Here's a nice screenshot!

As we detailed earlier, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth will colorize and modernize the 20-year-old outing of Christopher Belmont in his quest to kill Dracula for Konami's third downloadable retro "ReBirth" effort.

There will be new enemies, new traps and various other improvements such as rearranged music.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is priced at 1000 Wii Points.

I checked in with Konami, wondering if the recently-announced 2D downloadable Wii game Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth (coming to Japan at the end of this month) might be Igarashi's TGS project.

"Iga was involved in the development of Castlevania: Rebirth, however we aren't ready to share any details on Iga's next project just yet," Konami U.S. spokesman Jay Boor told Kotaku. "Please stay tuned."

I hope to get more clarification of what Igarashi's involvement is as we get closer to Rebirth's release. The game does not yet have a U.S. release date, but the participation of the man most associated with 2D Castelvania should excite some fans.

In June, Konami revealed that another of its star creators, Hideo Kojima, would be overseeing the next console Castlevania, Lords of Shadow, which is a third-person action game.

(Public Service Advisory: That's Igarashi on the right. Michael Fahey can be seen somewhere on the left of this photo.)

Koji Igarashi, who has overseen three critically-lauded Nintendo DS Castlevanias and has been involved with the franchise since 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, is still with Konami, company spokesman Jay Boor told me during a phone call from the San Diego Comic-Con.

"He is still at Konami, and he is still working on projects," Boor said.

The spokesman said that press questions about Igarashi's status have been common since Igarashi failed to appear during the E3 debut of the Kojima-overseen Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. That new Castlevania game is being developed by Madrid-based MercurySteam with involvement from Kojima Productions. The new title was the first major Castlevania project announced without an apparent connection to Igarashi in years.

Boor declined to address questions of Igarashi's potential involvement in Lords of Shadow, neither confirming or denying that the developer would be working on that project.

Konami hopes to announce the next Igarashi project at the Tokyo Game Show.

Castlevania games have been released in 2005, 2006 and 2008 on the DS, but no such project has yet been announced for 2009. Each of those games has been overseen and promoted by Igarashi. Asked by Kotaku if there would be a new DS Castlevania this year, Boor said, "I can't say anything."

We'll look to TGS for the next chapter of this story, which will hopefully illuminate Koji Igarashi's path at Konami and whether there will be any further intersections with the storied Castlevania series.

[PIC]

So what is KP doing? Lending moral support, it seems.

"Kojima Productions is playing more of a support role," explains Kojima. "Castlevania is one of Konami's most important brands, one that's seen many releases since the original, and they've all been received warmly, but there's never been a Castlevania created to really satisfy Western gamers. This has become a big project, one with the idea that we needed to make a Castlevania which had that same kind of feverish Western support, and that's why Kojima Productions came in to help."

Oh. Okay, then! Not sure if we agree that "there's never been a Castlevania created to really satisfy Western gamers". Our next question, why is Konami pushing Hideo Kojima into the limelight and not series producer Koji Igarashi?

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will be out next year on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. "It's got great gameplay and great action," says Kojima, "and the graphics are good even to Japanese eyes." Because Japanese eyes are the gold standard, yo.

Kojima Discusses Castlevania Involvement [1Up]

The game has been farmed out to Madrid-based developer Mercury Steam and brings together a star studded cast that features Patrick Stewart and Robert Carlyle. This is the game's latest trailer.

See Igarashi whip a Dengeki Online staffer for not playing Castlevania Judgment. See Simon Belmont learn to use a computer, answer a telephone.

We're pretty sure if these photos were put on a Wii disc, people would buy them. Hey, we'd buy them.

As a bonus, check out the Castlevania Judgment Simon Belmont figurine. Yours for ¥7,140 from Konami Style.

『ドラキュラ ジャッジメント』に出演中のヴァンパイアハンターが編集部に参上！ [Dengeki Online]

In games like SF or VF, all of the movements and inputs are extremely precise, and timing is crucial. I wanted to appeal to a broader audience than the general fighting-game crowd. There's also the issue of the Wii controller. It's difficult to do those sorts of precise movements when you're waving something around. That's why we opted to do more of a competitive action game.

Waggle, waggle, punch. Elsewhere in the interview, Igarashi declares his undying love for the Nintendo DS platform, but points out that making only DS games might not be the best business plan. It may be. You really can't be 100 percent about things like that.

