Here's something that may get all Castlevania fans excited: A new Castlevania title has been spotted as a newly-filed trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Titled as Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, there's still no word if the game is the new Nintendo DS Castlevania that Koji Igarashi has been hinting about, or if it will be released for other platforms. More details in the full article.

Japanese fans now have their own version of the long-awaited Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. Koji "Iga" Igarashi along with Castlevania artist Ayami Kojima kept fans busy during the recent Dracula X Chronicles Japan launch.

Mr. Kojima apparently had a lot of things to say to fans during the event regarding the game and a possible new entry in the series. Find out what Igarashi-san talked about during the launch after the jump!

Koji "Iga" Igarashi, creator of the Castlevania franchise, is serious when he says 2D gaming is still kicking. While we are yet to find out which platform the next-gen Castlevania title will be on and if it's going to be in 3D like its previous console iterations, we can be certain that Iga will still be looking at what he's best known for.

In an interview, Igarashi gave the PS2 side-scrolling title Odin Sphere credit for being a great game. He said players loved it for the characters, but didn't consider it as a true 2D action game. Making such game on next-gen hardware, according to Iga, is difficult. Fortunately, there's the scene of downloadable content like Xbox Live which he believes to be a new avenue for developers who still want to go 2D.

For Igarashi, it seems Castlevania being 2D or 3D isn't even the issue. "The bottom line is that the Castlevania series is an action-based game," he said. Also, it's all about developing games based on what he loves while still considering fan feedback. "I don't develop games based on the markets; I develop games based on what I find exciting. I just develop based on what I love."

Speaking of love, Iga expressed his support for indie developers or individuals who make their own 2D games. He advised them to develop what they love, since contrary to popular belief, working on 2D is not just the easy way out. Igarashi went on to say that:

A lot of people think of 2D development as something that's simple, and very easily done, but think of all the assets, all of the small details, all of the little things that make it a really good game.

  

Koji "Iga" Igarashi, the man behind the successful Castlevania franchise, revealed more juicy tidbits about his experiences with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and the future of the Castlevania series in another interview held during the recent E for All 2007 event. While Igarashi didn't quite reveal everything players were dying to know, he did offer some insights into both himself and the Castlevania franchise.

For example, Koji Igarashi said that he was thinking of producing titles for next-gen consoles, only that he hadn't actually decided on one yet. Nintendo fans, at least, have something to look forward to: Mr. Igarashi mentioned that he was working on a version of Castlevania for the Nintendo DS.

Oddly enough, Koji Igarashi admitted to having an Xbox 360,  but not a PS3 at home, saying that he liked the lineup of games that the Xbox 360 had to offer. Mr. Igarashi said he would rather wait for Metal Gear Solid 4 come out (and for the PS3's price to drop) before purchasing a PS3. As one observant reader noted: could this be any indication of the specific console that the next Castlevania game will come out for?

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.

With Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and a still-unnamed DS version in the works, the looming question hangs above Koji Igarashi (or IGA) and the rest of the Castlevania team: what console will get the next Castlevania game?

For this decision, it seems that console popularity is a major impact when it comes to IGA. Between the Xbox 360 and PS3, IGA chose Microsoft's console, saying:

The U.S. market is the biggest market for the Castlevania series, so I will give the first priority to the U.S. market. The platform will be the Xbox 360, since the PS3 isn't doing well everywhere in the world. As you know, Konami will release Metal Gear for the PS3, so Metal Gear might expand the PS3 market. In that case, we may release Castlevania for the PS3.

However, what about the highest-selling console to date, the Wii? While IGA acknowledges the popularity of Nintendo's console, he still has some misgivings, saying that third-party titles do not sell as well for the Wii and that there are some issues with the Wiimote controls. To illustrate the point, he even performed an overhead whipping gesture to show how tiring it will be to always use the Wiimote's motion sensors as controls.

For DS gamers anticipating the still-unknown Castlevania title, there's some good news: it will not be a remake of any Castlevania game (not even the PSP's Dracula X: Chronicles), but it will be an all-new game.

Well, we certainly can't wait for that one. Do check this space for more updates!

Read the entire interview in the Read link!

Ah, Castlevania. That's one gaming franchise that never ceases to shine. It's always good getting more news about the epic game series, and when it's coming from Castlevania's Koji Igarashi himself, it's all the more better. 1up managed to sneak in an interview with Igarashi, or IGA, and they talked about their current Castlevania project Dracula X Chronicles, as well as possible futures for Castlevania in other consoles.

