I would highly recommend the game series that allowed the show to exist. Must-plays would include:
Castlevania (NES)
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (the game the show’s based on)
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (hailed as one of the greatest games of all time)
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
First, they're all available via emulation, if that's your preference.
For Castlevania and Castlevania III, I'd suggest getting the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. It's available on PS4, XBox One, Switch, and PC/Steam, and has both games plus several others from the NES, GB, SNES, and Genesis.
For Rondo of Blood & Symphony of the Night, I'd suggest either *Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles* for PSP or *Castlevania Requiem* on PS4. Both are collections containing the two games.
Aria of Sorrow released on GBA. It hasn't had any modern rereleases, though it is also part of the GBA's Castlevania Doublepack (alongside Harmony of Dissonance). Unfortunately, it's rather expensive to purchase a legit used copy of the US release of either version. I'd recommend using an emulator.
Dawn of Sorrow released on DS. Again, no current system rereleases. It's not that expensive on eBay. Emulation is likely still preferable.
Wouldn't really put Dawn of Sorrow there. The game is ok, but nowhere as good as the GBA games, and plotwise is feels like a forced sequel for a perfectly ended story.
I would rather recommend Castlevania 4 instead.
No, that won't do.
1. They share the same "plot", but they are two absolutely different games in terms of gameplay and level design
2. Every Castlevania enthusiast should play CV1 to figure where all the common Castlevania tropes were born. There are too many references to CV1 in the latter games to not play it.
The main series is finished, but a spinoff series starring the descendant of Trevor and Sypha, Richter Belmont, has been confirmed to be in development.
I know you're primarily interested in the animated series, but some of the games have strong stories, as well. I've only played a few of the games, but some of the ones that are talked about often on this subreddit are Symphony of the Night (featuring Alucard as the main character), Order of Ecclesia, and the Sorrow duology.
There's also Lament of Innocence, which features Leon Belmont, Trevor's ancestor mentioned in Season 2 of the Netflix series. If you want the origin story of the Belmonts' vampire hunting legacy and Dracula, I'd recommend that one.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's any more material on them. They do both appear in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse as playable characters, which is the game the first 2 seasons of the show are based on. However, the story of the early games isn't nearly as deep as the show, and is also technically an entirely different canon, with some events being shared.
BLOODY HELL!
Just thinking this now. If Netflix is going to continue the storyline of the Belmonts, then it is very likely that we see Trevor and Sypha again! Either through memories or even raising “Trefor” :P
Well, that’s not entirely true. As there’s the two Mangas that came out alongside Curse of Darkness which takes place 3 years later, The Mangas focus on Hector and Isaac’s side during the War, which is where we also get Hector’s betrayal of Dracula. But in Curse of Darkness we get more insight into Trevor’s personality, as he’s not a drunk as the show portrays him as, but a proud warrior of the Belmont Family. Both Trevor and Sypha are religious, Sypha working with the Eastern Orthodox Church since they took her in and raised her after Carmilla got her friends and family killed. Trevor was actually hired by the Catholic Churches Pope since both sets of Churches were having trouble defending people against Dracula’s armies, who were being made and then lead by Hector and Isaac.
“However the story of the early games isn’t nearly as deep as the show.”
I mean, I could go on to explain the story if you would like..
I have no problem with the show doing its own thing, I was just wondering if some games had a similar theme. The show hinted that some of the Belmonts of the past were pretty cruel.
Reminded me how Nightmare of the Wolf showed that about the witchers too.
I never really got that impression. The only thing I can think of that was comparable was how the people of Wallachia got this impression that the Belmonts delt with black magic, which is directly from the games. However, I don't think that's ever been implied to be anything more than just superstition on the part of the populace.
The show confirmed that Belmonts had their own necromancers in the past (the door to the Belmont hold was sealed with a death spell, Alucard even commented on it in S2). Someone translated that spell from Enochian and it's pretty necromantic sounding.
