Dracula

Count Dracula is the main antagonist in most of the Castlevania titles. He first appears in the series as the main villain of Akumajō Dracula (for many platforms). He is also the final boss of almost all of the games, the only exceptions being Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. However, it can be noted that one of the last bosses in Dawn of Sorrow and Aria of Sorrow fights exactly as Dracula does in previous games.

The Dracula of Castlevania is loosely based on Bram Stoker's character, which was in turn based on the infamous Vlad Tepes of Wallachia. The Castlevania Dracula draws some history from both, but instead of preying on maidens this one threatens whole realms with his armies at the least, and at worst is presented as the very embodiment of evil.

The character Dracula is based on Vlad III Tepes. His Romanian surname Drăculea (also spelled "Drakulya"), by which Vlad was referred to in several documents, means "son of the dragon", in reference to his father, Vlad Dracul, who received that moniker from his subjects because he had joined the Order of the Dragon. Dracul, from the Latin word Draco, meaning "dragon", is derived from the Greek word Δράκων (Dracon). In Romanian, on the other hand, Dracul means "devil".

His post-mortem moniker of "Țepeș" ("Impaler") originated in his killing opponents by impalement. In Turkish, he was known as "Kazıklı Voyvoda" (pronounced [kazɯkˈɫɯ]) which means "Impaler Prince".

During his life Vlad wrote his name in Latin documents as Wladislaus Dragwlya or Drakwlya.[5]

Today "Drakula" or "Drakulić" (e.g. Slavenka Drakulić) is a common surname in the former countries of Yugoslavia.

Dracula did not receive much characterization in the earlier games of the Castlevania series, but in later games he is depicted as arrogant, disdainful of humanity (whom he regards as petty and greedy), and somewhat abusive towards his own minions. Despite his cruelty and evil nature, Dracula is capable of loving relationships (his evil nature is, in fact, fuelled in part by the loss of two women he loved), and is fond of his son, Alucard, despite their differences.

Although in some games he simply sits around in Castlevania waiting for the hero to show up and kill him (such as in the case of Sonia or Trevor Belmont), he also has a penchant for kidnapping the loved ones of the current Belmont hero (usually their bride, girlfriend, or mentor) with the intention of sacrificing them to gain power or vampirizing them to spite the hero. However, unlike his predecessor Walter Bernhard, he has never managed to accomplish this, with his victim always being rescued by the hero in the nick of time (the only exceptions being his brief possession of Christopher Belmont's son Soleiyu in Castlevania Adventure II, and an alternate ending of Castlevania: Dracula X, in which Richter Belmont's girlfriend Annette is transformed into a vampiress to fight him, and a similar alternate ending occurrence in The Dracula X Chronicles).

In-game appearance
In almost all of his in-game incarnations, Dracula initially appears as a stereotypical vampire count, complete with long black cape. His facial appearance throughout the series has evolved, however. Earlier games give him the face of the traditional Hollywood Dracula (clean shaven with a widow's peak hairstyle), where in later titles, starting with Rondo of Blood, Dracula is portrayed more similarly to his appearance in the original novel, usually with a mustache, goatee, and long, white flowing hair. In Lament of Innocence, which revealed Dracula's origin as Mathias Cronqvist, he was clean-shaven with long black hair and garbed in robes which hinted at his study of alchemy. In Portrait of Ruin he once again appeared as a stereotypical vampire, this time based on the look of actor Bela Lugosi in the 1931 film version of Dracula, possibly due to Portrait of Ruin's (set in 1944) chronological proximity to the release of that film. Surprisingly, his face in this form was one of the closest to his "original" appearance as Mathias. In Order of Ecclesia, Dracula appears to be no older than 30, with a thin, pale face, and lank gray hair that falls in front of his glowing red eyes. He is shown to be arrogant and highly amused at Shanoa and Albus's attempts to defeat him. In Dracula X Chronicles and Castlvania Chronicles, he appears to be perhaps 30, and is implied to be well-established in power. He has likely been awake in this world for some time before the Belmont clan attacks. Conversely, in Symphony of the Night and Curse of Darkness, he appears as a much older man since he is newly-resurrected and hasn't yet had the chance to eat anyone and gain more strength. This applies as well in Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, both of which feature a newly-awakened and older-looking Dracula. Certainly, this age/power association is not always present, but it is quite prominent. He is also thought to be left handed.

