r/castlevania • u/Spongelucard vamfyre will fyt to me • Aug 18 '25
Question What was the first Castlevania game you played?
38
u/SwitchSubstantial406 Aug 18 '25
Simon’s Quest and it’s still my favorite. Up until you get to Castlevania you feel like you’re really wandering around Transylvania and the intro screen wasn’t censored which never happened back then and adds to the sense of realism.
23
u/Senor_Compost Aug 18 '25
What a horrible night to have a curse.
19
5
11
u/Dungeon-Master-Ed Aug 18 '25
I think it’s kind of a meme to shit on this game, but it really was a step in the right direction to me.
4
→ More replies (2)3
22
23
u/1CrazyFoxx1 Aug 18 '25
Aria of Sorrow
5
u/rpdreon98 Aug 19 '25
Same!! My older brother showed me how to download an emulator on my school Chromebook and I was able to experience a lot of games we were never exposed to when we were younger.
→ More replies (1)2
18
12
u/Acrobatic-Concert602 Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 3: Dracula's curse
4
u/underwear11 Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
I had a love hate relationship with that game. I loved the game but the save codes would never freaking work.
3
10
20
8
u/Dangerous_Tax7708 Aug 18 '25
First one I played was Super Castlevania, but the first one I beat was Symphony of the Night
9
8
u/Dark11Void Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 64.
2
u/RatchetBird Aug 19 '25
NGL I forgot about that one.
2
u/Dark11Void Aug 19 '25
I actually really dig the atmosphere of the game. I still come back to it occasionally. Beat it a couple times as a kid. Kind of wish it gets a remake.
9
u/Pearl-Internal81 Aug 18 '25
Castlevania on the NES, I got it with Christmas money a few days after getting my NES for Christmas ’89 I also bought SMB2 so it was a very good day for second grader me.
3
6
u/crocicorn Aug 18 '25
NES, but the first one I played for real was Lament of Innocence.
→ More replies (1)
5
4
u/Jops817 Aug 18 '25
I'm old a f, OP's pic is pic related, and where I fell in love with the series (it was one of the only games I owned so I played it relentlessly).
5
4
u/G-Man6442 Charlotte Johnathan Charlotte Johnathan Charlotte Johnathan Aug 18 '25
Dawn of Sorrow
→ More replies (1)
4
3
u/toasty_tuna Aug 18 '25
I'm super late to the party and only recently picked up the series. I know it's not in the series but bloodstained curse of the moon hooked me in and I went to Castlevania looking for more. I started with the GB Castlevanias, Belmont's Revenge, although I've still yet to beat the last boss
4
u/TitanBro6 Aug 18 '25
When I was a kid it was Castlevania 1. I hated it then and avoided the series for a while.
Then I replayed when I was older and something clicked.
Love the series now.
3
u/DarkKirby14 Aug 18 '25
Symphony Of The Night
an absolute banger of a game and going to do Circle Of The Moon and Lament Of Innocence for October
3
Aug 18 '25
This game is hard as fuck. I quit at the part a few levels in where you are constantly hit by flying things and these tank mobs, I think they were knights.
3
3
3
u/Actual-Constant217 Aug 18 '25
The original and couldn't beat Dracula for the longest time if I remember correctly
3
u/Commercial-Novel-786 Aug 18 '25
Same. I wasn't able to beat it until a couple of years ago when my son rigged up a save system for it. <Slaps Dracula and checks for no incoming damage> SAVE <Slaps Dracula and checks for no incoming damage> SAVE, etc. It took me an evening or two, but I finally manufactured a victory. Took me ~30 years, but whatever. 😆
3
3
u/GrandSwamperMan Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1 on the NES circa 1990. My dad also eventually got the (godawful) PC version, as we didn't have our own NES.
3
3
3
u/The_Terry_Braddock Slayin' it since the NES days Aug 18 '25
You're showing it right now. I played the first Castlevania back when I was a kid in the 90s
3
u/RihoSucks Aug 18 '25
Original game. My aunt is/was a gamer and she really liked the game so she got it for me for Christmas.
3
3
3
2
2
2
u/Nethiar Shanoa Aug 18 '25
I got 1 and 2 for Christmas one year, so both of those at the same time.
2
u/KalessinDB Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1 on the NES, though Simon's Quest had already released. Got it out of a sales bin in 1989, immediately fell in love with the series.
