Here is the character list of the Castlevania series, sorted according to their in-game timeline appearances. There be spoilers here!But of course, the first to be listed here is...
Good ol' Dracula, the King of Vampires you all know. In a twist, he doesn't start out as Vlad the Impaler, but a genius war strategist named Mathias Cronqvist. After his wife Elisabetha died, Mathias used his friend Leon Belmont in a Xanatos Gambit to steal the soul of a powerful vampire named Walter Bernhard with the Crimson Stone, gaining the allegiance of Death. He reveals that he has forsaken God, who took away his wife, and will continue to curse Him for eternity. He retreats and changes his name to Vlad Tepes, while Leon swears to kill an entire time of day.He found a second chance at redemption after meeting a woman named Lisa Fahrenheit. They bonded and Lisa gave birth to half-vampire Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes aka Alucard. Unfortunately, Lisa ended up being burned at the stake forpracticing medicine. Dracula snapped, declared that Humans Are Bastards and decided to wage war against the world, and God himself. Thankfully for humanity, Leon's oath lasted throughout the centuries, and the Belmont clan (with assistance from the Morris and Belnades families on occasion) have thwarted his undead armies every time.Dracula's reign as the lord of Castlevania finally came to an end in the year 1999, when an alliance of various world armies, aided by the Catholic Church and the Hakuba Shinto shrine, succeeded in sealing Dracula away from his castle (the source of his power), with Julius Belmont finishing him off. At the moment, this has not been actually depicted in any game, possibly due to being entirely too awesome to do justice to.In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow he is reincarnated as Soma Cruz, who unsurprisingly doesn't want to fulfill his destiny. With the help of Alucard and others, his fate is successfully averted.Of course, that hasn't stopped him in the least. He always finds a way to come back, no matterwhat. It's gotten to the point where people see him as a god, or something of a god, as lampshaded by him in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night.Tropes associated with the Castlevania version of Dracula:
A Glass of Chianti: Naturally the vampire-specific version, A Glass Of Blood. He'll often toss the glass and let it shatter on the floor just before he rises from his throne to whoop ass.
The Chessmaster: You can always expect his plans for his minions to revive him to work every time the time comes for him to be resurrected, even if he's not at full power.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He genuinely loved both of his wives, and although Alucard has all but disowned him as father, Dracula still holds a place in his hardened heart for his son. In fact, it is also implied that the death of his wives (the latter wife via Witch Burning) was also the reasonwhy he even became evil.
Evil Is Burning Hot: He is generally associated with fire, especially his trademark triple fireball.
Faith Heel Turn: When Elisabetha died while Mathias was out fighting in the Crusades, the grief-stricken man didn't take this well. With the progression of time, his renouncement of God escalated to new heights.
Genre Blind: So much that he's almost drowning in it. You'd think that by his third or so defeat at the hands of a Belmont or one of their allies that Dracula would take precautions such as sending out his legions post-mortem to kill the potential heirs before they reach maturity or setting up death traps early on, yet he's confident that the Belmonts pose no threat (despite his track record proving otherwise).
To date, he's only been Dangerously Genre Savvytwice: in Rondo of Blood (he attacks Richter's hometown, but the hero was out training when it happened) and in Portrait of Ruin (where he offers to fight alongside Death, but he's defeated simply because Jonathan and Charlotte are the better duo).
To his credit, he's practically immortal. So what if he dies? As Long as There Is Evil, he can pretty much count on returning again and again, biding his time until he can catch his enemies in a moment of weakness. Evil Only Has to Win Once, after all. What he didn't expect was Julius to seal the source of his power (his demonic castle) away during the battle of 1999.
Hey, It's That Voice!: It would seem that Patrick Seitz is the go-to guy to portray Drac. Seitz has portrayed Dracula in The Dracula X Chronicles, Order of Ecclesia, and Judgment.
Dracula: "I was called here by... hooominssssss... who wished to pay me tribute!"
Humanoid Abomination: In this series, he's really much more this than a standard vampire. In Dawn of Sorrow, it's confirmed that he's literally the opposite of God.
Evil Is Hammy: Mathias managed to be composed, even while cementing himself as a Magnificent Bastard. All bets were off once he became Dracula.
Leitmotif: "Dance of Illusions"/"Illusionary Dance" has become the iconic song for the battle with Dracula, having been used in Rondo of Blood, Dracula X, Symphony of the Night, Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness, Circle of the Moon, Judgment, and Harmony of Despair. It even shows up in Julius Mode of Dawn of Sorrow, when you have to face Soma as the new Dark Lordin a battle almost directly lifted from earlier battles with Drac.
Reincarnation Romance: It's heavily implied that Lisa is the reincarnation of Elisabetha. The implications even extend to Soma Cruz and Mina Hakuba, who's suggested to be the next incarnation of these two women (similar to how Soma is Mathias/Dracula), much like Mina Harker (note the similar-sounding surnames) from Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Resurrective Immortality: Dracula is resurrected in most of the games, the better for the player to have someone to fight. The exact methods vary.
Take That: His will to live forever is a form of this towards God's decree of limited human life.
Tall, Dark and Handsome: As Mathias. Dracula, on the other hand, has his appearance vary from game to game, going from a young man (as seen in Rondo of Blood), middle-aged with dark hair to old and grey. Even so, while he lacks Mathias' bishieness, Drac could still hardly be considered "ugly".
The Trickster: As Mathias, he fooled Leon so he could get the Crimson Stone and become Dracula himself. Definitely a great example of a trickster.
We Can Rule Together: Tempts Leon with the gift of immortality and the chance of serving as his right-hand man. Leon resists, Mathias sics Death on him.
Death
"Then for the Master, I'll feast on your soul this night!"
The Grim Reaper, stealer of souls, possibly the ruler of Hell, and... apparently Dracula's best friend. If nothing else, his closest confidant. It's hard to say how this came about, although many suspect the Crimson Stone ever since that has been added to the continuity. A recent game has suggested that a higher power may be responsible.As he is a god of death, one would expect the protagonists of the series to be incapable of killing him. Somehow, they manage it. Fortunately, he is never gone for long, ensuring a long career of Sinister Scythe battles that have made him beloved and feared by the fanbase.Outside of battle, his role is inconsistent. At times, he is only there to fight. At other times, he drives the plot, bringing the revival of his lord to fruition by any means necessary. He has been known to interact with the protagonists more often than his lord, as he tries to dissuade Alucard from interfering, compares notes with Juste, manipulates Hector under a false identity, and shares a common enemy with the vampire hunters when Brauner arrives. He is always loyal to Dracula (although this not including Soma, his master reincarnated), and is Lawful Evil. Dialogue from Judgement and Curse of Darkness hint that he has strong hate toward time travellers.Tropes associated with Death:
Affably Evil: Despite being Enemies With Death, the Belmonts tend to get little or no enmity from the Grim Reaper. Death tends to be somewhat polite towards his enemies, and is even on a First Name Basis with Alucard (as seen in Symphony of the Night.
Ascended Extra: Started off as a standard recurring boss in the series, and one that didn't even appear in every game (note the first two Game Boy games and Haunted Castle). Rondo of Blood gave him a few lines during his fights, but it was Symphony of the Night that gave him significant dialogue and solidified his role as Dracula's trusted confidant.
Dragon Ascendant: In the games where Dracula has yet to revive, Death usually steps onto center stage with some form of a Xanatos Gambit in order to carry out his master's wishes.
