25 Facts About Koji Igarashi

Koji Igarashi is a Japanese video game producer, programmer, writer, and creative director.

Koji Igarashi later served as the lead producer on the Castlevania series, starting with Castlevania Chronicles in 1999 and ending with Castlevania: Harmony of Despair in 2011.

In 2014, Igarashi left Konami to later become the co-founder of Artplay who in June 2019 released Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a spiritual successor to the Castlevania Series.

Koji Igarashi was born in the Fukushima Prefecture on March 17,1968.

Koji Igarashi had an interest in becoming a carpenter and later to be an artist.

Koji Igarashi taught himself the computer program languages BASIC and assembly language, and designed amateur games.

Koji Igarashi accepted the next job offer, which was at Konami.

Koji Igarashi's girlfriend at the time, later wife, was an employee at Konami working on Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.

Koji Igarashi gave him advice on how to write the story to Tokimeki Memorial, and he would play Rondo of Blood during breaks.

Koji Igarashi informed his boss that he had no desire to work on a sequel to Tokimeki Memorial, and requested a departmental transfer.

The strong sales of the game prompted his boss to agree, and Koji Igarashi asked to join the Castlevania development team.

Koji Igarashi began working on a Castlevania game set for the Sega 32X.

Koji Igarashi says that he was motivated to create the game because he had played other heavy story driven games and after a long break had lost motivation to continue.

Koji Igarashi says he wanted to make a game that could be played at any time, and could feel fresh every time you played it.

Koji Igarashi wanted each player to have their own unique experience when playing the game.

Koji Igarashi felt that the previous title, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, was too dark on the Game Boy Advance's screen, so he felt the need to make the game brighter.

At the 2008 Tokyo Game Show, Koji Igarashi showcased a teaser was for an upcoming game starring Alucard, which was slated for release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

In parallel, MercurySteam had produced a prototype that Koji Igarashi notes looked better than his project.

Koji Igarashi did not have any input on the title and did not put forth any future pitches for more 2D Castlevania titles.

Koji Igarashi felt that his experience with console games led him to be unable to make the leap to social games.

Out of the Castlevania games he has worked on, Koji Igarashi says that Symphony of the Night is his favorite, and out of the overall series, he cites Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, giving the sound quality and world setting as reasons for liking it the most.

Koji Igarashi attempted and failed to find a publisher funding a new console game.

Koji Igarashi had met his business partner while working on mobile games at Konami, but the project did not result in a finished game.

In 2015, Koji Igarashi appeared at the ChinaJoy Game Developer Conference in China.

In October 2018, Koji Igarashi was announced to be working with Sega on a game titled Revolve8.