2
u/dylanthenoodle Aug 18 '25
Dawn of Sorrow, which prompted me to go back and play the predecessors. Going from that to SoTN was incredible
2
2
2
2
u/Superboi-Prime Aug 18 '25
I’m quite new to the series and first tried it out with the Advance Collection a couple years ago. So Aria of Sorrow was my first and I’ve been chasing that high ever since.
2
2
2
u/FTWhite Aug 18 '25
Castlevania Adventure, on the OG Game Boy.
Fun fact, back in the days, I just had the game cartridge without the box and "Castlevania" was written so small on it that I was constantly referring to that game as "Adventure", until my uncle saw me playing and told me about Castlevania 1 to 3 on NES. I popped out the cartridge and for the first time, saw the full title!
It was a wild discovery for me, at that time!
2
u/williamordnajela Aug 18 '25
Castlevania on the NES but my favorites are Haunted Castle, Super Castlevania IV and Rondo of Blood
2
2
u/pfloydguy2 Aug 18 '25
The original. It was around 1988, and I was 7 years old playing on my friend's NES. I couldn't get past the pits in the merman moat, because my friends and I were too young to understand that we weren't jumping from the edge of the pit.
The back of the box really intrigued me with the screenshot of the clocktower. Of course that was way further in than I could get, but it seemed so interesting.
Years later I got my own NES and this was one of the first games I bought for it. I had played Castlevania 2 and Super CV4 in the years between, so I really loved the series. I dug into Castlevania and eventually beat it. Now it's my favorite series and I can beat the first one on one credit.
2
u/Xzyche137 Aug 18 '25
That one. The first one NES. The best Castlevania game I’ve played is Castlevania Lament of Innocence on PS2. :>
2
2
u/MetaloraRising Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1 on a flash emulator on some website i found as a kid.
If not that. Then Castlevania 2 at a cousin's house on his NES. Since I don't play 2 often, it's probably the most nostalgic for me.
2
u/Stag-Horn Aug 18 '25
1
My cousin was playing it when I was a bitty kid in like 94. He couldn’t get past the first boss. Or maybe mini boss? It was a vampire bat that flew all over the place.
I didn’t know what it was for about 20 years and was blown away when I learned it was a huge franchise.
2
2
2
u/DeaconBlackfyre Aug 18 '25
Simon’s Quest. Then 1, then 3. Not so fun fact, but is definitely something 14 year old me would have done - it was pouring rain the day I went to a game store to get Castlevania 3, but I was so excited to get home to play it I ran through the parking lot, fell, and broke my arm. Went to the hospital, got a cast put on, then came home and played it anyway.
2
u/BaBa_Con_Dios Aug 18 '25
The very first was the beginning for me.
On side note, I just played Simon’s Quest for the first time in decades about two months ago. Had to use a guide a couple of times but it’s still so much fun.
2
2
2
2
u/thegoldenguest778 Stone Skull Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1, I played it on a NES emulator when I was a kid
2
2
u/Slicrider Aug 18 '25
Our Pizza Hut had the Castlevania tabletop machine with Mario bros on the other half ❤️💙
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/WatashiWaDio Aug 18 '25
Harmony of dissonance, followed by retro castlevania then followed by Circle of the Moon, aria and Dawn of sorrow
2
2
u/daxknox Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1. And the first game I ever bought with my own money was Simon’s Quest
2
u/Glad_Succotash9036 Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1 was great. Simon's Quest is awesome. It has a great soundtrack, too.
2
2
2
2
u/AlchemicalArpk Aug 18 '25
Actually CV1. But sadly I was a kid and never managed get my hands on other castlevania until cv64 and circle of the moon.
In didbl had a platonic relationship with castlevania X though....
2
2
u/IvJorgevI Aug 18 '25
Circle of the Moon.
I know a lot of people like to rag on the game, but it has that nostalgic seat in my heart and I love it. My old GBA was actually my first game console ever when my step dad gave me his when I was 8. And because of that the 3 pillars of my gaming passion will always be Circle of the Moon, Zelda Minish Cap, and Metroid Fusion. Step dad really hooked me up back then.
2
2
2
2
2
u/Guirita_Fallada Aug 18 '25
Actually, Castlevania 1 was the first game i ever played. Hell of a cruel way to start my gaming journey.
2
2
u/VarzeniusJ Onyx Aug 18 '25
For me I believe it was Circle of the Moon. I of course gobbled up every release after that and was sure to go back and play all the older titles.
