Changes: Castlevania Timeline

Revision as of 18:23, 18 December 2006

Konami's Castlevania series made its debut in 1986 with the Europe-only game Vampire Killer, which would soon become known as Castlevania in North America. The plot behind the series was at first rather simple: a descendent of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters would take a legendary whip (known as the Vampier Killer) and seek out the "Prince of Darkness" (Dracula), whose influence threatens all of Europe. Later versions of the game had deeper, more involved storylines.

In 2002, just before the release of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Konami posted a chronology of the Castlevania series on the official Japanese Harmony website. [1] The list conspicuously omitted several games in the series, including: Castlevania Legends, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, and Castlevania 64. The release of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin confirmed Castlevania: Legends's removal from the timeline by showing that Dracula did not begin his war with humanity until shortly before his fight with Trevor Belmont. The release of Portrait of Ruin, however, re-instated Circle of the Moon, Legacy of Darkness, and Castlevania 64 and the theme of why the Belmonts "proper" were absent during these games is focussed on. The official timeline released with this game now includes these games, but it still does not include Legends. One reason why these games were reinstated may be because many of the team members who worked on those games also worked on Portrait of Ruin (they hadn't worked on Lament of Innocense).

In the fan community, there has been much debate over the changes, why they occurred, and how they have affected the series. Fans speculate that the changes were made in order to "clean up" the timeline by removing new games whose stories/placement in the timeline conflicted with the older games (an example being the continuity problem between Legends and Castlevania III).

Konami of America recognized the four games current series producer Koji Igarashi removed until November 2005, when they released the Castlevania Xtreme Desktop Timeline (based on the revised Japanese timeline). Konami of America may still acknowledge Circle of the Moon; the new timeline mentions Morris Baldwin in passing and the game is still available for purchase at the company's online store.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (skip section)

11th century

1094: (The events of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence) The 11th century was a time of knighthood, when the medieval monarchs were waning due to feuding lords and knights. The Catholic Church was undergoing many reforms upon which it was investing upon the land, and of course, as a result, the Crusades became a political scapegoat for their actions.

Two of the courageous knights fighting during this period were Leon Belmont and Mathias Cronqvist, who together with Leon's exceptional combat experience and Mathais' skills as a tactician led one of the strongest companies in the realm. Their fighting led them to never suffer a single defeat, even when they were called off to fight in the Crusades by the Church. Yet, Mathias suffered one major loss upon their return from the Crusades when he was informed about the sudden death of his wife, Elizabetha. She had become very ill and had died. He himself became overcome with grief, and was ill to the point of being bedridden a year later. Leon led the company into battle and they continued to do well. Yet, a band of monsters attacked their realm, pouring from an area known as the Forest of Eternal Night. The Church, not sanctioning combat without political cause, would not permit Leon to order the troops to fight back, so he had to personally deal with the matter. Mathias informed him that the lord of the forest, Walter Bernhard, a very powerful vampire, had kidnapped his betrothed, Sara Trantoul. Leon rushes to the woods, committing treason by doing so, and meets up with Rinaldo Gandolfi, a man who informs him that Walter does this as a game, since he gets bored as an immortal and wants entertainment. He gives Leon a powerful weapon called the Whip of Alchemy (Rinaldo is an alchemist), and Leon enters the castle, having been informed that he must defeat five guardians before reaching Walter (which he does). Leon defeats a Golem, Medusa, Succubus, and even an Undead Parasite on the path to Walter, who laughs at him but returns his beloved after he defeats the vampire Joachim Armster and Leon learns that Walter possesses the Ebony Stone, one of two supernatural stones that can grant extraordinary powers. Rinaldo informs Leon, however, that Sara has been vampirized and that there is really no hope for her, but perhaps if she sacrifices herself to the whip, it will become strong enough to destroy Walter. In the end, not wanting to live as an undead, she does so, and the whip is henceforth known as the Vampier Killer, harnessing the power of her sacrifice and her vampiric aura. Leon uses it to destroy Walter, only to discover that Death would enter the room and stop Walter from bragging, sucking his life-force from him and taking the stone away. He said he served the one who possessed the Crimson Stone, who walks into the room and identifies himself as none other than Mathias. He says that he became immortal through the stone's power in order to defy God, who he cursed every day since his wife's death. He thought that he could use Leon to gain the other stone and increase his power and that perhaps Leon would join him in immortality now that he had lost everything as well. Leon, not agreeing with his friend's logic, tells him that though he is sorry for his loss, he cannot curse God and that he knows God has nothing to do with it. Mathias knows that the two cannot get along, and he says: "Death, he's all yours!" Death stands in the way and teleports Leon and himself to a chaotic world where the two fight, but Leon gets the upper-hand and wins. Mathias assumes bat form and leaves through the window. He then travels to an obscure country, continuing to curse God, and eventually becomes the Lord of Vampires, Prince of Darkness. It has been confirmed that he is Dracula. He would not be seen for almost four hundred years. As for Leon, he barely escapes the castle when it collapses, yet the forest returns to day once again and then he picks up the pieces of his life, vowing that his family will hunt the night.

