Characters / Castlevania

aka: Castlevania Dracula

This is a character page index for the Castlevania video games and related media.

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Video Games

Sub-pages

Main Continuity

• Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
• Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
• Castlevania: Bloodlines
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Castlevania 64
• Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
• Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
• Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
• Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
• Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
• Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
• Castlevania: Judgment
• Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

Lords of Shadow Continuity

• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
  • Dracula

The Belmont Clan

General

• Ancestral Weapon: All of the Belmonts (and Belmont relatives) use the magic Vampire Killer whip, passed down through the generations from Leon Belmont.
• Badass Family: The whole Belmont family has fought monsters for generations, and for a long time, they were the only people who could destroy Dracula.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: All of the notable Belmonts are stronger and faster than any normal human should be by virtue of their own specialized training that puts them on par with vampires. However, some members are actually stronger due to wielding magic or having other special abilities. It's implied the Belmont Clan actually has a natural predisposition to detect and confront vampires, or the forces of darkness in general, and dispel certain magic or curses.
• Demon Slaying: All the Belmonts are locked in a perpetual struggle against Dracula and his followers.
• Epic Flail: The Morning Star variation of the Vampire Killer transforms it into one of these.
• Family Eye Resemblance: Nearly all of the Belmonts have the same pale blue eyes.
• Flechette Storm: The Dagger subweapon, although the trope itself is only inflicted via Item Crash.
• Generation Xerox: Each Belmont whips his way through Dracula's Castle to defeat the Dark Lord, just like the previous Belmont, and it keeps going for an entire millennium. This trope was played dead straight with the nearly-identical early Belmonts (aside from the hundred-year gap between them), but there are more distinct variations between IGA's Belmonts.
• Heroic Lineage: Every subsequent Belmont carries and builds upon the badass legacy of the previous ones, inheriting the Belmonts' famous Ancestral Weapon.
• Holy Hand Grenade: The Holy Water subweapon is almost literally a holy hand grenade, leaving a puddle of fire that damages enemies after it's thrown. The Cross and Bible subweapon also counts, especially when using their item crash.
• Improbable Weapon: The Cross subweapon, which acts as a boomerang... somehow.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: True of most of them with Ayami Kojima's designs.
• Religious Bruiser: Most, if not all, of the Belmont Clan are faithful Christians and often work with the Church to defeat Dracula. The most notable members showcasing this trope outside of using the Belmont Clan's standard holy weaponry being Leon who was formerly a crusader, Trevor, who kept his faith even after being exiled out of fear and Richter who would outright call Dracula out on his heresy. Their extended family like Trevor's wife Sypha or Johnathan Morris are outright Church Militants.
• Superior Successor: Every Belmont generation is stronger than the last. The reasons for this vary; Trevor's descendants are stronger than him because he married Sypha Belnades, thus adding a very strong magical lineage to the Belmont bloodline. Other clans, such as the Renard and Morris clans, who have their own abilities/talents as well, are also mentioned to be distant relatives, implying more intergenerational mixing. It's also implied that their methods and experience are refined and passed down, making each Belmont more skilled and knowledgeable. Naturally, the last known member of the family, Julius Belmont, is widely considered as the strongest.
• Time Stands Still: The Pocket Watch subweapon is used to perform this.
• Vicious Cycle: Later games make increasing allusions to the Belmont clan as a whole being cursed— that is, due to Leon’s vow, they must slay Dracula, not merely because they’re the best ones for the job but because their blood eternally calls them to take up the Vampire Killer and fulfill this destiny whenever Dracula arises. And since Dracula will continue to resurrect at least once a century for as long as the greed of humanity keeps calling him back, the Belmont family are trapped within this fate for almost a millennium until Dracula is finally defeated for good in 1999.
  • Maxim Kischine, Juste Belmont’s best friend, was certain enough of this being a literal curse that he went as far as to gather Dracula’s remains himself to try and free his friend from his fate. It… didn’t quite work out the way he intended, and the final words of the Big Bad are an ominous taunt that the Belmont’s cursed powers will call them to hunt for all eternity.
• Weapon Specialization: The signature weapon of the Belmonts is the famous "Vampire Killer" whip, and every one of them uses it.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: A plot-point in the games set after Symphony of the Night as the entire family apparently disappeared from Transylvania after Richter gave up the Vampire Killer to other Vampire Hunting families. Not reappearing to the public until the Demon Castle War of 1999.

Simon Belmont

Voiced by (Japanese): Hideo Ishikawa (DreamMix TV World Fighters, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), Kenichi Suzumura (Castlevania: Judgment)

Voiced by (English): Keith Silverstein (Castlevania: Judgment, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate)

"On my honor as a Belmont, I will destroy you."

The very first Belmont in the series, and by far the most well-known and popular of them all. At first, Simon's purpose is simple: Fulfill his family's legacy by entering Dracula's castle and defeating him. He did so. But, Dracula, in his dying breath, gave him a curse that would slowly kill him. He didn't count on Simon's badass qualities, though, so despite being cursed, Simon travels around Transylvania and collects Dracula's body parts so he can revive and destroy him, ending the curse.

He also gets to appear in Captain N, but he's a completely different character; a bumbling Jerk with a Heart of Gold instead of the straightforward hero he usually is in the games.

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• Badass Normal: Armed with naught but a magical whip and a few subweapons, he defeats Dracula twice, by himself. Let it be known: Simon Belmont doesn't need silly things like Jump Physics, item crashes, massive inventories, or RPG Elements to kick your ass.
• Barbarian Hero: His first official appearances had him look like this, although as time went on he changed a bit; oddly enough, Ayami Kojima's Bishōnen design◊ for him is also the one in which he looks the most barbaric; go figure that one.
• Barbarian Longhair: Longest in Kojima's design.
• The Cameo:
  • Input The Konami Code when the Konami symbol shows as you boot up Harmony of Dissonance, and you get to play as Simon in Boss Rush mode. 8-bit Simon. And he can still whoop every monster the game chooses to throw at him.
  • Not to mention his random cameos in other Konami games, his most recent having him take part in a track-and-field tourney along with other Konami personalities like Pentaro, Vic Viper, and Solid Snake.
• Depending on the Artist: Simon's design differs depending on the game that you're playing. In the original Castlevania, Super Castlevania IV, Grimoire of Souls, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he's portrayed with an appearance akin to a leaner version of Arnold Schwarzenegger's portrayal of Conan the Barbarian. Chronicles keeps his toned build but softens his face and makes him a red-head, and Judgement expands on this with the infamous Light Yagami-Simon hybrid.
• Determinator: In Simon's Quest — he manages to kill Dracula and his hordes while suffering from what is effectively magical leprosy... And in the best ending, he survives the affliction.
• Expy: Of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan the Barbarian.
• Guest Fighter: Appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the main Castlevania representative.
• Hellbent For Leather: His Barbarian Hero design has a lot of leather tassles.
• Inconsistent Spelling: His name is listed as Simon Belmondo at the end of the first game (as well as Chronicles), but it's Simon Belmont in the sequel.
• Leitmotif: Super Castlevania IV gave us "Dance Of The Holy Man"/"Theme Of Simon Belmont" (also shortened to "Simon Belmont Theme" or "Simon's Theme") which has appeared many times since. "Vampire Killer" from the original Castlevania is sometimes used as this as well, when not the theme of the series in general; it was notably remixed as his theme in Judgment, and said remix later accompanied him into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• Nice Guy: He is ridiculously polite and modest to everyone in Grimoire of Souls. Charlotte even notes that Simon is often thought of as the most noble of the Belmonts.
• One-Man Army: Unlike many other Belmonts, Simon fought Dracula entirely on his own. And he was able to do this twice!
• Ornamental Weapon: Following a precedent set by the games' box art, his Kojima Chronicles design and updated sprite havd a sword strapped to his hip, but he never uses it in place of the Vampire Killer. Haunted Castle makes him use it though. The action figure released by Neca also has it.
• Retraux: He uses his sprites from the original Castlevania in his playable appearances in Harmony of Dissonance and Harmony of Despair.Japanese material tends to be based on the former, while the latter is the English standard.
• Wolverine Publicity: Has appeared in more games than any other Belmont due to his status as being synonymous with the entire franchise.
• Your Days Are Numbered: As a result of being cursed by Dracula in Simon's Quest.

