Castlevania

For other uses, see the entire video game series.

File:Deadseries.jpg

Logo of the Castlevania series

Castlevania is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986 with the release of Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ, Akumajō Dorakyura, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula") for the Famicom Disk System (FDS), followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30. Although the MSX 2 port (localized in Europe and Brazil as Vampire Killer) was released first outside of Japan, the series did not receive wide attention outside of Japan until the FDS version was ported to cartridge format for the Nintendo Entertainment System and localized for North American and European releases of Castlevania in 1987. The series soon became a recognized landmark in the design of action platforming games. It soon became known for its elaborate design aesthetic and theatrical soundtracks. The earliest games borrowed source material from motifs in iconic horror cinema, though the series later developed a more artistic and dramatic direction drawn from Gothic fiction and dark romanticism.

The Castlevania series is one of Konami's most famous franchises, and has seen titles released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo, the Sega Mega Drive, PC Engine, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Xbox video game consoles. Several franchise titles have been released for handheld game consoles, including the Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance, Playstation Portable and the Nintendo DS, and for various personal computer platforms, including the MSX 2, the Commodore 64, the Sharp X68000, the Commodore Amiga, PC MS-DOS, and Microsoft Windows. It has also been released for Pocket PCs, and mobile phones.[2][3]

Games

Further information: List of Castlevania titles

Overview

The Castlevania series is about a war between the enchanted family of the Belmonts and Dracula. Almost every hundred years, Dracula is resurrected and it is up to the Belmonts to defeat him before he unleashes his wrath on the entire world.

The series is loosely based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. In fact, the novel is included in the official timeline of the series, with Castlevania: Bloodlines taking place shortly afterwards. The connection even goes as far as to claim that Quincy Morris, a character from the novel, is in fact a Belmont descendant. Morris is also said to have a son, John, and a grandson, Jonathan, who starred in Bloodlines and Portrait of Ruin, respectively. The series also incorporates a variety of other creatures from classic horror fiction, films, fantasy, and mythology. These monsters serve to obstruct the path to Dracula but are rarely tied to the game's plot.

Development

History

The very first console title was a typical platform game in which the player takes the role of Simon Belmont, a descendant of the Belmont clan, a bloodline of whip wielding vampire hunters as he ventures inside Castlevania, the demonic castle of Count Dracula and fights a variety of supernatural beasts through the castle up to its master's keep to destroy him. The whip used by the Belmont family is a holy relic passed down generation to generation named the "Vampire Killer", which was blessed with the power to destroy vampires and other creatures of the night. The games also feature secondary weapons that are powered by hearts, all of which can be found by destroying candles. Common secondary weapons are the straight-flying dagger, the overhead-thrown axe, the ground-burning vial of holy water, a Bible that flies in a circular motion around the screen, the cross, which is wielded like a boomerang, and a stopwatch with the power of very briefly freezing time. Its first sequel, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, featured several RPG-influenced elements, including a retractable world map the player was free to explore and revisit, purchase supplies, equipment and weapon upgrades in several different towns, and a leveling up system by gaining experience by vanquishing foes. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse returned to the traditional style and gameplay of its original predecessor while updating it with new features such as alternate paths with new and different stages and multiple playable characters, introducing allies to fight alongside with the Belmonts together against Dracula and his legions of demons and monsters.

The major turning point in the gameplay mechanics, physics, and overall aesthetic of the series was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Symphony was the progenitor of what is sometimes called a Castleroid (also called: Metroidvania) style of game due to its many similarities to the Metroid series (primarily Super Metroid), and combines this with the console RPG concepts of experience levels, hit points and magic points, usable items and collectible new powers and abilities, weapons, armor and other equipment. Most subsequent Castlevania games have since followed this new style, with the replacement of the secondary weapons by complex magic systems in which spell components are obtained from enemies or found in the castle. These systems use hearts to replenish MP and often include most of the classic secondary weapons among the much larger variety of spells and attacks.

