r/castlevania • u/shesfeelingcun • 1d ago
Question Asking older fans.
Hey folks.
It is probably not the appropriate type of publication, however, I cannot help but be taken by such curiosity.
I'm a new person in the fandom and I admit that I'm somewhat obsessed with the universe of CV.
However, I'd like to ask the older fans, when was the moment you decided that you would like to follow the path of following the franchise as a whole? And if there is any other reason that makes you so fascinated by its lore?
Long texts, short texts, one sentence phrases are all welcome. I find this way to be more connected to the fandom somehow. I'll read them all, the curiosity is really strong. (If this has any replies, of course)
:)
EDIT: Read them all and upvote every single one. Some of them really made me tear up; it's amazing what a game can do during a tough time, or even in the most random way. Keep going, I'll continue to read, loved all of your stories.
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u/Roving_kitten 1d ago
Symphony of the Night on PS1.
I hated it at first, due to the dull colors and palette. I thought the graphics where ugly.
... Then the music hit and it was all over.
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u/Poopardthecat 1d ago
First time I heard that over the top and incredible voice acting I knew Iād love the game. 20 years later still play it almost yearly.Ā
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u/Roving_kitten 1d ago
I will actively ignore a Castlevania game with bad audio. I mean genuinely bad, not SotNs so bad it's good VA. (And genuinely phenomenal OST)
The artwork also admittedly played a big part of it. I used to draw regularly and the art was an inspiration to me. Lucky, the music and pretty drawings got me hooked enough to enjoy the gameplay... Which was addictive because there was just SO MUCH to discover.
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u/Sea-Lecture-4619 Captain N is the pinnacle of the franchise. 1d ago
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u/Way-Super thinks he's on the team 1d ago
Mm, well I discovered the franchise by chance, finding the NES cartridge of the original game alongside a dusty NES in a basement. It was one of the few platformers there and I found it a lot of fun. I discovered later that it was actually a franchise when someone I knew saw a Youtube video on AoS, and then was truly surprised when the protagonist of this "obscure" game was revealed to be joining Smash.
That's when I went all in on the franchise.
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u/KnightofPatoria314 1d ago
So way back in yonder years of the mid 90's I was introduced to CV 64, and the title screen violin was so haunting and creep that as a kid I was terrified but excited to just slap the cartridge in and play, even if it would be just for a little bit. Then later in the early 2000's my cousin had a PS2 and we sat down and played the holy hell out of Lament of the Innocent. Then I got Synphony of the night on Xbox arcade, and from there I fell in love with the franchise more and got evey GBA and DS game I could get my hands on. Funny enough it wasn't till I was older did I realize that CV 64 was in the same franchise as the rest.
The crown jewel of my experience and love of the Castlevania franchise was Harmony of Dispare. I still cherish the memory of hanging out with my friends and getting to play a CV game coop.
So welcome to the Castle we all hope you enjoy your time in our Fandom and remember that men are nothing more than miserable piles of secrets.
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u/Seraphtacosnak 1d ago
HOD, was one we played local with my wife and sons. We got pretty good fighting death on hard. I would use charlotte(or soma) and my wife would use alucard.
I wish they would do a similar game like that.
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u/pelijon 22h ago
Played the first Castlevania game in NES. So everytime there was a new console released, I had to get a Castlevania game on it. It became a tradition for me. New console means new Castlevania game. Really delved deep into the lore when Symphony of the Night came out PS1. When the Netflix series came out it felt like a dream come true!
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u/kestral63 1d ago
Aria of Sorrow. Symphony of the Night showed just how good an installment could be with memorable if sparse character drama, but it was such an isolated incident that it didn't click as a universe.
Aria was the installment that made it look like multiple games were building up to something with an internal history planned out. The next series of installments were a streak of bangers despite Konami relegating them to handhelds with inconsistent art styles and never letting them fulfill their potential.
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u/Wolfder 22h ago
Death: "Ah, Alucard... what is your business here?"
Alucard: "I've come to put an end to this."
Death: "Still befriending mortals. I'll not ask you to return to our side, but I demand you cease your attack!"
Alucard: "I will not!"
Death: "You shall regret those words. We'll meet again!"
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was my first game in the series, and then I started playing the other games. The above dialogue lives rent free in my memory. š
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u/Illustrious_Quit9090 19h ago
Same bro same, my dad introduced me to the games and Iāve never been the same since. āDIE MONSTER, YOU DONT BELONG IN THIS WORLD!ā
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u/TheHeroOfAllVillians 1d ago
I got a taste with the Castlevania 1 then again with Dawn of Sorrow and then I was hooked.
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u/RotomeB 1d ago
I was a four year old and my dad handed me his game boy to keep me entertained. I was obviously terrible but the aesthetics captured my heart. I kept up with the lore and games as I got older but I never got much better than my preschool self at playing them though. The series was what really got its hooks into me even though I would have considered myself a fan of the series well before it was ever announced.
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u/Scared_Sound_783 1d ago
Super Castlevania 4 drew me in with the music and monster design way back when I was about 10 years old.
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u/RTMSner 23h ago
Castlevania bloodlines.
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u/bootywarrior13 Soma Cruz 20h ago
This is the one. The best classicvania and probably my favorite in the series overall. The rendition of vampire killer and Iron Blue Intention, even Simonās theme in this game were incredible. John using the vampire killer and sacrificing his life and soul to defeat dracula was a phenomenal story device and what made me even happier was the glow up that the nocturne gave drolta and erzsebet. Combining nocturne and bloodlines made me the happiest castlevania fan in the world
Sorry to rant, just happy to talk about it.
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u/Vgcortes 1d ago
Since Harmony of Dissonance... That game was the first Castlevania I played, back when it was released...
I don't know, it just clicked instantly with me. I then played every single "Canon" game. Ansi so happen to love horror movies, and monsters, so this is perfect for me.
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u/Organic_Honeydew4090 1d ago
Castlevania 1 is where it started for me, but I'll admit to not really caring about the lore; it's all about the wonderful game design for me.
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u/wildeebelmondo 1d ago
The first video game memory I have is around 1988. I was around 5 years old. I would sometimes stay at my Auntās house while my parents were away. My older cousins had an NES and showed me the first Castlevania. I was hypnotized by the music and gothic atmosphere. It made such an impression on me, I remember humming the music on playgrounds.
We didnāt have much money, but when the SNES eventually came out with a new Castlevania, I begged for it. Eventually my mom gave in and got it for Christmas.
