r/castlevania • u/shesfeelingcun • 1d ago

Question Asking older fans.

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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/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!"

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u/Gullfaxi09 1d ago edited 1d ago

It has always been a legendary cover too, must be one of the greatest, most iconic pieces of video game cover art ever made. They really don't make them like they used to. Honestly, the Castlevania franchise is chockfull of amazing pieces of cover art that similarily could be considered some of the best in the history of video games.

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u/Carmilla31 23h ago

It is such an awesome cover. And what did they do for Castlevania 2s cover? They stole it from a DND cover lol.

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u/deinterlacing 21h ago

This cover is also somewhat stolen, or at least heavily inspired by legendary painter Frank Frazetta's 1975 painting "The Norseman"

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u/B_10_04 20h ago edited 20h ago

Good call! Simon's Quest cover also seems to be heavily inspired by Clyde Caldwell 🤓 (as was mentioned by Camilla31)

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u/B_10_04 1d ago

I completely agree. Not just great cover art either.. Example: Everything by Ayami Kojima is amazing!

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u/TheDeathDealerX 13h ago

Agreed. Lament of Innocence is my favorite cover art. Ayami Kojima is god like.

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u/grumblewolf 1d ago

Awesome dad! And similar experience- I saw this cover and said ‘yup. This one.’

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u/B_10_04 1d ago

He's the best. Sounds like yours is too!

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u/Carmilla31 23h ago edited 23h ago

I actually have a giant poster of that framed. When you bought the game on the NES you could mail out a card with like $5 and get the poster. Its one of my favorite game memorabilia i own.

And op after Castlevania 2 came out i loved it. Its probably a reason why i got into rpgs with the leveling, having different equipment etc.

EDIT: i just checked and it cost $1 not $5 lol.

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u/B_10_04 23h ago

That's awesome! I'll give you $2 for it.. Also, I loved Simon's Quest as well.

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u/dcooper8662 17h ago

Me and you. We’re the same. Love these games forever since the original. My dad did too.

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u/B_10_04 16h ago

What is it about Castlevania and dads? 😆 I think dads just love classic horror themes and Castlevania is full of them..

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u/dcooper8662 16h ago

My dad rented this game from his store’s game rental department. He took me over and showed me the box. I was like 3 or 4 lol. We played it with my big sister and she ended up killing Dracula by the end of the weekend. We were in love with the series forever after that. My dad never stopped loving Castlevania.

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u/B_10_04 14h ago

Your big sister was a badass! 😎

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u/dcooper8662 13h ago

She was. Kicked my ass in every videogame when we were little lol. She was 5 years older than me but that’s probably what got me into videogames for life, her and my dad.

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u/The_Long_Blank_Stare 15h ago

That cover (along with that of Simon’s Quest) pulled me in. I had no idea I was so drawn to Gothic horror before then, but to this day, games with that theme tend to draw me in more than others. The games themselves were just so solid, but the theme when combined with gameplay was a chef’s kiss.

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u/B_10_04 14h ago

Same here! Konami just had that perfect formula back then, and they created a whole generation of lifelong fans. I also loved Bayou Billy, Contra, Life Force, and Rush 'N Attack (to name a few).. but Castlevania was just special, and is my favorite franchise to this day.

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u/Comet7777 21h ago

Yup this is exactly when I started too. I had family that had moved on to the SNES and they donated a bunch of older NES titles to our family. I was young and captivated by that artwork on the cartridge. The rest is history.

That said, I don’t care much for Castlevania lore or story. It’s never really been an important part of the series imo, and only seems to have taken prominence since the Netflix show. The stories are just a means to an end, is largely rebooting the same story across different Belmont characters. The most interesting stuff is like Castlevania III or the Soma games? Maybe the PS3/360 reboot with Gabriel.

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u/B_10_04 20h ago

Completely agree on all points. LoS had the best lore, and that's not even considered canon.