This is a character page index for the Castlevania video games and related media.

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Captain N: The Game Master^note
Super Smash Bros.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 64 to 69^noteSimon
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Echo Fighters^noteRichter
- Super Smash Bros. - Assist Trophies^noteAlucard
- Super Smash Bros. - Bosses^noteDracula
- Super Smash Bros. - Others^noteDracula's Castle Monsters

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Appeared in Lament of Innocence

Rinaldo Gandolfi

Voiced by (English): Michael McConnohie

Voiced by (Japanese): Hidekatsu Shibata

"Don't you always? Ask away."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rinaldo_gandolfi.png

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 betrothed; 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.

Alchemy Is Magic: Of a sort. He enchants Leon's gauntlet so he can use magic, and is the creator of the Whip of Alchemy.
Cool Old Guy: He was a capable fighter before Walter bested him. Gives helpful advice to Leon, runs his store for his benefit, and even dilvulges his history to him.
Cruel Mercy: On the recieving end of this, thanks to Walter. Rinaldo fought against Walter, but failed, and due to Walter's amusement with his talents, he was allowed to live in the Forest of Eternal Night, if only because he knows he'll help other people wanting to kill him, thus spicing up the game. Rinaldo has helped potentially dozens, if not hundreds, of people who've become part of Walter's twisted game, but in the end, the Whip of Alchemy gets left behind on his doorstep when the latest warrior fails. Unlike many sufferers of this trope, this trope ultimately gets subverted when Leon manages to kill Walter, with Rinaldo's hopes being paid off and him joyfully going "He did it!"
Crusading Widower: 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.
Heartbroken Badass: His main motivation for taking Walter down? He's basically responsible for the death of Rinaldo's family.
Retired Badass: He's responsible for creating the Whip of Alchemy, and even fought Walter himself. Granted, he wasn't able to kill him, but Walter seemed amused enough to simply let him live to assist other potential warriors against him.

Sara Trantoul

Voiced by (Japanese): Yumi Touma

Voiced by (English): Melissa Fahn

"If my soul can save others, then I won't die in vain. I do not want anyone else to suffer my fate."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sara_trantoul.png

The fiancée of Leon Belmont.

Arch-Nemesis: She's Dracula's longest-standing nemesis, even if the latter doesn't realize it, since she's the Vampire Killer.
Big Good: She's the longest-lasting, most important protagonist of the series, since she's the Vampire Killer.
Disposable Woman: Unlike the others, she at least gets a bit of screen time. And has a lot more tropes...
Damsel in Distress: Leon journeys to the Castle of Eternal Night to rescue her from Walter. He ends up arriving too late, as Walter turns her into a vampiress so he could derive pleasure from Leon seeing the horror and tragedy of the situation.
Empathic Weapon: Ms. Trantoul is rather picky to whoever wants to wield her. If you're not a Belmont or in line with them, or you've been tainted by Dracula's power, she will drain the life out of you unless you prove your worth; just ask Jonathan.
Establishing Character Moment: When she willingly fused her soul to become the Vampire Killer. She should be crowned a saint for that.
Fate Worse than Death: She considers being a vampiress this. Also, she's still stuck inside the whip, even after Julius "permanently" kills Dracula, and later Soma.
Good Is Not Soft: Leon feels lucky to have met such a sweet lady, with a nice personality. Until she becomes the Vampire Killer in the hope of stopping Mathias, as the Belmonts use her to plow through his forces.
Heroic Sacrifice: She doesn't want others to suffer her fate, so she made a pact with Leon and Rinaldo to bind her soul to the Whip of Alchemy.
Powered by a Forsaken Child: The Belmonts are using the soul of Leon's lover all this time.
Samus Is a Girl: A rare weapon example; the Vampire Killer is Sara.
Unwitting Pawn: it's implied she figured it out when Leon felt her anger, as she sensed Mathias has become a vampire.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: In a way, as she actually preferred to be sealed in the Whip of Alchemy to create the Vampire Killer, so Leon can permanently kill Walter, and later have his descendants hunt down Mathias.
Walking Spoiler: If you haven't played Lament of Innocence, chances are you don't even know her; hell, she's not even acknowledged in recent games, her presence is only implied. But considering the Belmonts can't hunt the night without her, she is worth your respect.

Elisabetha Cronqvist

The wife of Mathias Cronvqist.

