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Original NES Castlevania Logo
The ''Castlevania'' series is one of Konami's most famous franchises, and has seen titles released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo, the Sega Mega Drive, the PC Engine, the PlayStation, the Sega Saturn, the Nintendo 64, the PlayStation 2 and the Microsoft Xbox video game consoles. Several franchise titles have been released for handheld game consoles, including the Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance, and the Nintendo DS, and for various personal computer platforms, including the MSX 2, the Commodore 64, the Sharp X68000, the Commodore Amiga, PC MS-DOS, and Microsoft Windows. A PlayStation Portable release is due in fall 2007.
Overview
The ''Castlevania'' series is about a war between the enchanted family of the Belmonts (originally "Belmondo") and Dracula. Almost every hundred years, Dracula is resurrected and it is up to the Belmonts to defeat him before he unleashes his wrath on the entire world.
The series is loosely based on Bram Stoker's novel ''Dracula''. In fact, the novel is included in the official timeline of the series, with '' taking place shortly afterwards.[1] The connection even goes as far as to claim that Quincy Morris, a character from the novel who lands the final blow against Dracula at the cost of his own life, is in fact a Belmont descendant. Morris is also said to have a son, John, and a grandson, Jonathan, who star in ''Bloodlines'' and '', respectively. The series also incorporates a variety of other creatures from classic horror fiction, films, fantasy, and mythology. These monsters serve to obstruct the path to Dracula but are rarely tied to the game's plot.
Regional variations and localization
In Japan, the series is most commonly known as '''Demon Castle Dracula''' (''Akumajō Dorakyura''). However, not every installment of the franchise has borne that title. For example, the first two installments for the Nintendo Game Boy were released under the title ''The Legend of Dracula'' (ドラキュラ伝説 ''Dorakyura Densetsu'') and the game known in North America as '' was originally released in Japan as ''The Legend of the Demon Castle'' (悪魔城伝説 ''Akumajō Densetsu''). Starting with the release of '' for the Game Boy Advance, the Japanese games adopted the "Castlevania" name for a brief period. According to series producer Koji Igarashi (or IGA, as he is commonly known), the developers chose to adopt the ''Castlevania'' moniker as a way to involve scenarios that do not solely revolve around Dracula himself. Later bowing to overwhelming fan demand, Konami returned to the "Demon Castle Dracula" branding for the Japanese release of ''.
The series is also known for the differences between the Japanese and English language versions. Particularly in earlier installments, the localization process usually removes a heavy share of violence, nudity and religious imagery and references. Removal of such material is prevalent in Nintendo and Super Nintendo titles ''Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' and ''Super Castlevania IV'' due to Nintendo of America's strict censorship policies at the time. ''Castlevania: Bloodlines'', for the Sega Genesis, was renamed ''Castlevania: The New Generation'' for European release to avoid the blood reference used in the American title. In addition, blood and gore was re-colored throughout the European game. Although censorship policies vary from country to country in Europe, some countries, including Germany's strict "decency standards", may inevitably affect the content released throughout the entire continent.
In addition, the English localizations have frequently been plagued by a number of omissions, errors or deliberate alterations/mistransliterations from their original Japanese counterparts. One prevalent alteration is the "Belmont" surname which is known as "Belmondo" in all of the Japanese games. In the Xbox version of ''Castlevania: Curse of Darkness'', Hector clearly says "Belmont", yet the subtitles incorrectly read "Belmondo". The name of the protagonist of '' was changed from "Ralph C. Belmondo" to "Trevor Belmont" for the English version. A notable mistake is the misspelling of the character name "Soleiyu Belmont" from ''. It is a mistransliteration of "Soleil," French for "sun."