Christopher Belmont

Voiced by (English): Gideon Emery (Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth)

"Now you will lead us to Dracula and Illya, old man, or—"

A Belmont descendant that takes on Dracula when he revives... that's all his story is about in Adventure. In Belmont's Revenge, his story was fleshed out a bit with the birth of his son Soleiyu, who was about to inherit the Vampire Killer until Dracula possessed him. Chris jumps back into action to save his son and succeeds. There is a remake of Adventure, which seems to be rather different in content.

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• Barbarian Long Hair: He even has long hair as an old man; now, that's badass.
• Bootstrapped Leitmotif: "Battle of the Holy" has become strongly associated with Christopher.
• Cool Old Guy: "Belmont's Revenge" took place 15 years after his first appearance and he was still capable of kicking ass to save his son. Also one of only 2 Belmonts to fight Dracula on more than one occasion.
• Forehead of Doom: We can't deny it.
• Papa Wolf: He will go to hell and back to save his son.
• Playing with Fire: He one of the few Belmonts to gain the ability to shoot fireballs from his whip.
• Punny Name: "Soleiyu", his son, is a corruption of "Soleil", a French word which means sun. This name is corrected in Konami GB Collection Vol. 4.

Sonia Belmont

"We all decide our own fate. It was you who taught me that, Alucard."

A woman who was gifted with strange magical power. When her land is ravaged by Dracula, she takes up the Vampire Killer whip and invades Dracula's castle, encountering her friend Alucard along the way. After her ordeal is over, she settles down and has a child, Trevor.

She was slated to appear again in Castlevania Resurrection, but the game's cancellation prevented that. On top of that, when IGA took over the series, he retconned Sonia from the Castlevania timeline entirely.

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• Action Girl: She's just as willing able to fight demons as the rest of her clan.
• Babies Ever After: She's shown holding her newborn infant in the epilogue of Legends.
• Braids of Action: Wears a braid, and is a Belmont vampire hunter.
• Canon Discontinuity: IGA took her out of his Castlevania timeline.
• Magic Knight: Sonia does not make use of subweapons. Instead, defeating boss monsters grants her various magical powers, such as the ability to heal herself or obliterate everything on the screen. She can also enter a Burning Mode which improves her movement speed, damage and makes her invincible.
• Pregnant Badass: Implied. She and Alucard are hinted to have a thing for each other, he seals himself away after they spar, and the full ending shows that she gave birth not long after Dracula's defeat (looking exactly the same age), which is described as carrying "the bloodline of dark ways". The implication that the Belmonts may be related to Dracula starting with Trevor might have been a contributing factor for IGA's decision to leave it out of his timeline.
• Show Some Leg: You thought Isaac was the first to wear kinky boots in battle? Think again!
• The Smurfette Principle: So far, she's the only female Belmont protagonist in the series, and possibly the only female to wield the Vampire Killer.
• Stripperiffic It appears that dressing as a stripper is not limited to male Belmonts.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Subtly implied during her exchanges with Alucard. Official art definitely gives off this impression.
• Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Reportedly, a woman warrior being accepted in the 1400s broke IGA's, and that's one of the reasons why her game was removed from the timeline.

Victor Belmont

Although Victor was born in the 1800s, the Powers That Be pulled him to the year 1666 to assist Sonia Belmont in destroying Dracula. When he was young, he decided that he wanted no part of the Belmont family's job as vampire hunters, and ran away from home. As he grew older, he took up gambling and also learned of the arts of warfare. One night in the 19th century, he got in a fight with another man when gambling. As Victor pulled out a knife, he was suddenly transported to the year 1666 by mysterious forces.

Victor was going to be one of the protagonists of Castlevania: Resurrection, along with Sonia Belmont, but the game was unfortunately canceled.

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• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Particularly in the pre-release screenshots, he looks like Tim Curry. Sega's official Dreamcast Magazine meanwhile suggested that he looks like Bruce Campbell.
• Refusal of the Call: Victor attempted to escape his destiny, but he couldn't hide from it forever.
• Screw Destiny: He tried to, at least.

Recurring Enemies

Dracula

Voiced by (Japanese): Hiroya Ishimaru (Rondo of Blood), Norio Wakamoto (most games starting with Symphony of the Night), Nobuhiko Kazama (Lament of Innocence), Hikaru Midorikawa (Dawn of Sorrow), Mahito Ōba (Curse of Darkness), Joji Nakata (Judgment)

Voiced by (English): Wornell Jones (Perfect Selection Dracula album, Beginning track), Michael Guinn (Symphony of the Night, Castlevania 64), Harald Gjerd (Castlevania 64 as Malus), Crispin Freeman (Lament of Innocence), Douglas Rye (Curse of Darkness), Tom Wyner (Portrait of Ruin), Patrick Seitz (The Dracula X Chronicles and onwards), Charles Glover (Castlevania: The Arcade), Ric Dorr (Castlevania Tribute Vol.1 album, Vampire Killer track)

"Ha! Mankind. A cesspit of hatred and lies. Fight for them, then, and die for their sins!"

Good ol' Dracula, Lord of the Vampires you all know. While he originally started out as Vlad the Impaler, a typo of his age in an instructional manual led to him being much older. Before he became Dracula, he was Mathias Cronqvist — a genius war strategist from the Middle Ages. After his wife Elisabetha died while he was fighting in the crusades, he suffered a crisis of faith and decided that God was at fault for his wife's death. Mathias used his friend Leon Belmont to steal the soul of a powerful vampire named Walter Bernhard with the Crimson Stone, gaining the allegiance of Death. He reveals that he had forsaken God, who took away his wife, and will continue to curse Him for eternity. He retreats and changes his name to Vlad Tepes, while Leon swears that he and his family will dedicate themselves to his destruction.

He found a second chance at redemption after meeting a woman named Lisa. They bonded and Lisa gave birth to half-vampire Adrian F. Tepes aka Alucard. Unfortunately, Lisa ended up crucified for practicing medicine. Dracula snapped, declared that Humans Are the Real Monsters and decided to wage war against the world, and God himself. Thankfully for humanity, Leon's oath lasted throughout the centuries, and the Belmont Clan (with assistance from the Morris and Belnades families on occasion) have thwarted his undead armies every time.

Dracula's reign as the lord of Castlevania finally came to an end in the year 1999, when an alliance of various world armies, aided by the Catholic Church and the Hakuba Shinto shrine, succeeded in sealing Dracula away from his castle (the source of his power), with Julius Belmont finishing him off. At the moment, this has not been actually depicted in any game, possibly due to being entirely too awesome to do justice to.

In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, he is reincarnated as Soma Cruz, who unsurprisingly doesn't want to fulfill his destiny. With the help of Alucard and others, his fate is successfully averted. Of course, that hasn't stopped him in the least. He always finds a way to come back, no matter what. It's gotten to the point where people see him as a god, or something of a god, as lampshaded by him in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night.

He also now has his own Self-Demonstrating page.

