06/30 Parking on the Street Is a Terrible Thing
The porting of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night â or, as it is known in Japan, AkumajĆ Dracula X: Gekka no YasĆkyoku â on the Sega Saturn is a well-documented development story, pretty much ever since its release. But I will recap it here anyway.
Konami was running into trouble with some arcade flops and development difficulties with its first Nintendo 64 titles, and decided to port three recent PlayStation hits (GensĆsuikoden, Vandal Hearts and Dracula X) to pad out its 1997-98 fiscal year.
To handle these ports, Konami relied on KCE Nagoya, its low cost studio specialized in handling Game Boy versions of licensed games and welcoming freshly recruited students to teach them about the wonderful and not-at-all soul-crushing world of Japanese game development. The Producer and veterans on the Dracula X team had previously been in charge of the three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games for the Game Boy, and rest of the team was comprised of development rookies.
This ragtag team of Naâgoya-do-wells unfortunately struggled with the notoriously complex and sometimes esoteric Saturn development environment, missed the intended Holiday 1997 deadline and ultimately released the game in June 1998, over a year after the original PS1 version and more importantly three months after its The Best (value-priced re-release) edition, which in turn forced Konami to sell the Saturn version at the lower than expected market price of „3800. And that, friends, was the very last time anyone ever thought âthe problem with Dracula X on the Saturn is that it is too cheap.â
The port is a mixed bag. There are several sweet bonus contents such as a Sound Test, two new areas, new items, rebalanced items and most importantly two additional characters, Richter and Maria, playable from the start. There are also many technical shortcomings, disappointing 2D graphics, slowdowns, and short but noticeable loading times to show the map. Unless you cheat and play with the recent and excellent Ultimate 1.0 patch/mod which corrected many of these issues, the Saturn version has the perfect balance of good and bad points which allowed disgruntled, contemptuous PS1 fans and defensive, not entirely objective Saturn fans to yell at each other on message boards about which version was better. Fun times!
However, today, I wish to share another less discussed aspect of these Extra Contents from AkumajĆ Dracula X Gekka no YasĆkyoku, which the video above does not address either: the extra contents you could discover on the disc.
(I meant the other side of the disc. But that wouldnât be very compelling, visually.)
Indeed, the Saturn version of AkumajĆ Dracula X is one of the earliest examples of a console CD-ROM including hidden files for owners of a home computer with a CD-ROM drive.
Thatâs how you could find, in a bonus folder, high quality wallpapers and illustrations from Kojima Ayami in a stunning 768 pixels high definition (âfull screenâ on a PC monitor pretty much meant 1024*768 in those days).
And last but not least, this quite NSFW illustration of Succubus which left much of an impression on teenage moi back then.
If that last (and lasting) image wasnât enough to convince you about the carefree, complicit, âwe didnât really check with Konami management nor Segaâs CD mastering policiesâ attitude of the development team regarding what they shared on the disc, the last file should do you in. Itâs a SHIFT-JIS-formatted, 1998/4/9-dated document titled KAIHATSU.DOC (so, something like « development.doc »).
If you open it, which you still can in 2024 on Word for instance (just make sure to select the now defunct SHIFT-JIS encoding format), youâll find a very long, surprisingly touching and overall pretty wholesome message from each member of the development team. If you kinda wondered above, and rightfully so, âwaitaminute, how come we actually knew the development history of the game so well and for so long?â â KAIHATSU.DOC, thatâs why.
Just like the images I shared above, the entire thing has been uploaded and kindly translated into English on The Cutting Room Floor and it is truly worth the read, so Iâll also share it below.
A few words from the developers of the SS version of Dracula XâŠ
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âââââ Letâs begin with the graphic artists. âââââ
Thank you very much for buying our game.
Thinking back, we had our difficulties, but we were somehow able to pull things together in the end. Because the SS version is a little different from the PSX version, a variety of new elements were added to the game, so I believe that those who own the PSX version will be able to enjoy this one, too.
Iâll tell you a little story from the developersâ point of view. Thereâs actually another version of Maria with a full set of graphics different from the one the player meets in the actual game. It ended up going unused.
It mightâve been neat if she had been used, though. Because she was a dark version of Maria, the opposite to the light version of Maria, her attacks and such would have been entirely different. Go ahead and imagine for yourselves what she might have been like. (Perhaps, if sheâd appeared in the game, sheâd have been called Black Maria?)