His most common form of attack is to teleport from one part of the screen to another, then open his cape to fire a spread of three small fireballs at the player. In later games he can also fire larger, meteor-like fireballs. Usually, he can only be damaged by striking him in the head or neck area.

With regard to his varying age, in Kojima's artwork (which is the most faithful to the novel with regard to the Count's appearance), the more established and powerful Dracula is, the younger he appears to be. This is in reference to the novel Dracula, in which the Count "ages backward" when he has fed on a great deal of blood and thus fortified himself.

In some games (Such as Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse or Castlevania: Bloodlines), instead of the typical vampire count, Dracula appears as an evil sorcerer who attacks the player with various spells including walls of flame and lightning strikes.

After being defeated in his initial, humanoid form, Dracula usually morphs into a larger, more powerful demonic form, although the exact nature of this form varies from game to game, ranging from a standard bat-like winged demon to a dragon-caterpillar hybrid. For a pictorial index of Dracula's different forms, see Dracula Forms. The only games in which Dracula does not change forms are Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (in Lament of Innocence, in which Leon does not fight him, he transforms into a normal-sized bat).

Before Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Dracula is said to be born Mathias Cronqvist in 1062. He descended from a line of alchemists, and the secrets of alchemy were passed down to him. At some point, he possibly had dealings with Rinaldo Gandolfi. He became best of friends with a man known as Leon Belmont. Together, the two formed an undefeatable company that fought in the name of God. Mathias served as the tactical genius, while Leon was a warrior without fear. However, one day when returning home from a successful campaign, Mathias learned that his wife, Elisabetha, had died. He was overcome with grief, and became bedridden.

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (1094)
A year later, Mathias would reveal to Leon that his own betrothed, Sara Trantoul, had been kidnapped by the vampire, Walter Bernhard, and taken to a castle within the Forest of Eternal Night.

It was, however a plot, part of a brilliant scheme Mathias had formulated. Blaming God for taking his wife away from him, he had turned to the dark side and merely used Leon to kill Walter so he could steal the vampire's soul. After Leon defeated Walter, Mathias disappears and becomes Lord of the Night, the king of all vampires. It is assumed that he would later change his name and become Vlad Tepes, or better known as Dracula.

At the end of the game, it is revealed that Mathias was in possession of the Crimson Stone, an alchemical artifact that passes the spiritual essence of any slain vampire into whomever wields it. The power of the stone was what transformed Mathias into a vampire (not the traditional blood-gift). Possessing the stone over the course of centuries is what transformed Dracula into the world's strongest vampire and presumably what assures that he is resurrected whenever he is slain. (This strange loop suggests that whenever Dracula is killed, as wielder of the Crimson Stone, his power is transferred directly back to him every time.)

However, by using Leon in the fashion he had done, Mathias, or Dracula, had cursed the Belmont bloodline to "forever hunt the night." Also destined to eternally oppose Dracula was the Belmont family's signature weapon, the "Vampire Killer", a mystic whip inhabited by the vengeful soul of the slain Sara Trantoul.

After Lament of Innocence (1094 - 1450)
Through various actions, Dracula had gained immortality. Not only would he live forever, if his physical body was destroyed his spirit would live on and resurrect in physical form periodically as long as human wickedness existed to fuel him (the general timetable for his resurrection is every 100 years, but premature resurrections are not uncommon). Not much is known about what Dracula did during the time following the events of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. It is known that he would have a relationship with a human woman by the name of Lisa. The time frame of this union is still unknown. This woman looked exactly like his deceased wife, Elisabetha. The union would bear Dracula a son, who was named Adrian Farenheights Tepes, but would be later known as Alucard.

