I blame William Oertel.

Ravidrath

Unless Igarashi is behind this, it's just another game in the crossovr fighter craze that's sweeping Japan right now. First Dissidia, now Judgement.

Give me Iga's involvement and it won't be a instant phail. Give me Soma Cruz, Julius Belmont,and a Genya Arikado costume change for Alucard and then we'll talk about buying it.

Karisu-Zero

Make a 2D, too.

Too as in I'll play this. More fighting games.. Hopefully it won't suck, but the characters can be interesting, huh.

MonsterKingRen

Wake me when its a 2D action platformer.

ZenGaijin

@dead_red_eyes: Hey, I'm not knocking the Metroidvania-style games: SotN is still one of my favorite games of all time, and I enjoyed the first few DS iterations that cribbed from it. "Metroidvania" is not a pejorative, it's simply a commonly used term that describes the style of play the two 2D series share. If it offended your fanboy sensibilities, well, you're pretty stupid to have fanboy sensibilities.

AtomicPlayboy

D'OH!!!

Mr. Fap☆Fap!

Yie Ar Kung Fu was great! I wonder how a modern version would play.

Arklop

I think this is a cool idea. You guys are dorks.

bonnebonne

Konami, please hire this guy: quadmonkey, and make him the product manager on your next Castelvania game.

@wild homes has particularly attractive fries today: I can't wait until Tecmo and Majesco have lunch and make a similar bet.

(Say, have you done something with your fries? They look different.)

Antiterra

You're not my Great Grand Father!!!

AceClover Justice

Looks about as worthwhile as a Soul Calibur beat-em-up starring Ivy and Siegfried.

Frankly, I don't think it's a matter of not "getting" the Wii, I just don't think third-parties care that much.

That's the problem with Gunpei Yokoi's mantra (and why Nintendo should probably lay it to rest alongside the man himself), it simply makes it too easy for developers to "phone it in".

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

@nick.soapdish: I'm keeping my mind open because they might shop this out and make a great game. Who knows maybe its by the maker of Smash Bros... Ok yeah you got me I was being silly ;)

Gunloc

non-purchase

Eltigro

@jive238: Hopefully they offer alternate costumes - Barbarian/Effeminate Simon, Long Hair/Movie Dracula, and Genya Arikado/his other form I shan't mention in case it's considered a spoiler.

I'm just hoping Soma has decent fur coat physics and a pimp-slap attack.

Kyattsuai

Ugh, being a big fan of the series this is really dissapointing.

MaskedMuffin12

Hm. This is a strange move. I think that's the biggest understatement I've ever made. I just cannot imagine what Konami are thinking with this title. The only thing I can think of is that Midway and Konami were sitting down to lunch together a few months back, and they decided to challenge each other to make the most ridiculous title they were capable of. Midway's bringing out MK-on-DC Lovefest: The Game, but Konami just won this challenge hands down.

wild homes has particularly attractive fries today

So, half the fighters are using whips and share the same last name? How can it not be awesome ?

Kidding aside, is a 3D fighter that much less expensive to produce than a 2D traditional Castelvania? Because I can't see any other reason why they wouldn't make the game that the fans are dying to play.
Even if this fighter turns out to be decent, it won't encounter the success that a fine 2D game would.

While it's obviously too early to judge the game, it's not too early to question the business acumen that led to this perplexing (to say the least) decision.

It seems like every time someone comes up with a dodgy new concept for an established franchise, there's always a producer ready to say: "Fantastic! Greenlight it and slap it on the Wii!"

Antiterra

I can understand people's disappointment, but I like seeing game franchises diversify and stretch outside their comfort zone. And who knows, maybe they'll actually do a good job of turning Castlevania into a franchise. If they do it right, it could become a mature alternative to Super Smash Bros., which is something I have been interested in for a long time.

ArmiMaan

This is a fantastic April Fool's Day gag...about three months late.

goldarsun

Do you like expansive 2D adventures, hi-res sprite work, and a deep combat system? Then you'll love Castlevania for the Nintendo DS.

You own a Wii and love the Castlevania games for it's polished, genre-defining gameplay? Then you'll love this Castlevania game in a different genre with a big ol' bag of waggle!

Seriously, when will companies stop changing a franchise to appeal to more people, when all it does it create an inferior product that no one can enjoy.

Looking at you, Soul Caliber Legends.

AppleTamer

First the Wii gets a lame-o Soul Calibur action game and now they get a Castlevania fighting game.I cannot wait 'till they get the Doom puzzle game.

Xideo

Marshall Champions wasn't too bad.... It was Konami's foray into fighting games. Remember that one people?

GameCasa

@AtomicPlayboy:

Puhlease ... that Metroidvania shit is OLD. They're 2 completely different titles, and always have been. SoTN-rehash ... I can see that, but it was honestly a good foundation for the series to build on. I'm happy to see them trying something new ... but a fighter? IDK, just doesn't seem that great of an idea.

dead_red_eyes

I wonder how well you can play with Wii-mote. I'm gonna guess it's gonna be another one-button attack - "swing".

neo177117

This could actually be a really good fighting game. What they need to do is keep the heart of the Castlevania style, and not get bogged down making a stereotypical fighter. If their willing to innovate on the fighting genre just a little bit and make something that's still Castlevania at heart, this could be really cool.