In addition to reinventing the technical aspects of Castlevania, Symphony adopted an entirely new image and art direction for the world in which the games took place and the characters that existed within it. The early installments portrayed something of a sword and sorcery or dark fantasy thematic interspersed with a rugged, leather armor bound look for the Belmont bloodline. With the advent of illustrator and concept artist Ayami Kojima onto the development team beginning with Symphony, the design underwent a total transformation into an elegant, hauntingly beautiful appearance inspired by the European Mannerist and Baroque art periods befitting of its romantic Gothic horror theme. As such the characters' dress and condition evolved into ornate and grand ensembles including flowing jackets, vests and period attire and the imagery and landscape of the castle and surrounding locales became lush and lavish. The two Nintendo DS Castlevania games' art style reverted back to a simpler anime style similar to that of the original Dracula X: Rondo of Blood in hopes of broadening the player demographic by not discouraging slightly younger Nintendo DS owners to be put off by the more mature image of Kojima's art. Dawn of Sorrow was the first game to receive this makeover, and the second DS release Portrait of Ruin followed suit. Kojima returned for the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

The first games in the series to employ 3D graphics were released to mixed reactions in critical and public venues. These include Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for the Nintendo 64. In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as well as in the two DS titles, backgrounds were occasionally three-dimensional.

Koji Igarashi has stated that if The Dracula X Chronicles does well, the series may return to the more traditional style of the original games, possibly suggesting further remakes for the Chronicles titles.

Localization

In Japan, the series is most commonly known as Akumajō Dracula ("Demon Castle Dracula"). However, not every installment of the franchise has borne that title. For example, the first two installments for the Nintendo Game Boy were released under the title Dracula Densetsu ("Dracula Legend") and the game known in North America as Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was originally released in Japan as Akumajō Densetsu. Castlevania: Bloodlines was also released as Vampire Killer in Japan. Starting with the release of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance for the Game Boy Advance, the Japanese games adopted the "Castlevania" name for a brief period. According to series producer Koji Igarashi the developers chose to adopt the Castlevania moniker as a way to involve scenarios that do not solely revolve around Dracula himself. Later bowing to overwhelming fan demand, Konami returned to the Akumajō Dracula branding for the Japanese release of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

The series is also known for the differences between the Japanese and English language versions. Particularly in earlier installments, the localization process usually removes a heavy share of violence, nudity and religious imagery and references. Removal of such material is prevalent in Nintendo and Super Nintendo titles Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Super Castlevania IV due to Nintendo of America's strict censorship policies at the time. Castlevania: Bloodlines, for the Sega Genesis, was renamed Castlevania: The New Generation for European release to avoid the blood reference used in the American title. In addition, blood and gore was re-colored and removed throughout the European game. Although censorship policies vary from country to country in Europe, some countries, including Germany's strict "decency standards," may inevitably affect the content released throughout the entire continent.

In addition, the English localizations have been plagued by a number of inconsistencies from their original Japanese counterparts. Two prevalent alterations to the "Belmont" surname are "Belmondo", "Belmond", or "Berumondo" in the Japanese games. The name of the protagonist of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was changed from "Ralph C. Belmondo" to "Trevor Belmont" for the English version. A notable mistake is the misspelling of the character name "Soleiyu Belmont" from Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge. It is a mistransliteration of "Soleil," French for "sun."

Reception

The success of the Castlevania series has resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series 7 world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include "Most Games in an Action Adventure Series", "Largest Number of Platforms for One Series", and "Longest Castlevania Title" for the 1999 release Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.

Merchandise and other media

Simon Belmont was one of the stars in the animated series Captain N: The Game Master. He was a member of the N-Team, a group of mostly video game characters who defended Videoland against the evils of Mother Brain from Metroid and others. He does not appear in the Captain N Valiant Comics series. Dracula (referred to only as "The Count" in the series) was also one of the villains in Captain N. Alucard also appeared in one episode, though he was portrayed as a rebellious skateboarding teenager. Several other Castlevania monsters appeared in cameo roles, including Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, and the Skull Knight. Simon is portrayed as egotistical on the show.

