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 mostly in the castle of Count Dracula, who is the main enemy of the Belmont clan, a group of vampire hunters.
The first game was released in 1986 for Nintendo's Famicom Disk System. Most of the early games in the series are side-scrolling action platformers, where players move side to side while jumping and fighting enemies. In 1997, the game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was released for the PlayStation. This game used a nonlinear gameplay style first seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which also added role-playing elements 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 developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions, was released. This game was a reboot 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 also expanded into other media, such as spin-off video games, comic books, and an animated television series that received high praise from critics.
Over almost four decades, Castlevania has become one of Konami's most successful and well-known franchises. Many games in the series are considered some of the best video games ever made. Experts say the series is successful because of its mix of action, adventure, and horror elements, as well as its challenging gameplay, detailed settings, and memorable music.
Games
Most Castlevania games have been released in Japan, North America, Europe, and Australia on different video game consoles, personal computers (PC), and mobile phones. Some games have also been remade or re-released on other platforms.
The first console game, Castlevania, was released in 1986 on the Famicom Disk System in Japan and in North America in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This game is a 2D side-scrolling action game where players move through six stages. Many important features of the Castlevania series began with this game. It has been made available on many platforms, including the NES Classic Edition. In 1986, another game called 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 from the first game. It had a more open, 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 version, 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 to the original gameplay. The Adventure had a Game Boy sequel, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (1992), and a remake, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, developed by M2 for the WiiWare service in 2009.
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 and later released in English as Castlevania Chronicles (2001) for the PlayStation. In 1993, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was released for the PC Engine. It was not available in 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 later used in Castlevania: Dracula X, released for the SNES in 1995. Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) was the first Castlevania game made 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 was released for the PlayStation, and Castlevania Legends was released for the Game Boy. Symphony of the Night changed the gameplay style by adding role-playing elements and a nonlinear map that players could explore freely, similar to Simon's Quest and the Metroid series. These changes influenced later games, including Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, released between 2001 and 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 2005.
A new version of the series, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, was released in 2010 as a 3D action game for multiple platforms. It was developed by MercurySteam and co-produced by Hideo Kojima. It had two sequels: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (2013) for the Nintendo 3DS and Lords of Shadow 2 (2014). Lords of Shadow 2 was the last mainline Castlevania game until Konami shifted focus to mobile games and gambling in the 2010s.
In 2021, rumors began that Konami was working on a new version of the series after refocusing on PC and console games. In 2024, a remake of Haunted Castle, called 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, a 1990 platformer for the Famicom. It was a parody featuring the main character and was released in English for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection (2019). It had a sequel for the Game Boy.
Castlevania's first fighting game, Castlevania Judgment, was released for the Wii in 2008 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 for mobile phones. Castlevania: Order of Shadows by Konami Mobile was released in 2007. Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls was released on September 19, 2019, for iOS through Apple Arcade.
Arcade and slot machine games based on Castlevania have also been made. Castlevania: The Arcade (2009) is a light gun shooter using an LED remote, available in Japan and Europe. The Japanese-exclusive Pachislot Akumajō Dracula series includes pachislot games released between 2009 and 2017. The first three are based on Dracula's Curse, while the fourth is based on the Lords of Shadow reboot and was
Common elements
Castlevania, released for the NES in 1986, is a platform game where the player controls Simon Belmont. He moves through six levels of Dracula’s castle, with each level divided into six sections, each containing three stages. Simon can jump across platforms and climb stairs to progress. He has a health meter that decreases when he touches enemies or hazards. If he loses all his health, falls off-screen, or runs out of time, he loses a life. The game ends when all lives are lost, but players can continue from the last checkpoint. Collecting points increases the score and can earn extra lives. Each level ends with a boss battle against one of Dracula’s monsters, each with their own health meter that must be defeated using Simon’s 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 secondary weapons like throwing knives, holy water, and a cross that acts like a boomerang, which require hearts collected from enemies to use.
Castlevania’s gameplay influenced many games, but Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1987) added role-playing elements, which was different from the first game. Instead of moving through levels in a fixed order, players could explore a world map, revisit areas, and interact with a changing environment that includes day and night cycles. These cycles affect enemy strength and the availability of non-playable characters. Players can talk to villagers for hints, buy items from merchants using hearts, and gain experience points to increase Simon’s level and health. In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night expanded on these ideas, introducing non-linear exploration where players must collect items to access new areas. It also added a more complex system for improving character stats and abilities. Alucard, the main character, can transform into a bat, wolf, or mist to reach new areas and use a wider range of equipment.
