Castlevania
Castlevania | |
---|---|
![]() The current logo of the Castlevania series, introduced with 2003's Lament of Innocence. | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
Developer(s) | |
Publisher(s) | Konami |
Platform(s) | List
|
First release | Castlevania September 26, 1986 |
Latest release | Castlevania Requiem October 26, 2018 |
Castlevania[a] is an action-adventure gothic horror video game series created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early systems to modern consoles, as well as handheld devices such as mobile phones.[2][3] The franchise has also expanded into other media, including comic books,[4] an animated TV series and several spin-off video games.[5]
Castlevania is largely set in the eponymous castle of Count Dracula, the main antagonist of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters.[6] It debuted with 1986's Castlevania for the Family Computer Disk System.[7][8] The first entry and the majority of its sequels are side-scrolling action platformers, and were later succeeded by the 1997 game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Originally released for the PlayStation, it returned to the nonlinear gameplay seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which introduced RPG elements and exploration.[9] Several installments later adopted Symphony of the Night's gameplay, and along with Super Metroid, it has popularized the Metroidvania genre.[10] 2010 saw the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a 3D action-adventure reboot of the series developed by MercurySteam.[11]
It is one of Konami's most critically acclaimed franchises[12] and also one the best-selling of all time.[13]
Games
Many Castlevania titles have been released for markets in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia on various video game consoles, personal computers (PC) and mobile phones, with additional remakes and re-releases.[14] The first console title, Castlevania, was released on the Famicom Disk System in 1986 and then in North America in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).[8] A 2D sidescrolling action game where the player progresses through six stages, many principal features of the Castlevania series originated with it.[15] It has since been ported to many platforms, such as the NES Classic Edition.[16] Also released in 1986 was Vampire Killer for the MSX home computer, which played significantly different from the original Castlevania, where players now had to search for the exit before they could proceed to the next stage.[17] Following that year, in 1987, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest further departed from the standard platforming genre of the first Castlevania for a game more similar to the nonlinear gameplay of Metroid, with several RPG elements such as a world map which the player is free to explore and revisit.[18][19] Castlevania's first arcade game, Haunted Castle (1988), returned to the linear platforming gameplay of the original.[20] This continued with the first handheld Game Boy entry, Castlevania: The Adventure[21] and the NES sequel, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, both released in 1989. Dracula's Curse added new features to the original gameplay, including alternate stages and multiple playable characters.[22] The Adventure later saw a GameBoy sequel, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, in 1992 and also a remake developed by M2 for the WiiWare service in 2009.[14]
The franchise's first 16-bit home console game, Super Castlevania IV, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1992.[5] A Castlevania title for the Sharp X68000 home computer was exclusively released in Japan in 1993 and would not be available in English until Castlevania Chronicles (2001) for the PlayStation.[23] During the same year, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was released for the PC Engine and was also not localized in English until it was included with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (2007) for the PlayStation Portable.[14] The first Castlevania produced for a CD-ROM, Rondo of Blood featured Red Book Audio and fully voiced dialogue.[24] The game's content would be reused in Castlevania: Dracula X, a new game for the SNES in 1995.[23] Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) was the first Castlevania entry produced for a Sega console, the Genesis, and has since not been re-released on any other platform.[25]
In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Legends were launched for the PlayStation and GameBoy, respectively.[14] Symphony of the Night introduced a major change to the gameplay, incorporating RPG elements and a non-linear map that the player could freely explore, which was previously seen in Simon's Quest and Nintendo's Metroid series.[18][26] This would be the gameplay for several future titles, beginning with the Game Boy Advance entries Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow, which were released from 2001 to 2003.[14] Aria of Sorrow received a 2005 sequel for the Nintendo DS, which was later followed by Portrait of Ruin (2006) and Order of Ecclesia (2008).[14]
Under the development of Konami's Kobe branch, the first game in the series to employ 3D graphics was Castlevania for Nintendo 64 in 1999, and it soon received an expansion called Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness later that year.[24] In 2003, the next 3D Castlevania title, Lament of Innocence debuted for the PlayStation 2 with combat-oriented hack and slash gameplay that drew comparisons to Devil May Cry and God of War.[27][28] It was followed two years later by another PlayStation 2 title, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.[14] A reboot of the Castlevania series premiered with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010), a multi-platform 3D action title developed by MercurySteam and co-produced by Metal Gear's Hideo Kojima.[11] Two sequels, Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (2013) and Lords of Shadow 2 (2014) have also both received multi-platform releases.[14]