Lisa was later taken from her home and executed, as her expertise in medicine was mistaken as "witchcraft". This heinous act enraged Dracula beyond belief. Hurt deeply, he vowed to make humanity pay once he mastered the use of the unlimited power he now had.

War on humanity (1450 - 1691)
Dracula had vowed revenge against mankind for the death of Lisa. However, during his rule over Wallachia, he would meet up with many members of the Belmont Clan whose cursed blood and enchanted whip(s) allowed them to defeat Dracula.

According to the official Castlevania timeline, the first known Belmont to defeat Dracula was Trevor Belmont. Trevor was also aided by Alucard who fought alongside him, a pirate named Grant Danasty and a sorcerer named Sypha Belnades (who, in Samus Aran fashion, was revealed to be a woman after Dracula's defeat). Trevor was most likely the one to land the final blow, due to Dracula's weakness being the Vampire Killer, and all games in the future reference Dracula as being defeated by Trevor.

Some Castlevania series fans have argued that the original Belmont to slay Dracula was Sonia Belmont from Castlevania Legends. This is because the game story takes place prior to Trevor's game. However, Konami retconned Castlevania Legends from the official Castlevania timeline because the game plot was inconsistent with the plot of Castlevania:SoTN and Castlevania 3 which says Dracula only became evil after his wife was killed by humans shortly before the events of Castelvania 3. Additionally, it proposed the idea that Alucard had betrayed his father prior to the events of Castlevania 3 where his mother was killed, which is also inconsistent with the plotline of Castlevania 3 and Symphony of the Night. This explains why Castlevania Legends was retconned. Also of note, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness verifies that prior to the events of Castlevania 3, Dracula had not held a grudge against humans, as explained during Hector's confrontation with Dracula at the end of the game. Since Dracula's grudge against humans began after his wife was killed, this pinpoints the death of Lisa as taking place shortly before Castlevania 3.

With his last breath, Dracula would curse the land of Transylvania to rot and its people to pillage indiscriminately. During this time, Death(in the guise of Zead) would manipulate the actions of two of the Dark Lord's former Devil Forgemasters, Hector and Isaac, to return Castlevania to the mortal realm and find a vessel for his master to inhabit. His plan worked, despite the interference of the returning Trevor Belmont, however both Death and Dracula would be defeated yet again and the curse dispelled due to the efforts of Hector.

Christopher Belmont, a descendant of Trevor and Sypha, would become the second Belmont to defeat Dracula. First, Christopher slew the vampire lord in one adventure, then prevented Dracula from being reborn in the body of Christopher's son, Soleiyu, in another story.

The most famous of all the Belmonts who would defeat Dracula is Simon Belmont. Before Simon, the Belmonts were feared for their supernatural physical prowess. But Simon, who came in a time of need, saved the land and made the Belmont name famous for killing Dracula and his minions once again.

Simon's Quest (1692 - 1698)
During his defeat at the hands of Simon Belmont, Dracula played a trump card and placed a curse on Simon and the land of Wallachia. This curse would kill the land and Simon if not broken in time and would thus kill off the Belmont bloodline.

Simon had thought his job was done, but he would learn of this curse and once again set out with all the strength he had left. He had to collect the body parts of the deceased Dracula which were scattered all over the land by Dracula's minions and followers. Simon was successful in collecting the body parts and reassembling them at the ruins of Castlevania in order to defeat Dracula once more in his resurrected form, thus lifting the curse.

Subsequent battles (1698 - 1999)
Dracula's remains were again combined and he rose in 1748 at the hands of Maxim Kischine, during the events of Harmony of Dissonance. After being defeated by Juste Belmont, he was again prematurely resurrected by the dark priest Shaft in 1792 and was beaten back by Richter Belmont, in Rondo of Blood. Five years later, in Symphony of the Night, Dracula rose again and this time was reunited with his son, Alucard. Alucard defeated his father, telling him Lisa's last words. Seemingly overwhelmed by Lisa's goodness, Dracula disappeared.