Enemy Mine: Subverted in Portrait of Ruin: he almost makes an offer to team up with Jonathan and Charlotte to defeat Brauner, but Jonathan rejects him since he's still working for Dracula, after all. They still wind up helping him, regardless.
Kaizo Trap: His scythe often will fall off the screen when he is defeated, but unique in Aria of Sorrow, this falling scythe can kill you when you beat Death.
Mister Exposition: In an odd move in Harmony of Dissonance, when he figures out what's going on with the castle(s) and Maxim, he explains it to Juste. This happens well before his boss battle.
My Master, Right or Wrong: Considering Lament's reveal that Death aided Dracula centuries before he ever tried to kill humanity, and his opposition to Brauner in Portrait even as he sought to accomplish what Dracula had failed to do so often, it's likely that Death is not so much devoted to Dracula's goals as he is devoted to Dracula himself. As long as it is in Dracula's best interest, he will abide vampire hunters or even aid time travelers.
Not Me This Time: Inverted in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. Death was completely unaware of a Vampire other than Dracula having control of Castlevania during the events of the game until the protagonists (who deduced that Dracula was not responsible for Castlevania's return) accused him of working for Brauner (the Vampire in question).
Sinister Scythe: He's Death, what did you expect? He ups the ante with a wicked dual-bladed scythe in Aria of Sorrow. In Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, he gets laser scythes.
Xanatos Gambit: Loves to use these to help Dracula revive.
A near-invincible knight active during the medieval era, and along with Mathias Cronqvist, formed an invincible team. He abandoned his position when his fiancee Sara Trantoul was kidnapped (according to Mathias) by the vampire Walter Bernhard. Leon discards his sword and takes up the Whip of Alchemy from Rinaldo Gandolfi, and storms Walter's castle, only to find Sara in process of being vampirized. The only way to save her is to kill her. Leon does the job, changing the Whip of Alchemy into the legendary Vampire Killer.Leon swears to kill Walter and the night. He almost succeeds, only to see Walter get backstabbed by Death, and Mathias reveal himself as the Magnificent Bastard behind the scenes. Leon refuses Mathias' offer to join him, survives a battle with Death, and swears that his family will always exist to oppose Mathias.Tropes associated with Leon:
Bishōnen: He held the title of "The most androgynous Castlevania protagonist EVER".
Fire, Ice, Lightning: The Whip of Alchemy gains these powers whenever Leon defeats the respective element bosses, and even retains them when it becomes the Vampire Killer. Oddly enough, these powers rarely show up again (or at least in their full capacity) throughout the series.
Lawful Stupid: He comes to Walter's castle unarmed, having relinquished his sword along with his knighthood.
The Power of Love: Knowing that she'll eventually fully succumb to her vampirism, Leon's betrothed Sara willinglybonds her soul to the Whip of Alchemy, transforming it into the Vampire Killer.
His promise to his beloved Sara is also the reason why Leon so adamantly refuses to join Mathias.
A powerful vampire who rules the forest called Eternal Night. As he finds his immortality to be boring, he seeks a challenge, playing life and death games with brave humans and upping the ante by stealing that which is most precious to them. His latest act is spiriting away Sara Trantoul, Leon Belmont's fiancee.Tropes associated with Walter:
Unwitting Pawn: He was deceived by Mathias and Death into believing that the Ebony Stone would revive him after his defeat and allow him to control Death. Instead, Death claims Walter's soul and uses it to create the Crimson Stone.
Joachim Armster
"It's too bad... You aren't Walter."
Once a human, Joachim was turned into a vampire by Walter Bernhard. He now harbors an ambition to defeat Walter and become the new master of his castle, but was bested in combat by Walter and imprisoned in the castle's prison as punishment.Tropes associated with Joachim:
Rinaldo is an old man who lives near Walter Bernhard's castle. Walter turned Rinaldo's daughter, Justine, into a vampire, and she killed the rest of Rinaldo's family. Rinaldo was forced to create the Whip of Alchemy and he then killed her with it. When Leon Belmont came to rescue his fiancee Sara Trantoul from the clutches of Walter, Rinaldo gave Leon the Whip of Alchemy, and later helped him perform a ritual which unlocked the whip's true power and transformed it into the Vampire Killer. He also provided a shop where Leon could buy or sell items.Tropes associated with Rinaldo:
Crusading Widower/Best Served Cold: Rinaldo attempted to kill Walter after his family's deaths, but the whip had no effect on Walter. Walter allowed Rinaldo to live near the castle and help other vampire hunters, as he thought it would make the "game" more interesting.
Whip It Good: He created what would become the Vampire Killer, and helped unlock its true power.
Legends
Sonia Belmont
"We all decide our own fate. It was you who taught me that, Alucard."
A woman who was gifted with strange magical power. When her land is ravaged by Dracula, she takes up the Vampire Killer whip and invades Dracula's castle, encountering her friend Alucard along the way. After her ordeal is over, she settles down and has a child, Trevor.She was slated to appear again in Castlevania Resurrection, but the game's cancellation prevented that. On top of that, when IGA took over the series, he retconned Sonia from the Castlevania timeline entirely.Up until her retcon, though, the tropes associated with her were:
Hot Amazon: She's a female Belmont; it was almost a given that she'd gear up to effortlessly send Drac right back to Hell. At the very least, Alucard holds her in this regard, which says a lot.
Sugar and Ice Personality: Subtly implied during her exchanges with Alucard. Official art definitely gives off this impression.
"No matter who may challenge, my clan will not falter."
Leon's descendant (with or without Sonia) and the first Belmont to succeed in killing Dracula. When Trevor was young, he went into exile as the people feared the Belmont clan's powers. But when Dracula strikes, Trevor takes up the Vampire Killer whip that was passed down through his ancestors, and travels around Wallachia to save the land and win the people's trust. It works, and the Belmonts are no longer feared. He also gets to marry one of his allies, Sypha Belnades.He gets to reappear in Curse Of Darkness as an uneasy ally for Hector. He ends up getting wounded by Isaac, but survives the overall ordeal. Unfortunately, he loses his headband in the process.Tropes associated with Trevor:
All of the Other Reindeer: At his time, his family was feared due to their power, prompting him to fight Dracula to prove that his family is good.
Good Old Fisticuffs: Gets a few physical combos sprinkled into his CoD moveset.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: It's heavily implied that in the final battle with Dracula in III, Trevor got a parting gift from Dracula in the form of a scar across his left eye and chest. It's visible in Curse, although Judgmentchanged it around, instead claiming that Trevor lost his eye, hence the eyepatch.
Not necessarily. Trevor never mentions his eye during the course of the game, but frequently threatens to pay Dracula back for his scars. An eyepatch can also be worn to help a wounded eye heal.
Henpecked Husband: Subtly and hilariously implied with his winning quote against Sypha in Judgment:
I fought fair and won the day. If only that was true in the household.
Jack-of-All-Stats: Out of the four heroes in Dracula's Curse, he's the balanced one. Strongest basic attack. Greatest variety of subweapons. Tied for strongest defense. Second longest attack range.
Knight in Shining Armor: Personality-wise in Curse of Darkness—he's quick to point out to Hector that he didn't beat Dracula alone; he had a LOT of help from people just as brave as him.
Literally according to Grant in Akumajou Densetsu. He offers to join as the speedster because Trevor's heavy armour's gotta be slowing him down.
Put On The Bus: In Curse of Darkness Trevor all but dissapears after he's attacked by Isaac while he's weakened from his battle with Hector. Julia mention that she's hospitalized him, but he isn't in any condition to fight.
