A German transcript of this interview can be found here.

At this year's Games Convention in Leipzig we met Koji Igarashi, the mastermind behind the famous Castlevania-series, and Michiru Yamane, the extraordinarily nice and extraordinarily talented composer of the great Castlevania-nusic. Read here, what we talked about.

Gorillas: Before Castlevania, you also worked on the Tokimeki Memorial series. Which of the two series is closer to your heart?

Koji Igarashi: The Castlevania series, I'd say. I'm definitely more cut out for the Castlevania series.

Gorillas: For the 2D Castlevania games you seem to spend a lot of time on little details to bring the environment to life, like the snow falling from the top of a car when you jump on it. Is this an essential part of your philosophy of how to design a good game?

Koji Igarashi: We also included many details of that kind in the new DS game, so it can probably be called a stylistic trait of the Castlevania series. But these things are usually closely linked with the motivation of the team - when things are going really well and the staff is having fun working on the game, they will come up with these little additions here and there. They are not necessarily all my own ideas.

Gorillas: When comparing the 2D and the 3D installments of the Castlevania series, the 3D games appear rather lacking in terms of details. Do you have any ideas why this is the case? Can this be accounted to a lack of motivation or was it simply a matter of keeping your milestones?

Koji Igarashi: I believe there are still many points that need to be improved with the 3D games. I feel I've got a good grip on the 2D ones, but I'm still struggling with bringing that experience into the third dimension. So, as you said, there's still some work to be done.

Gorillas: Some time ago, Capcom released Goku Makaimura, the new game in the Ghouls'n'Ghosts series. It was basically a 2D game, but with 3D characters and backgrounds. Is there any chance that the Castlevania games may take a similar direction in the future?

Koji Igarashi: You're talking about 2.5D. There has been some discussion on that particular mode of presentation. But it's basic limitations that we're talking about. Each 2D series limits itself through its own gameplay mechanics and by setting up rules on how to make the player comfortable with the game. And since we're going for a very distinct feeling with the Castlevania series in 2D, 2.5D would bring up a large number of issues that need to be dealt with very delicately so as not to alienate the player.

Gorillas: Ms. Yamane, was yesterday's concert your first experience with playing in front of an audience?

Michiru Yamane: Yes, it was. I was very nervous, especially when I first saw the audience. But it was also a very moving experience.

Gorillas: So would you do it again?

Michiru Yamane: I was rather nervous, and it wasn't easy to get used to the situation. But the moment I heard the applause I thought I'd like to try this sort of thing again some time in the future.

Gorillas: You seemed rather at ease with your instrument though, the cembalo. Do you own one yourself, or do you usually practice on the piano?

Michiru Yamane: First, I practiced on the piano, since I originally meant to play the piece on a piano. When I was told there would be an opportunity to play on an actual cembalo, I went to a place in Tokyo where I could practice on one twice. I had the chance to practice two more times after leaving Japan in Prague.

Gorillas: When writing the music for the Castlevania series, you often mix different classical styles of music with modern ones. Do you think the Dracula story is a particularly modern story? And if so, what makes it so appealing to a modern day audience?

Koji Igarashi: I believe that the Dracula story can still be enjoyed as much today as it was in the past. It's not necessarily just a story about bloodsucking, but a story about fear and darkness. These are two subjects that will never disappear from the human heart, no matter how many generations may pass.

Gorillas: The next question concerns the timeline of the Castlevania series. Dracula is supposed to rise from his grave every 100 years. Recently, however, he's been back in town every two or three years. Is it becoming more difficult to create new stories for the Castlevania games because you are forced to find new gaps and means to resurrect Dracula without making him seem like a cartoon villain?

Koji Igarashi: Well, if he doesn't come back that means there'll be no new game. That, in turn, would put me out of business. But I've discussed this issue with a few people before. If you look at the timeline of the games, you will see that Dracula comes back from the dead in the 'natural' way every 400 years, which is in perfect accordance with the rules. Whenever he's back and not keeping to the schedule, there's usually some strange incident like an eclipse or a mysterious murder case that helps him come back to life. So in my opinion, there's no real problem with the timeline.

Gorillas: You're making a game which is basically about a castle. Now that you're in Europe, are you planning on visiting any actual castles for reference or inspiration?

Koji Igarashi: Yes, we actually went to the original castle of Dracula in Romania some three days ago. I'm in Europe for the first time, and Romania was the first country we went to after leaving Japan. We only got to spend one day there, and my camera didn't work the way it should have. Must have been one of Dracula's curses.

Gorillas: What kind of inspiration did the trip give you? Did you gain any new insights on the Dracula phenomenon?

Koji Igarashi: We went to the top of the mountain where the castle is located by cable car. When I touched one of the poisonous plants on the way up there by accident I hurt myself quite badly - that one's definitely going to be in the next game.

Gorillas: But you weren't tempted to whack any candles when you were in the castle?

Koji Igarashi: That's the other thing... Unfortunately, we didn't get that far. We went on a Monday, which is the only day visitors can't enter the castle.

Gorillas: How do you go about developing a new title in the series? How does the cooperation between team members work, such as the sound department and the group charged with designing the environments.

Koji Igarashi: My team creates a specific concept for the worlds and the levels. Then the sound department, most of the time headed by Michiru Yamane, does the music for said concept. We also get many different requests from the team members on what the music is supposed to sound like. For Portrait of Ruin, Mrs Yamane was asked to do especially loud and heavy tunes, which must have made things pretty hard for her this time around.

Gorillas: Most people will agree that with Symphony of the Night for the PSone you already made what can be called the perfect Castlevania game. Now you're creating new games in a similar style for new platforms like the Nintendo DS. Do you feel any pressure about what fans have come to expect from your games when you start working on a new one?

Koji Igarashi: I do feel pressure with the Symphony of the Night legacy on my back. But Symphony of the Night was a game I made, which makes it at least a bit easier to bear. But I am always looking for ways how to make the game more fun to play.

Gorillas: I have always quite liked Castlevania 2, not so much for the game itself, but for its concept. You could go into towns and talk to the people that lived there, and the atmosphere of the game came together quite nicely as well. Can you see the series going further into that direction again, considering that your interpretation of the Castlevania series is already a mix between the more tradtional action games and action adventures?

Koji Igarashi: Actually, in the Japanese version of Castlevania 2, the townspeople were all liars. None of them really told you the truth. I was just wondering - was it the same way in the overseas version of the game?

Gorillas: Yes, they really were all lying. They told you really confusing things about what you had to do next, but there was no way of making sense of that. You had to use a walkthrough to get through the game really.

Koji Igarashi: You see, in Japan there was no walkthrough available for the game. That made it extremely hard to clear the game, especially because everybody was lying. In Japan, Castlevania 2 was released for the Famicom disk system - which means that even though you'd beaten all the enemies in one area, they would be back next time you passed through that place. At about five seconds between screens, loading time was also a big issue. So Castlevania 2 didn't leave a good impression with the Japanese gaming audience. These points were part of my inspiration for making Symphony of the Night.

Gorillas: One last question to both of you. What kind of games do you play for fun? What kind of music do you listen to for recreation?

Koji Igarashi: The last game I played was New Super Mario Bros., also a side-scrolling action game. I really love action titles. But I really love The Legend Of Zelda the most.

Michiru Yamane: Most of the time, I listen to classical or traditional music. When I want to relax, I prefer Jazz music, though. When I need inspiration for the games, I listen to rock music.

Gorillas: Thank you very much for the interview.

Related Texts:

Review: Castlevania - Portrait of Ruin (German)
Review: Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow (German)
Interview: Yuzo Koshiro (German)