r/castlevania Apr 29 '26

Discussion A guide to Castlevania supplementary materials and where to read them

Post image
421 Upvotes

Symphony of the Night:

Promotional manga.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190412154140)

This is a two pages long advertisement drawn by Ayami Kojima and published in a magazine, it's a sneak peek of Alucard's character.

Available on: Castlevania Wiki

Prologue manga

An eight pages long manga included in the Japanese artbook, it acts as a prologue for the main story and features Alucard suddenly awakening from his 300 years long slumber.

Available on: Mr. P's Castlevania Realm

Nocturne of Recollection

A radio drama (this time you have to listen to it!) originally featured on the Akumajō Dracula: Radio Chronicle program that was broadcast on Konami Station internet radio, it was later released on CD in 2010. It's a story set one year after the events of the game, you will learn more about Alucard's relationship with Maria, his past and other characters (Richter is also part of the cast).

Available on: Youtube

Curse of Darkness:

Prelude to Revenge

A prequel manga written and illustrated by Kojima, it was featured as a pre-order bonus for the Japanese release of the game. It mainly focuses on Hector and Isaac prior to the events of the game, it also expands on their relationships.

Available on: Vampire Killer (an archive of scans and translations)

MF manga vol. 1 & 2

Published in two volumes by Media Factory from 2005 to 2006 and translated to English by Tokyopop in 2008. It's the same premise but it's longer, more expansive and this time the illustrator is Kō Sasakura, not Ayami Kojima. The series was eventually canceled but the manga stops directly where the game begins.

Available on: Internet Archive

Aria & Dawn of Sorrow:

Reminiscence of the Divine Abyss/Ricordanza of the God's Abyss

A light novel written by Ryōgo Narita in 2008 and set one year after Dawn of Sorrow. It's a really interesting read, the story focuses on Julius' pupil and the descendant of Grant Danasty while the villain is a character you will surely remember... There's also the return of familiar faces, one in particular.

Available on: Inverted Dungeon

Castlevania The Adventure:

The Belmont Legacy

It's a 2005 IDW comic book series loosely based on the story of the first Game Boy game. It's not canon by any means but it follows Christopher Belmont in a more traditional vampire story, sadly many of the iconic Castlevania elements are missing but it's still worth a read since here a certain family is responsible for Dracula's resurrection.

Available on: Internet Archive

Lament of Innocence:

Weekly Konami online manga (lost media)

Review blog part 1 and part 2

A web manga that was available on cellphones via a monthly subscription, published from 2007 to 2008 only in Japan until the service ended in 2012. It was a 43 issues long series that adapted the story of Leon Belmont and greatly expanded the plot, what remains now is only a Japanese review blog. If you want to know more about it you can visit the Castl)evania Wiki page).

Available on: Internet Archive's Wayback Machine (review blog)

Extra:

Castlevania 2007 timeline (Japanese Konami site) & translation

Portrait of Ruin pre-order bonus timeline (the Japanese one takes priority since overseas bonus materials like this didn't go through the Castlevania staff screening)

Encyclopedia of Castlevania (a Japanese two-page spread published in 2001 containing a timeline, a storyline and background details)

Symphony of the Night translated Japanese script

Alternative scans and translation for the SotN prologue manga

Simon's Quest translated Japanese manual story

Simon's Quest version differences and translation mysteries dissected by Bisqwit

Akumajō Densetsu (Japanese Castlevania 3) translated intro, dialogues and endings

Lament of Innocence "Perfect Guide" character bios

Family trees

Koma strips (4-panel gag comic strips)

Silly comic about Castlevania 64

Castlevania Bloodlines EGM fax (this internal document was never intended to be released for the public)

Awakening in the Moonlight stage musical play by Takarazuka Revue (based on SotN)

Akumajō Dracula: Kojyō no Shitō/Demon Castle Dracula: Desperate Fight of the Old Castle non-canon 1987 gamebook (not translated)

Akumajō Densetsu: Shinsei Banpaia Hantā/Legend of the Demon Castle: Genuine Vampire Hunter non-canon 1990 gamebook (not translated)

Akumajō Dracula: Akuma no Chi Chi no Akumu/Demon Castle Dracula: Demon's Blood - Blood Nightmare non-canon 1992-1995 novel (partially translated) & unfinished translation project

\Akumajō Dracula: Akuma no Chi Chi no Akumu Vol. 1 pdf *& compressed pdf file

Worlds of Power 4 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest non-canon 1990 novel & full transcript

If you have something to add share it in the comments!