Spin-offs
Castlevania has spawned numerous spin-offs, the first being the 1990 platformer, Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun for the Famicom, a parody which stars the character Kid Dracula.[29] Exclusive to Japan, it later received a sequel in English for the GameBoy, titled Kid Dracula.[5] Castlevania's first multiplayer online fighting game, Castlevania Judgment debuted for the Wii in 2008 and was developed by Eighting.[14] Another multiplayer online title, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, was available cross-platform in 2010, where players could play as past Castlevania characters and explore stages.[30] A new game for iOS called Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls was announced by Konami on 17 April 2018, a multiplayer title starring previous Castlevania cast members.[31]
Arcade and slot machines have been produced for the series. Castlevania: The Arcade (2009), a light gun shooter utilizing an LED remote, has only been released in Japan and Europe.[32] The Japanese spin-off series, Pachislot Akumajō Dracula, is a Pachislot line of Castlevania titles released between 2009 and 2017.[33] The first three are based on the video game Dracula's Curse, while a fourth game based on the Lords of Shadow reboot, Pachislot Akumajō Dracula: Lords of Shadow, was made available in 2017.[34]
Common elements
Gameplay
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/50/Castlevania_nes_03.png)
Castlevania, released for the NES in 1986 is a typical platform game in which the player takes the role of Simon Belmont, a descendant of the Belmont clan, a family of vampire hunters. He travels to Dracula's demonic castle, Castlevania, and fights his way through the castle annihilating Dracula himself and the castle. Belmont's main weapon is a whip called "Vampire Killer", while the secondary weapons are powered by Hearts, collected by destroying candles and killing monsters. Secondary weapons available are Daggers, Holy Water (Fire Bomb), Flying Axe, Stop Watch and the Cross (Boomerang). Hidden items such as power-ups and food (health replenishment) items are also found by attacking walls within the levels, a feature inspired by Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. with countless hidden items across the game's levels.
Vampire Killer, released in 1986 for the MSX computer, took a departure from the traditional platform gameplay of Castlevania, instead introducing an open-ended form of gameplay. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest featured non-linear gameplay more open-ended than that of Vampire Killer and Metroid, with several exclusive elements such as a world map the player was free to explore and revisit. The player could also purchase supplies, equipment and weapon upgrades in several different towns, making it more like an action role-playing game. It also introduced a persistent world with its own day-night cycle that affects when certain NPCs appear in certain locations and offered three possible endings depending on the time it took to complete the game. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NES has more in common with the original NES Castlevania, added new features, including non-linear elements such as alternate branching paths with different stages and alternate endings depending on the player's choices, as well as multiple player characters.
A turning point in the gameplay mechanics of the series was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Expanding on the open-ended style of gameplay previously used in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Symphony of the Night's style of gameplay has been termed "Metroidvania" due to its similarities with the non-linear and exploration-focused side-scrolling games of the Metroid series. It also used role-playing video game elements, such as collectible weapons, armor and hidden orbs. Many subsequent Castlevania games have since followed this template.
Plot and setting
Original series |
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1094 – Lament of Innocence |
Lords of Shadow series |
1047 – Lords of Shadow |
Sources:[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] |
The earliest games borrowed source material from motifs in iconic horror cinema and other monsters from the Universal Horror and Hammer[43][6] era of films. Examples include werewolves, Frankenstein's monster, The Mummy, Medusa, the Grim Reaper and Count Dracula himself. The earlier games paid homage to these films. The staff roll of the original Castlevania mentioned parody names modeled after famous people associated with the horror genre, such as "Vram Stoker" – a play on Bram Stoker, writer of the original Dracula novel. Later games also include many monsters from mythological sources.
Most of the Castlevania video game franchise has been about the vampire hunting family of the Belmonts and Dracula. Almost every hundred years, Dracula is resurrected and generally the Belmonts must defeat him. Though most games in the series involve the Belmonts or their descendants, some protagonists, such as Soma Cruz and Alucard, are unrelated. The series is loosely based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. The novel is included in the official timeline of the series, with Castlevania: Bloodlines taking place shortly afterwards.[44] The connection even goes so far as to claim that Quincey Morris, a character from the novel, is in fact a distant Belmont descendant.
