Since leaving Konami in 2014, former Castlevania series producer Koji 'IGA' Igarashi has focused his creative energies on Bloodstained, a spiritual successor to the vampire-hunting franchise produced at ArtPlay, his current studio.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a critical and commercial success, and received spin-offs such as Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2. The next mainline game in the series, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, was recently announced for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, and features an all-new pair of heroes, Leo and Alex.
Borrowing a page from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, one of the many titles Igarashi oversaw during his tenure at Konami, it's possible to swap between these two leads at any time with a single button press.
The DS game is relevant here for another reason, however; the Creative Director on The Scarlet Engagement (and designer and director of Ritual of the Night) is none other than Shutaro Iida, who worked alongside Igarashi at Konami on Portrait of Ruin and several Castlevania outings—including Order of Ecclesia, Dawn of Sorrow, Aria of Sorrow and Lament of Innocence.
Iida is well-known amongst Castlevania fans, but it's fair to say that IGA is the name most people associate with both Castlevania and Bloodstained. However, Iida's influence is a strong one, especially with the latter DS outings and the new series.
Speaking to Epic Games, the pair explain their individual approaches to game design:
"SHUTARO: Every time, I try to bring something new to the table. I guess you could say I’m more of a reformist, and I’ve been fortunate to be given the freedom to take that approach.
IGA: On the other hand, I’m not really a reformist. I sometimes ask, “Can we please keep this part as it is...?”
SHUTARO: ...But I don’t want to play it safe. And there’s a reason for that. No matter how many new things we try, in the end, the game still fits within the Metroidvania genre. That’s why I believe we have to keep introducing fresh ideas. I change the characters each time, and I’m not afraid to overhaul the system. Like saying, “This time, let’s make it a two-player game!” or “Let’s bring in the Glyph system!”
To give a specific example, the first Nintendo DS title was planned by IGA-san, so it felt like a direct evolution of the previous game. But the second and third entries were planned by me, and I think you can see the bigger changes there.
For this new title, I’ve also been given the green light to push the boundaries again…so I think it’s going to be a really exciting game."
Igarashi confirms that Iida is even more involved with The Scarlet Engagement than he was with the previous Bloodstained outing, which is remarkable when you consider that Iida is currently battling cancer.
"Once again, I’m teaming up with SHUTARO on this project, and every title he’s been involved with has received great feedback," Igarashi tells Epic Games. "Since he’s deeply involved as the Creative Director this time, I’m confident this game will be even more enjoyable than the last one. Please look forward to it."
Back in October last year, Iida (who is also known as Curry Boy and Curry Sage) revealed his diagnosis on social media, before pointing out that he had "already started talking about the sequel to Bloodstained" and teasing ideas for the game. He said he would be "sharing responsibilities" on development in order to give himself the time to focus on fighting the disease.
At the time, Igarashi noted that the Castlevania DS games and Bloodstained had been "produced primarily" by Iida. "It can truly be called his work," he added. "It is a great blow to have him step away from the project, but we will do our best not to be defeated by it. I hope you will recover quickly enough to work with me again."
Despite appearing in this fascinating interview and confirming his close involvement with the Bloodstained sequel, it would seem Iida's battle is ongoing. More recently, he explained that he had undergone painful surgery. "The surgery lasted 12 hours," he said on Twitter just a few days ago. "For a few days after the operation, I suffered from pain I had never experienced before, but I was able to leave the hospital safely. However, my fight against the illness is still ongoing, so I will continue to do my best."
I'm sure all of you will join us here at Time Extension—and the wider Hookshot Media network—in wishing Iida a speedy recovery.