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| Castlevania | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Castlevania series, introduced with 2003's Lament of Innocence | |
| Genre(s) | |
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Creator(s) | Hitoshi Akamatsu[1] |
| Platform(s) | List
|
| First release | Castlevania September 26, 1986 |
| Latest release | Castlevania Dominus Collection August 27, 2024 |
Castlevania (/ˌkæsəlˈveɪniə/), known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula,[a][2] is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters.[3]
Debuting with the 1986 video game on Nintendo's Famicom Disk System,[4] the first entry and the majority of its sequels are side-scrolling action platformers. The 1997 game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, originally released for the PlayStation, returned to the nonlinear gameplay first seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which also introduced role-playing elements and exploration.[5] Several installments later adopted Symphony of the Night's gameplay, which along with Super Metroid, have popularized the Metroidvania genre.[6] 2010 saw the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a 3D action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions that served as a reboot of the series.[7][8]
The Castlevania series has been released on various platforms; from early systems to modern consoles, as well as handheld devices such as mobile phones.[9][10] The franchise has since expanded into several spin-off video games and other media; including comic books[11] and a critically-acclaimed animated television series.[12][13]
Spanning almost four decades, Castlevania is one of Konami's most successful and prominent franchises;[14] several of its entries are ranked among the best video games ever made.[15] Retrospectives attributed to the series' success to its unique blend of action, adventure, and horror elements;[16] and it has been praised for its challenging gameplay mechanics, atmospheric settings, and iconic music.[15]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
AkamatsuDevCommentarywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Konami (August 4, 2010). Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Konami.
Japanese: 歴代の「悪魔城ドラキュラ」シリーズから選ばれた登場キャラクターを操作して、仲間たちと悪魔城に乗り込み、宿敵ドラキュラ伯爵に立ち向かおう。 English translation: Take control of past protagonists from the Castlevania series to brave the Demon Castle alongside friends and defeat the ancient enemy Count Dracula.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
DenOfGeekwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Castlevania (1986) NES release dates". MobyGames. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ Oxford, Nadia (September 7, 2018). "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Wouldn't Have Happened Without Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest". USGamer. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
- ^ "'Castlevania' Creator Koji Igarashi: 'I Don't Feel That I'm a Big Deal'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
GameProwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McWhertor, Michael (June 1, 2009). "Kojima Taking On Castlevania With Lords Of Shadow". Kotaku.
- ^ "Windows Mobile – PocketGear.com: Mobile Apps, Software & Games for Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, Android, Palm and Java devices!". Classic.pocketgear.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ^ "Konami Mobile". Konami Mobile. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
- ^ "Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy". The Castlevania Dungeon. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
- ^ Mark Bozon (January 18, 2007). "Castlevania: The Retrospective". IGN. p. 5. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
- ^ "2018 Fall TV Premiere Calendar". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ Marlowe, Chris (August 4, 2006). "Project 51 to Explore Castlevania Storyline". GameDaily. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "The Top 25 Videogame Franchises". IGN. July 7, 2010. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
IGNHistorywas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).