Will they though? Probably not.
I am going to keep my hopes high and not judge it too early just because of it's not what I expected. Innocent until proven guilty.

TheGuero

Was i the only one who said out loud.

Hehe ignore the flaws of the my first post.

CrimsonAngel

This has boardroom meeting written all over it.

Guy A: "Hey, there is a lot of potential to make money on the Wii. We should probably get a piece of that action."

Guy B: "Alright, but what are we going to do?"

Guy C: "Well, people have wanted Castelvania on a console for a while now, haven't they?"

Guy A: "He's right. We've done pretty well on the handheld games, but I don't know if that will transition well to a home console."

Guy B: "I've got it! We'll make it a fighting game! If it turns out to be good we'll make a lot of money and if it sucks the hardcore fans will buy enough copies to make back what we spent in development!"

Guy A, B, C: "Genius!"

Silent Predator

Was i the only onei said out loud: HA FAIL!!!

CrimsonAngel

............wow, I've been waiting patiently to see what next gen technology would bring to the series and this is what we get? This is a worse idea than Eirgeiz! (anyone else remember that game by square)

On top of that, you'd have a hard time convincing me that they didn't get this idea from the new Final Fantasy Fighter that square is making (and no I'm no fanboy or anything, I think it's just too much to be a coincidence and I love Konami and Castevania like none other so it's no insult to them as a company)

AxlTheHunter

Hey, now... Dream Mix TV World Fighters wasn't horrible... It wasn't the greatest game either, but it was fun.
(Yes, I actually own it)

So, I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Yes, they don't have much of a fighting history, but who knows? They could really surprise us here.

BPMλ

Secretly, I was hoping the Wii Castlevania be a beautiful, hand drawn, 2d side-scroller with connectivity between DS and Wii that opened up additional content between games (intertwining story lines, characters, and trading of weapons/items).

But only in my head could something that cool exist (and not be Pokemon related).

I really hope they pull this off, I really hope they make the gameplay rich and fun - I just highly doubt it.

quadmonkey

I'm not a Castlevania fan but even i just felt the kick in the balls from that one. I have you in my thoughts between what I'm gonna eat and the next time I'm gonna fuck.

Neo-Senku

Of all the Simon belmonts to use why did they have to go with the effeminate one? Simon the Barbarian I what people want, but even if he was in there no one would want this game. The hell were they smoking?

jive238

How did this thing get this far with nobody at a meeting raising their hand and saying, "hey guys, maybe this is fucking retarded?"

Poor form.

etchasketchist

@hahnchen: Okay, I'll give you that it should have been 2d without motion controls, but further warping the bounds of Soul Calibur by throwing more retarded cameos in there doesn't make sense- especially when they would at most choose 2 characters in a series full of numerous characters.

Thus, making a Castlevania fighting game makes sense... maybe it's not being the the entirely correct way, but we can't be sure it won't be at least a little good without more information (although... the motion controls are almost definitely a misstep).

And I see what you mean about the "console Castlevanias", but it doesn't make sense to recommend Sony consoles for Castlevania experiences, when the 3d efforts have been more miss than hit, and the last 2d effort was years ago.
And it doesn't make sense to exclude the portable releases, when they're generally accepted as better than the console ones.

Zerbrechen

Reminds me of those One Piece fighting games. I'm going to be optimistic about this. Who knows, Castlevania could make for a fun fighter.

@AndrewDB: Hey, I thought the N64 game was awesome. It may have horrible controls, but I overlook them for the other aspects of the game such as the brilliant level design.

Green-clad Gamer Dude

What the HELL way to jump the fucking shark, Konami.

Aethyr

More like Castlevania Deception. Amirite?

PeterPanDude

Holy Mary mother of God why.

ProdigalMoon

hey guys it's ok, just look at all of the other great konami fighters out there!

...

konami has never made a fighting game; abandon ship.

thetrueyuiop

This will be to Castlevania what Soul Calibur Legends is to Soul Calibur. My curiosity will probably get the best of me and I'll end up playing this anyway.

Wubbytoes

@Sparx: *Imagines*

ow, my arm.

thejakeman: still using an old joke that no one finds funny anymore. i have no friends.

Not only is this silly as a fighting game but playing a 3D fighter like this with a wii-mote and nunchuck is also silly.

Xcite79

@Zerbrechen:I wasn't taking into account handheld releases. The last Nintendo console Castlevania I can recall came out on the Nintendo 64(?)

hahnchen

Oh Hell No!

yashichi8bit

this is fuckin stupid!

aggrostack

Better a fighter than another 3d platformer.

But I would prefer that they satisfy their fighting game urges by throwing Alucard, Richter, & Maria into the next Smash Bros and make, yes, another 2D platformer.

