Dracula (Castlevania) - Wikipedia. Dracula. Castlevania series character. Dracula as he appears in Symphony of the Night, artwork by Ayami Kojima. First game. Castlevania. Created by. Hitoshi Akamatsu. Designed by. Noriyasu Togakushi (original design)Ayami Kojima (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night onwards)Voiced by (English)Scott Mc. Culloch (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)Crispin Freeman (as Mathias Cronqvist in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence)Douglas Rye (Castlevania: Curse of Darkness)Patrick Seitz (Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Castlevania Judgment)Robert Carlyle (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2)Voiced by (Japanese)Norio Wakamoto, Nobuhiko Kazama (as Mathias), Mahito Ooba, Hiroya Ishimaru, Jouji Nakata. Dracula Vlad . A vampire and sorcerer, he is the main antagonist of the series and the final boss of almost every installment. He is the overall primary protagonist in the rebooted Castlevania trilogy Lords of Shadow . The Castlevania Dracula draws some history from both, but instead of preying on maidens this one threatens whole realms with his armies at the least, and at worst is presented as the very embodiment of evil. He is, however, capable of loving relationships (his evil nature is partly fuelled by the loss of two women he loved) and, despite their differences, he loves his son Alucard. In the series reboot Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Dracula is reimagined as an 1. In 1606, Dracula encountered the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, whose practice of bathing in virgin blood allowed her to resist and nearly entrap him, but he exposed her activities and slew her. Dracula ruled a Spanish province until being driven out in the first of.Gabriel Belmont and serves as the central character of the game and its two sequels. The Lords of Shadow series tell the story of Gabriel's quest to save the world, fall into darkness and journey of redemption. The series portrays Dracula in a more sympathetic light, compared to his original counterpart. Conception and design. In just about every game, he wears very aristocratic clothing, whether it be a tuxedo or some sort of royal garb (complete with medals and medallions). He is 6 feet 4 inches (1. Initially, his face resembled that of Bela Lugosi's Dracula in the first few games (this appearance was reused in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin). Every few games, his appearance changed from one sort to another. In Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and the beginning of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, he had the form of an anime character with medium length, purple hair. He has a more demonic look in Castlevania: Dracula X and Castlevania: Bloodlines. The more recent look of Dracula, starting with Symphony of the Night, gives him a beard or goatee of some sort and longer hair. His hair color still changes between a dark brown or black and a gray color. His facial proportions also change. He has a very heavyset and muscular looking face in the Nintendo 6.
Castlevania games, whereas he has a more thin and elegant face in Symphony of the Night and the first two hand held games. In Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Dracula wears a long robe of some sort, with a more realistic version of the Symphony of the Night face. His most common form of attack is to teleport from one part of the screen to another, then opening his cape to fire a spread of three small fireballs at the player, whereas in later games he can also fire larger, meteor- like fireballs: these attacks are called . Usually, he can only be damaged with strikes to the head or neck area. After being defeated in his humanoid form, Dracula usually morphs into a larger, more powerful demon- like dragon or dinosaur form. In some games, such as Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, Dracula consists of three forms in total. This is in contrast to Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, where he only has one form. This battle with Dracula does feature multiple phases of combat, however: in the first phase he acts as described above yet shoots a barrage of fireballs for Hellfire and even adds a new attack called . With this attack he shoots beams of dark energy into the air which cascade down shortly afterwards. In the second phase, his tactics and the attacks he uses change dramatically. If playing as Shanoa, the battle enters a third phase when the second is completed: here he cannot be damaged and a certain Glyph Union must be performed before he unleashes . At this point the plot of the series was very simple . The original game had no in- game text to drive the story along. The plot of Castlevania was re- used in the remakes. Vampire Killer, Haunted Castle, Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania Chronicles. In the manual of the second game, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, it is revealed that, in his dying moments at the end of the first game, Dracula had placed a curse on Simon, which condemned him to slowly die of his wounds. In 1. 69. 