Koji Igarashi is a game industry veteran best known for his long standing work in the Konami classic Castlevania series, specifically the PlayStation entry Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, regarded to many as one of the greatest games on the first generation Sony console. While Igarashi went on to develop many other games including Nano Breaker for the PlayStation 2, Leedmees for the Xbox 360, and even Tokimeki Memorial for the PC-Engine (which was actually before Castlevania) his work in the Castlevania series as scenario writer and producer is often regarded as the highlight of his career.
So it is with great interest that fans stumbled across a new website known simply as swordorwhip.com, where visitors choose between a sword, and a magical whip, with Igarashi sitting in the middle in a throne, sipping a glass of red liquid. His appearance and sprite design seem to reminisce of early Castlevania titles, and the sitting position is a clear call back to Dracula in the beginning segment of Symphony of the Night, which harkens back to the PC Engine CD title Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, which Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel for. Accompanying the choice is Igarashi speaking in some pretty enigmatic phrases, including “The illness feeds itself. Then you feed the illness. Then the illness feeds you.” What is this illness? What does Igarashi have up his sleeve? The skies darken as the moon hangs above, perhaps soon we shall have our answers.
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