RigorMortis

I love how people are acting like this is the next canonical Castlevania game and all future Castlevania games will be fighting games.

Guys... this is a spinoff. Don't like it? Don't play it! It's not the end of Castlevania as we know it.

Jeff Paine

I'll take my usual optomistic approach and hope a game like this is good in ways that a single magazine scan can't show us.

phinehas

Outsource to Namco-Bandai's Team Soul, Konami. Your track record on fighters not named Yie Ar Kung Fu or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, is abysmal. At least if the Soul Team is doing this we'll get some good weapons based fighting (if Soul Calibur 4 doesn't suck that is).

Other then that: What. The. Hell? A Castlevania crossover fighting game? It doesn't get any weirder. Well, maybe except for the fact that isn't a 2D fighter. Seriously, this is entirely unexpected.

KeroseneClimax

@Zerbrechen:No, a proper Castlevania Wii game would not have killed off the hype for the handheld game. They're not mutually exclusive, in the same way that 2D Metroids and Metroid Primes haven't detracted from one another.

It doesn't make sense. A Soul Calibur Wii edition with select Castlevania characters makes sense. A beautifully drawn, beautifully animated homoerotic 2D fighter would makes sense. Final Fight Revenge doesn't make sense.

hahnchen

Well, looks like I don't have to keep my Wii after-all then.

LegendK1ll3r

Wonder how long it'll be till Iga retcons this one.

Nobuyuki

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh the inhuman horror. Some games should have never left 2d and Castlevania was one of them. This game will suck more then the last few crap that was on the PS2 and the N64 combined.

outofmind23

@Saint Anima: Somehow I get the feeling IGA had no hand in this. He's expressed distaste for motion controls too many times for me to think he's behind this.

Nirolak

wow.... *goes back to play symphony of the night*

mindf1ow

Well, there goes my erection.

ZeeBeeEss

After playing the original on the NES so much, I would've thought Simon would be more...brown.

Skunky

So disappointing...

/runs away to cry

I had been hoping for a nice new 2d 480p CASTLEVANIA game, not this... shit :(

Limey

This is fairly disappointing news. As much as it would pain me to not see a new Castlevania on the PS3, having a traditional Belmont style Castlevania would be phenomenal on the Wii. I mean could you imagine the possibilities of using the Wii-mote to fling your whip?

Sparx

Who are the ad wizards that came up with THIS ONE!?!?

JimElNino

@Kanik: [www.tesuji.org]

TheLightItBurns

@Zerbrechen: By the way "screw off, haters" is a bit too harsh, but I'm a bit unnerved that no one's keeping an open mind/tired...

Ah well.

Zerbrechen

Two things can be made of this.

1. It'll actually turn out to be a decent fighter, and provide great fan service to boot. Richter Belmont VS. Alucard in a Symphony rematch?

2. The worst idea in years. Well, second to the whole Mortal Kombat vs DC thing. The DS game looks to be good, at least.

The hell is IGA thinking? This better turn out ABOVE-AVERAGE at best. This may be the year that the fighting genre comes back into full motion, but that doesn't mean everyone has to join the fun.

Saint Anima

@hahnchen: Why would they? When was the last time a real "quality" Castlevania game came out for a Sony system? Symphony of the Night, was it?

Ever since, the GBA and DS have been getting basically all of the more recent Castlevania titles. I actually preferred DoS to SotN, but I'm the only one...

Zerbrechen

@Tom Clancy's Samuraidino: And the 64 version wasn't?