8, Simon set out to gather Dracula's scattered body parts and use them to resurrect the Count in the ruins of his castle. Simon then defeated the reborn Dracula once again. The best ending hints that although Simon defeated Dracula and dispelled his curse, Dracula nonetheless ended up reviving himself. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was a prequel to the original game, starring Simon's ancestor Trevor in 1. This game introduced Alucard, Dracula's estranged son. In Dracula's Curse, it is stated that Dracula . The people of Transylvania secured the aid of Trevor Belmont, who journeyed to Castlevania and met up with several allies along the way, including Alucard, Sypha Belnades and Grant Danasty. Concurrent to the release of Nintendo Entertainment System trilogy were two games on the Game Boy. In Castlevania: The Adventure, set in 1. Christopher Belmont defeated Dracula in typical circumstances. It is later revealed that Dracula escaped and survived until 1. Christopher's son Soleiyu and tried to turn him against his father. Vampires, being already dead, do not need most normal things required for human life, such as oxygen. They often have a pale (for vampires from literature and cinema) or ruddy (for those from folklore) appearance, and are cool to the touch from the perspective of. In Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Christopher defeated Dracula again and saved his son. The Castlevania series took a dramatic turn with the PC Engine game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (remade for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Castlevania: Dracula X and later remade and ported for the Play. Station Portable as Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles). This game took place in 1. Belmont named Richter. This was the first game in the series to use substantial voice acting to further the narrative. Dracula is resurrected by a cult led by a dark priest named Shaft. He proceeds to kidnap several villagers including Richter's girlfriend Annette (who was renamed to Annet Renard in Castlevania: Dracula X and became Maria's sister) and Maria Renard. The protagonist of this game was Alucard, who entered Castlevania in 1. Richter. Symphony of the Night introduced the character of Lisa, Alucard's mother and Dracula's wife who had been executed as a witch for preparing medicine to help the sick. As the game progressed, Alucard discovered that Shaft had placed Richter under a dark spell, the idea being that Richter would destroy all other enemies of Dracula. Alucard defeated Shaft then faced his resurrected father. They exchanged words before Alucard defeated Dracula, telling him Lisa's last words: . If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot. Dracula cried out for Lisa's forgiveness as he returned to the abyss. A loose prequel to Symphony of the Night was released for the Game Boy called Castlevania Legends. In this game, Sonia Belmont, heavily implied to be Trevor's mother, faces Dracula circa 1. Alucard is also featured in the game, and it appears that Sonia and Alucard were lovers. Series producer Koji Igarashi, who was not involved with Legends' development, has declared it to not be an official part of the Castlevaniacanon. The Mega Drive received one Castlevania game, Castlevania: Bloodlines. This title was set in 1. Bram Stoker's novel. The protagonists were John Morris and Eric Lecarde. John was intended to be the son of Quincey Morris from the novel. This game introduced Dracula's niece, Elizabeth Bartley, named for Elizabeth B. It was implied that Bartley arranged the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in order to precipitate World War I. She resurrected Dracula, but she and her uncle were defeated by John and Eric. The two Nintendo 6. Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, took place in the mid- 1. In these games, Dracula's return is accomplished through the unusual method of having him reincarnated as a child named Malus. The first Castlevania title for the Game Boy Advance was Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Set in the early 1. Circle of the Moon explained how Dracula had been recently defeated by vampire hunter Morris Baldwin. At the start of the game, Dracula is resurrected by his disciple Camilla. The player assumes the role of Nathan Graves, a student of Morris Baldwin, who once again defeats the newly resurrected Dracula. The second GBA title was Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, which took place in 1. Simon's grandson Juste was the main character. He entered Castlevania to save his childhood friend Lydie Erlanger. Their friend Maxim Kischine resurrected Dracula in order to prove his worth as a vampire hunter. As usual, Dracula was defeated by Juste. The third and final GBA title was Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which featured a deeper plot than the previous two. Set in 2. 03. 