"Devs Play" Special - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

[@Personoflordlycalibur]

i dont know why ,but i feel that Mr Igarashi could play an authentic dracula in a movie if he wanted to

[@tiwitiwi6202]

he's our one true lord

[@Robopitkokopeli]

I know. He looks like a Vampire. :)

[@marcellosilva9286]

This middle-aged Japanese man is way cooler than any of us will ever be, but instead of bragging about it, he just stays humble, like a cool uncle. An amazing person.

[@ElegeantFencer]

Yeah I love the amount of self confidence he has in addition to being humble. Just the way he sits there clasping his hands.

[@Arexion5293]

Huh, I like how the subtitles and the translator explain his words somewhat differently. Japanese has plenty of context in its language, which is why having two different sources of translation is very much appreciated.

[@MrMikkyn]

I find it kind of strange that the translator made the tone of Koji Igarashi sound more casual and boisterous than how he actually spoke. But he was good at translating despite the tone difference.

[@MrMrFreddy]

I love how the idea for Alucard's room got used in the end, in Harmony of Dissonance.

[@tdark987]

Much of that game in general felt *very* similar to SotN, moreso than any other game in the series.

[@albirieo]

I need a gif of Igarashi sipping on wine.

[@Billybiscuits13]

albirieo I need a gif of Igarashi sipping on wine, then crushing the glass in his hand while sitting on his throne.

[@yujm7]

Billybiscuits13 have at you

[@roguequill]

Billybiscuits13 "WHAT IS A MAN?"

[@matssm123]

Billybiscuits13 You can see something similiar in the kickstarter video

[@blakemiller530]

albirieo i need a gif of Igarashi saying die monster

[@TheRadicalOneNG]

>The dev placeholder submenu ended up being in the final game. This is one of my favorite games of all time and I didn't even think about that until now.

[@amilyester]

Iga yelling "Raise your shield!" is the best thing. Woolie needs to see this.

[@obblivionkr]

Nonono, you gotta drop your shield, know what I mean?

[@korymccool7292]

Rest in peace TBFP

[@TommySasaki]

This is the best and most interesting commentary I've seen in my entire life. Learning about behind the scenes stuff was very enjoyable.

[@patmccrotch5373]

You should definitely check out the 'annotated symphony of the night' series if you haven't seen it yet. Very in depth, and very well done, I watch it almost once a year, probably because I play through this game once a year haha

[@Vladsnake]

Igarashi rocks. He even looks like Dracula, damn it! hahahahaha. Thanks for the interview, it really comes in handy for my doctoral theses (it is about videogames development and design).

[@JandJandJandJandJ]

I'd love to see a Devs Play of Silent Hill.

[@0xF33D]

JandJandJandJandJ Good suggestion! I really hope they consider this as an option. :)

[@PaleBastard_Art]

JandJandJandJandJ This! Make it happen DoubleFineProd

[@abyzzwalker]

JandJandJandJandJ YES!

[@allluckyseven]

This is a very special video. Thank you 2 player, double fine, Anna, Ben, IGA, and everybody else that's behind the camera. And what a privilege to be sitting beside the guy while playing his game -- no, actually, playing it _with_ him. I wish you guys could interview Ayami Kojima as well...

[@TheOneOuteer]

"Devs Play" are one of my favorite things on youtube, please keep making them!

[@porygonlover322]

1:16 you can literally hear him choking back bile about what he's become holy shit

[@Spaced92]

porygonlover322 Look up Sword or Whip. Hints are he's finally going to do a kickstarter baaaby! Wooo!

[@Kylestien]

porygonlover322 Or he's just thinking to himself "Okay, play nice for now and try not to throw up saying this, right now you make mobile games but in two weeks time you are gonna be making a new epic game and doing a cool Dracula impression!"

[@MastaGambit]

porygonlover322 That makes me feel bad for him... x'D

[@WeAreCameron]

i want to express my deep appreciation for whoever (2PP?) went through all this footage and cut and presented it in such a pure way. yall are the real deal.

[@TheMexRAGE]

i am disapointed Igarashi didn´t used his badass black cowboy hat

[@solidsnake58]

This video inspired me to finally buy and play Symphony of the Night. I'm having so much fun playing it and I'm now looking forward to Igarashi's kickstarter.

[@Ninjaananas]

There are six other Castlevania titles similar to this one.

