Castlevania ( / ˌ k æ s əl ˈ v eɪ n i ə / ), called Akumajō Dracula in Japan, is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series takes place mainly in the castle of Count Dracula, who is the main enemy of the Belmont clan, a group of vampire hunters.
The series began in 1986 with a video game on Nintendo's Famicom Disk System. Most of the first game and its later sequels are side-scrolling action games. In 1997, the game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was released for the PlayStation. This game brought back the flexible gameplay style first used in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which also included role-playing features and exploration. Later games adopted this style, and along with Super Metroid, helped create the Metroidvania genre. In 2010, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a 3D action-adventure game made by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions, was released. This game started a new version of the series.
The Castlevania series has been released on many platforms, including early systems, modern consoles, and handheld devices like mobile phones. The franchise has grown to include other games, comic books, and an animated television series that received high praise.
Over nearly 40 years, Castlevania has become one of Konami's most successful and well-known franchises. Many of its games are considered among the best video games ever made. Reviews have noted the series' success because of its mix of action, adventure, and horror elements. It is also praised for its difficult gameplay, detailed settings, and memorable music.
Games
Most Castlevania games have been released in Japan, North America, Europe, and Australia on video game consoles, personal computers (PC), and mobile phones. These games have also been remade or re-released on different platforms.
The first console game, Castlevania, was released in 1986 on the Famicom Disk System in Japan and in North America on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1987. It is a 2D side-scrolling action game where players move through six stages. Many key features of the Castlevania series began with this game. It has been made available on many platforms, including the NES Classic Edition. In 1986, Vampire Killer was released for the MSX home computer. This game played differently from the original Castlevania, as players had to find exits to move to the next stage. In 1987, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest changed the gameplay style again. Instead of the standard side-scrolling format, it used a nonlinear style similar to the game Metroid, with features like a world map that players could explore freely.
Haunted Castle (1988) was the first Castlevania game released for arcades. It returned to the linear side-scrolling gameplay of the original Castlevania. This style continued with the first handheld Game Boy game, Castlevania: The Adventure, and the NES sequel, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, both released in 1989. Dracula's Curse added new stages and multiple playable characters. The Adventure had a Game Boy sequel, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (1992), and a remake, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, released in 2009 for the WiiWare service.
The first 16-bit home console game, Super Castlevania IV, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1991. A Castlevania game for the X68000 home computer was released in Japan in 1993. It was not available in English until Castlevania Chronicles (2001) for the PlayStation. In the same year, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was released for the PC Engine. It was not translated into English until it was included in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (2007) for the PlayStation Portable. Rondo of Blood was the first Castlevania game made for a CD-ROM, featuring Red Book audio and fully voiced dialogue. Its content was reused in Castlevania: Dracula X, released for the SNES in 1995. Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) was the first Castlevania game for the Sega Genesis. It was not re-released until 2019 as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection.
In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Legends were released for the PlayStation and Game Boy, respectively. Symphony of the Night changed gameplay by adding role-playing elements and a nonlinear map that players could explore freely, similar to Simon's Quest and Metroid. These features influenced future games, including Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow (2001–2003). Aria of Sorrow had a sequel, Dawn of Sorrow (2005), for the Nintendo DS, followed by Portrait of Ruin (2006) and Order of Ecclesia (2008).
The first Castlevania game to use 3D graphics was Castlevania for the Nintendo 64, released in 1999 by Konami's Kobe branch. It had an expansion called Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness later that year. In 2003, Lament of Innocence was released for the PlayStation 2. It had combat-focused gameplay similar to Devil May Cry and God of War. It was followed by Castlevania: Curse of Darkness in 2006.
A new version of the franchise, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010), was released as a 3D action game for multiple platforms. It was developed by MercurySteam and co-produced by Hideo Kojima. Two sequels followed: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (2013) for the Nintendo 3DS and Lords of Shadow 2 (2014). At the time, Lords of Shadow 2 was the last mainline Castlevania game before Konami shifted focus to mobile games and gambling in the 2010s.
In 2021, rumors began that Konami was developing a new version of the series after restructuring to focus on PC and console games. In 2024, a remake of Haunted Castle, titled Haunted Castle Revisited, was included in the Castlevania Dominus Collection. It was developed by M2, who previously worked on The Adventure ReBirth. A new game, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, is being developed by Evil Empire and Motion Twin and is expected to release in 2026.