5, the game starred Soma Cruz, an American high school student visiting Japan with his friend Mina. The villain of this game was not Dracula, as he had died a real death over 3. Graham Jones, a cult leader who believed himself to be Dracula's reincarnation. The game also introduced the amnesiac Julius Belmont, who defeated Dracula for the last time in 1. As the game progressed, it was revealed that Soma himself was actually Dracula's reincarnation, and possessed the Count's power to absorb the souls of various monsters and thereby assume their powers. In the best ending of the game, Soma overcomes the darkness and defeats Graham. The first Castlevania game to be released on the Play. Station 2 was Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. A cesspit of hatred and lies. Fight for them, then, and die for their sins! He is loosely based on the character of the same name in Bram Stoker's novel and the historical figure, Vlad Dr. With his dark powers, he built his army of creatures and his fortress, Castlevania. Since the 1. 1th Century, the Belmont Clan stood in opposition to Dracula, and legendary warriors confronted him each time he came back from the dead. He was eventually definitively destroyed in 1. Belmonts. It was my revenge against God! Sometime during the mid to late 1. Century, he served in a company of knights alongside then Baron Leon Belmont. With Mathias's brilliant military strategies, and Leon's skill with a sword, their company was unstoppable. Little is known of Mathias's early life or his family, save that they seem to have been longtime practitioners of Alchemy and had advanced further into the study than most alchemists could have ever dreamed. Mathias was very well educated, and quite skilled in the art, though he never told Leon or any of his other compatriots of his knowledge, with the notable exception of Rinaldo Gandolfi, whom he had met at an unspecified time. Mathias married a woman named Elisabetha who he was deeply in love with. While away on a campaign against heathens in the east, Elisabetha died due to illness. Upon returning and learning of her death, Mathias was overtaken with despair so profound that he became bedridden, presumably worrying Leon considerably, as Mathias was the strategist and tactician of the company. He thought it was unjust and unfair for God to take away what mattered most to him, when he had given God so much, and when Elisabetha was such a pure and blameless woman who has not deserved to die. Mathias began searching for ways to become immortal and show God that he didn't have a final say in everything, and that he could defy God's decrees by existing outside them, and scorning God in his eternal life. He learned about the Crimson Stone, considered to be a treasure among vampires. Through some means, the stone came into Mathias's possession, and he planned to use it to ascend to immortality. With the stone, Mathias could not only control the powerful spirit creature, but also absorb the souls of slain vampires and add their powers to his own. As an effect of this, humanity would be lost, and he would become a vampire himself. The young Knight then had all the resources he needed to plan his scheme to become an immortal. Mathias eventually came in contact with a powerful Vampire Lord named Walter Bernhard, who had somehow obtained the Ebony Stone, another vampiric treasure that locked his forested realm and castle in eternal night, thereby making him the most powerful vampire. The only thing of value that Walter desired was the Crimson Stone, which was believed to be lost for ages, but was secretly held by Mathias. To raise the stakes of the game - to make the human more interested - he would steal that which is most precious from his target. Mathias suggested targeting Sara Trantoul to Walter, the fianc. The knight would make an interesting player in Walter's game, because according to Mathias's stories, his combat prowess was second to none. Walter, who didn't realize he was being tricked, ordered his forces to invade Leon's domain in order to capture Sara. When Walter was dying, Death appeared and took his soul and granted the vampire's power to Mathias, who had materialized in the castle. It was only in his final moments that Walter realized what was happening, and what Mathias's true intentions were. Due to absorbing Walter's soul, Mathias became the most powerful vampire, though the Ebony Stone eluded him, as it was destroyed in Leon and Walter's battle. A confused Leon demanded an explanation, to which Mathias replied that he needed a powerful vampire's soul, and he knew that Leon had it in him to destroy Walter so that he could take the soul. Leon sensed a rage from the Vampire Killer, which he used to kill Walter, and asked in disbelief if his best friend had abandoned humanity. Mathias confirmed this and revealed his motive. He admitted that everyone involved in the ordeal were just pawns in his plan to become the most powerful vampire and curse God forevermore because of God's cruelty. Mathias then offered Leon eternal life as he too suffered over the death of his beloved. Leon refused, because eternity without the one he loved would be empty, and Mathias's twisted plan had cost Sara her life. Mathias believed that Leon out of all people would be the one to understand him, but when that wasn't the case, he became a bat and flew away, and the two would never meet again. Eventually, he named himself Dracula, Lord of the Vampires and King of the Night. Mathias granted some of them the forbidden knowledge of Devil Forgery and allowed them