Feel free to write us a letter or something. In any case, enjoy the game!
BGM: Lâalba dei morti viventi/Goblin
Yoshinori Suzuki (Designer)
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First off, did you enjoy the SS version of Dracula X Gekka no Yasoukyoku?
Thinking back, the original PSX version could be said to be the ultimate 2D game, at least in terms of the special effects. I think we did a pretty good job of porting it to the Saturn, which isnât very impressive in terms of processing. Another thing we can thank the programmers for. Not to mention the trouble we had forcing the system to handle the effect transformations, transparency processing, and âimpossibleâ specs concerning the additional monsters I was in charge of. However, our efforts werenât for nothing, and I think we ended up with something fun. Donât just kill the additional monsters right away, take your time with them now and then.
Ah, the river is callingâŠ
Graphic Designer Tanabe over and out.
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Hello, everyone, nice to meet you. Iâm Muraoka, in charge of the gameâs backgrounds. This project is my first foray into the game industry.
Sorry release ended up getting delayed. We all did our best, but we ran into some issues on the hardware front. [Laughs bitterly] It was a cycle of trial and error. (Really⊠Dohoho.)
But, I think our efforts came through and we were able to make a good game. I hope youâll be able to enjoy it.
I wonder if Iâll be able to do an original game next~~~~? hopeful I want to make a game that everyone will love. If you have an idea for something that could work, please send a letter to KCE Nagoya. (LOL) Maybe you can prop up my hopes?
See ya next time!
Yasuko Okamura
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For this game, our team did their best to put together as many requests and improvements as we could from the people whoâd played the game on the PSX. Please send us your impressions of the SS version, if you can. The Dracula series will continue to evolve, fueled by heartwarming letters and relentless encouragement!
Thank you very much for purchasing the SS version of Akumajou Dracula X.
Until next timeâŠ
Miyata
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âââââ Next up, the sound staff!âââââ
Man, it was tough. The Dracula series always has a ton of background music, not to mention sound effects. And this one has dialogue, to boot⊠I was worried about whether it would really all be able to fit on one CD, as I hammered it out, day after day, I started to feel that my efforts were admirable, if I do say so myself. Please listen carefully.
Suzuki the Sound Guy
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Iâm Iwata, the guy in charge of sound programming. (I actually played the guitar as well!) The PlayStationâs sound is really elaborate, so porting the game was really hard work. Iâm relieved that we somehow made it work.
Youichi Iwata, Sound Programmer
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I was in charge of the creation and arrangement/mixing of 5 of this gameâs original songs. As I did the music for the port, I attempted to pursue originality while keeping in mind the fact that the game needed to act as a successor to the atmosphere of the PSX version.
I wonder if our KCE Nagoya touch lended a bit of spice to the original title? I look forward to hearing everyoneâs impressions.
Tetsuya Ozono
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Hello there, Iâm Junko Shintou, of the sound team.
My main job was to arrange 2 BGM tracks and create sound effects for all the original enemy characters. The songs I arranged are the original stage music for the reverse map (I arranged the song called Bigining [sic] as a techno piece), and the song in the Long Library with the old man (itâs a little different from the PlayStation version!).
I did a bunch of other things too, thoughâŠ
Every day, I felt a different sort of excitement, knowing my songs would be in a game. My previous work was also on the Saturn, but my time working on this game has left me full of memories of a different sort.
Iâd really love it if you were able to enjoy the game right till the end.
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Iâm Okada, the guy who did 2 of the BGM songs for the SS version of Akumajou Dracula X. I was a fan of the PSX version, so Iâm really glad I could participate in the production of the port!!
My appreciation to Suzuki and Ozono, who taught me so much.
Okada of the Sound Department
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Thank you very much for purchasing the SS version of Akumajou Dracula X - Gekka no Yasoukyoku.
What did you think of it?
This was my first time developing for the Saturn, and have some regrets regarding what I failed to do in drawing out the hardware performance (the game was still delayed regardless⊠sob), but I think itâs a passable port.
Because I, personally, am pretty attached to the Dracula series, there were a lot of other things I wanted to do, but release was delayed, and the PlayStation Best version went on saleâŠ
If you think about it, Maria matured. She really grew up in the last 4 years.
Please be sure to play as Maria, too. laughs
Takagi, in charge of the system, backgrounds, etc., over and out.
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Thank you very much for purchasing the game. Iâm Y.M. I was mainly in charge of certain game devices.