Castlevania has inspired many spin-off games. The first was Kid Dracula (1990), a parody platformer for the Famicom. It was released in English for the first time in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection (2019). A sequel, also titled Kid Dracula, was released for the Game Boy.
The first fighting game in the series, Castlevania Judgment, was released for the Wii in 2008 and developed by Eighting. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (2010) was an online multiplayer game where players could use characters from previous Castlevania games to explore stages.
Many Castlevania games have been made exclusively for mobile phones. Castlevania: Order of Shadows was released by Konami Mobile in 2007. Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls was released on September 19, 2019, for iOS through Apple Arcade.
Arcade and slot machines based on Castlevania have also been made. Castlevania: The Arcade (2009), a light gun shooter using an LED remote, was released in Japan and Europe. The Japanese
Common elements
Castlevania, a video game released in 1986 for the NES, is a platform game where the player controls Simon Belmont. The game takes place in six levels of Dracula’s castle. Each level is divided into six sections, each with three stages. Simon moves through the castle by jumping on platforms and climbing stairs to reach new areas. He has a health meter that decreases when he touches enemies or hazards. If Simon loses all his health, falls off-screen, or runs out of time, he loses a life. The game ends when all lives are used, but players can restart from the last checkpoint. Collecting points increases the player’s score and can earn extra lives. At the end of each level, Simon fights a boss, which has its own health meter that must be defeated using his attacks. Simon uses the Vampire Killer whip, which can be upgraded by collecting items hidden in candles. These upgrades make the whip longer and stronger, allowing Simon to attack enemies from farther away. He can also use other weapons, such as throwing knives, holy water, and a cross that acts like a boomerang.
Castlevania’s gameplay influenced many later games, but Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, released in 1987, introduced role-playing elements. Unlike the first game, which had a fixed path, Simon’s Quest allowed players to explore a map freely, revisit areas, and interact with a changing environment that included day and night cycles. Players could talk to villagers for hints, buy items from merchants using hearts collected from enemies, and gain experience points to increase Simon’s level and health. In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night expanded on these ideas, creating a new formula for the series and inspiring later games. It allowed non-linear exploration, where players needed specific items to access different parts of the castle. The game also added a more complex system for improving character stats, such as strength and health. Alucard, the main character, could transform into a bat, wolf, or mist to explore hidden areas and used a variety of equipment.
The first 3D version of Castlevania, released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, had gameplay very different from earlier 2D versions. This game used a targeting system for combat, with two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie. The environment played a key role, with challenges involving jumping on 3D platforms and avoiding dangerous areas, such as rotating or crumbling platforms. It also included survival horror elements, like a scene where players must run from an enemy in a maze. In 2003, Lament of Innocence focused on a central hub system, allowing access to five main areas from the start. Progress required defeating bosses to unlock the final area. The combat system let players perform fluid combos with the Whip of Alchemy, chaining attacks for more effective fighting. In 2010, Lords of Shadow introduced up to 40 unlockable whip combos, called the Combat Cross, which could also be used for climbing and swinging across gaps. The game featured large boss battles against titans, where players used the Combat Cross to disable them.
The Castlevania series draws inspiration from horror films made by Universal Pictures and Hammer Film Productions. The creator, Hitoshi Akamatsu, wanted players to feel like they were in a classic horror movie. Monsters like zombies, werewolves, Frankenstein’s monster, and Count Dracula appear regularly. Alucard, introduced in Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, is named after a character from the 1943 film Son of Dracula. The games also include folklore and mythological creatures, such as Medusa, and references to literary horror. Castlevania: Bloodlines directly uses events from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the character Carmilla is based on the 1872 novel Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
Most Castlevania games take place in Count Dracula’s castle, which he resurrects every 100 years to take over the world. Players usually control the Belmonts, a family of vampire hunters who have fought Dracula for centuries using the Vampire Killer whip. This whip is passed down through the family and can only be used by them. In Castlevania: Bloodlines, the whip is inherited by John Morris, the son of Quincey Morris, a distant relative of the Belmonts. Other recurring characters include Alucard, a dhampir who helps Trevor Belmont fight his father, Dracula. Trevor is joined by Sypha Belnades, a vampire hunter who uses magic and marries Trevor by the end of the game. Later games feature descendants of the Belnades clan, such as Carrie Fernandez and Yoko Belnades, as playable characters.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the series, set in medieval Southern Europe. The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is part of the Brotherhood of Light, a group of holy knights who fight supernatural creatures. He uses a chain whip called the Combat Cross to battle the Lords of Shadow and find the God Mask to save his wife. In Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, Gabriel becomes Dracula, the main antagonist of Simon and Trevor Belmont. The sequel, Lords of Shadow 2, is set in modern times, where Dracula seeks a way to end his immortality.
