Igarashi talks speeding up Bloodstained development, excited for Metroid: Samus Returns

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, is currently in development for Nintendo Switch. Producer Koji Igarashi recently discussed on how the game’s development is going and his excitement for Metroid: Samus Returns, which launches on Nintendo 3DS this September.

How is development progressing? You recently had to delay the game to 2018. Have there been any unexpected hurdles in development or is it just taking a longer than you anticipated?

Igarashi: Development is generally going smoothly, but there have been a lot of troubles. We encountered a lot of problems during development. Right now, we’re trying to speed up the development more because we had to make the system first and then go from there and just created more and more content. It’s quicker now in general.

A lot of the later Castlevania games share many similarities with Metroid. What are your thoughts on the new Metroid game that was announced for 3DS?

Igarashi: The two of us are extremely excited! [Laughs] We’re looking forward to it!

Igarashi was also asked about his favorite Castlevania game, which he answered:

Which is your personal favorite Castlevania game?

Igarashi: Out of the games that I’ve produced, my favorite is definitely Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It’s a memorable title, it was the first title that I was able to work on, and it’s also the reason why I’m here today developing Bloodstained. If you include all the other Castlevanias I didn’t produce, my favorite is Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.

What is it about Castlevania III that makes it your favorite?

Igarashi: Personally, the reason why it’s my favorite is because III doesn’t really tell you the story in the game itself. It shows it throughout the gameplay. It doesn’t really explain but it tells a lot from just playing the game. The whole concept of the game, the world setting for III was the best. Also, it was one of the first games that released a cassette. It was easy to play during that time and also the sound was great.

You can check out the full interview with Igarashi here.