The Castlevania Timeline Explained

Castlevania Timeline Explained

Dating back to the heyday of the NES, Castlevania is one of the oldest franchises in gaming. It has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, thanks in large part to the Netflix anime adaptation, rather than the fact that Konami has not touched the game at all. But with new fans comes new players. There are plenty of games to get lost in, but very few are actually released in chronological order. If you’ve ever wondered about the exact timeline of the Belmont family’s never-ending war against Dracula, you’ve clicked on the right video. Welcome to MojoPlays, where we explain the Castlevania timeline.

Before we get into everything, it’s important to note that we’re only talking about the main series story here. Some titles were removed from the continuity after their release, like 2001’s Circle of the Moon, while others are set in alternate universes, like the Lords of Shadow reboot. So you won’t find those here.

Our story begins in the ripe year of 1094, with the 2003 PS2 title Lament of Innocence. Leon Belmont was once a baron, but gave up his fortune to woo his lover, Sarah, who was married to a vampire named Walter Bernhard. . During his journey through the vampire castle, Leon had to overcome many hardships, including losing his lover. After Sarah was bitten by the villain, she sacrificed herself instead of transforming. As a result, Leon’s weapons were enhanced with magic and transformed into the Vampire Killer Whip, a future legendary monster hunter. Leon intended to utilize them to defeat Walter, but his suffering was not over yet. This entire ordeal was orchestrated by his friend Matthias Cronqvist, who needed the soul of a powerful vampire to transform into. Enraged by the loss of his wife, Matthias craved power beyond that of a god, becoming the infamous Dracula. Leon was clearly not happy with this and vowed to dedicate his life, along with his family, to defeating monsters like him. And so began a conflict that would last for Bos5000 centuries.

Despite this tragic and unsettling beginning, the next chronicle takes place almost 400 years later. According to Leon’s story, the Belmont family was feared and almost shunned by others because of their power. 1990’s Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is set in 1476 and tells the story of how the inhabitants of Wallachia turn to Trevor Belmont as a last resort as Dracula grows in power and murders innocents. During his journey, he teams up with the pirate Grant Danasty, the sorceress Sypha Belandes, and Dracula’s half-human son Alucard. After the vampire’s defeat, Trevor and Sypha settle down while Alucard falls into an endless sleep, consumed with guilt for aiding in the murder of his own father. Even after his defeat, Dracula leaves a curse on the land that will ravage it for years to come.

Dracula was powerful, but he did not act alone. He employed Isaac and Hector, master human blacksmiths with the ability to create horrific monsters for his lord’s army. However, Hector left Dracula, feeling guilty about murdering innocent people. In 1479, Isaac exacted revenge by accusing Hector’s lover of witchcraft, which led to her death and he would come to regret this. 2005’s Curse of Darkness follows Hector on his journey of revenge against his former ally. Trevor Belmont also returns in this title, traveling on his own to investigate Dracula’s curse and nearly getting killed by Isaac. Luckily, Hector is able to defeat Isaac and even his former master before lifting the curse and bringing peace to the land.

Of course, the peace of Castlevania doesn’t last long. Next up in the timeline is the 1989 Game Boy title Castlevania: The Adventures. Set in 1576, it tells the story of Christopher Belmont battling the newly resurrected forces of Dracula. There was a sequel in 1991, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, although the plot is obviously less extensive. This game is set 15 years later and sees the player take control of Christopher again, this time on a mission to rescue his son after Dracula returns and (shocker) kidnaps him. Christopher was victorious once again, bringing about another century of peace.

And now we finally arrive at the game that started it all. The original game was set in 1691 and told the now-famous story of Simon Belmont, though this is a 1986 game, so that’s all there is to it as far as story goes. Like so many before him, Simon defeats Dracula and his minions. But unfortunately, this is not the end of his story. Simon is cursed during an encounter with a vampire, leading to the events of 1987’s Simon’s Quest, set in 1698. To break the curse and save his life, Simon collects Dracula’s body parts and summons them to defeat him a second time.

