Summary
Castlevaniais a renowned classic video game franchise based in a gothic worldrevolving around vampiresand vampire hunters. There are more than a dozen titles that have garnered a dedicated fanbase, introducing new characters in nearly every release as the Belmonts face off against the forces of evil to save the world. The story of Castlevania is a vasttakes place across hundreds of years, stemming from a first initial conflict against Dracula and following vampire resurgences across history. Players take control of one or many characters, tasked with ending whatever plot the creatures of the night are scheming.
There has been a surge in the franchise’s popularity thanks in part to the twoCastlevaniaanimation series. The most recent isCastlevania: Nocturne, which focuses on Richter Belmont, a young fledgling vampire hunter who must face off against a goddess vampire named Erzebet Bahtroy. With the help of allies, Richter tries to shed his childish behavior and learn from his mistakes. Fans of the series who want to dive into moreCastlevaniacontent have a long list of games and media to explore.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonancetakes place fifty years after the events of Dracula’s Curse and follows Juste Belmont, one of the supporting characters ofCastlevania: Nocturne. Juste, who is barely sixteen, inherits the vampire-killing whip and takes on a mission to find his missing friend, Lydie Erlanger.
Juste must traverse Dracula’s dangerous castle, facing the likes of Death, to acquire relics and get to the bottom of whatever sinister plot awaits him in the dark.Harmony of Dissonanceexplores Juste’s character and motivations for fans wishing to learn more about the character. As a classic side-scroller 2-D experience,Harmony of Dissonanceis a great play.
Widely considered the best of theCastlevaniafranchise,Castlevania: Symphony of the Nightis the thirteenth game in the series. It features Alucard as the main protagonist, who investigates Dracula’s castle after it mysteriously reappears. Set four years after the events ofRondo of Blood, Richter Belmont is absent, having disappeared prior.
The game brings its classic gameplay style, but adds more explorative elements to the game’s levels instead of a more linear approach. It even revitalizes decision-making and role-playing elements that had not been seen in the franchise for some time.
Prior to the events ofSymphony of the Night,Castlevania: Rondo of Bloodfocuses on Richter Belmont as its main character. After his lover Annette is kidnapped by a returned Dracula, Richter invades the Castle of Dracula and mows through all his opposition in order to save her.
Dracula, who wishes vengeance on the Belmont family, sends hordes of night creatures, the spirit of Death, and his loyal henchman Shaft to take his head.Rondo of Bloodis another classic adventure that keeps strong the traditions of Castlevania as a whole. Richter’s character is significantly explored, making it a good game for fans ofNocturne,and his powers are expanded compared to most Belmonts'.
Serving as a direct sequel toCastlevania: Lords Of Shadow,Lords Of Shadow: Mirror of Fateis a combination of the new rebooted universe ofCastlevaniawith dashes of the lore of the previous games.
The story features several main protagonists that players will take control of while exploring Dracula’s castle in episodic side-scrolling adventures. Gabriel Belmonte returns along with his son Trevor Belmonte, grandson Simon Belmonte, and the son of Dracula, Alucard.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadowintroduced the franchise into the modern age of gaming. Set to reboot the entire franchise, it was developed in secret as a third-person action game similar toGod of War. The game focuses on Gabriel Belmont, a holy knight seeking revenge on a sinister group called the Lords of Shadow.
The Lords of Shadow have cast a vile spell that prevents deceased souls from entering the realm of heaven, causing monstrous creatures to appear and attack the living. Gabriel, whose wife was murdered by the lords, seeks to end the spell so that his beloved can be at peace.Lords Of Shadowis a fresh start for the franchise, and players don’t need prior game knowledge to jump into the game.
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2is the third game in the rebooted franchise that revamps theCastlevaniauniverse and tells a new story based on its characters. InLords of Shadow 2, players take control of the father of vampires, Dracula, on a quest to defeat Satan.
Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2has a drastically different experience than the previous games,set in an open worldand in two different time periods. However, the game retains its hack-and-slash elements and builds upon them.