Interview: Konami's Koji Igarashi [Kikizo] [Pic]

We asked Konami reps the burning question: will it be 2D or 3D? The answer: "That's up to Iga."

We're told we can expect more information in the coming months, but inquiries about locking down a date for further updates were met with shrugs. Hopefully, Konami will look at titles like Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Mega Man 9 for inspiration on just how many dimensions this things going to need.

When you have a franchise like this, that’s become popular in a certain type of game style and you change that so drastically, I understand the responses is going to be negative... I also felt a lot of the response was, I guess, unjustified in the sense that they based their [response] on just hearing about it or maybe seeing a couple of screen shots and making a whole assumption.

Insert Igarashi sad face.

Koji Igarashi Calls ‘Castlevania Judgment’ Fan Criticism ‘Unjustified’ [Multiplayer] [Pic]

GoNintendo's report from the mag hints at appearances from characters like Simon Belmont and Alucard, the use of sub-weapons like holy water and boomerangs, and (surprise!) motion controls.

Odd, yes, but while Konami may not be known for its fighting games — outside of Yie Ar Kung Fu — it had dabbled in 3D fighters when they were in their heyday. It was also responsible for one-third of the line-up Dream Mix TV World Fighters, a Japan-only fighting game that featured Simon Belmont and Solid Snake and was terrible.

Nintendo Power reveals Castlevania Judgement for Wii…a 3d fighter?! [GoNintendo]

Castlevnia Comic [Badger Comics via CVG]

[Metal Gear] is something that Kojima-san has worked on for a long time... That’s his decision and I completely respect him for doing that. Maybe the franchise as a whole will continue. And that’s maybe something that Kojima is thinking about, right? Snake might be at an end, but it could continue in other ways. I don’t know exactly what he’s thinking, but let’s see what he does.

Okay, if you say so. Let's!
Koji Igarashi Isn't Tired [MTV] [Pic]

Ooooooh!

The story takes place years after the Belmont family has completely disappeared, but Dracula is still going strong. Many organizations have cropped up to try and defeat the vampire but the only ones who seem up to the task are the mysterious Order of Ecclesia. The art style for the characters has changed from the traditional anime style to a much more pleasing (to me anyway) illustrative style that really shows of the beauty of the female protagonist in particular.

The combat has changed as well, this time relying on a "glyph" system. Essentially, magical glyphs can be absorbed that provide Shenoa with magical weapon abilities. These abilities can be assigned and used from three different areas: left hand, right hand or back. These glyphs can be used at will, but beware because they will sap your magic points! Equipping the same glyph to both hands will provide you with a quicker attack, but will drain your magic faster.

Also new to this title is the addition of a world map that will allow you to travel outside the confines of the castle to explore locations such as mountains and a sinking ship. Two person co-op play will also be made available via local DS wireless.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is set to release in the fall of this year and Mr. Igarashi slyly promised to try and make sure it launches on time with no delays. I hope he can pull it off because no matter how many Castlevania titles I play, I am always ready and excited for the next iteration.

Hit the jump for the full sized pic and more info.

What we do find interesting about another potential slog through Dracula's castle is the Wii menu item in the leaked title screen. What could Iga and crew have planned for Wii connectivity? Could it have something to do with the long-rumored Wii version of the venerable franchise or could WiiWare capabilities come to the DS? We can only speculate that, if these screens are real, third parties may be looking to take advantage of both machines' Wi-fi capabilities. Portrait of Ruin made good use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for its online shop trading service, so we wonder if Konami has something similar planned.

It's worth noting that these alleged screens have a very different art style than the previous two titles, which had a strong anime influence, something that wasn't necessarily well received by fans. If these screens are an indication of the direction of the next game in the series, we hope it means that long time character designer Ayami Kojima has a hand in it.

Take it as rumor for now or, at the very least, some damn good fakes. Thanks, Mike!

We're doing another Nintendo DS version. There hasn't been an official announcement, but we're doing it...we want people to enjoy the PSP version, and afterwards we're announcing it. So, please wait a little bit."

Torokun's Page [Deviant Art]

He tells GI that "I think the Xbox 360 would be the best platform for the U.S. market" citing the series' lopsided success stateside. Igarashi does, however, give PLAYSTATION 3 owners some hope, saying "As you know, Konami will release Metal Gear for the PS3, so Metal Gear might expand the PS3 market. In that case, we may release Castlevania for the PS3."

