Every video game franchise has some... Not so good characters, but also some AMAZING entries! Down bellow I will go over something I don't usually do, or even planned to do in the first place...
A CHARACTER TOP 5!
So it is no secret how much I adore the Castlevania franchise! I grew up with this grim world of monsters, hunters and vampires, filled with rescue stories, vengeance and determination! Alongside of course some curses due to bosses and stages and whatnot... My love for this game bloomed more and more, as I grew up and played more titles down the line of modern consoles at that time. As my love for it grew, of course my love for certain characters did too... For the most part! So go down in this hellhole with me as we unravel my Top 5 Favorite Castlevania Characters!
Small disclaimer! I don't think I need to point this out but this is simply my opinion, if your most liked character isn't in this list then I am sorry but it doesn't mean anything! Your likes and dislikes are your own and that is just fine! With this out of the way... ON WITH THE LIST WE GO!
NUMBER 5
I never stop gushing about the protagonist of the 2nd 3D Castlevania game, really now... The protagonist of Curse of Darkness has everything you might want! Hector is a top notch character really... So why is he in the bottom of my list you might wonder?
...
Well really I feel like the anime series destroyed his character for me but no that is not the reason, it really isn't I just wanted to bitch and moan about it... Again... Yes again damn it, it is unfair okay?! Ehem, back in the point we go... Really Hector starts of very stereotypical but evolves into something great, maybe the reason why he is so low is just because I don't have as much of an emotional attachment to him as the rest of the characters.
Hector is a devil forgemaster, one of Dracula's 'workers' alongside his fellow forger Isaac. Hector though gets tired of that life and betrays his master, finding solace and comfort in the arms of a woman who he later on marries... Only for his co-worker to kill her. Focused on anger and revenge Hector delves once more into Dracula's domain to find Isaac.
But really a whole storyline of revenge soon becomes about development and evolution, since Hector finds another woman who he finds comfort with and even if he ends up fighting Isaac and Dracula, conclusively avenging his wife, he shows many signs of evolution.
But really a whole storyline of revenge soon becomes about development and evolution, since Hector finds another woman who he finds comfort with and even if he ends up fighting Isaac and Dracula, conclusively avenging his wife, he shows many signs of evolution.
Hector is an all around amazing character and a very good protagonist, I wish the 3D Castlevanias were handled with a bit more care and received a bit more love from the audience... They were something new that I guess wasn't that welcomed and honestly I cannot say that I welcomed it fully either. But that doesn't take away that Curse of Darkness hands down had a good, badass boy-main face!
NUMBER 4
A Castlevania list wouldn't be complete without a Belmont taking over one of the entries! Our Belmont attending this list is personally my favorite of all the Belmonts, Julius Belmont himself, in all of his bad-ass glory! Honestly though he is pretty close with Juste when it comes to the Belmonts, because I do love that white-haired furniture collector, but this old man just takes the cake!
Every game has its Belmont, except apparently Julius's because we NEVER GOT IT! LIKE COME ON KONAMI, I NEED TO SEE MY MAN IN ACTION NOT JUST IN SOME SIDE-MODE IN A MAIN GAME! HE NEEDS HIS OWN STORY DAMN IT! Ehem... Like I was saying, Julius takes a vital part in a game, actually two, he is a great supporting character in the Sorrow Duology for the GBA and DS consoles, Aria and Dawn of Sorrow!
At the start, the first time you meet Julius, he tells the main character of the games to refer to him as 'J' since he has a huge memory loss; accounted to an accident from 1999. Now Aria of Sorrow takes part in 2035, which seems a bit awkward for a memory loss to go for that long... But I let that damn trope pass just because of how COOL Julius is and how fulfilling his story is!
Once he regains his memories, Julius doesn't let you in the dark. Oh no, he makes very sure to inform you of every single detail he remembers. He is the one who defeated Dracula during their fight back in 1999, separating his body and soul into two different places and even sealing his whole damn castle in a solar eclipse! Canonically, Julius is the most powerful Belmont, he takes pride in what he does and does it well, without being a cold-hearted soldier, shown in many points when he talks to the protagonist of the games he lends a hand in. What is there not to like about this fatherly figure? (Except the fact that he doesn't have his own game yet. Yes I am still on that!)
NUMBER 3
A character I myself didn't think I'd include in this list is the man that takes the 3rd place in my list, Albus from another DS Castlevania title; Order of Ecclesia. At first I was really thinking about putting Julius in the 3rd position, but then I sat down and compared his screen-time with Albus's and sadly its the only thing that keeps me from exchanging these two positions.
Albus at first comes off as an enemy to Shanoa, the main character of the game. She is ordered to hunt him down and recover an artifact he has stolen, only for Albus to give two pieces of said artifact to her and resonate with the other. Shanoa did everything for her mission that far into the game, memories and emotions stolen from her... Albus on the other hand did everything for the mission that he ordered himself to fulfill; Save Shanoa. He ends up sacrificing his own soul to the artifact, just so Shanoa's wouldn't be sacrificed instead, saving her and actually dying for her. The brotherly relationship Albus has with her just hits perfectly right.
Order of Ecclesia is a game that is very controversial when it comes to likes and dislikes, it is the souls-like game of the franchise and fairly enough some people like it for it! But no one, no one that either likes or dislikes the title, can tell me that Albus isn't a good developed character. Plus, magic gun... Come on now! He gets bonus points just for the damn magic handgun alone!... And his character developing arc... Of course... GUN INCLUDED!
NUMBER 2
The Prince of Darkness and Vampires makes his appearance! What a surprise! No, really... It is no surprise that Alucard is here and in Number 2 position nonetheless. Could I have positioned him lower? Maybe... Higher? Sure... But I believe that the 2nd award, the silver medal, fits him very nicely. Alucard is a bad-ass main character and supportive character, and he deserves a big rant about why he is so awesome, so here we go!
