A Pile Of Secrets: The Hidden Gems Of The Castlevania Series

Castlevania is commemorating the 20th jubilee of Dawn of Sorrow on October 4 and the 15th jubilee of Lords of Shadow on October 5, 2025. Below, we take this opportunity to reflect on some of the frequently neglected titles in the extensive action-horror series.

It appears rather fitting that a franchise primarily focused on continually thwarting a relentless creature of darkness from seizing power every generation would ultimately become an enduring, unkillable entity in the minds of its enthusiasts. Castlevania, as a franchise, has a legacy spanning forty years, consistently providing some of the most unforgettable experiences on whatever platform Konami opts to grace with its presence. Despite how celebrated this legacy has been over the years, any series enduring for nearly 40 years is destined to have entries that slip under the radar, or are at least not nearly as esteemed as they ought to be. It just so happens Castlevania has a multitude of such titles, either overshadowed by the passage of time or advancements in technology. But we’re here to resurrect a few of them back into the spotlight. Unlike Dracula, some sunshine should do them wonders.

In 1990, Konami was thriving off a string of three immensely successful NES Castlevania titles, with the remarkable Super Castlevania IV deep in the works. Thus, filling the void with a cartoony NES platformer featuring a chibi version of Alucard probably made a lot of sense in Japan. However, you can just envision how that discussion unfolded in an American boardroom in the early ’90s, which is why the initial Kid Dracula game on NES never actually touched Western shores until the Castlevania Anniversary Collection in 2019. The West eventually received the Game Boy sequel in 1993, where it still felt unusual, but it didn’t stand out nearly as prominently. It’s somewhat unfortunate, though, because the Kid Dracula titles, in addition to being solid little platformers overall, serve as wonderfully quirky parodies of everything Konami had done up to that point. That’s particularly true when it comes to the lively reimagining of various Castlevania levels and music in the opening stage. After those, however, they just get odder, as Alucard journeys across the globe, facing high-flying chickens, zombie punks in New York, and even participating in a quiz show against the Statue of Liberty. The Game Boy sequel follows suit with a stage that transforms Gradius into a side-scrolling platformer and features Facetime calls with a chibi Grim Reaper.

Image: NintendoComplete on YouTube

One of the most remarkable aspects about the conclusion of a console’s viable lifespan is that magical moment when developers throw all caution aside and choose to stretch the system as far as it can possibly go. This is how you end up with Street Fighter Alpha 2 receiving an ambitiously extravagant SNES port, Vagrant Story releasing the same year the PS2 debuted, or Persona 5 still making its debut on PS3 in 2017. While the individuals at Konami weren’t quite daring enough to attempt the full port of Rondo of Blood, the SNES ended up receiving its tailored version of Dracula X. Instead of getting a subpar port of a PC Engine CD game, they were treated to a technical marvel of an SNES game, complete with one of the system’s finest soundtracks and some stunning visuals that aren’t as far removed from Rondo as one might assume. It’s also incredibly challenging, particularly the final battle with Dracula introducing bottomless pits into the equation. Beauty comes at a cost, after all.

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You get a sense over the years that Konami staff were never entirely satisfied with the original Castlevania, considering there exists a staggering five versions of what’s meant to be Simon Belmont’s initial encounter with the Lord of Darkness. While Super Castlevania IV is the undisputed champion of the collection, Chronicles stands as a pretty strong second place contender: a perfect middle ground between the punishing stage design and mechanics of the NES titles, the impressive gothic spectacle of Castlevania IV, and just a hint of the arcade game Haunted Castle’s charming imperfections, as a treat. The original version on the Sharp X68000 did age rather swiftly, though, especially the irritating sound chip, which is why the enhanced port on the PlayStation is the optimal choice these days, particularly with enhancements to the game’s balance, a few graphical tweaks courtesy of some stray members from the Symphony of the Night team—Ayami Kojima giving Simon a pink hair makeover certainly deserves special mention—as well as a good, old-fashioned, mid-’90s Konami synth soundtrack that remixed many of the hits from the original Castlevania’s score.

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Time is an intriguing phenomenon. Back in the late ’90s, Castlevania Symphony of the Night was a commercial failure: an easily dismissible throwback that audiences had grown tired of as the world finally experienced its first taste of 3D and polygons. Castlevania 64, ironically, fared quite well both commercially and critically. Nearly 30 years later, Symphony of the Night is now, justifiably, regarded as a timeless masterpiece, while Castlevania 64 has largely been relegated to the discard pile of history. The fact is, Castlevania 64 was largely a case of Konami’s ambitions surpassing their execution: the outcome of a rushed development cycle and new technology that ended up leaving some bold ideas on the cutting room floor. Still, there are plenty of intriguing concepts in the core game, and much to appreciate about the presentation. The intro, in particular, with the gradual reveal of Dracula’s castle culminating in a solitary mournful cello performing the Bloodlines theme from Rondo of Blood, stands among the series’ finest moments of raw atmosphere.

