[T-shirt giveaway! Castlevania: The Castlevania Advance Collection is a revival of four classic games from the Castlevania series! Castlevania Advance Collection" release commemorative interview - A group of staff and craftsmen who love the original story revive the exploration type Dracula!

Castlevania Advance Collection, a collection of four classic titles from Konami's classic Castlevania game series (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam) was released on September 24, 2021.

This title features the exploration-based action titles "Castlevania Circle of the Moon" (2001), "Castlevania: Concerto of the White Night" (2002), and "Castlevania: Dawn Moon Round Dance" (2003), plus a bonus title, the stage-clearing action title " Castlevania XX" (1995) as a bonus title.

The series has continued with stage-clear action titles since the first Castlevania game, "Castlevania X" (1986), but with "Castlevania X: Nocturne in the Moonlight" (1997), the RPG-like elements of exploring a vast map and developing the hero are strongly emphasized. The game's interesting exploration elements, such as expanding the scope of action by defeating powerful enemies and acquiring special abilities, the game's balance in which progress becomes easier as the main character levels up, and the collection of items obtained through various means, including combat and exploration, appealed to a different fan base and gained great popularity both in Japan and abroad. The game gained great popularity both in Japan and abroad.

These games became spontaneously known as "Metroidvania" (a term coined by combining "Metroid," a leading exploration-type game, and "Castlevania," the overseas title for "Castlevania") among overseas game fans. (a term coined by combining "Metroid," a leading exploration-type game, and "Castlevania," the overseas title of Castlevania). It has become a popular genre, with many "Metroidvania" titles being released, mainly by indie games.

On the other hand, the exploration-type action game in the "Castlevania" series has not been ported since the Wii U version, and has been unavailable on the Nintendo Switch and other current consoles.

This "Castlevania Advance Collection" is being handled by M2, a software company known as a group of porting craftsmen. In addition to the "save/load anytime" functionality that is a staple of ported games, the game also includes features not found in the Wii U version, such as a "rewind function" and a "gadget function" that allows players to check their item availability.

Isao Taniguchi, producer of the "Castlevania Dracula" series, and Katsuya Shimazaki, director of the game, spoke with us about the Castlevania Advance Collection.

Presenting exploration-based action to a new generation and porting it to cherish the memories of playing in real time.

--Thank you very much for your time. First of all, could you tell us what part you were in charge of for this project?

Taniguchi: My name is Taniguchi, producer of the Castlevania Advance Collection, and I am in charge of the Castlevania series, including the latest title for Apple Arcade, "Castlevania - Grimoire of Souls". Castlevania Advance Collection" for Apple Arcade.

Shimazaki: I'm Shimazaki, the director.　I have been involved in the production of several Castlevania titles in the past, and I was in charge of directing the production of this title.

--How did the "Castlevania Advance Collection" project come about?

Taniguchi: We received feedback from users who liked exploration-type action games but had never played "Castlevania" (......), so we decided to create a playing environment for the game on current consoles.

Shimazaki: "Castlevania" has been well known to this day, as evidenced by the Netflix distribution of the "Castlevania - Castle Vania" animated series. However, there were no ports of the exploration-type action game on current hardware, and those that did exist on the market were at a premium, making it difficult to play.

--The so-called "Metroidvania," a side-scrolling action game with elements of exploration and puzzle solving, is gaining popularity, but its predecessor, "Castlevania," was not known to the new generation of exploration-oriented action lovers. However, Castlevania, the precursor to Metroidvania, was not known to the new generation of exploratory action enthusiasts. In a way, this is a very unfortunate situation, isn't it? And it's a shame that it can't be played on current consoles. Even if you have the actual console, there are times when, like me, the battery in your Nintendo DS is completely dead and you need to be connected to a power source at all times to play.

Taniguchi: That's right. I personally even bought my fourth Nintendo DS (laughs).

--(Laughs.) - It's a machine that is 17 years old. But the game itself is still playable, so it's a big deal. Back to the Castlevania Advance Collection. How has it been received since its release?

SHIMAZAKI: It's been very well received. Some people have praised it for its cost performance: a game that would command a premium in used software can be played for as little as 2,200 yen.

Taniguchi: To be honest, the response has been even greater than we imagined. It seems that even the younger generation, who have never played the series before, are playing the game.

--What was the most difficult part of the development process?

SHIMAZAKI: It was a work that was about 20 years old, so it was difficult to gather and organize all the information, including development materials.

Taniguchi: We had to search through warehouses, talk to people who were involved in the development, and so on.

--I was impressed by the fact that the boxes and instruction manuals were included in the game, with photos taken of the originals. Why did you photograph the actual items rather than recording the digital data used for printing?

Taniguchi: We wanted to remind users of the feeling of owning the actual product at the time.

Shimazaki: It's true that there was some debate within the company as to whether to include the actual photographs or the digital data. The paper of the original may have deteriorated in some places, but we decided to leave it as it is because it is the current form of the product as it was sold at the time.

Taniguchi: Due to a variety of reasons, including the trademark on the product, we had to go through the trouble of obtaining permission before we could include the actual photo, but thankfully we were able to include it as it was then.

Castlevania XX

--I see. I see. So it was more difficult to use the original photos. It was worth it. Looking at the photos of the box and instruction manual, the feel of the paper brings back memories of those days. This game is a huge volume, consisting of three exploration-type action games and one stage-clearing game.

SHIMAZAKI: It was quite difficult (laughs). (Laughs.) The game itself is three games plus one, but it includes the Japanese, North American, and European versions, so we had to debug a total of 12 games. We also had to re-create all the ratings from the various national review agencies, so we had to play all 12 games and prepare materials for submission (laughs).