The Ghost: Never seen in person in the game, only through official art.
The Lost Lenore: To her sore widower, Mathias.
Meaningful Name / Shout-Out: Which makes her very existence a kind of Walking Spoiler. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Elisabeta is the name of Dracula's wife whose death leads to his start of darkness. Additionally, Elizabeth of Celje was the first wife of Matthias Corvinus, the real-life inspiration for Mathias Cronvqist.
Posthumous Character: Is dead before the game starts.

Appeared in Dracula's Curse

Grant Danasty

Voiced by (Japanese): Masaya Onosaka (Castlevania: Judgment)

Voiced by (English): Kirk Thornton (Castlevania: Judgment)

"You ain't seen one quick as me before!"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grant.png

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.

Badass Normal: Neither holy, nor magical/supernatural, nor a Belmont.
Badasses Wear Bandanas: One of his trademark accessories, especially in the Metroidvanias.
Deadpan Snarker: In Judgment. 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.
- 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 seemingly couldn't justify a hearty tough guy like Hammer playing like a Fragile Speedster.
  - Even more, in the 3rd Pachislot games, revolving around Dracula's Curse, Grant is absent while Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard got in (and Sypha even gets a 3D render of her original, non-Judgment art, while Alucard also gets a 3D render of his Bishōnen form in Symphony of the Night). The best Grant got is a 8-bit cameo in the exposition demo.
  - 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.
  - Another thrown bone, although extremely obscure: a novel serving as a sequel of Dawn of Sorrow featured a descendant of Grant called Michelle Danasty, as a secondary protagonist along with an apprentice of Julius unaffiliated with any big families, Curtis Lang.
- 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.
- He also once again took a leave of absence in the Netflix series, not being seen at all throughout the series. The most he gets is a mere mention of the off-screen "Pirate of the Roads".
Earn Your Happy Ending: At the end of the day... he got a wife and descendants.
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...
Lean and Mean: Subverted in Castlevania: Judgment. He definitely looks the part where he's skinny to the point of appearing like a skeleton, and he has a wry wit, but he's described as a champion of justice, and in his Epilogue, would be referred to as the hero who rebuilt Wallachia.
True Companions: What he believes he and Trevor to be right from the start in CV3's Japanese script.
Pirate: He has this design in Dracula's Curse.
Punny Name: Apparently not intentional.
Romantic Runner-Up: 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.
Sleeves Are for Wimps: In Dracula's Curse.
Spell My Name With An S: It's Danusty in the game, but DaNasty in the manual and Danasty in Judgment.
Theme Naming: Danasty is taken from the name of a family that were enemies of Vlad Tepes: Dinesti.
Trademark Favorite Food: Implied by the Fake Grant in Portrait of Ruin to be pork ramen.
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◊).
Wall Crawl: His unique ability in Dracula's Curse, also being able to ceiling crawl.

Sypha Belnades

Voiced by (Japanese): Ami Koshimizu (Castlevania: Judgment)

Voiced by (English): Dorothy Elias-Fahn (Castlevania: Judgment)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sypha_2883.jpg

A witch who disguised herself as a man, considering that at the time witches were meant to be burnt on a stake. She was eventually caught by Dracula and was turned to stone by a cyclops. 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 the battle. She fell in love with Trevor and ended up marrying him, thus augmenting the Belmont Clan with magical power.