"Ugly freak! Good thing my blades don't discriminate."
A pirate whose family was killed by Dracula. Grant opted to take revenge for his family, but was quickly beaten and turned into a monster that guards the clock tower. Trevor beats some sense into him and he ends up becoming his friend, fighting Dracula by his side. He later helps rebuild Wallachia. Can crawl on walls, throw knives, and bears an eerie resemblance to the Hunchback/Fleaman-type enemy, the Ripper.Tropes associated with Grant:
Badass Normal: Neither holy, nor magical/supernatural, nor a Belmont.
Deadpan Snarker: In Judgement. It doesn't hurt his reputation as the Spider-man of Castlevania.
Demoted to Extra: Trevor reappears in Curse of Darkness, Sypha gets to have a lot of descendants, Grant was given nothing at all until Judgment—and even in that, he's rewritten from a genki go-getter (the Japanese CVIII script sees him declaring himself and Trevor Nakama immediately) into a self-centred emo navel-gazer. And he's a mummy.
What's more, while Julius Mode in Dawn of Sorrow was conceived and plays out like a colossal Shout Out to Dracula's Curse, it lacks a Grant counterpart in any form; you can switch between Julius, Yoko, and Alucard. Apparently they were originally going to include Hammer in Julius Mode as the Grant analogue, but aseemingly couldn't justify a hearty tough guy like Hammer playing like a Fragile Speedster.
He does get a bone thrown at him in Judgment though; he's recognized as one of the "Legendary Three Heroes" and rises to prominence as the man who helped rebuild Wallachia.
He did get an appearance in Symphony of the Night and Portrait of Ruin, appearing as a trio of zombie bosses along with Trevor and Sypha.
Fragile Speedster: Second worst constitution, but makes up for it with wall-climbing.
Ghost Pirate, according to the manual. Perhaps it's just referring to his cursed zombie-like form in the clock tower. Then again, there are those mummy wrappings...
Romantic Runnerup: To Trevor in regards to Sypha. According to Judgment, he was so jealous of this status that he didn't even show up to their wedding. However, he gets over it and wishes the couple good tidings in the future.
Theme Naming: Danasty is taken from the name of a family that were enemies of Vlad Tepes: Dinesti.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Grant is usually depicted◊ as◊ one◊ in◊ artwork◊ for Dracula's Curse (both Japanese and American), even though he's clearly wearing a vest and/or undershirt in-game (more accurate artwork here◊).
"If you wish to see the power of the elements, it would be my pleasure."
A witch who disguised herself as a man, considering that at the time witches are meant to be burnt on a stake. She was eventually caught by Dracula and was turned to stone by... a cyclops (wasn't it Medusa's job to petrify people? Whatever). Later, she was freed from her curse when Trevor kicked the cyclops' ass and she ends up joining his quest, revealing her gender only in the end of battle. She fell in love with Trevor and ended up marrying him, thus augmenting the Belmont clan with magical power.Tropes associated with Sypha:
Defrosting Ice Queen: Judgment-unique. According to her Judgment personality, she persecutes all that even dares wield dark powers, and is a bit bitchy in doing her job. By the end of Dracula's Curse, however, it is implied that she... got better by spending time with Trevor. This is totally absent in Castlevania III's JP iteration, where she's formal and amiable.
Demoted to Extra: Many fans have expressed concern that Sypha is nowhere to be seen in the Pachislot Akumajo Dracula games, while Trevor is aided by a new girl, Angela. To be fair, her being Trevor's wife might have something to do with it, but it still brings up questions, since she can defend herself just fine.
Spell My Name with an S: In Harmony of Dissonance, her name is spelled as Cipher. Considering the little amount of story thus far (only existing so the Belmonts can have magic), it's almost fitting... until Judgment fixed her name back to Sypha.
More than likely, her name is a pun on Cipher, seeing as... well... she is, with relation to her sex.
Her last name might have been the result of a Japanese corruption of "Fernandez", as noted with Carrie Fernandez (see below).
Squishy Wizard: Lower constitution than Grant, but damn it, those spells!
This turns into Nightmare Fuel when you realize that her original (Japanese) dialogue implies that she was conscious and aware the whole time she was a rock.
No Ontological Inertia: She is restored from her petrification as soon as the cyclops dies.
"Dracula! In the name of my Mother, I will defeat you again!"
If there's someone else surpassing the Belmonts' popularity... it's this guy. Adrian is Dracula and Lisa's son. Unlike Dracula, he got to hear his mother's last words: to not hate humans. When his father begins his war on humanity, Adrian rebels and takes the name Alucard and... goes into a slumber, waiting for a potential ally to help him beat his father. This person happens to be Trevor Belmont, who swiftly kicked his ass and offered his services. After beating his father, Alucard prompted to get himself to his slumber again...... only to awaken again after hearing of Richter Belmont's disappearance. Nobody's around to investigate Dracula's castle, so Alucard goes in himself. He meets up with Richter's ally Maria and they search for Richter. They find that he's been Brainwashed by the dark priest Shaft and used to resurrect Dracula. Alucard frees Richter and defeats his father once again and returns to his slumber, waiting again to oppose his father.He resurfaces again in 1999, masterminding Julius Belmont's final defeat of Dracula. When the castle appears within an eclipse in 2035, Alucard (as his new identity of Japanese government agent Genya Arikado) goes in to help Soma Cruz and guide him in his discovery of his identity as Dracula's reincarnation.Tropes associated with Alucard:
Ascended Extra, Breakout Character: In Dracula's Curse, Alucard's introduction was widely overlooked, mostly due to his generic look and a very limited, somewhat mediocre set of abilities. However, when Alucard was brought back eight years later in Symphony of the Night with a new appearance and some nifty new tricks under his belt, Alucard's popularity skyrocketed to the point that he became just as synonymous with the franchise as its chief family of protagonists and their mortal enemies (if not moreso), with his prominence within canon shifting to reflect these changes. It doesn't hurt that Alucard is practicallyimmortal, making him the sole recurring hero with the best chance of reappearing in a Castlevania should the circumstances call for it.
The Atoner: A few games have hinted that part of Alucard's "family business" with Dracula is to atone for his father's wrongdoings.
Badass: No Belmont? No problem, Alucard will kill his father himself.
Badass Baritone: His original Symphony English voice. So fantastically smooth...!
Berserk Button: Messing with his mother is a terrible idea, as the succubus learned the hard way.
Progressively Prettier: He looks like a craggy, middle-aged man in Dracula's Curse. In all subsequent appearances, he's a top-grade Bishōnen.
Sealed Good in a Can: Once or twice canonically (after III and SotN, although Maria may have been able to talk him out of the latter; he also did this in Legends), with the large gaps between his appearances accounting for this trope at least a few more times.
Judgment seems to be trying to hybridize them, with disturbing results.
Curse of Darkness
Hector
"Isaac! I will hunt you down like the beast you are!!"
Hector was once a servant of Dracula, a Devil Forgemaster. When Trevor beats Dracula, Hector decides to just settle down and live in peace with his wife Rosaly... until another Devil Forgemaster, Isaac, accused her of witchcraft and got her burnt at the stake, prompting Hector to pursue Isaac (who was already planning some sort of Xanatos Gambit to revive Dracula.)Tropes associated with Hector:
Death Seeker: He was perfectly content to remain in the castle as it crumbled, but Julia managed to convince him to live... with her.