Availability
Several games in the series have been produced in very limited quantities, in North America and Europe at least, and have thus greatly fallen short of demand. Most recently, '' and '' have been sold on eBay for two to three times their original selling price, prompting the release of an officially released "double pack" of both games in early 2006. '', considered by many ''Castlevania'' fans to be the "Holy Grail" of the series due to having been released solely on the Japanese PC Engine CD console, still easily sells for over two hundred dollars, as does the original Japanese version of the MSX installment, ''Vampire Killer''. ''Rondo of Blood'' has been confirmed to be a July release for the PlayStation Portable under the name of ''. Other rare editions include the original Sharp X68000 remake of the first title in the series, which was later re-released on the original PlayStation under the moniker ''Castlevania Chronicles''. ''Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow'' has been found to be in short supply, and therefore, has been put back into production as of Fall 2006. Furthermore, '', one of the most popular games in the series, has become a rare find. In particular, there is a version that was released on Sega Saturn (with areas and playable characters not in the Playstation original), which is considered yet another lost treasure in the series. This version never received Western releases. The NES version of the original ''Castlevania'' and ''Super Castlevania IV'' on the SNES have both been released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console service.[2] ''Symphony of the Night'' was released on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service March 21, 2007 and on the PlayStation Network on July 19, 2007. ''Symphony of the Night'' will also be unlockable in the upcoming ''Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles'', as well as the original version of ''Rondo of Blood''.
Evolution of the games
The gameplay mechanics are fairly consistent among most of the earlier titles. The very first console title was a typical platform game in which the player takes the role of Simon Belmont, a descendant of the Belmont clan, a bloodline of whip wielding vampire hunters as he ventures inside Castlevania, the demonic castle of Lord Dracula and fights a variety of supernatural beasts through the castle up to its master's keep to destroy him. The whip used by the Belmont family is a holy relic passed down generation to generation named the Vampire Killer, which was blessed with the power to destroy vampires and other creatures of the night. The games also feature secondary weapons that are powered by hearts, all of which can be found by destroying candles. Common secondary weapons are the straight-flying dagger, the overhead-thrown axe, the ground-burning vial of holy water, a Bible that flies in a circular motion around the screen, the cross, which is wielded like a boomerang, and a stopwatch with the power of very briefly freezing time. Its first sequel, , featured several RPG-influenced elements, including a retractable world map the player was free to explore and revisit, purchase supplies, equipment and weapon upgrades in several different towns, and a leveling up system by gaining experience by vanquishing foes. The returned to the traditional style and gameplay of its original predecessor while updating it with new features such as alternate paths with new and different stages and multiple playable characters, introducing allies to fight alongside with the Belmonts together against Dracula and his legions of demons and monsters.
The major turning point in the gameplay mechanics, physics, and overall aesthetic of the series was the groundbreaking . ''Symphony'' was the progenitor of what is sometimes called a Metroidvania (also called: Castleroid) style of game due to its many similarities to the ''Metroid'' series (primarily ''Super Metroid''), and combines this with the console RPG concepts of experience levels, hit points and magic points, usable items and collectible new powers and abilities, weapons, armor and other equipment. Most subsequent Castlevania games have since followed this new style, with the replacement of the secondary weapons by complex magic systems in which spell components are obtained from enemies or found in the castle. These systems use hearts to replenish MP and often include most of the classic secondary weapons among the much larger variety of spells and attacks.
In addition to reinventing the technical aspects of Castlevania, ''Symphony'' adopted an entirely new image and art direction for the world in which the games took place and the characters that existed within it. The early installments portrayed something of a sword and sorcery or dark fantasy thematic interspersed with a rugged, leather armor bound look for the Belmont bloodline. With the advent of illustrator and concept artist Ayami Kojima onto the development team beginning with ''Symphony'', the design underwent a total transformation into an elegant, hauntingly beautiful appearance inspired by the European Mannerist and Baroque art periods befitting of its romantic Gothic horror theme. As such the characters' dress and condition evolved into ornate and grand ensembles including flowing jackets, vests and period attire and the imagery and landscape of the castle and surrounding locales became lush and lavish. The two Nintendo DS Castlevania games' art style reverted back to a simpler anime style similar to that of the original Dracula X: Rondo of Blood in hopes of broadening the player demographic by not discouraging slightly younger Nintendo DS owners to be put off by the maturer image of Kojima's art. [3] ''Dawn of Sorrow'' was the first game to receive this makeover, and the second DS release ''Portrait of Ruin'' followed suit. [4] Kojima welcomely returned for the PSP remake of ''Rondo of Blood'', ''.
