TOP TEN CASTLEVANIA GAMES
For Chris...
...who told me I should do a Castlevania Top Ten list months ago.
Back in the day actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee helmed a largely successful horror film revival. The Hammer Horror film era. Dracula. Frankenstein. The Mummy. The Gorgon. The Reptile. Zombies. Demons and the Devil. You name it. They had every type of monster and creature that goes bump in the night, Lee and Cushing taking turns playing the good guy and bad guy. All of it was set to an 18th century European backdrop.
If you love horror and monsters it doesn't get much better than the Hammer Horror films of yesterday. These movies were very popular around the world... and quite popular in Japan especially.
In 1986 Konami released the original Castlevania. It was as if someone in Japan ate every single Hammer Horror film and gave birth to Castlevania. I mean they brought in every single monster possible. All of it set to the medieval European wilderness. It's a horror fan's dream come true to have all those horror elements together in one place, one story. A dark and violent story taking a few pages from Hideyuki Kikuchi's VAMPIRE HUNTER D.
The final ingredient was the gameplay. A classic action adventure platformer. None of that bouncing off people's heads or plumbers tripping on shrooms. This game was serious. Everything is hellbent on killing you. To survive you stake um with a dagger. Chop um with an axe. Burn them with holy water. Or hold up your crucifix and pray. In the meantime you whip them to pieces with your blessed chain whip, the Vampire Killer. And pray to God because this game was tough.
Today Castlevania is a legendary video game franchise (currently in hibernation). These games were tailor-made for me. I became obsessed with the franchise. Played every game (except for the Nintendo DS games. Sorry if you're a fan of the DS games cause they're not on the list. I'm too old for tiny screens) and studied the storylines and Belmont lineage like it was homework. Needless to say, Castlevania is my favorite video game franchise of all time.
DISCLAIMER:
The list below are the games in the franchise I feel are the best, not necessarily in the order of my favorites (if that were the case then Simon's Quest would be No. 1). Sadly a few games are missing because I haven't played them (Order of Shadows, Order of Ecclesia, and Portrait of Ruin are not among the judged) but everything else I've played.
So here's the list of what I feel are the best Castlevania games in terms of gameplay, inventiveness, and presentation.
As a bonus I've included a few extras!
Enjoy!
*note*
this list contains spoilers for many of the games plots
11
CASTLEVANIA: LEGENDS
Release Date: 1998 System: Game Boy
As the bonus No.11 we have the final Castlevania to be released on the original Gameboy handheld system. The game is fun with well balanced gameplay. Artistically it is the best looking of the original Gameboy Castlevania trilogy. It didn't deviate from the standard platform linear gameplay. But where it stands out to this Castlevania freak is in it's story. When this game was released it was the earliest chronological chapter in the story, hence the name "Legends."
This game is a prelude to Castlevania III. The year is roughly 1450 a.d. Sonia Belmont (the first solo female hero in the franchise) has to save her village and the rest of the world from being slaughtered by Dracula's hordes. Alucard shows up and it is hinted that he is the father of Sonia's son, Trevor. Alucard tries to stop Sonia, worried that if she continues she'll die. Sonia bests Alucard in combat and goes on to defeat Dracula. Again, it has great gameplay and a cool story.
10
CASTLEVANIA: CURSE OF DARKNESS
Release Date: 2005 System: Playstation 2/X-Box
Easily the best 3D Castlevania ever made, Curse of Darkness embraces an entirely new system of gameplay and combat (instead of forcing 2D mechanics in a 3D environment). The game involved a magic based system called Devil-Forging, demon creations of the main character Hector who you can equip and level up in power to help you fight your enemies. The main character Hector can equip a wide variety of weapons which he also forges by acquiring numerous different elements and combining them. This adds a whole new level to the game as you can spend much of your time hunting for weapons elements.
The story takes place in the year 1479 a.d. roughly three years after the events of Castlevania III. Dracula's Devil-Forgers are at war. Hector, a former servant of Dracula's battles against his fellow Devil-Forger Isaac who had Hector's fiancee burned alive. Trevor Belmont of course is keeping an eye on the situation too. It is perhaps the most unique game in the franchise that's also a good game to play. Other unique entries haven't faired as well. I enjoyed playing this game thoroughly and I wish the series would've kept along similar paths. This was the last main console entry until Lords Of Shadow.
