At yesterday's Gamer's Day in San Francisco, Konami has revealed two major new releases for the upcoming year, including an original Wii platformer from the
Elebits team, and a remake of
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for the PSP.
Konami's new Wii game, from
Elebits producer Shingo Mukaitoge, was revealed to be
Dewy's Advanture, marking the second original IP from Konami for Nintendo's console.
In it, players use the Wii controller for nearly all of the in-game puzzle-solving and platforming interactions, such as tilting it to roll the titular Dewy character, a living water droplet, around his environment, using the d-pad to heat or cool Dewy to steam or ice, or fanning the controller to create gusts of wind.
According to Gamasutra editors attending the event, in addition to its single player adventure, the game will also include an edit mode in the same manner as
Elebits, and will also make use of the Wii's internet connectivity in a yet-unannounced way.
Turning to Sony, Konami also announced the long-anticipated official debut of its classic
Castlevania franchise for the PlayStation Portable with
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.
In contrast to the original adventures the DS has received over the past years, the first
Castlevania PSP outing will be a remake of the PC Engine Super CD cult hit
Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo, also known as
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Considered by some to be the pinnacle of the less exploratory, action-based games in the series, the PSP remake of
Rondo is being done with fully 3D assets, but maintains the 2D perspective.
Also included in
The Dracula X Chronicles will be a portable version of PlayStation classic
Symphony of the Night, featuring a reworked localization and slightly reworked graphics, making it the second forthcoming release of the game, alongside the Xbox Live Arcade Version also due soon.
Both games were announced without release dates, but are expected in 2007.
[UPDATE] In addition to those two headline titles, Konami outlined a number of other original console and portable titles. On the multi-console and next-gen front, Konami gave a February 2007 release date to the latest in its hit soccer series,
Winning Eleven Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, DS, PSP, and PC, as well as its Dark Horse Comics license of
Hellboy, due in 2007 for PS3, Xbox 360, and the PSP. It also announced that the latest in its best selling rhythm series would be coming to the Xbox 360 in February with
Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE.
Adding to its Wii lineup, Konami also announced a console exclusive
Dance Dance Revolution iteration with
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party, which will include 4 player support, along with classic franchise music and support for the console's Wii remote and Nunchuk.
Konami will also be publishing a number of Hudson's Wii properties, including flight action game
Wing Island, and
Kororinpa: Marble Mania, a tilt-and-roll action game, both due in Spring of 2007.
In addition to
The Dracula X Chronicles, the PSP will also see the release of
Brooktown High Senior Year, a high-school themed dating/social game where players try to "date the boy or girl of their dreams," the sequel to its original handheld first person shooter,
Coded Arms Contagion.
For the Nintendo DS, Konami highlighted the next volume of its Death Jr. franchise,
Death Jr. and the Science Fair of Doom, its virtual pet simulator
GoPets, and its portable arcade collection,
Konami Classic Series: Arcade Hits.
Konami also added calendar dates for its 3D survival game sequel,
Lost In Blue 2, and the DS version of its
Boktai original series, with
Lunar Knights, due in Spring and February of this year, respectively.
Finally, Konami also announced that it would bring Hudson's rhythm puzzle game
Honeycomb Beat to the DS, and newcomer era-spanning flight combat game
Time Ace, both due in Spring of this year.
