10 Things You Didn't Know About Castlevania
Vampires, Whips, and Trivia? It's either a Tuesday night or little-known Castlevania facts!
No matter how much faith they had in the game they were releasing in 1986, the folks at Konami likely never realized just how prolific the action-horror game Akumajo Dracula would become. Known in the west as Castlevania, the game predominantly follows the trials and tribulations of the Belmont family in their never-ending crusade against the vampire, Dracula.
Originally released for the Japanese Famicom Disk System in 1986, the latest major game release was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow in 2014. It's no secret that Konami has relegated the series to mostly the pinball machine world, but there have been over 20 major releases in the series in the thirty-plus years of the franchise's history.
The series has been referenced in numerous other media forms as well, including children's cartoons, comic books, and most recently - an animated series on Netflix which is utterly fantastic. But even if you've played all 20+ Castlevania games there are likely some secrets even you don't know. Light some candles to set the mood and get your holy water and bullwhip while we look at some Castlevania history you might not be aware of.
10. Castlevania Is Full Of References To Other Franchises
If you've played the original Metal Gear Solid with Castlevania save data on your memory card, then you got to witness Psycho Mantis ask Snake if he liked the other Konami franchise. Of course he does, it's a mostly great series. But did you know that the references go in the reverse, too?
Castlevania games are replete with random Konami references, such as being able to kneel in various spots of the first game to summon small Moaui head statues from Gradius. In Dawn of Sorrow you can kneel between two sets of spikes to summon Konami's old mascot 'Konami man'. There are even some deep-cuts, like an item in Circle of the Moon which will turn the character into Beartank, a character from the 1998 fighting game Rakugakids, that likely few have even heard of.
But the references don't end with other Konami titles. In Aria of Sorrow, the player can acquire an item from the Cagnazzo enemy - named after a character from Dante's Inferno - which calls forth a Cagnazzo-like entity which punches enemies repeatedly while yelling 'Ora, ora, ora' like the Star Platinum stand from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.