Video: Castlevania and Bloodstained designer Koji Igarashi makes a Super Mario Maker level
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 8 Comments
Koji Igarashi – known for his work on the Castlevania series and upcoming Bloodstained – has created his own level in Super Mario Maker. You can get a look at his work in the video below.
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Igarashi reflects on making Castlevania Judgment
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii | 5 Comments
A new interview from USgamer has extensive comments from Koji Igarashi about Bloodstained and the game’s recent Kickstarter. You can find that here.
In one section of the interview, Igarashi reflected on some of his previous titles. What he said about Castlevania Judgement seemed particularly interesting. Here’s what was shared about making the nontraditional Castlevania title for Wii:
So there are games, and then there’s succeeding and/or not succeeding. Video games are a tough business, and a lot of games don’t succeed. The smart man will try to learn from his mistakes.
When it comes to Castlevania Judgment, the one thing I learned was from the production side – how to make the best game I possibly can with a variety of different limitations: budgetary, time, etc., thrown on you. Obviously, that wasn’t the best game ever, but it was the best game that I think anyone could have made within those limitations. And the game did get out the door.
More: Castlevania Judgment, interview, Koji Igarashi, Konami
Deep Silver likely funded Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 2 Comments
Siliconera recently asked Koji Igarashi if there are any plans to work with Deep Silver on Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. For those who are unaware, Inti Creates is making Mighty No. 9 as well as Bloodstained, and Deep Silver is handling publishing for the former title.
Here’s how Igarashi responded:
While this is not official, but…it may as well be, as the [person] who is putting the most money into Bloodstained, it’s up to them when they want to announce their participation. I’m just going to say that I’m not officially saying ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but I do want to say that the backend investment is what allowed me to make the game. I am 100% appreciative of them having faith in me. I hope everyone feels the same way, because without them, I never would have been able to get this far.
We literally went everywhere we could beforehand. First and foremost, I feel an incredible degree of appreciation [toward this publisher]. As for the actual relationship and how that’s going to work out, that’s something that will be from here on out. Any time an independent creator can get to keep their IP…
Ben Judd, who is a part of the Bloodstained team, added: “I almost felt defeated as an agent, but then we finally found a partner and we couldn’t have asked for a better one.” He also said that “it becomes a great collaborative relationship.”
Bloodstained may get transformations like Castlevania
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
This information comes from creator Koji Igarashi…
“We’re not 100% sure that we’re going to add in transformation aspects to the game, especially at this early phase of development, but I can say that all of the developers attached do love transformations as a key concept—it’s been prevalent in a lot of our games before after all—so I think there’s a good chance you may see that element in the game. Beyond the curse, as you mentioned.”
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night gets official $3 million Wii U stretch goal on Kickstarter
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U eShop | 11 Comments
Rumors about the possibility of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night receiving a Wii U stretch goal on Kickstarter surfaced last week. Today, that’s finally been confirmed.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will be coming to Wii U if Kickstarter funds reach $3 million. Given the rate at which the campaign has received funds thus far, that’s a very doable target.
Armature Studio will be handling the Wii U version, assuming the stretch goal is met. The team previously worked on Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, plus the ports of Metal Gear Solid Collection and Injustice: Gods Among Us for PlayStation Vita, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
You can read up on today’s full Kickstarter update regarding a potential Wii U version below. The campaign is located here.
That’s right: You’ve blown our expectations so far out of the water that we’re ready and able to get started on a Wii U version.
During the campaign all of us who’ve been working to make Bloodstained a reality have been really touched by how many of you thanked IGA and the team for keeping stretch goals and tiers realistic. Kickstarters aren’t just a way to sell merchandise and games, after all: They’re a way to fund the development of the game we all want to play.
With that in mind, a lot of you have asked about ports—not just because you want them, but because you want to make sure that making them won’t affect IGA’s vision for the game. We have good news, and really good news.
The good news is, it won’t: IGA and Inti Creates are going to continue developing the game as before, without compromise.
The really good news is how they’re going to ensure it won’t: At our next stretch goal Armature Studio will join the fray to handle the Wii U version.
If you haven’t heard of Armature yet—and don’t worry, you will soon enough—you’ve definitely heard of the work they’ve done: Armature was formed in Austin, Texas by a team of key developers from the Metroid Prime franchise, and since then they’ve worked with companies like EA, Konami, WB Games, Gearbox, and Sony to produce original games and HD remasters.