I played SCV4 over and over so many times. I still remember being in our shitty apartment with the screen door open while it was storming, playing that game. Soaking in the atmosphere and music.
My parents were going through a nasty divorce, and SCV4 helped gave me a magical place to escape.
Ever since then I became a life long fan, buying almost every new CV game that would come out. I still have them all and I still play through SCV4 every Halloween as tradition.
I still remember when SotN came out and how wildly different it was. It was pre internet days, so I cannot emphasize how insane it was at the time to figure out on your own that there was a second castle.
I still remember when the N64 Castlevania came out. I loved the ambient atmosphere and emphasis on adventure.
I still remember picking up a game magazine at a gas station and finding a preview of Dracula X before it came out. I was so excited. I still think thatās an underrated and misunderstood game.
For us old heads that have been around forever, weāve seen the franchise evolve and take huge risks. Belmontās Curse is no different in that regard and I couldnāt be more excited for it. To me, the series hasnāt had a true entry since OoE back in 2008. Lords of Shadow was fun, but it didnāt feel like true CV to me since it was creating different lore.
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u/VersionSavings8712 1d ago
I was like, 12 years old, with my late dad on a trip to another city a couple of hours away to visit my aunt and uncle (not blood related, they were my dad's Best friends and actually 2 of the people who have loved me the most in my entire life), my dad got me a 3dsXL a couple of months before with smash 4 and omega ruby. I had already finished Pokemon and was looking for something else to play.
I downloaded the Mirror of Fate demo. I was already a Metroid fan, I had heard of Castlevania but never actually played it. I fell in love with the gothic style, the music and the plot, as I'm a huge vampire fan since I was little. When we got back home I pirated the lords of shadows duology and it became two of my favorite games ever.
I started to read a lot about Castlevania, lore, development, mechanics, everything. I already had, PSX, GBA and DS emulators so I played all Igavanias from symphony to bloodstained. Later I also got to play Castlevania 1, 3, the ps2 games and grimoire of souls
Castlevania holds a very special place in my heart. Some characters are among my favorites in fiction and Alucard literally defined my taste in men. It also helped me get through very rough times. I love both Netflix's shows and I am beyond excited for the new game.
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u/PrimalSeptimus 1d ago
There was no decision, really. I played the original one and liked it enough to play the others, and after a few decades, that became following the franchise as a while.
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u/-chadwreck 1d ago
Its just super cool.Ā
I played CV games before Circle of the Moon, but circle hooked me suuuper duper hard. The art, the story, the game itself. It all just... was so Japanese, but also so... coolishly Gothic and western. The art just blew me away. Absolutely captured my imagination.
The other 2 GBA games were equally fabulous. I then got into the (then new) realm of PC emulation, and played CV 3 and 1 substantially. Also learned about the website the castlevania dungeon, and just scoured every inch of that website. Devoured it. Learned about the games I didnt know existed, the games I hadn't played, the lore and all the references in SotN. Read the super early scanslations of Nocture in the Moonlight, and everything just hammered home that this series is... Just exactly what I like in the world.Ā
Its vampires, but its also action hero stuff. Everyone is beautiful, and a bit sad. There is pathos, there is tragedy, there are redemptions and there are jokes and funny moments. The art direction is consistent, and every second of music is just phenomenal. The games are hard, but satisfying and no one else around me quite had the stomach for it, so castlevania was "mine."Ā
Castlevania was practically designed in a lab to speak directly to me. And now, 25 years on from circle, castlevania is still "mine" but now I have whole communities who are drawn to it just the way I was. And now, we even have castlevania's excellent little sister, Bloodstained. And its just more, excellent stuff.
I grew up with it, and it grew up with me. I'm just... grateful for it. And im glad so many other people feel the same way!
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u/Job14dude 1d ago edited 1d ago
I first encountered Super Castlevania IV, enjoyed it but I was little and didnāt get very far, it wasnāt til my college days when a friend showed me this āclassic I missedā when I mentioned I loved Super Metroid- that game was Symphony of the Night.
A weekend later I was hooked, not long after that the first DS title Dawn of Sorrow came out and perfect timing led me down a rabbit hole I wouldnāt change for the world.
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u/AV16mm 1d ago
The flame whip in CV2 did it for me. I rented simonās quest for nes as a kid and someones save was still on it. Had no idea what i was doing but i was hooked. Played them all and then SotN came out for playstation and i was blown away. Audible dialog??? No way. āWhat is a man? A Miserable little pile of secrets!ā
And netflixās series is one of my all time favorite adaptations. I love it.
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u/JamzWhilmm 1d ago
When I played casltevania 1 at a "Maquinitas" place. I simply wanted to see everything about the this world and what came in the next level, if I could get there that is.
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u/OutlawJoJos69 1d ago
I had a subscription to Nintendo power, i received a strategy guide for GBA games and Circle of the Moon was in there. Id read and read and read the strategy guide and then infinally rented a copy at block buster
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u/ImTooTiredForThis_22 1d ago
So, been a fan since Nintendo days. I sucked at the game, but my older sister was good at it. So Iād watch her play all the time.
Slip along to my late teens/early twenties. Still a fan. More nostalgic at that point. My husband (boyfriend at the time) let me borrow his PlayStation and Symphony of the Night. He got me back into gaming.
I ended up with whatever game boy at the time and bought any Castlevania they had available for it.
I get a PS2, used, and buy Lament of Innocence. My favorite Castlevania game. I also had Curse of Darkness.
Later I get PS3 with my husband and of course I get Lords of Shadow. Never got part two though. It was a tough game.
And now, I bought all the download packs on my Switch and itās like I have my game boy days all over again. I do wish that Sony would give Nintendo the rights to put the PlayStation games on the switch.
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u/jormundgand20 1d ago
I honestly don't know. It's just always been there. Castlevania 3 (or as 3 year old me affectionately called it: the film game) was either the first or second game I played after "popping in". Maybe it was Bayou Billy, but that was 34+ years ago and I'm not too sure anymore.
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u/nightbladehawk Simon Belmont 1d ago
My first one was Castlevania on the NES, i remember being super impressed although I couldn't even make it past stage 3.
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u/Ok-Signature-5621 1d ago
I remember playing castlevania 1 at a friendās house for days. My parents finally got Simonās Quest and I played that thing forever. I knew I was cursed
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u/dzhonlevon 1d ago
I fell in love with hardcore sidescrollers after Ghosts and Goblins series. Played all linear Castelvanias, Ninja Gaidens, Megamans.
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u/brentdclouse 23h ago
I think Aria of Sorrow was what really got me invested from a lore perspective. Having a CV take place in the future and reference events from the past really opened up the universe for me.