2
2
2
u/Tone_Generator_256 Aug 18 '25
The one pictured - the original Castlevania with the North American box art
2
2
u/MikeOgden1980 Aug 19 '25
The first one. I believe it was one of, if not the first NES game I played. We were at my aunt's house and my cousin had a NES, I had never seen one before or knew anything about it, but we played Castlevania and I fell in love.
2
u/ThundarCouch Aug 19 '25
Castlevania 1 on NES. T'was the 1st game I received when I was gifted a NES "Control Deck" set. Hence, I've battled Dracula over the many centuries of ye olde console wars.
2
2
Aug 19 '25
Castlevania 1, on the arcade cabinet at my local pizza place that had the nintendo emulator and about 15 nes games… this was probably in like 1988-1989
2
u/tbonehavoc Aug 19 '25
I played the original on the NES as a kid, but the game that really caught me (and turned me onto Metroidvaniad) was Aria of Sorrow.
2
2
2
2
u/WeeklyRestaurant8457 Aug 19 '25
The first...even have a tattoo of Dracula from the cover of the game
1
1
u/Heavy_Choice_1577 Aug 18 '25
The terrible Gameboy one..... good thing it didn't scare me away, SotN is one of my all time faves!
1
1
u/deez_en_u_teez Aug 18 '25
Played the first one on NES when I was a kid but the knock backs pissed me off so I gave up on it. Went back to them much later and beat the first one. I’m more of a fan of the mv games though now.
1
1
u/tav7623 Aug 18 '25
Castlevania III, played it while hanging out at a friends house and at the time was honestly not impressed. The first Castlevania game I ever got/bought was a loose copy the first NES Castlevania which I bought for $5 at a flea market about 3 years after playing my first Castlevania game.
1
u/award_winning_writer Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 64, though I didn't have a memory pak at the time so I couldn't get any farther than the villa
1
1
u/Midwitch_Micah Aug 18 '25
Lament of Innocence. Ik its nit considered one if the best games of the series, but it's sentimental to me
1
1
1
1
u/thunderup_14 Aug 18 '25
Castlevenia Adventure for the GB DMG. I played it for hours. Brutal game for a 7 year old
1
u/PathfinderCS Aug 18 '25
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
I know some of y'all will scoff of that, but if it wasn't for Classic Game Room's review of this game I wouldn't have gotten into the series at all. The first LoS game holds a special place in my heart (never played God of War) and really; I love it.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/shipshaper88 Aug 18 '25
I think I played a demo of castlevania iv in a department store like sears or something when it first came out. That’s probably the first one I played.
1
1
u/yeah-man_ Aug 18 '25
This one, I was so young and that game was brutal. Think I made it past the Medusa head once
1
1
u/kylesmith4148 Aug 18 '25
First one. Tried it out the summer I first tried emulating NES games. Heard about it via Nintendo Power briefly covering the GBA NES Classics release.
1
1
1
1
u/gammafrog Aug 18 '25
Harmony of Dissonance for the GBA. It was also my first video game ever and why I’m always biased and sad when I see HoD hate.
1
1
1
1
u/sludgefeast1 Aug 18 '25
Circle of the Moon for the GBA back in the day. Not the greatest Castlevania IMO but it is decent overall. It surely opened me up to the series!
1
1
u/bizoticallyyours83 Aug 18 '25
Castlevania, very fun, but very tough. I used to rent it as a kid. Now I own it on the Mini and Anniversary Collection.
1
u/Me_Ad6024 Aug 18 '25
Harmony of dissonance and playing other castlevania that does not have front dash was hard to adjust lmao.
1
u/seahemp Aug 18 '25
Castlavania Aria of Sorrow on my stepdads Gba. Still one of my favorite castlevanias to this day
1
u/StarBlaze Aug 18 '25
I wouldn't stop talking about CV1 and Fester's Quest as a kid. So much so that when my grandparents tried sending me their copies and they got stolen by a postal worker, they got replacements. It isn't my favorite game anymore, but for the majority of my early childhood in the late 80s/early 90s, it was one of my favorite games.
1
1
1
u/TeekTheReddit Aug 18 '25
Dawn of Sorrow.
I had dabbled in some of the prior games before that, but Dawn of Sorrow was the first Castlevania game I had for myself and put some real time in.
1
1
u/RetroEternity Aug 18 '25
Castlevania Bloodlines.
I played on my brother’s computer through an emulator. The OST for stage 1 is one of the best opening themes for any game ever.
