Castlevania

For other uses, see the entire video game series.

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

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

Overview

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

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

Recurring major characters

Dracula

Dracula has generally been the main antagonist throughout the Castlevania series, though the portrayal of the character has varied over time. He was originally depicted as little more than a villain, but the character became much more dramatic as more titles were released. Dramatic or not, Dracula always played an important role in the series; his legacy stays even in the games where he doesn't make any canonical physical appearances, such as in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. In games where Dracula does actually make a "physical" appearance, he often sports royal clothing with a cape. During the early games, his clothing is mostly red or purple, but in more recent releases, he has been dressed mostly in black with black/red cape.

The Belmont Family

The Belmont bloodline is sworn to oppose Dracula in all his various forms. In most Castlevania games, the main character is a Belmont. If not, the Belmonts are usually present in the form of supporting characters. The main weapon of choice for the Belmont Family is the ancestral whip, named "Vampire Killer". Its been said that only members of the Belmont Family can use the whip, anyone else will eventually die after using it. Following continuity of the book, twice the hero has been from the Morris family. In Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Sega Genesis, the player could choose between two characters, one of which was John Morris (the son of Quincey Morris from the novel Dracula, which the Bloodlines manual tells us). In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, the player could take control of Jonathan Morris, the elder John Morris' son.

Enemies

Throughout the series, Dracula's castle and other locations have been filled with monsters and servants that seek to thwart the heroes' quests. These have ranges from creatures of legend and mythology such as Harpies and the Catoblepas, and classical and literary monsters such as the Werewolf and Frankenstein's Monster, to giant animals, demonic maids, and possessed furniture. Among these, some enemy types have been found in nearly all incarnations of the series, and are considered staples.

The Undead

In keeping with its gothic/horror theme, Castlevania includes many undead enemies, such as zombies, skeletons, and ghosts. Two of the most common found are zombies that rise from the floor and move towards the hero, and skeletons that throw bones in a high arc. Skeletons equipped with armor and various weapons such as spears, swords, and boomerangs are also common. These seem to be made from the corpses of previous victims, as Aria of Sorrow contained many zombie soldiers who presumably died during the battle in 1999.

Death

The Grim Reaper, later better known simply as Death, is present in nearly all Castlevania games. Death is often an end-game boss, that is, he appears late in the game, shortly before the final boss (though he is once honored to be the final boss, in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence). Also, in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest , Death is said to be the final boss whereas it is actually Dracula who only ressembles Death. In some of the later games, he is also known as Dracula's second in command, and occasionally plays an important role, such as where he teams up with Dracula's first form in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. For the most recent games, Death's statistics have been revolved around the number 4. In Aria and Dawn of Sorrow and as well as Portrait of Ruin, his HP is 4444. This is because one of the readings for the number 4 in Japanese is 'shi', which has the same pronunciation as the word for 'death'.

Appearance-wise, Death always looks like a floating skeleton, often without a lower body. His fashion evolves slightly; in early games, he just wears a ragged cloak, and looks precisely like how the cultural Grim Reaper looks like. Later, he starts wearing fancy top hats (possibly an allusion to Baron Samedi,) multi-layered coats, and sometimes has been shown wearing some degree of armor.

Like his master Dracula, Death always uses the same basic attacks in every game. In one attack he possesses, he tries to hit the heroes with a scythe. Another is that he almost always summons small sickles out of thin air that home in onto the heroes, and this particular attack is usually the main stress factor of the fight, especially in early games where the heroes can't move as freely as later characters. Like Dracula, he has been fighting the heroes in two forms lately: Often the first form with him donning his normal clothings and the second form where he becomes various skeletal creatures.

Bats

A fictional work revolving around Dracula is not complete without bats. This enemy has been present in almost every Castlevania game (The exception being Castlevania: Curse of Darkness), usually as a weak enemy that flies around in a pattern that makes them hard to hit, and in the process, making it hard for the heroes to get through, especially when the heroes are traversing perilous terrains such as collapsing bridges. These bats have become less and less intimidating as the series progress since now they rarely appear in crucial times (see Medusa Head and Fleamen below for comparison). In the original Castlevania, both red and blue versions existed, the latter of which would wait hanging upside down for the player to get closer before striking.