Legacy of Darkness, however, is the title that Konami should’ve launched the first time. Given an enhancement from the N64’s expansion pack, the visuals were refined, two new characters and narratives were introduced—including

a lycanthrope known as Cornell–the gameplay’s equilibrium was adjusted, and it’s simply much simpler to grasp what the team at Konami Kobe was aiming for, even if it doesn’t attain the franchise’s pinnacle level of excellence. It’s a captivating oddity, if nothing else.

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Lament of Innocence garnered a significant amount of goodwill for being the Castlevania installment that ultimately set the franchise on firm ground in the 3D realm, so, it’s reasonable why some individuals shrank back a bit at its sequel largely discarding most of Castlevania heritage for something that, frankly, doesn’t closely resemble anything in the series, prior or subsequent. Time has in fact been more forgiving to Curse than anticipated, however. Yes, it’s still quite the anomaly as a Castlevania entry–ironically, a lot of this game is present in what later transformed into Bloodstained–but if you can set aside expectations and how poorly they treat poor Trevor Belmont in the process, you’ll discover a rather solid action-RPG with an unexpectedly intricate crafting system, stunning visuals, and a remarkably underrated Michiru Yamane soundtrack.

The narrative feels perplexing in isolation, only because, for reasons beyond understanding, most of the backstory was conveyed in a manga that was never genuinely issued outside Japan until years post the game’s release. It’s not bad once you have that information, but it’s staggering how much the game relies on it. Engage with the game, and all it reveals is how Trevor Belmont failed to eliminate Dracula for good, before plunging you right into the heart of some serious bishi tension between two of Dracula’s minions, Hector and Isaac, over a woman named Rosaly. What the game never reveals is that Rosaly was betrothed to Hector until Isaac had her falsely accused of witchcraft and executed. It’s a pretty valid reason to be angry, to be frank. And indeed, anime enthusiasts, you understood that correctly–this is the game where Hector and Isaac, as well as Saint-Germain from the Netflix series originate. Game Isaac isn’t nearly as remarkable as his Netflix equivalent, but the broad outlines of his persona and journey are similar.

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Dracula X Chronicles would merit inclusion on this list solely as a sheer value proposition. Whether you appreciate what Konami accomplished with their 2.5D adaptation of Rondo of Blood or not, it’s worth experiencing once just for the sheer delight of Rondo of Blood finally obtaining an official distribution outside the Japanese PC Engine, alongside the first and sole portable iteration of Symphony of the Night, the very first to incorporate the redone voice performance that is now the standard voice audio for every subsequent release. But indeed, aside from that, there is still the Rondo of Blood remake alone. The contemporary revamp isn’t flawless, and the rigidity of Richter’s movements can be a nuisance, but it’s still a game deserving of the title, and what it lacks in smoothness compared to, say, Symphony of the Night, it compensates with that very particular gothic ambiance.

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As praiseworthy as it was that Konami managed to fit three Castlevania titles onto the modest Game Boy, none of the three games have aged particularly well over time, especially for being a series known for its expansive level designs compressed into cramped rooms the size of a stamp. That rendered those games prime material for Konami to draw from when it came time for the Castlevania segment of its ReBirth initiative, which provided the project’s creators unrestricted freedom to introduce remakes and remixes of their flagship franchises to a brand new audience. Contra and Gradius opted for the remix approach, while Castlevania chose a charming remake of the initial Game Boy game. That reality offers some additional contrast given that the first Lords of Shadow title would release not even a year later, and the Wii would be left without any Castlevania games otherwise, and no, we’re certainly not going to even begin discussing Castlevania Judgment. Adventure ReBirth is evidently utilizing a modified version of the engine that powers the three Nintendo DS Castlevanias, but it still did quite a bit to remind the world that there’s still vitality in the traditional ways of creating Castlevania games.

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The Lords of Shadow games are to Castlevania what the Avatar films are to James Cameron’s career. Yes, it’s the project that generated the most revenue and attracted the most players, but it’s also the series that fans hold in the least esteem. And it’s somewhat unjust. The first Lords of Shadow, in particular, essentially poses the question “What if Guillermo Del Toro created a Castlevania game,” complete with Oscar Araujo’s beautiful score, and some of the best vocal performances ever featured in a video game. The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for deceivers, traitors, and anyone who skips Patrick Stewart’s narration on Lords of Shadow’s loading screens.

Nonetheless, the first game unquestionably has its vocal defenders. Its direct sequel, however? Less so. MercurySteam infamously didn’t have Hideo Kojima overseeing it on that project, and it’s conceivable that led to some poor ideas taking root, like the notoriously dreadful stealth segments. The thing is, though, endure the stealth sections, and Lords of Shadow 2 is actually still a quite robust title. Playing as Dracula offers a uniquely violent thrill to the combat, and Robert Carlyle portraying him as an exhausted immortal awaiting death is a captivating dramatic balance to maintain. There are numerous imaginative moments whenever the game departs from the industrial settings. The interconnected level design is a clever idea to avoid the first game’s linearity, and there are twists and turns in the plot (though giving Mirror of Fate a quick playthrough beforehand is essential). Oscar Araujo elevates his work even further with the soundtrack, with Dracula’s Theme in particular being a subtle masterpiece of ominous baroque horror. The entire trilogy merited far more recognition than it achieved.