Castlevania storyline

The Castlevania storyline was established by Koji Igarashi, director of the Castlevania series.

Official storyline

1094 - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

In the year 1094 there is a company of knights that is led by two men, Leon Belmont and Mathias Cronqvist. Leon is a warrior without equal and Mathias is a genius tactician. Together, the two men are able to make their company almost unbeatable. However, tragedy soon strikes them both. It was during the time of the Crusades when Mathias's beloved wife Elisabetha passed away. Mathias was overcome with grief, so much so that he became bedridden. It is also at this time that a strange army of monsters appears in his and Leon's domain and Leon's betrothed, Sara, is kidnapped. Mathias informs him from his sick-bed that both the monsters and Sara's kidnapping have to do with a vampire named Walter Bernhard that lives in a castle in the Forest of Eternal Night. Leon immediately leaves to rescue Sara.

Leon first goes to the Church asking for permission to sortee, but the Church will not allow it. Leon then renounces his title as Baron, along with his sword, and sets out alone on a journey to save his betrothed. Upon entering the Forest of Eternal Night Leon discovers that he is now trapped and cannot leave. It is then he meets Rinaldo, an alchemist that lives just outside of the castle. Rinaldo runs a shop that sells items to those who have the misfortune of coming there. He does this in an attempt to help someone eventually defeat Walter. When asked why Walter allows him to do this Rinaldo replies that the vampire considers it all to be a game. He does not seriously think that anyone can defeat him so he enjoys toying with his pursuers. The elderly shopkeeper then reveals that Walter has setup five guardians that block the way to his lair as another part of the "game." They must be defeated before anyone can confront him. Rinaldo then hands Leon a whip that he has made from alchemy and enchants Leon's gauntlet, giving him the ability to absorb magic power from enemies.

Leon thanks Rinaldo for his help and sets off into the castle. There, he battles his way through the areas controlled by the five guardians and destroys them one by one. After defeating the fifth guardian, Leon confronts Walter, who is holding Sara hostage. Leon attacks him with the whip but it proves to be ineffective. Walter instead laughs at the knight and allows him to have Sara back anyway. However, something is not right. It is only when Leon and Sara return to Rinaldo's house that they learn the awful truth: Sara has been bitten by Walter. Slowly the curse will take over her body until she eventually becomes a full vampire. Rinaldo informs Leon that the only way to defeat Walter is to combine a human soul with the whip. This would bring the whip to its completed and most powerful form. Hearing this, Sara offers herself as a sacrifice to make the weapon whole. Leon at first protests, but Sara insists. Finally, Leon relents and strikes Sara with the whip, causing her soul to fuse with the weapon. This changes the whip into its completed form, the Vampire Killer.

With his desire to destroy Walter stronger than ever, Leon heads back to the castle to confront the vampire again. This time, with the fully powered Vampire Killer, Leon is able to strike a mortal blow to the monster. As Walter dies, Leon is shocked to see the figure of Death appear. He then receives the biggest surprise of all when Mathias appears in front of him as well. Leon immediatley knows that something is terribly wrong when he feels a rage rise up from the Vampire Killer. Mathias then explains that everything that has transpired has been part of an elaborate plot he created. Angry over the death of his wife, Mathias blamed God for taking her away from him and turned to evil. He then constructed a plan to lure Leon, the greatest warrior he knew, into a battle against Walter, being sure that Leon would win. Then, through the use of an artifact called the Crimson Stone, Mathias was able to absorb Walter's vampiric soul and become a vampire himself, able to curse God for eternity.

Satisfied with the success of his plan, Mathias offers immortality to Leon, because he to has lost a loved one and would understand Mathias's anger. However, Leon's response is not what Mathias expected. Instead of accepting his offer, Leon becomes enraged and calls Mathias a fool. Mathias responds by leaving Leon to fight with Death. After an intense battle Leon is able to defeat Death with the Vampire Killer because of the entity's association with a vampire (Mathias). He then tells Death to give Mathias this message: he will never forgive him for what he has done and that from this day forward the Belmont clan will hunt the night.