12th-14th centuries

It is unknown exactly what happens in the official timeline during the years between 1100-1400 AD. Though Dracula is currently hiding in foreign lands. He did not show himself until Lisa was killed, which happened around 1470.

15th century

Note: the following (in italics) was retconned from the official timeline. It is "Another Story". 1

1450: Seventeen year old Sonia Belmont, takes up the Vampire Killer whip and swears to avenge her grandfather after he is killed by Dracula's minions. During her search, she meets and forms a strong bond with her enemy's son, Alucard. After vanquishing the Count, Sonia vows that if Dracula returns after her lifetime, others will take her place and defeat him. (The game's creators intended Sonia to be the first Belmont to battle and defeat Dracula.)

1470s: Lisa, Dracula's second wife, was condemned to death by Inquisition. Dracula's grief and hatred was profound. He blamed this on all of humanity, and hated humans. In 1476, his war with the humans and the Belmonts began.

1476: (The events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse) Dracula's war with humanity began. The people cry out for a champion. However, the Belmont clan had been feared for their supernatural powers and exiled from Transylvania, but with the new threat of the evil count, and the impending danger on his hometown of Wallachia, Trevor Belmont is not too far away to answer the call to duty. Picking up the Vampire Killer whip bestowed to him by the Poltergeist King (according to the game manual), Trevor goes to battle against the forces of darkness, meeting up with three companions along the way- Grant DaNasty, Sypha Belnades, and Alucard, the dhampir son of Dracula. Because Trevor was the first person to ever destroy Dracula, the Belmonts were welcome again in Wallachia. Sypha and Trevor fall in love, and have children. The magic power of the Belnades is inherited by future Belmonts (Juste Belmont, for example).

1479: (The events of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness) Though defeated at the hands of Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse still ravages the countryside of Europe, bringing with it disease, mob violence, and heresy. Amidst this chaos is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked in the service of Dracula. Yet Hector grew weary and disgusted of the count's brutal methods and left Castlevania to live with humans, but when his human wife was killed and his fellow forgemaster, Isaac, is implicated in the deed, Hector sets off for Dracula's stronghold to settle the score with him. At the end, it revealed that Isaac made Hector regain his devil forging powers so that Castlevania would return to the human world. But, what Isaac didn't know was that he himself was being used by Death, Dracula's right-hand-man. Death believed that Hector would kill Isaac, and that Dracula's Curse would take control of him, with his body becoming a vessel for Dracula's safe return to Earth. However, Hector realized that his drive for vengeance was caused by Dracula's Curse. Hector did not kill Isaac, but Death killed Isaac anyway and summoned Dracula through Isaac's body. Hector killed his former master, and performed the "Final Forging" where he summoned the essence of the curse and destroyed it. But a mysterious man named Saint Germaine, who Hector had met earlier, believes that the war will never end and even when all evil is destroyed, there will still be ones who will claim evil's mantle again.

16th century

1576: (The events of The Castlevania Adventure) After a century of a deep slumber, the evil Count Dracula rises to wreak havoc once again on the landscape of Europe, but this time, Christopher Belmont, great-grandfather of Simon Belmont, rises to the occasion with the legendary Vampire Killer and vanquishes the evil Prince of Darkness, destroying his evil minions and restoring peace to the land once again.