In the early 1800's, the Belmont family disappeared and a few organizations were created to protect the world from Dracula's return. Shanoa belonged to the Order of Ecclesia, an organization who fought evil forces with magical spells called Glyphs. Barlowe, the founder of Ecclesia, turned mad and tried to resurrect the Dark Lord by using his own power through a powerful Glyph: Dominus. Shanoa was betrayed by Barlowe, and forced to kill her former master and Albus, her friend. Then, Shanoa destroyed Dracula in his castle, resurrected by Barlowe just before his death.

Dracula was then prematurely resurrected several times throughout the 19th century. In 1897, presumably following a natural revival, Dracula attempted to take over the world using London as a base. This attempt was stopped by the combined efforts of a group of vampire hunters led by Abraham Van Helsing. A Belmont relative, Quincy Morris, delivered the killing blow, but himself died in the final fight. In 1917, Quincy's son, John, defeated a prematurely risen Dracula; in turn, his son did the same in 1944.

In 1999, Dracula led his forces in a huge battle. Julius Belmont defeated him totally, sealing him and his castle in an eclipse with the Vampire Killer Whip. Dracula's soul was finally released, although instead of passing on to the next life, it reincarnated in the form of a human, Soma Cruz, who had the potential to inherit all of Dracula's power. At the moment Dracula was destroyed, the Dark Lord Candidates were born.

Son of Dracula
Through his union with the human Lisa, Dracula had a son. His son would be born Adrian Farenheits Tepes, but would be later known as Alucard. Despite emulating his father early in his life, Alucard decided that he did not want to follow in his father's evil footsteps and battled with him many times. It is said he chose the anagram "Alucard" ("Dracula" spelled backwards) for his new name as a symbolic gesture, meaning he would go against his father's doings from that point on, like a kind of "anti-Dracula".

When exactly Dracula fathered Alucard, and when he knew Lisa, for that matter, is unclear, although it is known to be before the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.

Although, even if Alucard would fight his father Dracula still loves his son and he is quite fond of him.

(See Alucard for more information about Dracula's son.)

Reincarnation
In the Game Boy Advance installment of the series, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, it is revealed the main character Soma Cruz is in fact a reincarnation of Dracula. In the year 1999, Julius Belmont, the modern day member of the Belmont clan was finally able to defeat Dracula for good and seal away his Castle. These events have yet to be elaborated on other than brief mention in Aria of Sorrow. This was not the end of Dracula however, as it seems that after death his soul had been reincarnated into the soul of an innocent young man named Soma Cruz.

As well as having many of his tremendous powers (which Soma unlocks through the course of the game), Soma bears a striking resemblance to Matthias Cronqvist, the original human form of Dracula which started it all. However, as evidenced by his polar opposite color motif (Matthias was predominantly dressed in black with red trim and aura, while Soma is dressed in a white coat with blue trim and aura), Soma may be something of a second chance for Matthias in a new life, by choosing to go down a different path when the truth is revealed. His journey continues in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS.

While Soma is his own entity, he is also technically a continuation of Dracula, albeit in reincarnated form and as a protagonist. Although, it is argued by fans whether he is truly the same character in a new life or a different character altogether who just happens to have inherited Dracula's power.

(See the article about Soma Cruz himself for more information. Aria of Sorrow takes place in the year 2035 as well.)

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Reboot
It is confirmed that Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is not part of the original timeline, but rather a reboot of the series, but still there are some point of views that suggest both of the timeline can associate without flaw if the following projects can support this hypothesis

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Castlevania Timeline: 1047)
Gabriel Belmont is sent on a journey to fight against the mysterious Lords of Shadow and reassemble the God Mask to revive his dead wife. It is said that Gabriel is a rejected bastard from the Cronqvist family. After being deceived by both Zobek and Satan, Gabriel reawakens and defeats Satan, releasing the spirits trapped under Satan's grasps and foiling Satan's plans. Even though he has succeeded in his journey, he, however, failed to resurrect his wife as the God Mask was meant to see through God's eyes...

