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Joystiq Streams: A graveyard smash in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night [Relive the stream!]
True story: Joystiq Streams was going to broadcast Shovel Knight, the pixel-y, Metroidvania-y, Mega Man-y game coming to Wii U, PC, and Mac this spring, with Yacht Club Games today. Unfortunately those plans fell through at the last minute, leaving the Streams crew desperately thirsty for 2D art and the exploration of interconnected, lushly animated environments. We crave double jumps and locked doors and wacky save rooms! Only one thing could possibly slake our thirst: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Starting at 4PM EST on the Joystiq Twitch channel, Joystiq's Richard Mitchell will play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from the beginning, right when Richter Belmont and Dracula are in the thick of Aaron Sorkin-style banter. Anthony John Agnello will hang in the chat, feeding your questions to him. Some other guests may join us as we play. Dracula's castle is unpredictable. Crazy things happen. Joystiq Streams broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST on the Joystiq Twitch channel. [Images: Konami]
'Metroidvania' should actually be 'Zeldavania'
Koji Igarashi, longtime producer of the Castlevania series, is generally the person most of us associate with establishing the exploration-driven formula of Konami's vampire-slaying franchise. The rhythm of the series – uncovering a vast world map as you slowly acquire new abilities to traverse it – has become so iconic that players created a word for its signature style: Metroidvania. The portmanteau reveals Castlevania's similarities to Metroid, Nintendo's beloved sci-fi series, though Igarashi said during a GDC panel that the inspiration for Castlevania's now traditional formula was from another Nintendo series: Zelda.
Longtime Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi leaves Konami
Koji Igarashi, longtime producer of the Castlevania series, announced his departure from Konami over the weekend. Igarashi's last day at the publisher was March 15, and marked the end of a career at Konami that spanned over 20 years. "I've decided to break out on my own to have the freedom to make the kind of games I really want to make - the same kind I think fans of my past games want as well," Igarashi said in a statement to Polygon. The man affectionately called "IGA" by fans began his time with the dark action-adventure series as assistant director of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on PlayStation. His involvement in the series has since dwindled, as developer Mercury Steam took it over with 2010's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. "Leaving Konami was a big decision, and not one I took lightly - I've spent my entire career there, made many friends, and had a lot of great opportunities - but I hope all the gamers and fans who have supported me in the past will join me in being excited about what comes next. Wish me luck," he added. Igarashi will present "There and Back Again: Koji Igarashi's Metroidvania Tale" at the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco, tracing the "experiences and methodology" of the series over the last 15 years. [Image: Konami]
Castlevania deals on Xbox: Harmony of Despair, Symphony of the Night, Mirror of Fate HD
It's Castlemania in today's end-of-year deals from Xbox, with Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate HD, Symphony of the Night, and Harmony of Despair all on sale, along with a host of Castlevania add-ons. Harmony of Despair, the 2D platformer that debuted on XBLA back in 2010, is down to $5.09. 1997 classic Symphony of the Night is just $3.39, while the HD port of 3DS entry Mirror of Fate is yours for $7.49. If you don't fancy sinking your teeth into any of those one-day-only deals, don't forget there's a sizable selection of games staying discounted throughout the week.
Mega Man anniversary, Symphony of the Night remix albums released [update]
Update: This post's lede is meant to reference the absence of a new Mega Man game, but is written in a way that suggests Capcom was not involved in the production of these albums. Capcom Community Manager Brett Elston pitched and oversaw the production of both albums, meaning both are a collaboration between the publisher and fans of the series. Capcom didn't do much for the 25th anniversary of Mega Man, but its fans sure did! Two new albums celebrating the series' sonic history, MM25: Mega Man Rocks and For Everlasting Peace: 25 Years of Mega Man, are ready to bring back fond memories of the blue bomber's legacy via waveforms. MM25: Mega Man Rocks is an 18-track effort from six bands; Armcannon, The Megas, Mega Ran, X-Hunters, The Protomen and Bit Brigade. MM25 also features new songs - The Protomen's "Built to Last" and Mega Ran's "20XX" - so there should be something here for you even if you've recently been to a show. For Everlasting Peace: 25 Years of Mega Man boasts 21 remixes from the fine musicians at OC Remix, all of which originate from the first game in a Mega Man series. To be specific, the album features re-imagined tracks from Mega Man, Mega Man X, Mega Man Legends, Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man Zero, Mega Man ZX and Mega Man Star Force. Both of these albums are available on iTunes for $9.99. If you've spent more of your time whipping Medusa heads out of the air and eating questionably-stored chickens, Dj Cutman has released Nerdcore Instrumentals, a free remix album dedicated to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's soundtrack. Cutman writes on the album's site that the involved beats were produced by Sammus and mastered by himself, describing the venture as an "experiment" to use techniques he would typically "reserve for dance music on hiphop instrumentals." [Thanks, Dj Cutman!]