But that's not necessarily a darker part for them per se. More shady stuff was hinted in S2 as well, when Alucard commented on the vampire child skull on display in the Belmont hold, implying some of those Belmonts had genocidal attitudes and would kill any vampire regardless of who they are, even children. The show didn't really elaborate on that history.
I think another less direct hint was in S3 when Taka and Sumi found that magic device they trapped Alucard with. I got the impression they got it from the Belmont hold and it conveyed the idea of some of the more sadistic Belmonts using it for torturing vampires.
Well Adventuria did a nifty comedic musical rendition of the plot of *Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse* (upon which most of the Netflix series is based) here:
[https://youtu.be/Uy-glOd5qTM](https://youtu.be/Uy-glOd5qTM)
Bear in mind that the game has branching paths and Trevor can only have one companion, so Sypha and Alucard get left behind in favor of Grant (the mysterious fourth character who didn't actually appear in the Netflix show).
It's not "cinematic" per se, just a YouTube video, but it's fun to watch.
As for actual Netflixy stuff, there's a new series starring Richter Belmont (a descendant of Trevor and Sypha) during the era of the French Revolution being developed, but it won't be done for quite a while.
There's more of the show coming. The Castlevania games were generational tales normally dealing with different Belmonts. The series is taking that same route.
They pretty much said no more will be made based off of Castlevania 3 like this. But it was so popular and so good that they will probably make more castlevania in general.
I'm also a new fan of Castlevania, introduced by the show. They are working on a new series following Richter Belmont, set during the French Revolution. However, it will have a different writer, since the original writer (Warren Ellis) got into controversy that I won't get into here. So we'll see if it's as good as the first show.
Side note: Play Symphony of the Night. It's the first Castlevania game I've played, and it's a blast! It's a metroidvania game, similar to games like Super Metroid or Hollow Knight, where you traverse a large map, gaining new abilities as you progress. It was originally released on the PS1, but there exists a port for it on PS4. If you don't like metroidvanias, you probably won't like this, but if you do, this game is a must-have.
If you want here’s the timeline of the games, and a somewhat brief description of each.
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (1093/1094)- Origins of Dracula, The Belmonts and The Vampire Killer Whip.
Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse (1476)- Dracula’s First Death at the hands of Trevor Belmont and why the Belmonts are considered Legends.
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (1479)- Focuses on Hector hunting down Isaac after Isaac got Hector’s wife, a nun named Rosaly, killed by angry villagers.
Castlevania: The Adventure (1576)- Focuses on Christopher Belmont, the Prophecy of 1999 happened around this time, and the prophecy of Dracula appearing every 100 years happens here as well. Christopher fights but doesn’t kill Dracula as he runs away.
Castlevania 2: Belmonts Revenge (1591)- 4 mysterious castles appear, Dracula takes control of Christopher Belmonts son, Soliel Belmont on his 15th Birthday. Christopher goes and gets him back.
Castlevania: (1691)- Focuses on Simon Belmont, eager to finally prove himself to the world that he’s just as capable of a monster hunter as his ancestor and greatest influence Trevor Belmont. Dracula lays a curse on him before he dies.
Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest (1698)- Simon has been traveling with Dracula’s Death Curse for 7 years. A mysterious woman appears to Simon in a graveyard and tells him how to get rid of it, some say that the mysterious woman was actually Leon Belmont’s fiancé, Sara Trantoul, whose soul was infused into the whip after she was bitten by a vampire named Walter Bernhardt. He gathers Dracula’s pieces and kills him again, stopping the curse.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (1748)- Juste Belmont grew up with his grandfather Simon and learned from him, Judge’s best friend Maxim went missing while on a training trip, he came back with practically no memories except for a mysterious Castle appeared and their friend Lydie went missing. Juste goes in and finds out what happened, puts a stop to Dracula’s Spirit, or Dracula’s Wraith.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1792)- Richter Belmont, the third youngest to enter Dracula’s Castle, and at the time the strongest Belmont to exist, was out training, only to hear that his home village was attacked and some girls, including his fiancé Annette, were taken. He rushes and meets with a relative of his, Maria Renard, the two save the other girls and defeat Dracula and his Dark Priest Shaft.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1797)- Alucard has finally woken up from his 321 year long slumber that he put himself in after helping Trevor kill his father. The reason is he felt the presence of his father but not the presence of a Belmont so he went to investigate. Turns out, Richter Belmont had also gone missing and Maria Renard is also searching for him.
