Konami's Game Boy Advance launch title Castlevania: Circle of the Moon has proven to be one of the most successful titles on Nintendo's new handheld, and today Konami announced that a second Castlevania game is incoming. Previously reported to be in production for the PS2, the game, titled Castlevania: White Night Concerto, will once again be helmed by Koji Igarashi, with development duties falling on the shoulders of his crew at Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. Character designs are being handled by Ayami Kojima, who worked on the recently released Castlevania Chronicles.

Gamers who enjoyed the last two titles in the bellwether series will be glad to hear that the game will be similar in gameplay style to its GBA predecessor and 1997's PlayStation hit, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The same sub-items will be present, but the Magic Card system of C: COTM will be replaced by a Magic Book system, which can be used to change the properties of both the main and sub-items.

The Belmont family and their travails have long been a staple in the series, and C: WNC looks to continue the trend. Set in 1740, between the times of Simon and Richter Belmont, the game will star Jeust Belmont, who travels to Castlevania to rescue two friends, Liddy Erlanger and Maxim Quicin, who have been swept away to the accursed abode.

Igarashi stated at the event that this will be the first time that the game is not implicitly tied to Count Dracula, which should allow for alternate interpretations of the game world. And if the announcement of one sequel wasn't enough, he went further to say that he already has ideas for additional entries in the franchise, and that these sequels could appear on any of the current platforms.

The main gripe about C:COTM was that the game wasn't bright enough, but this is one of the general aspects that is receiving an upgrade. In addition, the new map will be larger, character animations are being significantly improved, the trigger buttons can be used for dashing, and there will also be a quicksave feature.

Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to savor the chewy goodness that the game is almost guaranteed to offer. Import gamers and their Japanese brethren will be able to get their paws on the game come June 6, which is a scant three months from now! No word yet on when the game will make the leap across the Pacific, but expect us to give you that news as soon as it is released.