In contrast, some other bats have become bosses in the series. The first of such bat boss is a Giant Bat (also called Phantom Bat) which is actually the first boss to be introduced to non-arcade Castlevania games. These recurring boss have been seen in different forms, and even inspire some other bosses in later games to mimic their battle style.

Medusa / Medusa Heads

When Medusa first appeared in the first Castlevania title, and even earlier (or later) in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, she was but a head. However, this so called Medusa Head later becomes one of the most well-known and much hated enemy in the whole Castlevania series, not only for being present in practically every Castlevania game, but also one of the most frustrating enemies in the whole series for often appearing in the worst places at the worst times, usually in the Clock Tower area of the castle, where there are moving gear platforms near a wall or bed of spikes for the player to be knocked into, leading to a large amount of health being lost. To add more frustration, Medusa Heads in later games also have the power to petrify, even though Medusa bosses already have this petrification ability from quite early. These enemies were so hated that GameSpot claimed that they were one of the things in games that gamers love to hate.

Armored Knights / Living Armors

Castlevania houses a large variety of armored knights and living armors, though whether these armors are actually worn is not certain. In early days, there are lance-wielding knights and axe-wielding knights, which is particularly interesting because they can throw their axes like a boomerang. Later, more and more armored knights are added, ranging from a normal sword wielding knight, bomb-throwers, disc users (who throw bladed discs attached to a cord like a yo-yo) and more, even their sizes start to vary greatly, with some knights being human-sized while others are as tall as the room they're in (which are usually large).

Fleamen

These smaller enemies are similar to Medusa Heads, in that their mobility is their main threat. Early in the series, these enemies were slow, but because they jumped around erratically they were a menace. This problem is lessened in the latter games, mostly because they are too weak to inflict considerable damage. Also, they are not considered as deadly as Medusa Heads because unlike the heads, the Fleamen are rarely present in critical areas of the castle, whereas Medusa Heads often appear in areas with many instant/quick-kill threats.

Fish Men / Mermen

The fish-humanoids are present from the very first Castlevania, and are always seen in watery places. They usually attack by spitting, either water or (curiously) fire. Usually mermen appear early on in the game and are regarded as the easier enemies. Usually they appear in large numbers at once.

Legion

In most cases of the series, Legion serves as a main boss. It most likely takes its name from the biblical story of the demon Legion where a young man is possessed by numerous demons. Legion was called Granfaloon in the European and U.S. versions of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a reference to Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, where in the book a granfalloon is a group of people who falsely believe they have a meaningful connection to one another. Legion is a living, flying orb that attacks with zapping tentacles; its most noticeable and distinguishing feature is its 'outer' body, a collective formation of countless human bodies, often in the shape of a large sphere. To get to the central weak body, the player will have to attack its "corpse armor" until its true form is revealed.

One instance where Legion is different from this description is in Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon, where Legion is a lesser monster composed of three heads melted together, and with tentacles coming out of the three mouths. Touching Legion in Circle Of The Moon results in being cursed.

In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Legion appears as a mass of floating bodies collectively forming a giant unborn infant. Every other successful hit the player makes on Legion will cause a body to fall off and walk back and forth, often clogging the narrow platforms that the player has to stand on in order to hit Legion.

In Dawn of Sorrow the room where the final battle is held is made out of Legion-like corpses.

In Curse of Darkness, after defeating Legion, the core will transform into a humanoid figure called Nuculais, hunched over with long arms. It can stretch, shoot beams, and teleport through the room made from corpses and bones.

Recurring castle areas

More often than not, Castlevania games take place in Dracula's castle (very often called Castlevania itself). While the castle areas change from time to time, some places seem to stay the same.