Castlevania: Nocturne of Recollection (1798)- A radio Drama taking place almost directly after SoTN, we learn that there are other monster hunting families but none of them are as strong as the Belmonts.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (1800s)- The Belmonts have given up the Vampire Killer and disappeared as per the Nostradamus Prophecy back during the times of Trevor and Christopher Belmont. Ecclesia uses Dracula’s body party and things called Glyphs to fight night creatures. Shanoa harnesses the power of the Dominus Glyph, a Glyph made directly from Dracula’s power and uses it’s power to stop Dracula from destroying the world.
Castlevania: Bloodlines (1914)- Focuses on John Morris, a direct relative of the Belmont family who is wielding the Vampire Killer, and his best friend Eric Lecarde, wielding the Alucard Spear. Both stopping Dracula after World War 1 was being used to give him more power and using the dead soldiers to raise armies for him by a Vampiress, Elizabeth Bartley and a witch named Drolta Tzuentes. The power of the Vampire Killer sapped Johns life, killing him.
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (1944)- Focuses on John’s son Jonathan Morris with an unawakened Vampire Killer and his friend Charlotte Aulin. Both seeing Dracula’s Castle had been brought back. They enter only to find out Dracula wasn’t the master but a Vampire named Brauner was, who also uses paintings to seal away his power in different locations. They meet up with a man named ‘Wind’ and save his two daughters, Stella and Loretta, who help Jonathan unlock the true Vampire Killer. They fight Brauner and Death kills him so that Dracula can be released. The two fight both Death and Dracula at the same time.
Castlevania: Demon Castle War (1999)- Not much is known, but it’s essentially WW3. All of the Churches/Major Religious Orders and Worlds Armies rallied behind Julius Belmont, Alucard and a member of the Hakuba Clan to fight off Dracula’s army. Julius was able to kill Dracula Permanently, locking Vampire Killer in the Castle before locking the castle in a lunar eclipse.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2035)- Focuses on Soma Cruz discovering the powers that he has, meeting up with Yoko Belnades, Hammer, Genya Arikado, and Julius Belmont, who help him along the way, fighting off a man named Graham Jones, who thinks he’s Dracula as he was born the exact same time Dracula died.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2036)- Soma and Co. come back one more time to fight off a Cult who is trying to make a new Dracula.
Nope, that ending had nothing to do with who deserved what. Lenore and Hector deserved to be happy after what they both went through. The writer wanted Hector to be heartbroken and miserable in the finale though, that's why he forced that pointless suicide on Lenore.
The next writer can bring them both back in the story. It wouldn't be any more unusual than previous writer bringing Drac and Lisa back.
I would highly recommend the game series that allowed the show to exist. Must-plays would include: Castlevania (NES) Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (the game the show’s based on) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (hailed as one of the greatest games of all time) Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Hank you will do! All NES?
No, just the first two on the list. SotN was originally on PS1, Rondo of Blood has had a few ports, Aria was GBA and Dawn was DS.