New addition: Main files drive link


r/castlevania 6h ago

Art Shanoa fanart by me

Post image
235 Upvotes

r/castlevania 50m ago

Meme Something about blue outlines, I think

Post image
Upvotes

r/castlevania 38m ago

Video How To Play Richter Belmont in Castlevania Portrait of Ruin! (HD YT Link Below)

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Upvotes

Hope you all enjoy, I have a lot of previous Castlevania edits I've made that I wanted to remaster and make widely available for everyone, starting here!

YT Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/Xhq0OZ9SuAo


r/castlevania 4h ago

Circle of the Moon (2001) PSA, if you're having trouble with Death in Circle of the Moon

Post image
39 Upvotes

Death in this game is actually kind of a pushover if you have the right card combo and subweapon.

For Subweapon, shocking no one, get the cross.

For a card combo, the one you want is Jupiter and Manticore.

That card combo surrounds you with a field of poison that takes out anything that has one HP, and that includes those mini-scythes that he's constantly spamming at you all fight. That poison cloud makes you basically immune to them, and you can just focus on damaging him in his first form. After that all you have to do is not suck.

His first form has two attacks besides the mini scythes. Both telegraphed, and both avoidable if you're quick enough.

The second form is really stationary and has a really big hitbox. Once he gets there you're in the clear. Spam crosses until he goes down, but don't touch him because he REALLY HURTS.


r/castlevania 11h ago

Meme Legion is that you?

Post image
112 Upvotes

r/castlevania 8h ago

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (2026) Belmont's curse new footage

Thumbnail
youtu.be
66 Upvotes

Don't know if this was posted here, but there's some new footage sprinkled in, including almost a full conversation with The Fallen that makes his identity even more obvious lol.


r/castlevania 5h ago

Fluff Are you ready for the new Castlevania? I am.

Post image
30 Upvotes

r/castlevania 7h ago

Video Time for my yearly rewatch, got me thinking about my favorite scene.

Thumbnail
youtu.be
34 Upvotes

But WE love you...


r/castlevania 4h ago

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (2026) Costumes in Belmont's Curse

Post image
18 Upvotes

So i wanted to pre-order the game because i wanted to get the Alucard costume. I noticed that the description says that this applies only for the normal edition, except i was planning of pre-ordering the midnight edition. Is it safe to pre-order the midnight edition and expect Alucard costume too?

I want all of the costumes and bonus stuff in the game lol, maybe it says somewhere that i can buy them in normal edition later on and i missed it?


r/castlevania 5h ago

Art 🩸🗡️🔏

Thumbnail
gallery
20 Upvotes

r/castlevania 7h ago

Art Made some Castlevania inspired deck boxes, pretty happy with how they turned out.

Post image
17 Upvotes

After a few weeks in the workshop, they’re finally finished.
I’ve been working on these three handmade MTG deck boxes inspired by Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard. I wanted each one to feel like something that could actually belong to the character rather than just putting their portrait on a box.
Trevor’s is built around his darker leather-and-metal aesthetic, Sypha’s uses her blue and gold colors, and Alucard’s is intentionally much more subdued — black, white, and silver to reflect the contrast between his human and vampire heritage.
Everything was designed, cut, stitched, and assembled by hand.
Honestly, these have been some of my favorite things I’ve made so far. Thought you guys might appreciate them. 🦇


r/castlevania 1d ago

Discussion É tudo isso mesmo que dizem que é?

Post image
325 Upvotes

É tudo isso mesmo que dizem que é.
Esse jogo é dos anos 90!!

