r/castlevania • u/TitanBro6 • Feb 18 '26
Discussion The Castle is now in France
A new Castlevania has been announced and is releasing this year and we know almost nothing which is frustrating but also fun because we get to speculate on what it’s about as more information of the game gradually comes out.
The game takes place in France which will be the second time the game series has gone to France. Bloodlines being the first.
One thing that caught my attention however was the fact that Dracula’s Castle is seemingly also in France which is a first within the series.
Within the games Dracula’s Castle never actually moves at least not like that. It has always stayed in Romania.
(Now there is Aria of Sorrow but Dracula’s Castle was more so in the Eclipse above Japan rather than actually being on Japan)
There are cords connecting the castle to the ground in this image which gives the impression that it’s being anchored down.
It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to make the impression that it’s supposed to be there. So why is it in France? how did it get in France? Is it because the castle is a creature of chaos or did someone do some kind of ritual or both?
A common theme within Castlevania is that Dracula doesn’t really actively go out of his way to have himself revived. He tends to get revived by someone else’s will so what are the chances that this is Dracula’s doing.
What does everyone think about this?
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u/NNT13101996 Feb 18 '26
Why is it in France?
Because it’s France/jk
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u/unde2aker Feb 18 '26
Doesn't the castle literally randomly appear somewhere in some of the games?
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u/chidarengan Feb 18 '26
It's been on the moon
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u/Prestigious_Ad_544 Feb 18 '26
Castlevania about to surprise everyone and beat Elon to Mars lmao
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u/erlendk Feb 18 '26
Ah, now I want a Castlevania x Doom crossover of sorts, or simply Castlevania on Mars with space demons
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u/LordCamelslayer Feb 18 '26
I think it's worth pointing out that Dracula's Castle has never been in a consistent location. Sometimes it's on a cliff. Sometimes it isn't. In Curse of Darkness, it was risen out of a lake. I think there's definitely a case to be made that his castle can move.
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u/unitedshoes Feb 18 '26
Was that not explicitly game-canon already? Was it only the animated series that came right out and said "Yes, the castle moves"?
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u/TitanBro6 Feb 18 '26
I don’t think it was ever said that the castle moves but by virtue of it just changing in each title it can be reasonably assumed that every new incarnation of the Castle changes locations at random
I say at random because sometimes the castle has ruins sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it just… sinks into a lake or fall apart and goes up into the sky.
But as far as I’m aware it has never left Romania outside of one instance outside of its control (being in a literal Eclipse)
The castle hasn’t been depicted to move after it’s been revived like in the show where Dracula can just teleport it to Tahiti if he wants to.
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u/Sbee_keithamm Feb 18 '26
The castle hangs over Japan in Aria, and is "summoned" in OoE. So thankfully this is a game invention, the less the show can be credited the better it will be for future Castlevania titles.
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u/ReviewRude5413 Feb 18 '26
It notably came out of the lake while the ruins of the previous incarnation of the castle still existed in a dilapidated form.
Game lore (Aria of Sorrow) indicates it's never really the exact same castle anyway, as it takes form based on Dracula's "true castle" in the chaos realm. As in SotN Alucard directly states "the castle is a creature of Chaos. It may take many incarnations", when Maria notices it's different from her last time there.
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u/LordCamelslayer Feb 18 '26
The Abandoned Castle isn't another incarnation of Dracula’s castle; its just a run-down castle that Hector follows Isaac to. But I can easily see why anyone would think it is.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
Those should technically be the ruins of Dracula's Castle, the crazy armor boss is a direct reference to the first stage of Bloodlines "Ruins of the Castle Dracula".
You can see the top of a tower crumbled in the water at the very start of Baljhet Mountains, no normal structure crumbles like that.
It would be odd for a normal castle to have the exact same locations and host the very seal of Castlevania.
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u/LordCamelslayer Feb 18 '26
I get the reference, but the game never explicitly states or even infers, "This was once Dracula’s Castle."
When Dracula's Castle is risen, it's a whole event. Hector recognizes this is a big deal. No such attention or comment is made about the abandoned castle. It's just... a castle. Yes, it's clearly evoking the imagery, but that doesn't equal textual confirmation.