The first 3D Castlevania game, released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, had gameplay different from earlier 2D versions. It featured a targeting system for combat, with two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie. The environment required precise jumping on 3D platforms and navigating dangerous areas, such as rotating or crumbling platforms. The game also included survival horror elements, like a sequence where players must escape a pursuing 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 combat. In 2010, Lords of Shadow introduced up to 40 unlockable whip combos, the Combat Cross, which could be used for exploration and combat. It also featured large boss battles against titans, requiring players to use the Combat Cross to disable them.
The Castlevania series draws inspiration from horror films by Universal Pictures and Hammer Film Productions. The games feature monsters like zombies, werewolves, Frankenstein’s monster, and Count Dracula, as well as characters like Alucard, who is based on a character from the 1943 film Son of Dracula. The games also include folklore and mythological creatures, such as Medusa, and directly reference literary horror, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the novel Carmilla. Most games take place in Dracula’s castle, where players control members of the Belmont clan, vampire hunters who use the Vampire Killer whip to defeat Dracula. In Castlevania: Bloodlines, the whip is inherited by John Morris, a descendant of the Belmonts. Other recurring characters include Alucard, who helps Trevor Belmont fight his father, Dracula, and Sypha Belnades, a vampire hunter who joins Trevor. Later games feature descendants of the Belnades clan, like Carrie Fernandez and Yoko Belnades, as playable characters.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a reboot set in medieval Europe. The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is a knight from the Brotherhood of Light who fights the Lords of Shadow to recover the God Mask and save his wife. In Mirror of Fate, Gabriel becomes Dracula, the main antagonist of earlier games. The sequel, Lords of Shadow 2, is set in modern times, where Dracula seeks 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, a move that some fans criticized. Igarashi explained that Legends conflicted with the series’ story, while Circle of the Moon was intended as a standalone game. A 2006 pre-order bundle for Portrait of Ruin included a timeline that re-added these games, but Konami still excluded them from the official Japanese website. Igarashi described these games as a “subseries” rather than part of the main timeline.
Development
Castlevania was created and designed by Hitoshi Akamatsu for the Family Computer Disk System in 1986. The game's credits list names inspired by famous horror movie directors, with Akamatsu listed as "Trans Fishers," a tribute to real-life director Terence Fisher. This may have happened because Konami did not allow real names to be used at the time. Akamatsu, who loved movies, aimed to make the game look and sound like a film. The main character, Simon Belmont, uses a whip because Akamatsu enjoyed how it could push enemies away and because he admired the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. After Castlevania's success, it was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) as one of its first major games. The international name "Castlevania" was chosen because Konami of America's leader, Emil Heidkamp, disliked the original Japanese title, which he thought meant "Dracula's Satanic Castle." Due to Nintendo of America's rules about what could be shown in games, blood, nudity, and religious symbols were changed or removed in early versions.
In 1987, Akamatsu directed Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which used gameplay similar to Metroid. When asked about Metroid's influence, Akamatsu said it was inspired by Maze of Galious, another Konami game. 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 focused on making Dracula's Curse better than them. 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 being made at the same time: Akumajō Dracula, Rondo of Blood, and Bloodlines. Rondo of Blood, directed by Toru Hagihara, was the first to use CD-ROM technology and full voice acting. Hagihara later directed Symphony of the Night (1997) for the PlayStation, with Koji Igarashi as assistant director and story writer. Artist Ayami Kojima joined to create a new look for the series and designed characters for future games. Igarashi said the game started as a side story but aimed to change the series' direction. It used exploration and role-playing elements, similar to Simon's Quest. After Simon's Quest received praise, Symphony of the Night was made. Though well-received, it sold only modestly, especially in the United States.
The first 3D Castlevania game, Dracula 3D, was developed in 1997 for the Nintendo 64 by Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK). It was released in 1999 as Castlevania and later got an expanded version called Legacy of Darkness. KCEK's last game, Circle of the Moon (2001), was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance and used a gameplay style called "Metroidvania," similar to Symphony of the Night. Igarashi, who was not involved, criticized Circle of the Moon. In 2002, Igarashi changed the series' timeline to fix story issues, which upset some fans. After KCEK closed in 2002, Harmony of Dissonance (2003) was made by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET). For a short time, Japanese games used "Castlevania" instead of "Akumajō Dracula" 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 introduced in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin (2006) to attract more players. This changed again with Order of Ecclesia (2008).