Comecei jogando o Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow e me surpreendi com o quão bom era o game. Depois de finalizar, fiquei com gostinho de "quero mais", então fui jogar o "Castlevania: Rondo of Blood". Me decepcionei pela dificuldade artificial e decidi zerar primeiro os Castlevania metroidvanias, então peguei o "Symphony of the Night" para zerar e valeu muito a pena.

Eu zerei umas 2 horas mais rápido que o "Aria of Sorrow" e fiz 190% do mapa. As músicas desse jogo são incríveis (eu vou até ouvir em off). Gráficos simples e lindos, cada detalhe de decoração colocado ali foi bem pensado. O mapa, as salas, é tudo bem feito. Uma variedade enorme de inimigos criativos. Uma gama de itens e segredos. Vários itens diferentes de cura, tipo "pizza". Estilos diferentes de combate, como uma espada rápida e um escudo, uma espada lenta e um escudo, você pode usar apenas uma espada de duas mãos, uma espada e armas secundárias, ou duas espadas diferentes, uma em cada mão. Tem muitas possibilidades.

Diferente dos outros Castlevania que querem quebrar o jogador no meio, esse game quer que você o quebre. Você consegue a espada "Crissaegrim" e destrói o jogo de uma forma divertida. Ninguém gosta de estar morrendo o tempo todo, indo para a tela de título e sentindo seu tempo sendo gasto sem avançar no jogo. Aqui, você sente seu tempo sendo 100% aproveitado, você tem a sensação de que o jogo quer que você passe pelas salas o mais rápido possível. Você tem a possibilidade de passar voando em forma de névoa, de passar voando como morcego, correndo na forma de lobo e destruindo tudo.

Os chefes são bem legais, carismáticos. A história é simples, mas muito simpática (temos um Drácula mais humano). "O que adianta ganhar o mundo inteiro e perder a sua alma?", frase citada pelo Drácula em seu fim.

Realmente, você é filho do Drácula. Você é filho de um vampiro muito poderoso e se comporta como um. Você começa o game sendo "fraco", mas do meio para o fim você fica muito apelão (adoro isso, no Aria of Sorrow é igual).

Finalizei em 9 horas.

Agora vou jogar mais Castlevanias. De 0 a 10, eu dou 10. Se tornou um dos meus jogos da vida. Vale muito a pena jogar. Qual a sua opinião?


r/castlevania 1h ago

Discussion If more is done with the animated series, would you want Shanoa to show up at some point?

Upvotes

Shanoa may not be a Belmont, but Order of Ecclesia is still one of the really good Castlevania titles. And given how much Sypha and Maria can do, one can imagine what Shanoa could be capable of in the animated series.

Just a thought. I imagine they probably want to stick closer to the Belmonts and Alucard, but having Shanoa would be a nice way to branch out.


r/castlevania 11h ago

Art Lenore fanart by me

Post image
15 Upvotes

Its really hard drawing on small phone screen 😅


r/castlevania 1d ago

Art Alucard tattoo

Post image
178 Upvotes

Just wanted to share my heald Alucard tattoo. Im obsessed 😍 what you guys think?


r/castlevania 22h ago

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (2026) Konami Press Start presentation set for this week, featuring Belmont’s Curse

Thumbnail
youtu.be
81 Upvotes

r/castlevania 1d ago

Meme I’ve cried…. a lot…

Post image
158 Upvotes

I know memes are used for humor most of the time, but I’m serious about this scene. Actually, it’s not as much the scene itself, it was Robert Carlyle’s delivery of those lines. That why I’ve included them. it’s alleged he actually cried saying those lines, and I believe it.


r/castlevania 1d ago

Art New key art for the 40th anniversary

Post image
2.1k Upvotes

r/castlevania 1d ago

Discussion Qual posição fica cada Castlevania para você?

Post image
34 Upvotes
  1. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow – O melhor de todos na minha opinião, muito provavelmente porque foi o meu primeiro Castlevania zerado. No entanto, as músicas são ótimas, a história tem uma boa reviravolta, os personagens são carismáticos e o Alucard parece um amigo. Eu amo o Soma Cruz.

