According to GoNintendo, the latest issue of Nintendo Power reveals the proud return of the Castlevania series to consoles. Castlevania Judgment is, believe it or not, a 3D fighter, pitting classic characters from throughout the series against each other in mortal combat. Yes, not at all the exact opposite of what Castlevania fans have been asking for.

I just came to the realization that Konami doesn't have a popular fighting game franchise (only fighting game that I can think of that they made was that N64 fighter where you made your fighters). I guess they want to expand the types of genres they produce. Maybe that's why they decided to try their had at a new fighting game , stick the Castlevania licenses on it to attract fans of the series.

As part of a ton of Castlevania Judgment coverage, IGN interviewed the man in charge of the franchise, Koji "IGA" Igarashi. You can probably guess the content of the first question.

IGA explained what possessed him to make a 3D fighter with some fairly smart reasoning: people want to swing the Wiimote to whip, and he decided it would be best to implement those kinds of mechanics in a shorter-session game. "... I realized, with the 3D action style, I would be able to incorporate intervals so that players can rest and this would allow players to enjoy the swinging action of the Wii Remote." IGA also mentioned that part of the Elebits/Dewy team is working on Judgment, which should at least ensure lovely visuals.

IGN's hands-on with the game gave us a bit of morning light to vanquish the horrible night of our skepticism, describing Judgment as more of a Power Stone free-roaming vs. action game than a traditional Tekken or Virtua Fighter-like game.

I just came to the realization that Konami doesn't have a popular fighting game franchise (only fighting game that I can think of that they made was that N64 fighter where you made your fighters). I guess they want to expand the types of genres they produce. Maybe that's why they decided to try their had at a new fighting game , stick the Castlevania licenses on it to attract fans of the series.

August 20, 2008 - Instead of making a traditional Castlevania game, Koji Igarashi is instead putting a team to work on a fighting game featuring the Castlevania characters from games' past. The last time we played the game was at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and judging from how short the demo was at Games Convention, the version here is most likely among the same version that players could play at E3 just a few short weeks ago.



In the Games Convention build, you can choose to play as one of three characters: Simon, Alucard, and Maria, each with their own abilities and special attacks. The demo was either a single round single player arcade mode, or a single round two player Versus mode with the same objective: beat the other guy or gal into submission using button or motion attacks on the Wii remote.

The game has very simple fighting mechanics: basic button presses or a generic waggle motion for attacks that can be strung together in combos. It has an awkward, low, PowerStone like camera system that makes it difficult to judge distances for the person in the back of the arena.

We'll have more on the game when we get a chance to play a newer build.

I'm a huge Castlevania fan and I won't be picking this up. Even if I had a Wii I wouldn't.

They should invest the resources on creating a new Castlevania title in the vein ( no pun intended ) of the rest of the series instead of this nonsense. I don't know if this is cheaper for them to throw at us or what, but it's a total joke and an insult to fans.

I mean what does Konami know about making a fighter anyway?