Castlevania (series)/References


 * Note: Fan references should be added at the Castlevania Fan Wiki.

Since the first title, released in 1986, the Castlevania series has been referenced in many forms of media, including video games, movies and TV series.

Card games

 * Yu-Gi-Oh!
 * Yu-Gi-Oh! - Vampire Hunter - 01.png card named [[w:c:yugioh:Vampire Hunter|Vampire Hunter]] depicts a man wielding a whip. Since Yu-Gi-Oh! is also made by Konami, it's very probable this character was designed to resemble a member of the Belmont clan. Furthermore, the original Japanese name for this card is Vanpaia Kirā (Vampire Killer), thus also referencing Castlevania.

Video games

 * Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!
 * Before Finn and Jake fight Marceline the vampire, he quotes Dracula's infamous line from Symphony of the Night: "Enough talk... Have at you!"
 * Soon after that, Jake calls the trash on the ground a "miserable little pile of trash", again referencing Dracula's original speech to Richter: "What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets."
 * Contra: Hard Corps
 * The game features a miniboss called Simondo Belmont, who looks and behaves similar to Simon Belmont.
 * The theme "SIMON 1994RD", played in the background, is a remix of Vampire Killer.
 * Dead Cells
 * A weapon appears in the game called "Valmont's Whip".
 * Dragon's Crown
 * Dragon's Crown - Vampire Hunter - 01.jpg. ]]As a reward for finishing a quest in the Castle of the Dead (which seems to be a reference in itself), the game rewards the player with a picture titled "Vampire Hunter", which seems to be a reference to Alucard or the Castlevania'' series in general.
 * Dust: An Elysian Tail
 * An item in this game, the Red Orb, is a direct reference to the Red Crystal in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The reference goes as far as having the exact same use: the orb must be taken to the topmost part of a cliff (itself being a reference to Deborah Cliff) in Blackmoor Mountains and wait for a whirlwind spirit to carry the player to a secret level.
 * Guacamelee!
 * In the Temple of War, a mosaic of Simon Belmont fighting a skeleton can be found.
 * Metal Gear Solid
 * MantisDigsVania.jpgg the battle against the boss, Psycho Mantis, he will display his mental powers by reading the system's memory card. If he finds a Symphony of the Night file data, he will say: "You like Castlevania, don't you?"
 * Otomedius Excellent
 * Otomedius Excellent features a Belmont character playable in this game, her name is Kokoro Belmont, and she's the actual guardian of the Belmont Clan in 2011.
 * Saints Row 2
 * In Krunch 106.66, when someone calls in to request The Black Dahlia Murder's "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse", she reveals that her name is "Belmont", referencing Simon's Quest, from where the song's title was inspired.
 * Super Meat Boy
 * Super Meat Boy.jpg"Chapter 2: The Hospital" starts out with a short intro in which Dr. Fetus flies into the night with Bandage Girl outside the gates of the hospital, which resembles Dracula's Castle. Meat Boy looks upward while a theme very similar to Prologue plays. This is a reference to the intro from [[Castlevania (video game)|Castlevania]] for the NES.
 * The End Is Nigh
 * One of the tracks for this game is titled "Catastrovania".
 * The Binding of Isaac
 * The Binding of Isaac - Holy Water - 01.png design of the Holy Water item is based on the Holy Water sub-weapon in most Castlevania games.
 * When Eve's health is down to half a heart, she transforms into the "Whore of Babylon" and a screen will appear saying: "What a horrible night to have a curse...", a reference to Simon's Quest.
 * Death's summoning of whirling scythes is a reference to the Castlevania series' Death.
 * The Nail's effect could be a reference to Simon's Quest, where one of the items needed to progress is Dracula's Nail, which allows the character to break blocks when equipped.
 * Globins are a reference to Red/Blood Skeletons.
 * Edmund McMillen, the creator of the game, revealed on his Formspring account that the Mask of Infamy is a reference to Carmilla's appearance in Simon's Quest.
 * The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
 * The green variant of the Brain enemy is named Poison Mind.
 * The "Homunculus" enemy might be a reference to the Homunculus from Dawn of Sorrow. Other than sharing the same name, they both appear to be asleep until the player character is within range. Once spotted, they detach from the walls they're attached to and rush toward the player.
 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard
 * In Castle Volkihar, in the first room on the left is a display case with a heart, a nail, a ring, an eye, and a rib. This is a reference to Dracula's relics.
 * Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
 * In the PC game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines there's a security unit at the end of the test chambers of the Fu Syndicate (an organization dedicated to hunt vampires) named the "Belmont Squad".
 * Van Helsing
 * Vanhelsing-ref2.jpg. ]]In the PlayStation 2 and Xbox game, Van Helsing, one of the libraries Gabriel Van Helsing walks through contains a book about an ancient clan of vampire hunters called "The Belmonts"''.
 * Zombies Ate My Neighbors
 * In the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis game, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, the vampire enemy's name is "Vlad Belmont". Makes sense, since the game was also published by Konami.
 * The Wonderful 101
 * Romanian fashion modeler, Mariana Kretzulesco (Wonder-Pink), wields the "Beautiful Whip", which is revealed to be made of "Belmont Alloy".