The first games in the series to employ 3D graphics were released to mixed reactions in critical and public venues. These include ''Castlevania 64'' and '' for the Nintendo 64. In ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'', as well as in the two DS titles, backgrounds were occasionally three-dimensional.
IGA has recently stated that if ''The Dracula X Chronicles'' does well, the series may return to the a more traditional style of the original games, possibly suggesting further remakes for the ''Chronicles'' titles.
Chronology
Prior to the release of ''Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance'', every game in the series was accepted as canon, with the original versions of certain games (such as the original ''Castlevania'' and ''Dracula X'') usually accepted as the canonical interpretation of certain events. This was assumed even though there was no official unified direction to the series's storyline (other than conflicts against Dracula). However, when Koji Igarashi took over as producer for the series, he revised the timeline and removed the following games from it: ''Castlevania Legends'', ''Castlevania 64'', ''Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness'' and ''Castlevania: Circle of the Moon''. According to an interview later conducted with 1UP.com, the only game he deliberately retconned was ''Castlevania Legends'', whereas the other games were produced to be side-stories from the start.[5]
With the release of ''Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin'', Konami of America has included a pre-order bonus "20th Anniversary" package that includes a Castlevania series timeline. This timeline includes the dates for ''Castlevania 64'', ''Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness'' and ''Castlevania: Circle of the Moon''. This was likely to show all of the games for the series that had been released in North America, as the three games mentioned above are merely given titles and dates, with no story information given[6]. ''Castlevania Legends'' and its date, however, were left off of the list for reasons unknown, although the game appears in the accompanying box artwork book.
Recurring major characters
Dracula
Dracula has generally been the main antagonist throughout the Castlevania series, though the portrayal of the character has varied over time. He was originally depicted as little more than a villain, but the character became much more dramatic as more titles were released. Dramatic or not, Dracula always played an important role in the series; his legacy stays even in the games where he doesn't make any canonical physical appearances, such as in ''.
In games where Dracula does actually make a "physical" appearance, he often sports his obligatory royal clothing with a cape. During the early games, his clothing is mostly red or purple, but in more recent releases, he has been dressed mostly in black with black/red cape. Departing from the usual representation, he has a white beard.
The attack pattern of Dracula (and later those who are deemed to be similar to him) almost never changes. He often fights the hero in two forms: His humanoid form and his demonic form. The battle pattern on Dracula's humanoid form is a mainstay of the series: He teleports all around the battlefield while attacking with various fire blasts in between teleports, including his trademark attack, the Hellfire (where he fires three fireballs at the protagonist), an attack later inherited by his son, Alucard, and a meteor, where he fires two meteors from his cape. After he takes enough damage, he will transform into his demonic form with various new attacks. Most devastating is the Atom bomb-like Apocalypse blast which the count utilizes in some titles. Another recurring theme, introduced in more recent games, is the use of the song "Dance of Illusions" in the background during the battle.
The Belmont Family
The Belmont bloodline is sworn to oppose Dracula in all his various forms. In most Castlevania games, the main character is a Belmont. If not, the Belmonts are usually present in the form of supporting characters. Following continuity of the book, twice the hero has been from the Morris family. In for the Sega Genesis, the player could choose between two characters, one of which was John Morris (supposedly a descendant of Quincey Morris from the novel). In '', the player could take control of Jonathan Morris, the elder John Morris' son.
