Shop



Shops appear in various Castlevania games and primarily serve as the main hubs for buying or selling items, weapons and accessories. Depending on the game they appear in, shop owners may also offer a number of different services not found in other games. In most cases, a non-playable character opens their business to aid the player; otherwise, a shop can just be accessed from the game's menu.

The items in a shop are usually bought with a common currency - gold - which can be accumulated in various ways. Throughout the games, these shopkeepers often have limited stocks, and new items and weapons become available as the player progresses more into the game. Likewise, the rarest or strongest items, accessories and weapons will become available in the shop with expensive costs after the player beats the game and revisits the shopkeeper.

Vampire Killer
The first appearance of a "shop" in a Castlevania game came in the form of a mysterious old woman in 1986's Vampire Killer: the Old Crone. Instead of offering her items via a list of wares, the player would instead have to strike her with their whip several times. For each hit, the Old Crone's robes would change color, each meaning a different service, like giving or taking away Hearts, changing the stage's difficulty, or offering an item for purchase. Also, depending on the color of Bible the player had acquired, she would increase or decrease her prices.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Stepping further from the gameplay mechanics of the first game to a more action-RPG oriented adventure, it was not a surprise to see shops appearing more prominently in Konami's Simon's Quest, from 1987. In this game, several traders come in the form of town merchant gypsies, each one offering a particular item for a price. Characteristic to this game is that Hearts are the main currency and not gold, unlike the rest of the games. Most of these merchants can be found in towns, although some of them have enclosed themselves in secret rooms inside of their houses, trying to hide from the curse ailing the land. The player will then have to look for them by dissolving the walls of their houses with vials of Holy Water in order to make a transaction. There are others, however, who have chosen to make a temporary residence inside one of the five mansions where Dracula's relics are being guarded. These gypsies usually sell oak stakes, in order to aid the player in claiming the relic from each one of these unholy places.

Town merchants (and all villagers, for that purpose) only provide their services on daytime. When night befalls, they'll hurry to the safety of their houses and lock themselves up, waiting for the morning sun to vanquish the horrible night. As in-game time does not progress while inside of a mansion, the player can trade with oak stake merchants any time they want to.

Castlevania: Chronicles
A mysterious cloaked figure, the Flautist, appears in the Underground Aqueduct level of Castlevania Chronicles. Instead of asking the player if they want to buy an item, he'll magically rotate four of them above him. The player then only needs to jump and whip the item they want, and the Flautist won't even charge them for it in any way. If none of the items offered is satisfactory, the player can whip the Flautist instead. He'll briefly go away (probably to where he keeps his inventory) and return to display four new items. This process can be repeated until the player sees something they may have interest in or when they whip the Flautist for the eighth time, moment when he'll finally get fed up and go away, never to be seen again.

Because of the aforementioned trading mechanics of this individual, he shares many similarities with Vampire Killer's Old Crone, raising the question if he's really a female character and both are really the same person, or if they are related in any way. Further reinforcing this speculation is that both characters will disappear once they've been struck exactly eight times.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The Master Librarian provides Alucard with several one-use items and pieces of equipment upon visiting him at his study, located in the Long Library. Visiting the Reverse Castle and attaining a high map completion rate unlocks new items in the shop. The Duplicator is the most expensive item sold ($500,000), which can be unlocked after defeating Dracula.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Hammer opens his shop in the Castle Corridor, only after meeting Soma for the first time. He sells more items and equipments once Headhunter is killed and even more after Death is killed.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Hammer once again serves as the shopkeeper in Soma's second game, and similar to the first, the items and weapons offered increase on map coverage. His shop can be found near the bottom-left part of the Lost Village, across the street from Yoko's study. This time he also sells UMA News, which only provide gameplay hints. New weapons forged through Yoko's Weapon Synthesis become available at the shop once discovered. Interestingly, Hammer and Soma have several dialogues each time the player interacts with him after defeating bosses or increasing the map coverage.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Julia Laforeze sets up a shop for Hector at her house, located in Baljhet Mountains. Several consumables and basic weaponry can be purchased here. Not only that, but she can also house those Innocent Devils which are not required by the player at the moment. She can also create new Innocent Devils from the Devil Shards dropped by these creatures through the process of devil forging. The Mobius Brooch is the most expensive item sold ($200,000), which is only available after beating the game on Crazy Mode.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Vincent Dorin opens the shop of this game at an early stage. He can be found in the Entrance's Save Point, beside the area where Wind stays.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
The PSP remake of Rondo of Blood does not have a merchant NPC. Instead, a Boss Demo "shop" can be accessed through the game's menu. Only the Boss Battle Demos for defeated bosses are available for purchase here using the game's currency.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
The shop system becomes available only after Shanoa rescues the second villager, Jacob. He only sells a very few number of items from the start, but new items are added to the shop each time Shanoa defeats a specific boss or completes a quest from one of the other villagers.

Trivia

 * Vincent Dorin is notably the only shopkeeper to directly mention the hint that shops tend to expand as the player progresses, a clue not given by any other shopkeepers from other Castlevania games.
 * Since all of the other twelve villagers, aside from Nikolai, are considered optional, the player can choose not to release Jacob in Kalidus Channel, although doing so will result in the inability to access the shop early in Order of Ecclesia. Nevertheless, saving Jacob after finishing quests from other villagers still unlocks these shop items.