(Post ending: 1980s - Present)
After the end credits of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Zobek finds Gabriel living out an immortal life as a vampire while hiding in a church. Zobek asks him why he has been hiding all this time, but he angrily retorts that he is no longer called Gabriel and that his name is now Dracul. Zobek mentions the acolytes of Satan are preparing for his imminent return and that they must stop him, before he takes revenge on both of them. When Zobek tells him he will free him of his immortality if he helps him, Gabriel/Dracul disappears. It is unknown whether or not Gabriel/Dracul accepts Zobek's offer and go after Satan or refuse and continue to live the immortal life he's lived for almost a thousand years.

Notes about this version of Dracula
It is unknown what has happened between the thousand years Dracula has been active. Since the scene at the end didn't explain much, this is left up for debate and speculation. Notes include:
 * The loss of his wife is very similar to how Matthias Cronqvist lost his wife. The only exception is that Gabriel accomplished to fight against evil rather than orchestrate an evil plan to vow vengeance against God, and may, in fact, still be loyal to God, fitting in with the Romanian legend of Dracula.
 * Gabriel does not own an actual castle, unlike the original Dracula. Rather, he hid himself in the same church the entire time, only to be found by Zobek.
 * As Dracula, Gabriel does not wear any upper garments. No cape nor top suit.
 * Gabriel, while known as the Prince of Darkness according to Zobek, is not classified as a superior being that any evil being (if any) would fear; 'Prince of Darkness' is rather a nickname for Gabriel that Zobek came up with during Gabriel's journey through the Land of the Dead, as a reference to his strength prowess in combat, along with his merciless attitude towards killing his enemies. This was also the first nod towards Gabriel's ultimate fate, aside from his supposed history as a descendant of the Cronqvist family.
 * Gabriel as Dracula is neither a villain nor a hero. His uncertainty to choose to join Zobek to combat and stop Satan's acolytes to rid himself of his immortality, or to live the same path of immortality, even if it means being Satan's slave, has not yet been fully explained, leaving itself for debate.
 * How he acquired his power as king of the vampires, Lord of the Night, is not yet revealed, however, it will most likely be revealed, if at all, in the upcoming DLC level, Resurrection, that takes place directly after the battle with Satan.
 * Gabriel, as Dracula, should possess all of the powers that the Lords of Shadow previously had. Thus, he should be able to transform into a wolf, a bat, or mist (as scene in the final, modern day cutscene), as well as being immortal and so on. He claimed his immortality through the third Lord of Shadow by using the gauntlet he forged.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Dracula in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night does not directly attack, instead utilizing his cape. He will strike at Alucard with either claw or the demon heads, and also will send a variety of projectile moves at the player. Occasionally, Dracula will summon a previous enemy and then squash it, building his own strength for more attacks. As his sprite is very large, it is best to continually attack while attempting to dodge and healing injuries.

Portrait Of Ruin
This time, Dracula fights along with Death. As Dracula uses his classic way of fighting, Death stays in the air, trying to hit the player with his scythe. After either Death or Dracula is defeated, Dracula will transform in a giant monster known as "True Dracula". He will then use his enourmous wings to kill you by attempting to crush the player with them. His other attacks consist of colliding into you, smashing into the ground, and producing 3 red-black scythes, throwing one low, one medium, and one high.

