Richter Belmont

Richter Belmont is a hero from the Castlevania series. He has starred in three games, one of which is considered to be a remake. In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, he was possessed by Shaft and became a villain.

Dracula, resurrected by some evil humans, who sacrified a young virgin female's blood and life, commanded his forces to kidnap Richter's girlfriend Annette, her younger sister Maria, and other town women. Richter, cursed to battle the dark lord in every incarnation, would single handedly slay the Count's massive army, including Shaft, and arrive in time to save the women - proving to himself that he was worthy of his vampire-hunting destiny.

Mesmerized by Shaft, who had somehow survived the earlier defeat, Richter betrayed his people and resurrected Dracula:

"Count Dracula rises but once every century and my role is over. If I can resurrect him, then the battle will last for eternity!"

It was Alucard who arose from his slumber, braved the evil castle, and with Maria's help freed Richter from his delusion. Despite his lapse during this era, Richter is largely recognized as the most powerful Belmont. As Alucard stated in Symphony "...[Richter]'s powers are supreme among vampire hunters. None other can defeat him." This is demonstrated in Portrait of Ruin, where a mere memory of Richter can defeat Jonathan with four hits of the Vampire Killer, not to mention Richter's mystic weapons and the Grand Cross Crash. However he may be surpassed by his descendant Julius Belmont, because in Aria of Sorrow he is said to be the most powerful Vampire Hunter.

Called into action
This section was partially taken from The Castlevania Dungeon
 * 1792 - Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
 * 1792 - Castlevania: Dracula X (Removed officially from Castlevania timeline by Konami)
 * 1797 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Beyond the grave
In Portrait of Ruin, Richter is deceased and the Vampire Killer is under the ownership of Jonathan Morris, who is unable to use the whip effectively. After Jonathan and Charlotte cure Loretta and Stella from vampirism, the two sisters offer to aid Jonathan in learning to use the whip's full power. This is an optional choice, up to the player, and if they choose to do so, the sisters accomplish this by sending Jonathan into another realm to fight the living memory of the last full Belmont to wield the whip - Richter Belmont. Richter fights the player using knives, boomerang crosses, holy water, axes, the Grand Cross item crash attack, and a fully powered version of the Vampire Killer. Once Richter is defeated, Jonathan's whip becomes one of the most powerful weapons in the game.

Richter is also playable in the game's non-canonical "Richter mode" along with Maria Renard.

Family relations
Richter Belmont is most likely Juste Belmont's son as Juste's battle takes place in 1748 while Richter's takes place in 1792. This would give the 18 year old Juste plenty of time to have a son or grandson. He also has a girlfriend, named Annette, whose capture leads to the events in Rondo of Blood.

Richter as a playable character
In Symphony Of The Night, players who comple the game with over 160% and get the best ending are able to play as Richter by entering his name as the name of a new save file. Many gameplay differences are noticeable in the "Richter game." One of the greatest changes is the ability to use sub weapons in lieu of magical attacks, which Richter lacks. They are known as "Item Crashes."

Thousand Blades: Richter throws knives in a continuos motion. These knives paralyze enemies upon impact and deal about 10 damage each. You can turn left or right while still throwing, but jumping ends the attack.

Grand Cross: This is basically Alucard's attack with the Cross weapon. It is an attack that causes large crosses to cover the screen dealing 80 damage a piece. These revolve around a large beam of light which then spreads out dealing out 100 damage.

Holy Lightning: Richter punches the air and lightning spreads out from his fist, damaging all enemies on screen.

Divine Storm: Richter points into the air while shouting "HYDRO TEMPEST!" Holy Water then rains upon his enemies, dealing high amounts of damage to all enemies on-screen. This storm will move with Richter and dies out after several moments. This can also destroy candles and fake walls.

Axe Sweep: Richter levitates into the air while axes rotate around him in a circle. The axes then fly out, damaging all enemies on screen.

Bible Blast: The Bible flies into the air and duplicates. These rotate at a rapid pace forming a symbol in the air, which then blasts a powerful beam straight ahead.

Cloud Of Ashes: Richter throws ashes into the air above him, damaging anything unfortunate enough to be caught there.

Time Vortex: Richter summons four clocks that do the same thing as the normal Stopwatch. When they end their countdown they will fire a bolt of lightning straight ahead as they vanish.

Trivia

 * Richter's name may have his origins in the German word "Richter", meaning "judge". Interestingly, inside the Colosseum, he sits and judges Alucard as he battles minions in the arena.
 * In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the cursed 'evil' Richter is seen to wield the whip in his left hand; prior to this, he is right-handed. This is of note because Dracula himself is left-handed, and it is his orders and Shaft's influence dictating Richter's actions in the game.

Appearance Gallery
For additional artwork, please see category.