1591: (The events of Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge) Though Christopher Belmont had defeated the evil count Dracula fifteen years ago, he did not manage to destroy him, as the count turned himself into mist and managed to escape, building up his energy and biding his time over the years. As Christopher's son came of age, a ceremony was being held in Warakiya to confer the title of Vampire Hunter upon him, so that a father-son team would be formed, but after the ceremony had been completed, Dracula used his powers to turn Solieyu Belmont into a demon, and then made four castles appear. Christopher vowed to destroy Dracula and return his son to normal, and in the end, he defeated the evil count, restored his son, and the land was returned to its normal balance once again.

17th century

1691: (The events of Vampire Killer, Haunted Castle, Castlevania, Akumajō Dracula X68000, Castlevania Chronicles, Super Castlevania IV) After a Black Mass, the evil Count Dracula rose once again to plunge the European landscape into a state of total darkness. The count's legions grew like a plague, infesting the land like a disease everywhere they went. Simon Belmont, great-grandson of Christopher Belmont, rose to the cries of the citizenry, and took up the legendary Vampire Killer, setting off for Castlevania, the ancestral home of the evil Prince of Darkness. In the end, Simon had a one-on-one battle with the count, but proved victorious, sending him once again to his dark grave, saving the world from his torment.

1698: (The events of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest) After Simon Belmont's defeat of Dracula, he began to notice the effects of the count's curse were still taking hold of the land. Seven years later, the land was still rotting from the effects of the Dark Lord's black magic. Then, Simon had a vision from a maiden, who told him that unless he were to find the five body parts of the count and burn them in his ancestral home, the curse would remain permanent, plaguing the land, and Simon would die from his wounds. Thus, Simon set out, exploring Transylvania, defeating fiends who possessed these parts, interacting with townspeople who helped him, and in the end, resurrected the count, defeating him one last time, putting him down again and stopping the curse before it consumed him and the land once and for all.

18th century

1748: (The events of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance) In 1746, Maxim Kischine left on a self-training expedition in order to cope with his own self-doubt after Juste Belmont was chosen to receive the legendary whip, Vampire Killer. Two years later, upon his return from training (wounded and scarred), Maxim tells Juste some terrible news- a childhood friend of both theirs, named Lydie Erlanger, had been kidnapped, and also, Maxim had lost memory of the events of the past two years (or most of the events). Even so, he was able to lead Juste to the site of the disappearance, where they encountered a castle that hadn't been there previously. Juste hurried into the castle as Maxim recuperated in the entry way, promising to join Juste later. Juste discovers that Maxim, in a horrifying attempt to emulate the actions of Simon Belmont (of 50 years earlier), has collected the body parts of Dracula in an attempt to resurrect the Dark Lord to prove himself by defeating the wicked count. Yet, the count's spirit ends up possessing Maxim, and knowing this, Juste sets out to collect the remains himself and put an end to this foolishness once and for all. Juste recovers the remains and Lydie, and after defeating Maxim, Dracula escapes and materializes into a physical form. However, Juste managed to defeat the count, and without his presence, the castle crumbles, so the three escape and watch the ruins collapse from a hillside in the distance.

1792: (The events of Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Dracula X) Once again, the dark prince is revived prematurely, this time by a fanatical cult who sacrifices a woman- her blood is just the evil touch needed to bring him back to the world of the flesh. Dracula had learned many things over the centuries, and this time, he decided to put them to use. The current vampire hunter in the land was Richter Belmont, so the count spent some time observing Richter, his girlfriend Annette Renard, her sister Maria Renard, and several other villagers. Then, as he had done in the past, he kidnapped those individuals and swept them away to Castlevania, his ancestral home, after having his minions attack and burn the town. So, Richter was called into action, picking up the Vampire Killer whip to bring justice to the count. Once he had rescued Maria, she used her unique skills to fight the count's forces as well. In the end, the two rescued the villagers and defeated Dracula, though he turned into an ethereal mist when defeated and escaped through a window, vowing to return again. Still, the count's words resounded in Richter's head: "I am not the one who is evil. I am summoned by the evil nature of mankind to wreak havoc and do their bidding."

1797: (The events of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) Four years after Richter Belmont's encounter with the dark lord, the dark priest Shaft brought the count out of hiding and augmented his powers, restoring him to his normal, true self once again. His motives? Shaft wanted true and unmatched power and felt that Dracula was the one force he could receive it from. Yet, one man would stand in his way - Richter. Thus, he placed a powerful curse on Richter, managing to side him with evil, and this shift in the forces of darkness caused Alucard to awaken from his slumber (that he had placed on himself to rid the world of his cursed bloodline). Alucard went to Castlevania to seek those that delved in the dark arts. He encountered the grown Maria Renard several times, defeated Shaft (bringing Richter to his senses), and in the end, defeated the prince of darkness, restoring order to late-18th century Europe...