Order of Ecclesia
Dracula, opens up with his classic teleport-fireball(a giant swarm)-teleport-meteor strike-teleport pattern. After that he will on occasion summon "fatal ray", an attack similar to one of the Dominus pieces you got earlier, that shoots up an array of green missiles up in the sky, and those will rain down on you. As each attack (besides 'fatal ray' and later 'destruction ray') is only effective close to the ground, Dracula has 2 more attacks to retaliate: When the flying ability is used he will create a wave of ceiling-height energy pillars to take you down, and if you try to jump over his head in order to evade his meteor-like fireball attack or regular fireball attack he will use his cape to deal what is comparable to a whiplash up the sky. After losing enough HP, he will start walking towards you, sometimes doing a scissor-like kick when you get to close. His main attack here is Soul-Steal; he disappears, reappears from behind and drains HP plus an improved version of the Lethal ray attack, in which the missiles are purple, fall one at a time, directly above the player. On some occasions he will teleport back to the center of the chamber, opens his cape and summons a pack of wolves wich will run from one side of the room to another, until the wolves are killed piece by piece. He has another animal-attack, he will open up his cape, similar to the wolves, and summons a wave of unstoppable bats which do massive damage. After his remaining HP a short conversation will follow and Dracula prepares a devastating attack, similar to his final move in Judgment. In the time he charges up you have to equip and use Dominus to finish him off. If you fail to do this, he will let loose a blast of energy that fills nearly the entire room and does over 9900 damage to you. This attack is called the "Demonic Meggido". There were also unused voice effects in sound mode that were most likely for unused attacks. These attacks were Dark Metamorphosis, Soul Blast, Life Steal (this would probably be the same as Soul Steal), and Giga Demonic Megiddo. The first attack may show that Dracula was originally planned to have a second form in this game.

Harmony of Despair
Dracula has three forms now.

In his first form, he will use his traditional attacks: hellfire, dark inferno. He also summons pillars of flame, which are the same as the attack he used in Castlevania III. Once more, only his head is vulnerable. Charlotte can absorb and learn Hellfire with her shield, and can learn Dark Inferno by allowing her shield to brush the attack while ducking beneath it.

In his second form, Dracula will take his final form used in the final battle of Rondo of Blood or the first part of Symphony of the Night when playing as Richter. He has several attacks: diagonal fireballs that turn into flame waves, a jumping attack where he occasionally drops fatal rain, Gergoth's diagonal beam, and soul blasts that will quickly chase the player (used by Dullahan in Portrait of Ruin when he puts his head on, and Dullahan in Harmony of Despair when the armor raises its lance). Charlotte can block and learn Ghost Chaser from this form even if she learned Hellfire or Dark Inferno from the previous form.

In his third form, Dracula will take his final form used in the final battle of Symphony of the Night. He has several attacks to his disposal, more than most other bosses. When he glows dark blue, he will gain a temporary shield that negates physical attacks during the duration of the shield. When he glows light blue, he negates magical/ability attacks. He can shoot triangular blasts, and shoot a large amount of hearts; if they make contact with Shanoa or Charlotte, said player will fall under Dracula's control and attack their teammates - males will simply take damage. For his other attacks, Dracula will invoke a runic circle. When it glows red, he will activate fire pillars under an ally, crossing through the room when they move. When the circle glows orange, he will shoot a moving flame wave. When it glows blue, several white lines will appear, and in a split second later, lasers will erupt where the lines were (It is theorized that Charlotte can do the "brush with shield" tactic to absorb this spell, but unconfirmed). Finally, when Dracula summons a white ringed by red rune circle, he will cast Demonic Megiddo, the most powerful attack in the game, that can only be dodged from the very sides of the room. This is the only time when Dracula can morph into his demon form and cast Demonic Megiddo. On Hard mode, his attacks will not only hit harder, but develop other means of harassment. Demonic Megiddo, for example, will also have three fire columns covering the safe zones before he launches the main attack, leaving only very tight timing to avoid both the columns and the main attack (preferable to take the fire columns over the instantly lethal main attack, though). Dracula's stationary single fire column strike will add an electric shock that horizontally divides the room in two, preventing any jumping.

