Since the first title, released in 1986, the Castlevania series has been referenced in many forms of media, including video games, literature, music and TV series.
A card named Vampire Hunter depicts a warrior wielding a whip. Since the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game was developed by Konami, it's most likely that this character was designed to resemble a generic member of the Belmont clan. Furthermore, the original Japanese name of this card is Vanpaia Kirā (Vampire Killer).
Before Finn and Jake fight Marceline the Vampire Queen, the Ice King quotes Dracula's infamous line from Symphony of the Night: "But 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: "A miserable little pile of secrets."
The Mingy Jongo boss character's strategy of attack and weakness bears some resemblance to Dracula's attack pattern in several Castlevania games (and similar characters).
The entire game is modeled after elements from classic Castlevania games such as Dracula's Curse and Rondo of Blood. These similarities include visual style, gameplay and much more.
This action role-playing game series, also by Konami, implements a few elements that appear to be inspired by the Castlevania franchise, such as an evil vampireCount, a character named Carmilla, who resembles Circle of the Moon's Camilla and whose true form resembles Medusa, and even a huge castle that can travel through space.
In the Virtual Boy version of Panic Bomber, as well as in Pocket Bomberman, there's a vampire bomberman named Bompire (initially localized as "Count Dracu-boom"), who seems to be heavily inspired by Castlevania's Dracula.
It must also be noted that Pocket Bomberman was released in 1997, the same year when Castlevania: Symphony of the Night came out, which due to its popularity could have influenced the inclusion of this character in that game as a result.
The final boss in Super Bomberman R, Buggler, has some dialogues that closely resemble certain well-known phrases often delivered by Dracula in the Castlevania games. It's worth mentioning that this was the first Bomberman game that was released by Konami after acquiring the property rights to the franchise from Hudson Soft in 2012.
The fourth boss, Baron Vladmu, is a Dracula spoof that teleports in a similar manner and shoots fireballs from his crotch after opening his cape. In addition, the player can obtain weapons by breaking candles and a character called "Selena" throws scythes at the player just before they battle Vladmu, similar to how Death guards Dracula.
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.
An item in this game, called the "Mysterious Wall Chicken", can be found by destroying certain walls in a nod to how similar items are often found in the Castlevania series hidden behind breakable walls.
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 same use: the orb must be taken to the topmost part of a cliff (itself being a reference to Deborah Cliff) and then kneel and wait for a whirlwind spirit to carry the player to a secret area.
In this multiplayer role-playing game, the zone Loping Plains is beset by a curse every night and the message "What a horrible night to have a curse", originally from Simon's Quest, appears in the player's chat window. When day breaks, the message "The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night" is also displayed in the chat window.[citation needed]
In the DLC story Episode Ardyn, when the main character, Ardyn Izunia, is ambushed by the Royal Guards of Lucis, the memory of his brother Somnus Lucis Caelum taunts him by saying "mankind ill needs a savior such as you", which had been Richter Belmont's retort to Dracula in the initial English localization for the prologue of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Coincidentally, Ardyn had a similar backstory and to a certain extent characterization to Dracula, being a former human who had become an immortal demon and tried to doom the world out of spite for loved ones being brutally murdered (Aera in the case of Ardyn, Elisabetha and Lisa in the case of Dracula regarding lost loves, as well as Somnus in the case of Ardyn and witch trials in the case of Dracula regarding how they were murdered), even going as far as to have a name change afterward (Dracula originally being known as Mathias Cronqvist and Ardyn Izunia originally being known as Ardyn Lucis Caelum). Both were even willing to turn against their duties to their deities to enact their revenge due to blaming the deities in part for their misfortune (the Celestials in the case of Ardyn, especially in the ending of Episode Ardyn, and God in the case of Mathias/Dracula). Both even opposed a family line dedicated to stopping them (Lucis Caelum line in the case of Ardyn, the Belmonts in Dracula's case).
Ardyn belonging to the same family line as that of Lucis Caelum also resembled Dracula's Lords of Shadow counterpart. In addition, Ardyn's Japanese voice actor, Keiji Fujiwara, also voiced Dracula from Lords of Shadow.
