Konami Has Announced a New Castlevania Game, But It’s Mobile Only

Konami hasn't exactly been winning over its gaming fans as of late. When the company promised to return to its Metal Gear franchise a while back, gamers were thrilled -- only to be given the lackluster Metal Gear Survive, which failed to crack the sales charts.

Now the company has announced a new project, this time in the long-running Castlevania franchise. But before you get excited for something along the lines of Symphony of the Night, keep in mind that's not what the publisher is shooting for.

Konami has introduced a new project for smartphones titled Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, which will be coming to iOS devices in Japan sometime this year. The game looks to have traditional 2D-style Castlevania visuals in mind, which is good news. However, it looks to be more multiplayer oriented.

The game "invites" players to bring in their friends for either four player co-op or competitive sessions, against both large and small enemies. In addition, item pick-ups seem to be taking place over the course of the game, which could suggest that it's set on a free-to-play basis, with the possibility of microtransactions. That hasn't been fully confirmed as of yet.

We translated the page and found the following details regarding Grimoire of Souls. Keep in mind this is somewhat loose translation:

Story

The future where Earl Dracula completely disappeared. It seemed like eternal peace had come to the world.

However, with a letter that arrived under Araki Gensui, an end was going to be struck in the peaceful era.

"The Count of Dracula where the magic book went awry revived" In order to ascertain the meaning of the word written in the letter, Mr. Arima visited the sender of the letter....

SYSTEM

An exhilarating battle where you can enjoy combat with up to 4 people! Strengthen your favorite characters and challenge your mighty enemies to stand!

The site also introduces some characters new to the franchise, including Aruma Genta, who stands as "the main character of this work," along with his support Lucy. "You can use charming characters of successive devil castle, centering on two people," the site notes, hinting at the co-op aspect of the game.

While Konami's art style for the game looks to have its heart in the right place, some fans may be disappointed it's not more of a Symphony of the Night style adventure -- or maybe even something that caters more to the old-school nature of the series.

Konami hasn't made it clear whether the game will reach our shores or not, but we could possibly know more at E3.