19th century

Note: the following (in italics) was retconned from the official timeline. It is "Another Story".

1820: Dracula is sealed by Morris Baldwin and the parents of Nathan Graves (according to the story of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon).

1830: (The events of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon) In an old Austrian castle, the worshippers of Chaos attempt to resurrect the dark lord. Vampire Hunter Morris Baldwin and his apprentices, Nathan Graves and Hugh Baldwin, rush to the castle in an attempt to stop the resurrection, only to arrive a moment too late. Camilla, one of Dracula's minions, has just revived the Count and kidnaps Morris; the two apprentices then plummet down into the depths of the castle. Hugh urges Nathan to leave while he finds his father, but Nathan sets out to defeat the minions and then finds that Hugh was taken hostage. In the end, Nathan defeats Camilla, rescues Hugh and Morris, and defeats the dark lord, Dracula. Dracula promises that he will return as long as people hold dark desires in the hearts, but Nathan says that as long as there are people like him are around, Dracula will always be defeated.

1844: (The events of Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness) Once again, the evil desires of mortals bring the dark lord Dracula into the plane of the living...This time, Dracula's minions seek to burn down villages in the search for sacrifices to augment his powers- the Count is not yet up to full strength. One of the girls taken is Ada, the sister of Cornell, a man-beast who is off on aesthetic training. Cornell returns to find the town under attack; he rushes off to Castlevania to fight Dracula and his minions, saving the people from the Dark Lord's curse, but the Count would return a mere eight years later.

1852: (The events of Castlevania 64) Eight years after Cornell defeated Dracula, a man of Belmont lineage named Reinhardt Schneider and a woman named Carrie Fernandez (descendent of Sypha Belnades) are called to search for the missing children of the local village(s). All of the signs point towards Castlevania, and additionally, Henry, who was but a young boy in 1844, is now on a mission from the Church to go to the count's dark abode in search of the children. In the end, they save the children and have a showdown with the dark master, defeating him once again.

1897: According to Bram Stoker's Dracula, it was in 1897 when the count rose again by unknown means and Jonathan Harker was invited over to his castle as his guest. In a final showdown, Harker, Van Helsing, and Quincey Morris stake the count with a knife, killing him, but Morris dies from a gash inflicted on him by gypsies under the count's spell. Not mentioned in the book, however (according to Konami), is the fact that Quincy Morris actually was the one who killed Dracula with a wooden stake, while John Morris (Quincey's son who is born in 1895) witnessed the showdown with the count and his father's death (Note: The truth of this last statement is in question as official information states that John would have only been two years old at the time of his father's death).

20th century

1917: (The events of Castlevania: Bloodlines) Twenty-years (according to the manual of the game) after the death of Quincey Morris, a witch practicing dark magic delves into the dark arts and revives Elizabeth Bartley, the niece of Dracula. The vampiress, once raised from the underworld, uses her powerful magic to plunge the already war-torn landscape into darkness, and, in turn, revives her uncle Dracula. Not about to allow his father's death to be in vain, John Morris, along with his childhood friend Eric Lecarde, sets out to put an end to the madness. Oddly, the game references the real-life death of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, suggesting that his death was ordered by the countess Bartley.

1944: (The events of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin) The world is in chaos. The Second World War has claimed millions of lives, leveled cities, destroyed nations. The souls of the war's dead blanket the planet, lost, hurt, and angry. Their anguish summons an accursed castle of legend. It had appeared many times throughout history, bringing with it evil and darkness. The he castle of Dracula, the Lord of Evil. it arrives in man's darkest hour, to push us over the brink, into ruin. Jonathan Morris, weapons expert, and Charlotte Aulin, magic expert, must enter the castle and face a new foe, Count Brauner.

1999: It was foretold that this would be the year when the war between Dracula and the Belmonts would come to an end. Dracula was resurrected, but Julius Belmont, possibly Adrian Tepes and most likely a relative of Yoko Belnades managed to defeat him. Apparently, a family member of Mina Hakuba was also involved. Castlevania along with the soul of it's master was sealed in an eclipse that occurred at the time of his death. After the battle, Julius lost his memory. There has yet to be a game that chronicles this, but the ending of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness makes it seem as though this will be the next chapter of Castlevania history to be told.