Castle Entrance

This section of the castle, as the name suggests, is normally featured early in a Castlevania game. Originally serving as the first level of Castlevania and Vampire Killer, this portion of Dracula's castle is notable for the following characteristics:

• It normally begins outside in a brief forest section, where the character must enter the actual castle via drawbridge or just a regular entrance.
• Inside, the player must reach the main hallway. Often this location has gray walls that are partially crumbled, exposing brick work along with pillars, curtains and tall window sets. The common enemies here are zombies, bats, and sometimes panthers.
• Midway through the level, there is usually a flooded basement section featuring mermen.
• After exiting the basement section, there is usually one final hallway similar to the first main hallway.
• The song entitled "Vampire Killer" is often heard for the background music in homage to that tune being heard in this level of the original games.

Chapel

The supposed place of worship is another of Castlevania's favorite places. One particular characteristic of a Castlevania chapel is that it is always the only place in the castle which is decorated with stained glass windows. Sometimes, stained-glass humanoid forms will appear from these windows to attack the player.

Clock Tower

In early games, this portion of the castle is often featured towards the end of the game, serving as either the final stage which leads directly to Dracula's Keep, or the game's second to last stage, an honor which is often lost in latter games even though this place is always located close to the keep. The tower contains spinning gears and pendulums which serve as platforms and enemies that usually consist of Medusa heads and harpies. The Clock Tower is also the one place in the castle with a lot of instant-kill threats, mostly spikes. Death, one of the most frequently recurring boss fights in the series, is often encountered here.

Castle Keep

The keep is Dracula's personal room, so to speak, and because of that, this place has usually been featured in most Castlevania games. This place is distinct in several ways:

• It is always the highest spot of the castle (though usually matched by the Clock Tower).
• The keep is always connected to the rest of the castle by merely a single long flight of stairs with either a waxing crescent or full moon shown in the background, along with (sometimes) the clock tower.
• In most later games, this keep also serves as a throne room.

Underground Caverns

Literally the wettest place in Castlevania. Inhabitants of this place are usually the mermen, killer fish and other aquatic beasts, though some other enemies also make their home here, such as fractile golems. In some later games, waterfalls are often seen here. In at least one instance, the water itself acts as poison, but is in fact merely carrying on the tradition of vampires being harmed by running water sources. This happens in Castlevania: Sypmphony of the Night.

Dungeon

The dungeon stages usually feature backgrounds filled with prison cells (sometimes occupied), chains and wall handcuffs, and skeletons and corpses laying just about everywhere. The stages usually feature such enemies as bone throwing skeletons, hunchbacks, axe wielding knights, and sometimes mudmen. The stage's final stretch usually features a long hallway with these aforementioned knights and then a boss fight.

Arena or Coloseum

The arena has appeared in several Castlevaina games as a place with a series of rooms with different enemies. The player must defeat all the enemies in a room to go to the next one, with an enemy free area in between to heal and regain mana. Rewards in the form of highly powerful weapons and armor would be at the end of the last room, or in the case of Aria of Sorrow, at the end of every room (there were only 3, however). The arena is not required in most of the games, but is rather just a place to get weapons and gain levels. In Circle of the Moon, the arena is extremely long, and the player cannot use DSS (CotM's form of magic).

Games

See also: List of Castlevania titles

Chronology

Prior to the release of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, every game in the series was accepted as canon, with the original versions of certain games (such as the original Castlevania and Dracula X) usually accepted as the canonical interpretation of certain events. This was assumed even though there was no official unified direction to the series's storyline (other than conflicts against Dracula). However, when Koji Igarashi took over as producer for the series, he revised the timeline and removed Castlevania Legends, the Nintendo 64 Castlevania, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon from it. According to an interview later conducted with 1UP.com, the only game he deliberately retconned was Castlevania Legends, whereas the other games were produced to be side-stories from the start.

With the release of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Konami of America has included a pre-order bonus "20th Anniversary" package that includes a Castlevania series timeline. This timeline includes the dates for the Nintendo 64 Castlevania, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, but does not include the date for Castlevania Legends.. It is speculated, that this was likely to show all of the games for the series that had been released in North America (as the three games mentioned above are merely given titles and dates, with no story information given). However this hypothesis doesn't explain the lack of Castlevania Legends and its date on the timeline, although the game appears in the accompanying box artwork book.