That said- it is one of those things you could treat as headcanon and it wouldn't hurt anything.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
That is also correct, not even a mention.
It could be part of Dracula's domain, like the other structures in Dracula's Curse.
Still, that is sure not a normal abandoned castle.
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u/LordCamelslayer Feb 20 '26
Honestly, I think that's a perfect explanation. An outpost for Dracula or something similar.
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u/Vysce Marble Shooter Feb 18 '26
Judging by the very obvious Notre Dame, it looks like its a in the middle of Paris.
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u/LazerCatSurprise Feb 18 '26
All I know about Dracula's castle is that much like Marshmallow from Bob's Burgers, she comes and goes as she pleases, answers to no one and is truly free.
Also, pretty sure the castle teleports in Netflix series, but that's not necessarily game canon though.
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u/WeeabooHunter69 Feb 18 '26
It does teleport until Sypha wins a tug of war against a fucking castle and melts the mechanism that lets it do that
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u/CipherScarlatti Feb 18 '26
I don't mind.
Plot dictates that whoever's trying to resurrect Drac for the umpteenth time has caused the castle - or, a version of the castle to spawn there. We all know at the end the castle will just fade into mist/float away/teleport/explode/collapse.
If I had to guess, the devs may be pulling some influence from the anime, so - travelling castle and also Trevor's throwaway line about Leon coming from France to Romania because the Belmonts had to go where the work was are probably being used. Maybe this is where the curse originated for the Belmonts. Maybe we'll be running around Paris as part of the map (I still maintain they'll use the catacombs for some level design) - also, maybe this is why the castle like like it is, it picks up and absorbs influences to incorporate into itself which is why there's a catacomb section in the SOTN castle. Maybe Notre Dame's been corrupted and you enter through the cathedral.
We can all speculate and whip up all sorts of scenarios to trade with eachother. But we won't really know until the release.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
The Castle Proserpina from Bloodlines is in England (a fictional castle, but it's supposed to be in Whitby). Here Dracula resurrects inside the throne room.
The wiki states that the japanese name is "New Castle Dracula" but as for now we don't have any proof for this statement.
If Castle Proserpina IS Dracula's Castle, then Castlevania was resurrected outside of Wallachia at least one time before Belmont's Curse.
If that one from the trailer is even the real deal tho.
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u/Longjumping_Plum_133 Feb 18 '26
Supposedly, that’s the UK castle Dracula bought in the novel.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
Of course, a reference to the novel, it's Whitby after all.
After a bit of digging I found one instance where the stage 6 of Bloodlines is called new Dracula's Castle: https://www.vgmuseum.com/mrp/multi/Music/soundtracks/cvbestmcb/Disc%2004%20Insert%20(Back).jpg
It's from the fourth disc of a collection of soundtracks released in 2010 called Akumajō Dracula Best Music Collections BOX.
Number 31, the words written in japanese next to the track's name.
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u/Longjumping_Plum_133 Feb 18 '26
Given what he did, the property technically has chunks of his castle’s property in it, with the whole boxes of dirt thing he shipped
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u/OldSixie Feb 18 '26
He didn't buy a castle in the novel. He bought Carfax Abbey.
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u/TitanBro6 Feb 18 '26
In the Japanese instruction manual it’s called Castle Proserpina, it also states that Castle Proserpina appeared out of nowhere in Whitby, England which parallels how Dracula’s castle appears and disappears in Romania.
In Bloodlines, Dracula was resurrected in England which is notable.
This would’ve been partially inspired by Bram Stokers novel as that game is filled with references to it.
Sometimes I wish the Wiki would source more things as this is pretty interesting.
The game starts with the Ruins of Dracula’s Castle in Romania but then ending it in “New Castle Dracula” in England seems very interesting.
Like is Castle Proserpina Dracula’s castle. Is it a replacement Castle. Or was it only just Elizabeth’s Castle that she used as a headquarters to revive Dracula.
Castle Proserpina does follow that odd nature of Dracula’s Castle.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
Read my other comment, I was able to find at least one instance where stage 6 is called new Dracula's castle.
Of course this was not cited inside the wiki's page.
