami game got the same treatment?

EDIT: And thanks for the links to the interviews, interesting stuff!
Quote from: Crisis
Some points of interest:
Can I ask from what magazine/book is that a scan of?
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: X on April 11, 2012, 10:56:25 PM
It's also not just Castlevania that has no mention of credits in it. Both Castlevania II and Castlevania III seem to lack credits too. The only two games at around that same time that had any mention of a development team were Castlevania: The Adventure and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge. Why did the Gameboy titles and not the NES titles recieve credits? Who knows... But the first Castlevania title on a console to recieve full-on credits was Super Castlevania IV. From that point-on the rest of the CV series would also have credits at the end.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: GuyStarwind on April 11, 2012, 11:00:08 PM
I really never thought about who made Castlevania but it sure makes me wonder now. Btw when did those Iga questions come out?
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: JR on April 11, 2012, 11:03:36 PM
Quote from: LionelMandrake on April 11, 2012, 09:53:06 PM
It wasn't common practice back then, was it?

I don't know about at that time, but developers not being credited became a point of contention during the early Atari days, and helped lead to the creation of Activision.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Koutei on April 11, 2012, 11:22:46 PM
Quote from: LionelMandrake on April 11, 2012, 09:53:06 PM
Can I ask from what magazine/book is that a scan of?
Dawn of Sorrow DoubleJump Books guide.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/cv-dos/dos-guidebook2.htm (http://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/cv-dos/dos-guidebook2.htm)
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Sumac on April 12, 2012, 11:22:16 AM
Actually both Castlevania 2 and Castlevania 3 had credits.
Castlevania 2 had credits in japanese version and in Castlevania 3 names of some developers appear after you finish "second quest" (complete the game for the second time).

Credits for CV2.
(click to show/hide)
Source (http://www.castlevaniadungeon.net/games/cv2foreign.html)

Credits for Castlevania 3 (in the end of the video) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2_cSP1Un6o#)

As far as I know, the only early Castlevania games that didn't had credits are Castlevania (NES) and Haunted Castle.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: thernz on April 12, 2012, 02:15:30 PM
CV2 credits are the most beautiful thing.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Puwexil on April 13, 2012, 03:51:28 AM
I'm with Kuwahara.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: LionelMandrake on April 14, 2012, 07:24:14 AM
Quote from: Sumac on April 12, 2012, 11:22:16 AM
Invincibility: Akamatsu
H. Akamatsu seems to be quoted as the designer of Simon's Quest. Does anybody no more about him? Or Kuwahara? Googleing these Japanese names gives suprisingly little information.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Mooning Freddy on April 14, 2012, 08:54:21 AM
Sounds like the production was quite the mystery. Maybe one day they'll make a movie about the making of Castlevania in the style of "Shadow of the Vampire"  :P

I can already hear the trailer:

"AN ELITE CREW... DRAWN TOGETHER FOR THE GREATEST VIDEO GAME EVER MADE... UNITED BY A DARK SECRET... BUT SECRETS CAN NEVER REMAIN HIDDEN... NOW REAL DARKNESS IS UNLEASHED... CAN THEY MAKE IT IN TIME?"
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 14, 2012, 09:11:56 AM
I just read that in Don LaFontaine's Voice!

Don LaFontaine: The Voice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPMvj_xejg#ws)
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Charlotte-nyo:3 on April 14, 2012, 11:48:05 AM
Since the details of its creation are such a closely guarded secret at Konami, I'm naturally going to assume the original Castlevania was not so much "made" as it was "generated" by demonic powers which Konami higher ups made a bargain with to show a blueprint for a long running series; something they needed at the time.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: TheouAegis on April 15, 2012, 11:43:12 AM
Well, IGA said the guy that created Castlevania doesn't work at Konami anymore at the time of that interview.

So.

You have a base to start searching from. Go get'em, tiger!

I liked how in CV3 the special names were developer names.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: LionelMandrake on April 16, 2012, 04:49:43 AM
Quote from: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 11, 2012, 01:17:05 PM
I'll ask Ms. Yamashita to see if I can learn anything else.
Did this pan out?
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 16, 2012, 07:04:51 AM
Sorry I haven't come up across any other info.  I only know that she also did the MSX music.  I also asked her why the team decided to go with anonymous-ish names, etc.
"I’m not really sure why they did that honestly.
And yes, I made the data for the music on the MSX version of Castlevania."

I did a follow up but it takes a while to get responses.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: LionelMandrake on April 17, 2012, 10:58:02 AM
Thank you very much for trying! I've been sending inquiries too, with no luck. Got a few responses of "I don't actually know, good question" but that's it.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Jorge D. Fuentes on April 17, 2012, 07:02:15 PM
I got "Sorry, I do not know who the game creative director was, nor anyone else".
So that's that, unless you can convince Koji Igarashi to break Japanese Tradition and actually tell you even though that person no longer works for Konami.
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: Abnormal Freak on April 25, 2012, 03:05:26 PM
I don't know why certain old school games from the early NES era don't have credits. Think I heard once there was a kind of stigma involved with game development in Japan during those days, like some people wouldn't even admit to their families what they do. Dunno if that's some myth or has some truth to it.

It's sorta like with Mega Man. For the longest time nobody really publicly knew who the creator/director of the first two games was. We had a guy in the credits named "A. K" who was the "planner" of the first two, and Inafune mentioned him on numerous occasions, calling him his mentor, without ever giving a name. But apparently that dude's name is Akira Kitamura, and I don't think that was made public until a few years ago. (In addition to directing the games, he was also a co-designer of Mega Man. I think I remember reading he did the original sprite, probably based on someone else's design [there are a few names for "character designer" in the first game], and then Inafune put ink to paper to actually draw the Blue Bomber.)
Title: Re: The story behind the story?
Post by: The Silverlord on April 26, 2012, 03:17:10 AM
You've got Masato Maegawa (Castlevania: The Adventure) who left to set-up Treasure (1992) with a group of other Konami employees supposedly unhappy at Konami's trend of producing sequels.

In October 2005, Good-Feel (http://www.good-feel.co.jp/) was set up, again with many development staff moving over from Konami (mainly from former Kobe studio).  Included Shigeharu Umezaki (produced many early games) and Etsunobu Ebisu (CV64/Legacy of Darkness).  There may have been some bad blood at the time of IGA's 2005 interview.

I'm pretty sure Akihiko Nagata was still high up within Konami in 2005 (Executive Corporate Officer), which may rule him out.  But who knows?  Maybe we should try tweeting Hideo Kojima or something?