The most iconic weapon of the series is a whip called Vampire Killer. It is the legendary weapon used by the Belmonts in the fights against Count Dracula, although it is sometimes passed through other families as well. The story of its origin is shown in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, where its prototype form is created by Rinaldo Gandolfi for Leon Belmont, through the use of alchemy. This whip is later fused with the soul of Leon's betrothed, Sara Trantoul, giving birth to Vampire Killer.[23] A similar, but different whip is used by the main character, Nathan Graves, in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon; this "Hunter's Whip" can be augmented with magic to enhance its capabilities and the wielder depending on what is equipped. There are extra weapons available, such as fire, knives, and axes.
According to Portrait of Ruin, only those possessing the "Belmont Warlord Chromosomes" are able to use the whip's full potential without paying a price, for the whip simply drains the life of users who are not of the Belmont lineage. This was learned by John Morris, for after his battle with Dracula, he noticed that his injuries never healed. Unable to fully utilize the Vampire Killer whip's powers without harming his own life, he soon succumbed and died. However, his son, Jonathan Morris, was able to receive the whip's full power for a short time through a ritual that was performed by the Lecarde sisters. The ritual required Jonathan to defeat the whip's memory of the previous owner, which was an entity bearing the likeness of Richter Belmont.[45] After Jonathan defeated a vampire by the name of Brauner who was utilizing Dracula's power, the whip was soon returned to the Belmont family.
An official timeline in English was released along with the Castlevania 20th anniversary edition of Portrait of Ruin in 2006 available through pre-order. This timeline includes Circle of the Moon, Legacy of Darkness and Castlevania for the Nintendo 64 in the canon. [46] Another timeline released by Konami on their Japanese website in 2007 excludes these games.[35]
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a reboot of the franchise, and features Gabriel Belmont on a quest to defeat the eponymous Lords of Shadow. While it does indeed feature the usual Castlevania motifs of vampires, werewolves and the undead, the plot is set before the rise of Dracula.[11]
Development
Ayami Kojima's art was introduced in Symphony of the Night, and has been featured in a few other titles. Years later, the first two Castlevania games for the Nintendo DS returned to the anime style used in the original Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, among other titles, in hopes of broadening the player demographic by not discouraging slightly younger Nintendo DS owners to be put off by Kojima's art.[47] Dawn of Sorrow was the first game to do this, and the second DS release Portrait of Ruin followed with the same style.[48]
In 2007, Koji Igarashi stated that if The Dracula X Chronicles did well, the series may return to the more traditional style of the original games.[49]
Localization
In Japan, the series is known as Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ, Akumajō Dorakyura, translated Devil's Castle Dracula).[1] However, not every installment of the franchise had that title. For example, the first two installments for the Game Boy were released under the title Dracula Densetsu 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 (キャッスルヴァニア, Kyassuruvania) name for a brief period. According to series producer Koji Igarashi, the developers chose to adopt the Castlevania title as a way to involve scenarios that do not solely revolve around Dracula himself.[50] After some demand from fans in Japan, Konami returned to the Akumajō Dracula title with the Japanese release of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. However, Konami chose not to use Akumajō Dracula on the Japanese title of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series for the lack of involvement of Dracula, though this was returned with the Japanese release of Lords of Shadow 2 where Dracula was portrayed as a central character.
The series is also known for the differences between the Japanese and English language versions. Particularly in earlier installments, the localization process usually censored a heavy share of violence, nudity and religious imagery. Removal of such material is prevalent in titles released for Nintendo platforms such as Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania: Dracula X, because of Nintendo of America's censorship policies at the time.[51][52] Castlevania: Bloodlines, for the Genesis, was retitled Castlevania: The New Generation for European and Australian releases to avoid the reference to blood used in the North American title.[53] In addition, blood was re-colored, the gore was removed and the death scene of a character was changed in the European version.[54]
Music
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2009) |
The music for the first Castlevania game was composed by Satoe Terashima and Kinuyo Yamashita,[55][56] of Konami's Kukeiha Club of composers, shortly after graduating from college. Yamashita was credited under the pseudonym James Banana for her work on the Disk System version of the game.[57]
Most of Castlevania's music changes from game to game, but some themes recur often. These include "Vampire Killer", composed by Terashima, "Bloody Tears" (血の涙, Chi no Namida), first composed by Kenichi Matsubara, and "Beginning" by Jun Funahashi. These three tracks first appeared in Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse respectively. Several songs, including "Vampire Killer" and "Bloody Tears", were also featured in the soundtracks of other Konami games, including Konami Wai Wai World, Contra: Hard Corps, and Konami Krazy Racers. Rap group Army of the Pharaohs also used a sample of the song as a background for their song, also called "Bloody Tears".[58]
Reception and legacy
