For many fans of the series, Castlevania's crescendo peaked with 1997's PlayStation classic, Symphony of the Night. The recently released Game Boy Advance installment, Circle of the Moon, owes more than a smidgen to this game and has proven to be a winner amongst handheld gamers, selling an impressive 500,000 copies. PlayStation Magazine recently had the opportunity to interview Koji Igarashi, who spilled the beans on the upcoming Castlevania Chronicles PSone port and dropped innuendoes as to the franchise's next generation fate.

Castlevania Chronicles previously appeared exclusively in Japan for the PC as Akumajou Dracula, and is set for a domestic release in September. Igarashi revealed that this rather obscure version was chosen because so many people had not had the chance to experience it. While future ports are a possibility, Konami will gauge the receptiveness of the market with Castlevania Chronicles before any further decisions are made.

Details for the next original installment of the successful franchise are scant, but Igarashi did give up a few nuggets of information. According to him, the current development group, comprised of members of the Symphony of the Night and Dracula X teams, "is the most talented team [Konami has] ever assembled for a Castlevania game." The director went on to say that maintaining the Castlevania style of gameplay in 3D "would be impossible," and that the style for the next installment "is descended from Symphony of the Night." As far as the story is concerned, Igarashi is eager to incorporate the rich history of the franchise and plans to feature "descendants or ancestors of main characters from the past."

While the platform and release date for the next game are still unknown, it's fair to assume that Konami is going to push the limits of 2D gaming. You can bet that RPGamer will be ready to pounce on any additional information that is released.