Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

It’s always worth keeping an eye out for interviews with Castlevania series director Koji Igarashi. As the man in charge of all things Castlevania, he’s the one to watch when it comes to figuring out what might happen next. Today, there’s an interview with him at Game|Life, one in which Wired News asks him not only why gameplay involves destroying candles to get items but why there are pork chops hidden in the walls. It turns out in Japanese culture there are candles that represent life, so he presumes these are meant to represent the souls of those who’ve been killed my Dracula’s minions. Keep in mind that Koji Igarashi did not work at Konami when the Castlevania series started, so he didn’t start the candle thing. It’s not clear whether he asked the original developers. He didn’t have an answer regarding wall meat. Click through for highlights, then follow the link to the blog to read the whole thing.

Note that the first question I put here seems to be implying a Nintendo DS version of Dracula X Chronicles is next, depending on how you read it. I’m going to assume I’m reading that wrong, and he just means the next Castlevania is coming to the DS.

Interview: Iga Talks Castlevania Everything at Wired’s Game|Life blog.

WN: What’s coming up next for Castlevania, the games?

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

WN: Has the PSP version been released in any territory yet?

KI: Not yet. It’ll come out first in the US.

WN: Are there any pre-order promotions for it in America? Last time there was that CD package, is there anything this time?

KI: This time… there’ll be a special gift at GameStop. Do you know Neca, an American action figure maker? They made a special NES-version Simon figure for Comic-Con. Like a pixel picture. They’re doing a Simon’s Quest version, in black/white/red, for the pre-order gift. It’ll be at GameStop, but the numbers will be very limited.

***

WN: I’ve wanted to ask this for a while: what do you think, in the whole history of Castlevania, was the worst decision anybody ever made about the series?

KI: Probably when we put out the timeline. Because since Dracula only appears every 100 years, we made the whole timeline and ran out of places to put in another game. I made the timeline, but I shouldn’t have actually released it, because now it’s all official. That was a bad decision.