[@-Constrick-]

@@Ninjaananas None of them comes close to Symphony of the Night. This game was, is and will be a miracle made videogame.

[@notyepdranel961]

@@-Constrick- Aria of Sorrow is the closest to SoTN that I have gotten since I've played it. Haven't played any DS ones or Circle of the Moon.

[@PantsofHate]

Excellent use of screen space! I appreciate the footnotes and various thingys. I also liked the video and all the other videos.

[@PantsofHate]

PantsofHate I like videos!

[@MastaGambit]

It may seem like a small team by today's standards, but you have to remember that video games in general didn't really have these large teams we have today until around the turn of the millenium. Hell, it was just in the middle of the 80s that games really only had like 3-4 people MAX usually working on them... and hell sometimes one guy just made it all by himself (like a lot of old PC games from Commodore & Amiga etc.). In all honesty, quite frankly I find the idea of having all these huge and large expansive teams to make these insane game experiences just seems a little... iunno... Audacious? Bold? Crazy? Maybe even in excess? I dunno... it's just what I think.

[@barakiji]

Wow, can you imagine making a game SO incredibly good, that decades later is still being a source of inspiration? I love this video, they are really probing him.

[@pinkgorilla-2921]

i would love a more in-depth documentary on how this game was made with more than just igarashi being interviewed. it's definitely the kind of game worth interviewing every single staff member about

[@FallenFort]

Great video, although I couldn't help but imagine how much more interesting it would have been with someone like a speed runner playing and asking questions, guys like Rom etc who know the game in an out would have brought a lot more to this.

[@forseti1654]

Fallen Fort Good news: romscout did a video while he was speedrunning with Igarashi, you can find it on his channel :)

[@rickyshroom134]

Darkness Edge sound like the sickest attack ever. I love how he admits it's just a straight sentai attack.

[@GenyaArikado]

Iga is a legend! They should do a sequel !!

[@kald0rei]

I LOVE this series! I can't believe I've only discovered these videos so recently even though i've been following Double Fine for a while now. More people need to know about this; especially people who love video games! This is such a cool concept and 2PP have done a great job shooting it!

[@frilansspion]

this was super awesome! was so surprised when I saw this pop up! great work all around... anna rocks!! and igarashi seems like a cool humble guy! sweet!

[@GLS_MrDean]

Anna Kipnis, at 47:31 In reference to the "Cube of Zoe", I have noticed that Castlevania has used Greek words in their games. Having come from a Greek family I know the following. "Zoe" in greek means "Life", thus meaning "The Cube of Life". I think the translation company was being clever despite Mr Igarashi's awareness. Others in the past being, -Order of Eclesia, Eclesia means "Church" in Greek -The charcter Soma, from aria of sorrow. Soma means "Body" in Greek. Which is quite literal for that character if you have played that game, since he absorbs monster abilities into his body. Anyway, I thought I would just add that bit of info. Great video! -Dean

[@Sykroid]

I had no idea about the Ecclesia or Soma tidbits. Thank you for mentioning this

[@MastaGambit]

Dean B Actually, there's also a double-meaning behind Soma's name. The word "-ma" is also the kanji 魔 for "devil/evil spirit". Additionally, the phrase 小魔 (Shoma) literally means "little/young devil", implying the dark spirit within him, as well as his young age (18) and having many things to learn about what he'll become.

[@numberpi5473]

Dean B This rationalization is nice and all, but the true reason is much more mundane: the person responsible for the english localization, Jeremy Blaustein, gave the item the name "Zoe" because it was the name of his daughter: www.hardcoregaming101.net/metalgear/jeremyblaustein.htm

[@MastaGambit]

Yashum Pi So he was right then :p

[@ACosmicCastaway]

"In the English localization of Symphony of the Night, the name "Zoe" was added to the item by the translator Jeremy Blaustein, as a reference to his daughter, Zoe." - from Castlevania Wikia's Trivia.

[@FrogFraction]

11:55 Apparently the design team were just like it's cool so let's put it in. I always figured this is why SOTN was better than all of the sequels. There was so much stuff and it was all so different and unique. I really miss this from newer games.

[@rubenthehuman]

This is so awesome, one of my favorite games. I love how honest and humble is Igarashi, he really is a developer, just tells things the way they are/were.

[@jamalmorba8139]

Anyone else noticed him rising his eye brow in 1:47 ? He made a weird gesture while drinking red wine and with his hair tied back.... Igacula? He blessed us with his presence.

