Topic: Future of Castlevania

[GummiCandyful]

As all of you already know, it seems like the CV series is an a rut (to me, at least) as of late. With games like Harmony of Despair, Encore of The Night, and Lords of Shadow being released this year, it's as if Konami is doing everything in its power to keep one of their most famed franchises alive, and who can blame them?

After IGA's latest installment, HD, what do you think will happen? Will he still make Castlevania games? Or will Konami give him the boot? With LoS almost reaching its long-awaited release, do you think the game will succeed, and if it does will Cox's team handle 3D CV, while IGA does 2D? Or will it fail, and Konami will try to give another developer a hand in 3D-vania?

I think that IGA will make games for the 3DS (he mentioned owning a kit), and hopefully more remakes (Castlevania III, anyone?). As for LoS, I hope it will succeed. It does look promising, but with other games from more (sadly) popular franchises coming out this fall, it will most likely face some fierce competition, but the question is, will it live up to everyone's expectations?

Share your thoughts.

[shelverton.]

I don't think Konami will give Igarashi the boot, though he might decide to move on to other games. I don't think he's 100% excited about Castlevania any longer, so it might be a good idea to work on other games. He already said in some recent interview that he's involved in many different games at the moment, Otomedius being one of them.

But yes, I think he'll make a Castlevania for 3DS, but I very much doubt that we're gonna see a yearly Igavania from now on. We won't see a yearly Castlevania from Mercury Steam either. I actually think Konami will let different people have a go at the series for the next 5 years. The Castlevania series will probably outlive all of us... depressing thought.

[crisis]

In the years to come people are gonna start bashing Cox for ruining Castlevania, just like they bash IGA now.

Fickle fanbase..

[shelverton.]

In the years to come people are gonna start bashing Cox for ruining Castlevania, just like they bash IGA now.

Fickle fanbase..

That's how it works with video games and their fans. People bash Shinji Mikami, Hideo Kojima, Shigeru Miyamoto, Peter Molyneux, Yoshinori Kitase and so on, for various reasons - mostly for "ruining" their franchise. It's not specific for Castlevania.

[darkwzrd4]

I couldn't care less who is running the franchise as long as we get at least one decent game every one and a quarter year or so.  I would also like to see remakes of some older games that the newer fans never had a chance to play with SotN graphics or better, the 1999 game, the alucardvania, and possibly a true finally to the sorrow games (DoS sucked and Soma needs a better end).

[Sumac]

I hope IGA will finally leave franchise and Konami allow someone other to handle 2D Castlevanias.
Maybe they will change teams behind 2D 'vanias once in a while, like they did in the past.

As for big Castlevania titles - I hope LOS will be succesgull game and will spawn the new lineage of Castlevania 3D games, that would be succesfull for a change.

[shelverton.]

I wonder what the people behind, say, Metroid would do with a Castlevania license... not that it would ever happen, but I'm still curious. Or maybe the folks behind Shadow Complex, which is more like a Metroid game (or even a side scrolling Metal Gear), but the creators said they were very inspired by both Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night...

[Kingshango]

If IGA is fully removed from the series then the obvious choice is the Blazeblue developers Arc System works. I mean they're already doing the Contra Hard Corps prequel and they make great 2D games, why not let them take a stab at Castlevania.

And as for the future of Castlevania is concerned, if HoD becomes a flop in sales then IGA's days as head of the main Castlevania games(2D or otherwise) are done. But that doesn't mean the guys at Mercury steam is safe either, Lords of Shadow has the obstacle's of taking on games like God of War and Devil May Cry. But since the game has no direct competition when it comes out (in terms of genre) people who are craving for a God of War/Devil May Cry type game will flock right to it.

[thernz]

I don't know. Their graphical style wouldn't really fit Castlevania. I'd like to see how they do Contra Hard Corps first before making any further judgment though. I think they'll stylize the gameplay in a way I won't really see fit for Castlevania like those air dashes in Hard Corps.
I could still use a 2D game not helmed by IGA. Maybe WayForward, their pixel art for Contra 4 is really great, and I think they'd make a great classic sidescroller. IGA just seems to be increasingly loony and conflicted as of late.

[starstrike]

My dream castlevania game I want them to make is a game similar to castlevania 4, just updated with new graphics with today's systems.  Have it be a simple game that is a 2d perspective, but in 3d.  They should put a ton of effort into the backgrounds to really make the gothic atmosphere of castlevania come alive.  And make it so the control is the same as castlevania 4, as you can whip in all directions, crouch walk, etc..  Make the difficulty somewhat hard, but rewardingly hard (like castlevania 4 again).  Have the first half of the game go through the cemetery, and the second half through dracula's castle.  It also wouldn't hurt to add elements from castlevania 3 in it, such as different spirits you find along the way to help you.

I have actually been waiting for a game like this for ages!  I REALLY think they should do this!

[GummiCandyful]

And as for the future of Castlevania is concerned, if HoD becomes a flop in sales then IGA's days as head of the main Castlevania games(2D or otherwise) are done. But that doesn't mean the guys at Mercury steam is safe either, Lords of Shadow has the obstacle's of taking on games like God of War and Devil May Cry. But since the game has no direct competition when it comes out (in terms of genre) people who are craving for a God of War/Devil May Cry type game will flock right to it.

My thoughts exactly. It might just be a possibility, that if HD doesn't sell well enough, it could jeopardize the sales of LoS to non-CV fans who like to play action games like GoW/DMC (especially those who own a 360), thus only some of us fans might be the only ones buying the game. This would not be good on Cox's part, since the idea of LoS was to make Castlevania mainstream again, and gain new fans. What would happen after that, none of us know, but here's to hoping Konami won't give up on CV.

[X]

My dream castlevania game I want them to make is a game similar to castlevania 4, just updated with new graphics with today's systems.  Have it be a simple game that is a 2d perspective, but in 3d.  They should put a ton of effort into the backgrounds to really make the gothic atmosphere of castlevania come alive.  And make it so the control is the same as castlevania 4, as you can whip in all directions, crouch walk, etc..  Make the difficulty somewhat hard, but rewardingly hard (like castlevania 4 again).  Have the first half of the game go through the cemetery, and the second half through dracula's castle.  It also wouldn't hurt to add elements from castlevania 3 in it, such as different spirits you find along the way to help you.

Damn right I'm gonna hit that!! 

-X

[angevil]

No need for years to come to bash Cox for ruining CV. It is already done. The whole LOS thing makes me vomit. I′ll try to ignore it and just won′t play it.

IGA′s games have been great. I would love to play CV Adventure Rebirth on Wii. He has been experimenting lately..first with a fighting game and now with multiplayer game. But I don′t see them as main games. That is supposed to be LOS right now. Sigh..

The last true new complete CV game was Ecclesia. And it was more than amazing!

I really hope there is something cooking. I vote for a new 2D game on 3DS with some 3D effects. It can be a new game with new characters, it can be a 1999 game (I would love that!), or it can be a remake of some older game (Simon′s quest, Dracula′s curse, Super CV IV). For the remake, I would prefer Dracula′s curse on PSP, done in the same style as DXC. New artwork by Ayami Kojima and some awesome remixes.

[cadgersacfulswank]

suck suck suck IGA suck suck ayami kojima suck suck suck slurrrrp

[crisis]

Go troll on a different board, kid.