9
CASTLEVANIA II: BELMONT'S REVENGE
Release Date: 1991 System: Game Boy
Easily the best of the original Gameboy trilogy. Belmon't Revenge and Castlevania: The Adventure (the very first Gameboy Castlevania) are virtually night and day. The Adventure is by far the hardest Castlevania ever and the most unplayable of every Castlevania ever made. Belmont's Revenge plays smoothly and reworks the layout. At the start of the game you are presented with four different castles. You can tackle any of them whenever you want. Once all four are defeated then Dracula's castle arises.
You play as Christopher Belmont, the hero from Castlevania: The Adventure. The story takes place between Castlevania III (Trevor Belmont's chapter) and the original Castlevania (Simon Belmont's chapter) circa 1591 a.d. 15 years after Christopher first defeated Dracula. Christopher's son, Soleiyu, is abducted by Dracula's followers and placed under a spell. Christopher not only must rescue his son and defeat Dracula but he too must battle his son in order to get to the prince of darkness. Again, the game is incredibly fun, perhaps the best action adventure game on the original Gameboy.
8
CASTLEVANIA II: SIMON'S QUEST
Release Date: 1987 System: The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
"What a horrible night to have a curse"
Simon's Quest is the second game in the series and follows Simon Belmont (the original hero of the series) on another adventure. Unbeknownst to Simon, upon slaying Dracula, the vampire placed a curse upon him. Shortly after Dracula's defeat Simon fell gravely ill. He learned that to lift the curse he had to burn Dracula's body. But Dracula's servants have dismembered the vampire's corpse and spread it across the land in various castles. Simon has to battle through perilous woods, cemeteries, and castles to find the body parts, growing weaker in strength every night.
This is my personal favorite Castlevania game. Part of it is nostalgia in that this was the first Castlevania I ever played. Another reason is that there is no other Castlevania like it. It was the first in the series to incorporate non-linear gameplay and RPG elements (this game set the precedent for Symphony of the Night). It has one of my favorite soundtracks of the series (the music in the Castlevania games is one of the franchise's most endearing qualities) and introduced my favorite Castlevania music track "Bloody Tears." Plus it's really fun and smooth to play.
So why isn't this game higher? It has a major drawback. Unless you have a walkthrough, it doesn't matter how many hours you put into the game, you will never beat it. There are specific things you have to do to advance like, kneel beside a lake for 30 seconds with a blue crystal selected, or, stand facing a mountain for a minute. How are you suppose to know that?! You simply cannot defeat this game without a guide. Back in the day, before internet, beating this game was a serious problem. Nowadays with places like GameFAQs getting a guide is easy. And depending how fast you beat it you will get one of three alternate endings too (another first for the series).
I could go on about this game forever, its greatness and its flaws. For your sakes I'll stop here after a final word: Give Simon's Quest another try with a guide. You may find the experience completely different and loads more enjoyable.
7
CASTLEVANIA: CIRCLE OF THE MOON
Release Date: 2001
System: Game Boy Advance
Circle of the Moon was the first Castlevania game on the Game Boy Advance as well as the first game to mirror the system and gameplay of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Now players could enjoy a Symphony like experience anywhere and on the go. For a handheld game Circle was a huge leap beyond any of the handhelds before it. The game was huge with a ton of exploration and action to keep one busy for days. It also introduced a magic system called the Dual Set-up System. Throughout the game the player acquires magic cards of two types: Action or Attribute. When combining the cards a magic spell is cast. The combinations of the DSS magic cards is fun and extensive.
The game incorporated the new magic system quite smoothly to the classic Castlevania system giving it a unique experience compared to the rest of the series. You can ignore the magic system altogether too if you'd rather a more traditional Castlevania playthrough. Strangely this game has no Belmont in it though and doesn't quite make sense storywise with the other games. Your main hero is Nathan Graves, an apprentice of vampire hunter Morris Baldwin. When Morris and his son Hugh are abducted by Dracula's minions it is up to Nathan to rescue them. The year the game takes place is 1830 so it does actually fit within the Castlevania timeline. Regardless of continuity or not this game is extremely fun and a wonderful Castlevania game from start to finish.