Enemies
Throughout the series, Dracula's castle and other locations have been filled with monsters and servants that seek to thwart the heroes' quests. These have ranges from creatures of legend and mythology such as Harpies and the Catoblepas, and classical and literary monsters such as the Werewolf and Frankenstein's Monster, to giant animals, demonic maids, and possessed furniture. Among these, some enemy types have been found in nearly all incarnations of the series, and are considered staples.
'The Undead'
In keeping with its gothic/horror theme, Castlevania includes many undead enemies, such as zombies, skeletons, and ghosts. Two of the most common found are zombies that rise from the floor and move towards the hero, and skeletons that throw bones in a high arc. Skeletons equipped with armor and various weapons such as spears, swords, and boomerangs are also common. These seem to be made from the corpses of previous victims, as Aria of Sorrow contained many zombie soldiers who presumably died during the battle in 1999.
'Death'
The Grim Reaper, later better known simply as Death, is present in nearly all Castlevania games. Death is often an end-game boss, that is, he appears late in the game, shortly before the final boss (though he is once honored to be the final boss, in ''). In some of the later games, he is also known as Dracula's second in command, and occasionally plays an important role, such as where he teams up with Dracula's first form in ''. For the most recent games, Death's statistics have been revolved around the number 4. In Aria and Dawn of Sorrow and as well as Portrait of Ruin, his HP is 4444. This is because one of the reading for the number 4 in Japanese is 'shi', which has the same sound as the word death as in 'shinigami' the Japanese word for Death God.
Appearance-wise, Death always looks like a floating skeleton, often without a lower body. His fashion evolves slightly; in early games, he just wears a ragged cloak, and looks precisely like how the cultural Grim Reaper looks like. Later, he starts wearing fancy top hats, multi-layered coats, and sometimes has been shown wearing some degree of armor.
Like his friend Dracula, Death always uses the same basic attacks in every game. In one attack he possesses, he tries to hit the heroes with a scythe. Another is that he almost always summons small sickles out of thin air that home in onto the heroes, and this particular attack is usually the main stress factor of the fight, especially in early games where the heroes can't move as freely as later characters. Like Dracula, he has been fighting the heroes in two forms lately: Often the first form with him donning his normal clothings and the second form where he becomes various skeletal creatures.
'Bats'
A fictional work revolving around Dracula is not complete without bats. This enemy has been present in almost every Castlevania game (The exception being ''Castlevania: Curse of Darkness''), usually as a weak enemy that flies around in a pattern that makes them hard to hit, and in the process, making it hard for the heroes to get through, especially when the heroes are traversing perilous terrains such as collapsing bridges. These bats have become less and less intimidating as the series progress since now they rarely appear in crucial times (see 'Medusa Head' and 'Fleamen' below for comparison). In the original Castlevania, both red and blue versions existed, the latter of which would wait hanging upside down for the player to get closer before striking. Consistent with this, a group of red and blue bats would make a cameo (along with a lone skeleton) on the third episode of the animated series '', in which Kevin was fighting his way through the world of Castlevania.
In contrast, some other bats have become bosses in the series. The first of such bat boss is a Giant Bat (also called Phantom Bat) which is actually the first boss to be introduced to non-arcade Castlevania games. These recurring boss have been seen in different forms, and even inspire some other bosses in later games to mimic their battle style.