It is from this point forward that the Belmonts began their legacy of hunting evil with the Vampire Killer whip. Mathias would go into hiding until he would eventually reemerge more than 300 years later as Dracula, Lord of the Vampires.

1476 - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

The year is 1476, and Count Dracula has started to ravage Europe with an army of monsters. His sole purpose is to exterminate mankind, extracting his vengeance upon humanity after the death of his beloved wife Lisa, mistakenly executed as a witch for preparing medicine to help the sick.

The Belmont family of vampire hunters, once exiled from Wallachia, are called into action by the Church. They feared the Belmonts' "super-human" power, but with Dracula menacing to swallow Europe in darkness, they are left with no choice but to call Trevor Belmont, current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip.

Joining Trevor Belmont in his mission to defeat Dracula are three new playable characters: Sypha Belnades, a young priestess with poor physical attack power but powerful magic spells at her disposal; Grant DaNasty, a pirate with the ability to climb on walls and change direction in mid-jump (a rare ability in earlier games of the series); and Alucard, Dracula's son, a dhampir with the ability to shoot fireballs and transform into a bat. Trevor can be accompanied by only one companion at a time, and the player can switch between Trevor and his ally with the "select" button. Both Trevor and whoever is accompanying him share the same health meter. The ending of the game differs depending on which companion Trevor has with him at the time, or if he does not take another character with him at all.

Trevor and his companions cross the Transylvanian countryside, defeat Dracula's minions, and eventually defeat the Count himself. Once his father is defeated, Alucard goes into a self-induced slumber, unable to cope with having fought his father. Moreover, he realized that his own power could pose a potential threat to the world. However, he would awaken in the late-eighteenth century when feeling the absence of a Belmont when Dracula was revived by the dark priest Shaft. Grant DaNasty oversees the reconstruction of Wallachia after the battle is finished. Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades end up getting married once peace is restored in the region (according to the Castlevania Time Line included with Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin).

Alucard appears in several subsequent Castlevania games, as do Sypha's distant relatives (Carrie Fernandez, Charlotte Aulin, and Yoko Belnades).

1479 - Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

According to Igarashi, Curse of Darkness is set in the year 1479 , three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Though defeated by vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse continues to ravage the European countryside, spreading disease, mob violence, and heresy in its wake. Amidst all this devastation is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked under the employ of Dracula but betrayed him sometime during the events of Castlevania III. Eventually growing disgusted with Dracula's brutal methods, Hector leaves Castlevania and relinquishes his powers to live amongst humans, settling down to live a peaceful life. When Hector's fiance Rosaly is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Hector learns that her murder was directed by his fellow Forgemaster, Isaac. Seeking revenge, Hector chases his former colleague back to his old home, and back to the demonic life he believed he had left behind him.

When the game begins, Hector arrives at the ruins of Castlevania to confront Isaac. The latter scoffs at his desire for revenge and dares him to regain his powers so they can settle their score in a satisfying way. Hector reluctantly accepts the challenge, and starts hunting his former friend across the Transylvanian countryside. During his quest, he encounters several people: Julia Laforeze, a young witch in exile who turns out to be Isaac's sister, Trevor Belmont, who distrusts him for being a Devil Forgemaster, Zead, a kindly holyman who provides him with reliable information about Isaac's whereabouts, and St. Germain, a mysterious time traveller who presses him to abandon his quest, but eventually leaves him alone with some cryptic comments about a "new destiny" having emerged for him.

At one point, Trevor decides to trust Hector, and uses his own blood to unlock a parallel world called the Infinite Corridor, where Isaac is supposedly hiding. However, when Hector fights a Dullahan there, an evil glyph channels his energy and uses it to summon a new incarnation of Dracula's castle. Isaac, who intended this all along, cruelly stabs Trevor and leaves him for dead.