Mister Alucard here, or as his real name is; Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, is a main character in Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse for the NES as one of the four party members you can play as, the others being Trevor, Sypha and Grant. But his protagonist, first-male faced roles don't end there. He is the face of his own game, the PS1 title of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as well as a prominent supportive character in Aria and Dawn of Sorrow. Alucard also takes a big central part in the discontinued mobile game that Konami released; Grimoire of Souls!
The son of Dracula excels in both roles. He is a very strong main character, fighting for his mother's last wishes and opposing his father's powers for them, until the very end, century after century. But as mentioned before, Alucard as Genya Arikado is also an incredible side character. His personality as his new alias is visibly more matured, showing his evolution from Symphony of the Night. Although cryptic and mysterious, holding his awkward socializing motif, Arikado managed to outclass many supporting characters of thee series.
This is a very popular dhampir alright. Honestly, how can anyone blame him for being so popular? Alucard has everything a good MC must have; an evolving personality with the obvious differences being between SOTN and the Sorrow games, breathtaking design and a well-written story. Alucard is your pretty boy vampire, who can also kick ass and honor his mother's name and wishes in a second. He is loved by many fans of the franchise, including me... I have been crushing on the guy ever since I was a little kid for crying out loud! And although I'd love, love, LOVE to put him in the gold throne... I simply cannot...
HONORABLE MENTIONS
In my attempt to hide for a bit more who is up there, getting that sweet, sweet Number 1 spot... Although pretty obvious for some... Here are my honorable mentions for this list!
The Belmont that started it all, the main character of the 1st PS2 Castlevania title, Lament of Innocence! Leon is a great character, well rounded with a very concrete backstory and lore. I just sadly felt like it was very easily turned into a story about rescuing the damsel in distress and then revenging her, which yes is a common good trope, but its execution with Leon just didn't make the cut for me... Sorry white knight!
Another entry from the DS games of Castlevania, we have one of the two protagonists from Portrait of Ruin, Charlotte Aulin! Charlotte is such a cute bookworm and I love the fact that she is logical and cool-headed opposed to her co-star Jonathan... I also don't like the fact that she takes more spotlight than him with mainly flaunting her knowledge, even if I love how knowledgeable she is of things... Main reason why she is not on the list? I just don't happen to enjoy her as much as others, that is all.
Last but not least in our Honorable Mentions; the Lord of Darkness himself, King of all Vampires, Vlad Tepes... Also known as Dracula and previously known as Mathias Cronqvist and- You get where I am going with this! This old man kicks ass and for a good damn reason! The man lost two wives, then his son although not exactly... He is sad, he is angry, he wants to kick some human butt and honestly who wouldn't in his position?! Dracula is one of the best video game villains I have seen, he is unique but also comfortingly familiar and I love him for it! The sole reason he didn't make it directly into the list is that his so many appearances, render him somewhat... Stale in my opinion, sorry dad Drac!
NUMBER 1
And the first place of my list, the gold medal, the throne and the crown... Goes to the one and only, Soma Cruz! The protagonist of the Sorrow duology! Honestly, him and Alucard were neck to neck for first place, but I believe my explanations about Soma will show why I think of him a tad bit higher than the Prince of Darkness.
Soma, as I said before but shall repeat, is the main character in Aria of Sorrow for the GBA and its sequel game, Dawn of Sorrow for the DS. He is not a Belmont, he has no relation to whip-wielding vampire hunters, vampires or any of the supernatural. No, no, Soma is just a damn regular high-schooler in Japan who just wants a normal life and fights to finish school... Sounds familiar yet?
All of this is suddenly turned upside down since it is further down revealed that Soma is no mere human; he is the reincarnation of the Dark Lord, he is the host of Dracula's soul after Julius's separation. He fights with claws to stay himself though, even when he understand what he is, who he is, Soma tries to keep a cool-head even if he is scared beyond belief.
All of this is suddenly turned upside down since it is further down revealed that Soma is no mere human; he is the reincarnation of the Dark Lord, he is the host of Dracula's soul after Julius's separation. He fights with claws to stay himself though, even when he understand what he is, who he is, Soma tries to keep a cool-head even if he is scared beyond belief.
As the sequel progresses we do see Soma being more confident, a tad bit overconfident someone could say, but that is soon shattered again by fear and anxiousness when his childhood friend's life is threatened. He is reassured by Arikado of all people, managing to calm down and fight back against himself once more. Of course bad endings exist, bad endings that actively have Soma become Dracula, the soul of the Dark Lord corrupting the boy completely from his human identity.
That is what I like about Soma that others don't really show; he is human. He is a kid and acts like one. He acts on emotion, he is rash, over-confident at times, hot-headed, tries to play cool. Soma gets scared, nervous, he does what he does because he must, he is naïve at times, easy to trick as seen in Aria of Sorrow with his encounter with the main antagonist, Graham Jones. Soma not only has a great design, cool gameplay and powers... But also has a phenomenal character, development and relatability. Yes, everyone else is super-duper wizards, witches, vampires, hunters and whatnot coming from long bloodlines and all that... But Soma is just a human boy, who had nothing to do with all these until one unlucky day that he was in the wrong place the wrong moment. Soma is so damn relatable, in both how he handles and feels emotions that I cannot possibly overlook it and put him anywhere lower than 1st place.
Lastly I would like to say a big thank you to all of you if you reached this far! I don't typically do lists, this was just a fun idea that I had pop in my head and wanted to execute it. Since I suck at video editing and recording alike, I decided to rant out about my favorites in my blog, but I hope you enjoyed this little gushing of mine and found it entertaining at least! Once again...
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