'Medusa / Medusa Heads'
When Medusa first appeared in the first Castlevania title, and even earlier (or later) in '', she was but a head. However, this so called Medusa Head later becomes one of the most well-known and much hated enemy in the whole Castlevania series, not only for being present in practically every Castlevania game, but also one of the most frustrating enemies in the whole series for often appearing in the worst places at the worst times, usually in the Clock Tower area of the castle, where there are moving gear platforms near a wall or bed of spikes for the player to be knocked into, leading to a large amount of health being lost. To add more frustration, Medusa Heads in later games also have the power to petrify, even though Medusa bosses already have this petrification ability from quite early. These enemies were so hated that GameSpot claimed that they were one of the things in games that gamers love to hate.[7]
'Armored Knights / Living Armors'
Castlevania houses a large variety of armored knights and living armors, though whether these armors are actually worn is not certain. In early days, there are lance-wielding knights and axe-wielding knights, which is particularly interesting because they can throw their axes like a boomerang. Later, more and more armored knights are added, ranging from a normal sword wielding knight, bomb-throwers, disc users (who throw bladed discs attached to a cord like a yo-yo) and more, even their sizes start to vary greatly, with some knights being human-sized while others are as tall as the room they're in (which are usually large). A variant of this (known as the Black Knight) would appear on the third episode of the cartoon, ''Captain N'', in which Kevin was fighting his way through the world of Castlevania. It appeared very large and threw a seemingly unlimited supply of lances at Kevin, and was at least one story tall. As with many video game characters portrayed on this cartoon, this was inconsistent with their appearances in the games and their respective concept art. As the Black Knights appeared in Castlevania I and II (the only 2 games released in the U.S. during the time of the episode) they did not throw their lances, and were the same general height as the games' protagonist, Simon Belmont. However, this representation would appear more accurate in comparison to later games.
'Hunchbacks / Fleamen'
These little enemies are almost the same as Medusa Heads, in that their mobility is their main threat. Early in the series, these enemies were pretty slow, but because they loved jumping around erratically, they became a menace. This problem no longer exist in the latter games, mostly because by then, they are too weak to actually inflict considerable damage. Also, they are not considered as deadly as Medusa Heads because unlike the heads, the Hunchbacks / Fleamen are rarely present in critical areas of the castle, whereas Medusa Heads often pop up in places with a lot of instant/quick-kill threats.
'Fish Men / Mermen'
The fish-humanoids are present from the very first Castlevania, and have never been away from watery places. They usually attack by spitting, though curiously enough they don't always spit water (or maybe acid solution instead of water), that is, sometimes they are even able to spit fire. A Fish Man would make an appearance, looking rather frog-like, on the third episode of the cartoon, ''Captain N'', in which Kevin was fighting his way through the world of Castlevania.
'Legion'
In most cases of the series, Legion serves as a main boss. Legion was called Granfaloon in the U.S. version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Legion is a sort of living orb that flies around attacking with zapping tentacles. Its most noticeable feature, however, is its armor constructed entirely of dead bodies. To get to the orbical weak spot, the player will have to attack its "corpse armor" until its true form is revealed. In one instance where Legion is different from this description is in ''Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon'', where Legion is a lesser monster composed of three heads melted together, and with tentacles coming out of the three mouths. Touching Legion in ''Circle Of The Moon'' results in being cursed. In ''Dawn of Sorrow'' the room where the final battle is held is made out of Legion-like corpses. It most likely takes its name from the biblical story of the demon Legion where a young man is possessed by 1000 demons. (Mark 5:9 ...And he [Jesus] asked him, What is thy name? And he [the demons] answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many...). In ''Curse of Darkness'', after defeating Legion, the core will transform into a humanoid figure, hunched over with long arms. It could stretch, shoot beams, and teleport through the room made from corpses and bones.
Recurring castle areas
More often than not, Castlevania games take place in Dracula's castle (very often called Castlevania itself). While the castle areas change from time to time[8], some places seem to stay the same.
'Castle Entrance'
This section of the castle, as the name suggests, is normally featured early in a Castlevania game. Originally serving as the first level of ''Vampire Killer'' and ''Castlevania'', this portion of Dracula's castle is notable for the following characteristics:
★ It normally begins outside in a brief forest section, where the character must enter the actual castle via drawbridge or just a regular entrance.
★ Inside, the player must reach the main hallway. Often this location has gray walls that are partially crumbled, exposing brick work along with pillars, curtains and tall window sets. The common enemies here are zombies, bats, and sometimes panthers.
★ Midway through the level, there is usually a flooded basement section featuring mermen.
★ After exiting the basement section, there is usually one final hallway similar to the first main hallway.