In 2002, several games—Legends, Circle of the Moon, Castlevania (1999), and Legacy of Darkness—were removed from the official timeline by Koji Igarashi, which some fans criticized. Igarashi explained that Legends conflicted with the series’ story, and Circle of the Moon was excluded because its developers wanted it to be a standalone game. A 2006 pre-order bundle for Portrait of Ruin included a timeline that added these games back, but Konami still excluded them from the official Japanese website in 2007. Igarashi described these games as a “subseries.”
Development
Hitoshi Akamatsu created the first Castlevania game in 1986 for the Family Computer Disk System. He wanted players to feel like they were in a classic horror movie. The game’s staff credits used names from famous horror films, and Akamatsu was listed as “Trans Fishers,” a nod to director Terence Fisher. Konami used this nickname to avoid using real names, which might have made other companies try to hire him. Akamatsu loved movies and said the game’s visuals and music were made to look and sound like a film. The hero, Simon Belmont, uses a whip because Akamatsu liked how it could push back enemies and because he admired the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. After the game’s success, it was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) as one of its first major platform games. Konami changed the title to Castlevania because a Konami executive disliked the Japanese name Akumajō Dracula, which he thought meant “Dracula’s Satanic Castle.” Due to Nintendo’s rules about censorship, blood, nudity, and religious symbols were removed from early versions of the game.
Akamatsu directed Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest in 1987, which had gameplay similar to Metroid. When asked about Metroid, he said Maze of Galious inspired him instead. His final game in the series, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989), returned to the platforming style of the first game. Because Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games sold well, developers worked hard to make Dracula’s Curse better. However, Simon’s Quest and Dracula’s Curse were not successful, and Akamatsu was moved to a different job at Konami before leaving.
In 1993, three Castlevania games were developed at the same time: Akumajō Dracula, Rondo of Blood, and Bloodlines. Rondo of Blood was the first to use CD-ROM technology and full voice acting. Toru Hagihara directed Rondo of Blood and later Symphony of the Night (1997) for the PlayStation. Koji Igarashi helped with the story and design. Artist Ayami Kojima joined to create a new look for the series and designed characters for future games. Symphony of the Night changed the gameplay to include exploration and role-playing elements, similar to Simon’s Quest. It was well-received by critics but did not sell well in the United States.
The first 3D Castlevania game, Dracula 3D, was made for the Nintendo 64 in 1997. It was released as Castlevania in 1999 and later expanded into Legacy of Darkness. Konami’s Circle of the Moon (2001) was the first to use Metroidvania gameplay since Symphony of the Night. Igarashi, who was not involved, criticized the game. In 2002, Igarashi changed the timeline of the series to fix story problems, which some fans disliked. After Konami closed its Kobe studio in 2002, Harmony of Dissonance (2003) was released for the Game Boy Advance. Japanese games briefly used Castlevania as the title because Dracula is not always the main villain. Konami later returned to Akumajō Dracula with Dawn of Sorrow (2005) for the Nintendo DS. New art styles were added to attract more players. This changed again in 2008 with Order of Ecclesia.
After poor sales of recent games, Konami tested several projects to decide the next Castlevania game. One was by Igarashi, shown at Tokyo Game Show 2008. Another was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow by MercurySteam. Konami initially said it was an original idea but later asked MercurySteam to stop work until producer David Cox showed the game to Konami’s leaders. Hideo Kojima, a famous game designer, helped with the project. Lords of Shadow (2010) featured celebrity voices and a new art style inspired by Guillermo del Toro. It was a success and became the best-selling Castlevania game. Two sequels followed, but the second was less well-received. Some employees from MercurySteam claimed the game had development issues.