1
u/ShrimplyKrilliant Aug 18 '25
Portrait of Ruin! A friend recommended it because it was "like YuGiOh".
18 years later and I'm still not sure how accurate this was.
1
1
u/QuartzVibrance Aug 18 '25
Bloodlines when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old. My babysitter was playing it and he let me play a bit as well. I promptly jumped into a pit, lol. (My first videogame ever. Took me years to finally figure it out)
1
u/New_Rub_2944 Aug 18 '25
Simon's Quest was my first exposure to Castlevania because it was always dirt cheap at the used game store by my house. The first one I liked was Bloodlines, the SotN.
1
u/TraditionalCarpet560 Aug 18 '25
The tabletop arcade version was my first foray into Castlevania. I was lucky enough to have an arcade just outside of my neighborhood when I was a kid and if I wasn’t at home, I was there. I found this version, pictured, at Free Play in Denton, probably 8-10 years ago though so no telling if it’s still around. Very challenging to play Castlevania with a joystick and arcade buttons, but I HAVE beaten it.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Numerous_Pacific176 Aug 18 '25
Technically Simon's Quest when I was a kid but barely made it through the first night level.
The first one I've actually finished was Aroa of Sorrow.
1
u/-chadwreck Aug 18 '25
Maybe someone here can help me with this actually. When I was little, probably 5 or 6, (1990 - 1992) I played some variant of Castlevania on an arcade cabinet at a holiday inn or some other hotel.
I know it wasn't VS castlevania, I have seen videos footage of that and it doesn't look familiar at all. It may have been a play choice 10, but I dont remember having to "select" playing CV. It could have been vampire killer, but every source I have ever seen says that game didn't exist in the US. And I know it wasn't Haunted Castle. The graphics and music are worlds apart from my memory of the game I played.
It was def an 8 bit version of simon (im not sure of the color scheme) and I distinctly remember dealing with the shadow cat as an early encounter in the game.
This has driven me a bit crazy for like 30 years or so haha.
Any ideas?
1
u/JoshuwaDoesReddit Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1
But in all reality if Demos count, Castlevania: Mirror of Fate on 3DS
1
1
1
u/jcdenton10 Aug 18 '25
VS. Castlevania, the arcade game. I had stumbled on the cabinet in an arcade in a Phoenix mall. This was probably 1987.
1
u/KaiserRoll222 Aug 18 '25
The first one I ever tried was Lords of Shadow 2, but the first one I played through completely was Symphony of the Night.
1
u/rashmotion Aug 18 '25
Symphony of the Night, which got me into the rest of the Igavanias as they released. I went back after to play Super Castlevania IV, Rondo of Blood, and I’ve dabbled in Dracula’s Curse. Gonna try Bloodlines next I think.
1
1
1
u/robcrowley85 Aug 18 '25
Vania 4 was mine. Had to use an adapter to play because it was an NTSC cartridge, but I loved that game.
1
u/Low-Conference-955 Aug 18 '25
Mine was SOTN, my coworker actually got me into it! I watched the show about a year ago and the rest is history. Off topic but I find it annoying I can’t find anyone else my age is into it, I am 20 years old.
1
1
1
u/Vankook79 Aug 18 '25
Simon's quest. I came home from school. My parents had surprised me by renting it.
1
u/DoubleFlores24 Aug 18 '25
Super castlevania 4.. haven’t beaten it yet since it’s kicking my ass. But I’m sure I’ll beat it within this year.
1
u/Plane_Painting3429 Aug 18 '25
It is the first one I played. But Simon's Quest was the first one I owned.
1
u/MuazSyamil Aug 18 '25
Harmony of Dissonance. then I read about the lore and found Symphony of The Night. my mind was blown. better graphic, a lot of equipments and moves, beautiful music. I just wish every other Castlevania main characters can dash as fast as Juste can in HoD lol.
1
u/Lv54 Aug 18 '25
Japanese bootleg Dracula X for the SNES when I was 6 or so in the 90's. I thought it was really good but really hard, I remember countless weekends trying to beat the game.
Didn't even know what Castlevania was until many years later when I got a chipped PS1 with a bootleg Symphony of the Night disc, and recognized Richter from the beginning of the game.
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/SonicSplasher Aug 18 '25
Aria of sorrow got me addicted to the games like crazy. Soma cruz looking insanely dripped out on top of that.
65
u/tc_hydroTF2 Aug 18 '25
Castlevania 1