[@Atma505]

Somehow this is gaining traction 3 years later? Amazing video, watched it all, this is the sort of stuff I live for =) Thank you all

[@DerrickDover]

How cool for Anna to have that opportunity. SotN is one of my absolute favorite games of all time, and the one that I've replayed more than any other. I would love to have been there. So cool.

[@mrzozelowh]

I love the high production quality that went into this video, well done. As a side note, this would have been a sweet Halloween video from DF, but I'm glad y'all didn't wait that long.

[@Manak26]

The ending made me tear up a little, I love this series.

[@RikouHogashi]

i see a lot of class in IGA and one who should be respected as such

[@gamingbits]

What an awesome dev play walkthrough! Double Fine & Iga playing the best Castlevania game over some wine. Thank you!!!!

[@haiguise]

the editing on all of these devs play videos is really impressive. this whole series is really awesome and i'm glad i found out about it.

[@KRKahn87]

Anna, Eugene and I used to play this game nonstop when we were kids. I hope you see him out there! -Kris

[@BlakeRosss]

SOTN is one of my favorite games of all time. It's obvious that the dev team put a lot of work and love into it. I play through it every year or two, just like I do with Super Metroid and Earthbound. I doubt I'll ever get sick of it. Also, this video series is awesome and I hope Double Fine continues to make more. I've gone through all the devs play videos and I jump on each new one as they arrive. I love them all. Thanks for doing this, Double Fine.

[@justanotherutuber3]

the things like the CD writing and that beating heart is what makes the game special

[@Eggs_is_eggs]

Ultima VII Part 2: Serpent Isle had the same concept where you start off with super powerful equipment but then lose it at the beginning and have to recollect it. I'm not sure if that was the first game to do it though but it was a few years before SOTN.

[@GabrielRotar]

This was absolutely brilliant. I remember playing this game on my PSP. As always this series never disappoints and it is always great seeing devs from different generations interact and find common grounds.

[@KnivesMcBride]

That was a fantastic video. Thanks for sharing this. As an aside, I will definitely be donating to the coming kickstarter. Let's keep IGAvania alive!

[@josegregoriolanzmarquina499]

I want to recognize this, and all the videos that i had seen from Double Fine / 2 Player Productions show great love and care to create something thats is really good, and have a unique voice. Thanks for things this way, Instead of doing "just the thing" i often do video projects and i know how much work this can be, so keep doing it right!

[@FatCatTheatre]

Just listening to that menu music makes me want to play the game all over again. SOTN is one my top 3 games of all time. So much content! So much fun!

[@baardbi]

Wow! This video is amazing. It's like some sort of historical documentation. Thank you so much for doing this.

[@tdark987]

1:06:55 They eventually DID do something like that in Harmony of Dissonance (which was basically SotN 2 in all but name).

[@jdaywork2693]

I feel like Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice must have heavily inspired this game.

[@RickRudesMustache]

I love all the amazing talent and passion that went into this game. Iga truly created something special and timeless.

[@Zedekar9000]

This is awesome, to interview Iga himself while playing the game. I didn't knew this channel, suscribed.

[@kpr2]

Loving this series & was so happy to see a brand spanking new special! Even more so when I saw that it was covering what is arguably one of the best platformer games of all time (certainly most people's favorite in the series)! As an aspiring indie game designer myself (we're everywhere, I know) who's in the midst of designing a 2d platformer, these sorts of interviews and overviews are invaluable.

[@CubamusPrime]

Amazing interview the designer of Symphony of the Night...Love it.

[@SaiyanFantasyX]

I LOVE this chill time with them, really. It goes without saying the love that oozes from this video. Would love to see more. It's always great to learn more about the stuff you love so much, little details like those, funny tidbits... Seeing the creator as he breaks down his own art, being human, likeable and funny, makes people connect more to the person and art imo. Can't wait for Bloodstained.

[@mynameisplague7933]

This is really fascinating, love hearing about everything that went into a game from it's creator. Just saw that he'll be doing an eight hour stream with kinda funny games on Monday too, most likely a reveal, can't wait to see what he's got planned.

[@donttrustem13]

8:46 haha she's fangirling so hard

[@MrMikkyn]

Its kind of interesting how Koji Igarashi is kind of goofy in the way he explains things, yet the game is so sophisticated and elegant.

[@shoryuken75]

I have been playing video games since the 80´s and for me this is the best of all time. Thank you for making this video game.

