Let me take a minute here to geek out about one of my favorite videogame franchises ever. Created in 1986, Castlevania was produced in Japan by the company Konami. The premise is that Dracula is terrifying the countryside and that a lone hero, Simon Belmont, must enter his castle, fight hordes of monsters, and destroy Dracula. It was cool, in part, for the diversity of the creatures, which normally includes Medusa, the Frankenstein monster, the mummy, and the Grim Reaper. As the series goes, Dracula is resurrected every century, and it is usually up to some descendant of the Belmont clan to take him on. Sometimes, other characters step in, like Dracula's son Alucard, or the devil's forgemaster (a necromancer) Hector among others. With introducing so many characters, the |every century" bit is more like a guideline but it's still great fun.
This game spawned numerous sequels. Part 2 was cool because it was a side-scrolling RPG, an unusual and experimental type of game. Part 3 introduced the concept of multiple heroes and something that resembled a storyline along with the ability to choose you own path. Part 4 was a remake of the first but a new soundtrack, graphics, and tons of levels. I got into the franchise through Castlevania 64 (64 bit graphics, not number of sequels) when I was 16 and freaked out to the creepy atmosphere in the game along with its effective sound effects. This gave me the motivation to read Bram Stoker's original novel and put me on my path to obsessively reading horror and exploring vampire lore. Another classic is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in which Alucard comes to the newly formed castle of his father to restore order and finds an unexpected twist when a Belmont seems to be behind the terrible goings-on. This is tied directly to it's prequel, Rondo of Blood, in which Richter Belmont rescues his girlfriend who was captured by Dracula. I still have yet to play this one. Symphony of the Night is the fan favorite for its heavy detail, the expansive world to explore, and it's simple but effective gameplay.
There were several other notables to be thrown in the mix. Lament of Innocence is the official prequel in which details how Dracula really came to be and tells how the medieval crusader, Leon Belmont, gets tied into the whole matter. Harmony of Dissonance is another good one. Circle of the Moon was one that I got into back in 2003-2004 when I was in need of some good distractions. Dracula X is the American version of Rondo of Blood and impossible for the likes of me. Also challenging is the much-loved Castlevania: Bloodlines that ties the Castlevania series with Stoker's characters at least somewhat. Lately, Konami has tapered off on making Castlevania games which irritates a lot of fans.
Interestingly, Netflix came out with the anime of Castlevania, which tells a more detailed story of part three which takes place in the 1400s. It tells of Dracula who falls in love with a human woman, a healer, who is burned at the stake for witchcraft and how Dracula reacts in rage, vowing vengeance on the people responsible and all of humanity. The Belmonts, at this point, are disgraced and excommunicated from the church for having such strong ties to the supernatural, and its survivor Trevor, a homeless dispirited drunk. It tells of how Trevor regains his will to fight and teams up with a sorceress Sypha and Alucard to save the world. It took four seasons to tell the story, although season three wasted some potential and time, partly marring an excellent series with some out-of-place sexualized aspects.
The sequel, Castlevania: Nocturne recently came out. Although it is a darling for Rotten Tomatoes, a lot of fans are unhappy with this one due to some inconsistencies with the series and some woke elements. Another gripe is that Dracula hasn't shown up yet. For one, Dracula usually takes a back seat in the games anyway. Just because he hasn't shown up doesn't mean he won't. I like it so far and don't find the woke elements too intrusive. However, if they don't deliver Dracula at any point, I'll change my mind. This one takes place in the 1790s during the French Revolution. Richter Belmont is a young vampire hunter helping the revolutionaries and trying to live down his haunted past. The vampire gentry have plans to quell the revolutionaries in the form of their messiah Elizabeth Bathory. The neat aspect is that just as Dracula is based on a bloodthirsty historical figure, Bathory is indeed a fictionalized version of another. Not an original take but a natural one for this series. My hopes, and I imagine, the fans' hopes as well, are that the events of Nocturne lead to the events, give or take, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. This series already re-introduced Alucard, so it seems to head somewhere in that direction. The jury's out on the sequel so far, but the chance for a second season, Alucard's presence, and Richter being a likeable hero make me fairly optimistic.