Come on..

~~~~

It looks like Soul Calibur 2.

Yuck.

AndrewDB

Wow - first we have an example of what a company should do with an old franchise with Mega Man 9 - then we have exactly what a company should NOT do with an old franchise with Castlevania.

Emotions all over the place today in regards to the Wii. I am not excited about this despite my love for all things Castlevania (yes, even the N64 iterations). Oh well, the release of the DS Castlevania makes this forgivable (but IGA will have to sleep on the couch for a week or two).

quadmonkey

@Morphine16: Wow. Talk about keeping an open mind...

Northern Cat

hahahahaha
Wii's answer to Soul Calibur IV?
:0
xD
don't think so..>>; but here's for hoping it's playable..

evilralphwiggum

This is just wrong. Just wrong. I was hoping for a great action/adventure game with this series. I respect them trying to take it in a new direction but with the slew of similar fighting games, I'm just not sure. Guess we'll just have to see.

truhuman

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko: That honestly sounds like Snake's alcoholic brother.

@Gunloc: Not sure if you're being serious (sarcasm detector is in the shop) but if you are, the big thing about games that keep the fans is not the environment or the characters, but mostly the game itself. When you fundamentally alter not just the mechanics, but the genre and style of play, you're really going to make people jump and usually react poorly.

I mean, it's worth holding judgment to see if this actually is happening, and what it actually looks like in motion, but this is a bit out there.

nick.soapdish

Well.......There are enough characters in that franchise to justify this kind of game.

I'm in. Besides, Order of Ecclesia will keep us satisfied for a while for 2D platforming needs.

Heck I'm replaying Circle of the Moon as we speak.

Northern Cat

Can we have a cel shaded 360/PS3 2D Castlevania adventure yet? Please?

(Sorry if this is a double post, Kotaku's commenting system still hates me but so far the ones I think haven't went through haven't so I should be alright...)

Nirolak

Am I the only one looking forward to this? Not only does a Castlevania fighter make sense (moreso than a Final Fantasy one at least), we also don't know anything about it yet, and people seem to be forgetting that it wouldn't make sense to reveal a "true" Wii Castlevania, because that would throw all the hype for Order of Eccselia (it's still coming, you know... you remember that DS game? Yeah!) out of the window.

Which would be a shame, because Order of Eccselia looks to be the best Castlevania in years.

Screw off, haters.

Zerbrechen

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko: *Snake

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko: Solid sake sounds sorta nasty to me.

Fatass of Kickassness

@Huckleberry: I didn't include those. I should have said "Console" in the whole "First time we get a good..." statement. I have yet o try the DS ones, but I plan too once I get some money. If it's good enough to tide me over on a three hour bus trip then I'll get it.

Amazon_Chris

Surely this is just one of the many concepts they tried out for Castlevania Wii and threw out. Right?

Are there any Castlevania fans left with Nintendo consoles? Surely they all jumped on board the Sony bandwagon some time circa PSone.

hahnchen

@Kanik: Umm by "that guy" do you mean Captain Fing Picard?!!!

That is not some guy it's freaking Patrick Stewart!!!!

Mahale

Will we see Solid Sake as a guest character?

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

One word: LOL. Who is responsible for game ideas? Fire him!!

Morphine16

@nick.soapdish: Some of those guitar remakes of classic Castlevania themes are downright awesome. I'm actually all for your idea.

Pornosaur

Not only is it the wrong genre (fighting instead of action/platforming), but the wrong dimensions as well (3D instead of 2D)!
Obviously it's a recipe for success, amirite guys!?

Arttemis

Intersting.... hey, who knows, it could be good. I have my doubts, but at least its something different from the endless Symphony of the Night clones that have represented up the franchise recently.

Sam Smith

That right there is full of ouch.

Pornosaur

Isn't this called fan service? Lets be happy!

Gunloc

Guess I'm in the minority here, but I think this is a good direction for Castlevania. I'm tired of the SoTN-rehash Metroidvania titles that keep coming out on the DS, and the series never made a good transition to 3D platforming, so the options were pretty limited. Yeah, I would have preferred an action-RPG treatment, but I'm glad to see that they're willing to try something new for the franchise.

AtomicPlayboy

*pulls out Darth Vader Voice Changer*

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fatass of Kickassness

THE LIGHT!!! IT BURNS!! IT BUUUUURNS!!!!

Sparx

@Amazon_Chris: There are plenty of good Castlevania games on the DS. You should try them.

Huckleberry

o_O

Words fail me.

banana_ridah

Wow, if this turns out to be the revival of Castlevania for the Wii, it's got to be the biggest change in terms of what fans wanted. Who is this for, really?

I bet people would've been more content with Guitar Hero: Castlevania, with songs by and inspired by Simon Belmont and Dracula.

nick.soapdish

it better have sonic in it

thejakeman: still using an old joke that no one finds funny anymore. i have no friends.

So, uh, we finally get a supposed good Castlevania game after forever, and it's a fighter. R.I.P Castlevania.

Amazon_Chris

This... makes sense. Soul Calibur with more whips.

Jeff Paine

oh boy

pcgecko85

Way to rip off Guilty Gear Judgement's title. Also *facepalm*

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Well, we had the awesome Mega Man news earlier, and now this horrible Castlevania news. Now balance has been restored.