Symphony of the Night world record speedrun will break your brain
How fast can you complete Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? Even if you have every nook and cranny of the labyrinthine PSOne-era platformer committed to memory, your quickest playthrough isn't nearly as fast as this world record speedrun set yesterday by Speed Demos Archive member romscout. This brisk trip through the Xbox Live Arcade version of SotN follows "any %" rules (reach the end of the game by any means necessary, glitches included), and zooms through both the normal and inverted castles in an astounding 18 minutes and 20 seconds. Things to look for: lots of back-dashing, item-duplicating, and an unexpected use of the Heart Refresh item at the end of the game. Poor Dracula didn't stand a chance.
Magicka shows us The Other Side of the Coin on June 14
Arrowhead Game Studios is preparing the next DLC expansion for its wizard-powered adventure, Magicka. The Other Side of the Coin expands upon the story of Magicka by placing players in the boots of Alucart, an evil vampire who is in no way related to Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.The Other Side of the Coin will cost $4.99 and also includes four new challenge maps when it becomes available for download on June 14.
PSN Tuesday: Awesomenauts, Mortal Kombat
Nothing can prepare you for this week's nostalgic update on the PlayStation Store ... save for a succinct summary such as this one. Awesomenauts brings a faux-retro flair to the MOBA genre today (for free, if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber), while Mortal Kombat reduces its depraved fighting to more diminutive form on Vita.PlayStation Plus subscribers receive some other freebies this week, including Trine 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Chronicles. The PS One Classics lineup is bolstered with The Legend of Dragoon, and moving up a generation to PlayStation 2 gets you the original Max Payne.Check the PlayStation Blog for a full list of new store items, if you please.
PS Plus offers free Awesomenauts, Rock of Ages, Symphony of the Night, more in May
PlayStation Plus members are going to be busy in May, frantically trying to play all of the free content that is being dumped on them. Awesomenauts, which hits PSN on May 1, will be free to PS+ users right away. It's accompanied by Trine 2 and Rock of Ages.Two of the best PSOne Classics are being thrown in as well on May 1: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Chronicles, a remake of the original 'Vania. Saints Row: The Third ... isn't free, but it is 20% off for Plus users when it comes to PSN May 15.For more, including free Minis and discounts on more upcoming PSN games, check the PlayStation Blog. For the answer to the tough question of whether relatively cheap access to all these games is worth an ongoing subscription, when you know you'll lose them when your subscription lapses, check your heart.
Grandpa Aaron loves Bioshock, can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving
It's getting to be that time of year where mushy, sentimental and "awww"-inducing chatter overwhelms all channels of media and fills your heart with a warm sense of home, whether you like it or not. For example: Reddit user Jungleradio gave his 80 year-old grandfather copies of Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption, Braid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for his birthday, with quaint, heartwarming results. Jump past the break for Grandpa Aaron's take on each game, and don't forget to tell your Aunt Suzy to bring Nana's twice-baked potato recipe to the next family reunion.
Castlevania content marked down by 50 percent on XBLA
Alright, it's official -- America's got vampire fever. Why not channel your friends and families' unswerving love for romantic bloodsucker fiction into something a little healthier? Maybe turn them onto Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Harmony of Despair, which are half-price on XBLA this week.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night stages coming to Harmony of Despair
Konami's multiplayer, side-scrolling dungeon crawler Castlevania: Harmony of Despair already looks very, very familiar -- a phenomenon which can be attributed to its re-using of sprites from previous entries in the series. According to the game's official Japanese site, that policy isn't being reversed any time soon: In January, the game will see the addition of an eighth level, based off the underground area from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night -- a stage which culminates in a fight with the creepy, spherical corpse-monster, Legion. The downloadable level -- as well as another titled "Lord of the Flies," which is either hinting at a level featuring Beelzebub or possibly a level where you drop rocks on island-bound children -- will cost 320 Microsoft Points ($4). It's unclear whether the January release window listed on the site for this DLC is applicable in the States; we've contacted Konami for confirmation. And to ask about the whole "dropping rocks on children" thing.