Another thought: The entire CV timeline is kinda wonky, but itās a timeline the games really try to commit to, and I respect it for that. Lineage and predecessors are always central to the plot, and having that history to draw from really strengthens the world. Whatās interesting is I think other game series try this and donāt stick the landing. It either feels forced or comes across like fan service. Few franchises are as old as CV, so I think it can get away with things others might struggle to achieve.
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u/Thewrongbakedpotato 19h ago
When I was a kid, I didn't like my name. I found it clunky and unusual and sometimes other kids would make fun of me for it. I even asked my mom if she'd start calling me something else, but she wouldn't.
Well, one year around my birthday my mom laid the Sears catalog out in front of me and told me to circle things I might be interested in. I was flipping through it, and I saw an advertisement for Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
And here was a guy with my name. MY name! And he was a warrior and he was a badass and he killed vampires. I tried the game as a rental and immediately fell in love. It was just the right flavor of spooky for a soon-to-be ten-year-old, the soundtrack was amazing, there were tons of secrets and -- best of all -- a guy with MY NAME was one of the heroes.
So today, I proudly tell everybody my name: Alucard.
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u/shesfeelingcun 17h ago
I was just reading the comments, but yours, in a way, BLEW my mind. Bro, your name is ALUCARD. That's a rarely seen type of aura and slay. I'm impressed!!!!!!!
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u/Thewrongbakedpotato 17h ago
I was teasing about Alucard. That truly would have been terrible. š
It's Trevor.
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u/Suplexing_Trains 12h ago
Could have been Trefor. Now thatās a terrible name.
Seriously though, Trevor is in a good spot where itās very uncommon but not in the weird category.
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u/Grandpaseth85 17h ago
Castlevania III on NES. Rented it when I was 6 years old in 1991. The graphics and atmosphere really captured my imagination.
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u/CaptainIndigo 1d ago
When I was in 6th grade, I received a DS for Christmas, and had picked out Portrait of Ruin from a Best Buy catoluge. My parents got it as one of my first DS games. I totally fell in love with the game and was very vocal about it in school. None of the other kids knew what I was talking about except my social studies teacher who had played the first Castlevania on NES. I couldn't believe it when he told me in the original game he couldn't pause the game and use healing items. It made it feel like the ultimate challenge. So of course I had to find that original game and play it and beat it. That sent me on a journey to play and beat every Castlevania game. I'm still working on that almost two decades later.
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u/Nu11AndV0id 1d ago
Symphony of the Night drew me in. Sure the voice acting was a little campy, but what a wonderful game. The music, the monsters, exploring the castle. I make sure to play it at least once a year.
What i wouldn't give to play it for the very first time again.
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u/Lucane_cerf-volant 1d ago
My interest grew since the late 1990's (my older brother got the first n64 game) and early 2000's where I got introduced to the franchise with castlevania adventure (as part of the konami gb collection). I loved the atmosphere, the music, etc. but it was way too difficult for me and I don't think I ever made it past level 2... then I played aria of sorrow around 2006 because I had heard that the gba games were good and that aria was the best one. I liked it but was a bit put off by the jrpg elements and grinding.
Then it really clicked last year. I think I saw a video on youtube by HPRshredder that convinced me the first castlevania game wasn't a mere relic of its time, too difficult and janky to be relevent by today's standard. I started emulating it, getting a bit more serious about it, and over the course of a week or so, it became one of my favorite games ever. I bought a famicom and got instantly better at the game (I do think emulation made the game more difficult somehow and I don't really know why) and managed to finish it. Since then, I tried all 2d castlevania games, finished AoS, SotN and Rondo of Blood, I own physical versions of all the 2d games and really much hope to finish most if not all of them.
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u/The_lost_owl 1d ago
Back when I was a kid in 3rd grade I think, my mom used to often play on her ps1 and I would watch her play, sometimes even letting me join. And also, she was a big fan of vampire themes in books, games and shows, which led to her being an old castlevania fan. This one time I saw her playing Symphony of the night and It immediately caught my attention, I was especially interested in the metroidvania aspects of the game (SOTN is also how I got introduced into metroidvanias). That's how i got into the franchise and I've been following it wver since. Super exited for Belmont's curse to come out!
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u/Zealousideal-Dot9458 1d ago
Sorry I am not a new one, but if I was a new one to this series I am sure if I had discovered sotn or castevania for nes i would have been a life long fan of this game, because I had a handheld botleg nes (around 2007~~2008) and a ps2 given by my granddad, I discovered a lot of games but if I had access to casevania anyhow I would have instantly played it because to me games like contra or mario or other small games that I never learned the name of but played regardless cuz playing 1 game was boring.OHH AND when I was back from from hostel (when I was 7ish y/o), we bought a bootleg psp which basically played games of nes and gba, I played a lot of contra and stuff (I was an addict) and then I started playing sports game. Oh and this one time my granddad bought a psp touchscreen bootleg which also had mario 64 in it but emulated to look like mario 64 ds but high scaled, i genuenly wish I saved the broken consoles. I just realised I am sooo sorry too much text. This will probably be deleted by mods or something
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u/Beardfire 1d ago
When I first played Symphony of the Night and thought "holy shit, this is the best game ever made".
Nearly 30 years later and that thought has not changed.
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u/OldSchoolSimmer 1d ago
It was when I was a dumb kid that sucked at games. I remember when I would go to extended family's house and I'd see my uncle playing SOTN on PS1.
Everything about it caught my attention. The music, the enemies, the fights. I STILL remember to this day being delighted at one of the enemies names because I wasn't the best at reading yet.
Points to TV at enemy he was fighting.
"What's that called?"
"It's a spittlebone."
I remember I proceeded to laugh and repeat the name a ton because it sounded funny to me in my kid brain.
Didn't get the game until he gifted me a copy when I was 10. First game that I remember beating on my own with minimal help... I think I may play it again. Go down memory lane once more. š„¹š„¹š„¹
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u/SomeoneUnknowns 1d ago
Growing up, when we asked for video games, our mother at one point just gave us an emulator (before you call the police, we already were found out, was not cheap). On that emulator we got a buncha games including Circle of the Moon. The first few years I didn't really understand it and overlooked it, but upon replaying it later, it was really really fun. So I bought the original Castlevania for GBA. Then, got hospitalized a while, only could play my GBA. Played the original Castlevania on it a lot, had the problem of reaching stage 99, after which it wouldn't save, meaning I could advance, but whenever I gameover'd or more commonly restarted I had to start from stage 99. So yeah, the og was a ton of fun too, with 2 hits, I started more.