There's a lot that can be done with the Castlevania franchise and I'll bet the fans have some concepts in mind. Hopefully Konami will do something about it. I comment on games even less than movies since my order of priority is 1. Books 2. Movies 3. Video games. Somewhere in the middle are comics. This franchise has been on my mind lately and any videogamer's/horror fan's repertoire is incomplete without trying this one.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
This game spawned numerous sequels. Part 2 was cool because it was a side-scrolling RPG, an unusual and experimental type of game. Part 3 introduced the concept of multiple heroes and something that resembled a storyline along with the ability to choose you own path. Part 4 was a remake of the first but a new soundtrack, graphics, and tons of levels. I got into the franchise through Castlevania 64 (64 bit graphics, not number of sequels) when I was 16 and freaked out to the creepy atmosphere in the game along with its effective sound effects. This gave me the motivation to read Bram Stoker's original novel and put me on my path to obsessively reading horror and exploring vampire lore. Another classic is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in which Alucard comes to the newly formed castle of his father to restore order and finds an unexpected twist when a Belmont seems to be behind the terrible goings-on. This is tied directly to it's prequel, Rondo of Blood, in which Richter Belmont rescues his girlfriend who was captured by Dracula. I still have yet to play this one. Symphony of the Night is the fan favorite for its heavy detail, the expansive world to explore, and it's simple but effective gameplay.
There were several other notables to be thrown in the mix. Lament of Innocence is the official prequel in which details how Dracula really came to be and tells how the medieval crusader, Leon Belmont, gets tied into the whole matter. Harmony of Dissonance is another good one. Circle of the Moon was one that I got into back in 2003-2004 when I was in need of some good distractions. Dracula X is the American version of Rondo of Blood and impossible for the likes of me. Also challenging is the much-loved Castlevania: Bloodlines that ties the Castlevania series with Stoker's characters at least somewhat. Lately, Konami has tapered off on making Castlevania games which irritates a lot of fans.Interestingly, Netflix came out with the anime of Castlevania, which tells a more detailed story of part three which takes place in the 1400s. It tells of Dracula who falls in love with a human woman, a healer, who is burned at the stake for witchcraft and how Dracula reacts in rage, vowing vengeance on the people responsible and all of humanity. The Belmonts, at this point, are disgraced and excommunicated from the church for having such strong ties to the supernatural, and its survivor Trevor, a homeless dispirited drunk. It tells of how Trevor regains his will to fight and teams up with a sorceress Sypha and Alucard to save the world. It took four seasons to tell the story, although season three wasted some potential and time, partly marring an excellent series with some out-of-place sexualized aspects.
The sequel, Castlevania: Nocturne recently came out. Although it is a darling for Rotten Tomatoes, a lot of fans are unhappy with this one due to some inconsistencies with the series and some woke elements. Another gripe is that Dracula hasn't shown up yet. For one, Dracula usually takes a back seat in the games anyway. Just because he hasn't shown up doesn't mean he won't. I like it so far and don't find the woke elements too intrusive. However, if they don't deliver Dracula at any point, I'll change my mind. This one takes place in the 1790s during the French Revolution. Richter Belmont is a young vampire hunter helping the revolutionaries and trying to live down his haunted past. The vampire gentry have plans to quell the revolutionaries in the form of their messiah Elizabeth Bathory. The neat aspect is that just as Dracula is based on a bloodthirsty historical figure, Bathory is indeed a fictionalized version of another. Not an original take but a natural one for this series. My hopes, and I imagine, the fans' hopes as well, are that the events of Nocturne lead to the events, give or take, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. This series already re-introduced Alucard, so it seems to head somewhere in that direction. The jury's out on the sequel so far, but the chance for a second season, Alucard's presence, and Richter being a likeable hero make me fairly optimistic.
There's a lot that can be done with the Castlevania franchise and I'll bet the fans have some concepts in mind. Hopefully Konami will do something about it. I comment on games even less than movies since my order of priority is 1. Books 2. Movies 3. Video games. Somewhere in the middle are comics. This franchise has been on my mind lately and any videogamer's/horror fan's repertoire is incomplete without trying this one.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
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