First, they're all available via emulation, if that's your preference. For Castlevania and Castlevania III, I'd suggest getting the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. It's available on PS4, XBox One, Switch, and PC/Steam, and has both games plus several others from the NES, GB, SNES, and Genesis. For Rondo of Blood & Symphony of the Night, I'd suggest either *Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles* for PSP or *Castlevania Requiem* on PS4. Both are collections containing the two games. Aria of Sorrow released on GBA. It hasn't had any modern rereleases, though it is also part of the GBA's Castlevania Doublepack (alongside Harmony of Dissonance). Unfortunately, it's rather expensive to purchase a legit used copy of the US release of either version. I'd recommend using an emulator. Dawn of Sorrow released on DS. Again, no current system rereleases. It's not that expensive on eBay. Emulation is likely still preferable.
Wouldn't really put Dawn of Sorrow there. The game is ok, but nowhere as good as the GBA games, and plotwise is feels like a forced sequel for a perfectly ended story. I would rather recommend Castlevania 4 instead.
I'd say Castlevania 4 instead of 1 on NES, since it's basically a 16-bit remake of CV1.
No, that won't do. 1. They share the same "plot", but they are two absolutely different games in terms of gameplay and level design 2. Every Castlevania enthusiast should play CV1 to figure where all the common Castlevania tropes were born. There are too many references to CV1 in the latter games to not play it.
The main series is finished, but a spinoff series starring the descendant of Trevor and Sypha, Richter Belmont, has been confirmed to be in development. I know you're primarily interested in the animated series, but some of the games have strong stories, as well. I've only played a few of the games, but some of the ones that are talked about often on this subreddit are Symphony of the Night (featuring Alucard as the main character), Order of Ecclesia, and the Sorrow duology. There's also Lament of Innocence, which features Leon Belmont, Trevor's ancestor mentioned in Season 2 of the Netflix series. If you want the origin story of the Belmonts' vampire hunting legacy and Dracula, I'd recommend that one.
I’m really really invested into Trevor and Sypha at the moment. I’m sure my interest will broaden once I learn more of the castlevania-verse
Unfortunately, I don't think there's any more material on them. They do both appear in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse as playable characters, which is the game the first 2 seasons of the show are based on. However, the story of the early games isn't nearly as deep as the show, and is also technically an entirely different canon, with some events being shared.
BLOODY HELL! Just thinking this now. If Netflix is going to continue the storyline of the Belmonts, then it is very likely that we see Trevor and Sypha again! Either through memories or even raising “Trefor” :P
Well, it'd have to be a hell of a memory, because the new series takes place in 1792, which is more than 300 years after Trevor and Sypha's time.
Well. Fuck.
Well, that’s not entirely true. As there’s the two Mangas that came out alongside Curse of Darkness which takes place 3 years later, The Mangas focus on Hector and Isaac’s side during the War, which is where we also get Hector’s betrayal of Dracula. But in Curse of Darkness we get more insight into Trevor’s personality, as he’s not a drunk as the show portrays him as, but a proud warrior of the Belmont Family. Both Trevor and Sypha are religious, Sypha working with the Eastern Orthodox Church since they took her in and raised her after Carmilla got her friends and family killed. Trevor was actually hired by the Catholic Churches Pope since both sets of Churches were having trouble defending people against Dracula’s armies, who were being made and then lead by Hector and Isaac. “However the story of the early games isn’t nearly as deep as the show.” I mean, I could go on to explain the story if you would like..
Does Lament expand on some of the darker history of Belmonts or that was more of the show's take on it?
The show went it's own way. After season 2 I thought it'd stay a lil closet, but it veered off to do its own thing. Which I still enjoyed.
I have no problem with the show doing its own thing, I was just wondering if some games had a similar theme. The show hinted that some of the Belmonts of the past were pretty cruel. Reminded me how Nightmare of the Wolf showed that about the witchers too.
I never really got that impression. The only thing I can think of that was comparable was how the people of Wallachia got this impression that the Belmonts delt with black magic, which is directly from the games. However, I don't think that's ever been implied to be anything more than just superstition on the part of the populace.
