The Castlevania Timeline Explained
The Castlevania Timeline Explained
Stretching back to the glorious NES days, “Castlevania” is one of the oldest franchises in gaming. It’s seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, in large part due to Netflix’s animated adaptations and in no part due to Konami doing absolutely nothing with the games. However, with new fans comes new players. There are a ton of games to jump into, but only a few have actually been released in chronological order. If you’ve ever wondered about the exact timeline of the Belmont family’s seemingly endless war against Dracula, well you’ve clicked on the right video my friend. Welcome to MojoPlays, and this is the “Castlevania” timeline explained.
Before we jump into everything, it’s important to note we’ll only be discussing the history of the mainline series. Some entries were removed from the continuity after release, such as 2001’s “Circle of the Moon.” Others take place in alternate universes, like the “Lords of Shadow” reboot. So, you won’t find any of those here.
Our story begins in the ripe year of 1094 in the PS2 title, 2003’s “Lament of Innocence.” Leon Belmont was once a baron, but gave up his wealth to pursue Sara, his love who had been kidnapped by a vampire named Walter Bernhard. Leon would face many challenges on his journey through the vampire’s castle, including losing his beloved. Having been bitten by the big bad, Sara sacrificed herself rather than turn. This strengthened Leon’s weapon with magic, turning it into the future iconic slayer of monsters, the Vampire Killer whip. Leon would use this to defeat Walter, but his suffering was far from over. The entire ordeal had been orchestrated by his friend, Mathias Cronqvist, who needed the soul of a powerful vampire to turn himself into one. Angry over the loss of his own wife, Mathias craved power over God and became the infamous Dracula. Leon obviously didn’t take kindly to this, and swore that he and his family would dedicate their lives to vanquishing monsters like him. And thus began the centuries-spanning conflict.
Despite this tragic and volatile start, the next chronological entry doesn’t take place until nearly 400 years later. Following Leon’s tale, the Belmonts become feared by others due to their power, and were mostly shunned. 1990’s “Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse” is set in 1476 and sees the citizens of Wallachia turn to Trevor Belmont as a last resort when Dracula begins gaining power and killing innocents. Along his journey, he teams up with Grant Danasty, a pirate, Sypha Belandes, a sorceress, and Alucard, Dracula’s half-human son. Following the Vamp’s defeat, Trevor and Sypha settle down while Alucard puts himself into an endless slumber over the guilt of having helped kill his own father. Even after defeat, Dracula leaves a curse on the land that ravages it for years to come.
Powerful though he may be, Dracula didn’t work alone. He employed Isaac and Hector, human forgemasters with the ability to create horrifying monsters for their master’s army. However, Hector, having grown a conscience over murdering innocent people, abandoned Dracula. This is something he’d grow to regret as, in 1479, Isaac got vengeance by accusing Hector’s lover of witchcraft, leading to her death. 2005’s “Curse of Darkness” follows Hector on his own quest for vengeance against his former ally. Trevor Belmont also returned in this title, on his own journey to investigate Dracula’s curse, and was nearly killed by Isaac. Thankfully, Hector was able to defeat Isaac, and even his former master, before lifting the curse and bringing peace to the land.
Of course, peace in “Castlevania” never lasts. Next in the timeline is the 1989 GameBoy title, “Castlevania: The Adventure.” Set in 1576, it follows Christopher Belmont taking on the legions of a newly resurrected Dracula. Although obviously light on story, it did receive a sequel in 1991’s “Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge.” Set 15 years later, players controlled Christopher again, this time on a mission to rescue his son after Dracula returned (shocker) and kidnapped him. Christopher was victorious once again, leading to another century of peace.
And now, we’ve finally come to the one that started it all. The original game is set in 1691 and follows the now-famous Simon Belmont. However, being a game from 1986, that’s about all we get in terms of story. Like many before him, Simon defeats Dracula and his minions. But sadly for him, that isn’t the end of his story. Simon is cursed during his encounter with the vampire, leading to the events of 1987’s “Simon’s Quest,” set in 1698. In order to break it and save his life, Simon collects the body parts of Dracula, summoning him and defeating him for a second time.