Stratovarius

Shit. I was really hoping for a 420p (16x9) 2D Castlevania title. DAMNIT!!!!

dead_red_eyes

What is this I don't even

MSW0

You know that ASCII-art of the guy with his hand on his forehead in disappointment?

Well, imagine that times infinity.

Kanik

I guess their lackluster fighter streak from the 90's continues? At least the genre was very relevant back then.

SG79

Oh, man, if I had a Wii I would be bummed. I see lots of whip/Wiimote swinging.

Strangelove

I think thats a stake to the heart of the castlevania franchise right there.....

Tom Clancy's Samuraidino

Woohoo! Simon's Quest is no longer the worst in the series!

twesterms 2nd

RIP Castlevania. We had some great times on the PSone and DS, but it appears that you're now dead and Konami is pissing on your grave.

*Taps*

FoxyGaz

Nooooooooooooo WHY DO YOU DO THIS?!

Krytha

*GROAN*

Well, that's one less title to play on my dust-collector...

mrdietsoda

WTH ?

this is silly, i'm so totally disgusted by this.
whoever came up with this change in direction should be fired

Mr.Sad

*squints*
what's with simon's lame clothes? he looks a girl....

Solidsky

@Antiterra: Well, I'm guessing that contest would involve Majesco daring Tecmo to deny their programmers a whole lot of overtime and fake contracts and generally commit a lot of the time-honored malfeasance.

(PS yes, yes I did! Thank you for noticing! Do you like?)

wild homes has particularly attractive fries today

It shits me to no end that the Wii finally gets a Castlevania game and, wait for it, it's a fighting game.

That's like Epic announcing a Gears of War game for the PS3, then revealing it to be a turn based card game/driving simulator. Developed by Gamecock.

Thorax

How is this at all what any of us wanted? i'll still check it out but come on...

Desmondia

I just vomited in my mouth a little bit

ihateeverything

Sorry for my language but......

You GOT to be shitting me!?

Figcoinc

I tried but I just don't have anything positive to say... I'm just going to let it go. F it.

Madeira

I'm literally crying right now.

KM91

thank god i didn't purchase a wii. first capcom dropped the ball with resident evil by making it a rail shooter instead of a re4 style game encompassing the different entries in the series, and now konami makes castlevania a fighting game.

d.doldrums

@Tom Clancy's Samuraidino:

This comment is made of win!

EnigmaNemesis

Huh. Well..... Huh. I guess it could work. Never really thought they would do this, but it could be good. At least I still have Order of Eccelsia.

Fallen_Reality

Do want?
Do not want?

M

@Karisu-Zero: From what I've heard, Igarashi IS behind this :P

CockroachMan

If the controls are done right, this can be good.. We'll have to wait! Probably better then a new 3D Castlevania a la Castlevania 64 :P

Worst case, we still have Order of Ecclesia which is looking great!

CockroachMan

Awww the disappointment! but hey! Alucard is back!

Dubdoob

@Fatass of Kickassness: i would get me some solid sake if its good. this news is making wanan get a drink

kjcwashere

I love how so many people here are basing the game's worth on one blurry magazine scan and a scant paragraph description.

I'm at least willing to give the game the benefit of the doubt. I certainly don't think that the game is going to be one of the greatest fighting games of all time, but it could provide some fun, if shallow gameplay and plenty of Castlevania fan service.

Lezard

As a huge Castlevania fan and a huge fighting game f...

Wait, what the fuck?

futurebiblehero

oh COME ON. I can't believe Konami thought THIS is what Wii owners wanted. Ugh.

ThisCharmingMan

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Bad Konami Bad!!!

Sesshu

UGH. I hope this isn't true.

Sollus

What's next, a Contra party game? Sorry, I'm just a little disappointed. Whatever, I'll keep an eye on it.

Wolfers

Damn, what a horrible day for classic gaming news. First Capcom screws up Mega Man, and now Konami screws up Castlevania. How out of touch can these companies be with their fan bases!?

MARl0

@AtomicPlayboy:

You're gonna call me a fanboy for giving you grief about "Metroidvania"? Really? Really? Now that, is lame.

dead_red_eyes

Aw, c'mon guys, it might be good. The game's not even out yet.

Allosteric

Well, at least I dont have to worry about the shitty wii getting the first real CV game since SotN...

Rajolae

@AtomicPlayboy: Yeah, I can see what you're saying. Castlevania titles haven't really changed a whole lot since SotN, except for minor changes like magic system, and since SotN came out, there hasn't been a better Castlevania.
Still, you're the first person I've ever heard to be tired of the Metroidvania "genre." Even if almost all of the 2D Castlevanias since SotN have been exactly the same, I still find myself buying, playing, and enjoying each one.
I do have to say that I am really disappointed they decided to turn off their money machine by changing genres. I would've like a Wii 2D Castlevania.

Psiklone

Castlevania Fighter: FAIL!

zerogami

i don't feel so bad for selling my wii, now. at least i still have the next ds game to look forward to.

moominsean

I don't see why people are making such a big deal out of this, really.

It's easy to see why the Wii Castlevania is a fighting game and not a 2D game: it was leaked a little while back that the upcoming DS Castlevania would be able to link-up with a Wii game. It's therefore likely that both games will be out at around the same period, so that they can link to each other. My point? We'll never see two, all-new 2D Castlevania games in the same quarter of year, especially if they're for both DS and Wii respectively.

Want a 2D Castlevania? Then shut up and go pick up the DS game instead.

MeleeKirby