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• Adaptational Badass: The original novel character that Dracula is based off of was a powerful supernatural threat to be sure, with control over animals and the weather, but he was still just a vampire whose armies consisted of Romani villagers, a small harem of vampire women and Renfield. Castlevania's Dracula on the other hand holds command over a massive army of demons and monsters that threaten the human race, has a carnival's collection of One-Winged Angel forms that he could take on, has access to both holy and unholy magic, and is said to resurrect every 100 years whenever he is killed.^note That last part was deemed an inaccurate folktale in Anniversary Collection, hence why the occasional early happens. Later games of the series would elaborate that he is the earthly envoy of The Anti-God Chaos, making him the setting equivalent of The Antichrist and an otherworldly beast of unfathomable horror in his own right.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed, as he's still a manipulative, blood-sucking vampire who wants to Take Over the World, but unlike Bram Stoker's version, the Castlevania Dracula is genuinely polite and respectful to his enemies and has a few people that he cares about.
• Adaptational Sympathy: The original Dracula from Bram Stoker's novel (or even the Universal adaptations that the games are inspired by) is a cold-blooded psychopath who actively enjoys the atrocities he commits and is given no deeper reason for his actions beyond his love of cruelty and power. This version of Dracula, by contrast, was Driven to Villainy through a series of traumatic events, genuinely loves his family, and is ultimately deeply unhappy with the life he's chosen.
• Affably Evil: He might be the lord of darkness, but he tends to be fairly formal with his enemies, if a bit smug, and he genuinely loves his son and late wives.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Dracula's defeat in Symphony of the Night is unusually sympathetic, as he expresses genuine remorse, laments his lost love, and asks her to forgive him. Grimoire of Souls reveals that even though he doesn't really want to, he is unable to truly rest in peace, as his Deal with the Devil is permanent, and he is seemingly forever stuck as the embodiment of humanity's capacity for malice. Unless humanity is completely purified of it's darkness, which is technically impossible, Dracula will keep coming back, meaning he can never truly be together with Lisa.
• The Antichrist: This is what Dracula is, despite being described as God's opposite. Dracula serves as the focus for physical connection for all of the evil in the hearts of man. In actuality, it's the force of Chaos created by human evil and linked to Hell that makes him Dracula. It is implied that only he (or his reincarnation) can truly sit in the Dark Lord's throne, no matter what many Big Bad Wannabes have to say.
• The Anti-God: According to Aria and Dawn of Sorrow, he's the Evil Counterpart to God himself. Although in this case it's implied that he's a foil to God and necessary as the focus of earthly evil. He isn't God's equal so much as the other half of the important equation between Good and Evil.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Of Evil. More importantly, he is more or less the incarnation of The Anti-God Chaos, an Eldritch Abomination born from every flaw of the universe, who fulfils a cosmic role but seems to lack sentience and needs him to manifest on the Earthly Planes
• Arch-Enemy: To the Belmont Clan and Alucard, and to an extent, Sara Trantoul (aka the Vampire Killer).
• Archnemesis Dad: Starting from Symphony of the Night, he's antagonistic towards Alucard, his hybrid son that he sired through his dead wife, Lisa.
• As Long as There Is Evil: He loves to give this kind of speech after his defeats. He's right, too. Grimoire of Souls suggests that not even he really gets a say in the matter. After he's defeated again, Alucard says he wants to believe that Lisa's last words got through to him and implores him to just rest in peace already. Dracula pauses for a moment before explaining that he doesn't decide when he gets revived, in terms that suggest he isn't particularly fond of the arrangement.
  Dracula: I cannot revive myself on my own. It's the greed of humankind that revives me. When the times demand my presence again, I'm sure I'll be there to satisfy the world's desire for an never-ending night. But until then... I'll enjoy a little peace.
• As the Good Book Says...: Recites Matthew 16:26 after his defeat at the end of Symphony of the Night (in the original PS1 localization at least) despite essentially being The Antichrist in terms of motivation.
• Attack Its Weak Point: In the 2D games, almost all of his non-One-Winged Angel forms can only be damaged by hitting his head. Possibly a reference to how classic vampires must be decapitated before they can be properly killed.
• Badass Cape: Most games, he wears a stereotypical high-collared vampire cape, though he has alternated with a Badass Longcoat.
• Balance Between Good and Evil: Dracula is the Dark Lord, a mandatory position that serves as the balance to God on Earth.
• Big Bad: He plays the part for the series as a whole. In Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, he is more of a Greater-Scope Villain.
• Big Bad Friend: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is one big Batman Gambit by Mathias, manipulating everyone from Leon to Sara to Rinaldo to Walter so that he can obtain the power he needs in his fanatical battle against a God he believes to be wicked.
• Blasphemous Boast: He gives quite a nice one before the Final Battle of The Arcade. Made all the nicer in that he has the power to back it up.
  Dracula: "You should bear that in mind. God is unable to help the souls of those terminated by my hand!"
• Bond One-Liner: Can give a few if he wins the Final Battle.
  In Curse of Darkness: "You die by my hand. You should be honored."
  In Judgment: "Insect. Did you forget who I am?"
  In Judgment: "Grovel in the dirt like the WORM you are!!"
• Boomerang Bigot: He despises humans even though (or because) he used to be one and is guilty of everything he accuses his former fellow men of.
• Breakout Character: He's the most consistent presence in the series and has gained the most dimension. In the "Lords of Shadow" continuity, they just dropped the pretense and straight-up made him the main character.
• Card-Carrying Villain: When yet another Belmont or their ally shows up at his throne room yet again, Dracula tends to appear with wine glass in hand or with a classy reservation for what's to unfold, knowing he's evil and they're the hero so he banters about their causes before commencing the fight. He may be a God of Evil, but he's not going to be inelegant about it.
• Casanova Wannabe: Every time a lovely woman winds up in his domain, such as with Richter's girlfriend and Shanoa in Order of Ecclesia, he offers her a chance to rule by his side for eternity. It's never worked. In all of his centuries on this earth, he's only ever managed to woo two women, and one's implied to be the previous woman reincarnated.
• The Chessmaster: You can always expect him to have plans set into motion, even when he's not at full power or not even around in the first place. Usually to plan his return or a way to expand his influence. This makes a lot more sense when he used to be an actual war strategist when he was human.
  • His Dying Curse in Curse of Darkness ensures that Transylvania remains a Crapsack World with his influence intact, with or without him, and that it cannot be lifted even by killing him again. He plays the same gambit again in Simon's Quest, but makes sure that his victorious opponent is targeted as well, hoping to get rid of the only line able to oppose him and to have a world ripe for taking over when he eventually returns.
  • In Belmont's Revenge, he fakes his death and waits for the son of his nemesis to come of age to capture and corrupt him, turning his foes into an asset, and uses four castles as a diversion.
  • In Bloodlines, he leaves his usual domain and takes profit of the chaos of World War One (orchestrated by his niece because being The Chessmaster runs in the family), to expand his influence all over Europe and establishes a bastion of evil in many countries.
  • Castlevania 64 offers one of his best plans to date, involving Hidden in Plain Sight, Master Actor, a Puppet King, and a hefty dose of Xanatos Speed Chess on the side. He has a servant posing as him as a decoy, while he uses the aspect of the child he was reincarnated into to pose as a captive who gets corrupted. He plans to go back with the hero after their job is apparently done to backstab them when the time is right, or in the Golden Ending crush them when his full power returns, and make it look like he was possessed at the last minute when they defeat him.
• Classy Cravat: Because he's Wicked Cultured.
• Creepy Child: As Malus in Castlevania N64.
• Crusading Widower: Whenever his wife or girlfriend is murdered or dies, and he believes that someone is responsible, he will Freak Out, turn evil, and start slaughtering people.
• Depending on the Artist: Looks different in almost every single game, which is perhaps justified if you consider his appearances to be "incarnations". Sometimes the same artist may design him in different ways; Ayami Kojima drew him differently in Chronicles, Symphony of the Night, and Dracula X Chronicles, even though those last two have have some overlapping story scenes (i.e. Richter's battle against Dracula). And don't even get us started on his transformations.
• Depending on the Writer: How evil and twisted Dracula is varies from game to game. In some cases, he's petty enough to kidnap people just to be a dick and other times cruel enough to slaughter the entire countryside for the hell of it, while in certain games he's Affably Evil and potentially even a downright Punch-Clock Villain. While a few games do give him sympathetic points, however, he is still the lord of darkness through and through. Part of this seems to stem from just how spontaneous yet another revival may be, while other scenarios seem to genuinely be a case of Motive Decay and basking in being a monster simply because he is.
  • One case of this is in the 64 titles, which are implied to be a fair bit of Broad Strokes on the continuity. There, he plays a more elaborate ruse than usual by hiding away as the young boy Malus and letting everyone pick each other off instead. Despite the main continuity having his two wives be much of the cause of Dracula's extreme vengeance, this version doesn't seem to think about that at all, considering the Bad Ending has him forcibly entrap Carrie into a future marriage, either for her soul or her Bernades lineage.