Count Blah, a vampire who appears in the platform video game Frogger: The Great Quest (also by Konami), is a reference to Count Dracula, and Mr. D (Mr. Death) is a reference to Death.
Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition, a game that commemorates the franchise's 30th anniversary, allows the player to customize the game board with a variety of different skins, including 8-bit sprites from other famous Konami franchises, such as Castlevania and Contra.
The boss Grimm resembles Dracula in both attack patterns and appearance. He is able to summon fireballs from his cape as well as spawn flame pillars from the ground.
The official Nintendo UK page for this game has a section titled "Symphony of the Knight".
Near the end of the game, when facing the main antagonist, Jeanne says: "Die, monster! You don't belong in this world!", referencing Richter Belmont's encounter with Dracula at the beginning of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
The character Jonathan Joestar can taunt by exclaiming "Your words are as empty as your soul!"
Magical Cat Adventure
This 1993 platformer game by WinTechno released only for arcades apparently pays homage to some classic bosses from the Castlevania series:
The boss of the first level is a Grim Reaper that somewhat resembles Death.
The boss of the second level is remarkably similar to the Skull Knight from Castlevania III, a reanimated skeleton of a humanoid beast which wields a sword and a shield.
The third level, "Castle of Ghosts", follows the typical thematic of haunted castle often seen in the Castlevania games, to the point of portraying old Medieval architecture, floating platforms, spike traps and a heavy emphasis on platforming.
In addition, the boss of the aforementioned level is a vampire cat that looks and attacks practically identical to most depictions of Dracula in the Castlevania series. He opens his cape and sends forth three bats, much like Dracula's Hellfire spell, and when hit he transforms into a colony of bats, attempting to coalesce a few seconds later on the player's position, much like Dracula and the Giant Bat do in some Castlevania games.
This hooded enemy boss might be a reference to Death.
The character Zero has a transformation called "Absolute Zero" in Mega Man X: Command Mission as well as Rockman X DiVE that has a strong resemblance to some of Dracula's true forms in various games. Coincidentally, Zero's Japanese voice actor, Ryōtarō Okiayu, also voiced Alucard, who had some similarities to each other in terms of overall demeanor, as well as being tied to the main antagonists (Alucard being the son of Dracula, while Zero was the ultimate and final creation of Dr. Wily).
During the battle against 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?"
This indie game features two characters named O2-JOY and his servant the Grin Reaper, whose design is based on both Dracula and Death. Their stage is also a tribute to various Castlevania games.
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.
The main antagonist of the game, Dark Force, can be seen sitting on a throne similar to the one Dracula sits on in the Castlevania games.
A vampire character in the Super NES role-playing game Robotrek (Enix, 1994) is called "Count John Paul Belmont Prinky".
In addition, one of the areas in the mansion is a clocktower, and like in the Castlevania games, it's inhabited by monsters based on classic horror films, such as mummies and Frankenstein monsters.
Count John Paul Belmont Prinky
A clocktower stage filled with monsters based on classic horror films.
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.
The character Double quotes Dracula multiple times, "What is a man?" and "A miserable little pile of secrets" included.
The main antagonist and boss, Marie Korbel, may be a nod to Persephone, being that she's dressed in maid's attire and is in possession of a demonic vacuum.
A vampire antagonist character called Neclord appears in the two fantasy role-playing games Suikoden and Suikoden II (also by Konami) for the PlayStation. While never officially stated, it's widely believed that he's based on Dracula, the main antagonist of the Castlevania series.
Additionally, Neclord, much like Dracula, possesses his own castle.
In this castle, instead of inns the player has access to coffins where they can rest in and heal up. This concept is similar to the coffinsAlucard uses to rest in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the mechanic could probably have been inspired from Suikoden, although this is mere speculation.
The enemy Draculina from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is probably an obscure reference to Neclordia, an enemy from Suikoden. Both are female lesser vampires named after their masters (Neclord in the case of Neclordia and Dracula in the case of Draculina) who have control over other lesser enemies (zombies in the case of Neclordia and bats in the case of Draculina).
The character Kahn Marley, introduced in Suikoden II, belongs to a family of vampire hunters, similar to the Belmont Clan from the Castlevania series.