--(Laughs.) That's a lot of work. I was impressed that you kept the special phenomena (*) that originally existed in the original work.

*Special phenomenon: By performing a very special operation, the player can move at high speed, or depending on the work, he or she can move into a warp by falling into a wall. In "Castlevania: Concerto of the midnight sun," some fierce players were able to defeat the final boss in less than 30 seconds from the start of the game, creating quite a buzz.

Shimazaki: We asked M2-san, who was in charge of porting the game, to make sure that even those who compete with each other for time to clear the game can enjoy the game as it was in the original.

Castle Vania: Dawn Moon Dances

--What episodes from your dealings with M2 were memorable for you?

Shimazaki: I got the impression that M2-san was a very reliable partner. When we explained our concept to them and asked them to develop it, they brushed it up even further.

Taniguchi: We asked for "save/load anytime," a "gallery" containing original artwork and instruction manuals, and a "music player," but M2 told us, "Actually, we have a rewind function as one of our special techniques... What do you think? What do you think?

Shimazaki: Actually, the "gadget function" was also something M2 suggested. We repeatedly solve games for debugging purposes, and we wanted to include a gadget function to assist us in this process. We welcome the addition of gadget functions because they increase the value of the product, but they also make it more difficult for M2 to develop the game. We were happy that M2 was prepared for this and made the proposal.

--I am glad that you were prepared for this, and I am glad that you proposed it. In particular, the "gadget function" is not only convenient, but it is also very careful about spoilers. In "Castle Vania: Dawn Moon Round Dance," you get "souls," an item that powers up the main character, when you defeat monsters. The gadget function allows you to check the status of souls you have obtained, but the type of souls you have not obtained is not revealed, so the excitement of "What kind of souls will I get from this monster? This is the charm of the original version. I think this was made possible by a thorough understanding of the appeal of the original version. Also, thanks to the rewind function, the difficulty level has been lowered, and I appreciate that I can recover from minor mistakes, so I can play casually.

Shimazaki: The way of thinking about difficulty has changed since the old days. Even if we ported the game as it was back then, it would be meaningless if today's players stopped playing without understanding how fun it is.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

--In other games ported by M2, the same gadget functionality was used to reveal data that was originally hidden (*). In this "Castlevania Advance Collection," was there any discussion on how much data should be shown? For example, I think it would have been possible to display random numbers when items or "souls" drop from monsters.

*Gadget function: For example, the gadget function in "Battle Gallega Rev. 2016" allows you to see the difficulty rank increase curve, which is normally hidden. This is extremely important data when trying to beat the game, and the fact that it was made visible is a port that really hits the nail on the head.

Shimazaki: I drew the line in this area myself. I tried not to reveal too much so as not to spoil the fun of the game and bring back the enjoyment of that time. Of course, there was some internal information in the development materials we unearthed, but one of the fun parts of the game, especially with exploration-type action games, is to hide the data well.

Taniguchi: When I played the game in real time, I think there were many people who spent hours on end for rare items and "souls". If the random numbers are disclosed to players in this port, the fun of the game will be lost because it is a black box. It is also important to bring back the memories of playing in real time.

Castle Vania: Concerto of the White Night

--I think it's true that these memories are part of the charm of a game. For example, in Castlevania X: Nocturne under the Moon, when people talk about how hard they had to work to get the rare weapon "Valmanwe", it's usually because of the difficulty.

Taniguchi: As for how much information to disclose, we have people in the company who played the game in real time, so we asked their opinions on various occasions.

--How do you plan to develop the Castlevania IP in the future? I'm sure there will be a lot of requests for a port of the Nintendo DS search-and-discovery action trilogy "Castlevania: Blue Moon Cross," "Castlevania: Gallery of Labyrinth," and "Castlevania: The Stolen Mark," and I personally would love to play the cooperative action game "Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. I personally would like to play the cooperative action "Castlevania Harmony of Despair" again.

Taniguchi: We are aware that we have received many requests for the exploration-type action trilogy in particular, but at this time we are unable to discuss specifics. We would like to continue to listen to your feedback and consider it in the future.

Shimazaki: We don't want to let the Castlevania name die out. If you purchase the Steam version of the Castlevania Advance Collection, we would be very grateful if you would write a review of it.

Unpublished art that can be seen in the gallery

--We are looking forward to seeing the new game as well as the ports of past titles. Finally, do you have a message for our readers?

SHIMAZAKI: All of the games in the series are very challenging, and you can play them for dozens of hours in a single title. The rewind function and save/load function make it easy to play, so I hope that those who couldn't solve the puzzles back then will pick them up again.

Taniguchi: There may be people who like exploration-type action games but have never played Castlevania. This time around, we have included enough titles that you can say, "This is exploration-type action! We hope you will enjoy this collection of titles. There is also a mode where you can enjoy the art and sound, which are the charms of the series, so we hope you will enjoy this mode as well.

(Interview and text by Shinichi Yanamoto)

Product Information

Castlevania Advance Collection

Now on sale

Genre: Action

Compatibility: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation4, PlayStation5, STEAM, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Players: 1 player

Suggested Retail Price: 2,200 yen (including tax)

CERO：B (for ages 12 and up)

Manufacturer: Konami Digital Entertainment

*This title is a download-only title.

PlayStation5 users can play the PS4 version using the PlayStation5's backward compatibility feature.

Xbox One version can be played on Xbox Series X|S using the Xbox Series X|S backward compatibility feature.

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