Koji Igarashi. Just seeing that name instantly brings his vast body of work to mind. While the talented producer is known for more than justCastlevania,most gamers think of him when they think of whipping at hordes of undead monstrosities in dark castles.
Although no longer officially associated with Konami’s incredibly popular series, Mr. Igarashi has contributed to several amazing adventures over the years. Our goal is to cover every single one where he at least played a major role in the process, such as producer or script writer.
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So here it is,Castlevaniafans: our epic ranking of every Igavania game that has been published. Some good, some bad, some just weird, but all worthy of the name Koji Igarashi.
Though the vast majority of the games included are from theCastlevaniaseries, we’ve also included some other entries that are very much inspired byCastlevania. Every single game listed here was courtesy of Koji Igarashi.
15Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
Fan Fiction
PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360
Multiplayer, Action Adventure
Release Date
August 4th, 2010
On paper,Castlevania: Harmony of Despairmade perfect sense. It finally lets us fans play as some of our favorite characters along with our friends, both online and locally. We could have Shanoa team up with Soma Cruz, Richter Belmont, and Alucard.
The problems with the game were mostly from how grindy it was, how annoying solo runs were, and the frustration of having to fight against the clock with arbitrary time limits.
While it was conceptually neat to have a procedurally generated adventure, it resulted in pretty barebones environments and an overall lack of the awe-inspiring themestraditionally explored by the series.
14Castlevania Judgment
Ready? FIGHT!
Castlevania Judgment
I’m probably in the minority here, but I didn’t hateCastlevania Judgment. Sure, it’s nothing close to a critical darling, and as a fighting game, it’s perhaps lacking.
Despite its flaws,Judgementwas also a great-lookingCastlevaniaadventure that was admirably trying something new (which is more than I could say forHarmony of Despair).
Like most fighting games,Judgmenthas a convoluted and somewhat silly plot. But it also lets us play as some iconic characters, including classics Simon and Grant, villains like Death and Dracula, and even newcomers like Aeon. Each character had unique moves and a distinct and pretty fresh visual hook.
Perhapsthe most compelling part of the game, other than the Story, Arcade, and Versus modes, was slashing your way through Castle Mode.
Ultimately the game was held back by balance issues, on top of being a Wii exclusive. But if you’re a diehard fan of the series, you’ll find something to enjoy here.
13Castlevania Chronicles
Fresh Blood for Akumajō Dracula
Castlevania Chronicles
While many of us associate Koji Igarashi with theMetroidvaniaadventures, that’s not all he had a hand in.
In his time he oversaw some remakes of classicCastlevaniaadventures, includingCastlevania Chronicles. It took the original home computerAkumajō Draculaand remade it for the PlayStation.
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Chroniclescatered to fans of the old games with Original mode but also helped make things more palatable to modern gamers with Arrange mode.Either way, though, this is very much in the style of oldCastlevaniagames: brutal and unforgiving in its difficulty.
Though other new additions such as improved graphics and a new introduction sequence were fun, ultimately this wasn’t the most popular of theCastlevaniaremakes. Nor the best that Koji Igarashi was capable of.
12Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Cursed Devil Forgemaster
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
The 3DCastlevaniagames get a lot of hate, and most of it is pretty well deserved. Though I’ll note that if you’ve watched and enjoyed the firstCastlevaniaNetflix series, almost all of the main characters are featured inCurse of Darkness. Especially Hector, the Devil Forgemaster.
Hector and Dracula are on the outs, and he’s trying to live a simple, human life. Then some imbecilic villagers decide to burn his fiancee at the stake as a witch. And wouldn’t you know it, his rival Isaac, who’s still loyal to the vampire in charge, was behind it all. So it’s back to the Abandoned Castle for a little spot of revenge.
What helps differentiate this game from others is Hector’s ability to forge and use Innocent Devils as familiars.He’ll also gain a variety of new abilities over time, and fight some challenging bosses. Not a bad adventure, but far from the best.
11Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Leon’s Journey
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
WhileCurse of Darknessdid an admirable job transitioning to the 3D environment, in many ways, Lament of Innocence was the most impressive, at least before they decided to copyGod of Warin theLords of Shadowgames.
In many ways,this is the closest we’ve gotten to the SOTN experience in a 3D format. It features a lot of wandering around, fighting epic and noteworthy bosses, and whipping everything good.
What really helped with the replay value was two unlockable characters, Pumpkin and Joachim, who both play very differently from Leon. A pretty enjoyable origin story for the iconic series.
10Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
Juste Beautiful
Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance
AfterSymphony of the Nightcaptivated the interest of so many, we suffered many lean years of mediocre follow-ups. Even thoughHarmony of Dissonanceisn’t the most fun Metroidvania to play, it was undeniably gorgeous when it first came out.
This was an incredibly colorful adventure that frankly took the GBA to its very graphical limits. The enemy models were large and complex, there was fun use of shadows, and there were even some fun nods to popular bosses in wild new forms.
Additionally, the story of the game was interesting, with the twisted nuances of Juste and Maxim’s friendship explored in fun ways.
Ultimately, the biggest problem with the game is it feels like all the resources went into the visual presentation. This was a super easy and somewhat boring adventure, at least for hardcore fans.
9Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Double the Heroes, Double the Fun
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
If I were to write this list purely on emotions,Portrait of Ruinwould be much higher up. It was fun, ambitious, and a real celebration of the series' 20th anniversary. That said, when scrutinized against the other games in a critical context, it has to sit a bit lower down.
Not only didPortrait of Ruinfeature a twisted vampire nemesis that could draw new worlds into existence on canvas, but it also had you alternate between two different heroes, Jonathan and Charlotte.
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Not only did this allow the powerful Dual Crush team to attack, but each of them learned new abilities and attacks. There are even plentiful additional modes to play through, each of which plays very differently.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of this game was how creative it was, from the level design to the boss battles. Especially the final battle against the true final boss. I won’t spoil it, other than to say it’s one of my favorite in the entire series, and a truly epic tag team.
8Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Inexact Alchemy
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
As both a fan ofCastlevaniaand crowdfunding, let’s just say I went a little insane when I decided to backBloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Mostly this was thanks to Konami starving fans of new entries for so long, but it was also a vote of confidence in Igarashi’s vision.
Sadly, that vision was more than a bit more muddled, at least in the Nintendo Switch version of the game.
While Bloodstained was undeniably visually compelling and featured many features fans have come to expect from Igarashi, the balance and inconsistent framerate made it harder to love.
That said, I’m still happy that not only was the game made, but that it garnered such a huge reception from fellow fans. If nothing else, that helps to show there’s still a hunger for this sort of Gothic adventure out there. Next time, maybe we’ll get one that meets our highest standards.
7Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
The Perfect Retro Bite
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
It might seem weird thatBloodstained: Curse of the Moonis rated higher thanRitual of the Night, but there’s good reason for that.WhileRitual of the Nightwas highly ambitious yet somewhat flawed, I’d argue Curse of the Moon was pitch-perfect.
The game was Castlevania III with Bloodstained characters. And while the NES visual aesthetic might alienate some, I found it utterly spellbinding.
Throw in great platforming, outstanding boss battles, and a balanced yet fair difficulty, and you might start to see why it’s held in higher esteem.
Just don’t expect this adventure to make your life easy, because it will absolutely force you to memorize every attack pattern and have flawless timing.
6Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Japan is the Future
Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow
Although I loved the premise ofAria of Sorrowfrom the first time I played it, I didn’t grow to love the game until replaying it many years later.
Soma Cruz’s mystery tour, along with the devastating revelations at the end of the game, still made it a more than worthy contender.
Absorbing monster souls and using them as weapons was just neat. The problem was, that the process was incredibly grindy and time-consuming. That said, the game featured some neat bosses and fascinating supporting characters.
Thankfully for all of us,Aria of Sorrowdid just well enough that it later spawned a far superior sequel, as well as a truly fascinating spiritual successor of sorts.