PSP's Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles - based on a much earlier Rondo of Blood - is just about finished, with the US version already approved while they're still waiting to get approval for the Europe and Japanese versions.

As for the Symphony of the Night added into Dracula X Chronicles, IGA said that some content was changed in the PSP version compared to the downloadable SotN from PlayStation Network and Xbox Live: voice acting was improved (yes!), and they made drastic improvements to Maria's sprite compared to the Sega Saturn version. Michiru Yamane, music composer for the Castlevania series, composed a new song for the SotN credit track.

As for future Castlevanias, one of the things that is definite is that we'll have another title for the DS, and they're also thinking about the possibility of some whip-cracking action on the Wii, but there's a small problem. According to IGA,

As for a Wii version, I still think people would be exhausted if they had to swing it as a whip the entire time, but I am coming around to the idea -- I like the concept in theory, but I'd just have to make sure it could be done without players getting all tired.

Cracking whips around all day does sound a tad tiring and painful in the long run.

The Castlevania team, in the meantime, are thinking whether to go "traditional" and release games for the Xbox 360 and PS3. As to what "traditional" means to them, it doesn't necessarily mean the old-school 2D gaming. Said IGA,

Those are two steps for us, actually. Step 1 is figuring out the gameplay and step 2 is the graphics. We are still discussing step 1, so until we have the gameplay figured out I won't be able to say whether or not it will be 2D or 3D.

Those who want new downloadable Castlevania games won't have much hope to hold on to, however. IGA said that prices of downloadable games are quite too low to support the things that they want to do in the game, and will also result in low-fidelity games.

That's definitely so much info to chew on! But you can bet we'll have more as updates come our way. Stay tuned!

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."

Dennis Lee, Product Marketing Manager for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, was asked by Cubed3 in an interview as to what were his own opinions on the final release version of the title that came out in last year. He was proud of the game that their team and Koji Igarashi's team worked on for a full year and was fond of the dual character system that Portrait of Ruin introduced. He especially said:

I'm very pleased with the outcome of Portrait of Ruin. The gameplay really feels like an extension of the classic formula with the dual characters but still feels and plays like an authentic Castlevania title. Out of all of the features and gameplay components, I think that if we had more time in development, we would have liked to expand on the multi-player and with the concept of the Shop Mode.

Adding additional courses or side-quests for the multi-player modes and maybe even working out a way to add a [second] player into the main game would have been great to add.

But perhaps the biggest news from Konami Entertainment is that while the next Castlevania title is almost nearing completion for the PSP, they're looking forward to discovering new ways to introduce the franchise into different consoles and handhelds. There have been no official announcements on the next title or story to be worked on, but they have confirmed that they are already eyeing target consoles. Answering a question about Castlevania on the Wii, Lee said:

We're planning to continue to keep bringing fans more Castlevania titles in the future and we're not ruling out any platforms at the moment. We're looking at each and every console and are determining the strengths of each platform and how to utilize the new hardware and features to bring new adventures to the fans.

So gamers on the Wii, take pride and hope dearly that Konami finally ships a Castlevania title your way, and not just through the Wii's Virtual Console. For now, gamers on the Nintendo DS can rest assured that Konami is still considering their platform for another successor in the series.

  

Koji Igarashi of Konami gave a talk at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007. Entitled The Light and Dark Sides of 2D Game Production, His keynote speech mostly reflected the benefits of using 2D animation, a style in video game production which he believes will never die. Igarashi produced the Castlevania series for Konami, a game loosely based on the novel by Bram Stoker and was mostly rendered in 2D. Here are some notes from his talk.

• An advantage in 2D is that the player sees the relation to the enemy or setting because there is only one full view.
  
• Pixel art is a huge part of the Castlevania series. The original series only had four colors, whereas the rest of the 2D series has 16, and sometimes 256 colors. 
• As systems get more powerful, it's harder to maintain the quality of the game. This is why it is so hard to create another pixel art Castlevania game on a console.
• Another advantage of 2D is the lack of issues with camera angles. 2D games also require a much smaller team than 3D.
• Some platforms that are viable for 2D games: DS, VC, Xbox Live Arcade and cell phones.
• Igarashi and his team are still considering making games for the Wii and other platforms.
  
• They are also exploring WiFi, and newer character for Castlevania.
  
• The last Castlevania title took 16 months to complete.