And I Must Scream: Trevor finds her petrified in stone and frees her, and it was implied that she was conscious the whole time.
Black Magician Girl: Not so rough in personality, but you get the idea.
Boomerang Bigot: In her Judgment appearance, she is extremely prejudiced against those who are in any way aligned to darkness, even if it's only the source of their powers. This despite the fact she's a witch who calls upon the spirits of the dead to grant her Elemental Powers and is thusly condemned by the very church she serves so fervently — their official stance is that she is no different than the very creatures she hunts. Her storyline's boss fight is against Carmilla, who calls her out on this.
Cleavage Window: She sports one in her Pachislot art.
Dark and Troubled Past: Her backstory was fleshed out in Judgment, stating that the creatures of the night under Carmilla flat out slaughtered her brethren in front of her before she was taken to the monastery. It does explain why she's that much of a Knight Templar.
Dashing Hispanic: It's garbled in the English translation, but in the original it's implied she originated from Spain due to her surname.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Judgment-unique. According to her Judgment personality, she persecutes all that even dare 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 (or being captured and petrified then saved by Trevor does humble her a bit). This is totally absent in Castlevania III's JP iteration, where she's formal and amiable. In the Pachislot III re-interpretation, she is also much warmer from the get-go.
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. The justification is that Pachislot I & II is supposedly taking place in an Alternate Universe of Curse of Darkness, and Sypha is not present there by default.
- She does show up (with a new design closer to her original design, but being more obviously feminine than mysterious) in the third pachislot title, which is set during the events of III.
Fantastic Racism: In Judgment, she evidences a hatred of any who bear any connection to the darkness. This means her storyline-important fights are against Cornell and Shanoa, and she gets extra-vehement dialogue before a fight with Golem or Alucard.
Fire, Ice, Lightning: Her three basic elemental spells.
- Judgment adds earth and wind-elemental spells to her repertoire.
Girliness Upgrade: Ever since her debut, she has been getting less mysterious and the fact that she's a woman has become more blatant. First, impersonators never seem to put on her hood, then Judgment gave her a nice pair of breasts, but with a different overall design. Pachislot gave her an upgrade of her classic outfit, but in addition to her hood often falling down, revealing golden hair and an obviously feminine face, she's also given a pink skirt.
In the Hood: Her outfit in Dracula's Curse. Occasionally in Pachislot too, but it tends to go off.
Knight Templar: The Sypha in Judgment shows that she was this before she met Trevor and Alucard, as she's quick to try and kill any creature of the night (including Cornell, Alucard, Golem, and Shanoa), labelling them "evil without chance of redemption". You would think as a witch, she'd know personally that not all creatures of the night are evil.
Lady of Black Magic: She's feminine, graceful, and a capable witch.
Magic Wand: In artwork, as well as Judgment.
No Ontological Inertia: She is restored from her petrification as soon as the cyclops dies.
Official Couple: With Trevor.
Samus Is a Girl: In CVIII due to a translation error in the scene where she offers to join Trevor using male pronouns to refer to her. Should Trevor have her with him when he defeats Dracula, in the ending animation, she takes her hood off, revealing her long blonde hair, and leans against him. However, her gender was never hidden in the original Japanese, or in any games after CVIII.
She Who Fights Monsters: Her Knight Templar status in Judgment in a nutshell. She is willing to kill anyone who is a monster or otherwise has dark powers, even if they use them for good (granted, she did not know who any of them were, as she had not canonically met Alucard in this timeline) and although she herself is a witch.
Spell My Name With An S: In the credits, her name is listed as "Syfa Velnumdes" despite it being "Sypha Belnades" in the manual (the Japanese version displays it as "Sypha Velnumdes" in English). Either way, the last name might be a corruption of "Fernandez", as noted with Carrie Fernandez (see below).
- In Harmony of Dissonance, her name is inadvertently spelled as Cipher in English (an item called "Cipher's Charm" is actually "Sypha's Charm" and the translators missed the CVIII reference). Considering how little story she's had thus far (only existing so the Belmonts can have magic), it's almost fitting... until Judgment fixed her name back to Sypha.
Squishy Wizard: Lower constitution than Grant, but damn it, those spells!
Sweet Polly Oliver: In her first game, she was introduced doing this to help avoid being persecuted. Subsequent appearances have dropped this angle.
Taken for Granite: This turns horrific when you realize that her original (Japanese) dialogue implies that she was conscious and aware the whole time she was a rock.
Trademark Favorite Food: Implied by the Fake Sypha in Portrait of Ruin to be cream soda.

Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes (Alucard)

Voiced by (Japanese): Ryōtarō Okiayu (Symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow, Harmony of Despair, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate), Hikaru Midorikawa (Aria of Sorrow), Mamoru Miyano (Castlevania: Judgment, Nocturne of Recollection)

Voiced by (English): Robert Belgrade (Symphony of the Night), Yuri Lowenthal (The Dracula X Chronicles, Castlevania: Judgment, Harmony of Despair, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) Chris Nelson (Grimoire of Souls)

"You will never touch this world again. In Mother's name, I swear it!"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stand_p001_000.png

^{Click to see him as Arikado.}

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, takes the name Alucard, and... goes into a slumber, waiting for a potential ally to help him beat his father. Originally he offered his services to Trevor Belmont after being bested, but his first experience with a Belmont was actually Sonia (at least before IGA removed her adventure from the timeline), which explained why he was asleep when Trevor found him in the first place. After beating his father, Alucard promptly got himself back to his slumber again...

