Bloodstained RotN : Kouji IGA's new "Castlevania" game.

[copy-paster]

Just found this news arround the internet http://www.siliconera.com/2015/05/05/ca ... w-project/

UPDATE : Okay... their projects gets launched via Kickstarter now :
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ig ... -the-night

BONUS : Interviews with IGA about his project
http://shmuplations.com/bloodstained
http://www.thejimquisition.com/2015/05/ ... -igarashi/

[Pretas]

So the gaijin "indie" retrohipsters got a hold of him. Sad.

[Weak Boson]

If there was any game series I would want to continue perpetually it would be Castlevania. A spiritual continuation would be nice failing that. So very much do want. Was Order of Ecclesia IGA's last CV game? I liked that one very much.

[Pretas]

A spiritual continuation would be nice failing that. So very much do want. Was Order of Ecclesia IGA's last CV game? I liked that one very much.

It was Harmony of Despair, but it's hard to say how much involvement he had with it, and it was almost completely made of recycled content anyway. He had a hand in Otomedius Excellent before getting demoted to work on smartphone games - Kokoro Belmont's inclusion was no doubt a result of his presence.

He was producer on Castlevania Judgment, but that was developed by Eighting. There was also a PS3/360 game starring Alucard he was working on before Konami canned it in favor of Lords of Shadow.

[iconoclast]

I'd be excited for this if it were following in Ecclesia's footsteps, but I assume it'll be more Metroidy since that's what's popular. Plus I don't see them topping, or even matching OoE's excellent art design with a kickstarter budget. Meh.

[Ed Oscuro]

Maybe not being under the thumb of YuGiOh Corporate will help him; I've always wondered how much of the games is design-by-committee. But if he's going to make more enter-the-room-leave-the-room simulators then I don't have much interest. As "just another series" they're okay, but they're certainly not the Castlevania series I'd really like to see.

[Squire Grooktook]

From what I can tell, isn't Iga to the Metroidvania's what Keiji Inafune is to Mega Man? Ie he sets himself up as the mastermind but was only an on and off designer/programmer for the series and wasn't even the lead programmer/designer for Symphony or many of the games?

I'd be excited for this if it were following in Ecclesia's footsteps, but I assume it'll be more Metroidy since that's what's popular. Plus I don't see them topping, or even matching OoE's excellent art design with a kickstarter budget. Meh.

If you want an Ecclesia successor, play Rogue Legacy. SOTN style controls + faster move speed + attack while moving + environmental hazards instead of just rectangular rooms full of enemies + fantastic boss and enemy design.

[iconoclast]

Yeah, Igarashi is only credited as the assistant director for Symphony of the Night. For every (2D) game that came after it, he was only the producer.

Also, doesn't Rogue Legacy have randomly generated stages? I'm not interested in games like that.

[Squire Grooktook]

Also, doesn't Rogue Legacy have randomly generated stages? I'm not interested in games like that.

There are 5 stages, where the room layouts are randomly generated, but they tend to be built from recurring setpieces and enemies. Game has quite a bit of depth despite the randomness, speedrunning and low death runs are crazy intense.

[Satan]

Nice imagery, YuGiOh's is also quite interesting. What say you DEL?

[Austin]

Looking forward to see what he cooks up. And oh yeah.. Sword all the way. Of the MetroidVania titles I come back to the most, none are whip-based. It just never translated that well to that style of game, IMO. Faster sword action works better for the type of game.

[Drum]

Yeah, Igarashi is only credited as the assistant director for Symphony of the Night. For every (2D) game that came after it, he was only the producer.

Also, doesn't Rogue Legacy have randomly generated stages? I'm not interested in games like that.

I don't think I've played a randomly generated platformer with levels as randomly designed as OoE. Bizarre thing to get stuck on when that's your standard.

[iconoclast]

I don't think the stage design in OoE (or any post-Rondo CV, for that matter) is particularly good, but just about anything is better than randomized junk.

[Squire Grooktook]

I don't think the stage design in OoE (or any post-Rondo CV, for that matter) is particularly good, but just about anything is better than randomized junk.

Nah. Actual environmental hazards and enemy placement > rectangular rooms with enemies plunked down on the programmers whim.

Like I said though, most of RL's stages are constructed from a bunch of setpieces that have a pretty good amount of thought put into them.

I still like Order of Eclessia though, but mostly for the boss fights, art, atmosphere, and some of the better moments for the stages.

[FRO]

Saw this on Twitter earlier. As much as I like the "Metroidvania" style of games, I could definitely go for a classic Castlevania-type game. I'd be very interested to see how something like that might develop.