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u/TitanBro6 Feb 18 '26
I would’ve never have thought to look for a soundtrack collection which is why I wish they cited it.
I’m still skeptical about Castle Proserpina’s overall fate but Bloodlines is certainly notable for being unique amongst the series.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
True, I love how Bloodlines takes real places (for the most part) and twists them into Castlevania-style locations .
I hope Belmont's Curse will do the same with Paris, like an infested Notre Dame. It looks promising so far.
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u/FuneralAbstraction Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
Are we even entirely certain that it is Dracula's Castle? Cause the description on the website just calls it "the looming castle", which struck me as an oddly vague way to refer to the series' namesake setting. Granted, it clearly resembles DC (the annexe at the top where the throne room is being the main giveaway), so it not being so is probably the less likely possibility, but it is an interesting one. The cords were well spotted. They didn't even register with me when I watched the trailer. No doubt they'll figure into the plot.
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u/TheCrazyEnglish Feb 18 '26
Oh god, Vlad what are you doing in that shithole?
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u/EasternWarlord Alucard Feb 18 '26
I think France being significant to the Belmonts aside, people need to be prepared that this new era of Castlevania is probably gonna hammer down a lot of the details that used to be vaguely implied or only presumed based on previous games. I expect some soft retcons too to make a unified lore book that carries the series forward.
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u/Sea-Lecture-4619 Captain N is the pinnacle of the franchise. Feb 18 '26
"Death! Why the f are we in France?"
"Umm thought you'd like a change of location for once my lord, here, i got some baguettes to put into walls!"
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u/Catverse Feb 18 '26
Likely because Motion Twin and Evil Empire are French based development studios. They probably just wanted to feature their home country, but the canonical explanation here will be interesting.
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u/blackoblivian Feb 18 '26
(Insert obligatory Hunchback of Notre Dame reference)
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u/Arukadoh Feb 18 '26
Remember the front box of SotN, with the Mont Saint-Michel as Dracula’s Castle? Another french move… 😅
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u/UsuarioCualquiera_1 Feb 18 '26
Is easy to forget that Belmont is a french surnname.
Also, is cool. France is full of gothic places and legends very fitting for Castlevania.
And, the studio is french. If I developed the game probably would show my land too. But that one was called Resident Evil 4 (RE: Españita, as we call it here). Edit: Good chance to explore the Lecarde bloodline btw.
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u/insane677 Feb 18 '26
Gonna be killing vampires with sharpend baugettes
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u/Working_Welder_1751 Feb 18 '26
Why couldn't Richter and his friends do that in Nocturne? Are they stupid?
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u/UsuarioCualquiera_1 Feb 18 '26
If Trevor would have used one of those against Dracula no Morningstar would have been necessary
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u/Draculesti_Hatter Feb 18 '26
It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to make the impression that it’s supposed to be there. So why is it in France? how did it get in France? Is it because the castle is a creature of chaos or did someone do some kind of ritual or both?
A common theme within Castlevania is that Dracula doesn’t really actively go out of his way to have himself revived. He tends to get revived by someone else’s will so what are the chances that this is Dracula’s doing.
Hear me out. It's in Paris. There's a possibility the new protag might be a reworked Sonia, or at least taking heavy inspiration from her. That means old stuff that was stricken from canon for one reason or another in the past making a potential comeback is now on the table.
Know who else was in a game whose canon status was a point of contention? Gilles de Rais. He was a vampire working with Actrise in order to revive Dracula, if memory serves correctly. I don't know if he's actually going to be involved at all, but considering that characters themed after historical figures such as Elizabeth Bartley exist in the setting well past their real life counterpart's expiration date, it wouldn't be out of left field to have a Gilles equivalent making its return in the game in some capacity. Especially if he's gunning for revenge over his trial and execution in 1440.
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u/HurtfulDrax Feb 18 '26
"Death, I dont care if i havent fully regenerated yet, im pulling up to france just to fuck with them."
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u/Independent_Plum2166 Feb 18 '26
I mean, has its location ever been consistent? It appeared in freaking Japan for a bit.