...only to awaken again over three hundred years later. Nobody's around to investigate Dracula's castle, so Alucard goes in himself. He meets up with Richter's ally Maria, who tells him of Richter Belmont's disappearance. He later finds that he's been Brainwashed by the dark priest Shaft and used in a plot to resurrect Dracula. Alucard frees Richter and defeats his father once again, last seen retreating to his slumber before Maria gives chase to attempt to talk him out of it.

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.

Alucard: Adrian took this name as a way to oppose his father.
Amazon Chaser: Sonia'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.
Antagonistic Offspring: A heroic example, against his father Dracula.
Animorphism: Can transform into a bat and a wolf.
Anti Anti Christ: To a lesser extent than Soma, but still — Alucard is the son of the de facto personification of evil itself, and has no interest in becoming a Dark Lord like his father.
Ascended Extra: 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. In Symphony of the Night, he not only comes back, but he also becomes a Breakout Character.
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 Cape: His Symphony sprites show his cape flowing around as he kicks ass.
Badass Long Coat: He has a cape and a black-and-gold frock coat.
Badass in a Nice Suit: As Arikado, he wears a black suit and dyed his hair black.
Bad Powers, Good People: Alucard is a textbook example. He is a (half-)vampire and the son of Count Dracula himself. He has most of Dracula's dark powers — he can turn into a wolf, a bat, or mist, he can conjure Dracula's famous "Hellfire" attack, he can gain health from monster blood and from stealing their souls, he can control lesser monsters and summon spirits, and he can identify people by the scent of their blood. He would be an extremely powerful vampiric lord, if not for his heart of gold and his heroic devotion to doing good.
Bag of Spilling: In Castlevania III, he could turn into a bat and throw Hellfire right from the get-go. In Symphony, he inexplicably has to search for and regain most of his abilities, although all of his spells can be used right from the start, as long as you know the inputs.
Berserk Button: Messing with his mother is a terrible idea, as the succubus learned the hard way.
Big Good: Overall takes up this role in the games that chronologically take place after Symphony of the Night, especially as Arikado.
Breakout Character: When Alucard was brought back from Dracula's Curse 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 practically immortal, making him the sole recurring hero with the best chance of reappearing in a Castlevania should the circumstances call for it.
Cannot Cross Running Water: In Symphony, stepping in water reduces Alucard's HP until he finds a certain item. It's one of the few vampiric weaknesses he retains.
Chick Magnet: What can we say? Vampires Are Sex Gods.
Combat Stilettos: He wears high-heeled boots in Symphony.
Cool Sword: His signature Alucard Sword, an heirloom he inherited from his mother.
Dark Is Not Evil: He has all the traditional vampiric powers, including some of his father's signature moves such as Hellfire, but uses them for good.
Deadly Gas: Alucard's Poisonous Cloud form inflicts poison damage to any enemy in contact with it.
Dhampyr: Lisa is human, Drac is a vampire... you get the idea.
Early-Installment Weirdness: The Alucard from Dracula's Curse looked middle-aged, was significantly weaker than Symphony's Alucard, and lacked the personality he showed in SotN. He didn't really develop his identity until his own game.
Expy: Not originally, but his post-Symphony of the Night depiction has a lot in common with the eponymous protagonist of the Vampire Hunter D franchise: both dhampirs and sons of Dracula, exceptionally powerful and beautiful, stoic and with a strong sense of justice, determined to protect humankind from vampires, etc.
Flash Step: His special attack with the Alucard Sword has him using this, going behind the enemy before slashing them twice and going back to his original position. His Wing Smash and Wolf Dash abilities also have him move at supersonic speeds, but only in Bat and Wolf form, respectively.
Fog of Doom: Alucard can actually become a poison gas cloud after obtaining a certain upgrade in Symphony, which allows him to use his mist form to damage enemies.
Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Well, Friendly Neighborhood Dhampyr.
Good Is Not Nice: Very cold and aloof, but firmly on humanity's side and is very protective of his allies.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He has platinum blond hair, and he is firmly noble-hearted, fighting against his own father to save humanity.
I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Played with. Although Alucard hates Dracula, Dracula is still fond of him. However, this hatred is more focused on what Dracula has become - Dracula's Curse and Symphony of the Night make it explicit that Alucard takes no pleasure in striking down his own father, even being wracked with guilt the first time he does so.
Hellfire: In Symphony, he can use his father's iconic triple-fireball attack, and even the "Dark Inferno" variation.
Heroes Prefer Swords: He's one of the relatively few Castlevania protagonists to use a sword.
Hunter of His Own Kind: Although Alucard isn't technically a vampire, he still counts for this trope.
Intangibility: In his Mist form, Alucard effectively becomes intangible, and also invulnerable, as no enemy whatsoever can hurt him while in this form.
Interspecies Romance: With Sonia, in Legends. Possibly with Maria, after Nocturne of Recollection.
I Work Alone: In Symphony of the Night, he really doesn't play well with others. He trades information with Maria, but doesn't exactly work with her, and after dealing with Richter, tells him and Maria to go away while he takes care of Dracula personally. In later games, he's over this, though he's still better as a mastermind and planner than actually fighting alongside Julius or Soma.