[Squire Grooktook]

^^^ I really agree, but sadly I don't see it happening in this day and age.

[copy-paster]

Saw this on Twitter earlier. As much as I like the "Metroidvania" style of games, I could definitely go for a classic Castlevania-type game. I'd be very interested to see how something like that might develop.

maybe like CV SotN Richter mode ?

[Leader Bee]

What i'd like to see is a proper Metroidvania on consoles, similar artstyle to SoTN but with more thought added to balance and weapon choices. I would love to see a full retail release of a game that has such super smooth movement in it's 2d spritework again, although, I don't know if i'd like "HD" sprites - they don't look as timeless to me.

Also, please just give me a castle thats twice as large instead of an upside down one that was placed there just to make the game last longer and yet is somehow considered "innovative" rather than lazy.

How SOTN is considered the best metroidvania I don't know, personally i think Aria of Sorrow is the best one.
Don't get me wrong, Symphony is pretty good up until about half way through when you start finding weapons that are really just crappier versions of stuff you already have and are by that point redundant, the games becomes hideously easy and trivial and finale toccatta starts to grate on your ears.

[Mischief Maker]

That picture on the OP made me wonder why they never made a videogame adaptation of "There will be Blood?"

It's not that unthinkable, seeing as it's a movie about a man whose whole life was built around competition.

[CStarFlare]

finale toccatta starts to grate on your ears.

This is the real problem with SOTN.

The whole appeal of the inverted castle is that it turned what you thought was the end into the middle of the game. It's a little lazy for obvious reasons, but it's a fun surprise and it's enjoyable to see that the abilities you've accumulated allow you to navigate a world where doors are on the ceiling.

The damage enemies do is much higher in the second castle too, so you actually have to play a little more conservatively if you haven't gone out of your way to get a god-tier weapon.

[BrianC]

I would like to see the mirror castle idea from HoD implemented in a more challenging game.

[Austin]

Also, please just give me a castle thats twice as large instead of an upside down one that was placed there just to make the game last longer and yet is somehow considered "innovative" rather than lazy. How SOTN is considered the best metroidvania I don't know, personally i think Aria of Sorrow is the best one. Don't get me wrong, Symphony is pretty good up until about half way through when you start finding weapons that are really just crappier versions of stuff you already have and are by that point redundant, the games becomes hideously easy and trivial and finale toccatta starts to grate on your ears.

I think a lot of folks regard SOTN as the best is because there's simply so much to do in the game. Speed running, differing weapons to try, bugs and glitches to exploit, etc., etc., there's just so much more to do in this game from any angle than there is in subsequent games. That's not to discount the later titles, because there's particularly a lot to do (in a good way) in Aria and Dawn specifically. It doesn't hurt that the initial experience of SOTN is so much more memorable than the later games (IMO).

[Squire Grooktook]

The DS trilogy is superior to replay IMO, far more polished and challenging, but the absolute wealth of content and secrets in SOTN is staggering in a very unique way. I'm still discovering new secret specials and other shit like that.

[Austin]

The DS trilogy is superior to replay IMO, far more polished and challenging

I don't think I agree with the challenging aspect. Yes, the bosses will @&$& you up in the DS games, but the reversed castle in SOTN will do exactly the same if you're not careful (can't say the same for the DS games).

Regardless, I think all are great, so don't take this comment too seriously.

[Skykid]

I think SOTN is special for many reasons, but one of the primary elements that can't be discounted is its grandeur. I enjoyed every CV game on DS & GBA, and elements of them can be considered improvements - but none match the visual class of Symphony's 32-bit graphical lustre. I know we're talking handhelds versus console display, but the fact remains, SOTN is beautiful through and through: every inch of it rendered in pure 2D wonder.

That alone enhances the game for me: exploring waterways, catacombs, skeleton filled cells and taking on mammoth bosses.

The following Metroidvanias were retreads of the theme that brought some neat new ideas to the table and play great, but SOTN still has a kind of unsurpassed majesty every time I fire it up. It's greatly improved by its fan translation too.

[Mischief Maker]

https://youtu.be/Vrze-nKw9zQ

[Exidna]

http://www.usgamer.net/articles/intervi ... -the-night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TzfM6QUs6A
Apparently there is going to be a stream starting in about 40 minutes here: http://www.twitch.tv/KindaFunnyGames

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ig ... -the-night

[kid aphex]

Good for him, but the art is definitely not my style.

[BrianC]

Stream is starting. Looks like a game called Bloodstained with yet another woman with a tatoo on her back. What's interesting is IGA is going to play various indies inspired by SoTN, including Rogue Legacy.

[Weak Boson]

Music by Michiru Yamane.

Magical backs.

That's a game there.