Because recent Castlevania games sold poorly, several projects competed to be the next game. One was by Igarashi, announced at Tokyo Game Show 2008, and another was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow by MercurySteam. Konami initially said Lords of Shadow would be a new game, not a Castlevania title. Later, they asked MercurySteam to stop work until producer David Cox showed the game to Konami's leaders, who then invited Hideo Kojima to help. Igarashi's project was canceled, and Lords of Shadow became the next Castlevania game. Produced by Cox and Kojima, Lords of Shadow was a 3D action-adventure game with celebrity voices, including Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart. Its art style was inspired by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. The game was well-received and became the best-selling Castlevania game, followed by two sequels. However, the second sequel was not as popular. An anonymous source later claimed that Lords of Shadow 2 had development problems.
In 2011, Igarashi moved to Konami's social games division, where he struggled to make new games as Konami focused on mobile games. He left in 2014 to create Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, a game inspired by Castlevania. Cox left soon after. Recent Castlevania games under Konami's business model include mobile games, pachinko, and slot machines. In 2021, rumors suggested Konami would refocus on PC and console games, with a new version of the series being planned. A remake of Haunted Castle, called Haunted Castle Revisited, was included in the 2024 collection Castlevania Dominus Collection.
Reception and legacy
The Castlevania franchise had sold over 20 million copies worldwide by 2006; it had sold over 3.7 million units by 1993. The franchise has received mostly positive reviews, with the most praised game being Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation and the most criticized being Judgment, with scores of 93 and 49, respectively, on Metacritic and 93.38% and 52.71%, respectively, on GameRankings.
Many of the games have appeared on lists of video games considered to be the best. Symphony of the Night appeared at #16 on IGN's "Top 100 Games" list and was one of the first to be introduced on GameSpot's "The Greatest Games of All Time" list. Both lists praised the game for successfully creating a 2D game while 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 of the SNES by ScrewAttack on their "Top 20 SNES Games" list. The series as a whole was named the 4th best franchise in games ever by IGN, behind only Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and Mario, with Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night highlighted as key examples. Aria of Sorrow was named the 2nd best game on 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 appeared on Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list. Trivia about the series has 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 "the Count" in the show, was a villain in Captain N. Alucard also appeared in one episode, but he was shown as a rebellious teenager who liked skateboarding.
Several books and comics based on the Castlevania series have been created. Worlds of Power, a book series from the 1990s inspired by Nintendo games, included a story titled 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 became a video game player and helped Simon Belmont. In 2005, IDW Publishing released the graphic novel Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy, based on Castlevania: The Adventure. The novel 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. In 2003, the novel Lament of Innocence was adapted into a cellphone comic book, released in Japan from 2007 to 2008 for 40 episodes.
A toy line featuring characters from Castlevania was made by NECA. It included six figures of Simon Belmont, Alucard, Dracula, and Succubus, as well as a small Pixel Simon figure that was only available as a promotional item at Comic-Con 2007.
Netflix released an animated series titled Castlevania between 2017 and 2021. The series had four seasons and 32 episodes. The first two seasons were based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and followed characters Trevor Belmont, Alucard, and Sypha Belnades as they fought Dracula to protect Wallachia. Later seasons included 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 animated film from 2007. The art style was influenced by anime and the work of artist Ayami Kojima. Animation was done by Frederator Studios and Powerhouse Animation Studios.
A sequel to the original Castlevania series, titled 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 includes elements from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The second season of Castlevania: Nocturne premiered on January 16, 2025. Warren Ellis, the original series creator, was not involved in the new series after allegations of misconduct were reported in 2020.
A Castlevania television series was planned in the late 1980s as part of Super Mario Bros. Power Hour, a block of Nintendo-themed animated shows. Concept art was created by DIC Animation City for the project. However, only segments based on Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda were completed 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 working on the film due to a writers' strike. Later, the studio was sold to Relativity Media, and the possibility of a screen actors' guild strike also affected the project. On May 27, 2009, the Castlevania film was officially canceled.