Last-Name Basis: As "Arikado". None of the future characters call him "Genya". (Which makes it even more of a transparent disguise when you consider that Japanese name order is family name first.)
Leitmotif: "Castle Dracula" from Symphony has been used frequently to represent Alucard. "The Tragic Prince" from the same game also sees use as this.
Lightning Bruiser: Alucard is easily the most powerful playable character of the franchise. His strength is immense, manifested through a variety of weapons, subweapons and spells, and he's also an agile leaper and runner, and capable of a Flash Step with his own sword or a very quick back-dash (which has itself become something of a meme, since it's faster than his front run).
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He has platinum blond hair that falls all the way down his back. (As Genya, it's shoulder-length, and black.)
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Alucard can use shields in Symphony.
Magic Knight: Alucard primarily fights with swords and rods, and secondarily with his vampiric powers and items, but he does have several spells available to him as well.
Meaningful Name: Besides "Alucard" being the reverse of "Dracula", "Arikado" means "having horns" in Japanese, hinting at his dark heritage, and "Genya" means "illusion" or "mirage", hinting that it's an alias.
Momma's Boy: He is wholly devoted to his mother.
Nigh-Invulnerability: As long as you have sufficient MP, Alucard can stay in Mist form, in which he is completely invulnerable.
Not So Stoic: While he is usually The Stoic, there are times where Alucard reacted in surprise or in outright panic, such as in the "Nightmare" level in which the Succubus posed as his mother about to get burned on the stake. Once the deception falls apart, Alucard is genuinely angry, although it is Tranquil Fury.
Only Known by Their Nickname: He's never addressed as "Adrian" in any game. (The only time any character addresses him with his given name is in Nocturne of Recollection, a radio drama explaining the aftermath of SotN.)
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The reason that he's not more prominent in the series as the killer of Dracula is because he's not this: any defeat that he hands to Dracula is fleeting, even more so than the Belmonts, and he only eventually succeeds in defeating Dracula when he foregoes direct combat and helps Julius Belmont win in 1999.
Paper-Thin Disguise: It's pretty obvious that "Arikado" is just an alias the first time you meet him in Aria. But in case it wasn't clear enough, Yoko almost lets his real name slip when you meet her.
- "Arukado" is also the Japanese translation of "Alucard," so to any Japanese speaker, it would already be painfully obvious.
Progressively Prettier: He looks like a craggy, middle-aged man in Dracula's Curse. In all subsequent appearances, he's a top-grade Bishōnen.
Really 700 Years Old: He's physically eighteen, but he is immortal.
Sealed Badass in a Can: Whenever Alucard goes to sleep, his Alucard equipment goes with him.
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.
Slouch of Villainy:
- Inherited from his father, even though he's not a villain. You can make him sit on chairs in Symphony of the Night. Serves no practical purpose other than to show off the attention to detail in his sprites.
- In Dawn of Sorrow's Julius Mode, Alucard is the only character who can sit in chairs, probably because they could reuse the old sprites for him.
The Stoic: Alucard is a rather taciturn individual, and keeps his composure most of the time.
Maria: Not the talkative type, I can see?
Summon Magic: SotN introduced us to Alucard's familiars.
Super Smoke: Alucard's Mist form. Initially, he can only turn into Mist for a few seconds, but with the correct relics, he can stay in this form as long as he doesn't run out of MP, and inflict damage as a Poisonous Cloud.
Spell My Name With An S: His middle name is either Farenheights or Fahrenheit. It's most likely supposed to be Fahrenheits.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: As Arikado. The suit definitely helps too.
Took a Level in Badass: Anyone who played Dracula's Curse would know that Alucard was not the most optimal member of the team despite his bat transformation perk. Come Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Alucard is a One-Man Army that plows through Dracula's castle single-handedly and brought it down with an array of magics and weaponry.
Tranquil Fury: The Succubus learned the hard way that impersonating Alucard's mother was a terrible idea, and after defeating her, he feels no remorse when condemning her soul to wander in the dream world for all eternity.
Vegetarian Vampire: Alucard absolutely refuses to drink human blood for any reason. Being a Dhampyr, he doesn't actually need to (he consumes normal food in SotN), but his suppressed bloodthirst is still there. Also, he doesn't mind absorbing monster blood.
Visible Silence: When he first meets Maria in Symphony of the Night, Alucard doesn't speak much. He finally replies to her questions after a long ellipsis. He repeats this behavior after beating the Succubus.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Alucard can transform into 3 different forms:
- He can turn into a wolf. That form is mostly used for fast travel in corridors once you get the adequate relics, as it doesn't have a good standard attack on its own.
- He can turn into mist. In that form, Alucard is invincible, allowing him to safely evade attacks. This form is necessary in order to access some areas, including the one in which you get the Bat Form relic.
- He can turn into a bat. That form allows him to fly, unlocking a lot of areas which were unattainable without it. The bat form can spit fire and use a sonar, allowing Alucard to see in the dark. This form is rather slow, and it is better to use the Rocket Boots to travel vertically.
Worf Had the Flu: Dawn of Sorrow post-game implied that the Arikado disguise limits his power. As such, his defeat at the hand of Dmitri was this.
You Don't Look Like You: From Symphony of the Night◊ onward, Alucard looks absolutely nothing like he did in his debut appearance in Dracula's Curse.

