Konami was searching for indie devs to remake more of their old IPs, and now they’ve announced the winners – and the 1st prize goes to La-Mulana creator Takumi Naramura.

Naramura proposed to Konami to remake their classic metroidvania progenitor The Maze of Galious, which released for the MSX computer way back in 1987. The game is a side-scrolling RPG that most consider an influential metroidvania title, inspiring later classics.

“I was watching last year’s TGS when this contest was announced,” Naramura said to IGN Japan. “I thought ‘there’s no way The Maze of Galious will be on the list.’ But there it was! I hurriedly contacted my teammates to find out what we should do.”

Naramura noted that his passion for the game, which he previously said is the main inspiration for his title La-Mulana, is not as mainstream as Konami’s other classic IPs.

“I think most people saw that list and said ‘Gradius, that’s cool, Goemon, I like that,’ so they might be disappointed that Galious was selected,” he said.

While The Maze of Galious was released for the MSX, it was later ported to the Famicom and was eventually localized for the MSX in Europe. The Famicom version was never released outside of Japan.

Konami noted the panel of judges “could feel tremendous passion for The Maze of Galious” in Naramura’s proposal for a remake. Naramura also left a comment saying if he didn’t win he would “probably just stay quiet and make the game anyway.”

Four other developers were also selected to remake their proposed classic Konami titles, including: Star Soldier, Parodius, Twinbee, and Pooyan. Konami proper also announced they’re doing HD remasters for Suikoden and Suikoden II – read more about that here.

Editor’s Note: Fan mockup keyart via deviantart