@twesterms 2nd: If you want a new Castlevania game, play Order of Ecclesia.

Lezard

@Lezard:
I'm not bashing it one little blurry scan, I'm bashing it because it's a fighting game masquerading as a Castlevania game.

I can get an endless amount of generic fighting games on every console, I can't get a *new* Castlevania though. This game won't be a Castlevania game, it's just going to be another fighting game that I can only hope to be alright at best.

twesterms 2nd

...............What the fuck?

Can someone please tell this game that the world ill needs a saviour such as it?

ManjiKengo

@CockroachMan:

In that case, we might just have a good game after all :D

Karisu-Zero

Seriously. Not. Interested.

mariospants

@AndrewDB: It looks like Soul Calibur 2, does it? We should be so lucky. But if it *plays* as good as SC2, then I say its a complete win!

Still... sigh... its got about as much chance as being good as DC vs. MK though.

StrikerGold

I'm a massive Castlevania fan, and I think this is the most disappointing video game news i've heard this week. Legacy of Darkness for the N64 was the game Castlevania 64 was meant to be, I thought the team did a really great job of the story, setting and gameplay, so i'd be looking forward to their next iteration of the proper game on a Nintendo console. The promise of some Wii-style whipping would just sweeten the deal :P. This is just a waste of developer time. It's not that I wouldn't enjoy this as a spin off, it just makes no sense to release this now when there have been no Castlevania games out on home consoles for years. Fans want a proper game first! Why fob Wii owners off with more lacklustre crapware? Who would buy a second rate fighter, except die hard fans who will complain about it anyway?

Get with the program 3rd parties - the Wii is not your dumping ground for half baked projects!

iLov3

Why? I mean, this looks like one of the worst marketing decisions possible.

Sooku

All because they missed the Smash Bros. boat I bet. Well, Final Fantasy is doing it too, so I'm not gonna fault them for it. When you're a great series, you've earned the right to try different things.

Ryodestined

@Tom Clancy's Samuraidino: If Castlevania can survive those horrible N64 3d versions, then Castlevania can survive this as it will just go back to the 2d well.

Magnum1024k

@alucardremixed:

They're NOT replacing the 2D games. It's just a spin-off.

Lezard

Could someone please fwd these comments to the producers of this game? A 2D side-scrolling Castlevania game on a system stronger than a PS1 should be an obvious winner. Maybe they know something about it that we don't...because all I ever see is nearly unanimous begging for that kind of game.

ProdigalMoon

wow they just killed the best series. From the spectacular 2d side scrolling action, to a 3d fighter? How stupidly randomcan this be, castlevania should just be in the 2d plane forever.

alucardremixed

Part of me just died a little.

will there be grave yard duck to stay alive? That might...save it. No. No it won't. Damn you Konami.

Maleficent Lovecraft

2D Castlevania please. It would take far less effort and suck a hell of alot less than this garbage.

Tons Of Fun

EPIC FAIL.

Vexorg

also, i have just heard (through my Japanese Videogame Industry Contacts) that the character designs for this game are being done by Takeshi ("Death Note") Obata, so uhhhh yeah, they are officially looking to "raise brand awareness" x1000000.

i don't know, guys, i think they've got my money.

108

I'm oddly okay with this.

I hope I can play as Olrox. Or Cuthulu!

And who wins in the buxom, scantly-clad, giggle fight? Salome or Succubus?

mechawatts

hey, just think, least we KNOW it'll be better than Curse of Darkness :D

HikariOblivion

Sorry about this guys...

Let me tell you how it all went down.

Konami: "Hey Aex, How can we ruin one of your favorite franchises of all time?"
Aex: "What? You are making another Castlevania game?"
Konami: "Yes, for the Wii"
Aex: "Ugh... the Wii... Well as long as you don't make it a minigame, I guess I'll live"

I SHOULD HAVE SAID FIGHTER!! DON'T MAKE IT A FIGHTER!

Again... Sorry :(

Aex

@108:

The thing is, Konami has been damning a Wii Castlevania game for some time. For them to pull this can be taken as a rather obvious sign that they are distancing themselves from the franchise. Or at least in the sense of the games we want.

They are still making 2D DS games, but that isn't what fans want. I know I certainly do not want another 3D game if it is anything like the previous ones.

Maleficent Lovecraft

@108: or, think of the soundtrack remix possibilities, for god's sake!

they got yuzo "god" koshiro to do some music for that last DS CV; why not get him again for this?

have a little faith, people. if you want to play symphony of the night again, uhhhhhhh, you should fuckin' play symphony of the night again!

108

@ProdigalMoon: That 2D just doesn't sell on consoles? Betcha if Wario Land: Shake It and Mega Man 9 sell well, we'll be in for at the very least a Symphony of the Night port for WiiWare, and at best a new 2D Sprite-based Castlevania for Wii or WiiWare. Also, someone get Dimps to make Sonic the Hedgehog 4 for WiiWare using the Sonic 3 engine.

samaine

I made the mistake of buying GASP on N64 once... *shudder*

munkah

hey now, everyone

if you really liked castlevania you'd understand that this is a hell of a hilariously good way to raise awareness of the brand

you can't have 16.9 2D CV on your Wii until the world is reminded of what castlevania is again

or: it might be better than soul calibur!

108

I don't think words can express what is going on in my head right now...I'm going to go get a bottle of Jack Daniels and pop Dracula X Chronicles for a bit.

Darthhollander

The are doing this since they can't figure out how to do a real Castlevania in full 3D.