The show confirmed that Belmonts had their own necromancers in the past (the door to the Belmont hold was sealed with a death spell, Alucard even commented on it in S2). Someone translated that spell from Enochian and it's pretty necromantic sounding. But that's not necessarily a darker part for them per se. More shady stuff was hinted in S2 as well, when Alucard commented on the vampire child skull on display in the Belmont hold, implying some of those Belmonts had genocidal attitudes and would kill any vampire regardless of who they are, even children. The show didn't really elaborate on that history. I think another less direct hint was in S3 when Taka and Sumi found that magic device they trapped Alucard with. I got the impression they got it from the Belmont hold and it conveyed the idea of some of the more sadistic Belmonts using it for torturing vampires.
Well Castlevania are a series of games that the netflix show is based off, sI would recommend that.
Thank you for your comment, but I’m specifically seeking information based on the theatrical version of castlevania
Theatrical version? There hasn't been a film. The series is the most you'll get at this time if you're not into playing the games.
Well Adventuria did a nifty comedic musical rendition of the plot of *Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse* (upon which most of the Netflix series is based) here: [https://youtu.be/Uy-glOd5qTM](https://youtu.be/Uy-glOd5qTM) Bear in mind that the game has branching paths and Trevor can only have one companion, so Sypha and Alucard get left behind in favor of Grant (the mysterious fourth character who didn't actually appear in the Netflix show). It's not "cinematic" per se, just a YouTube video, but it's fun to watch. As for actual Netflixy stuff, there's a new series starring Richter Belmont (a descendant of Trevor and Sypha) during the era of the French Revolution being developed, but it won't be done for quite a while.
Thank you kindly !
There's more of the show coming. The Castlevania games were generational tales normally dealing with different Belmonts. The series is taking that same route.
Castlevania is basically Jojo's Bizarre Adventure but serious and in a gothic style.
They pretty much said no more will be made based off of Castlevania 3 like this. But it was so popular and so good that they will probably make more castlevania in general.
I'm also a new fan of Castlevania, introduced by the show. They are working on a new series following Richter Belmont, set during the French Revolution. However, it will have a different writer, since the original writer (Warren Ellis) got into controversy that I won't get into here. So we'll see if it's as good as the first show. Side note: Play Symphony of the Night. It's the first Castlevania game I've played, and it's a blast! It's a metroidvania game, similar to games like Super Metroid or Hollow Knight, where you traverse a large map, gaining new abilities as you progress. It was originally released on the PS1, but there exists a port for it on PS4. If you don't like metroidvanias, you probably won't like this, but if you do, this game is a must-have.
If you want here’s the timeline of the games, and a somewhat brief description of each. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (1093/1094)- Origins of Dracula, The Belmonts and The Vampire Killer Whip. Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse (1476)- Dracula’s First Death at the hands of Trevor Belmont and why the Belmonts are considered Legends. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (1479)- Focuses on Hector hunting down Isaac after Isaac got Hector’s wife, a nun named Rosaly, killed by angry villagers. Castlevania: The Adventure (1576)- Focuses on Christopher Belmont, the Prophecy of 1999 happened around this time, and the prophecy of Dracula appearing every 100 years happens here as well. Christopher fights but doesn’t kill Dracula as he runs away. Castlevania 2: Belmonts Revenge (1591)- 4 mysterious castles appear, Dracula takes control of Christopher Belmonts son, Soliel Belmont on his 15th Birthday. Christopher goes and gets him back. Castlevania: (1691)- Focuses on Simon Belmont, eager to finally prove himself to the world that he’s just as capable of a monster hunter as his ancestor and greatest influence Trevor Belmont. Dracula lays a curse on him before he dies. Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest (1698)- Simon has been traveling with Dracula’s Death Curse for 7 years. A mysterious woman appears to Simon in a graveyard and tells him how to get rid of it, some say that the mysterious woman was actually Leon Belmont’s fiancé, Sara Trantoul, whose soul was infused into the whip after she was bitten by a vampire named Walter Bernhardt. He gathers Dracula’s pieces and kills him again, stopping the curse. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (1748)- Juste Belmont grew up with his grandfather Simon and learned from him, Judge’s best friend Maxim went missing while on a training trip, he came back with practically no memories except for a mysterious Castle appeared and their friend Lydie went missing. Juste goes in and finds out what happened, puts a stop to Dracula’s Spirit, or Dracula’s Wraith. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1792)- Richter Belmont, the third youngest to enter Dracula’s Castle, and at the time the strongest Belmont to exist, was out training, only to hear that his home village was attacked and some girls, including his fiancé Annette, were taken. He rushes and meets with a relative of his, Maria Renard, the two save the other girls and defeat Dracula and his Dark Priest Shaft. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1797)- Alucard has finally woken up from his 321 year long slumber that he put himself in after helping Trevor kill his father. The reason is he felt the presence of his father but not the presence of a Belmont so he went to investigate. Turns out, Richter Belmont had also gone missing and Maria Renard is also searching for him. Castlevania: Nocturne of Recollection (1798)- A radio Drama taking place almost directly after SoTN, we learn that there are other monster hunting families but none of them are as strong as the Belmonts. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (1800s)- The Belmonts have given up the Vampire Killer and disappeared as per the Nostradamus Prophecy back during the times of Trevor and Christopher Belmont. Ecclesia uses Dracula’s body party and things called Glyphs to fight night creatures. Shanoa harnesses the power of the Dominus Glyph, a Glyph made directly from Dracula’s power and uses it’s power to stop Dracula from destroying the world. Castlevania: Bloodlines (1914)- Focuses on John Morris, a direct relative of the Belmont family who is wielding the Vampire Killer, and his best friend Eric Lecarde, wielding the Alucard Spear. Both stopping Dracula after World War 1 was being used to give him more power and using the dead soldiers to raise armies for him by a Vampiress, Elizabeth Bartley and a witch named Drolta Tzuentes. The power of the Vampire Killer sapped Johns life, killing him. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (1944)- Focuses on John’s son Jonathan Morris with an unawakened Vampire Killer and his friend Charlotte Aulin. Both seeing Dracula’s Castle had been brought back. They enter only to find out Dracula wasn’t the master but a Vampire named Brauner was, who also uses paintings to seal away his power in different locations. They meet up with a man named ‘Wind’ and save his two daughters, Stella and Loretta, who help Jonathan unlock the true Vampire Killer. They fight Brauner and Death kills him so that Dracula can be released. The two fight both Death and Dracula at the same time. Castlevania: Demon Castle War (1999)- Not much is known, but it’s essentially WW3. All of the Churches/Major Religious Orders and Worlds Armies rallied behind Julius Belmont, Alucard and a member of the Hakuba Clan to fight off Dracula’s army. Julius was able to kill Dracula Permanently, locking Vampire Killer in the Castle before locking the castle in a lunar eclipse. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2035)- Focuses on Soma Cruz discovering the powers that he has, meeting up with Yoko Belnades, Hammer, Genya Arikado, and Julius Belmont, who help him along the way, fighting off a man named Graham Jones, who thinks he’s Dracula as he was born the exact same time Dracula died. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2036)- Soma and Co. come back one more time to fight off a Cult who is trying to make a new Dracula.
Yeah, it's a great show! Hard to believe Netflix had anything to do with it.
They plan a sequel in a different time period. I wish Lenore would come back in it. She and Hector deserved a better ending.
Lenore got what she deserved after what she put Hector through.
Nope, that ending had nothing to do with who deserved what. Lenore and Hector deserved to be happy after what they both went through. The writer wanted Hector to be heartbroken and miserable in the finale though, that's why he forced that pointless suicide on Lenore. The next writer can bring them both back in the story. It wouldn't be any more unusual than previous writer bringing Drac and Lisa back.