It's been a while since we last heard about the Castlevania movie, and now we get news of the ambitious project being postponed due to an ongoing writer's guild strike. Will this game-to-movie adaptation ever see the light of day, or has it been killed outright with a stake to the heart and silver bullets to the spleen? Check out the entire scoop in the full article.

In an interview with Wired, the series producer of Konami's Castlevania series, Koji Igarashi, confirmed that they are currently working on a new Castlevania game for the Nintendo DS. He also gave out details on the pre-order promotions for the U.S. release of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles and shared some of his thoughts on Dracula's meat.

Regarding a new DS iteration of the Castlvania series, Igarashi said that they want people to enjoy Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP before they make the official announcement about the game. While he didn't give any details about this game yet, we can probably expect it to be pretty sweet if it turns out to be like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin or Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

PSP owners who plan on pre-ordering Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles will be happy to know that Igarashi said that those who decide to get the game from GameStop will be getting a special Simon's Quest figure which will come in black, white, and red. Be advised though that the number of figures made are very limited, so you may want to go see if your local GameStop will have any of them during the launch.

While Igarashi did give out lots of information about the direction of the Castlevania series, there are some things that even he cannot explain. So before we go, here is his answer regarding the presence of meat in Dracula's castle:

You should ask, why do they eat it! I've thought about this stuff. I've actually thought about the candles. The candles are people's souls that were taken by Death or by the vampires. In Japan there are candles that represent life. So, when you release the souls from the candles by whipping them, they give you a "thank you" present. Thank-you hearts, or thank-you holy water. The meat, I have no idea.

Transmetropolitan creator Warren Ellis has recently let out a few interesting details on the upcoming direct-to-DVD Castlevania animated movie through the official Castlevania: Dracula's Curse production blog. Ellis has signed on as the animated film's screenwriter.

First of all, Ellis says that it's going to be a trilogy, as in there will be three Castlevania animated films. The film will be set in Wallachia in 1476, and long-time fans will be pleased to note that the movie team has "worked with Koji Igarashi to get the film solidly inside the Castlevania timeline." Also, it won't be your generic kids' movie, so we can probably expect some mature themes here and there.

According to Ellis, Igarashi has "approved everything I came up with, including some new embroidering to the timeline. To make it work as a film, I had to introduce new backstory, and I went through five drafts of the premise and three of the full outline to get the material where IGA wanted it."

As for character appearances, Sypha Belnades is in, Grant DaNasty is out. The reason? Ellis gives out three, but let's just take two. Reason one: "Grant DaNasty is a stupid name that I cannot take seriously. (When he does turn up, I’ll probably use the alternate spelling of Grant DiNesti.)" Reason two: "Seriously, what use is a pirate on dry land? 'Avast, ye swabs, and push me fecking cart! Arrr!' No. Just no."

Perhaps it's time to ask our hardcore gamers how long it's been since they last enjoyed the sunlight outside, and reminisced on the days when their handhelds or console controllers weren't permanently attached to their hands, eh?

Hahaha, kidding guys, but seriously (for some of you at least), when was the last time you dropped your video games to go out and watch a movie?

If you had to think for more than 10 minutes to answer that question, then we say it's been a LONG time. If it's THAT hard for you steer away from video games, this movie should help make the transition easy. Why? 'Cuz it's based on a classic video game series! And surely you've heard of Castlevania, yes?

Universal's Rogue Pictures has just released a teaser poster for the movie adaptation of the classic Castlevania series, and was put on display at the American Film Market last week. And as you Castlevania-freaks probably know already, the movie will trace back the origin of the struggle between the Belmont clan and Lord Dracula. Slashfilm also reports that the film will actually cover many time periods but the focus will be on 15th century Transylvania.

Paul W.S. Anderson, who also directed the Resident Evil movie, is slated to direct the US$ 50 million film that is said to still be in pre-production phase, with the producers still scouting for good locations in Hungary and Romania. And because they haven't even started taping yet, the earliest we'd probably get to see the film is spring next year.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is one of those games that gets called things like "badass" and "one of the best things to ever happen to the DS." The hit from Konami was released in towards the end of 2005, but it looks like there is enough demand in the market to justify a reprint. Go Nintendo reports that another shipment is headed to Amazon and EB (or Gamestop, EB/Gamestop, EB Games, EB Games/Gamestop or whatever it is we're supposed to call them this week; just a little joke there).

What's our QJ analysis of this? There are two ways to look at any reprint. If you're the kind of person who calls the glass half-empty, then you're going to feel cheated that "they" are getting "lazy" and just reprinting old hits instead of making new ones.