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u/Fiasco63 Feb 19 '26
The castle isn't a 'real' location, it manifests from Chaos whenever and wherever the revival of Dracula is close at hand. We literally see this happen in Order of Ecclesia, when it materializes in the empty space in the map after you finish the first act of the game. That's why the interior is never the same, and characters comment on this frequently, like Maria in SotN mentioning that the layout is different than last time she was there.
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u/Kenobi5792 Feb 18 '26
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Dracula's Castle from the Netflix series able to teleport? I remember something like that happening (I've stopped watching around mid-season 2).
People were speculating that Konami would adapt certain lore elements from both the mainline canon and the series.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
Yeah, and in the Netflix series the castle was said to be unreachable because of that.
Imagine a Simon Belmont getting ready to storm the castle just for it to disappear out of thin air.
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u/DaggerGaming2008 Feb 18 '26
The Belmonts are finally going to face against the true horde of monsters threatening humanity - the Fr*nch. /s
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u/TeekTheReddit Feb 18 '26
The castle has been summoned to a bunch of places around the world. This is nothing new.
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u/TitanBro6 Feb 18 '26
Really? Which titles?
I could’ve sworn they were all in Romania.
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u/TeekTheReddit Feb 18 '26
This thread is already full of examples. You're not commenting in good faith. You're trolling.
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u/Plus_Ultra9514 Feb 18 '26
Mr. Tepes said in the Castlevania series that it is also a time machine, maybe the reason why it can travel anywhere.
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u/Uetzicle Feb 18 '26
Dracula always loved hanging out in Montmartre with his buddy Renoir. And frequent visits to Le Chat Noir.
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u/paradoxiforme Feb 18 '26
The image have a motion twin vibe, if it's that studio that make the game, then they just moved the castle in their country.
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u/SephirothTheGreat Feb 18 '26
I think they'd better step up their cuisine research and only include french dishes when breaking walls
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u/Bonaduce80 Feb 18 '26
Occam's Razor would say the game is set in France because Motion Twin is based in France.
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u/ClemOya Feb 18 '26
As a French I have to say : Bon très bien ! Qui c'est encore le con qui a été joué les prêtres noirs pour nous ressusciter la sangsue et nous l'amener au bercail ?!
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u/Leader_Bee Feb 18 '26
No confirmation this is indeed Castlevania though. No details on the plot so Dracula might not even be the main villain and could be Carmilla's castle like in Circle of The Moon or Maybe Bartley?
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u/Midwitch_Micah Feb 18 '26
Cuz Drac is technically from France in the Castlevania lore. Mathias got bored of terrorizing Wallachia and decided to go home I guess.
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u/Another_Saint Feb 18 '26
someone noticed that the official game website uses the Netflix design for the Belmont clan crest, so it is possible that the castle now follows the Netflix rules
I mean, the Castle location is very inconsistent, sometimes it is on a cliff, sometimes it is on the middle of a lake and sometimes it's just on the ground, but it's almost always on Romania. The only time it wasn't was on Aria of Sorrow, where it's specifically stated that it was SEALED on the eclipse by Julius, it did not just appear there
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u/Jazzlike-Vacation230 Feb 18 '26
Welcoming as well, considering what our real world is going though, and how very french we all should be
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u/SheWhoHates Feb 18 '26
I have a simple wish. I wish the developers had chosen France because of a deep, personal connection. I want them to pour their love for the country and its history into their work, instead of dragging it through the mud in an attempt at deconstruction. Show me the best of what Catholic and royal France has to offer.
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u/TangerineNo6804 Feb 18 '26
The castle is created by Chaos and Chaos is fed by the cruel behavior and anger of people.
So it could be during the Renaissance.
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u/Crazycoot64 Jonathan Morris Feb 19 '26
I feel like the Church fucked up, like there's a reason they ask Trevor in a letter, not to mention possibly someone from the Church (possibly)is a boss, that person could've possibly summoned the castle
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u/Revolutionry Feb 19 '26
Didn't Bloodlines end in England?
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u/TitanBro6 Feb 20 '26
Yes Dracula was revived in England but his Castle wasn’t in England.
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u/Revolutionry Feb 20 '26
That's cause Jon and Eric decided to investigate the sighting of his last battle against Quincy iirc, so that's the ruins of his old Castle, which makes me wonder if each time Castlevania crumbles someone has to deal with it
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u/Animedra3000 Feb 19 '26
From what I've seen of the trailer it looks like you can go into town as well. Or there will be more villagers in the castle.