[@hosamorfali3444]

This is one the best things I have ever seen, can I make a request? Please try to get Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto the developer of the Zelda franchise and make a Devs Play - Ocarina of Time! God that would be the best thing ever! :D

[@AeroQC]

That whole Darkness Edge special summon sounds like something a Chunibyo would come up with. Alucard: "You'll be sliced to pieces..." Summoned Sword: "... And die!" Both: "Darkness Edge!"

[@maikelmcnight380]

One of the top 5 games of all time in my opinion. We need one of these every month.

[@Emanon009]

Just in time for his Kickstarter announcement. #TeamWhip all the way.

[@jakedubusker3090]

***** Symphony of the Night is NOT the best, and the lack of whips is partly to blame for that. #TEAMWHIP You can play with sword in thousands of other games, whips are a rare, visceral, satisfying treat.

[@sorarockss93]

***** #TeamSword FTW!!!

[@Emanon009]

***** Symphony of the Night is the best game ever but you can't call yourself a Belmondo without a Vampire Killer Whip. #TeamWhip

[@jakedubusker3090]

Narukami Yu Richter for best Belmont

[@Emanon009]

Jake Dubusker That's a fine choice if I've ever seen one good sir.

[@lucashoffmannn]

Now make a Devs Play of Metal gear with master Kojima

[@rafaelmoura8688]

+Lucas Hoffmann yeah metal gear solid 1 , great

[@sidshekar]

1:25:50 LOl I am from India and the Vibuthi and SaiBaba is so funny. And is probably true. :D. Also SAIBABA is dead so no wonder he is not in the news. I am a game programmer and I live Japanese Culture. Nice to see a Japanese Game Designer legend having knowledge about Indian culture.

[@Bloodyshinta1]

I mean one of their man religions comes from India, there are lots of Indian influences in japanese culture.

[@wizzenberry]

Sotn is a god damn masterpiece

[@fre3kshow133]

I love how stained glass was brought up, which then just seemed random.

[@GordonAitchJay]

Another great video in this excellent series! Thanks so much!

[@acidpunk955]

Wot? Koji? Sotn play through by double fine? This is like a dream come true..

[@DanVanDam]

That made me smile when Koji toke the controller like a boss and put in Dark Metamorphosis. My mind was blown, lol

[@Yoromeki_kuzure]

Wow this guy is pretty impressive as an interpreter as he gets IGA's points accurately and then he puts them into much streamlined words in English whilst paying extra effort not to lose finer details. I'm a lay Japanese person and I haven't got any expertise in interpreting so I might be completely off but it sounds just about right to me. Edit: meanwhile I've spotted some minor errors for the sub one place or another, but overall TL quality looks great

[@MisterTwit]

Man, I wish I could've asked some questions. I've always wondered about the technical hurdles that were faced in making this game on the PS1, especially considering that the PS1 famously had limited VRAM for sprite-based games.

[@irritationnation6122]

I think Anna's appearance makes sense as she hasn't changed one bit since those old "The Making Of Psychonauts" videos that Tim used to take.

[@HipsterKaren]

Came here for SotN. Stayed for Kipnis. She's so cool.

[@rosscampk]

I sold this game twice, and bought it 3 times. The first time, when I didn't realize there was an inverted castle. I bought it back. I sold it again later when I thought I was done with it... I bought it again, because I wanted to return to that castle.

[@SiGhast]

1:07:00 Not one of them thought to bring up Harmony of Dissonance at this point?! Not even the editor? Would've been an interesting piece of trivia to throw in.

[@AriesWarlock]

DoubleFineProd Thanks for this video! I learned so many interesting bits on the production of this game. I would have easily watch two hours more lol. Though you need some more practice lol. Great use of all the extra info on the upper right corner. I hope you have the chance to sit down with Tomonobu Itagaki and talked about Ninja Gaiden Black, one of the best action/adventure games I have ever played!

[@Edd_Harr]

I love listening to this and thinking about future games Iga worked on. Maybe the Candle Skeleton's concept was revisited with the Dawn of Sorrow version of the Waiter Skeleton, or the Carpenter superboss in Bloodstained is a callback to the Carpenter Skeleton idea that was cut.

[@HeyyItsDalee]

The insects on the trees is messing me up so badly right now. I never realized. I went back frame by frame and now I'll never be able to unsee. Also, Shoutout to Necro. Who woulda thought he'd be shown here ahah!