But if you're the kind who calls the glass half-full, then you're going to feel really smug that you already own a copy of Dawn of Sorrow, or you're going to appreciate this opportunity for many people to try this game for the first time, because few companies reprint duds and bombs. This may be one of the better signs that a game like Castlevania: DS ("Dawn, Sorrow" = DS, get it?) is not a dud or a bomb (despite the fact that many thought its 2D gameplay was "too simple"). In fact, it may be on its way to becoming a classic.

Buy: [Castlevania: DS]

We at QJ like to make our articles more interesting than usual. So when we saw a list of games and accessories coming out this week, we thought of a way to make it more entertaining than a plain old list. Here we go!

Twelve Samurai Warriors  journey to Castlevania on a Dragon Quest, and there, they find a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. After losing 10 of their comrades to various traps, only two finally reach the end of the lair. They open the large door and was surprised to see that there were no guards nor traps. All they saw is a chair in front of a burning fireplace. A soft voice tells them to come in and take some health potions.

They first check it for poison and find out that it's ok, however they foolishly tosses it aside and commands the old man to stand up and come with them to be tried by the King of the land. The man stands and introduces himself as The Godfather. He has been waiting for years for anyone to go through the dungeon alive. Anyone who comes through the dungeon must fight him to the death.

They began fighting wildly. The old man wasn't such a slouch! He moved swiftly and kicked harshly. In the end , The Godfather falls to the might of the two samurais. Before he dies, he turns on the Xbox Live Camera and proclaims to all his henchmen that it's Open Season for the two Samurais. Just then the ceiling blows open and a thousand ninjas appear from the smoke. Our tired and wounded heroes are surrounded!

Will our heroes survive? Find out next time, same QJ Time, same QJ Channel!

Mothers probably do know best when it comes to a lot of things, but sometimes they can really stand to learn more about the world that gamers live in. Such was the case when one mom mistook parts of his son's FAQ for Konami's Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow as some kind of homicide note.

Eric Caoili downloaded and printed a FAQ he found for the game. Unfortunately, he has a bad penchant for losing pages of his FAQs. One day, he dropped some papers off at his mother's office for her to sign... and you can guess what happened. Some of his game helper pages got mixed in with the forms he had her sign.

"When I came by the next day to pick up the signed forms," he writes, " she was noticeably quiet."

Upon his return home, he found the missing pages of his walkthrough, and a love letter from Mom (see above picture). It's a good thing his dad isn't the irate lawyer from Florida, or there would probably be hell to pay.

There is no doubt about it that the Nintendo DS is a booming handheld system, thats even blowing the consoles out of the waters in sales. Nintendo is doing this by releasing great games for the DS. Unfortunately one of the better looking, upcoming DS titles has been set back. This game is Tales of the Tempest. It was due for June 8th of this year. The new release date is now just 2006. To make up for this devastating blow to the title line up for the DS, Capcom announced the release date for Rockman ZX. The date for Rockman ZX is July 6th in Japan (thankfully the DS is region free), also on this date Brave Story will be released. Also along with new game release dates, we have a few cheaper re-releases. Ganbare Goemon, Castlevania, and Survivial Kids are going to be re-released in Japan June 29th at 2940 yen (roughly $25).

Nintendo is currently in a conference with retailers in Tokyo. They have given a release schedule for a few games. Metroid Prime Hunters, an American-made game, will be released soon even though we have it already. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Goemon DS are receiving the budget treatment. The other games will be released for the first time in the world. Only Rockman ZX (Megaman ZX) looks like it'll see a western release.

June 1st
Metroid Prime Hunters

June 22nd
Magical Vacation DS

June 29th
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Budget Release)
Goemon DS (Budget Release)

July 6th
Rockman ZX
Miron no Hoshizora Shabon

Konami Digital Entertainment - America, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., announced today that the highly anticipated game Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS has shipped to retail stores nationwide. Bringing all of the nostalgia of 2D gaming to the DS, this robust title also includes an incredibly deep storyline and innovative features that utilize the handheld system’s unique capabilities.

Continuing the storyline from the critically-acclaimed Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow follows Soma Cruz who finds himself at the center of a mysterious cult’s plan to resurrect their evil lord and master, Dracula. Players will find themselves in the role of Soma, the game’s protagonist, as they infiltrate the enemy’s lair, a towering replica of Dracula’s castle, and battle against gruesome creatures and the franchise’s signature oversized bosses.

Specifically crafted for the Nintendo DS by the award-winning producer Koji Igarashi and his creative team, the game features the “Magic Seal” system, which utilizes the Nintendo DS’ touch screen and gives players the ability to defeat and lock away evil spirits. Players can also exchange or trade acquired souls with other players as well as race another gamer through custom made maps in ‘Versus’ mode via the DS wireless connection. Drawing inspiration from the past Castlevania titles and their role playing roots, players can, through an enhanced Tactical Soul System, collect more souls than ever before to upgrade abilities and skills. Completing this compelling gaming experience are its stunning graphics, special effects as well as an all-new musical score.