Abilities

 * Summoning his Demon Castle: Wherever Dracula goes, his dominion of the Crimson Stone allows the ancestral Demon Castle (also known as "Castlevania") to appear anywhere, and anytime he desires. In short, as long as he lives, Castlevania will never be destroyed.
 * Immortality: Thanks to Walter's soul, Dracula is as good as immortal. Although he CAN be killed, he will simply be reincarnated, after either 100 years, although premature reincarnations are not uncommon.
 * Invulnerability: Dracula posesses superhuman endurance. Typical weapons would almost certainly not harm him, similarly to Walter. However, certain weapons and measures, such as Shanoa's "Dominus" attack, the Vampire Killer Whip, Hunter's Whip and the Alucard Sword and Spear are capable of harming and killing him. Dracula is also (usually) invulnerable to attacks to any part of his body excluding his head. In his demon form, he seems to have lost this power.
 * Power of Dominance: Dracula's primary ability allows him to absorb defeated monster's souls and enslave them. This power was the one that Soma Cruz, Dracula's incarnate inherited at the year 1999 at his destruction. While Soma can only summon monsters for a short amount of time due to his low magical power, Dracula can fully utilise this ability with infinite power from the stream of Chaos he commands. It's also said that Death guards the souls Dracula absorbs for guarding the areas of Castlevania.
 * Eternal Night: Thanks to the Ebony Stone, it is always nighttime in the area surrounding Dracula's castle.
 * Shapeshifting and Teleportation: Dracula favors confusing his enemies by teleporting to bats or black light to appear anywhere and catch his victims off guard. He also favors changing into multitudes of vampire bats with a large one as his main bat or into clouds of mist for long range teleportation. In Dracula X Chronicles, it's said he can transform into a bat, wolf or mist. For shorter movement, Dracula favors "walking" by floating on a runic circle that lets him move very slowly. He has been known to turn into:
 * Bat: He turns into many Bats and is his favored offensive transformations. It is called Bad Moon once and allows Dracula to slam all his bats at an enemy to kill them.
 * Wolf: For stealth or land based attacks, Dracula turns into a wolf and has the speed and power to match or even overpower a werewolf.
 * Mist: Dracula turns into a mist and evades detection. He sometimes favors turning into poison mist when he does so.
 * Teleporting: Dracula's favored strategy that confuses an enemy while he hits him with spells. Some versions of his teleporting has him blending to black lights, others turns him into many bats, but the function and strategy is one in same.
 * Demonic Wings: Dracula can turn his cape into wings that can allow flight in a one on one battle against an agile vampire hunter. His wings allow fast flight and can be use as a melee attack by swiping the cape in its wing form. Dracula rarely does this, however. Simon Belmont (Chronicles version), Richter Belmont (Dracula X Chronicles, Third Form) and Shanoa are three humans that have seen Dracula's wings.
 * Obedient Animals: Some creature of the night are sensitive to the flow of darkness and attracted to its source. Those attracted will not hesitate to serve the controller of the darkness. Some of these creatures are bats, wolves, owls, slimes, ravens, crows, black panthers, worms, caterpilars, toads, frogs, and many other smaller but numerous creatures have entered and lived in Dracula's presence.
 * Blood Draining: Dracula, being a vampire, can bite and drink the blood of his victims. His spell Dark Metamorphosis can enhance his blood draining ability. He can also drain his victim's blood by mere touch of his victims.
 * Power over Humans: Dracula's power has been shown to have an effect on human behavior. Dracula's Curse, in fact, drove many humans insane, and sent them into a murderous rage. Dracula has also shown abilities to control humans without possessing them, for example, in Harmony of Despair, his charm spell, when making contact with a female, would temporarily strip them of their will and put them under his control.
 * Magic Mastery : Dracula is a powerful magic user, easily capable of summoning fireballs, flaming meteors, beam attacks, and swarms of vampire bats and wolves to name a few. Even his extremely powerful "Demonic Megiddo" attack requires little effort on his part to perform. Added with the fact that he commands Chaos, no demons can match Dracula for his throne, and except for a chosen few, no vampire hunters can match his powers either. Some notable spells are:
 * Hellfire: Fires a wall of fireballs from his cape. Another version causes flames to erupt from the floor.
 * Dark Inferno: Fires magma fireballs from his cape. It cannot be destroyed due to its magma based texture.