6
CASTLEVANIA: BLOODLINES
Release Date: 1994
System: Sega Genesis
Bloodlines is the only Castlevania game on a Sega System and it is great. The graphics are easily the best of any 2D Castlevania prior to Symphony of the Night. The music is top notch, reinforcing Castlevania's reputation for quality scores. But as with everything the power of this game is in the gameplay. There are two heroes you can play the game as: John Morris and Eric LeCarde. Both characters provide the player with a unique gameplay experience. John Morris plays like the traditional Belmont heroes of old while LeCarde employs a massive lance to battle through the game.
LaCarde plays like no other hero in any Castlevania before or since. His move sets are completely different yet comfortable and perfectly suited for the game. What I'm saying is he may be the better character to play through the game with. Both John and Eric have levels unique to their playthrough too making it worthwhile to play the game through with both characters. Why this is the only Sega Castlevania I can't tell you because Sega nailed this game. Instead of being a title swap of Super Castlevania IV (like Konami did with a lot of their games for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis i.e. TMNT IV: Turtles In Time and TMNT: Hyper-Stone Heist as well as others) Bloodlines is a completely new and unique game in the franchise.
5
CASTLEVANIA: ARIA OF SORROW
Release Date: 2003
System: Game Boy Advance
Spoiler Alert! The second Game Boy Advance Castlevania, Harmony of Dissonance is not on this list, not because it isn't worthy of the list though. Harmony is a fantastic game all around. In fact, the entire Castlevania trilogy for the Game Boy Advance represents some of the best gaming Castlevania has to offer. But to keep this list from being dominated by the Game Boy games I opted to do either Harmony or Aria, not both. There, I think I've talked around this game enough. Now to actually talk about it!
Aria of Sorrow follows the same pattern as its GBA siblings Circle and Harmony by paralleling Symphony of the Night. So again the game is massive, the levels expansive, worth hours and hours of gameplay. And the main character Soma Cruz plays and looks remarkably like Alucard. It introduced a modified system for acquiring new abilities, familiars, and weapons called the Tactical Soul system. 99% of your enemies can have their souls taken by the player and used to make all sorts things to help you through the game.
The shining aspect of this game, in my opinion, is the story. The year is 2035 a.d. Dracula was last defeated in 1999 by Julius Belmont. A young man named Soma Cruz and a group of others are transported to Dracula's castle during a mysterious solar eclipse. The host of characters includes Julius Belmont, a witch named Yoko Belnades (descendant of Syphia), and Alucard in disguise among others. Soma discovers he is to be Dracula's next vessel and the dark lord's latent power resides within him. Others want Dracula's power for their own nefarious reasons and seek to slay Soma. Soma, with the help of his friends, must battle these marauders as well as the dark entity within him and all the evils of Castle Dracula.
This game deserves a main console adaptation in my opinion. It is a wonderful entry in the franchise and a brilliant way to place the story in the future and yet still feel like Castlevania.
4
CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X
Release Date: 1993
System: PC Engine Super CD-Rom
The fabled lost Castlevania game. For years this game was unattainable unless you had the obscure system it was on (only released in Japan). In 1995 an extremely altered version was sparsely released on Super Nintendo (now a rare gem if you can find it). The SNES version was so different from the original that many considered the SNES version to be a different game altogether. With no choice left to me for years I played the SNES version. And I played it endlessly for a time. I enjoyed the hell out of the SNES version. It played stiffer than Super Castlevania IV for the SNES and not quite as smooth either. And it was freakin' hard! The SNES version ranks as one of the hardest Castlevania's in the franchise. But I played it so much I could beat it without losing a single life (not to brag). The look of the game is amazing and epic in scope.
And then there's the original version which finally made its stateside release in 2007 on the handheld PSP system. That edition contained both the original release as well as a graphically overhauled edition with the look and design of Ayami Kojima's art. Then in 2010 the unaltered original version was released on the Wii's virtual console for all to play on the big screen. This original version is far longer than the SNES version and plays far smoother. Main hero Richter Belmont has way more offensive abilities than he did in the SNES port and is truly awesome to play as. There are four women Richter has to rescue from Dracula's castle and depending on the number of them you rescue results in one of five possible endings. One of the women is a little girl named Maria Renard. Maria becomes a playable character once rescued with her own levels. She learns to manipulate the magics and familiars of Dracula's castle and battles her way through the castle using these.
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, as it was originally titled, represents some of the best gaming the series has to offer. It took all the best elements from the games that came before it and unleashed the best Castlevania up til that time. But for the strangest reason Konami only released it on the rarest, most obscure console they could find, the PC Engine Super CD-Rom. It took nearly 15 years for American fans to receive a legit release in North America.