In his artwork (by Fumi Ishikawa, who also collaborated in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin), his coat has a slight resemblance to Alucard's costume introduced in Symphony of the Night (designed by Ayami Kojima); and also, his hat resembles that of the Master Librarian in the same game. However, it's unknown if these traits are in fact a reference or merely coincidental.
"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 for the NES.
Many other Castlevania references appear in the game, such as weapons and music tracks, as well as unlockable Spirits (support entities) of several characters from the entire franchise.
In Wing Nut's profile screen, on his "Favorite Activities" section it reads he likes "Castlevania 2095". Furthermore, Wing Nut himself is a bat-like mutant.
The Arkhalis sword is a reference to the Crissaegrim from Symphony of the Night; it behaves similarly, has an almost identical icon and its description says: "I didn't get this off of a Schmoo", in reference to how the Crissaegrim can only be obtained by the Schmoos in the Forbidden Library.
Likewise, the Terragrim is also a reference to the Crissaegrim, behaving similarly, sharing a similar icon and even being phonetically similar.
The Bloody Tear is a reference to "Bloody Tears", one of the most well known music themes in the Castlevania series.
Its tooltip reads: "What a horrible night to have a curse.", the same text that appears in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest whenever night befalls.
Its appearance in item form could be a reference to the Tear of Blood from the Castlevania series - a red gem in the shape of a teardrop.
The Death Sickle is a reference to Death's Scythe. It looks very similar to Death's trademark weapon and is swung in a similar fashion.
When swung, it flings out spinning energy scythes; these are most likely a reference to the Deathscythe ability.
The Demon Eye, one of the most common enemies in the game (including many variants and even boss versions), bears a striking resemblance to the Ghostly Eyeball from Simon's Quest.
The Demon is apparently a reference to the Tiny Devil from the Castlevania series.
This enemy attacks with an energy projectile called the Demon Scythe, which apparently is another reference to the Deathscythe ability.
The Holy Water is a reference to the classic Holy Water sub-weapon from the Castlevania series.
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 and his iconic Deathscythe attack.
The Nail, which among other effects allows to break rocks, could also be a reference to Simon's Quest, where one of the items needed to progress is Dracula's Nail, which also allows the character to break blocks when equipped.
The Slipped Rib item may be a reference to Dracula's Rib, as they both protect the playable character from projectiles.
Edmund McMillen, the creator of the series, revealed on his Formspring account that the Mask of Infamy is a reference to Carmilla's appearance in Simon's Quest.
The Homunculus may be a reference to the enemy of the same name from Dawn of Sorrow; both are initially attached to a wall and appear to be asleep, but when the player comes too close they wake up and rush at them.
Wonder-Pink's trademark weapon is the "Beautiful Whip", which is revealed to be made of "Belmont Alloy". She hails from Transylvania and her last name is Kretzulesco, which allegedly derives from Dracula in Romanian origin.
At the end of the test chambers in the Fu Syndicate, an organization dedicated to hunt vampires, a special tactics squad referred to as the "Belmont Team" is deployed to attack the vampire player character.
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".
The stage is a close rendition to that appearing in Symphony of the Night, featuring a very similar stage title screen, the long staircase and large banquet table of the castle keep, and a similar throne room.
The dialogue that ensues between the two characters, Beldere-chan and Dracula-chan, is almost identically phrased as the one between Richter Belmont and Dracula in Symphony of the Night, saying iconic sentences such as "Die monster! You don't belong in this school!" and "What is a senpai? A miserable little pile of heartbreak!", just to name a few.
The ending of the battle is also almost identical, with Dracula-chan parodying Dracula's last words and scream of pain upon being defeated, the entire screen receding and leaning to a side as if it was a photograph, and a subsequent long text scroll elaborating on the lore behind these events.
GamePro was a popular gaming magazine published from 1989 to 2011. Early in its lifespan, it included a mini-comic book among its pages called "The Adventures of GamePro", which was about a superhero named GamePro who was brought into a dimension where video games were real and had to save it from the Evil Darklings. On Issue #6 (January 1990), GamePro enters the world of Castlevania and defeats Dracula.
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.