I say give the guys at Retro a shot at it.

Vanguarde

@AceClover Justice: LOL. Big timate.

What a HUGE left turn. This iteration better fucking blow some faces off, or its another one in the shredder next to Castelvania 64.

PsycheE

I'd buy this. Even though this is basically pissing all over two decades of returning to Dracula's castle.

Gunhaver

As soon as I read that title, I started frantically searching for a tag or word in the post that read "rumor", but to no avail... I don't use internet acronyms much, but seriously, WTF.

Ok, maybe I'm being a bit pessimistic, but it's less about the prospect of this being a bad game than it is about this being, as McWhertor sarcastically pointed out, the exact opposite of what people both wanted and expected.

Blah8

thats alot of waggle right there

FlapDangerous

Why not CV vs MK?

akilshohen

Well... could be interesting.... or not

bubble-bee

Guilty Gear gets a 3D action game, Castlevania is a fighter, Darth Vader is in SCIV, Snake in Brawl...

Fighting games have officially gone weirdo.

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

Welp, Castlevania had a good run. It's going the way of SH now.

NighTrekr

Looks like dream mix fighters was essentially Konami, Takara and Hudson Softs attempt at making Smash Bros. And it's unnerving how similar Snake's moves were in that game to his movements in Brawl.

+ Watch video

Reneg

Wait so is this the Castlevania for home consoles Iragashi was talking about before? I hope there's a new 2D one on the way...

excaliburps

@108: "or: it might be better than soul calibur!"

I hope both God and Dracula heard you! And Konami, of course...

Shiryu

These aren't the droids im looking for.
Move along, move along...

(... im still gonna end up buying it, you know that, right?)

Shiryu

Wow, this is an interesting market strategy. Don't analyze what fans want and then make the least probable thing they want.
Then add 3d to a series that has a lethal allergy against it.

Jultomten

@Poochy: First of all, because the man's been dead for over ten years. Secondly, because rallying under a banner of low-end tech hasn't been doing wonders for them in terms of quality iterations of third-party franchises as of late. In short, it's time for Nintendo to move on to bigger things.

I've been gaming for longer then many people on these boards have probably been alive, I can tell you right now that with each successive generation of handheld the gap between home and portable seems a little wider and the grass on the handheld's side seems a little browner. Now that they're seemingly applying that same school of thought to their consoles I have every confidence that the gaming landscape of their home division will seem dryer and dryer. Technology and raw power fuels innovation at least as much as design alone, and by cutting one major part out of the development equation Nintendo is slowly but surely sawing their own legs out from under them.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

@Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic: What exactly was Gunpei Yokoi's mantra, and why do you think Nintendo should lay one of it's greatest minds---one of the founding fathers of the modern video game industry---to rest?

Poochy

Oh, and Konami, while youre at it, and this one is very important:

PLEASE LEAVE THE JAPANESE AUDIO VOICES IN THE WESTERN RELEASE.

Take a leaf out of Namco's Soulcalibur frnachise and allows us to hear either English or Japanese voices. Ater all these years, I still cannot play Symphony in English. Still, very nice of you to leave us the choice between voices in the latest DS game... so make it happen here, to.

Shiryu

@Tons Of Fun: You couldn't be more wrong. Drawing high-res 2D sprites in the quantity required for your typical Castleroid-style Castlevania would take an incredibly long time and cost an enormous amount of money. This is only exacerbated by a waning interest in 2D games over the last generation or so.

Just read any interview with Iga published in the last two or three years...he points to that as the very reason why Castlevania hasn't ventured off handhelds in nearly a decade.

In a nutshell, it's "big-budget" as far as Konami's accountant is concerned, but niche as far as the fanbase goes.

All of you asking for another Symphony of the Night on the Wii, PlayStation 3, or 360 are gonna have to settle for 2.5D.

Nightshift Nurse: Mile High Colonic

I am about as big a fan of Castlevania as you can reasonably be; I love the Castletroid games and I was a fan of the series going back to the original. I will say that I am shocked, but curious about this. I don't have high hopes for this, but I am very open minded about fighting games, since it is one of my favorite genres.

kingofallcosmos

well, I'M EXCITED - I love fighting games.

Kempatsu

ladies and gentlemen castlevania is back

Haingis

A Fighter is very easy to do but very hard to do right. Konami has little experience and I expect little of this game.

By creating a fighter instead of the fan favourite 2D sidescroller they showed us, that they do not intend to spend alot of work on the project. And we all know how a rushed 'low budget' fighter will turn out, do we?

Gremory

This made me sad.. Like, really really sad.

Mizuki

ANOTHER fighting game? 2008 do it again!

HayamaAkito

Fail?

This coming from a huge Castlevania fan from the get-go of the series.

jay427

please refrain from passing judgement until you have played the game, THX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

freespeech

As long as Castlevania comes to the Wii I'm ok with it, although I really would've loved it if Konami saw the way Capcom is bringing one of its beloved franchises to the Wii.

chemical_eng_mx

High level familiars + dark metamorphosis + soul steal + tetra spirit etc... = annihilated humans.