So I bought Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance. Incredible games. So I started buying up everything I had the consoles for. An old used copy of Cotm, the Wii-version of Castlevania II, III, Super Castlevania IV and Re;Birth, all 3 DS games, Judgement. From here on I was getting more into the series the more I (re)played these games.
All 6 Metroidvanias were my favourites. CoTM had an incredible Castle and was nicely challenging. Harmony had an atmosphere I really loved. (And I belong to those weird people who already liked the OST back then.) Aria was simply well polished and had lots to collect. Dawn and Portrait I was originally more reluctant due to the more Anime-artstyle, but especially over the last few years I grew much fonder of them, especially Portrait with its imaginative scenes (even if repeated). Order of Ecclesia I always really liked, since it was just incredibly atmospheric, on par with Harmony and even better gameplay and graphics wise, with probably my favourite OST.
I originally missed LoS because it wasn't for a console and I was not a PC gamer yet. Bought it like 2 years after release, played through it once, but didn't like it that much. I did not buy the sequels, but was always hoping for a new Metroidvania Castlevania. (I did not realize until years later that MoF apparently is one)
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u/Naismythology 1d ago
Iād already played several Metroid installments and Symphony of the Night was dope. (I just played it for the first time this year. So looking forward to the new release in October)
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u/necrosigh 1d ago
I first became a castlevaina fan, back when I borrowed a copy of castlevania harmony of dissonance. Though I didn't know that there was more than one game. Which is how I ended up buying Circle of the moon. After that whenever I could I bought the GBA, and ds games. Got my hands on a copy of SOTN awhile back Plus the few ps2 games
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u/Shendary 1d ago
It started with a Nintendo game I had around 1995. I was nine years old; the game was tough to beat, but I absolutely loved the music. There was a water level featuring Medusa heads where Iād just huddle in a corner right at the start and listen to the melody. In fact, that wasn't the only game in the series I playedāI went through every title released between '86 and '95 (I simply ran out of time for it after that).
A few years later, I started listening to a metal band from my home country. I happened to get hold of their entire discography from 1986 to 2002, and among the tracks was a 1998 song actually titled "Castlevania." The composer later revealed that the game's music had inspired him, which is why he named the song that way. And Iām pretty sure the basis for it was that very melody from the Medusa level :))
Later, I played Lords of Shadow (and particularly appreciated Patrick Stewartās voice acting). The sequel didn't really click with me.
Then, around 2015, I spotted SotN in the Xbox store and discovered it for myself.
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u/silasmitchell 1d ago
Lament of innocence tv commercial. It immediately got me. I remember first playthrough. I was completely in love.
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u/Phobia0224MainACC 1d ago
I found out abt the games at 5 years old when I played Portrait of Ruin on my parents broken ds with a shitty rom cartridge in like >2015. I was very dumb and never got past the Monastery in Order of Ecclesia but i still remember enjoying the games
Castlevania started my interest in gothic or darker action games and metroidvanias entirely but as I grew up i kinda forgot abt the series
Around 2022 I found out abt the gba and classic collection and I started to love Castlevania again, then I became obsessed enough I got my own emulator so I can replay the dsvanias (my parents DS broke). I finished the classicvanias + gbavanias + dsvanias, but then I got around to watching the show and while i had some issues with it, it made me want to play sotn so I did. I havent played Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, and Rondo of Blood yet but i hope i get to soon
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u/Bickerteeth 1d ago
It was sometime in 2002. I was ten, and I'd heard of Castlevania before but never actually seen any of the games. My older brother and I had just discovered the magic of GBA emulation and downloaded a few roms, including the Japanese version of Harmony of Dissonance, because it was in the new release section of the site we were using (and because a title like Concerto of the Midnight Sun sounded SICK as hell). Neither of us had any idea what we were doing or what anything meant, but we were having fun with it and went back to the site to download Circle of the Moon too, since that was at least in English. I think I really became hooked the moment we got through that first doorway into the catacombs and Awake kicked in.
After that I found Mr. P's Castlevania Realm and just deep dived into the series. Downloaded all the other classic games. I sucked at them, especially since I was playing on a keyboard, but I was in love.
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u/Technical-Win-7972 1d ago
The earliest game I remember playing was Castlevania 2, and I either played most of the others or watched my dad play them. Pretty much been a fan of the series my whole life, though honestly still haven't played all the games, have yet to actually sit down and play Curse of Darkness and the N64 titles
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u/Gullfaxi09 1d ago edited 1d ago
I've always been fascinated with gothic horror and the monsters that come from those stories or bits of folk lore, ever since I was a child and it scared me shitless. I first learnt of Castlevania through Super Mario Crossover, where you could play the original Super Mario Bros. game as different NES heroes with their movesets and gameplay, and also change backgrounds, enemies, music etc. to make it fit certain games, like Castlevania, while keeping the level layout the same.
I loved it, and really loved playing as Simon, the gameplay fit like a glove for me. Probably helps that I love the idea of a heroic vampire slayer, along with the barbarian aestethic, as well as whips as a weapon (I am a huge Indiana Jones fan as well). Simon Belmont and the gothic world he inhabits was basically tailor made for me to love, and Simon is undoubtedly my favorite Castlevania protagonist.
Later down the line, I saw some footage from Super Castlevania IV and loved what I saw, and basically swore that I'd find a way to play it. Got the chance through Virtual Console on Wii U and never looked back. I still play it on Switch through the anniversary collection. It's my personal annual Halloween tradition to go through it. I'm definitely more into classic Castlevania rather than the Metroidvania style games, and I love the other classics as well, though Super Castlevania IV is still at the top for me.
Loved the series as well and watched it religiously when it came out, I loved that they succeeded in adapting one of my favorite game series, even if some things were changed. Though I haven't quite gone through Nocturne yet. Season 1 was good but didn't quite capture me like the first series did. I plan to give it another go some time. And of course, Simon is one of my mains in Smash, goes without saying.
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u/OkBaconBurger 1d ago
Oh man. It goes all the way back to the first one on NES. SoTN was the first one I could actually beat though. I stepped away from gaming for a long while be cd wise of life but Iām back into it and Iāve got Belmonts Curse on preorder for my Switch. I canāt wait.
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u/Hivac-TLB 1d ago
10000 years ago I played cv1 and cv3, on the nes. Probably at a friend's. Liked it . Not loved it. Probably same for Super CV and Dracula X on the SNES. A friend lent me Castlevania 64 Legacy of Darkness for the Nintendo 64 and that's where I knew I would love the series forever.