Hector enters the new Castlevania, where he fights and defeats his nemesis. As he prepares to kill him in a fit of rage, he suddenly remembers Julia, who had warned him not to let the Curse take hold of him. Horrified, Hector realizes that his actions are being controlled by Dracula's Curse. A triumphant Zead appears and confirms this, explaining that the Devil Forgemasters were supposed to fight to the death, with the blood-stained victor becoming the vessel for the Count's reincarnation. Having secured Isaac's body for this purpose, he reveals himself to be Death and attacks, in vain. Hector proceeds to destroy Dracula, and then uses his powers as a Devil Forgemaster to lift the Curse. Julia comes to his rescue, and they start a new life together. Meanwhile, St. Germain departs for the distant future, wondering how the struggle between mankind and Dracula will end.

1576 - The Castlevania Adventure

The year is 1576, one-hundred years after Trevor Belmont's successful battle against the evil Count Dracula. However, thanks to the power of the Crimson Stone, Dracula revives once again to wreak havoc on the people of Europe. This time, however, Christopher Belmont (great-grandfather of Simon Belmont), heir to the Vampire Killer whip, sets out towards Castlevania, the Count's dark home, to bring him to justice. However, Dracula is not destroyed, and fifteen years later, a terrible tragedy befalls the Belmont family...

1591 - Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge

It is 1591, and fifteen years have passed since Christopher Belmont (great-grandfather of Simon Belmont) defeated Dracula, saving Europe once again from the forces of darkness. Now, Soleiyu Belmont, Christopher's son, has come of age (turning age 15), and the Belmont Clan is celebrating Soleiyu's birthday. Unfortunately, Dracula, who had been laying in wait as a spirit for fifteen years, kidnaps the boy and transforms him into a powerful demon.

Dracula uses the boy's inherent power to create a new body for himself, four new castles and a citadel placed in the middle. Christopher must ventue out once again, with the Vampire Killer whip, to destroy Dracula and save his son.

1691 - Castlevania

It is the year 1691...The land of Transylvania has been at peace for one-hundred years now, thanks to the efforts of Christopher Belmont. The peasants and villagers have begun to purge their minds of the memories of the times when the lands were dominated by chaos and shadows, times when the undead walked the earth...However, there are those that remember that the evil Count Dracula returns every one-hundred years to plague the land, bringing with him the forces of Hell...Thus, one evening, the Prince of Darkness rises and returns to Castlevania, his ancestral home, calling forth his minions to purge the world of human flesh.

The people cry out for a hero — someone to defend them from the evil desires of the Count. Thankfully, they don't have to look very far, for within the land of Transylvania the Belmont line still lives, as Simon Belmont, great-grandson of Solieyu Belmont, takes up the legendary whip called the Vampire Killer, and sets forth on his journey through the darkened countryside to the dark lord's castle...

Upon arrival, the young man fights his way through legions of zombies, gigantic bats, and even faces Death himself, but in the end, he makes it to the Count and in a battle to end all battles, he comes out the victor...

The price? The evil master places a curse of death upon Simon, which will lead him into a long and dangerous journey in the very near future...

1698 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

According to the manual, seven years after the events of the game Castlevania, Simon Belmont visits his family's resting ground. His back is critically injured by his last encounter with Dracula in the previous game. He suddenly feels something behind him, and turns to see a young woman standing within the mist. She tells him that a curse was placed upon him by Dracula during their last battle, and that he doesn't have long to live. However, she continues to say that the curse can be undone if he ressurects Dracula himself. The woman explains Dracula's body was split into five different parts after his defeat seven years ago, and that Simon must recover these and bring them to Dracula's ruined stronghold, Castlevania. There, he must seal Dracula and defeat him. However, the unknown woman cannot guarantee that this will destroy Dracula permanently. She then disappears.[2][3]

During the game, Simon searches for the body parts of Dracula's corpse from five respective mansions. He succeeds returing them to Castlevania, and defeats the ressurrected Dracula. He recovers from the curse.

"Another story"

These games have been officially "retconned" from the official timeline by IGA. Castlevania: Legends has a big inconsistency with Lament of Innocence, and the three others do not include a member of the Belmont or Morris families. However, it should be noted that on the Castlevania timeline in the 20th anniversary collector edition of Portrait of Ruin, theses three games are present, without any description. As a matter of fact, these they are of no importance in regards to the overall storyline.