Defector from Decadence: Dracula's callous nature towards humans appalled Hector. When he sent creatures to destroy Wallachia, this was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Disposable Woman: Rosaly exists solely for this reason; at the end, he ends up with a woman who looks just like her...
Arguably with Trevor, too. The cutscene after their first battle is... interesting looking.
Improbable Weapon User: Thanks to the marvels of the item-crafting system of CoD, Hector's arsenal includes a frying pan, a nail bat, a gatling gun, a holy police baton and an electric guitar.
Retired Badass: Unlike Leon, who probably had an impressive stash of weapons from his time as a knight, Hector voluntarilysealed away his Devil Forgemaster powers. When he went after Isaac, all he had was a short sword and Hector had to spent to majority of the game regaining his former skills. It should be noted that as one of Dracula's generals, Hector's powers were considered equal to that of Death.
Slouch of Villainy: Hector gets to sit in more than 10 different types of chairs throught his adventure. Truly the pinnacle of this trope in the series.
Does this number include the save points and teleporters?
Spanner in the Works: Messes up the last part of Death's plan by not succumbing to Dracula's curse but...
Unwitting Pawn: The plan still worked to an extent, thanks to him, though Isaac is the ultimate Xanatowned party.
Spell My Name with an S: Recent info suggests that Rosaly's name should instead be spelled as Rosalee.
"You will receive the most gruesome fate for the humiliation you brought upon me three years ago!..."
The other Forgemaster. Not particularly happy with Hector's betrayal of Dracula, blaming the man for the fact that Trevor was able to get to Dracula at all (he says this outright in the Tokyopop manga). He has a devious and original scheme with which to get back at Hector, but in truth it's not even really his scheme at all... Dracula is not the nicest of employers.Tropes associated with Isaac:
Always Someone Better: Although their rivalry started out friendly, Isaac soon came to resent Hector for one-upping him in everything.
"Be vigilant Hector. I have an ill feeling. It bodes not well."
Isaac's younger sister, she's a witch who managed to escape the witch hunt and aids Hector in his quest by healing him, setting up shop, and managing his Innocent Devils. Although she tries to convince Hector to not slay her brother, she is prepared for the worst.Tropes associated with Julia:
Identical Stranger: She looks almost exactly like Rosaly, to the point that Hector mistakes her for a hallucination of his departed love. As CoD progresses, Hector manages to subvert a Loving a Shadow relationship.
A mysterious, eccentric man in a top hat who shows up as a neutral party. Nobody has a good concept of who or what he is, but he has some control over time. He at first seems to want to stop Hector from pursuing Isaac, but after a clash with Zead/Death, he changes his mind and leaves Hector to his own devices after dueling him in a rift where he can use some of his power. Fans suspect he may be in some sort of time watching organization with Aeon, if not the same person in a different form.Tropes associated with St. Germain:
A Belmont descendant that takes on Dracula when he revives... that's all his story is about in Adventure. In Belmont's Revenge, his story was fleshed out a bit with the birth of his son Soleiyu]] (properly Soleil), who was about to inherit the Vampire Killer until Dracula possessed him. Chris jumps back into action to save his son and succeeds. There is a remake of Adventure, which seems to be rather different in content.Tropes associated with Christopher:
Older Than They Think: He was mentioned as being a legend as far back as the Japanese manual for the original Castlevania.
Punny Name: His son, Soleiyu. His name is a mistranslation of the French word soleil, which means "sun". Sun = Son, which is what Soleiyu is in regards to Christopher.
The Southpaw: He is the only left-handed Belmont to remain in canon. Richter is only a lefty when he's being messed with by Shaft and Drac. Trevor's ambidextrous, but that only half-way counts.
In the Wiiware remake, he is now whipping with the same hand as everyone else.
Resurrection
Victor Belmont
Although Victor was born in the 1800s, the Powers That Be pulled him to the year 1666 to assist Sonia Belmont in destroying Dracula. When he was young, he decided that he wanted no part of the Belmont family's job as vampire hunters, and ran away from home. As he grew older, he took up gambling and also learned of the arts of warfare. One night in the 19th century, he got in a fight with another man when gambling. As Victor pulled out a knife, he was suddenly transported to the year 1666 by mysterious forces.Victor was going to be one of the protagonists of Castlevania Resurrection, along with Sonia Belmont, but the game was unfortunately canceled.Tropes associated with Victor:
The very first Belmont, and probably the most popular next to Richter. At first, Simon's purpose is simple: Fulfill his family's legacy by entering Dracula's castle and defeating him. He did so. But, Dracula, in his dying breath, gave him a curse that would slowly kill him. He didn't count on Simon's Badass qualities, though, so despite being cursed, Simon travels around Transylvania, and collecting Dracula's body parts so he can revive and destroy him, ending the curse.He also gets to appear in Captain N, but he's a completely different character; a bumbling Jerk with a Heart of Gold instead of the straightforward hero he usually is in the games.Tropes associated with Simon:
Badass: He's the first Castlevania hero, who beats Dracula through a serious Nintendo Hard case (no nifty options like Item Crash, etc), then revives Dracula just to kill him again. BAD. ASS. His whole clan is a Badass Family, but Simon takes the cake.)
Let's not forget he's one of the few Belmonts to take on Dracula at his peak.
Let's also not forget he was dying the second time.
Badass Normal: Armed with naught but a whip and a few subweapons, he defeats Dracula twice, by himself.
These were the original, Nintendo Hard Castlevanias, too. Let it be known: Simon Belmont doesn't need Jump Physics to kick your ass.
Barbarian Hero: His first official appearances had him look like this, although as time went on he changed a bit; oddly enough, Kojima's Bishōnen design for him is also the one in which he looks the most barbaric; go figure that one.
The Cameo: Input The Konami Code when the Konami symbol shows as you boot up Harmony of Dissonance, and you get to play as Simon in Boss Rush mode. 8-bit Simon. And he can still whoop every monster the game chooses to throw at him.
Not to mention his random cameos in other Konami games, his most recent having him take part in a track-and-field tourney along with other Konami personalities like Pentaro, Vic Viper and Solid Snake.
Fan Nickname: His Judgment self is called "Simon Yagami", thanks to his character design.
Redheaded Hero: His actual hair color changed quite a bit, but eventually he wound up a redhead for good.
Carmilla
"But isn't this world hellish already? People are intrigued by darkness, and covet power and chaos."
A devoted servant and worshipper of the Dark Lord, she has been actively involved in his resurrection on several occasions.In Circle of the Moon, she acts as the main antagonist. Carmilla manages to revive Dracula, but not to full power, so she planned to sacrifice the vampire hunter Morris Baldwin during a lunar eclipse of the full moon. She also enthralls Hugh Baldwin to her will to help prevent Nathan Graves' interference. While ultimately defeated, Carmilla still manages to complete the ritual to restore her master.Tropes associated with Carmilla:
Humans Are Bastards: She believes that darkness is the true nature of humans, and hopes that Dracula will bring it out. Unlike Dracula, she shows no enmity towards mankind.
Iconic Item: Her mask, which first served as her appearance in Simon's Quest, has made frequent reappearances. It hangs on the wall during her Rondo of Blood battle, and she uses a mask-adorned iron maiden as her hyper move in Judgment. It also shows up in the Cave of Skeletons in Harmony of Dissonance alongside many other Shout Outs.
Lesbian Vampire/Depraved Bisexual: Laura, the Cat Girl seen in Rondo and PoR, is her servant and apparently her lover. Now factor this into her vampish nature towards pretty much anyone else, and...