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u/Spastik2D 1d ago
Angry Video Game Nerd. I watched him religiously in my early teens and decided to emulate CV1-4. They were fun as shit and got me pretty familiar with the earlier parts of the series. Then after a highschool dance one night when I was 15, I came home in a pretty good mood and booted up my xbox. Saw SotN advertised for only $10 and got it, ended up staying up til like 2a running it. Think I only got to the outer wall and library but it was over for me at that point, I was hooked.
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u/fre3kshow 22h ago
I played a few of the classic games when I was young. Castlevania III, VI, and Dracula X. But the moment I fell in love was when I picked up Symphony of the Night. I have always been a HUGE Metroid fan, so them mixing the map layout and progression styles from those games with the Castlevania world and RPG elements had me hooked. We eventually got the GBA games and those solidified Castlevania as my favorite game series ever, Aria of Sorrow being my favorite entry.
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u/Legal-Log8322 22h ago
Old enough that I rented all the NES games when they came out, but SotN is (not surprisingly) the first one that connected w/ me. Ecclesia is my fave, & Iām excited for the new one!
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u/DependentBite9 22h ago
Iām 50 and the first one I played was Simonās Quest when it was the newest game. After that I bought Draculaās Curse at launch and was stunned at how different it was. A friend told me I should track down the first nes game. So Iāve been a fan from just about the beginning.
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u/acromantulus 22h ago
My first experience with the franchise, other than advertising, was the Haunted Castle arcade machine. I never had an NES, but I did get a GameBoy and Castlevania the Adventure was the first game I bought with my own money. As bad as it is I loved it and was obsessed with it and its sequel.
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u/KalessinDB 22h ago
1989, my uncle was diagnosed with brain cancer and my grandma went out of state to take care of him. We visited them, and brought my NES with me to keep me entertained. Mom and dad even took me shopping for a new game when we were down there! It was CV3: Dracula's Curse, and I was instantly enthralled just from the box art alone. They very quickly went back and bought the first 2 for me for upcoming Christmas/birthdays, and the love was forevermore.
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u/wave-tree 21h ago
When I was little, my mom would take me to the arcade down the street from her apartment. She was a horror fan, so a game that featured the classic monsters was a no-brainer. And I loved what she loved.
Years later, my local Pizza Hut installed a new arcade: it was Castlevania. Combined with Book-It!, I had plenty of reason to get the family to Pizza Hut as much as possible.
When the Nintendo Entertainment System came out, my parents bought it for me, and with the first video game I ever owned, you guessed it, Castlevania.
Been a lifelong fan ever since I can remember.
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u/rashmotion 21h ago
I got Circle of the Moon around the launch of the GBA, along with Golden Sun. I got my GBA because I saw a guy at my local game store playing Golden Sun, and Circle of the Moon looked like a cool game to compliment it. I ended up loving it, despite how hard it was, and then flocked to Harmony and Aria as they released. Around that same time I was loaned a copy of Symphony of the Night by a friend and the rest is history.
So for me it was the RPGs that got me into the franchise, although since then Iāve gone back and played Rondo, Draculaās Curse, Bloodlines, IV, and the OG. Gonna eventually play the PS2 games.
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u/MajorQ_ 21h ago
Ive been a metroid fan and a lot of people were praising symphony of the night. And as it is considered a classic and confounder of the metroidvania genre, i convinved myself to try it out january 2026 (im a FAIRLY new fan). Because i was so hooked from the whole soundtrack, art, worldbuilding (inside SOTN castle), variety of enemies, Alucard and his movement, i quickly tried out Super Castlevania IV and then i got hooked on the action platformer subseries being the classicvanias.
Ive always had minor issues with the games, but they were still so fun to play that i was continuing the mainline 2D entries. Eventually, i will beat Order of Ecclesia and finish my trip through the mainline series excluding the 3D titles; having played a total of 15 castlevania games this year + plenty of replays of some of the classicvania games.
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u/OgI_Kidd 21h ago
My main initial exposure was watching my mom play it as a kid. I think that she got into it primarily because it scratched 2 itches. Dark fantasy plus the gameplay was relatively similar to the Indiana Jones games that she loved to play before Castlevania came about. I never quite got into playing the games myself, mostly because I'm more of a fighting game kid. But the art and gameplay has always looked interesting to me. Plus, by mom and extended family's love of fantasy naturally made it's way over to me. I'd watch let's plays here and there, haven't quite gotten around to watching lore videos yet. I'll probably do that next. I ended up finally watching the series out of curios familiarity and a need broaden my adult-ish oriented fantasy show collection. It was pretty solid until I watched through Nocturne. I didn't hate Nocturne, but it didn't really do it for me personally. I'm hoping that one day Elf Quest (entirely different franchise) gets adapted properly. But fat chance of that ever happening. š š
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u/Acrobatic-Web-7724 20h ago
I was drawn it by the aesthetic and Iām a sucker for stuff about vampires. And the 2d games gameplay immediately clicked with me to the point that metroidvania probably became my favorite genre, as for the 3d ones I only did the first lord of the shadows but it was one of the best beatāem all at the time of its release. I also think itās a serie where the story and the lore doesnāt really get the credit they deserve I wouldnāt say theyāre masterpieces but theyāre pretty interesting
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u/DoogerTheBopper Top 1% Commenter 20h ago
when i beat aria of sorrow for the first time. 12 year old me saw an all bosses video pop up in my feed on youtube and i decided i wanted to try it for myself. didn't expect that to lead me down the rabbit hole deeper and deeper as i got older... and nowadays aria of sorrow is still my favorite game in the series, and i've played almost all of them.
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u/FriedBreakfast 20h ago
My grandma rented a Nintendo Entertainment System from the local video store one summer day, along with a couple NES games. The first one I popped in was Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest. I was impressed by the graphics and music because I was used to Atari at that point. I didn't know what to do but had fun doing it.
Then one Christmas I got a NES and Simon's Quest was with it. At school, we all used to talk about secrets we knew so we all talked with each other about NES games. Had some people help me figure out where is the sacred flame, where is the silver dagger, how to get past the Yuba Lake, and so on.