to practice their rites in his castle. She reminded Mathias very much of Elisabetha, which was mostly the reason why he had fallen in love with her. Lisa loved Mathias very dearly despite his views on life and they would eventually have a son together named Adrian Fahrenheit . This caused her to be arrested and sentenced to death by the authorities. Lisa was captured and crucified, an event Adrian witnessed but was prevented from intervening in. As the execution would have traditionally occurred during the daylight hours, Mathias would not even become aware of it until hours later, and when he learned of this, it drove him over the edge. Eventually, he changed his name to Dracula Vlad . The church sent many armies in opposition, but none returned. One night, Isaac, a General in Dracula's army, reported the Belmont Clan had started an offense in the west. A vampire hunting descendant of Dracula's old friend, Leon, who went by the name Trevor C. Belmont, was planning to assault Dracula's Castle. Because Dracula was responsible for the death of Leon's betrothed, Sara, Leon committed his kinsmen to hunting down and destroying Dracula. Isaac requested the opportunity to face Trevor himself. Instead, he was sent to find Hector, another General who was previously ordered to assassinate Belmont, but had deserted. Dracula planned to meet his old friend's descendant himself and waited for the hunter in his throne room. With much effort, the Vampire Lord was finally slain. For the first time in hundreds of years, the immortal Dracula was at last dead, though his scheme to decimate humanity had not ended. With his final breath, he uttered a curse that left the land to rot while poisoning the minds of its inhabitants, who pillaged and scourged it without remorse. The humans made their judgment of me, as well. Thus I sentenced them.. Sympathy is merely a form of weakness. You betrayed me, Hector.. And for that, the punishment is death. Because Devil Forgemasters were suffused within Dracula's magic, only they could make suitable hosts for the Count to inhabit. However, they would have to be fully enveloped within the curse that Dracula left behind that was plaguing the land and its people. Isaac was killed in cold blood by Hector, and Death used the corpse to resurrect the Count, causing the first reawakening of Dracula from the dead. Because the resurrection was only partially successful, Hector was able to thwart both Death and Dracula and send the Count back to the grave, as well as nullify his curse, finally freeing the land from its venomous grip. It was at this time that Dracula's one hundred year regeneration cycle became manifest. Due to the power of Christ weakening every one hundred years, men's hearts grew black with chaos. They sought to resurrect Dracula so that he may cleanse the world. He was brought back in 1. Once again, the only ones that could hope to stand against him and his throngs of followers were the Belmont Clan with their holy whip, Vampire Killer. Castlevania was invaded by Christopher Belmont, and the vampire hunter and Dracula engaged in a death duel. Christopher thought he had sent the Count to his grave, but Dracula turned into mist and feigned death. Though his castle was destroyed, and he was too weakened from the battle to assume his regular form, Dracula would bide his time, waiting for the right moment to strike back against the Belmont Clan that had caused him so much trouble. He planned on using the Belmont to become whole, and he cast a curse on the young vampire hunter that would cause Soleiyu to do his bidding. Christopher Belmont came to the aid of his son, and was forced to battle him. Christopher defeated Soleiyu, and expelled Dracula's presence from his mind. By that time, using the spirits of four elemental castles, Dracula had become whole, and he battled Christopher Belmont for the last time. Christopher was victorious and destroyed Dracula, sending the vampire to sleep for one hundred years. Dracula was defeated by Simon Belmont, but not without dealing a critical blow to Simon's back, and casting a curse on him. Similar to when he was defeated by Trevor Belmont in 1. Dracula left a curse on the land before his passing. The only way to expel his curse was to collect his remains, resurrect him at the ruins of Castlevania, and destroy him. Dracula's monstrous followers had free reign over many territories in the land while Transylvania was cursed, and they hid the Count's remains in heavily guarded mansions. The weakened Simon Belmont retrieved all of the remains in 1. Dracula's Castle, where he resurrected the Count and defeated him, lifting the curse from the land and from his own body. He was envious of the Belmont Clan's status, and wanted to confirm that he was stronger than them by finding the remains of Lord Dracula. Like Simon Belmont fifty years earlier, Maxim retrieved all pieces of the remains in 1. Dracula's body parts caused Maxim's mind to split in two, birthing an evil spirit within Maxim. Because the evil spirit did not have full control of Maxim, the Castle wasn't whole. One half of the Castle was in the earthly realm, while the other half resided in a spiritual realm.
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