Bloody Tears

Bloody Tears is a music theme originally composed by Kenichi Matsubara for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. It has since been redone several times across the game line and has become one of the Castlevania series' most well known tracks to date.

Castlevania games featuring "Bloody Tears"

 * Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Composed by Kenichi Matsubara.
 * Haunted Castle - Composed and arranged by Kenichi Matsubara.
 * Super Castlevania IV - Arranged by Masanori Adachi and Sotaro Tojima.
 * Akumajō Dracula (Sharp X68000) - Arranged by Shin Chan, Jigokuguruma Nakamura and Devi Kobayashi.
 * Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - Arranged by Metal Yuhki.
 * Castlevania: Bloodlines - Arranged by Michiru Yamane.
 * Castlevania: Dracula X - Arranged by Tomoya Tomita, Masanari Iwata, Harumi Uekou and Masahiko Kimura.
 * Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Sega Saturn version) - Arranged by T. Ohsono, J. Karashima and Kaoru Okada.
 * Castlevania Legends - Arranged by Kaoru Okada and Youichi Iwata.
 * Castlevania (N64) - Can be heard in Mysterious Coffin. Arranged by Masahiko Kimura.
 * Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - Arranged by Masahiko Kimura.
 * Castlevania Chronicles - Arranged by Sota Fujimori. The 11th stage actually has a statue crying blood.
 * Castlevania: Lament of Innocence - One of the quotes of Bloody Tears can be heard in Admiration Towards the Clan at the 2:07 mark.
 * Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Arranged by Michiru Yamane (there's a trace of the melody in "Epilogue", the Ending 2 theme).
 * Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - Arranged by Masahiko Kimura (only accessible through Julius Mode).
 * Castlevania: Order of Shadows
 * Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
 * Castlevania Judgment - The theme song for Carmilla.
 * Castlevania: The Arcade - Used in the battle with the Dullahan.
 * Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - Maria can attack her enemies with the skill Hymn and will also sing a part of the song at the same time. Additionally, to get the Secret Item Crown, the player needs to play a part of Bloody Tears on the piano on Chapter 2.

Non-Castlevania games featuring "Bloody Tears"

 * Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Castle - Second theme of the Castlevania stage.
 * KeyboardMania 2nd Mix - Contains a medley of Haunted Castle songs, including Bloody Tears.
 * DanceDanceRevolution: SuperNOVA 2 - Contains the IIDX remix of the song.
 * beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD - Contains the IIDX remix of the song.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Contains an original medley of Bloody Tears and Monster Dance.

Other

 * Trevor Morris arranged "Bloody Tears" for the Castlevania animated series. It is featured in season two's episode seven, "For Love".

Appearances of the concept throughout the series

 * In Haunted Castle, a large portrait of a woman (probably of Selena) in Stage 3 will shed a tear of blood as the player passes by. This was probably the first time the concept appeared in the series.
 * Carmilla's mask is often seen crying tears of blood from its left eye (or eye socket) in many of its appearances throughout the series, starting from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which in some occasions are used as a form of attack.
 * In Castlevania Chronicles, a background statue in Stage 4 of what appears to be a Greek goddess constantly cries tears of blood; each time a drop touches the ground, it will transform into an indestructible Red Skeleton.
 * Appropriately, the background theme of this level is "Bloody Tears".
 * A similar statue with the same properties later appears in the Skeleton Cave in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
 * In a cutscene of Castlevania (N64) and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, the statue of an angel will start shedding copious tears of blood as the player approaches it. From the puddle that forms on the floor a new enemy will emerge: the Blood Jelly.
 * In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, a new item was introduced called the "Tear of Blood" which raises several stats.
 * One of Wind's quests in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is called "The Statue's Tear" and consists in asking the player to find a statue of Virgin Mary in one of the portraits. When the player interacts with said statue, it will shed tears of blood and an item called the "Statue's Tear" will be obtained, which must then be brought back to Wind. The reward for completing this quest is Jonathan's Holy Water skill.
 * The Game Over screen for Sisters Mode displays an image of Virgin Mary crying tears of blood, possibly referencing this quest.
 * In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Zobek will say: "Poor, beautiful Carmilla, you will cry bloody tears before this night has ended!" before Gabriel fights Carmilla in the Throne Room.
 * In the Castlevania animated series, Dracula is seen shedding tears of blood when he grieves his wife's death.

Trivia

 * The concept of religious imagery weeping tears of blood or presenting stigmata —believed to originate from supernatural means— are widely-known phenomena often associated with divine miracles, especially in Catholic beliefs.
 * The name of this theme could be a reference to the classic Hammer Dracula films, where Count Dracula (portrayed by Christopher Lee) is sometimes seen crying tears of blood.
 * The introductory segment in Bloody Tears bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1985 song "Marching Out" by renown heavy metal guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen. The song predates the release of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest by two years, making both products relatively contemporary. Konami is known for making numerous references to rock music in their games.
 * There is a common misconception that the Perfect Selection Dracula Battle version of Bloody Tears was performed by Gothic Metal band Cradle of Filth; however, this is not true, as it was arranged by Naoto Shibata.