Manga

 * Rosario + Vampire
 * In the Rosario + Vampire II manga series, the main character, Tsukune Aono, learns to control his vampire powers through the use of a magical whip that dispels demon power, called "Belmont". This is clearly a reference to the Vampire Killer whip and the Belmont Clan.
 * Zatch Bell!
 * The manga series Zatch Bell!, called in Japan Konjiki no Gasshu!! (金色のガッシュ!!?, lit. Golden Gash!!) featured a character named Sherry Belmont (ベルモンド シェリー Berumondo Sherī). She assists her partner Brago (who has has a slight resemblance to a vampire), and her main-weapon is a flail.

Music

 * The popular Japanese visual kei band "Malice Mizer" has a song named "Gekka no Yasoukyoku" which is the Japanese name for Symphony of the Night.
 * European metal band "Dignity" covered the Dracula's Curse track Beginning in their debut album, Project Destiny. The track is called Inner Demons and features lyrics about the inner fight of a man.
 * Starbomb
 * Starbomb - Crasher-Vania - 01g music band, Starbomb, composed of American comedy duo Ninja Sex Party and Flash animator and internet personality Egoraptor, released their first and eponymous album in 2013, which included a song called "Crasher-Vania". The song was reminiscent of Bobby Pickett's 1962 novelty hit, Monster Mash, and talks about Simon Belmont crashing a party Dracula made for his friends. Not long after that, a video made by Flash animator Cas van de Pol, appeared on YouTube. It became very popular (with over 3,000,000 views since its initial release) and gave birth to the now iconic phrase: "Never fear, Simon Belmont is here!"
 * The band "Pryapisme" references Castlevania, among many other video games, in their music video for the song "Un Druide est Giboyeux Lorsqu'il se Prend Pour un Neutrino".
 * The band Dragonforce has a song titled "Symphony of the Night", and it appears to be sung from Alucard's perspective.

TV series

 * Captain N: The Game Master
 * Simon Belmont appears as one of the title characters and a member of the N-Team in this American-Canadian animated series which ran from 1989 to 1991. Instead of the barbarian vampire hunter determined to stop Dracula at all costs, he's portrayed as an arrogant and vain individual who enjoys tending to his appearance more than fighting evil. Likewise, Dracula, known in the series as The Count, plays a major role as a recurrent villain and outright antagonist, commanding a roster of minions conformed primarily on enemies from Simon's Quest and Dracula's Curse.
 * Robot Chicken
 * In the episode Maurice Was Caught there is a segment called "Is that a whip?" which pokes fun at the Castlevania series.
 * Game of Thrones
 * One of the fictional languages created for the show by linguist David J. Peterson makes a reference to Castlevania, where the word for chain is "belmon"; "that's clearly a shout-out to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.", he said.
 * My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
 * The Hasbro cartoon series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, pays homage to Castlevania by naming the third episode of the fourth season after it: Castle Mane-ia. This reference was confirmed by episode writer Josh Haber of Hasbro Studios via his Twitter account.