Availability

Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo, considered by many Castlevania fans to be the "Holy Grail" of the series due to having been released solely on the Japanese PC Engine CD console, still sells for well over one hundred dollars on various internet auction sites, as does the original Japanese version of the MSX installment, Vampire Killer. An enhanced remake of Rondo of Blood was released for the PlayStation Portable under the name of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles. Other rare editions include the original Sharp X68000 remake of the first title in the series, which was later re-released on the original PlayStation under the moniker Castlevania Chronicles.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow has been found to be in short supply, and therefore, has been put back into production as of Fall 2006. Furthermore, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, one of the most popular games in the series, has become a rare find. In particular, there is a version that was released on Sega Saturn (with areas and playable characters not in the Playstation original), which is considered yet another lost treasure in the series. This version never received Western releases. It is also available on the Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points, and the Playstation Store for $9.99. The NES version of the original Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Super Castlevania IV on the SNES have all been released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console service. Symphony of the Night was released on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service March 21, 2007 and on the PlayStation Network on July 19, 2007. Symphony of the Night is also unlockable in Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles, along with the original version of Rondo of Blood. GameTap has also included the 3 NES Castlevania games (as well as Contra & Super C; as part of a Konami Collection for PC) and Castlevania: Bloodlines are avaliable to play on the service.

Development

Evolution of the games

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

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

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

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

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

Regional variations and localization

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

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

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

Merchandise and other media

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

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

• In 2005 IDW Publishing released a comic book adaptation Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy written by Marc Andreyko with art by E. J. Su.

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

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

• The final chapter of the eighth volume in the manga Hellsing is titled "Castlevania".

• In the video game version of the movie Van Helsing, one of the rooms is a library. One of the sections of books mentions a book about the Belmont family and their quests against Dracula.

• A beatmania IIDX version of Bloody Tears has been featured in beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD and Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2.

Film

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

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

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

In June 2007, Anderson conceded directing duties to Sylvain White in order to take on the project Death Race, a remake of Death Race 2000. White, who played the Castlevania video game in the early 1990s, was attracted to the prospect of filming a vampire film. White explained, "Most of the vampire films have been present or set in the future, from Blade to Underworld, and I was attracted by the chance to make a dark, epic period movie that almost has an anime feel to it." The new director, who negotiated a salary of seven figures, will rewrite the script with Anderson's assistance. The premise will involve a Transylvanian knight and his men seeking refuge in a Gothic castle. They discover that the castle is controlled by the original vampire, Vlad the Impaler. The awakening of the vampire leads to a generational clash between Vlad and the Belmont clan, who seek to defeat him. Production of Castlevania is slated to begin in late fall 2007 in South Africa and Romania. Castlevania is planned for a late 2008 release. In October 2007, Anderson said that he hoped to have a script within two or three weeks before the onset of the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. Producer Jeremy Bolt said that production was intended to begin in spring 2008.

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

Reception

Castlevania has received the following scores according to Metacritic:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation) (1997) 93

Castlevania (Nintendo 64) (1999) 78

Castlevania Chronicles (PlayStation) (2001) 69

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Game Boy Advance) (2001) 92

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Game Boy Advance) (2002) 87

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Game Boy Advance) (2003) 91

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PlayStation 2) (2003) 79

Castlevania (Classic NES Series) (Game Boy Advance) (2004) 74

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PlayStation 2) (2005) 70

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (Xbox) (2005) 74

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS) (2005) 89

Castlevania Double Pack (Game Boy Advance) (2006) 86

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Nintendo DS) (2006) 85

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PlayStation Portable) (2007) 82

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Xbox 360) (2007) 89

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was ranked as the second greatest PSone game of all time by ign.com

External links

• Akumajō Dracula series at Konami Tokyo Template:Ja icon
• Castlevania series at Konami USA
• The Castlevania series at MobyGames
• Chapel of Resonance (fansite)
• Castlevania, an external wiki