Soma Cruz - Conception and Design

Conception and Design

Soma first debuted in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, the third and final installment of the Castlevania series on the Game Boy Advance. He was created as part of the attempt by Koji Igarashi, the producer of several Castlevania games, including the highly acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, to try a "different route" for the series by setting it in a futuristic setting. Soma was designed by Ayami Kojima, who had previously worked on the characters in Castlevania games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Kojima's drawings are made in a dark, gothic style, and borrow heavily from bishōnen-style art. Nevertheless, keeping with Igarashi's "different route" motif, Soma's appearance was made noticeably more contemporary, sporting more modern clothing in comparison to the medieval attire of characters in previous Castlevania games.

Soma's inclusion in Dawn of Sorrow, a rare sequel in the Castlevania series, was made by Igarashi, who stated that one of his primary motivations behind making Dawn of Sorrow was to feature Soma Cruz in another game. Ayami Kojima was not included in the production team, as Igarashi wanted her to concentrate on her character designs for Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. Soma, along with the remainder of the characters, were redrawn in an anime style. This was a marketing strategy Igarashi wished to employ, as he felt that the Nintendo DS' target demographic was significantly younger than those of other consoles Castlevania games had appeared on, and he intended to court them with a more simplistic anime design. Furthermore, Igarashi considered it a litmus test for whether the design would be incorporated into future Castlevania installments.