[@moon_orbit]

I really wish they would have asked Mr. Igarashi about the hatch at 27:12. It can only be accessed via a glitch on the PS version (Hidden save room), however it was a new zone in the Saturn version. I wonder if for the PS version was a mistake on part of the programmer that you never could open it without glitches... Great video! ^_^

[@sirekumasutra7022]

A Dev Diary with Yu Suzuki and or Tim Schaefer would be cool. Love to see one on Brutal Legend

[@KratosAurionPlays]

Considering I've been playing a lot of harmony of despair lately this is oddly appropriate.

[@explodingrabbit51]

2:01:09 don't forget about Juste! You worked on that game IGA!

[@bangarang3810]

Lets play of Castlevania with Igarashi? This is so fuckin hype

[@spartan3924]

I tried to just listen to this, but I haven't played the game before and wanted to see their faces when they spoke and ended up watching the whole thing instead

[@MrMikkyn]

I love it when she gives him the remote at 1hour and 27mins

[@PSspecialist]

Zoe means life in Greek so maybe it was the "Cube of Life"?

[@timonkiller]

DOUUBLEEEE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE! thank you for Brutal legend! nice video Mr. Igarashi, please continue with your great work!

[@felixarroyo3d]

i'm so happy this interview exists

[@js100serch]

Gotta love how Anna was totally and unapologetically fangirling Igarashi 😂

[@PSspecialist]

Damn! I always knew that menu screen looked too plain.

[@irritationnation6122]

Not to mention that Ben Judd was also the voice actor of Pheonix Wright for the DS re-releases

[@shiroineko13]

this is cool. sotn is to this day a marvel to behold and listen to.

[@AusMarkus]

Around 38-39 minutes, where they're talking about having great items then having them taken away, Iga was right about them not being the first. I'm not sure if the example I know was the first either but Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap did something very similar back in 1989 on the Sega Master System. You start the game in your hu-man form (the hyphen will make sense in a second) in the dungeon that featured the last level and boss of the previous game (sensing a pattern here...). When you beat the boss (a mechanical dragon) it curses you, changing you into lizard-man, making you a lot weaker. The castle begins to crumble and your stuff disappears at that moment. You can't get it back until near the end of the game when you are able to change into your hawk-man form and fly back to that castle. Also, play Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. It too is a Metroidvania style game that's just awesome. You can get it on the Wii Virtual Console.

[@OmegaWarrior]

IGA holds his wine glass like a fucking BOSS!

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Wow, that totally ruled! I'm so glad this exists :D

[@robert-j-s]

Super fun watch. Keep going, guys!

[@wizzenberry]

And to think dead cells has pretty much made its visuals after this game, even to how you get the same pixel crawling and aliasing on the doors opening, amazing looking game

[@rathwolf1]

Is it coincidence that this particular Devs Play shows up as swordorwhip.com is going on?

[@MrDoct0r]

There's an IGAvania hashtag on that site. Nothing secret about it.

[@rathwolf1]

MrDoct0r I was referring to the timing of this video going up, not claiming swordorwhip was mysterious. (also, I just wanted to point more people to it)

[@FrogFraction]

RathWolf It's likely that he's looking to get some sort of publicity in preparation for the swordorwhip thing

[@Ninjaananas]

Well, now we know more.

[@SiGhast]

1:01:21 "Stained glass!" "Sutendogurasu." If there's one part of this I'll rewatch multiple times, it's that. And I'm gonna get a kick out of it every time.

[@DarkSoulSama]

Very interesting. I guess we now know whose room Juste Belmont finds in Harmony of Dissonance (and who puts the furniture there).

[@retrovideogamejunkie]

i just start to watch it and i hope they ask iga about the extra bits on the saturn version...

[@numberpi5473]

retrovideogamejunkie He didn't respond to such details, but I think I can: IGA has already gone on record saying that he had no control over the Saturn version, and that the content there does not reflect his intentions. That's why he removed this content on the PSP port of the game.

[@Bristecom]

+retrovideogamejunkie I know everyone hates on the Saturn version but that's how I originally played it and I like the extra bits. Sure, if Iga and the original team had properly ported it, it could have been better but oh well. And I agree with Iga that the English voices are disappointing. When I played the PS English version after the Japanese Saturn version, I thought they sounded really lame in comparison too.

[@amilyester]

Iga literally *is* the Count. Look at that shit eating sip of the wine