Simon's grandson, a prodigious warrior who inherits the Vampire Killer in his mere teens. Juste is unique that he has a LOT of the Belnades blood in him, making him a Magic Knight. For some reason, he likes decorating rooms. He is best buds with swordsman Maxim Kischine and is the lover of Lydie Erlanger. At one point, Lydie vanishes, Dracula's castle rises and Maxim leads him there (acting a bit strange in the meantime). Juste investigates the castle, finding out that Maxim is being possessed, and ends up repeating Simon's feat of gathering Dracula's parts and reviving him only to destroy him again. Juste saves Lydie and Maxim, and it's all good.Tropes associated with Juste:
"Suffers"? Perhaps not. Such is Juste's mojo that Medibot claims that anyone who doesn't wish to date Juste is likely asexual.
Maxim Kischine
"Tha-that bracelet... so you wore it after all..."
Juste's best friend since childhood. The two share a Friendly Rivalry, with Maxim occasionally trying to prove that he is more talented than Juste. Maxim specializes in fighting with martial arts and bladed weapons. In 1748, Maxim was possessed by the dark power of Dracula's remains and kidnapped Lydie Erlanger, his friend and Juste's lover, and brought her to Castlevania. With help from Juste, Maxim was able to keep it from completely overcoming him, until it left his body. After Juste destroyed the dark entity, he, Maxim, and Lydie escaped the castle.Tropes associated with Maxim:
Fragile Speedster: Moves even faster than Juste, but while he can heal, it takes a lot of hearts, and he noticeably takes a lot more of a beating. It's just notable as Maxim is so fast.
Ninja: He uses a large shuriken in battle, delivers quick kicks, somersaults through the air, and can even create duplicates of himself.
A childhood friend of Juste and Maxim. She is kidnapped and taken to Dracula's Castle, which leads Juste and Maxim to going there in the first place.Tropes associated with Lydie:
One of the more infamous Belmonts (thanks to Symphony of the Night) and probably Juste's son or at least his grandson. Richter has a girlfriend named Annette, until Dracula suddenly takes an active stance and assaults his home, kidnapping Annette, her sister Maria, and several other women. Richter heads to the castle, saves the maidens, confronts Dracula and kicks his ass.Four years later, due to a plan by the dark priest Shaft, Richter gets possessed and raises Dracula's castle, acting as its master. He's freed by Alucard, and leaves the rest to him. Since the release of Portrait of Ruin, he is canonically the last Belmont to wield the Vampire Killer until Julius Belmont in 1999.Tropes associated with Richter:
A Sinister Clue: How do we know that Richter is Not Himself in SotN? When Shaft's possessing him, he uses his left hand to whip.
Badass in Distress: He was Badass in his debut, then he got caught and below in Symphony of the Night. Then, he retains much of the badassery off-screen, but Jonathan Morris can feel it when he fought the Whip Memory in his form.
Shipper on Deck: Noticing that Maria had developed a romantic attraction to Alucard, he assures Maria that she should go after Alucard and try to soothe his tormented soul.
Bishōnen: By this point, you should be able to notice that the Belmont family has really, really good genetics.
Hey, It's That Voice!: You may recognize the dulcet tones of Harry Mason in Richter's impassioned confrontation with Dracula at the beginning of Symphony of the Night.
For the redub for The Dracula X Chronicles, David Vincent voices Richter.
A distant relative of the Belmont clan, she was captured by Shaft due to her magical powers, but was saved by Richter. She assists him in battle and lives to see Dracula beaten. In the SNES version, she and Annette (Richter's fiancee) were made sisters, a relationship that did not exist in the PC Engine original (although it was mentioned again in the manual of Symphony of the Night, but this was because the translator was more familiar with the SNES version than the PC Engine original, which was a Japan only release at the time).Four years later, when Richter vanishes, a grown up (and really hot) Maria tries to investigate the castle herself, but she ends up meeting Alucard and works together with him. She saves Richter, and develops feelings for Alucard but is unable to convince him to remain awake. (However, if you get the Best Ending, Maria runs after Alucard, leaving Richter on the cliff. In the audio dramaNocturne of Recollection, Maria and Alucard are living together.Tropes associated with Maria:
A-Cup Angst: Only in Judgment; she's obsessed about her chest size and admires the other females' assets.
The Four Gods: Four of her animals are cuter versions of them.
Full-Contact Magic: In Nocturne in the Moonlight (see "What Could Have Been"), Maria mainly uses punches and kicks to fight, but also fires energy blasts from her fingertips to strike long-distance enemies. She can cast spells normally though.
Gratuitous Japanese: The names of her attacks. We know that the Castlevania games are made in Japan, but the only game that has anything to do with Japan is Aria of Sorrow (and Dawn of Sorrow, by extension, though in even lesser aspects).
What Could Have Been: Older Maria was meant to be playable in SotN, but was scrapped due to time constraints (voice files can still be found on the disk). Nocturne in the Moonlight, the Updated Rerelease for the Sega Saturn, among other things, made Maria playable.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks: Some were not pleased that the Maria in the PSP release of Symphony of the Night was not like the Saturn version of her in combat.
Annette
Richter Belmont's girlfriend. She gets kidnapped in Rondo of Blood.Tropes associated with Annette:
Who is the man that wouldn't risk his neck for his brother man?
SHAFT!
Ya damn right.
Can you dig it?
Now that that little obligation is out of the way, Shaft was an evil priest who was helping Dracula kidnap little girls. Later, he was instrumental in keeping Richter Brainwashed and Crazy during Symphony of the Night.Tropes associated with Shaft:
Diabolus ex Machina: Richter kills him twice—as both a human and a ghost—in Rondo. He should have been Deader than Dead, yet even this doesn't stick, as Shaft goes on to enslave Richter so that Alucard can take the spotlight in SotN.
The Dragon: To Dracula, and played this role to a brainwashed Richter.
Something Only They Would Say: One major clue to the fact that he is possessing Richter in Symphony of the Night is the incantation that Richter uses to summon monsters to attack Alucard: it's the exact same thing Shaft says when summoning monsters to fight Richter in Rondo of Blood.
Galamoth
An extremely large demonic-looking being who resembles a dinosaur. Though originally introduced as the Big Bad in the Kid Dracula games, he made his first proper appearance in the Castlevania series in Symphony of the Night, followed by a cameo in Aria of Sorrow and a significant yet unseen villainous role in Judgment. Not much has been confirmed about him, but from what has been clearly established, he directly opposes Dracula and seeks to replace him as the lord of darkness. For some reason, he has spent far more time fighting Dracula's offspring.Tropes associated with Galamoth:
Cool Sword: Wields a standard sword in Boku Dracula-Kun and a Laser Blade in Kid Dracula. He also holds a circular blade in his off hand in Symphony, but never actually uses it.
Evil Versus Evil: Each time, the forces of good favor Dracula as the dark lord.
The Ghost: Despite his involvement in Judgment's plot, he never appears in the game, save for a Say My Name from the Time Reaper.
Immune to Fate: Given that he's the only villain to date to attempt to change history in his favor, and his soul's purpose in Aria is to prevent a Time Master enemy from turning back time, he likely possesses this ability in some form.
The Starscream: Depending on his true role in relation to Dracula.
Walk Like an Egyptian: In addition to his Symphony outfit's influences, he is animated in a manner that keeps him in constant profile.