  2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – Meu segundo Castlevania zerado. Eu também amo o Alucard; ele é carismático, tem uma movimentação rápida e fluida, se transforma em morcego, lobo e fumaça. O castelo aqui é muito lindo, as músicas impecáveis e a pixel art é linda.

  3. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – Meu sétimo Castlevania zerado, me surpreendeu de uma forma boa. Eu não tinha muitas expectativas e esperava que esse game fosse frustrante e difícil demais pelas resenhas que eu li, mas não, é um game bem facinho, divertido e alegre, com ótima trilha sonora e gráficos lindos. As novas mecânicas me agradaram muito. Gosto muito da Shanoa, nossa protagonista, e ela é linda.

  4. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon – Meu terceiro Castlevania zerado, um dos Castlevanias mais injustiçados. Todo mundo critica esse jogo e fala mal dele, mas de verdade? Esse foi o Castlevania que mais me fez feliz. Ele dificulta o simples, tudo é um desafio para você superar e se sentir recompensado.

  5. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin – Meu sexto Castlevania zerado. Gosto dos dois protagonistas e adoro a mecânica de entrar nos quadros. Adoro controlar os dois protagonistas, que aliás, são ótimos. Gostei muito das músicas, gráficos e história.

  6. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance – Meu quarto Castlevania zerado. É mais do mesmo dos seus antecessores SotN e AoS, mas se o mais do mesmo for bom, isso é ótimo. O castelo duplicado foi uma ideia ousada, foi difícil de entender no começo, mas deu tudo certo. Adoro a movimentação do nosso protagonista; a história e a música não são o forte aqui. Acho que o tempo que passei perdido nesse castelo enorme me fez criar um sentimento a mais pelo game.

  7. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow – Meu quinto Castlevania zerado e pior de todos, até o momento o único Castlevania abaixo de 5 estrelas na minha lista de zerados. Adoro a mecânica de coletar almas para upar as armas, conseguir a "Claimh Solais", uma arma bem quebrada no AoS, mas aqui ela não é tão forte, e isso acontece porque na reta final do game os inimigos viram esponjas de dano e o boss final é um lixo. O boss é só grande, com muita vida e muito dano, totalmente frustrante e anticlimático. Prefiro mil vezes a luta final do CotM.

Qual a sua opinião? Ansioso para ler a opinião de cada um de vocês.


r/castlevania 1d ago

Discussion Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance Is An Amazing Idea That Deserved Better

Post image
146 Upvotes

Most of the Advance Collection is finished now and I found it to be worthwhile so far, Aria of Sorrow is all that’s remaining for now but before I play it I would like to critique what might be the most interesting Castlevania game I’ve played so far at least on a conceptual level. I hope you enjoy the critique and that it isn’t too long.

The story and writing of Harmony of Dissonance feels like a retread of COTM, which isn’t bad but I feel like it could’ve been more akin to SOTN’s considering how much of that game’s design philosophy is embedded here. I have several criticisms for that games localization, but the script had decent characterization for Alucard and Dracula alongside a good attempt at a gothic tone. I have no idea why they didn’t attempt something more ambitious in this aspect.

Visually, this game has some of the best animation I have ever seen on a GBA title. The enemies, the environments, the boss battles, the spells and even changing castles look amazing but Juste for some reason has a noticeably more unfinished set of animations, most noticeably in his running and whip attacks. The color palette is also unbelievably bright which I understand was to compensate for the darker screen on the GBA but everything is so overexposed especially on a backlit screen that it makes it look uglier as a result. The spritework is better than in COTM but Juste has this ugly blue hue that makes him stick out in a bad way. On a small note, thankfully the UI is equally informative and appealing which is an improvement from COTM that I am thankful has returned.

I also have to commend the castle’s appearance because this is the most disgustingly unfinished version of it in any Castlevania so far and I mean that as a praise. It’s like a sentient abomination that shouldn’t exist to the point that everyone else seems confused about its presence, they didn’t skimp out on the more macabre details too because even solving some puzzles for gear feels gruesome.