Simon’s work against Dracula has earned him a certain amount of favor from his family. His grandson Justo is growing up surrounded by his family in a beautiful village. Released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, Harmony of Dissonance is set in 1748, where the newbie Belmont enters Dracula’s world after his girlfriend Liddie goes missing. As he battles monsters within the castle, he learns that another childhood friend, Maxim, has been searching for Dracula’s body in order to destroy him once and for all. However, this only corrupts him, and Justo is forced to fight one of his closest allies. With Maxim’s defeat, Castle Dracula is gone, as it has been so many times before.

The next entry in the series, 1993’s Rondo of Blood or Dracula X for the Super Nintendo, is set in 1792 and tells the story of fan-favorite Judge Belmont. A dark priest named Shaft has brought Dracula back to life and kidnapped several women from Richter’s village, including his girlfriend Annette. Luckily, Richter has vampire-killing blood in his veins. Just like his ancestor, he rebels against the castle and puts an end to the villain. Unfortunately, Shaft has another trick up his sleeve. Richter was cursed, and Shaft took over his body five years later.

1997’s Symphony of the Night is perhaps the best game in the series, and sees Alucard awaken from a 300-year slumber. Sensing his father’s return, he goes to the castle only to find he has much more than he bargained for. Not only is he tormented by memories of his human mother’s death, but the castle is now ruled by a possessed Magistrate. Maria Lunarre, a distant relative of the Belmont family who was saved by Richter in Rondo of Blood, asks Alucard for help. The dhampir complies with the demands, freeing Richter and finally fighting his father again.

2008’s Order of Ecclesia is next in the timeline, but only loosely connected to the history of the Belmont family. The action takes place at some point in the 19th century when the family seemed to go missing, leading to the formation of the titular Order of Knights to fight the creatures of the night. We play as Shanoa, a member of the Order who must deal with the plot of a traitor to bring back Dracula. The villain experiments on the villagers, descendants of the Belmont family. But he, too, is defeated by the protagonist.

1994’s Bloodline is set in 1917, but has a lot of necessary backstory. Richter gave the vampire-killing whip to the Morris family, distant relatives of the Belmonts. In 1897, Quincy Morris fought and lost against Dracula, eventually passing the whip on to his son. So at the start of World War I, John Morris seized the heirloom to use in fighting evil. Bloodlines follows the protagonist and his friend Eric Lucado as they search for Dracula’s own niece, Elizabeth Bathory, who started a war to resurrect Dracula. Of course, our heroes end up victorious again, but Eric didn’t necessarily get a happy ending.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth wasn’t the only one to use the war to her advantage. 2006’s Portrait of Ruin is set in 1944, against the backdrop of World War II. Eric Lucado falls victim to the Brauner, a vampire who uses the souls of those killed in conflicts to gain more power. Jonathan Morris, son of another “Bloodline” protagonist, John, teams up with Charlotte Orlin, said to be a distant descendant of the Bernadeth family. Despite what else has happened, the two are unable to stop Death from resurrecting Dracula and are forced to battle him to prevent his return to power.

At some point between Portrait of Ruin and the next game, 2003’s Aria of Sorrow, the Belmont family returns to the frontline. In 1999, Julius Belmont performed a ritual to seal Dracula away forever, only for him to find a host body to return to. Set in 2035, Aria follows a teenager named Soma Cruz who realizes he was meant to be reborn as the antagonist. With a little help from Julius, Soma fights his fate and wins. But in 2036’s Dawn of Sorrow, in order to find a new shell for Dracula, he must battle a cult intent on his downfall. There are two endings, one in which Soma succumbs to his dark urges and forces his allies to kill him. Nevertheless, the cult is defeated and Dracula’s evil comes to an end – at least for now.

As of this writing, Dawn of Sorrow is the last game in the main timeline, but Castlevania itself has been silent since 2014’s Lords of Shadow 2. Given the critical acclaim of the Netflix series, one would have thought we’d be getting another game by now, but sadly that was not the case. The Belmont clan and their allies are some of the most resilient heroes in video games. So there’s no doubt that players will be eager to pick up their Vampire Slayer whip and destroy hordes of monsters once again. Who knows? Perhaps next time, we’ll explore a previously unknown era in the history of this beloved series.