Lisa
Dracula's second wife and the mother of Alucard. Introduce in Symphony of the Night where it was revealed that her death provoked Dracula into a war with humanity.Tropes associated with Lisa.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Burned at the stake for practicing medicine. Deconstructed due to Dracula's reaction.
Master Librarian
The keeper of Dracula's Castle's library. He helps Alucard in his quest to find out why the Castle has reappeared by selling him items and equipment.
Another non-Belmont (and White-Haired Pretty Boy), he is trained alongside Hugh Baldwin by MorrisBaldwin, a member of a group of vampire hunters who defeated Dracula. He is chosen over Hugh to inherit the Hunter's Whip (not the Vampire Killer), which leads to resentment on Hugh's part. When Dracula is revived by Carmilla, Nathan and co. go to the castle to put him down. Dracula separates Hugh and Nathan from Morris, whom he kidnaps in order to use in a ritual to release his true power. Nathan and Hugh split up, and eventually come to blows when Hugh is put under More than Mind Control by Dracula. Nathan beats him, frees Morris after a fight with Dracula, and everybody escapes the castle.CotM was also retconned by Igarashi, but this didn't stop him from borrowing the card system and adapting it into HoD's spellbook system. Igarashi un-retconned Circle of the Moon a few years later, but called this an Alternate Continuity.Tropes associated with Nathan:
Magic Knight: He has plenty of card-based magic skills to augment his whipping.
Parental Abandonment: Both his parents died in the sealing of Dracula ten years prior.
A vampire hunter who sealed Dracula away along with Nathan's parents 10 years before Circle of the Moon. He chose Nathan as his successor, rather than his son, Hugh.Tropes associated with Morris:
Morris' son and Nathan's rival. He is jealous of Nathan because Nathan was chosen as the successor to Morris. He also believes than Nathan is too weak to fight alongside him.Tropes associated with Hugh:
Well Done Son Guy: Hugh's father chose Nathan to be his successor instead of him. His jealosy over this is what allowed Dracula to corrupt him.
Order of Ecclesia
Shanoa
"I am the blade to banish all evil, and I've come to see you annihilated."
A tall, dark, and beautiful member of the Order of Ecclesia, an organization trying to find a way to defeat Dracula without using the Belmonts (or so she thought), and she has to contain the Glyph which contains her magical power. Shanoa was chosen to host Dominus, a glyph containing a portion of Dracula's power to kill him, but the Glyph was stolen by her brother figure Albus, and in the process she loses her memories and emotions. She is told to hunt down Albus, but eventually smells a rat in her organization after Albus tells her the truth regarding Dominus. Albus was trying to protect Shanoa from Dominus, since anybody who uses its full power will have their soul consumed. It turns out Barlowe, Ecclesia's leader and Shanoa's adoptive father, has been corrupted by Dominus and is trying to revive Dracula. Shanoa defeats him but Barlowe manages to revive Dracula anyway. Shanoa goes to the castle and defeats Dracula with Dominus, but is spared death thanks to Albus, who uses his soul to save her. Shanoa vanishes after Dracula's defeat, and Ecclesia's achievements are lost to history.Tropes associated with Shanoa:
Emotionless Girl: After the first botched attempt to use Dominus.
Expy: Likely of Yuumura Kirika; she's an amnesiac, emotionless young woman fighting on behalf of a mysterious church-based organization whose leader has a sinister ulterior motive... and she's even voiced by Houko Kuwashima.
The N64 Castlevanias are largely panned but have a dedicated cult following.
Cornell
"No one will listen to reason from the mouth of a beast."
A man-beast from a clan of similar individuals who sealed away their transformation ability in order to live alongside humans. But through rigorous training, he managed to regain such abilities. He heads to Dracula's castle to find the ones responsible for kidnapping his "sister" Ada, a survivor from a previous man-beast attack. After a confrontation with his jealous rival Ortega, he destroys Dracula and saves Ada, but at the cost of his alternate form. A form that is used to revive Dracula again, stronger than ever...Tropes associated with Cornell:
Wolf Man: His Judgment design kicks this up a notch by making Cornell a wolf knight.
Wolverine Claws: Comes with the territory of being a man-beast.
Reinhardt Schneider
"The destiny of my blood means I must destroy Dracula."
A distant relation to the Belmont clan, though not distant enough to free him from his duty of destroying Dracula whenever he arises. He was raised in the ways of the church and abhors attacking women and children, a trait that comes into question when he comes across a female vampire named Rosa in the abbey grounds. Even after her demise at the hands of Death, he remains resolute, successfully destroying Dracula's new incarnation and proving that even the damned are worthy of forgiveness. Unfortunately, he's very difficult to play as, and thus only those with the maddest of superskills (and stubbornness aplenty) reach the end of his story. And if you think he's got a silly name, well—he was almost Schneider Belmont.Tropes associated with Reinhardt:
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Initially, but then he's forced to fight Rosa, making him drop this.
Carrie Fernandez
"While Dracula exists, children live in terror. I cannot desert them!"
A young descendant of the Belnades clan of witches, she lost her family when she was a child. Hearing of Dracula's return, she sets out to put an end to his evil. It is through these events that she rediscovers the importance of family, most directly through her confrontations with the Wicked Witch Actrise. (And that Actrise really was quite a piece of work...)Tropes associated with Carrie:
Puppy Love: In-universe. In one of the endings, Malus makes Carrie promise to marry him when they're older. But remember, everyone, Malus is Dracula...
A young boy who was caught in the middle of Dracula's latest attack when his wealthy family's manor was occupied by vampires. With the blessing of his not-yet-vampirized mother and Cornell's assistance, he managed to escape with his life.Years later, the forces of evil emerged yet again, abducting children to achieve their unholy goal. Henry decided that he would save the kids in the same way that he himself had been saved. Problem is, he's not a vampire hunter of any particular lineage. Solution? Wear a lot of armor and carry a gun.Tropes associated with Henry:
A witch who valued her beauty more then anything else in the world. She entered Dracula's service by sacrificing 100 children including her own daughter. Is defeated by Carrie Fernandez.Tropes associated with Actrise:
The son of Quincy Morris from Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. He witnessed his father's defeat of Dracula and swore to live up his name. When Elizabeth Bathory tries to revive Dracula, he sets out with his buddy Eric Lecarde, wielding the Vampire Killer, and successfully defeats both of them.Unfortunately, since the Morrises are only distant relatives to the Belmont clan, the Vampire Killer drained his life away, and he was never able to fully heal the wounds that he received from Dracula. He trained his son Jonathan as best he could and gave him the whip, dying before he could explain the whip's true nature. Well, at least if you trust what Portrait of Ruin has to say about the matter.Tropes associated with John:
Dub Name Change: Originally named Johnny Morris in the Japanese version, which is not much of a difference ("Johnny" is technically a common nickname for "John").
Ho Yay: Most of the Bloodlines fanfics that can be found are of the Ho Yay variety with him and Eric. It boggles, considering there was barely any characterization in the game to begin with.