Appeared in Curse of Darkness

Hector

Voiced by (Japanese): Takahiro Yoshimizu

Voiced by (English): Crispin Freeman

"Isaac! I will hunt you down like the beast you are!!"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cod_hector.png

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 forming a plan to revive Dracula).

Anti-Hero: He was an ally of Dracula who became a good guy of sorts. Though he's initially concerned solely with his revenge on Isaac, Hector has a sincere distaste for Dracula's war on humanity and stands against him.
The Atoner: Hector left his employ of a Devil Forgemaster because of Dracula's atrocities towards humans and the ending of the game implies he carries a long guilt over his past actions, as he is content to die in the crumbling castle, stating he can now "die in peace".
Bad Powers, Good People: Hector describes his Devil Forging precisely as an "evil power" and renounced it because he wouldn't aid Dracula's schemes. Though he eventually finds himself with no choice but to regain his magical powers, he uses it to oppose The Dark Lord and his creatures.
Being Evil Sucks: As he puts in the manga, the powers of darkness he wields can bring nothing but unhappiness. And indeed, his time as a Devil Forgemaster eventually proved miserable enough to him to leave Dracula's employ and relinquish his powers.
Brought Down to Badass: Hector has long relinquished his powers which equaled that of Death, but he is still capable of fighting the creatures of the night.
The Comically Serious: Some of the game's crazier moments happen when Hector sits in a chair, but he remains completely unaffected by the shenanigans involved. He can also forge an electric guitar, go all out, and be as serious as ever.
Crusading Widower: What drives Hector through the game is revenge for the death of his wife Rosaly. Isaac spread slander about her being a witch, which got her burned to death at the cross. Though he manages to restrain himself from killing Isaac and presumably find new love with Julia.
Dark Is Not Evil: After his Heel–Face Turn, Hector's dark powers were also used to combat Dracula's legions. He also wears dark clothes, but has since become one of the good guys.
Dark and Troubled Past: How he eventually ended up back in Dracula's employ. He betrayed Dracula, risking his own life to do so, and settled down with his wife, Rosaly. However, Isaac spread rumors about Rosaly being an evil witch who sold poisoned apples, causing her to be wrongfully tried and executed at the stake for practicing witchcraft.
Death Seeker: He was perfectly content to remain in Castlevania as it crumbled upon Dracula's defeat, 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...
Distinguishing Mark: Hector and Isaac both wear a specific crest on their clothing that identifies them as Dracula's Devil Forgemasters. It was due to this symbol that Trevor was able to instantly recognize him as one of the Dark Lord's former generals.
The Dreaded: In Chapter 1 of the manga, the werewolf sent by Dracula to track Hector's scent becomes absolutely terrified when he leaves the room he was resting in, and apologizes for trying to eat Ted and Rosalee. Hector proceeds to chop his head off with one blow, showing why he was feared.
Empowered Badass Normal: Hector completely relinquished his powers prior to the game's events, and starts his journey of revenge relying on his mastery of various types of weapons. Hector soon regains his powers and starts utilizing the power of his Innocent Devils along with his already impressive skills.
Expy: He is considered another one to Alucard, since he is a dark warrior with bright hair and a deep voice who utilizes familiar spirits to assist him, and is also at odds with a Belmont during his journey. His backstory also just like Dracula's: seeking revenge for his wife being burned at the stake. Also, he shares the same English voice actor with Mathias in Lament of Innocence.
Faith–Heel Turn: As he explains to Ted in the manga, he was once a pious man. But one day he realized that God wasn't helping him, no matter how much he prayed. Hector went on to belief that power is all that mattered for oneself, which started his route towards becoming a Devil Forgemaster.
Familiar: Hector's Devil Forging allows him to create the beings known as Innocent Devils that assist you in gameplay as NPC creatures who can heal you, fight your enemies or aid the player in reaching otherwise inacessible areas. They work similarly to the Familiars from Symphony of the Night.
Good Counterpart: To Dracula. Hector has the same backstory of having his wife considered a witch and burned at the stake and this too drove him into a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. However, he manages to stop himself from killing the one responsible for the tragedy and moves on from his grief. He also has dark powers like Dracula, but Hector uses his to fight for humanity, not against them.
Heartbroken Badass:
Hector: That matters not. I've come to exact my revenge upon you! For the death of Rosaly!
Hell-Bent for Leather: His Devil Forgemaster attire certainly fits the trope, mostly apparent with his pants.
Her Heart Will Go On: A male example. Hector avoids killing Isaac to avenge Rosaly's death so he wouldn't fall victim to Dracula's curse. And, at the end of the game, accepts Julia's invitation to live with her.