The walls behind bookcases, the moving floors outside the walls⊠These little things in the game werenât noticed much, and I was moved to tears once or twice. When people finally noticed some of them and smiled, I was very happy.
Y.M. â Programmer
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Thank you very much to the people who bought and sold our game. And, to the people involved in developing the game, good work. 2D action games are a rare genre these days, but I think that means itâs Konami-esque. The inside of the castle is pretty expansive, but Iâd really like you to be thorough in your search and aim for a 100% clear.
If you have ideas such as âI want to play this type of game,â or âI wasnât too happy with this part,â please write us or join Konami and work with us. laughs
Shimiz, the guy in charge of the players
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Nice to meet you!! Iâm Imai the programmer.
Itâs been just about a year since I joined Konami. I wanted to make something in 3D, but I end up on the staff of a 2D action title, the SS version of Dracula X. I was mainly in charge of the enemy characters (was it really just the enemy characters?). There were probably around 200 of them, if you really narrow it down.
Which enemies did you enjoy? The one I had the most trouble with was Orlok. It took me 2 weeks. The programming for its pre-transformation and post-transformation was nothing to sneeze at. There are probably around 5 small fry. I had other people helping me out, but, in the end, I was in charge of doing the small revisions. It was tough.
Perhaps because of that, I ended up missing out on summer holidays, New Years, and my TV dramas. When we were writing New Years cards, I told my wife that Iâd be finished soon, just to make her happy, but now the sakura are blooming. Itâs already April.
It was sad! Painful! The schedule was demanding! The department head had us in a death grip (much love!)! Even the police were merciless!
Now Iâll pass on something I learned from working on this project. The title is âParking on the Street Is a Terrible Thingâ.
It was a rainy morning in March. Iâd spent my weekend staying at my wifeâs parentsâ house (I had to work on Saturday and Sunday as well, you see). Because we had a (1 year old?) hamster at our house, I had to bring it with me, and, naturally, I drove over in my beloved Toyota Carib.
When I went to my wifeâs parentsâ, there was always the implicit understanding that Iâd park on the backstreet behind the house. Because it wasnât forbidden to park on that street, I didnât think anything of parking there and going off to work. On Saturdays, that wasnât a problem (though, to be honest, it should have been okay no matter what the day). Then Sunday came along. Stressed out by work, I returned home and fell asleep in a daze. Monday soon followed.
I awoke to the voice of my mother-in-law telling me âYouâre parked illegally!â âWhat?!â I exclaimed. âThat street isnât illegal to park on!â I had a bad feeling about this. When I went down to my car, I found a ticket that looked like a regular parking ticket, but the message on the ticket was clearly different from a regular parking ticket. The note said âviolation related to automobile storage locationâ.
The note explained how the police had come by prior to 8 the night before, and again at 5 that morning. There were traces of chalk on the tires (no small thing). I visited the police station right away. The receptionist indicated that I hadnât committed a parking violation, but that I should go down to the traffic division. âIf it wasnât a traffic violation, then what the hell?!â I said to myself.
A little while after I was shown to the traffic division, one of the people in charge there came out and began to take notes. âWhy are you taking notes?â I asked in confusion. âMr. Imai, this isnât a traffic violation weâre dealing with, but a violation of the Motor Vehicle Storage Act. We wonât be fining you, but the penalty fee will have to be decided in court. The cost should come to less than 200,000 yen, but you will have to appear in traffic court. By the way, the fee has never been lower than 50,000 yen. If you canât pay the amount they decide on, you will have to do forced labour for 5000 yen a day.â I was dumbfounded. As a bonus, after taking down the notes, the person added âThe perpetrator of this violation has deeply reflected on his wrongdoing, so please grant him leniency in your judgment.â âWhat the hell did I do?!â I thought to myself. âBad luck!â the police officer told me.
I was dumbfounded. I was stupified. To think that something like this had occurred after I just so happened to visit my in-lawsâ house. It would have been better if theyâd towed me. In the end, I paid 50,000 yen for the good of my country (likely more with tax), but more people than me have suffered under this Motor Vehicle Storage Act. Be forewarned: If you treat curbside parking lightly, youâll suffer a sorry fate.
If you want to do the right thing, kiddos, become someone great!
This has been a report on Imaiâs present circumstances.
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From the Developers of KCE Nagoyaâs Dracula X For the Saturn