21st century

2035: (The events of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow) Thirty-six years after Dracula was sealed in an eclipse, high-school exchange student Soma Cruz and his friend Mina Hakuba visit the Hakuba Shrine and are sucked into a warp leading to the infamous Castlevania. There he encounters Graham Jones, a cult leader who wishes to assume the powers of the soul of Dracula for his own. He also meets up with Genya Arikado (Alucard), who defeats a group of demons and explains to him his ability to absorb monster souls. Soma must stop Graham, but realizes that he, in fact, is the reincarnation of the now completely destroyed Dracula, and this is why he has assumed all these powers. He manages to stop Graham's plans, but he does confront Julius Belmont, though the two in the end do not kill each other. Ultimately, Soma destroys the Chaos present within the castle and gets the soul of Dracula under control without letting Dracula become dominant within him, and he and everyone else escape the castle.

2036: (The events of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow) A year after Soma Cruz was awakened to his powers and realized that he was the reincarnation of Dracula, a cult that sought the power of the count returned, this time building their own castle strikingly similar to the count's former ancestral home of Castlevania. The cult members were Celia Fortner, the leader, Dario Bossi, who held power over fire, and Dmitrii Blinov, who held the power to copy any ability and counter-use it. Celia's belief was that for the ultimate good to exist in the world, the ultimate evil must also exist. Dario and Dmitrii were known as the two "Dark Lord" candidates, who both had the possibility of becoming the Dark Lord himself. Through the cult's evil actions, they managed to once again draw Soma to them for yet another battle. In the end, Soma defeated both candidates and destroyed a monster called Menace before it could be released into the world. The castle crumbling, everyone safely escaped to live another day.

References

Template:Castlevania series

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 *'''1917''': (The events of ''[[Castlevania: Bloodlines]]'') Twenty-years (according to the manual of the game) after the death of [[Quincey Morris]], a witch practicing dark magic delves into the dark arts and revives [[Elizabeth Bartley]], the niece of [[Dracula]]. The vampiress, once raised from the underworld, uses her powerful magic to plunge the already war-torn landscape into darkness, and, in turn, revives her uncle Dracula. Not about to allow his father's death to be in vain, [[John Morris]], along with his childhood friend ''Eric Lecarde'', sets out to put an end to the madness. Oddly, the game references the real-life death of the [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]], suggesting that his death was ordered by the countess Bartley.
-*'''1944''': (The events of ''[[Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin]]'') The world is in chaos.  The Second World War has claimed millions of lives, leveled cities, destroyed nations.  The souls of the war's dead blanket the planet, lost, hurt, and angry.  Their anguish summons an accursed castle of legend.  It had appeared many times throughout history, bringing with it evil and darkness.  The he castle of Dracula, the Lord of Evil.  it arrives in man's darkest hour, to push us over the brink, into ruin.  [[Jonathan Morris]], weapons expert, and [[Charlotte Orlean]], magic expert, must enter the castle and face a new foe, [[Count Brauner]].
+*'''1944''': (The events of ''[[Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin]]'') The world is in chaos.  The Second World War has claimed millions of lives, leveled cities, destroyed nations.  The souls of the war's dead blanket the planet, lost, hurt, and angry.  Their anguish summons an accursed castle of legend.  It had appeared many times throughout history, bringing with it evil and darkness.  The he castle of Dracula, the Lord of Evil.  it arrives in man's darkest hour, to push us over the brink, into ruin.  [[Jonathan Morris]], weapons expert, and [[Charlotte Aulin]], magic expert, must enter the castle and face a new foe, [[Count Brauner]].
 *'''1999''': It was foretold that this would be the year when the war between Dracula and the Belmonts would come to an end. Dracula was resurrected, but [[Julius Belmont]], possibly [[Alucard|Adrian Tepes]] and most likely a relative of [[Yoko Belnades]] managed to defeat him. Apparently, a family member of [[Mina Hakuba]] was also involved. Castlevania along with the soul of it's master was sealed in an eclipse that occurred at the time of his death. After the battle, Julius lost his memory. There has yet to be a game that chronicles this, but the ending of ''[[Castlevania: Curse of Darkness]]'' makes it seem as though this will be the next chapter of Castlevania history to be told.