★ The song entitled "Vampire Killer" is often heard for the background music in homage to that tune being heard in this level of the original games.
'Chapel'
The supposed place of worship is another of Castlevania's favorite places. One particular characteristic of a Castlevania chapel is that it is always the only place in the castle which is decorated with stained glass windows. Sometimes, stained-glass humanoid forms will appear from these windows to attack the player.
'Clock Tower'
In early games, this portion of the castle is often featured towards the end of the game, serving as either the final stage which leads directly to Dracula's Keep, or the game's second to last stage, an honor which is often lost in latter games even though this place is always located close to the keep. The tower contains spinning gears and pendulums which serve as platforms and enemies that usually consist of Medusa heads and harpies. The Clock Tower is also the one place in the castle with a lot of instant-kill threats, mostly spikes.
'Castle Keep'
The keep is Dracula's personal room, so to speak, and because of that, this place has usually been featured in most Castlevania games. This place is distinct in several ways:
★ It is always the highest spot of the castle (though usually matched by the Clock Tower).
★ The keep is always connected to the rest of the castle by merely a single long flight of stairs with a full moon shown in the back along with (sometimes) the clock tower
★ In most later games, this keep also serves as a throne room.
'Underground Caverns'
Literally the wettest place in Castlevania. Inhabitants of this place are usually the mermen, killer fish and other aquatic beasts, though some other enemies also make their home here, such as fractile golems. In some later games, waterfalls are often seen here. In at least one instance, the water itself is poison.
'Dungeon'
The dungeon stages usually feature backgrounds filled with prison cells (sometimes occupied), chains and wall handcuffs, and skeletons and corpses laying just about everywhere. The stages usually feature such enemies as bone throwing skeletons, hunchbacks, and axe wielding knights. The stage's final stretch usually features a long hallway with these aforementioned knights and then a boss fight.
Film
Main articles: Castlevania (film)
★ In November 2005, news of a ''Castlevania'' movie surfaced.[9] Crystal Sky Pictures acquired the movie rights for ''Castlevania'' from Konami. British filmmaker Paul W. S. Anderson had been announced as the writer/director of the ''Castlevania'' film, but he has since relinquished direction to Sylvain White and the script is being rewritten based on Anderson's original screenplay. No cast has been announced and production was expected to start in mid-2006 - this has however changed to late 2007, as "snow is desired" in the Forest scenes.
Other media
★ Simon Belmont was one of the stars in the animated series ''.[10] He was a member of the N-Team, a group of mostly video game characters who defended Video Land against the evils of Mother Brain and others. He does not appear in the comic book form of Captain N. Dracula (referred to only as "The Count" in the series) was also one of the villains in Captain N. Alucard also appeared in one episode as a skateboarding teenager. Several other Castlevania monsters appeared in cameo roles, including Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, and the Skull Knight.
★ Action figure and collectible manufacturer company NECA officially licensed Castlevania to produce a line of models of characters due for distribution in October of 2007. The first series include Simon Belmont, Dracula, Alucard, and the succubus from . [11]
★ In 2005 IDW Publishing released a comic book adaptation ''Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy'' written by Marc Andreyko with art by E. J. Su. [12]
★ On October 13 2006 comic book writer Warren Ellis announced on his blog that he is on board to pen an animated film adaptation of for Project 51 Productions. James Jean will be the art director.[13]
★ In the chapter ''W is for Winner'' of Maddox humor book ''The Alphabet of Manliness'', ''Castlevania'' is listed as an example of a winner.
★ The final chapter of the eighth volume in the manga Hellsing is titled "Castlevania".
★ In the video game version of the movie ''Van Helsing'', one of the rooms is a library. One of the sections of books mentions a book about the Belmont family and their quests against Dracula.
References
External links
★ ''Akumajō Dracula'' series at Konami Tokyo
★ ''Castlevania'' series at Konami USA
★ The ''Castlevania'' series at MobyGames
★
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