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Igarashi Talks Metroidvania, Discusses New Project
Koji “Iga” Igarashi recently departed Konami after a lengthy tenure at the company. While Igarashi has clearly stated his plans to start his own development studio, he has been among the first to admit that the process is only in its beginning stages.
However, a couple of recent interviews shed light on what we might expect from the developer in the coming years – and fans of his work on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night have good reason to be hopeful.
In an interview with Gamasutra, Igarashi speaks about the uncertain nature of his future plans, but with an eye towards 2D. “We don't know what we want to make yet. I have a lot of regrets and hard feelings about 3D games, and everyone has been asking me for 2D games. And I want to make an action game... so I'm able to think about it clearly now,” he says.
Meanwhile, in an interview with USGamer, he speaks about watching the success of Mighty Number 9, and the way fans have been clambering for certain types of games. “…it wasn't the money, it was seeing the sheer number of fans that wanted that sort of a game that were willing to put forth money in order to make it happen. So I realized that, yeah, I have a lot of fans that want me to make a certain kind of game. And those fans, they're power. They're energy.”
In the same interview, he speaks about the origin of the term Metroidvania. “…if you make Legend of Zelda a 2D side-scrolling game, then it naturally turns into Metroid, or naturally the game mechanics resemble a more Metroid experience. So, when I was making Symphony of the Night, I was thinking more of Zelda, and it's strange to hear people say "metroidvania," Igarashi says. “But when you think about it logically, it's like, yeah, the different hooks and the fact that you go back and forth in different areas and things like that, that is Metroid-style gameplay for sure. So, I get it.”
Both interviews offer new insights into this luminary developer – you can read the full conversations from the links below.
Our Take
You don’t have to read too deeply into these comments to believe that Igarashi has dreams of returning to the style of games he is best known for, typified by titles like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Let’s all cross our fingers that his newly forming development studio moves forward on those plans as soon as possible.
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