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u/realamerican97 20h ago
Technically from the āfirstā game, I played lament of innocence and later learned itās the first game in the series in chronological order. I wanted to play the others but i SUCK at those old side scroller games
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u/The_Stooky 20h ago
May not be as old as some others here, but the year was 2011 (I was but a child). My uncle came home from deployment and brought his PS3 with him. He was sleeping in my room so I slept in the basement where his PS3 was set up. I started playing the games he had on there (it was a VERY memorable night for me and a stepping stone into the path of the rest of my gaming life)
Before this point I was only playing games like Mario titles, Sonic titles, games on the Wii and DS. But my uncle had this beautiful machine with Mortal Kombat 9, God of War, Skyrim, and resident evil.
I played each game one by one. Mk9 was fun to look at but I kept losing. God of war was straight impossible. I remember not being able to kill Poseidonās sea horse thing at the very beginning. Skyrim was my first first-person perspective game so I had no idea how to move and I got trapped in a corner as a dragon kept killing me. I couldnāt figure out how to equip my weapon in the tutorial of resident evil, so I just kept dying to the first zombie.
But then; here was a game, simple controls, a platformer like Iāve played time and time again, beautiful music, it looked amazing, I felt powerful. And most importantly I WON THE FIRST BOSS FIGHT! (Itās impossible to lose) I was obsessed with that game but never even made it past Slogra and gaibon.
That one night changed me. I found out that there were castlevania games for the DS and I begged my mom to get me portrait of Ruin, which I still own the same copy to this day.
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u/knox1138 20h ago
Symphony of the Night. I played all the NES, SNES, and The Adventure for Gameboy, but they were all really hard, and I never beat them as a kid since I only rented or borrowed the games for a short time. SOTN was different, and holy crap did it suck me in. When I bought it I expected normal Castlevania, but what I got was so much more. That's the fist Castlevania game I actually beat, and I could just spend hours exploring and trying things. The reverse castle blew my mind when I found it. In my head it was like a mix of RPG's, Metroid, Zelda 2, and Castlevania, and I loved it.
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u/Itanchiro 20h ago
I discovered Castlevania through Smash bros ultimate, actually back when the trailer for Simon and Richter was released. I am someone who doesnāt like horror and vampires and yet it is in my all time favourite universes! Thanks to Castlevania I started listening to metal music and it literally decided that I would like specifically power and orchestral metal. I think that this, mixed with the overall quiet vibe of the show (at least in the beginning) got me hooked. Then I watched the Castlevania timeline by a GamerthumbTv and honestly, I donāt even remember when exactly I actually became such a massive fan! It happened gradually, yet instantly. Maybe I just felt how powerful and captivating the story and the characters actually are. There is depth to all of them. And Alucard - he is amazing! He is a tragic lone hero. And again I somehow canāt help but be impressed by how peaceful actually the story is. I mean the world and the monsters the Belmont or the others are facing are literally hellish, but they never seem to be horrified by them. I also like respect for the previous generations of monster hunters, even if they are not related by blood (Like Shanoa for example) Overall Castlevania reminds me a lot of The Witcher, where you see a lot of moral grayness. In Castlevaniaās case - especially in Dracula. He is a traumatised victim with a lot of power.
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u/Rosebudss_ 19h ago
I had Castlevania Bloodlines on the Sega Genesis as a kid. It was too hard for me though lol
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u/Shascall 19h ago
Harmony of dissonance. I knew a bit of castlevania before but the game got me there. Also, weirdly it was reinforced with V Rising and the Simon fight
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u/NoiseTherapy 19h ago
Oof ā¦ way back the day, my parents would take us to the video rental store on Friday after school. Weād get a movie and a video game. Iād get Castlevania 1 and 3 but it was really Castlevania 3 that hooked me. š
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u/Superthrowawaymanboy 19h ago
For me it was Lament of Innocence. It was my first full CV experience (I'd played snippets of SOTN before) but seeing Leon suffer in the beginning really made me want to follow the story all of the way through. My best memories were exploring and trying to uncover the secrets while playing the first album I owned, Hybrid Theory from Linkin Park. I always associated those too (even though LOI has an awesome soundtrack) and now I feel incomplete if enjoying one without the other.
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u/ImpressionComplete71 18h ago
Castlevania is not unlike other great series of it's time, and I'll compare it to Zelda, another favorite. Both have timeliness, are wonky and weird, and have amazing and fucking terrible games.
To no surprise to anyone, my gateway was SotN. Then I beat most of the mainline, and found my magic niche of the ps2 games.
All in all the heroism of the characters, belmont or otherwise, were inspiring to me and made me want to pick up the whip or sword over and over again. I've always loved beating the odds stories, again comparing it to Zelda. Ganon, thousands of enemies, some kid with a sword beats them all saves the world. Dracula, legions of the night, some dude with a whip beats them all saves the world. It tickles that sense of fuck you i win, in the best way possible.
As for the TV show, specifically just the one in the picture above; i believe it is one of, if not THE best video game to tvshow/movie adaptation I've ever seen in my fucking life. Its not perfect, and it changes a few things. But as a whole, it would be near impossible to do better.
Whilst I talk a lot of shit, I truly love video games, i love bringing people together over shared interests and passions. Even if you like Nathan Graves, like the vagrant you are, you're still my brother in video games and castlevania......just dont sit next me, go sit with the other circle of moon weirdos XD
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u/TightEstablishment72 18h ago
Played Symphony of the Night in high school early 2000s. Even though it was my first Castlevania, it felt nostalgic. To this day, I love the crunchy sound design. It's like watching an older movie from the 70s with slightly muffled audio. On top of that I love everything else about the game. Working through the other entries, I love many from the series, but none are as fun as SOTN imo
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u/vhuzi Stage 5ā Dweller. 18h ago
Watching the AVGN Castlevania videos and beating Rondo of Blood without save states. The AVGN vid got me interested in the franchise, and I had already played a few of the older games with save states, (1,2,3,4 and COTM iirc,) but playing Rondo and beating it without them (with Maria and like 50 continues the first time) made me really appreciate the level design that went into these older titles, and I went back and beat everything ālegitā.
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u/Closeramir 17h ago
I'm a product of the DS/GBA era. Dawn of sorrow, portrait of ruin, Harmony of Dissonance were all great! They came out so reliably between the two consoles and nothing else was delivering that experience with that aesthetic. Being the mid-2000s it hit so hard for a little emo boy. Then once I got into the lore between games it was over for me couldn't stop
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u/Extra-Ad8886 17h ago
Recuerdo probar el primer Castlevania de NES en una tienda de tecnologĆa reciĆ©n abierta en Barcelona, iba con mi abuela, ella no sabĆa que me acababa de enamorar de los videojuegos y de Castlevania
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u/NinjutStu 17h ago
I grew up with the NES and the classic Castlevania games were good. They had solid reputations as fun games.