• Determinator: No matter how many times Vampire Hunters, Witches, and even his own son blow through his castle and kill him, he just will not stay dead and will continue with his war on humanity every time without ever giving up on it.
• Dimension Lord:
  • His existence as a Dark Lord is what maintains the Abyss, a realm consisting of 6 separate hells filled with tortured souls he uses to create the monsters that populate his castle.
  • The Chaotic Realm is the twisted, eldritch dimension made of pretty much every flaw of Creation, from which he comes from and where his essence returns when he is destroyed. It is the home of the Entity who annointed him/is incarnated in him, it is not very clear.
  • His castle itself can also qualify as its own dimension, as it's a symbol of not only Dracula's will, but the chaos within humanity itself.
• Dirty Coward: As Mathias, he was willing to let Walter kidnap Sara and direct his best friend Leon's failed rescue because he knew he couldn't take on the vampire lord himself. Even after becoming a vampire, he sicced Death on Leon rather than risk a fight with him. He seems to have grown out of this over the years, being willing to personally take on the heroes who wield the Vampire Killer.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind:
  • When he was still mortal in Lament of Innocence, he was only mentioned a handful of times and explicitly stated to be bedridden with grief following the death of his first wife. After Walter is defeated, he appears and reveals that he orchestrated the game's entire plot and played everyone like a harp, all so he could become a vampire as revenge against God for allowing her to die after devoting his life to serving Him.
  Mathias: If limited life is God's decree, then I shall defy it! And within that eternity, I shall curse Him forevermore!
  • In Castlevania 64, he masquerades as the boy the hero comes to see as a little brother.
• Dracula: You don't say!
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He genuinely loved both of his wives, and although Alucard has all but disowned him as a father, Dracula still holds a place in his hardened heart for his son. In fact, it is also implied that the death of his wives (the latter wife via witch-burning) was also the reason why he even became evil.
• Eternal Villain: Dracula will always resurrect, and no hero can keep him away for too long. In Grimoire of Souls he is even brought back AFTER being killed for good and reincarnated, by infusing his essence into a materialized echo of him from the past.
• Evil Is Burning Hot: He is generally associated with fire, especially his trademark triple fireball.
• Evil Genius: He was a genius scholar and tactician even before becoming a vampire, and he certainly did not lose it.
• Evil Laugh: Tends to do this a lot when he's fought in his first form.
• Evil Overlord: One of gaming's biggest examples. "Dark Lord" (alternatively "Lord of Darkness" or "King of the Night" among other variations) is his official title and occupation, even.
• Evil Sounds Deep: He's usually given a pretty deep voice. As Mathias, it was a low voice.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: As portrayed by Norio Wakamoto in Symphony of the Night.
• Faith–Heel Turn: When Elisabetha died while Mathias was out fighting in the Crusades, the grief-stricken man didn't take this well. With the progression of time, his renouncement of God escalated to new heights.
• Fallen Hero: Mathias was once a respected scientist and hero from the Crusades. Then his wife died and he started to Rage Against the Heavens...
• Familial Foe: Hunting monsters is the Belmont family hat, and each game features a Belmont taking on Dracula with the help of various allies.
• Final Boss: It would be easier to count how many games don't have him as this.
• Flaming Meteor: His Dark Inferno attack, where he sends out several small meteors from his cape.
• Foil: To the entire Belmont Clan. While each of its members is able to overcome the tragedies that befall them and their loved ones, Dracula threw a diabolical tantrum when his wife died and continues to besiege humanity because he just can't get over her (and Lisa's) death.
  • He is also this to God, which he is explicitly stated in the series to be a counter to. God is the all-powerful creator of the universe who is the ultimate force for good and by nature loves all and brings life. Dracula, on the other hand, is essentially a Deity of Human Origin who was once a mortal and flawed human being, willingly turned his back on the light, loves very few and hates most, and brings death and destruction while basically being nothing more than a pawn in the balance between good and evil empowered by the evil of humanity reinforced by the stygian powers of hell. It's even implied that for all of his hate and bitterness towards God, he is still serving God by being an example of how far a man can fall and a warning as to what happens when you forsake everything for power and vengeance.
• Freudian Excuse: His first wife Elisabetha died of unknown circumstances while he was away fighting in the Crusades, stoking his rage against God for abandoning him. When he married Lisa, she was later apprehended and executed by witch hunters for practicing witchcraft, even though she was only making medicine to cure plague victims. Is it any wonder Dracula became such a monster?
• Fur and Loathing: In Lament of Innocence, back when he was human, he wore a white/black fur mantle. He wasn't evil at first, but after his first wife died, the rest was history.
• A Glass of Chianti: Naturally the vampire-specific version, A Glass Of Blood. He'll often toss the glass and let it shatter on the floor just before he rises from his throne to whoop ass.
• God of Evil: Not literally, but he certainly functioned as this for a straight millennium. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow reveals that the Balance Between Good and Evil dictates that he is the evil opposite of God, and that if Dracula is no longer the Dark Lord that exists to oppose God, someone will take his place.
• Good Hair, Evil Hair: When it is not slicked back, it's usually not combed.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Freshly revived and not having a patience for a would-be opponent like Shanoa taking him on in Order of Ecclesia, his second phase drops the familiar fireballs and teleports in favor of straight up unfurling his cloak, breaking into an Unflinching Walk and beating the shit out of her with his bare hands.
• Greater-Scope Villain: In many of the games, Dracula isn't an active threat until very late in the game, assuming he directly shows up at all. However, that doesn't mean people wanting to revive him won't step in for him.
• Hannibal Lecture: Gives one in the Castlevania Tribute Vol.1 album.
• Heel Realization: After Alucard defeats him in Symphony of the Night, he asked what Lisa's last words were, and Alucard told him while humans are flawed, don't seek vengeance against them. Hearing this makes him realized he acted against the wishes of his second wife, and apologizes to her before dying. Unfortunately, this doesn't stick after the events of SOTN.
• Hellfire: His most iconic attack.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Happens fairly often. After all, it cannot really be a Castlevania without a mano a mano against him at the end. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin are some examples.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He's partially responsible for the creation of the Vampire Killer whip and because he failed to slay Leon at the very beginning of his feud with the Belmonts, it's the primary weapon that has felled him time and time again.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: His rationale for destroying humanity. He's not entirely wrong, since humans wrongfully condemned his second wife for practicing witchcraft when she was only trying to cure plague victims.
  Dracula: "Your own kind called me forth with praise and tribute."
• Humanoid Abomination: In this series, he's really much more this than a standard vampire. In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, it's confirmed that he's literally the opposite of God.
• Hypocrite: Perhaps Dracula's most defining flaw. He is very quick to call out humanity for being violent and petty, but is himself causing mass destruction and death purely out of hateful spite. A lot of characters in the franchise lampshade Dracula's hypocrisy, especially Alucard.
• Ignored Epiphany: Despite his Heel Realization in Symphony Of The Night, he's unable to let go of his anger and would return again and again until he's finally put to rest in 1999. A bit of a Foregone Conclusion since Bloodlines was already released at this point and took place after Symphony timeline-wise.
• Jive Turkey: Courtesy of the Perfect Selection album, with his opening lines ending with a nice "Awwww Yeah!".
• Joker Immunity: No matter how often he's killed, he seems to always come back. The final battle in 1999? The one where he was killed so thoroughly he reincarnated? Grimoire of Souls shows that if all his energy and echoes of his past are gathered in one place, he can still be brought back from that.
• Killed Off for Real: Dracula's soul was finally put to rest when an alliance of vampire hunters sealed away Castlevania in 1999, letting Julius Belmont permanently kill him. With Dracula's soul released from the evil that had empowered it, it reentered the wheel of reincarnation and was reincarnated as Soma Cruz.
• Large Ham: Just look at some of his quotes! The Japanese voice track in particular has him be voiced by Norio Wakamoto, the king of hammy seiyuu.
  Dracula: "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!"
  • Mathias was Evil Is Hammy, managing to be composed, even while cementing himself as a Magnificent Bastard. All bets were off once he became Dracula.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • He manipulated Walter into kidnapping Sara, the betrothed of his own friend Leon, in the hopes that the warrior would be able to defeat Walter for him. Leon succeeded when Sara sacrificed herself to create the Vampire Killer, the very weapon that would be the bane of Dracula's own existence.
  • In a more twisted case, after sending Leon's beloved Sara to her doom, he tried to settle down with a new wife, Lisa. She was hunted down and killed, costing him the happy life he stole from Leon and Sara.
• Leitmotif:
  • "Dance of Illusions"/"Illusionary Dance" has become the iconic song for the battle with Dracula, having been used in Rondo of Blood, Dracula X, Symphony of the Night, Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness, Circle of the Moon, Judgment, and Harmony of Despair. It even shows up in Julius Mode of Dawn of Sorrow, when you have to face Soma as the new Dark Lord in a battle almost directly lifted from earlier battles with Drac.