 * Dark Metamorphosis: Boosts Dracula's Blood draining ability. He can bite an enemy or grasp them and drain their life. He rarely does the latter though.
 * Soul Steal: A spell that many fear. Soul Steal is used by Dracula and to kill and absorb their energy for Dracula's use. The one version of the spell has an area of effect around the caster. It can effect multiple victims multiple times in one cast. Another version drains the life out of Dracula's victims by a mere touch, which is why many fear this spell. It is also referred to as Life Steal.
 * Transformations: When facing a strong and dangerous opponent, Dracula can transform into a more powerful form to try and even the odds. He uses this strategy when it is too risky to use Demonic Megiddo. He has used a huge variety of transformations over the centuries, that typically follow a "monster vampire" theme. Most forms of Dracula make him bigger and more frightening to taunt his victims. Dracula sometimes collects enough power to transform a third time, such times are when Dracula battled Trevor Belmont, Richter Belmont, and Christopher Belmont.
 * Blood Hydro Storm: Perhaps as a way of mocking of the Belmont's powers, Dracula, when facing Richter Belmont, can make it rain blood shooting as faster than bullets, and all who is caught in its way will suffer certain death. It should also be noted that this spell is favored to Demonic Megiddo due to its faster casting time with less risk of interruption. Dracula is seemingly vulnerable to the spell too, as he keeps an area around him rain-free.
 * Demonic Megiddo: This is the ultimate dark spell. Two version of this attack are in existence. The first, and more common version has a shorter charging time and allows Dracula to charge demonic runes that become a giant black fireball. Dracula can throw it to his victim and will incinerate his victims with demonic fire. The second version is a gigantic explosion, with Dracula as its nucleus. The explosion radiates from him, killing every being instantly upon touching it. A successful cast will ensure that it will be active for as long as Dracula desires.
 * Power over Death: By the use of the Crimson Stone, Dracula gained dominion over the Grim Reaper Death, and with him his service and powers. Death can open the deepest of the gates of Hell to summon demons of various kinds for Dracula's army. He is very loyal to Dracula and is said to be Dracula's confidant and close friend. At a time when Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin faced him, Dracula has several combination attacks with Death.
 * Flame Sickle: Death summons many sickles, which Dracula turns into many Dark Infernos.
 * Demonic Megiddo (with Death): Dracula can have Death turn a scythe, where he can slam the scythe and create a smaller version of Demonic Meggido.
 * True Dracula's Scythes: When Death or Dracula was defeated, Death offered his soul to be absorbed by Dracula. Dracula used Soul Steal and absorbed Death to become True Dracula. In his demon form, one of True Dracula's attacks was to summon Death's Scythe and toss it at either Johnathan Morris or Charlotte Aulin.
 * Instant Army: Dracula's dark powers affect even the dead, and are able to create personal "golems" out of skeletons of various kinds, a variety of elemental golems, and can also animate inanimate objects, such as armor or furniture. However, this instant army is not as powerful as summoned demons from the netherworld or the underworld.
 * Chaotic Realm: The Chaotic Realm is the realm of the source of darkness, and only Dracula can enter this specific realm. Dracula and his reincarnation, Soma Cruz, is the only one recorded to ever enter the Chaotic Realm. This realm also sports demons of various kinds that will willingly support Dracula's cause.

Castlevania Judgment
$Judgment$ Dracula makes an appearance in the game Castlevania Judgment. This is the first time that Dracula appears as a playable character (not counting his possible "reincarnation" Soma Cruz or the parody "Kid Dracula", who might be Alucard instead). His battle theme is "Dance of Illusions".

In Judgment, Dracula is summoned into a time rift by Aeon, along with a number of his enemies and his allies Carmilla and Death. In his story, Dracula takes advantage of the time rift to get revenge on many of the people who defeated him, including Simon and Trevor Belmont. After fighting and defeating most of the others in the rift, including Aeon, Dracula encounters the Time Reaper, a being sent by his rival Galamoth to wipe him from history. In the ensuing battle, Dracula is victorious, therefore securing his existence.

Appearance Gallery
For more Dracula artwork, please see 

Enemy Data
$Enemy Data$

External Videos

 * You Tube Richter Vs. Dracula, Luck Mode