The manga series Zatch Bell! (called Golden Gash!! in Japan) featured a character named Sherry Belmont (シェリー・ベルモンド,Sherī Berumondo?). She assists her partner Brago (who has a slight resemblance to a vampire) and her main weapon is a flail.
This hip hop group has a track named "Bloody Tears" which samples the classic Castlevaniatheme.
Dignity
This European metal band 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.
This popular Japanese visual kei band has a song named "Gekka no Yasoukyoku", which is the Japanese name for Symphony of the Night.
Pryapisme
This band 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".
Gaming music band Starbomb, composed of American comedy duo Ninja Sex Party and Flash animator and internet personality Egoraptor, released a song called "Crasher-Vania" on their first and eponymous album from 2013. The song is reminiscent of Bobby Pickett's 1962 novelty hit, "Monster Mash", and talks about Simon Belmont crashing a party Dracula made for his friends. The chorus of this song gave birth to the now iconic phrase "Never fear, Simon Belmont is here!".
In September 2016, the band released a three song EP under the name The Belmonts, featuring covers of "Bloody Tears", "Heart of Fire" and "Out of Time" from the Castlevania series.
On October 31, 2018, the band debuted a surprise Halloween-themed EP as a collaboration between The Megas and The Belmonts, titled Skulls, which among other songs includes covers of "Wicked Child" and "Vampire Killer" from Castlevania, the latter of which features guest vocals by Amanda Lepre of Andrew W.K.
On March 2, 2020, the band released a second Megas/Belmonts collaboration EP, titled Snakes, featuring a cover of "Stalker" from Castlevania, among other songs.
The promotional poster for this Netflix original series (formerly known as "Gods & Heroes") bears a striking resemblance to the cover artwork of the original Castlevania and could probably be intended to attract the audience of the animated series toward it.
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.
Some characters from the Castlevania franchise have been featured in this popular and long running web series, originally hosted by ScrewAttack, in which two pop culture icons that share certain similarities are pit against each other in a fight to the death, where the winner is determined based on extensive research of the characters.
Alucard was put against Demitri the vampire, from Capcom's Darkstalkers series of fighting games fame, in the October 28, 2017 episode, with Alucard winning the encounter.
Dracula was put against Ganondorf, the main antagonist from Nintendo's popular The Legend of Zelda series of action role-playing games, in the October 16, 2019 episode, with Dracula winning the encounter.
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.
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.[1]
In various episodes of the first season of the original anime adaptation of the series, the girls can be seen playing the new Sailor V video game at the local arcade (and a home version in later episodes). The background of this game is remarkably similar to that of the first level of the original Castlevania, featuring a big white wall, large red curtains hanging over it and tall marble columns (another background is shown in other episodes which apparently is a generic rendition to levels from the Mega Man series).
In one of the later episodes of the second season, Sailor Moon R, Prince Demande is seen sitting at his throne and holding a glass of wine in a very similar pose to Dracula in Akumajō Dracula (X68000). However, it's also possible that this is just a common trope used for portraying evil rulers in anime.
In episode 6 of the 2021 anime Vlad Love, the cast makes a school play adapting the story of the classic video game "Castle of Vania" (悪魔の城ドラキュラ,Akuma no Shiro Dorakyura?). The characters all cosplay as the characters from the game, including Simon Belmont, Dracula, the Giant Bat, Medusa, the Mummy Woman, Franken, Death and miscellaneous zombies. This also involves a scene with Banba (as Simon) collecting Hearts dropped from the top of the stage.
In episode 31, the vampire Camula (a homonym of "Dracula") summons a castle with a card named Infernalvania. While the name could just be a reference to Transylvania, Konami is a co-producer of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and also manufactures various of its products among diverse media, and has referenced Castlevania (and other of their classic franchises) along this series in the past.
It's worth noting that most depictions of Infernalvania share a very similar style to how Dracula's Castle is portrayed in Castlevania products, such as the particular style of both the artwork and the building itself, to the point of even portraying it standing atop a distant cliff with only a rickety and narrow path leading to it.
Cameo games - Games mainly published by Konami which feature guest characters or themes from the Castlevania series.
Konami mascot games - A series of crossover games of varied genres which feature characters representative of several popular Konami franchises, including Castlevania.
Related games - Third party games which are heavily inspired by the Castlevania series.