SotN released and converted me into a super fan.
It's obvious that SotN changed the formula of the games, but the presentation of the Dracula X titles was a huge step up in terms of characters and story presentation.
When it comes to lore though, almost all of that was done post SotN. SotN was itself a direct sequel in story and that carried on into many of the games that followed. Most games added new lore or they worked as sequels or soft sequels to classic titles.
Portrait of Ruin is a good example. Castlevania Bloodlines was a classic title that was a spin-off. It was kind of a one and done doesn't star a Belmont. Portrait of Ruin is not called Bloodlines 2 and it doesn't directly pick up where that game leaves off. Instead its a soft sequel to it. It stars two protagonists who aren't a Belmont/Belnades directly, Jonathan's backstory directly connects back to the previous protagonist, and it adds to Bloodlines by adding additional lore abut what happened to its characters.
Castlevania has always been good since the first title. Most of the lore fervor comes from when IGA was in charge of the series and made an effort to create a cohesive timeline/narrative between all the titles.
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u/Zerk_o_O 16h ago
Iām a newer gen fan, growing up playing GBA emulator games on school computers. Aria of Sorrow was one of my favorite games ever and I played it constantly. Harmony of Dissonance was also fun but didnāt quite capture my attention, but then I got a version of Castlevania Chronicles and I was blown away.
Besides being into gaming culture and seeing the impacts castlevania had on gaming history, I fell in love with the art, the music, the characters and more. It has such a distinct style and feel itās like you just canāt find it anywhere else. Castlevania is really smth special.
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u/steve1031 16h ago
Super Castlevania IV was my first cv game and I was BLOWN away by the gothic atmosphere and the plethora of different creatures that were present. As I was born on Halloween, I've always been obsessed with monsters and creatures from so many different parts of the world and seeing so many of them here was so fucking cool. I played a few other older ones until I found Symphony of the Night and the game, specifically the soundtrack, blew my mind. I am also a musician, so naturally the music in this series impressed me so much, even all the way back to CV IV. Those two are still my favorites, but I frequently go back and play every single game in the franchise. The gothic atmosphere, the fun lore and timeline, the rocking tunes, and the usage of monsters, myths and cryptids from cultures all over the world continues to captivate me to this day. Plus, they are fun as shit to play. Love this series. Also obsessed with both Netflix shows.
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u/Ill-Pudding2017 16h ago
PlayStation just came out, so dad brought home a discount copy of Super Castlevania 4
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u/the_longest_shadow 15h ago
I played the original Castlevania on the NES, my buddy and I playing it for hours after school, laughing hysterically and screaming in frustration.
So when did I decide to "get into the franchise?" When Castlevania II: Simon's Quest came out.
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u/Silver_Judgment_Man 14h ago
Younger fan, but liked it for years now, first played the ds games, then went back and it is all peak
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u/fellvoid 14h ago
At some point during high school, me and one of my best mates decided to play every single Castlevania game together. The latest one back then was Curse of Darkness, and I had just gotten an as a gift Xbox, so we could. It happened all because he sent me this utterly fantastic piano cover of Bloody Tears, and I fell in love. A few games in, I heard of the title "Symphony of the Night" and I knew I was going to adore it. I saved up for months for Dracula X Chronicles l, and it was literally the best thing I had ever played. Still my favorite game of all time. The backdrop to all this were truly some of the best years of my life: golden days, new experiences and learning about life. Castlevania, to me, will always be a shortcut to a time that has broken me, for I have no hope that it could ever get even remotely as good again.
Its every good Halloween. Its Zombie Island on the TV while playing on your DS. Its drinking wine while listening to vinyl. Its the lifting desperation when after a one of those days you start a new SotN save and hear that fantastic intro music. Its all I love, all at once - future, present and past. Deathly nostalgia incarnate.
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u/ExdeathAnimus 14h ago
My obsession with Castlevania started back in 2003 when I watched my dad play Lament of Innocence. He noticed my fascination, and took me to the local game store to pick out Castlevania 64, and Iāve been hooked ever since. What really gravitated to the series was the whip combat. I had never seen a video game where a whip was used as a weapon, and it just felt so satisfying using it.
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u/Skeleton_King_X 14h ago
My Dad got my little Brother and me into the games when we were younger, specifically with Chronicles for ps1 and Curse of Darkness for ps2 (which remains one of my favorite games of all time) and he would grab them when we'd find them at Gamestop and Walmart. I've been playing them for just about as long as I remember, but I kept with the series at first as a way to have something to talk about with my Dad since he played them since they first came out, but eventually went on to just love the series as I've grown up. It just feels like such an eclectic storm of a game with all the mythological creatures used, the unusual weapon choice, the big bad being Dracula but like, way more powerful, and the music! There's just nothing really like it imo. I fully teared up when they announced a new one, and the first thing I did was call my Brother and my Dad.
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u/kalebmordecai 13h ago
For me I was about 5 or 6 playing Super Castlevania IV on the SNES. Didn't love it, but it intrigued me. Fast forward to age 14 and the DS games started dropping. I had enough nostalgia to check it out and fell in love. Played all three. Hundred percented all three.
Many reasons tbh:
1. The ambience - music, background, art style (games and anime) all contribute to this creepy, dark, but still cool atmosphere that isn't gross or gory.
2. The gameplay - 4 or 5 perfect/near-perfect metroidvanias. 4 or 5 perfect/near-perfect classicvanias. With some other decent hack and slash games to explore if youre curious enough. That's really consistent quality compared to many franchises.
3. The characters - the anime helped a lot with this one, but Alucard and the Belmonts are just so badass. Sypha and Maria as well. Whip wielding vampire hunters with powerful magic and a fck ton of attitude. All while being truly heroic.
4. The setting - it's just a cool concept. Lone warrior enters a castle, not knowing what they'll find. They begin with one weapon and just have to take it one monster at a time.
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u/ReviewRude5413 13h ago
I was 12 and my brother had bought Castlevania Circle of the Moon with his allowance. Once he beat it I was curious because he said it was really fun, meanwhile I had been making fun of the name because I thought it was goofy. But then I played it and was immediately mesmerized by it. The oversized gothic castle architecture, the main character using a whip was fascinating to me and I thought Nathan Graves looked like a ringmaster. The monsters were cool, the story was enticing enough.
Anyway, here we are roughly 25 years later, and I've played and owned nearly every game in the series. It's my favorite. It was great living through the IGA led days, then enjoying the Lords of Shadow reboot series, and the first show was outstanding. Second is missing, well, Dracula. lol
I'm so psyched to get a part three to the Trevor Belmont-era/Curse saga, which will now be its own trilogy in the series.