Eric is a nobleman whose girlfriend was vampirized by Elizabeth Bartley (Erzsebet Bathory, really.). He goes along with John to defeat Dracula, using the Alcarde/Alucard Spear.After learning that John became cursed, Eric opted to have his family become the guardians of the Vampire Killer, so the power and curse do not get misused. Unfortunately, when Eric investigates a recently raised castle before Portrait of Ruin, he gets ambushed by the vampire Brauner and is killed, and watches his daughters Stella and Loretta vampirized by Brauner. His spirit resides in the castle, and he helps out Jonathan and Charlotte in their quest.His appearance is different in each game for some reason: in Bloodlines he's a Bishōnen, in Portrait of Ruin he's a Cool Old Guy, and in Judgment he's a Wise Beyond Their Years child.Tropes associated with Eric:
Always Second Best: Even though he is smarter than John, he'll always be second best because he uses the Alucard Spear, which in itself was made to do nothing but charge the Vampire Killer, something which frustrates him to no end. Actually, it's amazing he was never a Rival Turned Evil because of this.
Hotheaded son of John Morris and childhood friend of Charlotte Aulin. Jonathan dislikes his father for just teaching him the basic of combat, then leaving him to investigate Dracula's castle. However, he meets the ghost of his father's friend Eric and learns the truth behind his father's death and comes to respect him. He and Charlotte saved Eric's daughters from vampirization, and fought the memory of Vampire Killer (in the form of Richter Belmont), earning him the right to wield the Vampire Killer. Eventually, he confronts Brauner as well as Dracula (and Death at the same time!) and beats all three of them, with assistance from Charlotte.Tropes associated with Jonathan:
Berserk Button: Mentioning how his dad could use the whip and not him will get a reaction out of him. Once he learns the truth behind the whip however, he gets over it.
Improbable Weapon User: Some of his sub-weapons qualify for this: namely the paper airplanes, cream pies, and darts.
Informed Ability: The manual says he has a sense of humor, but we don't really get to see it. It also says he's Brilliant, but Lazy, but we don't get to see that either.
He does show a cool calm confidence, however, which may imply he's not taking it fully seriously. Additionally, there's a quote at the very end which is telling Charlotte to just relax or something. It's close, but not fully defined.
Well Done Son Guy: Hates his dad at first, but in the end, he's something like this.
Charlotte Aulin
"I'll be with you, so relax. You'll be fine."
Originally named "Charlotte Orlean" during the beta period of the game's development, a Cute Witch deployed from the church to assist Jonathan in his task. Charlotte mostly acts as the intellectual foil to the hotheaded Jonathan. She eventually learns a spell that proves to be vital in curing the vampirization of Stella and Loretta, and later helps Jonathan out in defeating Dracula.Tropes associated with Charlotte:
Berserk Button: "Jonathan! Stop treating me like a child!"
Just a Kid: Everyone ridicules her as this, she doesn't like it. Brauner is the only one who doesn't treat her like this.
White Mage: Also has some healing abilities (though mostly towards ailments) and stat boosting spells. Throw in a time stopping spell and one that negates projectiles and she becomes more of a Red Mage.
Luke, I Am Your Father: They are actually the daughters of Eric Lecarde, and are thus able to help Jonathan power up his whip and defeat the vampire menace.
Spanner in the Works: If you think about it, Stella qualifies as this: she drops the pendant that allows the heroes to realize that they're brainwashed and that they can be cured, which then allows her and Loretta to open the gate to Brauner.
An artist whose daughters were killed during World War I, Brauner went insanefrom the grief and decided to become a vampire and Kill All Humans. He decided to use Castlevania as his base of operations for this purpose, but also decided that Dracula's failure rate was too great for the Dark Lord to be allowed to join in on the fun, and used his paintings to keep Dracula's power sealed up and easily controllable. (Death was not amused.)It is worth noting at this point that in the whole of the Castlevania series, Brauner is the only character to call out Dracula for dying so ridiculously often and never accomplishing anything.Later, Brauner noticed an interloper within the castle halls. This interloper turned out to be Eric Lecarde. Brauner ambushed and killed him... just as Eric's daughters burst into the rooms, attempting a Big Damn Heroes moment. Brauner, noticing that they bore an uncanny resemblance to his own daughters, instantly concluded that they must be his own daughters reincarnated and vampirized them in order to convince them of the same (all while the dying Eric looked on helplessly.)When Jonathan and Charlotte showed up some time later, Brauner wasn't happy about it, but underestimated the heroes. Unfortunately for him, Stella and Loretta were a bit too loyal to his cause, and tried to destroy Jonathan and Charlotte themselves (despite his repeatedly telling them to stay back, out of harm's way, and let him handle the situation.) This just ended up giving Charlotte and Jonathan the opportunity to cure the sisters of their vampirism and brainwashing.When Brauner found out what had happened... well, he was rather upset. He promptly tried to destroy the heroes with his artistic powers, only to be crushed in battle. As he lay in his weakened state, he admitted that justice might not have been on his side after all, but adamantly refused to admit that his victorious opponents might have the moral high ground. That was all he got to say before Death showed up to finish him off and fully awaken the soul of Dracula.
Big Bad: With Death for most of Portrait of Ruin. Though the plot mostly focuses on Brauner.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If he didn't allow Stella and Loretta to open the door to his quarters, then the heroes would not have been able to stop him.
Papa Wolf: His failure to protect his daughters is what made him a Mad Artist in the first place.
Pet the Dog: His concern for Stella and Loretta appears genuine. He tries to keep them out of harms way, and during the bad ending, he shows up and begs you to stop hurting them. He then aborts his plan rather than endanger them further.
Aria of Sorrow/Dawn of Sorrow
Soma Cruz
"If I lose the battle... I want you to kill me."
A seemingly Ordinary High School Student caught in an eclipse which brought him to Dracula's castle. Guided by Genya Arikado, he ventures through the castle and later discovers the horrible truth: He is the reincarnation of Dracula. However, he resists his fate as the Dark Lord and manages to come out safely as a normal human.Later, a cult confronts him, trying to revive Dracula, and chooses him as one of the candidates where Dracula could be revived. Soma confronts them and eventually prevails in resisting to become the new Dark Lord (again).Tropes associated with Soma:
In the local version of his games, he's Japanese and his surname is literally Kurusu, while in international versions he becomes a transfer student named Cruz.
Dark Is Not Evil: He fights by absorbing the souls of his defeated enemies, yet remains a fairly nice guy.
Evil Laugh: If Soma becomes the Dark Lord in Dawn, he gains an epic Evil Laugh that would give the old Drac a run for his money!
Late Arrival Spoiler: He's the reincarnation of Dracula. This is made explicit in the opening cutscenes of Dawn of Sorrow.
Love Makes You Evil: If Soma does not wear the amulet he was given he suffers the same fate he did in his past life and becomes evil to avenge the death of a loved one, or whatever Mina is to him.
"It seems that your dark power triggered the return of my memories."
The next Belmont after Richter to wield the Vampire Killer. Y'see, there was a prophecy that it wouldn't be wielded by the Belmonts again until a great battle in 1999, and when that magic time rolled around, Julius was the lucky one to be on Dracula duty. Julius has the honor of being the one who beat Dracula for good, sealing Castlevania in an eclipse (thereby denying Dracula's soul access to the stone that was keeping it out of the cycle of reincarnation long enough to resurrect), but the battle cost him his memory, and he lived as an amnesiac for over thirty years under the name "J".Since the name "Dracula" filled him with dread for reasons he couldn't explain, he headed to Castlevania during its return at the solar eclipse to hopefully restore his memory. He meets up with Soma, and is eventually asked to kill him should Soma ever fall to The Dark Side.Julius reappears to assist Soma in Dawn of Sorrow, and is the one to put him out of his misery in the bad ending of both games.Tropes associated with Julius:
Badass Beard: So far the only Belmont with facial hair, and quite impressive facial hair at that.