  • In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he'll use "Nothing to Lose" and "Black Night" for each respective phase during boss fights against him in the World of Light, and in Classic Mode as Luigi, Simon, and Sephiroth. Richter's Classic Mode continues the use of "Dance of Illusions" as a Call-Back to Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. When fighting him as Pac-Man however, he uses the original Famicom Disk System arrangement of "Dwelling of Doom".
• Load-Bearing Boss: Once he's defeated, the whole Castle comes down with him. Justified in that the Castle is linked to him and depends on his evil power to exist in the first place.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He was this as a human.
• Love Makes You Evil: Lost two wives; one to sickness, the other to witch hunters. He did not take this well. In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, It also might happen again, depending on whether Soma outlives Mina, and Mina's apparent murder is the trigger for his bad ending in Dawn.
• Manipulative Bastard: He is said to manipulate those who want to Kill All Humans as much as he does. And he has a knack for exploiting the darkest side of his foes to manipulate and corrupt even those who can resist his evil influence.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: He's the page image.
• Misanthrope Supreme: Elisabetha's death drove him to hate God. Lisa's death drove him to hate man as well. No wonder the closest thing he has to a friend is Death.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Realizes he inadvertently denied Lisa her final wish by seeking revenge on mankind for her death when Alucard reveals that her final words had been to forgive humanity for their actions. Unfortunately, he isn't able to let go of his hate, and the next time he returns he's still the same old bastard.
• Motive Decay: Some games have him seeking vengeance for his wives, and others will have him making elaborate plots just to undermine and eliminate the Belmont lineage. Other games will simply have him at the end because he's not truly killable and he decides to pick a fight with whatever hero stumbled into stopping him this time. He still always wants to cause carnage and mayhem, but that's simply in his nature, and how much he decays tends to depend on how frequently he revives and/or how quickly he is confronted after his revival.
• Not Me This Time: He doesn't appear in Harmony of Dissonance, but his power does as "Dracula Wraith".
• Number of the Beast: He tends to have 6,666 HP in Metroidvania games.
• One to Million to One: Another depiction of his Teleport Spam, where he splits into several bats and reforms in a different location.
• One-Winged Angel: Most of the time since the first game. He drops it a few times here and there, notably in Order of Ecclesia, but still hellishly tough. Some of said games, it just gets replaced with Turns Red (OoE included, though it's more of a Unfurls Cape and Gets Belmont-Trademarked Pimp Walk). It's gotten to such a ridiculous number that a full list of them can be found here. Occasionally becomes Bishōnen Line.
• Orcus on His Throne: Despite being the leader of of a massive demonic army, Dracula never ever fights on the frontlines, opting to stay in his castle until someone inevitably comes to challenge him. Given how long it typically takes to reach his throne room, one has to wonder what he does in his spare time.
• Our Vampires Are Different: Really different, seeing as how he's more like Satan than anything else.
• Physical God: Since he draws his power from Chaos itself, he can be considered one. He can transform into demonic forms with godly powers when he unleashes his full might.
• Playing with Fire: His trademark form of attack, either with a flurry of smaller fireballs, pillars of flame, or a shorter series of larger fireballs.
• Pointy Ears: Most of the concept art depicts him with pointy ears.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Gives a few good ones, usually before going One-Winged Angel. Usually a variation of "playtime is over" or "behold my true form", but there are some more imaginative. His most famous by far is the Memetic "Enough talk, have at you!" from Symphony of the Night, retranslated in the page quote above.
  In Judgment: (after the Final Boss says he comes from 10000 years in the future) "Of course! And your next stop, oblivion."
• Pretty in Mink:
  • As Mathias in ''Lament of Innocence. Unfortunately, he became evil later on.
  • His reincarnation Soma rocks a fur coat in Aria too.
• Public Domain Character: One of the oldest.
• Puppy Love: Exploits this in the bad ending of Castlevania 64, where in the guise of the innocent child Malus, he pesters (actual child) Carrie Belnades to promise to marry him when grown up. When she vaguely accepts, he ominously states "Then we have a binding contract...".
• Rage Against the Heavens: His will to live forever is a big ol' Take That! towards God's decree of limited human life... Though in the end even that is turned against him.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: The Big Bad of the series, and he's usually garbed in this.
• Reincarnation Romance: It's heavily implied that Lisa is the reincarnation of Elisabetha. The implications even extend to Soma Cruz and Mina Hakuba, who's suggested to be the next incarnation of these two women (similar to how Soma is Mathias/Dracula), much like Mina Harker (note the similar-sounding surnames) from Bram Stoker's Dracula.
• Resurrective Immortality: Dracula is resurrected in most of the games, the better for the player to have someone to fight. The exact methods vary.
• Retcon: All indications suggest that Castlevania's Dracula was originally intended to be Vlad Tepes Dracula, as Dracula's Curse is the first time Dracula is fought and the game takes place in 1476, which is when the real Tepes died. Alucard also laments over killing his father, something he probably wouldn't do if he knew his father was just going to come back in a hundred years. But then someone screwed up Dracula's age in the Symphony of the Night manual, IGA decided to just run with it, and Lament of Innocence was produced.
• Satanic Archetype: The games treat Dracula as a stand-in for the devil.
• Sealed Evil in a Six Pack: In various games, old Vlad is resurrected when you assemble (some of) his body parts or possessions which contain pieces of his essence, which are usually held by various bosses and grant the holder various attributes (such as improved stats, immunity to poison or curses etc), namely his Eye, Rib, Bone, Nail, Tooth/Fang and/or his Ring.
• Slouch of Villainy: Every time a Belmont encounters Dracula, he's usually slumped over his thrones as if he's gone bored.
• Sympathy for the Devil: In Symphony of the Night, we learn Dracula's motivations for evil stem from his wife Lisa being burned at the stake for practicing medicine. Lament of Innocence reveals his first wife Elisabetha also died, which also motivated him to evil.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: As Mathias. As Dracula, his appearance varies from game to game, going from a young man (as seen in Rondo of Blood), middle-aged with dark hair, to old and grey. While not the Bishōnen Mathias is, Dracula is more often than not quite dashing. As of Symphony of the Night, Dracula's standard appearance is usually that of an older, moustachioed Alucard.
• Teleport Spam: A staple of all of his fights, with his depictions from Super Castlevania IV onwards having him disappear in a beam of light.
• This Cannot Be!: Many times when he's defeated.
• Throne Room Throwdown: He's traditionally fought in the throne room at the top of his castle. A few exceptions exist, such as in Symphony of the Night, Circle of the Moon, and Harmony of Dissonance, where you fight him in the center of the castle instead.
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet: But enough talk, HAVE AT YOU!
• Tragic Villain: Dracula can be interpreted this way. The whole reason he became a villain in the first place was because he lost his wife, and then he loses his second wife, bringing him to a Despair Event Horizon.
• The Trickster: As Mathias, he fooled Leon so he could get the Crimson Stone and become Dracula. Definitely a great example of a trickster.
• True Final Boss: In several games, beginning with Symphony of the Night.
• Underestimating Badassery: Despite his pretty much unbroken defeat streak to the forces of good, Dracula always seem to be confident in his supremacy, smugly waiting at his throne while sipping on some human juice as the hero-of-the-day (whom he never views as a Worthy Opponent) storms his castle and kills his henchmen one by one. There are some exceptions such as Rondo of Blood where he goes out of his way to attack Richter's village and sic Death on him on his way to the castle, but once that fails he still waits at his throne for Richter to inevitably come over and whip him back to the other world as many, many Belmonts before him did.
• Unholy Holy Sword: His strongest spell, the one hit kill Demonic Megiddo, is explicity stated to use holy flames. It still kills whoever he uses it on, be it Richter, Alucard, or Shanoa.
• Unknown Rival: He became an earthbound demiurge to defy, spite, and hopefully defeat the deity he purports to be the antithesis of, but in a fitting twist of irony, God pays him little (if any) mind and Dracula is instead defeated and slain again and again by the descendants of the friends he betrayed to become a vampire.
• Vampires Are Sex Gods: Even as Dracula, he had a beautiful, loving wife (although it's very possible that she saw the good in him). He also has a Mad Love Psycho Supporter in the form of Carmilla, a fellow evil vampiress.
• Vampire Vords: Only in Portrait of Ruin, possibly as a way to pay homage to Bela Lugosi's original film portrayal of Dracula.
• Villainous BSoD: Implied to have suffered a massive one by his final defeat in Symphony of the Night, when he learns Lisa's true last words.
• Villain Teleportation: And follows it right up with a triple fireball or a Dark Inferno.
• We Can Rule Together: Tempts Leon with the gift of immortality and the chance of serving as his right-hand man. Leon resists, Mathias sics Death on him. Also tries with his son Alucard, in the dialogue preceding the final boss battle Dracula states he will vanquish the human part within Alucard so his son can rule a world of darkness with his father, Dracula fails of course.
• White Hair, Black Heart: In every game that portrays him with having white hair, he is this.
• Wicked Cultured: Dracula may be a bloodsucking monster, but he's always well-dressed, has exquisite taste in wine, and can quote the Bible verbatim off the top of his head.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: His main motivation for trying to ruin the world and go against God is because of his wife dying. Twice.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: He steals men's souls, and makes them his slaves!