The Castlevania franchise has received mostly positive reviews, with the most acclaimed game being Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation and the most panned being Judgment, with aggregate 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 "best games ever". Symphony of the Night appeared at #16 on IGN "Top 100 games" and was one of the first to be introduced on the GameSpot "The Greatest Games of All Time". Both acclaimed the game to successfully making a game in 2D while the industry was moving to 3D.[119][120] Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was named the 9th best 8-bit game by GameTrailers.[121] Super Castlevania IV was named the 11th best game of the SNES by ScrewAttack on their "Top 20 SNES Games".[122] The series as a whole was also named one the 4th best franchises in game ever by IGN, behind only Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda and Mario, and citing Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night as highlights.[123] Aria of Sorrow was also named the 2nd best game on the Game Boy Advance and one of the must buys for the system, according to the same website.[124][125] Castlevania and Circle of the Moon appeared on Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list.[citation needed] Trivia about the series has also been mentioned in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008.[126][127]
In other media
Simon Belmont was one of the stars in the animated series Captain N: The Game Master.[128] He was a member of the N-Team, a group of mostly video game characters who defended Videoland against the antagonist Mother Brain from Metroid. Dracula, referred to only as "the Count", also appeared as a villain in Captain N. Alucard appeared in one episode, though he was portrayed as a rebellious skateboarding teenager. Several other Castlevania monsters had minor roles, including Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, and the Skull Knight. Simon is portrayed as egotistical on the show and his physical appearance differs from his design in the video game series.
The franchise also has its own toy line manufactured by NECA which consists of six figures of Simon Belmont, Alucard, Dracula (available in two variants with one variant with its mouth closed and another one with its mouth open showing Dracula's vampire fangs), Succubus and a Pixel Simon mini figure which was exclusively available as a promotional item at Comic-Con 2007 where the figures were first shown in full form.[129][130]
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 Castlevania: The Adventure.[4] In 2008, a graphic novel adaption of Curse of Darkness was released by Tokyopop in English.[131]
The franchise also consists of a calendar of Lament of Innocence available with the limited edition of the game and containing seven illustrations[132] and another released as a promotion for Castlevania Judgment from April 2009 – March 2010 containing images of various Castlevania characters from the game.[133] Artbooks of many games[132] have also been released. The franchise also contains comics, prize collection artworks of Symphony of the Night and Judgment as part of its print media.
Castlevania characters and elements have also appeared in crossovers and other titles such as Konami Wai Wai World, Contra: Hard Corps, Konami Krazy Racers, DreamMix TV World Fighters, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[134]
Film
In November 2005, Crystal Sky Pictures acquired the rights to adapt the video game series into a motion picture. The company attached Paul W. S. Anderson to write and direct the film adaptation, with production slated to begin in mid-2006.[135] 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.[136] 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.[137] 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.[138]
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.[139]
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.[140]
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 was slated to begin in late fall 2007 in South Africa and Romania. Castlevania was planned for a late 2008 release.[141] 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.[142]
In December 2007, Rogue Pictures halted active development of Castlevania due to the writers' strike and, later, the sale of the studio to Relativity Media and possibility of a screen actors' guild strike. Despite the shelving, White remains committed to direct the film.[143] On May 27, 2009, the Castlevania film was reported as officially canceled.[144] However, on July 22, horror website Bloody Disgusting broke the news that Saw co-creator James Wan had been signed to pen a new draft, as well as to direct.[145] A few months later it was reported that Paul W. S. Anderson is still circling the project.[146] In 2012, while promoting Resident Evil: Retribution, Paul W. S. Anderson stated that he would like to make it; however, the rights are an issue.[147]
TV series
An American anime-influenced animated series has been announced by the streaming service Netflix as part of its original programming.[148] The show is being showrun by Adi Shankar,[149] who had previously teased plans for an animated mini-series based on Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse in 2015,[150][151] and is written by Warren Ellis.[152] Fred Seibert and Kevin Kolde also co-produce.[149] The series is animated by Seibert's Frederator Studios and Powerhouse Animation Studios,[149] under Michael Hirsh's Wow Unlimited Media company. Two seasons have been planned, with the first season released on July 7, 2017 and the second season planned for release on October 26, 2018.[153][149] The first season is four episodes long at 23 minutes each, while the second season will run for eight episodes.[154][149][155]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Konami (2007-10-23). Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. Konami.
Japanese: 悪魔城の城主、邪心の神、ドラキュラ伯爵の復活であった。 Konami translation by Ken Ogasawara: Dracula, lord of darkness, master of the devil's castle, walks among us.