Action figure and collectible manufacturer company NECA officially licensed Castlevania to produce a line of models of characters due for distribution in October 2007. The first series includes Simon Belmont, Dracula, Alucard, and the succubus from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

In 2005 IDW Publishing released a comic book adaptation Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy written by Marc Andreyko with art by E. J. Su. It was based on the Castlevania The Adventure.

On October 13 2006 comic book writer Warren Ellis announced on his blog that he is on board to pen an animated film adaptation of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for Project 51 Productions. James Jean will be the art director.

In the chapter W is for Winner of Maddox humor book The Alphabet of Manliness, Castlevania is listed as an example of a winner. In particular, he names the first game, Dracula's Curse, Super Castlevania IV, Symphony of the Night and Dawn of Sorrow as "winners".

Film

In November 2005, Crystal Sky Pictures acquired the rights to adapt the video game series for the big screen. The company attached Paul W.S. Anderson to write and direct the film adaptation, with production slated to begin in mid-2006. Later in the month, Dimension Films entered negotiations with Crystal Sky for North American distribution of Castlevania. The film adaptation was estimated to have a budget of $50 million. In July 2006, producer Jeremy Bolt explained that Castlevania will "integrate a Dracula origin story... with the story of the Belmonts." Bolt also said that the film would refer back to early versions of the games. Director Anderson reiterated Bolt's description, adding that Dracula and Simon Belmont would be key characters in the film. Anderson also indicated that the "very lush, Romantic, Gothic look" of the 3D incarnations of the Castlevania series would be used in the film. He also expressed his hope in using the games' composer, Michiru Yamane, to score the film's soundtrack.

In November 2006, Rogue Pictures replaced Dimension Films, who reneged over script differences, in handling North American distribution of Castlevania, with Crystal Sky Pictures handling international distribution. Paul W.S. Anderson described Castlevania to take place in many time periods, but primarily in 15th century Transylvania. The director and producer Jeremy Bolt had scouted locations in Hungary and Romania, with plans to build castle interiors in Budapest. Principal photography was slated to begin in spring 2007.

In January 2007, director Anderson said the studio was still finalizing the film's budget, and filming would begin in fall or winter in Transylvania and Hungary. According to the director, the filming was postponed because production had desired snow on the ground for the film's forest scenes. Anderson described the locations: "It was like discovering Mordor as a real location — epic, dramatic, and above all scary. These locations haven't been shot properly in a mainstream movie, so that is always extra exciting...to put something on camera that hasn't been seen before." The director also revealed that post-production and effects work for Castlevania would be done in London.

In June 2007, Anderson conceded directing duties to Sylvain White in order to take on the project Death Race, a remake of Death Race 2000. White, who played the Castlevania video game in the early 1990s, was attracted to the prospect of filming a vampire film. White explained "Most of the vampire films have been present or set in the future, from Blade to Underworld, and I was attracted by the chance to make a dark, epic period movie that almost has an anime feel to it". The new director, who negotiated a salary of seven figures, will rewrite the script with Anderson's assistance. The premise will follow Trevor Belmont and his younger brother Christopher as they are ordered into service to the church, to take the cursed castle of Dracula and live up to the legend set by their ancestor Leon. Production of Castlevania is slated to begin in late fall 2007 in South Africa and Romania. Castlevania is planned for a late 2008 release. In October 2007, Anderson said that he hoped to have a script within two or three weeks before the onset of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Producer Jeremy Bolt said that production was intended to begin in spring 2008.

In December 2007, Rogue Pictures halted active development of Castlevania due to the writers' strike. Despite the shelfing, White remains committed to direct the film.

External links

• Akumajō Dracula series at Konami Tokyo Template:Ja icon
• Castlevania series at Konami USA
• The Castlevania series at MobyGames
• Castlevania, an external wiki