Oh! I almost forgot a very important point. Dracula X was followed up by a direct sequel... a little game called Symphony of the Night. Without Rondo there'd be no Symphony.
3
CASTLEVANIA III: DRACULA'S CURSE
Release Date: 1990
System: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
While it may not be my personal favorite original NES Castlevania, Dracula's Curse is technically superior in every way to both its predecessors. I love Simon's Quest for my own selfish reasons but Castlevania III is one of the most renown games in the franchise. Not only does it play smooth but it's extremely well balanced as opposed to the ridiculous difficulty of the original. And if you sit down to play it you can beat it without resorting to guides or walkthroughs as opposed to Castlevania II.
But what's really striking and innovative about this particular game is the level layout and protagonists. Throughout the game after defeating a level you are giving multiple options for proceeding. There are many different routes you can take to get to Dracula's castle, so many in fact that you could play this game through ten times taking a different path every time. The game is still linear but you don't get lost as opposed to Simon's Quest. The game is pretty big too so there's plenty of playtime.
Then there are the heroes. The game takes place 200 years before the original Castlevania. You begin with Simon's great great great (and so on) grandfather, Trevor Belmont. Trevor is kneeling at the grave of his mother, Sonia Belmont (from Castlevania Legends. See above) when the game opens. In an old tower you run into a possessed pirate named Grant DaNasty. Once freed from demonic possession Grant offers to join you. You can play the rest of the game as Grant if you wish and he is one of best characters to traverse the game with. You can leave him behind or take him with you or trade him for the next protagonist you meet.
Next you meet Syphia Belnades, a witch with powerful magics. She's not as physically capable as Trevor or Grant but her magics are some of the most powerful attacks in the game. She also becomes Trevor's wife, their child inheriting some of her enhanced powers strengthening the Belmont bloodline. And last to join you is the one and only Alucard, the rebellious son of Dracula. Castlevania III is Alucard's first appearance in the series. He can cast many of Dracula's magic attacks from the original Castlevania and can transform into a bat allowing the player to traverse areas with ease and reach places no other can. You are stuck with Trevor and can only keep one additional teammate, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. This of course leads to four possible endings depending whose with you at the end.
Even though Simon's Quest is my favorite NES Castlevania I do love Dracula's Curse. I recognize all the ways in which it is a great game that pushed the series forward. Castlevania on the original NES was never better than Dracula's Curse. And without Castlevania III we wouldn't have Alucard.
2
SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV
Release Date: 1991
System: Super Nintendo (SNES)
If there was ever a Castlevania to have won over so many fans it is Super Castlevania IV. It helps that this game was practically a launch title for the Super Nintendo and Konami printed a ton of copies. But primarily it's because this game is so damn good. Super Castlevania IV took full advantage of the 16 bit graphics looking absolutely gorgeous. It also punctuated the horror imagery. Then there is the game's music which also reinforced the horror themes and got your blood pumping. It has perhaps the most iconic of the soundtracks, revamping the classic themes from the NES games and adding new and powerful tracks of its own, most notably the Theme of Simon.
It's simple really. A standard side-scrolling linear action adventure piece. Nothing fancy or innovative. But the game plays like a dream. Simon has all the usual sub-weapons like the dagger, axe, holy water, cross, and stop-watch. And the morning star whip of course, the Vampire Killer. But this time Simon can do so much more than simply whip forward. He can multi-directional whip any which way but loose... no wait, loose too. If you hold down the attack button the whip goes slack and you can brandish it in every direction... save the third dimension. These inventions to the whip would find their way into other games, but not all surprisingly.
It's essentially retelling the story of the original Castlevania again but the levels have been varied. Simon doesn't merely repeat the same stuff from game 1. There are loads of new levels and the classic levels have been revamped and reworked as well. There are even levels that rotate as you dangle from hooks above spikes. Oh yeah, Simon can grapple onto objects along the walls and swing or hang from them, adding yet more to what he can do with the whip.
The game is merely a remake of the original Castlevania but there is nothing mere about it. Super Castlevania IV is one of the most enjoyable games to play on any video game system. A pure and wonderful experience from top to bottom, dungeon to throne room.