Konami bundles downloadable Castlevanias with Japanese Lords of Shadow special edition
Hideo Kojima as the Chupacabra isn't the only advantage the Japanese version of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has over its worldwide contemporaries. Those who purchase the special edition in Japan will also have their choice of downloadable Vanias as bonuses. The PS3 version of the game includes a code for the PSOne Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, playable on PS3 or PSP. The Xbox 360 version gets you a copy of the XBLA game Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Which means there is now another reason the PS3 version will outsell the Xbox release by a massive margin (other than there being so few Xboxes in Japan). The Japanese special edition isn't universally better: it carries a price tag of ¥9,980 ($122), and Lords of Shadow won't even be available in Japan until December 16.
Revolutionary: Whip it good
What is it about Castlevania that gamers have found so appealing for more than twenty years? Is it the story? The atmosphere? The visceral sense of fulfillment from whipping all manner of damned creatures back to the infernal depths? Is it the one-on-one arena battles in Boy George makeup, steam-punk corsets and leather-daddy fetishware? Yeah, it's probably not that last thing. We had in mind a traditional sidescroller for Castlevania on the Wii, with waggle-enhanced whip cracking, so that's why this week, I've set out to capture that fun that we've so desperately desired.
Best of the Rest: James' Picks of 2007
Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA) If not worthy of a Top 10 spot, then certainly Pac-Man deserves Joystiq's 'Comeback Player of the Year' award. I covered Pac-Man CE's overblown launch in early June, but it wasn't until I became a devoted player at home that I realized the sheer genius of the first true Pac-Man sequel since 'the Ms.' hit the maze in '82. Designer Toru Iwatani managed to scrape off a quarter-century of rust and fashion a remarkably relevant game that held me down during an otherwise punishing summer drought. Geometry Wars might be the most celebrated, but Pac-Man CE is Xbox Live Arcade's true star.
Dracula's castle crashes onto XBLA
Dracula's ethereal castle, Castlevania, has officially materialized on Xbox Live Arcade. Of course, we speak of the oft cited pinnacle of the Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night. The game will set you back 800 points and will cost you a few extra seconds than most XBLA games, thanks to its 90 MB size. There are also some other goodies available should you have any points left, including a 150 point theme and a 100 point picture pack. By the time you're done you might as well slap a Konami logo right onto your Xbox.So, who's getting their Castlevania on?
Symphony of the Night whips XBLA next week
Wow. We never thought we'd say this, but Xbox Live Arcade is on a roll. Two weeks ago, we got Alien Hominid, last week was Worms, and TMNT dropped this week. That's three decent titles in a row. How in heaven could Microsoft keep this up? The answer is Symphony of the Night. Marked by many as the official game to whine about now that Worms is out, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will arrive next Wednesday on Xbox Live Arcade. Most Castlevania fans agree that SOTN is the best in the series, so seeing it on Live Arcade is a real treat. The game provides many, many hours of action RPG gameplay and features either classic or "modernized" graphics and sound. Symphony of the Night will be available next Wednesday for 800 points.Is Xbox Live Arcade finally coming into its own? Dare we dream?
Castlevania: SOTN possibly coming this month
Rumor has it that the March 2007 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly confirms the release of XBLA title Castlevania: Symphony of the Night sometime this month. Yup, Castlevania: SOTN within' the next few weeks. Though it is entirely possible that EGM confirmed the release date with Konami weeks ago, but since then could have been delayed. We don't see why the game couldn't be ready for a February release (we already know what the achievements will be), but you know how that infamous Microsoft certification process works. Cross your fingers and wish upon a star, but no matter we're still slapping a rumor tag on this one. Come on fanboys, can we get a Castlevania in February for the win?[Thanks, Aaron W.]
Castlevania breaks 50MB Arcade limit [update 1]
GameSpot reports today that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will be the first Xbox Live Arcade title to break the 50 MB size limit (we were wondering how the hell they got the voice acting and audio in there). The limit was imposed so that 360 owners could transfer Arcade games to memory card, allowing them to be played on another 360. Xbox Live's Greg Canessa told GameSpot that the cap is still in effect, but Microsoft can and will make certain exceptions. Citing SOTN as one of the "most popular games of all time," Cannessa felt that an exception was in order. He further notes, however, that the trial version will fit on a memory card.We've blogged about the 50 MB limit before, and it will be interesting to see how (and if) Castlevania will affect future developments on Live Arcade.Update: It looks like GameSpot got the trial version info wrong. MS informed us (and GameSpot) that it will not fit on a standard memory card.