Simon’s work against Dracula brought some goodwill for his family. His grandson, Juste, grows up in a lovely village that formed around the family. In 1748, in 2002’s “Harmony of Dissonance” for the GameBoy Advance, this new Belmont ventured into Dracula’s domain after his friend, Lydie, went missing. As he continued to fight the monsters inside the castle, he’d learn his other childhood friend, Maxim, had sought Dracula’s remains to finally destroy him. But all this did was corrupt him, and Juste would be forced to battle one of his closest allies. With Maxim’s defeat, Dracula’s castle vanished like it had so many times before.
The next entry in the series, 1993’s “Rondo of Blood,” or “Dracula X” on the Super Nintendo, takes place in 1792 and follows fan-favorite Richter Belmont. A dark priest by the name of Shaft revived Dracula, who then kidnapped several women from Richter’s village, including his girlfriend Annette. Luckily, vampire slaying is in Richter’s blood. Like his forebears, he braved the castle and put an end to the villain. Unfortunately for him, Shaft had one more trick up his sleeve. Richter would be cursed, with Shaft taking over his body five years later.
Arguably the best game in the series, 1997’s “Symphony of the Night” follows Alucard after he awakens from his 300-year-long nap. Sensing the return of his father, he journeys into his castle and gets a lot more than he bargained for. Not only is he tormented by memories of his human mother’s death, but the castle is now being controlled by the possessed Richter. Maria Renard, a distant relative of the Belmonts who was rescued by Richter in “Rondo of Blood,” asks for Alucard’s help. The dhampir obliges, freeing Richter and eventually battling his father once again.
2008’s “Order of Ecclesia” is next in the timeline, though it only features loose connections to the story of the Belmonts. Set sometime in the 1800s, the family has seemingly vanished, leading to the creation of the titular order to battle creatures of the night. We play as Shanoa, a member of the order, who must contend with a betrayer's plot to see Dracula return. The villain experiments on village citizens due to them being descendants of the Belmonts. But he too is vanquished by the hero.
1994’s “Bloodlines” is set in 1917, but it has a fair bit of necessary backstory. Richter gave the Vampire Killer whip to the Morris family, who had some distant relation to the Belmonts. In 1897, Quincy Morris fought and defeated Dracula, eventually passing the whip onto his son. So it was that, during the onset of WWI, John Morris took up the heirloom to fight evil. “Bloodlines” follows the hero and his friend Eric Lecarde as they track Elizabeth Bartley, Dracula’s own niece who started the war in order to resurrect him. Naturally, the heroes would once again be victorious, though Eric wouldn’t exactly receive a happy ending.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth wasn’t the only one to use war in her favor. 2006’s “Portrait of Ruin” is set in 1944 with WWII as the backdrop. Eric Lecarde falls victim to Brauner, a vampire who uses souls of those killed in the conflict to gain more power. Jonathan Morris, the son of other “Bloodlines” protagonist John, joins forces with Charlotte Aulin, said to be a distant descendant of the Belnades family. With everything else going on, the two are unable to stop Death from reviving Dracula, and are forced to fight him to halt his return to power.
At some point between “Portrait of Ruin” and the next game, 2003’s “Aria of Sorrow,” the Belmonts return to prominence. In 1999, Julius Belmont performs a ritual that will seal Dracula away forever, making finding a host body his only means of returning. “Aria” is set in 2035 and follows a teenager named Soma Cruz who finds out he’s meant to be the reincarnated antagonist. With a little help from Julius, Soma fights against his fate and comes out on top. However, in 2036, “Dawn of Sorrow” has him deal with a cult who seeks his demise in order to find Dracula a new vessel. It features two endings, one in which Soma gives into his dark urges, forcing his allies to kill him. Regardless, the cult is defeated and Dracula’s evil is put to rest. At least, for now.
As of writing, “Dawn of Sorrow” is the last game in the main timeline, though “Castlevania” itself has been quiet since 2014’s “Lords of Shadow 2.” We would’ve thought that with the praise Netflix’s shows have received that we would’ve gotten another game by now, but no such luck. The Belmont Clan and their allies are some of the most persistent heroes in video games. So, we have no doubt that players would love to take up the Vampire Killer whip once again and lay waste to hordes of monsters. Who knows? Maybe next time, we’ll explore an as-of-yet unseen period in the history of this beloved series.