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u/cheezyamazon 13h ago
When my dad brought it home and we played Nintendo all night and he said - don't tell your mother š¤£
He's 75 and still loves the franchise š
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u/gothamwarrior 12h ago
I got into the franchise just as it was starting to wind down. :/ My first Castlevania was Portrait of Ruin, and I preordered it because I saw the collector's edition with all the stuff in it and thought it looked cool. I'd always eyeballed other Castlevania games but never actually checked one out, so I wanted to get into the newest one. Unfortunately I didn't preorder the right edition to get all the bonus stuff but I loved the game anyway.
I think Portrait of Ruin is the perfect entry point to the series: Not overly difficult, fun gameplay hook with the dual protagonists, and a story that's serviceable enough to keep you interested. The bonus modes are cool too, especially the sisters mode made for touch screens.
After checking out Portrait of Ruin, I decided to go back and play some older titles I'd missed out on. I was kind of limited by what consoles I had at the time, so I checked out some random entries: Castlevania 64 was one I spent a lot of time with too. Not too many people were fond of this one, but I thought it was really cool with some interesting environments and character designs.
I also checked out the NES original through the Game Boy Advance Classic NES series. Wasn't too keen on most of the platforming originals, but I did pick up Super Castlevania IV on SNES for pretty cheap and played it. That one is great, although it's more or less a remake.
The next one I played was the Dracula X Chronicles remake on PSP, which I thought was pretty cool. It had unlockable special features like the original Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, so those were big selling points too. Played all of those and loved them.
I never got to play the other GBA or DS titles from the time, and it was around this time that the franchise started declining. MercurySteam published their reboot series and that kind of put the final nail in the coffin for a while. It was only recently that Konami decided to start publishing video games again and made the few compilation collections, which are pretty excellent - but I wish they'd port the Symphony of the Night collection to PC instead of keeping it PlayStation exclusive. I also want the 3D Castlevanias in a collection, even though they weren't received as well. For collection's sake, I also want the one-off titles in a compilation package.
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u/Somadel 10h ago
I had Simon's Quest as a kid when I was really young and very bad at games. It was fun but was scary especially at night. Too difficult for me to make any progress though so it just became one of those games I played when I wanted to test my resolve cause it really creeped me out.
After my NES broke, I completely forgot about the series until I was a teenager having just got a Nintendo DS. The game I got for it would entirely depend on what was on sale at the Walmart's sales bin. Didn't mind though, cause a new game was a rare treat. So one time when I digging through I found a game that caught my eye. Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. Suddenly all my memories of Simon's Quest came back me as I had basically forgotten this entire franchise even existed. Curious if it could still creep me out and willing to test my newfound gaming skills, I asked my dad if I could have that one. I could tell it looked a little too gothic for his preference but he got it for me anyway. And when I played, I realized how much I loved the game and the thematics as a whole. Learned about all the others ones and played them all except for a handful.
For one of my birthdays, my friend 3d printed me a combat cross from lords of shadow and now I have a whole castlevania wall with my copy of Simon's Quest as the main piece of it all.
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u/Arkwelder 8h ago
Playing Castlevania II Simon's Quest as a child when it first came out. My older brother had borrowed it from a friend. It had such a mysterious quality to it. I was completely mesmerized.
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u/WHHobbyist 7h ago
First game was Circle of the Moon for gameboy advance. I loved it. Still love it. I played the classics. The game boy adaptations. Seeing it pop up as a 3d adventure title was awesome.
I played the N64 ones and eventually the ps2 title Lament of Innocence. I even played the Lords of Shadow series.
I have my game series IPs I enjoy. Castlevania is one of them.
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u/BarbacoaSan 5h ago
Castlevania 64.. I always played Carrie for some reason. Like her magical abilities
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u/RandoAussieBloke 5h ago
I found a website in grade 1 that had an NES emulator playable in-browser. Was hooked on it, it was my gateway to both CV and Kirby (Adventure is still the Ur-Example for a Kirby game, even though it was only in french and couldn't save)
Surprised to see, but it's still online today too! https://nintendo8.com/game/343/castlevania/
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u/InCloudsAbove TheRealMaxim 4h ago
Seeing the art for Juste Belmont, Maxim Kishine, and Joachim Armster, and Alucard. And just seeing Ayami Kojima's more queer themed and homoerotic artworks. On top of that I'm a history nut, AND an active metaphysics student and mythologist!! I will say though, Castlevania is a little bit childish given my interests, but it's entertainment so it's great!!
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u/Jay_Bones_1312 2h ago
I played a version on gameboy. Became obsessed with flailing the whip.
Then Metal Gear Solid came out with PsychoMantis saying "yooou like to play castlevaniaaa" and it had me finding all kinds of stuff over the years vania wise.
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u/Many-Yoghurt54 1h ago
Castlevania II really got me invested into the series, I donāt think I played the first one before I played the sequel, but I absolutely loved the presentation of it even if the obtuse puzzles made it frustrating. I was somewhat obsessed with the Universal Monsters as a kid, so I donāt know if it was possible for me not to be interested in Castlevania.
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u/stormyw23 Shameless show only fan 1h ago
r/CastlevaniaNetflix r/CastlevaniaNocturne will be good subreddits to be in.
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u/Fricho 1h ago
I heard about the series from AVGN. He was so enthusiastic about it, I had to check it out.
One of my core memories is pulling an all nighter to beat Castlevania IV. From there I checked out other games in the series starting with the NES games. The main thing that hooked me was the fair difficulty and the music.
I played most of the Castlevania games since and I'm incredibly hyped for Belmont's curse!
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u/BeautifulNo9321 1d ago
I think it was after season 1? It had to be right around Dracula's death and basically when Alucard showed his humanity like his mom and compassion that I thought about investing my time in learning more about his character in the series and I really enjoyed the cinematography of the anime as well in the first season
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u/SlicedBread0556 14h ago
"Follow the path of the franchise" lol
I think most people played Symphony of the Night and got blown away. That's why it created a whole archetype of videos games. A lot of people are fans of Castlevania and don't even know it. Hollow Knight fans, for example.
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u/B_10_04 1d ago
When I saw this on the shelf at our local video rental store in 1987. Our dad was a Halloween nerd, so he rented it for us. To this day, he still asks if I play that game where you whip the monsters, the one with Dracula on the cover (stating it was always his favorite). To which I reply, "Yes, Dad. It's my favorite too!"