In 2011, Igarashi moved to Konami’s social games division, where he could not make new Castlevania games as Konami focused on mobile games. He left in 2014 to create Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a game inspired by Castlevania. David Cox left Konami shortly after. Recent Castlevania games included mobile apps, pachinko machines, and slot machines. In 2021, rumors suggested Konami would refocus on PC and console games, including a new version of the series. A remake of Haunted Castle was released in 2024 as Haunted Castle Revisited.
Reception and legacy
As of 2006, the Castlevania franchise had sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. By 1993, it had sold over 3.7 million copies. Most reviews of the franchise have been positive. The most praised game was Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation, which received an average score of 93 on Metacritic and 93.38% on GameRankings. The most criticized game was Judgment, which received an average score of 49 on Metacritic and 52.71% on GameRankings.
Many Castlevania games have been listed among the best video games. Symphony of the Night ranked #16 on IGN's "Top 100 Games" list and was one of the first games featured on GameSpot's "The Greatest Games of All Time." Both lists praised the game for successfully creating a 2D game during a time when the industry was moving to 3D. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was named the 9th best 8-bit game by GameTrailers. Super Castlevania IV was named the 11th best game for the SNES by ScrewAttack on their "Top 20 SNES Games" list.
The entire Castlevania series was named the 4th best video game franchise ever by IGN, following only Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and Mario. IGN highlighted Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night as standout titles. Aria of Sorrow was named the 2nd best game for the Game Boy Advance and listed as a must-buy for the system by the same website. Castlevania, Super Castlevania IV, and Aria of Sorrow all appeared on Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list. Information about the series has also been included in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008.
In other media
Simon Belmont was a main character in the animated series Captain N: The Game Master. In the show, Simon is shown as self-centered, and his appearance is different from how he looks in the video game series. He was part of the N-Team, a group of video game characters who protected Videoland from the villain Mother Brain from Metroid. Dracula, called only "the Count" in the show, appeared as a villain. Alucard also appeared in one episode, but he was shown as a rebellious teenager who liked skateboarding.
Several books and comic adaptations were created based on the Castlevania series. Worlds of Power, a 1990s book series inspired by Nintendo games, included a novel about Simon's Quest written by Christopher Howell. The series was produced by Seth Godin. This story changed the original plot and added characters not in the game, such as Timothy Bradley, a junior high student who plays video games and helps Simon Belmont in his quest. In 2005, IDW Publishing released the graphic novel Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy, based on Castlevania: The Adventure. It was written by Marc Andreyko and illustrated by E. J. Su. A two-volume manga adaptation titled Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, based on the PlayStation 2 game, was published in Japan from 2005 to 2006. It was released in English in 2008. A cellphone comic adaptation of Lament of Innocence was released in Japan from 2007 to 2008 for 40 episodes.
A toy line featuring characters from the Castlevania series was made by NECA. It includes six figures of Simon Belmont, Alucard, Dracula, and Succubus. A small Pixel Simon figure was only available as a promotional item at Comic-Con 2007.
Netflix released an animated series titled Castlevania between 2017 and 2021. The show has four seasons and 32 episodes. The first two seasons are based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and follow characters Trevor Belmont, Alucard, and Sypha Belnades as they fight Dracula to protect Wallachia. Later seasons include elements from other games, such as Castlevania: Curse of Darkness and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The series was created by Warren Ellis, who used a script he had written for an unproduced Castlevania film from 2007. The art style is influenced by anime and the work of Ayami Kojima. Animation was done by Frederator Studios and Powerhouse Animation Studios.
A sequel to the original Castlevania series, Castlevania: Nocturne, was released on Netflix on September 28, 2023. It follows Richter Belmont, a descendant of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, and Maria Renard in France during the French Revolution, 300 years after the original story. The series is based on Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The second season began on January 16, 2025. Warren Ellis, the original series creator, was not involved in the new series after allegations of misconduct were made in 2020.
A Castlevania television series was planned in the late 1980s as part of Super Mario Bros. Power Hour, a one-hour block of Nintendo-themed animated shows. Concept art for the project was created by DIC Animation City. However, only segments about Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda were made and aired in 1989 as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.
A Castlevania film was planned in the late 2000s. However, in December 2007, Rogue Pictures stopped developing the film due to a writers' strike and later because the studio was sold to Relativity Media and concerns about a screen actors' guild strike. On May 27, 2009, the film was officially canceled.