Operation Akumajo interviews Koji Igarashi

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Koji Igarashi interviewed by Cecil Kain
Translated by Mana Ikeda
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Cecil —Several years ago, Konami licensed a Western studio to redesign and reboot Castlevania, but the resulting Lords of Shadow games polarized the Castlevania fanbase. Konami’s decision to replace you and terminate the Akumajo Dracula series outraged thousands of hardcore fans. Why do you think so many Western gamers are so passionate about the Japanese Castlevanias and your games in particular?

IGA — Since there were no other studios that made this particular kind of games of the same quality, the Castlevania games I directed coincidentally became a one-of-a-kind series. I believe this is a huge reason for its popularity. On the other hand, the Western reboot of the Castlevania series left options for gamers to choose other games of its genre for similar experience. But I believe long-running franchise needs to challenge new features or else our audience becomes smaller and smaller. When I create a game, I always keep in mind the importance of the basic foundation so that I could challenge myself to add a new feature, whether that new idea is good or bad.

Cecil — During those years of exile, over 25 thousand fans joined Operation Akumajo on Facebook, and a few hundred took the initiative to contact you directly. How did it make you feel to see the fans rally behind your vision of Castlevania? Did you have any idea that you were so widely admired and respected? And at what point did you realize you had the support necessary to leave your career at Konami and go independent?

IGA —The experience was overwhelming and I was not aware that so many people respected my work. I realized I have enough support during the time Inafune-san succeeded his Kickstarter campaign.

Cecil — Your resignation was a big surprise. At the 2014 Game Developers Conference you said… “Now that I've gone independent, I can create things as I wish and not adhere to the company's wishes.” This statement seems to imply that there was some sort of creative conflict between yourself and Konami. Please describe this conflict. Was there a particular incident that convinced you it was time to resign?

IGA — To put it simply, as a developer I can only reach out to the public by releasing new products. However, new products were not being developed at the time. This gave me a reason to leave the company, but Konami relatively gave me creative freedom so I wouldn’t say there was a creative conflict between us. When I meant by my independence is that I will have the final decision and input for the games I create.

Cecil — Do you have any ambition, any desire whatsoever, to negotiate with Konami and make another Castlevania game, or is it truly “game over”?

IGA — Since the Castlevania series is owned by Konami, there is no way that Konami will negotiate with someone who left the company. If I had the desire to create another Castlevania game, the best is to stay with the company. But if Konami ever ask me to work on another Castlevania title, I would be more than happy to work with them.

Cecil — After leaving Konami, you decided to make a new IP to continue the Akumajo Dracula legacy. But how do you do it? What truly defines the Akumajo experience? And how do you replicate that experience without Dracula or the Belmonts? Please explain how you intend to make Bloodstained a worthy successor.

IGA — I do not plan to continue Akumajo Dracula legacy with Bloodstained. What my fans are hoping for is another gothic horror, exploration based 2D action platformer. Please think of Bloodstained as a game with a similar atmosphere. For the fans who are supporting Bloodstained, all I can say is that we will create an enjoyable game that you will be able to play without fear.

Cecil — Before turning to Kickstarter, more than 20 publishers rejected your pitch for Bloodstained. They said nobody wanted your old school 2D IGAvania games anymore, but you knew they were wrong. So you launched your Kickstarter campaign and raised over 5.5 million dollars worth of pledges. How many of those publishers had the decency to call you back, acknowledge your victory, and apologize?

IGA —There weren’t any particular apology from the publishers. Since rejecting a pitch is an ordinary decision for a company, I don’t think an apology is necessary. Even if I was rejected, there were many publishers that offered their support and I’m just happy that they listened to what I had to offer.

Cecil — Bloodstained will be the first IGAvania game to grace a home console in 20 years. Symphony of the Night set a high standard of excellence, but this time you have more experience, a bigger budget, and superior hardware. Your fans are personally invested and their expectations are very high. Please explain how you intend to meet or exceed those expectations.

IGA — I don’t know how I will be able to meet everyone’s high expectation but I will do my best at what I could do right now.

Cecil — Bloodstained has been in development for over a year now. What sort of challenges have you encountered behind the scenes? Have you faced any technical, financial, or temporal issues that forced you to compromise your creative vision?

IGA — Many challenges. It was our first time using Unreal Engine 4 so we had to progress through trial and error. There were times when we had to compromise creative aspects, but this is something that we will not say aloud, because the games we make is all the creativity we could offer. I believe these are the challenges that we have to break developing Bloodstained.

Cecil — Last year a dual wielding Miriam was featured on the cover of Destructoid magazine, but this feature did not appear on the E3 demo. The equipment menu had blank slot, but maybe you’re planning to use it for shields or subweapons. Can you please confirm or deny existence of a dual wielding weapon system?

IGA — Although the Miriam in the Destructoid magazine features dual wielding, players will not be able to equip two separate weapons. Weapons will only use one slot for both arms.

Cecil — Miriam’s kick appears to replace punching as the default attack style. Is there a reason for this? Will Bloodstained have any of the fist type weapons we’ve seen in the past?

IGA — Since we had many ideas for women’s shoes, we decided Miriam will have a kicking attack instead of punching. Therefore, she will not have a punching attack nor any equipment for it.

Cecil — Miriam’s crystal shards look very similar to Soma’s Soul System. Can you please describe the Magi-Crystal system in more detail? Will these shards grant Miriam special abilities like the double-jump or will she need to collect Magical Relics like Alucard?

IGA — The system has a very similar system to the Tactical Soul system in Aria of Sorrow. This time we are using what we call a directional system where players will be able to choose the direction of the casted shard. Different kinds of gimmicks will be made around it. Double jump and other similar abilities will be available through shards.

Cecil — Maria, Alucard, Richter, Maxim, and Jonathan each had a few special input combos to perform a variety of secret skills. Maria’s “guardian knuckle”, Alucard’s “soul steal”, Richter’s “tackle”, Maxim’s “healing rain”, and Jonathan’s “knee strike” are just a few memorable examples. Alucard and Jonathan also had a few special inputs for their weapons’ “magic strike” attacks. The Alucard Sword and Stellar Sword warp attacks are particularly memorable. But let’s talk about Bloodstained… Will Miriam have any special input combos to perform martial arts, magic spells, or “magic strike” attacks?

IGA —Yes, we are planning to add special input combos for special attacks.

Cecil — Modern video games like Animal Crossing can use real-time clock and calendar systems to create a wide variety of time-sensitive gameplay experiences. Some of your IGAvania games had time-sensitive equipment, but we haven’t seen a daylight cycle on a 2D Castlevania game since Simon’s Quest. Some fans miss the morning sun. Some fans demand eternal night. But what do you say? Will Bloodstained have a daylight cycle or any time-sensitive gameplay elements whatsoever?

IGA — During the early development stage of Bloodstained, we planned a daylight cycle but decided not to go with it. In order to play the game, having a daylight cycle would require a high spec machine with our current features. When we weighed out the options, we dropped the idea to shift our focus on the action part of the game.

Cecil — If you could add one more stretch goal to Bloodstained, what would it be and why?

IGA — There is nothing more we could add as a stretch goal. What I mean by this is that the Kickstarter campaign broke through all the stretch goals we could ever come up with, the rogue-like mode was the last idea we were able to squeeze out. Honestly, I never expected the campaign to be so successful.
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