The audio and soundtrack are probably the most divisive elements of the game from what I could tell, the general work on sfx for the bosses, monsters, whip, spells and everything are fantastic and deserve more recognition but the soundtrack is the most ambitious yet handicapped thing I have seen for any video game soundtrack. The songs here have a dissonant and gothic tone to them, like baroque but with kind of a jazz structure. There’s some insanely good tracks here like Successor of Fate, Offense and Defense, Approach to Despair, Old Enemy and the best remix of Vampire Killer I’ve ever heard so far.

The song audio however lacks the clarity of COTM’s soundtrack, everything here sounds like an NES track which shouldn’t at all be an issue but the one thing about it is that some of the songs here don’t translate well to 8-bit, especially when they have that same ear splitting tone all throughout. Everything about the music feels harsh on the ears which could’ve been an interesting direction but that feels more due to limitations from the hardware. This is a fantastic idea all throughout but if Konami ever releases an arranged version of the soundtrack that would actually do the entire idea justice and I wish they did that for the Advance Collection.

The gameplay for this one is the biggest mixed bag I’ve personally experienced in the series, for starters Juste controls well and has greater mobility than Nathan thankfully, the whip is fun to use and the ability to dangle it about like in SCIV is always appreciated, on top of that he’s able to use magic and can combine it with subweapons which is insanely fun and great to see which one does what with a different magical element. But it is the most broken part about this game because everything gets unbelievably easy. In fact, the whole game is incredibly easy all throughout from combat to even the boss battles, while not on the level of Simon’s Quest is still unfortunately easy. Of all the bosses that were my favorites I’d have to pick Legion and Dracula as my standouts.

There’s also a greater variety of quality of life features here too. The RNG reliance from COTM is gone, there’s an actual merchant here and while getting him in different areas can be cryptic the idea is still appreciated, the obsession towards verticality this time around was toned down, rooms where shrunken down and there’s a lot more to do in them. I also like the furniture collecting mechanic here it’s actually kinda cute and gives Juste some personality, and also as cryptic as they can be I love that they added different endings here again. There’s a lot of improvements here that should translate to a much better experience this time around but one thing hinders it.

The map layout might be one of the least fun experiences I have ever had in a Metroidvania and it might be the singular reason I don’t see myself playing it to completion again. Not only do these rooms kinda lack a rhyme and reason to each other visually and gameplay wise but I also have to ask why are there so few teleport rooms this time around? It would’ve cut down on how brutal the backtracking can be and then we have the dual castle mechanic. I actually love this idea far more than the Inverted Castle in SOTN but the issue here is that switching castles adds way more to the backtracking, they could’ve fixed this by having Juste be able to switch between one another at will. And to add to the frustration, the layouts of both castles are so identical it makes me wonder why they bothered with implementing this idea at all, barely any variations between the two which is a shame because it makes the game feel so much more tedious.

I give this game a 7-7.5/10. Had this game been more fleshed out and if it ever gets a remake to properly implement the ideas it has, it could very well have overtaken SOTN and maybe even Metroid Fusion which released the exact same year. Also, that boxart is gorgeous I cannot lie.


r/castlevania 1d ago

Question What do you think of a castlevania game centered around werewolf instead of vampire?

Thumbnail
gallery
394 Upvotes

Logo made by me


r/castlevania 1d ago

Harmony of Dissonance (2002) ¿Que criatura era esta antes de perecer?

Post image
84 Upvotes

En castlevania harmony of dissonance cuando quieres subir a una zona solo accesible por elevador primero tienes que accionar una palaca que su mecanismo aplasta con espinas a un monstruo desconocido que gracias a su sangre vas subiendo, pero nunca se le ve...


r/castlevania 12h ago

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989) Evergreen - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Piano Tutorial)

Thumbnail
youtube.com
3 Upvotes

r/castlevania 1d ago

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (2026) Gamertag Radio’s interview with the Belmont’s Curse devs

Thumbnail
youtu.be
17 Upvotes

Hadn’t seen this posted yet :)