But you can't kill a Belmont off like that, so... who are they going to horribly nerf?

They may make it work somehow, but it sounds like DC vs Mortal Kombat, or some kind of silly Batman vs Superman scenario.

fuchikoma

@AtomicPlayboy: so having a fighter is the best they could come up with? so i guess when you say "stupid fanboy" you clearly must be addressing the majority here. i'll tell you what. you go buy that shovelware... i hope the wii releases a true 2D platform game. there are many different ways to reinvent a series without having to jump a shark, this is clearly jumping into the shark pool with shark bait attched to your wetsuit. have fun, and send me a postcard.

zanzibarlegend

I beleive its not too far fecthed t beleive there will be more thenjust unlockable characters from the DS version, im sure you could train stuff on the DS and use it here, like the familiars. The possibilities are truly vast, let us hope Konami delivers.

Shiryu

@fuchikoma: Alucard looks great, if somehow different:

[www.ene3.com]

Yes, Im excited now, I've warmed up to the whole concept. Sign me on.

Shiryu

I think I'll just sit around listening to the music from Super Castlevania and pretend like this never happened...

Nubius

Whats with all the bitching? I've always thought castlevania had the perfect theme and characters for a fighting game(I also thought it would never happen). At least check out the gameplay before you start crying, it could turn out good. Plus, even if it turns out to be crap it'll only be the 3rd bad castlevania on a nearly perfect track record.( the n64 ones were horrible)

gophzero

@Gunloc: "Isn't this called fan service? Lets be happy!"

No, fan service is when the devs give the the fans something they'd actually like. This is the byproduct of a focus group test gone horribly, horribly wrong...

stranger

@zanzibarlegend: Well, from your message, I definitely mean you when I say "stupid fanboy", but the original point I made was in response to dead_red_eyes, who thought that my use of the term "Metroidvania" was a knock on Castlevania. At no point did I disparage Castlevania fans in general. You would be well served by actually reading and comprehending comments before you make silly responses, if this is within your abilities.

AtomicPlayboy

Oh, lord no. Please, no. I can't even.... it's not... Just... no!

Shifty_Pete

Wait and See

Human Bomb

Looks like they just used the fighter creators from SC or MK...

Human Bomb

@twesterms 2nd: Blasphemy! Simon's Quest is THE best in the series.

gencid

Wow! That is so hilarious that it doesn't even pass for fan fiction. What's next Konami, Metal Gear Solid: Tetris? It's not even April 1st for crying out loud.

gencid

hey might be good might be bad, who knows? Its not as if Castlevania has had an major home console titles that have been good in years so how can this kill a franchise??

excel_excel

Are you kidding me? That's NOT Symphony of the night 2!!!! DAAMMNN!!!!

Mlata

@bonnebonne:

I so agree...

OmegaAce1313

This site has more screenshots:

[www.jeux-france.com]

So supposedly the creator of Death Note did the character design. Why he felt Simon Belmont should be dressed up like a gay cyclist, though, we may never know.

Chilibob

instead of making a 3-d fighter, how about making a decent 3-d platformer in the castlevania stream. so far both of them have been poorly designed, tedious, and annoying. and i've beaten SotN twice on hard mode. this will probably be the worse game in the series now. lets set the bar low so when the next 2-d DS castlevania game comes they can apologize

heregoes

I'm a huge Castlevania fan, so I'm going to buy this without question (hey, and it helps that I'm an idiot to boot!). But that doesn't mean that I'll enjoy it.

I'd like to say that I'll stay positive until it comes out, but that didn't help with Curse of Darkness.

I'm going to start an angry frothing "hey guys, stop fucking around" petition.

Chilibob

Personally, I think it is a bit soon to say the game is going to suck... it's a fighter, so what? Get over it... if you REALLY want to complain about something, complain about the live action film!

I am looking forward to Castlevania: Judgment

OmegaAce1313

@ Jeff Paine - Amen!

To elaborate:

Oh guys, lighten up. It's not that bad. It'd be different if this were an indication of where they intend to take Castlevania permanently, but it's clearly just something fun for the fans and nothing hugely canon. We've got Order of Ecclesia for the DS coming out in the Fall, so it's obvious that they'll be keeping the series the way we're used to it. Just chill out, don't take it so seriously and enjoy the hilarity that this promises.

Besides, kicking the crap out of a character that really annoyed you in a particular game sounds like a good idea to me. I mean honestly, when do you get a chance like that?

I am a long-time fan of Castlevania (it's why I have most of my consoles, honestly), so I definitely understand the "wtf" reactions that this has gotten. But really, it's not a permanent change. They're just trying something different. So why not let them give us a little novelty?

@ Kyattsuai - I agree completely that Soma needs a pimp-slap command. Also, alternate costumes would be amazing. You should totally be able to unlock Konami Man and the Piko Piko gear from Lament of Innocence.

I am actually looking forward to this.

Lydie

*cry* I would love a Wii Castlevania action/adventure/rpg whatever, 2d or 3d. But a fighting game? I don't know. Only if it's all kinds of awesome.

I almost want to buy a DS just to play Castlevania games... almost. Hate portables.

Naturestee

I speak for myself right now, but this is like a huge slap in the face, then a chain whip to the gonads.... and I love my gonads intact.

BigPoopaPop