- Not to be confused with Tear of Blood.
Bloody Tears is a music theme originally composed by Kenichi Matsubara for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. It is the background theme used in all external areas (not towns) during daytime.
The track has since been arranged multiple times throughout the course of the Castlevania series and has become one of its most popular tracks to date.
Appearances[]
Other usages[]
- Castlevania (N64) - Can be heard in Mysterious Coffin. Arranged by Masahiko Kimura.
- Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - Arranged by Masahiko Kimura.
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Arranged by Michiru Yamane (there is a trace of the melody in "Epilogue", the Ending 2 theme).
- Castlevania: Lament of Innocence - An excerpt of Bloody Tears can be heard in Admiration Towards the Clan at the 2:07 mark.
- Castlevania: Order of Shadows - Bonus song.
- 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.
- Trevor Morris arranged "Bloody Tears" for the Castlevania animated series. It is featured in season two's episode seven, "For Love".[1]
- Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls - The arrangement in Dracula X Chronicles is reused in this game.
Additionally, the track has been used in the following non-Castlevania games:
- 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 and later arcade installments - Contains the IIDX remix of the song.
- beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD and later arcade installments - Contains the IIDX remix of the song.
- Dead Cells - Used in the boss fight against Death in the Defiled Necropolis in the Return to Castlevania DLC. When switching to classic Castlevania soundtrack, the Rondo of Blood version plays instead.
Appearances of the concept throughout the series[]
- In Haunted Castle, a large portrait of a woman (presumably of Selena) in Stage 3 will shed a tear of blood as the player passes by. This was probably the first time the concept visually appeared in the entire series. Fitting, as "Bloody Tears" is precisely the background theme in this stage.
- 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 giant statue of the goddess Athena in Stage 4 constantly sheds 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 appeared in the Skeleton Cave in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
- Statues of saints (presumably of Virgin Mary) can be seen crying tears of blood on the hallways of Castle Proserpina in Castlevania: Bloodlines.
- In a cutscene of Castlevania (N64) and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, the statue of an angel starts shedding copious tears of blood as the player approaches it. From the puddle that forms on the floor a new enemy then emerges: the Blood Jelly.
- In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, an item was introduced called the "Tear of Blood" which raises several stats.
- One of Medusa's attacks in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is to shed tears of poisoned blood.
- 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 a woman (presumably Virgin Mary) crying tears of blood, possibly referencing this quest.
- In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Zobek says: "Poor, beautiful Carmilla, you will cry bloody tears before this night has ended!" before Gabriel fights Carmilla in the Throne Room.
- In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, a relic Tears of a Saint, is a reference to Bloody Tears.
- In the Castlevania animated series, Dracula is seen shedding tears of blood when he grieves his wife Lisa's death. Likewise, a defeated Carmilla is seen shedding a single tear of blood right before meeting her end in one of the later episodes.
Gallery[]
Presumably a portrait of Selena crying tears of blood in Haunted Castle.
The same portrait in Haunted Castle Revisited.
Carmilla's artwork from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
A statue of the Greek goddess Athena crying tears of blood that transform into Red Skeletons in Castlevania Chronicles.
The statue of a saint crying tears of blood in Castlevania: Bloodlines.
The statue of an angel crying tears of blood that transform into Blood Jellies in Castlevania 64.
A statue crying tears of blood that transform into Red Skeletons in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
_-_01.png "Dracula (animated series) - 01.png (1.05 MB)")
Videos[]
Akumajou Dracula X Gekka no Yasoukyoku OST- Bloody Tears Remix 1
-KEYBOARDMANIA II- 矩形波倶楽部 - AKUMAJO DRACULA MEDLEY
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.
- This concept was echoed in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, during the scene where Vlad Dracula denies his humanity by piercing the cross of a church with his sword.
- The name of this theme could be a reference to the classic Hammer "Dracula" horror films, where Count Dracula (portrayed by the late 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 renowned 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 well 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.
- In the Castlevania: Nocturne animated series, there is an obscure reference to Bloody Tears. In 2014, four members of Giant Bomb streamed Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and one of them, Brad Shoemaker, mentioned how he used to refer to Bloody Tears as "Barkerville" when he was a kid. This became a running joke in the community, some of which apparently worked on Castlevania: Nocturne. In the fifth episode of Season 1, "The Natural Order", during Olrox and Drolta's scene in the graveyard, one of the tombstones reads "Bradley S. Barkerville".[2]
- In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, one of the boss characters, The Sorrow, was mentioned to cry blood, with it being implied his crying can cause rainstorms to happen, in which resembles the overall theme of the bloody tears concept in the Castlevania series. In The Sorrow's case, however, his crying blood was a reference to the events of his death (specifically, he was shot in his left eye, causing his glasses to shattered.
References[]
- ↑ Main article: Castlevania (animated series) Easter eggs: Bloody Tears
- ↑ 10 Things Only REAL Fans Noticed in Netflix's Castlevania by MojoPLays at YouTube.
External links[]
- Castlevania II: Simon's Quest at the Castlevania Fan Wiki - Features fan-made renditions of Bloody Tears.