- ^ "Windows Mobile – PocketGear.com: Mobile Apps, Software & Games for Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, Android, Palm and Java devices!". Classic.pocketgear.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ "Konami Mobile". Konami Mobile. Archived from the original on 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ a b "Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy". The Castlevania Dungeon]. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
- ^ a b c Mark Bozon (2007-01-18). "Castlevania: The Retrospective". IGN. p. 5. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ a b "Castlevania: A Dracula Masterpiece 90 Years in the Making". Den of Geek!. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
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- ^ a b "Castlevania (1986) NES release dates". MobyGames. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ Oxford, Nadia (September 7, 2018). "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Wouldn't Have Happened Without Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest". USGamer. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
- ^ "'Castlevania' Creator Koji Igarashi: 'I Don't Feel That I'm a Big Deal'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
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- ^ "The Top 25 Videogame Franchises". IGN. 2010-07-07. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i "HISTORY Castlevania web portal". Konami. 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
- ^ Jeremy Parish (2016-09-27). "At 30, Castlevania May be Dead, But Its Influence Lingers Beyond The Grave". USGamer. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
- ^ Jones, Gary (July 19, 2016). "NES Classic Edition: The final 30 games list revealed as Nintendo talk mini N64". Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ Jeremy Parish, Famicom 25th, Part 17: Live from The Nippon edition Archived 2012-06-29 at archive.today, 1UP.com, August 1, 2008
- ^ a b Jeremy Parish, Metroidvania Chronicles II: Simon's Quest, 1UP.com, June 28, 2006
- ^ Kurt Kalata and William Cain, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest (1988), Castlevania Dungeon, accessed 2011-02-27
- ^ "Haunted Castle for Arcade". MobyGames. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ "Castlevania: The Adventure (1989)". GameSpy. 1999-01-01. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ Jeremy Parish (2005-10-26). "Hidden Gems". 1UP.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Ciolek, Todd (February 25, 2014). "IGN Presents the History of Castlevania". IGN. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Whalen, Mike; Giancarlo Varanini. "The History of Castlevania – Page 7". GameSpot. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (March 18, 2018). "Castlevania: Bloodlines, forsaken by Konami, is a masterpiece worth replaying". Polygon. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ "The Top 25 Videogame Franchises". 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Kurt Kalata and William Cain, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003), Castlevania Dungeon, accessed 2011-02-27
- ^ God of War (PS2) Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, 1UP.com, accessed 2011-02-27
- ^ "Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun". Gamespot. Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ McWhertor, Michael (19 June 2010). "Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Hands-on From E3 2010". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls announced for iOS devices". Destructoid. 2018-04-17.
- ^ Ashcroft, Brian (July 23, 2008). "Castlevania Japanese Arcade Game Hands-On". Kotaku.com. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Castlevania II(KPE)" (in Japanese). 777@nifty. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
- ^ [hhttps://777.nifty.com/pachislot/akumajyodraculalos/6S1716/ "悪魔城ドラキュラ Lords of Shadow(KPE)"] (in Japanese). 777@nifty. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
- ^ a b "Konami Castlevania timeline 2007" (in Japanese). Konami. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- ^ "Castlevania The Timeline". 20th Anniversary Pre-Order Bundle. Konami Digital Entertainment Co. Ltd. December 2006.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Lords of Shadow Interview for PS3". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
- ^ Kurt Kalata (2006-07-26). "Tales from the Crypt: Castlevania's 20th Anniversary Blow-out". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Vasconcellos, Eduardo. "Castlevania: Order of Shadows Q&A". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-05-07.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Fletcher, JC. "Castlevania's last 'Rebirth' – as a pachinko machine". Joystiq.
- ^ "Konami Parlor Entertainment's blog – February 28, 2012". Konami Parlor Entertainment. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
- ^ From Konami Parlor Entertainment's blog (120288: Posted on February 28, 2013) 「悪魔城ドラキュラ 闇の呪印」が元となっています (Pachislot Akumajo Dracula is based on Curse of Darkness). ラルフ側から見たもうひとつの物語が、 パチスロ版の悪魔城ドラキュラI・Ⅱのストーリーとなっています (Pachislot Akumajo Dracula I&II story is "another story" from Ralph's perspective).
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Akumajō Dracula series at Konami Tokyo Template:Ja icon
- Akumajou Dracula at the Killer List of Videogames
- The Castlevania series at MobyGames