Death

Voiced by (Japanese): Chikao Ohtsuka (Rondo of Blood), Masaharu Sato (Symphony of the Night, Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness and Harmony of Despair), Takuo Kawamura (Harmony of Dissonance), Tetsu Inada (Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow), Yukitoshi Hori (Curse of Darkness as Zead), Yasuhiko Tokuyama (Portrait of Ruin), Masaru Suzuki (Order of Ecclesia), Kōichi Sakaguchi (Castlevania: Judgment),

Voiced by (English): Dennis Falt (Symphony of the Night), Tom Wyner (Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, Portrait of Ruin, Harmony of Despair), Ken Lally (Curse of Darkness as Zead), Patrick Seitz (The Dracula X Chronicles, Order of Ecclesia), Douglas Rye (Castlevania: Judgment, The Adventure ReBirth),

"Then for the Master, I'll feast on your soul this night!"

The Grim Reaper, stealer of souls, possibly the ruler of Hell and apparently Dracula's right-hand man. If nothing else, his closest confidant. It's hard to say how this came about, although many suspect the Crimson Stone ever since that has been added to the continuity. A recent game has suggested that a higher power may be responsible.

As he is a god of death, one would expect the protagonists of the series to be incapable of killing him. Somehow, they manage it. Fortunately, he is never gone for long, ensuring a long career of Sinister Scythe battles that have made him beloved and feared by the fanbase.

Outside of battle, his role is inconsistent. At times, he is only there to fight. At other times, he drives the plot, bringing the revival of his lord to fruition by any means necessary. He has been known to interact with the protagonists more often than his lord, as he tries to dissuade Alucard from interfering, compares notes with Juste, manipulates Hector under a false identity, and shares a common enemy with the vampire hunters when Brauner arrives. He is always loyal to Dracula (although this does not include Soma, his master reincarnated), and is Lawful Evil. Dialogue from Judgment and Curse of Darkness hints that he has strong hate toward time travellers.

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• Affably Evil: Despite being Enemies with Death, the Belmonts tend to get little or no enmity from the Grim Reaper. Death tends to be somewhat polite towards his enemies, and is even on a First-Name Basis with Alucard (as seen in Symphony of the Night). In the Japanese dialogue for said game, he even addresses him with keigo.
• Always a Bigger Fish: Walter's years of hunting humans came to an end with Death painfully tearing his soul away.
• Ascended Extra: Started off as a standard recurring boss in the series, and one that didn't even appear in every game (note the first two Game Boy games and Haunted Castle). Rondo of Blood gave him a few lines during his fights, but it was Symphony of the Night that gave him significant dialogue and solidified his role as Dracula's trusted confidant.
• Attack Reflector: Try to use a subweapon on his second form in Rondo of Blood or in the fight against him in Lament of Innocence, and he'll summon a hexagram to take the hit and send nigh-undodgeable projectiles your way.
• Badass Long Robe: It's Death.
• Bald of Evil: As "Zead" in Curse of Darkness. In other games, it's justified in that he's a skeleton.
• Battle Butler: Very samurai-like in personality.
• Big Bad Ensemble: In the games where he becomes Dragon Ascendant, he usually shares the title of Big Bad with another villain. In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin with Brauner and in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance with Maxim are a couple of examples.
• The Chessmaster: When taking centre stage to revive his liege, Death comes up with frighteningly good tactics. He's usually content with going with the flow and altering its course towards the way he wants, but he has on occasions set up complex, multi-layered deceptions riddled with Xanatos Gambit, Unwitting Pawn and Playing Both Sides, among others.
• Don't Make Me Destroy You: He is notably hesitant to fight Alucard in Symphony of the Night, even going so far as to spare him entirely during their first encounter so that Alucard might reconsider his choices. Likewise, he would rather not have Soma Cruz dead, as without Soma there is no hope of Dracula's return.
• The Dragon: The most loyal of Drac's servants.
  • Despite initially battling Soma due to him rejecting his destiny as the next Dark Lord, in the IGA-approved Light Novel "Akumajō Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku", Death asks Soma to be the next Dark Lord and peacefully leaves him alone when he says no.
• Dragon Ascendant: In the games where Dracula has yet to revive, Death usually steps onto center stage in order to carry out his master's wishes.
• Enemy Mine: Subverted in Portrait of Ruin: he almost makes an offer to team up with Jonathan and Charlotte to defeat Brauner, but Jonathan rejects him since he's still working for Dracula, after all. They still wind up helping him, regardless.
• Evil Genius: Just as smart as ol' Drac', as demonstrated masterfully in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness and Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Often cast with a cold, menacing baritone to further emphasize the horror of his presence.
• Expressive Skull: Dawn of Sorrow gives his eyes more movement, allowing him to make angry glares. Portrait of Ruin likewise gives his skull a permanent scowl.
• Final Boss: In Lament of Innocence.
• Four Is Death: In most of his Metroidvania incarnations, he has 4,444 HP.
• Game-Over Man: He does appear on the Game Over screen for a few games, but most notably taunts the player in the PSP version of SotN.
• Genius Bruiser: Death is mostly remembered as a formidable That One Boss, but he proves just as fearsome as The Chessmaster.
• The Grim Reaper: Or Shinigami, his name in Japan. A common reaction among series newcomers is to be puzzled by why the angel of Death is working under a vampire, or why he can apparently be killed. Much like Dracula is not a typical vampire so much as he is a stand-in for the devil, so is Death not a typical Grim Reaper in the sense that he doesn't seem to be a deity with absolute dominion over the afterlife, but rather an especially powerful demon that sometimes eats souls. He does appear to be immortal— moreso than Dracula or the rest of his castle, given that he predates him and has been known to materialize even before the castle reemerges (as seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest)— but a good whipping can still keep him down for the duration of a game.
• The Heavy: Whenever Dracula is dead or preoccupied, Death takes on the duty of driving the plot forward in his place.
• Hero Killer: In the "Vampire Killer" trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he came close to killing Luigi by slicing his soul out of his body. Luckily, Simon wasn't having any of it.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: He tends to be a fair bit more active in the plot than Dracula, and he's known for usually being a more difficult boss fight.
• Instant Costume Change: In both of the Dracula X games, he switches costumes at least once in the story.
• Kaizo Trap: As if he himself isn't hard enough to fight, in some games, some of his attacks remain active after you deal the killing blow, such as in Chronicles of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia (and in case of Aria, he throws his scythe not as a Death Throws, but rather Last Ditch Move), meaning you can die after beating him.
• Karmic Death: Puns aside, in a few games after the protagonist wins Death is destroyed in some ironic fashion. For example, in Rondo of Blood he's decapitated by his own scythe after Richter defeats him on top of the haunted ship they're fighting in.
• Lawful Evil: invokedIn-universe. The Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin manual explicitly states him as such. Oddly, this is the only canonical example of Character Alignment in the whole series.
• Light Is Not Good: Rondo of Blood depicts his sickles as spawning from one-pixel particles of light sent out from his body, with many games after it using variations of this effect. Leon from Lament of Innocence also acknowledges that he is a divine being, even while lumping him with the forces of darkness that he is sworn to destroy.
• Manipulative Bastard: He knows how to press people's buttons to push them in the direction he wants.
• Master Actor: The few times he assumes another identity, he fools everyone until the second he decides to drop the pretense.
• Mister Exposition: In an odd move in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, when he figures out what's going on with the castle(s) and Maxim, he explains it to Juste. This happens well before his boss battle.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Considering Lament's reveal that Death aided Dracula centuries before he ever tried to kill humanity, and his opposition to Brauner in Portrait even as he sought to accomplish what Dracula had failed to do so often, it's likely that Death is not so much devoted to Dracula's goals as he is devoted to Dracula himself. As long as it is in Dracula's best interest, he will abide vampire hunters or even aid time travelers.
• Not Me This Time: Inverted in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. Death was completely unaware of a vampire other than Dracula having control of Castlevania during the events of the game until the protagonists (who deduced that Dracula was not responsible for Castlevania's return) accused him of working for Brauner (the vampire in question).
• Old Retainer: Alucard describes him as an "old man" in the redub of Symphony of the Night, and he has been in service to Dracula for at least five centuries by the time of Symphony.
• One-Winged Angel: Sometimes transforms into a skeletal dragon thing with scythes for arms. Often is much easier to defeat in this form. He does have other One-Winged Angel forms, and a list of them can be found here.
• Pet the Dog: He spares Alucard during their first encounter in Symphony of the Night, merely taking his weapons and giving him a chance to leave peacefully.
• The Plan: Loves to use these to help Dracula revive.
• Playing Both Sides: He always commands over the forces of Evil, but he can use the heroes' factions without them knowing.
• Power Floats: He's almost always seen floating in midair without visible means (excepting his wings in 64) and is often portrayed without legs. The only exceptions to this are Legends, Judgment (which limits him to temporary flight that uses meter), and an arguable example in his second form in Rondo.
• Praetorian Guard: Slogra and Gaibon report directly to him, and he himself often acts as a Praetorian Guard to Dracula on occasions where he is the last line of defense in Castlevania.
• Put on a Bus: The only games in which he does not appear are Haunted Castle, Castlevania: The Adventure, and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge.
• Sdrawkcab Alias: In Curse of Darkness, he uses the alias "Zead".
• Sinister Scythe: He's Death, what did you expect? He ups the ante with a wicked dual-bladed scythe in Aria of Sorrow, and in Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, he gets laser scythes. That's before getting into the million sickles he can summon out of thin air...
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: He prefers a collected, cold tone of voice and rarely ever raises it.
• Soul Power: In games where he has a wider moveset, he will often summon apparitions of skulls or other varieties of spirits as projectiles.
• Spam Attack: As mentioned above, one of his most common attacks consists of conjuring countless sickles from thin air.
• Voluntaryshape Shifting: He can assume a human aspect, and fabricates evidences of a normal origin to boot.