The Castlevaniac also touches on staying true to 2D, revealing that, based on the performance of the PSP port, he may decide to stick with side scrolling gameplay for any future console releases. I just pre-ordered ten copies. I suggest you do the same if you don't hate gaming.

Whip It Good: Koji Igarashi Talks About The Future Of Castlevania [Game Informer]

The game follows the adventures of a new character Desmond Belmont, which means the Castlevania series entry on Wikipedia is just about due for an argument on canon. More details on the development and associate blog for the both of you interested in mobile gaming after the jump.

KONAMI INTRODUCES ORIGINAL CONTENT FOR THE MOBILE PLATFORM BASED ON THE COMPANY'S TOP VIDEOGAME FRANCHISES

Konami Mobile's First Original, Castlevania®: Order of Shadows Available in September On All Major Carriers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — August 23, 2007 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. underscored its commitment to the mobile games market today by announcing the development of original content specifically for mobile phones, based on the company's legendary videogame brands. Featuring never-before-seen game play, storyline features and original music, Castlevania: Order of Shadows for the mobile platform will be available on September 18 on most major carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Networks.

"As a worldwide leader in high quality, multi-platform videogames, Konami is looking to raise the entertainment standard of games for mobile phones," said Joe Morris, Vice President of Konami Mobile. "Mobile technology has exploded, providing powerful new tools to enhance today's mobile gaming experiences. Konami's esteemed game developers will be creating original titles based on the company's top franchises including Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid Mobile, Contra and others."

Castlevania: Order of Shadows is the latest chapter in the popular videogame series, designed exclusively for the mobile platform. Developed in collaboration with franchise mastermind Koji Igarashi (aka "IGA"), the game breathes new life into the Belmont family bloodline with fresh adventures, characters and perils. Featuring updated abilities and spells, unique enemies, original songs and full screen particle effects, the title takes mobile gaming to new heights.

To give consumers a direct connection to Konami Mobile's development team and insight to upcoming game titles, the company has launched the "Developer's Corner" on its Web site, www.konamimobile.com. The first installment of the Developer's Corner will feature a blog written by Castlevania: Order of Shadows' lead game designer, Tyrone Rodriguez, discussing the genesis of the title, working with IGA on his vision for a mobile Castlevania game, and Konami's aspirations for improving mobile gaming experiences. Also featured on the website will be mobile game emulators as well as art and video, so consumers can sample the new games before purchasing them.

Castlevania: Order of Shadows will launch for the mobile platform on September 18, 2007. For more information, please visit www.konamimobile.com.

Also on hand will be Koji Igarashi to present Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles on the PSP, and Silent Hill: Origins lead William Oertel will be there to "unveil the future of the series". Spooky.

Sounds like Konami is gearing up for a really big show. We'll let you know how that turns out when Kotaku visits Germany later next month. For now, the press release calls to you.

Games Convention 2007: First details about Konami's product line-up in Leipzig

The football game for a new generation: Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH invites visitors to play PES 2008 for the first time

9:00am on August 23rd will mark a historic date for football fans and games players across Europe, as Konami uses the Games Convention in Leipzig to show the PLAYSTATION®3 version of PES 2008 for the first time.

Visitors to the Konami stand (Hall 4, Booth B11) will be the first people to get a hands-on play of the eagerly-awaited next generation football title, which is just one of dozens of big new titles from the publisher. With more details to follow, Konami has whet appetites with the announcement that key members of its development teams will be on hand to present new titles, including Koji 'IGA' Igarashi who will be showing Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable). Similarly, William Oertel, who is overseeing Silent Hill Origins for PSP® will unveil the future of the series.

PES 2008 will be released in Autumn and introduces 'Teamvision', a unique system of artificial intelligence that adapts according to an individual's style of play to create the balanced and strategic play of a high stakes match. Player detail and animation have also been taken to incredible details thanks to the high-definition power afforded by the Next Gen hardware, and visitors to Games Convention 2007 will also be invited to play the game on PC, Xbox 360 and more.

"We will witness one of the most exciting system changes ever at this year's Games Convention," commented Martin Schneider, Sales and Marketing Director Germany for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. "We can promise visitors and gamers in Leipzig that Konami will play a major role in this year´s gaming year - delivering new games and additions to popular franchises, while producing exciting games for new systems and established formats."