Hero with Bad Publicity: Despite long abandoning Dracula's service and reliquinshing his powers as a Devil Forgemaster, Hector's former status still sticks with him when he comes face to face with Trevor the first time. However, he did confirm to be a Devil Forgemaster when asked by Trevor and wears the same outfit from his previous employ (or at least the crest).
Heroes Prefer Swords: Though Hector can wield a multitude of weapons in his quest, he is strongly associated with swords: He begins the game wielding one and is shown fighting Isaac and Abel in the opening intro with it. He is also depicted wielding swords in official artworks.
Heroic Willpower: He manages not to fall victim to Dracula's curse and restrains himself from killing Isaac. When Zead appears and reveals himself to be Death, he even theorizes if that was due to Hector's spirit being "strong."
Horrible Judge of Character: Though distrustful of most people he meets, he tends to be less harsh and more trusting of Zead than Saint Germain. It proves to be a mistake since Zead is Death and was manipulating him the entire time to revive Dracula. Hector eventually realizes he was used.
Hot-Blooded: Hector is quick to argue with anyone he feels is distracting or trying to keep him away from his quest for revenge and makes grand declarations of the vengeance he wants to exact on Isaac whenever they meet. Though he is aware of his temper and recognizes when he steps out of line.
I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: In the manga, Ted believes him to be a soldier, and urges him to save him and Rosalee from a werewolf. Hector points out he isn't who he think he is, and likens a soldier to a hero of a story to make it clear that he isn't one. He also claims his powers are not to save people.
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.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In his pursuit of revenge against Isaac for the death of his wife, Hector acts quite rude, distrustful and short tempered to anyone he feels is working against him, even Julia. However, he recognizes his tendencies, apologizing to the witch and being very courteous to her. He is also just enough to stand against Dracula's hatred of humanity.
The Lost Lenore: His wife Rosaly was falsely executed on witchcraft charges due to malicious rumors Isaac spread about her, and he comes out in search of revenge.
Magical Incantation: His Devil Forging powers are performed through a specific ritual, with the wording being slightly changed to adapt to the current situation, such as awakening an Innocent Devil or containing or neutralizing Dracula's curse.
Magic Knight: As a Devil Forgemaster, Hector is primarily known for his magical powers and proficiency in rituals and incantations, with additional knowledge of alchemy and crafting. However, he is primarily a melee fighter in gameplay, having a wide ranging moveset with different kinds of weapons.
Master Swordsman: Hector has shown mastery over several types of swords including broadswords, rapiers, BFS and even a Laser Blade.
Might Makes Right: Chapter 1 of the manga has Hector stating that used to agree with the werewolf's belief that "power is absolute" and that praying to God never helped him. However, he soon comes to realize Being Evil Sucks and that the powers of darkness bring nothing but unhappiness.
Mystical White Hair: As a good guy... either that or platinum blond.
Retired Badass: Unlike Leon, who probably had an impressive stash of weapons from his time as a knight, Hector voluntarily sealed away his Devil Forgemaster powers. When he went after Isaac, all he had was a short sword, and Hector had to spend the 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.
Revenge: You really shouldn't have implicated Rosaly as a practitioner of witchcraft, Isaac. This is deconstructed since it makes Hector easier to be manipulated by Zead, even though he ends up foiling his plans later.
Slouch of Villainy: Hector gets to sit in more than 10 different types of chairs through his adventure. Truly the pinnacle of this trope in the series.
Spanner in the Works: Messes up the last part of Death's plan by not succumbing to Dracula's curse, but...
Still Wearing the Old Colors: Though it is unknown if Hector's outfit is the exact same one for his past days as Dracula's Devil Forgemaster, he at least still bears the crest that identifies him as such. This is why Trevor initially believed him to be still in Dracula's service.
Took a Level in Badass: After he got his powers back. This is acknowledged in his fights with Trevor: he starts barely making a dent against the Belmont, who can't believe a Devil Forgemaster would be so weak, but then gives him a better fight later on. Trevor even states that Hector felt like a whole different person after their second duel.
Spell My Name With An S: The prequel manga translates Rosaly's name as Rosalee.
Unwitting Pawn: The bad guys' plan worked to an extent, thanks to him, though Isaac is the ultimate Xanatowned party.
Video Game Stealing: He eventually gains a "Steal" ability, which works by using it whenever the enemy is exposed in a specific way, such as after certain attack animations.