Carmilla

Voiced by (Japanese): Sayaka Ohara (Castlevania: Judgment)

Voiced by (English): Karen Strassman (Castlevania: Judgment)

"But isn't this world hellish already? People are intrigued by darkness, and covet power and chaos."

A devoted servant and worshiper of the Dark Lord, she has been actively involved in his resurrection on several occasions.

In Circle of the Moon, she acts as the main antagonist. Carmilla manages to revive Dracula, but not to full power, so she planned to sacrifice the vampire hunter Morris Baldwin during a lunar eclipse of the full moon. She also enthralls Hugh Baldwin to her will to help prevent Nathan Graves' interference. While ultimately defeated, Carmilla still manages to complete the ritual to restore her master.

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• Barbie Doll Anatomy: Her skull-riding appearances, although blatantly naked, have no actual parts.
• Chain Pain: She uses a chain in Judgment.
• Cute Monster Girl: She's usually a Giant Woman wearing little or nothing at all, except for Circle of the Moon, in which she's more of a cute and well-dressed (but still well-endowed) vampire girl. Either way, she tends to be more human-looking and attractive than most of the other evils lurking in the castle, including the Orlok-esque male vampire Brauner and the more overtly monstrous Ms. Fanservice Succubus.
• Depraved Bisexual: Laura, the Cat Girl seen in Rondo and PoR, is her servant and apparently her lover. Now factor this into her vampish nature towards pretty much anyone else, and...
• The Dragon: Only in Circle of the Moon.
• Full-Frontal Assault: Her true form usually is that of a naked woman riding ontop of a giant skull.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: She believes that darkness is the true nature of humans, and hopes that Dracula will bring it out. Unlike Dracula, she shows no enmity towards mankind.
• Iconic Item: Her mask, which first served as her appearance in Simon's Quest, has made frequent reappearances. It appears in Rondo of Blood before falling apart to reveal a skull for her boss battle, and she uses a mask-adorned iron maiden as her hyper move in Judgment. It also shows up in the Cave of Skeletons in Harmony of Dissonance alongside many other Mythology Gags, and serves as her appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Camilla in Simon's Quest and Circle of the Moon.^note In the former, she's only generically referred to as a "female vampire" in the Japanese manual and "Vampira" in the English manual, but her name is revealed via a clue book found in Debious Woods. In the latter, it is a genuine translation error, as her Japanese spelling was corrected to "Carmilla" by that point.
• Moveset Clone: Her appearance in the SNES port of Rondo of Blood gives her Shaft's moveset rather than her original strategy.
• Ms. Fanservice: Especially in Judgment, where she dresses like a dominatrix. Though her other appearances where she is completely nude and lies seductively over a giant skull also counts.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Carmilla was the true culprit behind the witch hunts in a effort to get rid of a potential threat to Dracula by either getting a civilian mob to murder them or turn them against humanity. What she didn't expect was the Church to shelter a witch by the name of Sypha Belnades, who would not only go on to join the Church, establishing in the future a order of witches in service of God but also would go on to marry Trevor Belmont infusing the bloodline with powerful magic.
• Pimped-Out Dress: In Circle of the Moon, in a stark contrast to every other appearance.
• Poisonous Person: In Judgment, she can shoot a poisonous gas that inflicts continuous damage.
• Psycho Supporter: To Dracula, with heavy implications of Mad Love.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming: Her namesake is... well...
• Tears of Blood: A common battle strategy from either her skull or her mask. It's no wonder "Bloody Tears" was used as her theme in Judgment.
• The Vamp: Very much so in both Circle of the Moon and Judgment, where she wishes for humanity to give into their true nature which she perceives as darkness and is implied to have had a part in corrupting Hugh. In Judgment, she outright revels in pain and suffering, commenting in her win quotes that her foes will "Come to enjoy this" and tries corrupting people to their true natures or being a true child of the night. Especially Alucard and Cornell.

Medusa

Voiced by (Japanese): Haruko Kitahama (Lament of Innocence)

Voiced by (English): Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Lament of Innocence), Stephanie Sheh (Portrait of Ruin)

"With that body, you'll make an excellent statue."

One of the three Gorgon sisters, she is one of the few bosses in the series to appear in nearly every game, in some form or another, mainly by the annoying Medusa Heads or in the flesh.

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• Final Boss: For Henry's mission in Legacy of Darkness.
• Flying Face: Appears as one in both the original game and Lament of Innocence.
• The Ghost: Stheno and Euryale are mentioned in her description, but never appear in the main timeline.
• Gorgeous Gorgon: This varies Depending on the Artist. Sometimes Medusa is shown as looking hideous, sometimes she is shown as attractive, including the aforementioned appearance in Lament of Innocence. Perhaps her most attractive appearance is in her cameo in Sexy Parodius.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: She turns to stone upon defeat.
• Karmic Death: In a few games, after being beaten, she's Taken for Granite herself.
• King Mook: Technically one for the Medusa Heads, but she has also been referred to as "Queen Medusa".
• Mistaken for Granite: In both her debut appearance and her Super Smash Bros. Ultimate cameo, she starts off looking like a mundane stone bust of a woman before revealing her snake-haired monster form. In the "Vampire Killer" trailer for the latter game, she uses this to sneak up on and frighten Luigi.
• Mook Maker: She sheds snakes that quickly slither along the ground to attack you. Portrait of Ruin has her shedding Medusa Heads instead.
• Scaled Up: Portrait of Ruin lets her turn into a giant snake for an attack.
• She's a Man in Japan: Rather than show her bare breasts, the Western release of Dracula's Curse turned her into a man for the haunted ship's midboss fight, naming her the Snake Man Sentinel.
• Snake People: When not depicted as a giant floating head, she's usually depicted as a lamia-like creature, taking a page from Clash of the Titans (1981).
• Snakes Are Sinister: It's Medusa. Comes with the territory.
• Taken for Granite: Her most well known ability is her petrifying gaze, though she doesn't posses it in every version.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting:
  • In Portrait of Ruin, she can briefly turn into a giant snake.
  • Something similar occurs in Bloodlines where Elizabeth turns into Medusa for the first phase in her boss battle.
• You No Take Candle: In Portrait of Ruin, her manner of speech sounds simplistic when she shouts "SHATTER HUMAN" after petrifying you. This is a sharp contrast to her appearance in Lament of Innocence, where she was quite eloquent.

The Creature

Voiced by (English): Jamieson Price (Harmony of Despair)

Frankenstein's Monster in all but name, flat head, neck bolts, and all. Has appeared in numerous Castlevania titles. He is identified as Frankenstien in earlier games, though later ones settle on naming him 'The Creature.'