1
CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT
Release Date: 1997
System: Sony Playstation (PSone)
Was there ever any doubt as to which game would top this list? Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a culmination of all the elements of the previous games in the series resulting in an adventure greater than the sum of its parts. Simon's Quest's RGP elements and non-linear game design were the basis for Symphony and it perfected them. The multiple paths and multiple heroes of Dracula's Curse as well as Castlevania III's story figure heavily into Symphony as well. And of course Dracula X.
Yeesh... Where to begin?
Symphony is a direct sequel to Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. Richter Belmont has suddenly disappeared and Dracula's castle looms high in the sky. The balance of good and evil has been upset. Alucard, having willfully put himself to ground, sensed the shift in power. When last he fought, Alucard battled his father's hordes alongside Trevor Belmont, Syphia Belnades, and Grant DaNasty over 300 years ago. Alucard arises from his grave to search for Richter, solve the mystery of why Dracula's castle has returned prematurely, and discover who the grand manipulator behind it all is. Richter's close friend and fellow hero of Dracula X, Maria Renard enters the demon castle as well in search of her friend.
Symphony of the Night is the biggest Castlevania game in existence containing hundreds of hours of gameplay. Dracula's castle has never been bigger. There are two castles in fact: the first existing on our plane of reality and the second upside down castle existing in the shadow realm. The sheer amount of in-game levels to explore and map coverage to fill in is astounding. The game functions on an experience points system to level up characters and familiars. Just like an RPG you can level grind and make Alucard a serious powerhouse.
I could go on and on about this game. There's a reason why most of the handheld games mirror Symphony's design and
layout.
Symphony of the Night is both a loving homage to the Castlevania
series as well as a giant leap forward for the franchise. Sadly this new avenue for the series stopped here due to the advent of 3D gaming. Any new 2D Castlevanias were relegated to handheld consoles only. Maybe they realized that the 2D Castlevanias couldn't get any better than this. Sadly though nearly all of the 3D Castlevanias that came afterwards could never match the fun of the 2D games.
SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT: EXTENDED CUT
There is another, longer, version of Symphony of the Night. This version was released back in 1998 on the Sega Saturn only in Japan. It featured more levels and whole different section of the castle: the underground gardens and prison. These levels were always meant to be included. Through a glitch you can access the hall to the gardens in the Playstation version of Symphony but that's as far as you can go. This version also contains another playable character: Maria Renard. She fights with a completely unique system of magics and spirit attacks, an upgraded version of her abilities from Rondo of Blood.
Sadly this version has only ever been available on the Japanese Sega Saturn. I can't tell you how badly I want this game or how long I've wanted this version of Symphony to finally make a North American debut. Once the Japanese version of Rondo of Blood was the holy grail of Castlevanias. Rondo is now available in North America. The Saturn version of Symphony is now the great elusive holy grail of Castlevanias.
I hope one day that this complete version of Symphony of the Night will see a proper worldwide release. Maybe for Symphony's 25th anniversary in 2022? We can only hope.
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| The heroes of Castlevania |
And there you have it! The top ten greatest Castlevania games!
I hope you enjoyed the list!
Do you agree with me? Yes? No? List your own top ten Castlevania games in the comments below!
Funny story, I started writing this top ten list and midway news dropped of Castlevania being turned into a Netflix original series! So I took a break from this to write an article about the forthcoming Netflix Castlevania series! Click below to read the article!
The article covers what we know of the show so far and hopes and expectations for it! Let me know what your hopes and expectations are for the Netflix show, if you have any that is.
And for more Top Ten Lists check out the links below
Thanks for reading!
Editor's Note: It has been requested of me to list my personal favorite Castlevanias. Here are my top 5 favorites followed by the top 5 hardest Castlevanias in the series and my top 5 favorite Belmont:
TOP 5 FAVORITE CASTLEVANIAS
#5
CASTLEVANIA III: DRACULA'S CURSE
#4
CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT
#3
SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV
#2
CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X (specifically the SNES port)
#1
CASTLEVANIA II: SIMON'S QUEST
TOP 5 HARDEST CASTLEVANIAS
#5
CASTLEVANIA: LAMENT OF INNOCENCE (2003 Playstation 2)
#4
CASTLEVANIA 64 (1999 Nintendo 64)
#3
CASTLEVANIA: DRACULA X (1995 SNES version)
#2
CASTLEVANIA (the original 1986 NES)
#1
CASTLEVANIA: THE ADVENTURE (1989 Gameboy)