Badass Grandpa: By the time Aria of Sorrow rolls around, he's in his fifties but can still kick Soma's ass. While consciously holding back. In Dawn of Sorrow, when Soma asks him how he's been dealing with the regenerating monsters, he says he never encountered any problems with regenerators. The implication being that he has been destroying the monsters before they can regenerate.
Badass Longcoat: Just look at it! No wonder he killed Dracula for good!
Growing Up Sucks: Or so he says. The fact that most of his adult life has been spent as an amnesiac hobo has probably affected his judgement in this matter.
Shout Out: Like most Castlevania games since and including Symphony of the Night, both Aria and Dawn featured a mode of play that allowed you to go through the game as if it were a classic Castlevania. The best part? If you get Soma's bad ending a little over halfway through the game, it still counts as beating the game and unlocks Julius Mode. Soma's bad ending is of course canon to Julius mode.
Yoko Belnades
"Ha ha ha. It's so much fun to tease you. But this is not the time to be fooling around."
A descendant of Sypha. Yoko is a powerful witch, and is very skilled in the use of magic spells. She is a member of the church, and was sent to the Hakuba Shrine in 2035 to investigate the return of Castlevania, along with Genya Arikado. She was injured in the incident, but later recovered. In 2036, she assisted Julius, Arikado, and Soma in fighting the cult that was seeking to resurrect the dark lord.Tropes associated with Yoko:
Action Girl: She's playable in Julius Mode in Dawn of Sorrow, where she can really unleash her abilities.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Is taken out of the action in Aria by being stabbed, with an ordinary knife. No other character has been so easy to take down, and indeed, come Dawn, she can take quite a few stabs from random mooks.
Ineffectual Loner: In Aria of Sorrow, she suspects Graham of wrongdoing and goes after him on her own. This gets her stabbed. She does a much better job when part of a team.
White Mage: A variation. Her primary attack in Dawn of Sorrow is to swing her Magic Wand, and it doesn't do very much damage, but it heals Yoko for a little HP every time she hits something.
Hammer
"You'll visit my shop again, won't ya? I'll be waitin' for ya."
Formerly a soldier in the U.S. Army, Hammer is one of Soma's friends and allies. He was sent by the army to investigate the Hakuba Shrine in 2035, and ended up inside Castlevania. After becoming friends with Soma, he decided to quit the army and get into the shopkeeping business. In 2036, he helped Soma find the base of the cult that was trying to revive the dark lord, and then unexpectedly showed up there to help Soma out by opening a shop. Hammer has a crush on Yoko Belnades, but seems to be too nervous to tell her.Tropes associated with Hammer:
Dummied Out: Was going to be playable in Dawn's Julius mode. A few voice clips hidden in Harmony of Despair hinted that Hammer may have been planned for that game as well. Unfortunately, no such luck.
Gentle Giant: Despite being a big, tough guy, he's not really into fighting.
Intrepid Merchant: It's implied that he gets his expanding inventory from exploring the castle.
Longing Look: He does this to Yoko in Dawn of Sorrow, according to Soma's chats with her.
"No, not at all! At first we were shocked, but everyone believes you'll get through this."
Soma's classmate and best friend. Mina is the caretaker of the Hakuba Shrine. She is quite sociable, and makes friends easily. She and Soma are clearly romantically interested in each other, but neither of them will admit it. In 2035, she was going to watch the solar eclipse with Soma, but the two ended up inside Castlevania, where it was discovered that Soma is the reincarnation of Dracula. In 2036, after she and Soma were attacked by a cult seeking to resurrect Dracula, she was placed in the protective custody of Arikado's colleagues while he and Soma were off fighting the cult.Tropes associated with Mina:
"I was born on the very day that Dracula was destroyed... So, in short, that means that I AM Dracula!"
The founder and missionary of a religious group who appears in Aria of Sorrow. He possesses magical powers due to having been born at the exact moment of Dracula's death, and thus believes that he is the reincarnation of Dracula.Tropes associated with Graham:
The head priestess of a cult known as "With Light". She fervently believes that good cannot exist in the universe without an equal evil to balance it. With this in mind, she seeks to find someone to step up to the position of lord of darkness in Dracula's absence, or coerce Soma to change his mind.Tropes associated with Celia:
Stuffed into the Fridge: Kills (a doppelganger of) Mina in front of Soma's eyes in an effort to make him give in to his darkness.
Summon Magic: She never actually fights, but calls forth demons to her aid. She is likely responsible for the various monsters that appear throughout the game.
Dario Bossi
A potential dark lord candidate, he is a criminal born on the same day as Dracula's demise. He possesses the ability to control fire.Tropes associated with Dario:
Avenging the Villain: Subverted. He is less annoyed that Soma killed Dmitrii and more that he wasn't the one to do it.
Brought Down to Normal: In the true path, Soma refrains from killing Dario and instead goes after Aguni, stopping his power at the source. He promptly flees.
A potential dark lord candidate who was born on the same day that Dracula died. He possesses the ability to mimic any attack with which he is hit.Tropes associated with Dmitrii:
Affably Evil: He is far less malicious than Dario, and repeatedly states that he is merely interested in learning the meaning behind his abilities. Until the end.
Evil Is Not a Toy: The dark lord's power overcomes him, killing him and turning his souls into Menace.
Grand Theft Me: Has his soul absorbed by Soma, copies his power of dominance, and then manages to possess a doppelganger to use as a new body.
My Soul Is Yours: When defeated, he promptly dies and Soma absorbs his soul, to his horror.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: He's the only villain in the series to ever defeat Alucard, with the help of human sacrifices and a "calamitous demon". Soma arrives after the battle is over.
Power-Up Letdown: His only available attack is the last soul ability with which he was hit. As a result, he can be forced to assume a particularly wimpy offense.
"My name is Aeon. Shall we begin the first trial?"
A mysterious wanderer of time, and a member of a group of similar individuals. He's the one responsible for gathering a large number of Dracula-related individuals from history to further his own goals.Tropes associated with Aeon:
Expy: Of St. Germain from Curse of Darkness; his alternate color scheme even matches his outfit.
An artificial being originally created by Carmilla to mindlessly guard ruins. Somehow, its arrival in the time rift granted it sapience, along with the ability to question its lot in life.Tropes associated with the golem:
Byronic Hero: Well-spoken, if not as demonstrably intelligent as many examples of the trope. Prone to brooding and "dark moods." He fights vampires and werewolves, but more for his own reasons than those of the Brotherhood, and while he admits that he has done "questionable things" throughout his quest, circumstances continue to force him to perform more. Also, he's willing to commit countless murder in order to achieve their goals - primarily his own interests rather than the greater good even though he has inherent good on him and do commit himself in achieving the greater good.
Giant Space Flea Out Of No Where: Sort of. There were some minor more or less veiled references to him throughout the game, but no indication that he was actually involved in anything.
Light is Not Good: Can wield Light Magic with as much proficiency as Gabriel
Even Evil Has Standards: As a human she was disgusted by Dr. Frankenstein's experiments on the subject of creating artificial life. As a vampire she decided to pay him back for those atrocities.
Heel Face Turn: Arguably, anyway. Sure, she has a very twisted concept on what "playing" means, but as a vampire she actually has to feed on blood in order to survive, and when it all comes down to it she does not like the life she's been forced to live.
I Hate You, Vampire Mom!: Not stated outright, but it is heavily implied that Laura liked her former life far more than her present undeath.