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• Anachronism Stew: Appears in games that take place before the original Frankenstein story took place.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Usually fights like such, as seen in both Rondo of Blood and Rebirth
• Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Has a mallet in Symphony of the Night, along with a Rolling Attack
• Chainsaw Good: Has one for his right hand in Legacy of Darkness.
• Collapsing Ceiling Boss: A frequent attack is to stomp the ground or punch the wall, causing debris to fall from the ceiling.
• Degraded Boss: On-again, off-again. This began with Circle of the Moon with enemies called "Frankens" appearing in the Eternal Corridor.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Mainly uses attacks that involve throwing rocks or bricks.
• Dual Boss: A Flea Man, identified in the English manual as Igor, accompanies him in the original game. This was the main threat of the fight — the Creature just stands back and lets him fight Simon.
  • Two of him appear in a room in the Nest of Evil in Portrait of Ruin.
• Dub Name Change: His name was initially Frankenstein; however, since this was actually the name of the scientist in the original story, it was later changed to "Franken" in Japanese and "The Creature" in English.
• Flesh Golem: Was made out of pieces of corpses, sewn together and reanimated through an undisclosed method.
• Frankenstein's Monster: Inspired by the original film by Universal.
• Gatling Good: Has two built into his arms in Portrait of Ruin.
• Hypothetical Casting: The first game suggests that the Creature would be played by Boris Karloff, who inspired the principal appearance of the Monster in the aforementioned film by Universal.
• King Mook: Goliath in Order of Ecclesia is a larger version of the Creature with many more powerful attacks.
  • Underground Monkey: On the flipside, he has two variations in that same game. First is Enkidu who is a variation that uses a pillar with a White Dragon connected to it and will change his movements if the Dragon is killed first. The second is the Rebuild who is a stronger and faster than the original Creature.
• Lightning Bruiser: Can become this in some games. In Symphony of the Night, his rolling attack is fast and hits hard. Order of Ecclisia also features this in the form of the Rebuild, who is stated to be made from the corpses of many renowned warriors.
• Lightning Can Do Anything: Makes use of it in some fights.
• Mighty Glacier: In games where he's not a Lightning Bruiser, he moves at a plodding pace but hits like a truck, often backed with a high health pool.
• Mini-Boss: Only in Bloodlines, Chronicles, and ''The Adventure ReBirth.
• More Dakka: He can fire missiles out of his arms in PoR.

Slogra and Gaibon

A pair of recurring demons first introduced in Super Castlevania IV as part of the last level's Boss Bonanza. Slogra is the thin long-necked beaky demon with the spear, while Gaibon is the winged fire-breathing gargoyle. They have since appeared in lesser roles in many of the Metroidvanias, almost always in areas where their master Death is located.

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• Beak Attack: Slogra's primary attack after being disarmed is to charge beak-first at the opponent.
• Breath Weapon: Gaibon's main attack is breathing fire.
• Carrying the Weakness: Slogra is weak to slash attacks in the Metroidvanias, and the Couse spear that they drop in Portrait of Ruin qualifies as that kind of weapon.
• Combination Attack: In Symphony of the Night, Gaibon will frequently pick up and drop Slogra on their opponent with a downward spear thrust. In Dawn of Sorrow, Soma can use their souls together to create a double spear effect.
• Degraded Boss: They go from two of the final four bosses in Super Castlevania IV to an early Dual Boss in Symphony of the Night, and then appear as regular enemies in the inverted castle. In later games, they appear almost entirely as high-level mooks.
• Dual Boss: They work together as a team as the first boss Alucard battles in Symphony of the Night.
• Familiar: In Dawn of Sorrow, Gaibon's soul assists Soma by flying behind him and occasionally attacking. He even uses Gaibon in this manner when serving as the final boss of Julius Mode.
• In a Single Bound: Slogra will perform gravity-defying leaps when struck in Super Castlevania IV. This trait is not retained in later games.
• Our Gargoyles Rock: Gaibon is not of the stone persuasion but nevertheless has the appearance and fighting style of a winged gargoyle.
• Praetorian Guard: They fight immediately before Death in Super Castlevania IV. In Symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow, and Portrait of Ruin, seeing them in any location is a sign that Death is going to be the next boss you face, and they are referred to as Death's knights in the bestiaries.
• Progressively Prettier: Gaibon has an exposed ribcage at the waist in Super Castlevania IV. Later appearances render their waistline far less graphically.
• Turns Red: Slogra loses the spear and changes to a faster fighting style halfway through a solo battle. Gaibon does this even more literally, changing from blue to red and becoming more aggressive at low health.

Legion

A recurring boss ever since its introduction, with its design almost always being the same — a tentacled, orb-shaped being surrounded by a shell made out of corpses. Generally, its boss fight consists of the trying to break off the shell to reveal its core, then killing the core.

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• Body of Bodies: It usually appears as a ball of corpses.
• Degraded Boss: Appears as a common enemy in Circle of The Moon, though having a remarkably different form.
• Dub Name Change: Called Granfalloon in Symphony of the Night
• Eldritch Abomination: Even without the shell, it would still qualify.
• Energy Weapon: Its core's primary attack in all of its appearances, except for in Curse of Darkness.
• Fetus Terrible: In Aria of Sorrow, its core resembles a fetus in a circular cage.
  • The shell in the same title also has the resemblance of a curled up fetus.
• Flunky Boss: Often summons zombies by having them detach from the shell. In Harmony of Dissonance, it instead summons either maggots or miniature versions of itself.
• I Am Legion: Literally. Its Monster Compendium entry in many games often alludes to the Biblical Legion.
• Sequential Boss: In Curse of Darkness, defeating its shell will cause Nuculais to burst from the core.
• Status Effects: Can inflict curse in Harmony of Dissonance and Circle of the Moon.
• Superboss: It, especially as Nuculais, is among the most difficult bosses in Curse of Darkness, found under Garibaldi Temple.
• Underground Monkey: Strangely there are two versions of it in Harmony of Dissonance, differenciated by a title in parentheses. The normal version is called "Legion (Saint)" while the second version is called "Legion (Corpse)". Nothing about the "Saint" version is saintly, appearing exactly like the one in Symphony, while the "Corpse" version is more of a misnomer since it's made of bones.

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Other Medias

Sub-pages

Animated Series

• Castlevania (2017, Netflix Animated series)
  • Protagonists
  • Antagonists
    • Dracula's Army
• Castlevania: Nocturne

Crossovers

• Captain N: The Game Master^note Simon Belmont, The Count, Alucard, Old Wizard
• Super Smash Bros.
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 64 to 69^note Simon
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Echo Fighters^note Richter
  • Super Smash Bros. - Assist Trophies^note Alucard
  • Super Smash Bros. - Bosses^note Dracula
  • Super Smash Bros. - Stages^note Dracula's Castle Monsters

Miscellaneous

Pachislot games

Angela

A character from Pachislot Akumajō Dracula (2009). Sent by the church to assist Trevor Belmont after Dracula's resurrection, Angela joins Trevor to support him using her magic.

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• Canon Foreigner: She only appeared in the first two installments of the Pachislot Akumajō Dracula subseries, which acted as sequels to both Dracula's Curse and Curse of Darkness.

Victoria Florescu

A character from CR Pachinko Akumajō Dracula (2015). The eldest daughter of the noble House Florescu, Victoria is a swordmaiden who, in the search of her missing younger sister, joins Ritcher in his quest to defeat Dracula.

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• Canon Foreigner: She only appeared in CR Pachinko Akumajō Dracula, a pachinko machine inspired by the events of Rondo of Blood.
• Shout-Out: Victoria's surname may be inspired by Romanian scholar Radu Florescu, who identified Vlad the Impaler as the real-world inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Felicia

A character in Pachislot Akumajō Dracula: Lords of Shadow (2017). The mysterious woman from the Brotherhood of Light who accompanies Gabriel Belmont throughout his quest.

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• Action Girl: Makes short work of the Dark Lords' minions.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Her Brotherhood outfit sports uneven pauldrons. Her left is adorned with the same avian skull insignia that Gabriel has on his shoulders.
• Guys Smash, Girls Shoot: This is the dynamic between her and Gabriel; she wields a gilded longbow while he dispatches his foes with the help of his Combat Cross.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: In the second trailer, she succeeds in shooting the transformed Carmilla out of the sky.