Castlevania
Castlevania is a video game series, created and developed by Konami. The series first appeared on the MSX personal computers (as Vampire Killer) in 1986 in Japan. The series became somewhat popular however when it first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.The Castlevania series is about a war, between the enchanted family bloodline of the Belmonts and Dracula. At least every hundred years, Dracula is resurrected and it is up to the Belmonts to defeat him before he causes too much pain and suffering.Japan, the series is mostly known as Akumajō Dracula, which loosly translated means Demon Castle Dracula. On the Nintendo Gameboy systems, the series is known as Dracula Densetsu, which could be translated as "The Legend of Dracula". However, since Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance the Japanese games have adopted the western name for the series. This is due to the fact that the developers want to expand the series to involve senarios that do not solely revolve around the main plotline of the series.
most notable Belmont is perhaps Simon Belmont, star of the first several Castlevania games. However, the series stars many characters, not just Belmonts, that you can control. Included among the useable characters is Alucard, the son of Dracula himself. Also, several female characters star in some of the later games. See Castlevania characters for more information about the characters of Castlevania.The series is loosely based on the mythology of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. In fact, the novel is considered to be within the official canon of the series; the events taking place prior to .
| Game Title | Console/Platform | Year | Notes |
| Vampire Killer | MSX | 1986 | Akumajō Dracula in Japan |
| Castlevania | Famicom/NES | 1987 | Also released on the Commodore 64, Amiga, and in the Arcade (Versus); Akumajō Dracula in Japan |
| Famicom Disk System | 1987 | Japan only; same as | |
| NES | 1988 | North America only | |
| Haunted Castle | Arcade | 1988 | Akumajō Dracula in Japan |
| Castlevania Adventure, The | Gameboy | 1989 | Dracula Densetsu in Japan |
| Famicom/NES | 1990 | Akumajō Dracula: Legend of Demon Castle | |
| Super Castlevania IV | Super Famicom/SNES | 1991 | Akumajō Dracula in Japan |
| Gameboy | 1991 | Dracula Densetsu 2 in Japan | |
| PC Engine | 1993 | Japan only | |
| Akumajo Dracula X68000 | X68000 | 1993 | Japan only |
| Sega Megadrive/Sega Genesis | 1994 | Vampire Killer in Japan | |
| SNES | 1995 | SNES remake of | |
| Playstation | 1997 | Akumajō Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku in Japan | |
| Sega Saturn | 1998 | Japan only rerelease of | |
| Castlevania Legends | Gameboy | 1998 | Dracula Densetsu: Dark Night Prelude in Japan |
| Castlevania | N64 | 1999 | Generally referred to as Castlevania 64 to separate it from Castlevania for the Famicom/NES; Akumajō Dracula Mokushiroku in Japan |
| N64 | 1999 | Akumajō Dracula Mokushiroku Gaiden: The Legend of Cornell in Japan | |
| Castlevania Chronicles | Playstation | 2001 | a Playstation rerelease of Akumajō Dracula X68000;; Castlevania Chronicle: Akumajō Dracula in Japan, the first Japanese game to carry the Castlevania name. |
| Gameboy Advance | 2001 | Akumajō Dracula: Circle of the Moon | |
| Gameboy Advance | 2002 | Castlevania: Concerto of the Midnight Sun in Japan | |
| Gameboy Advance | 2003 | Castlevania: Minuet of Dawn in Japan | |
| Playstation 2 | 2003 | Castlevania in Japan |
According to the chronological order of the storyline of the Castlevania series and the year the game was chronologically set in, according to The Castlevania Dungeon:
| Game Titles | Year | Notes |
| 1094 | ||
| Castlevania Legends | 1450 | |
| 1476 | ||
| Castlevania Adventure | 1576 | |
| 1591 | ||
| Vampire Killer, Haunted Castle, Castlevania, Akumajō Dracula X68000;, Castlevania Chronicles, and Super Castlevania IV | 1691 | (all known as Akumajō Dracula in Japan) |
| 1698 | ||
| 1748 | ||
| and Castlevania Dracula X | 1792 | |
| and | 1797 | |
| 1830 | ||
| 1844 | ||
| Castlevania 64 | 1852 | |
| 1914 | ||
| 2035 |
There are also six parody games created by Konami that have Castlevania-related elements or characters. These, according to Castlevania Dungeon, are:
| Game Title | Console/Platform | Year | Notes |
| Konami Wai Wai World fan translation | Famicom Disk System | 1988 | Japan only |
| fan translation | Famicom Disk System | 1991 | Japan only |
| Famicom Disk System | 1991 | Japan only | |
| Kid Dracula | Gameboy | 1993 | Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun in Japan |
| Sexy Parodius | Arcade, PlayStation, Saturn | 1996 | |
| Konami Krazy Racers | Gameboy Advance | 2001 | Wai Wai Racing in Japan |