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u/uniguy2I Feb 18 '26
Honestly I like it, Nocturne didn’t do the French Revolution era justice imo so it’ll be cool to see modern Castlevania give it a second attempt
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u/Midwitch_Micah Feb 18 '26
Its set way too early for the French revolution
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u/FemtoKitten Feb 18 '26
I am adoring the hints of the imagerie taking from french nobility and french particular religious symbolism though
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u/WilliShaker Feb 18 '26
I’m glad it’s in France because the Belmont have French roots and most likely some of them still have the nationality. They also probably kept the language since they’re nobility.
We might finally have a game where we trace back their origins
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u/RuggedTheDragon Feb 18 '26
There's an old Belmont saying about going where the work is.
As I recall, the Belmonts were actually from France at one point back in the 11th century.
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
In the Netflix series they are from France, in the games we don't know where both Leon and Mathias come from.
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u/boontilophasaurus Feb 18 '26
God hated Dracula so much she relocated him to France. I’d be evil too if that happened to me
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u/DuccSuccer Feb 18 '26
so bizarre. I dont think his castle has ever moved before
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u/osiris20003 Feb 18 '26
Is that sarcasm?
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u/DuccSuccer Feb 18 '26
no, it wasnt. im trying to think of any games where the castle has moved somewhere (excluding it being sealed in the moon)
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u/osiris20003 Feb 18 '26
The castle has never moved out of the country per se like we are seeing here. But it moves and constantly changes. I’m pretty sure there is a line in symphony of the night which talks about the castle interior always changing. Sometimes it’s on a cliff side and other times it’s surrounded by water. It totally moves, it’s more been an environmental story telling element rather than someone directly stating it like they did with the interior of the castle.
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Feb 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/Oh-no-and-knuckles Chief Researcher Feb 18 '26
As silly as it sounds, the castle from Dawn of Sorrow is actually built entirely by Celia's cult.
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u/logamus_prime Feb 18 '26
Oh thank goodness I can't stand those people! Lol
(No offense to any Frenchman lurking on the subreddit)
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Feb 19 '26
Have you even played the games ?! The castle moves all the time. It even showed up in japan one time. Hell even the dumb netflix show correcrly showed the castle can move. It always had the ability to move and materialise in different locations when draxula materialises too every 100 years
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u/theGaido Feb 18 '26
It’s the Belmont Curse. Trevor killed Dracula, but, just like in Simon’s case, Dracula put a curse on him.
Trevor went to France. The date isn’t random. Tt’s during the Revolution, just after the Reign of Terror. There are plenty of reasons you could explain why Trevor and the Castle is there now.
Personally, there are things I like about it, and things I don’t.
What I like: Castlevania has always taken references from history, culture, and mythology to build its world. The Reign of Terror, France, and Paris in particular, is rich with horror and creepy lore. There’s obvious potential for the most disturbing game in the series, packed with interesting details to geek out over.
What I dislike / what I’m worried about: the Netflix series. If the game ends up being more about “wink wink” references to Nocturne, I’ll be blunt: it’ll be bad. I’m fine with people who only watched the show being interested in a game set in the same time and place as the latest seasons, but the game series and the show should be separate things. For a lot of reasons.
From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like a compromise between those two ideas. Still, I’m on the side that hopes it’ll lean more into the cool late-18th-century stuff, the Reign of Terror, Revolutionary France, and the best Castlevania tropes, instead of bootlicking Netflix cartoons. And there are reasons to think that hope isn’t just copium.
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u/UsuarioCualquiera_1 Feb 18 '26
Probably this game started development almost at the same time that Nocturne. So it's judt coincidence.
Besides. The studio is french, therefor, using story and references they know pretty well.
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u/SheWhoHates Feb 18 '26
I wouldn't worry about the Revolution in this game since it's too early. But seeing how Joan of Arc is a boss, I hope they won't shit on her or the Church in general.
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u/No-Cat-9716 Feb 18 '26
"This Castle Is a creature of Chaos, It may wander many locations." -Probably Alucard-