But we’ll let them speak for themselves:
“When we were approached with the opportunity to assist with Bloodstained on Wii U, we were ecstatic. This style of game is one we are intimately familiar with from our Metroid Prime days, and it’s exciting to once again put our familiarity with Nintendo hardware to good use. We have extensive remastering experience – our remastering projects include the Metal Gear Solid Collection for PS Vita, Injustice for PS Vita, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel for PS4/XB1. We look forward to the challenge of making sure that the Wii U edition of Bloodstained stands proudly with its brethren on Unreal Engine 4.”
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Kickstarter getting Wii U stretch goal at $3 million?
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 31 Comments
When Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was announced, it came with the disappointing news that the project wasn’t planned – at least initially – for Nintendo platforms. However, a notice on the Kickstarter page gave a small hint/hope that something such as a Wii U version could be possible if funds reached a certain amount.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been reaching stretch goals regularly on Kickstarter, and one of the latest updates suggests that a Wii U edition could be in the cards. Fans have been analyzing the new stretch goal image (shown above), which seems to show the top of the Wii U logo at $3 million. That’s not confirmed, but it appears to be the general consensus at the moment.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has raised almost $2.5 million on Kickstarter. If what people are speculating turns out to be accurate, then that means only $500,000 extra would be needed for a Wii U version.
Thanks to Jake for the tip.
Castlevania spiritual successor “Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night” a possibility for Nintendo systems
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 28 Comments
Castlevania has a long-standing history on Nintendo platforms. So the hope was that the next game from Koji Igarashi, one of the series’ main creator, would end up on a Nintendo system.
Igarashi finally announced “Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night” today in partnership with Inti Creates after several days of teasing. The current plan is only to make the project for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. However, a Nintendo version hasn’t been ruled out entirely.
On the game’s Kickstarter page, a statement from the Q&A says the following about why the campaign doesn’t include support for Nintendo systems:
Our budget left us with two options: Build the biggest, most beautiful game we can, or make sure it runs everywhere from the start. As things stand today, we can’t afford to create the two separate versions of this game that would be necessary to make it run on every console. That said, we’ve heard legends about a remarkable treasure hidden in the castle basement…
That sounds somewhat encouraging! Perhaps if the Kickstarter campaign clears its initial stretch goals, a Nintendo version might be something that will be given greater consideration – especially given that last sentence, and how the stretch goals are constructed at present:
You can check out Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Kickstarter here. If there’s any concrete news about a Nintendo version, we’ll have it right here on the site.
Koji Igarashi “would love” to work on Metroid
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 3 Comments
Now that he’s left Konami, Koji Igarashi has the freedom to work on pretty much anything. Igarashi does already have a few new ideas in mind, but given his background with Castlevania, it could be neat to see him involved with a Metroid title. And interestingly enough, that’s something Igarashi “would love” to do.
IGN asked Igarashi point blank if he’d ever consider working with Nintendo on a new entry in the Metroid franchise. He said:
“Whether it’s possible or not comes down to the [intellectual property] holder, which in this case would be Nintendo, and whether they want to work with me. But, if they did want to work with me, I would love the chance of doing that.”
More: interview, Koji Igarashi, Metroid, top
Igarashi talks more about leaving Konami and future plans
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
Polygon has some additional comments from Koji Igarashi about his recent departure from Konami as well as what lies ahead. Read on below for his thoughts, and check out the site’s full piece here.
More: interview, Koji Igarashi, Konami, top
Igarashi was surprised by the term “Metroidvania”, had wanted to make a Zelda-style game
Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 2 Comments
“Metroidvania” is a term that’s commonly used in the gaming industry today. Initially though, longtime Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi “was surprised by the name.”
That’s what Igarashi told USGamer while speaking about Metroidvania. He also revealed how he originally set out to make “a Legend of Zelda style game.”
He said:
“I was actually surprised by the name. In my heart, I really wanted to create a Legend of Zelda style game. But I suppose that when you turn Zelda into a 2D platformer, yes, it resembles Metroid. I thought it was because of the game’s super jump, which is very similar to Super Metroid’s.”
“When I left Konami, they told me I couldn’t use the name Castlevania when talking about my plans. So it was actually really handy that the word ‘Metroidvania’ existed!”