Julia Laforeze

Voiced by (Japanese): Tomoko Fujino

Voiced by (English): Dorothy Elias-Fahn

"Be vigilant Hector. I have an ill feeling. It bodes not well."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/julia_laforeze___02.png

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.

Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde, and really sweet (unlike her older brother, Isaac).
Hot Witch: Is a confirmed witch and is very beautiful.
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.
Pink Means Feminine: Her predominant color scheme, as well as the factor of being the only female in the game, though it's also mixed with purple.
Second Love: Although they are shown merely as good friends by the epilogue, it's implied that Julia will become this to Hector via a Relationship Upgrade in the near future when she asks him to stay over with her.
Sibling Yin-Yang: Julia is Isaac's opposite in many ways: Kind, soft-spoken, and forgives humanity for its crimes against her.

Saint Germain

Voiced by (Japanese): Tetsuo Sakaguchi

Voiced by (English): Adam Clark

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cod_offart58.jpg

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.

Arch-Enemy: To Zead. Or rather, Death.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In The Stinger. Saint Germain is one of the only characters in the franchise to directly address the player.
The Dandy: He is dressed like a fine gentleman.
Death Is Cheap: He rewinds time when he dies, reviving himself. He does this three times before the battle finishes.
Green Thumb: His fast-forward technique makes thorny vines grow and try to entangle Hector.
Foreshadowing: He appears in The Stinger and mentions of the final battle in 1999 (which has yet to have a game made about it).
Hero Antagonist: It's revealed that he is actually this in Curse of Darkness, as he frequently advises Hector to call off his pursuit of revenge against Isaac, and he eventually decides to stop him by force. While Saint Germain's motives for doing so are initially unknown, it's revealed he was trying to prevent Dracula from being resurrected.
Nice Guy: Extremely polite and affable.
No Flow in CGI: It's an odd case, as looking at it from behind, it looks really like well-done long hair. But when he moves... It's basically a yellow sheet.
Schizo Tech: Uses a pistol in 15th-century Wallachia. Justified as he's a time traveler; he's outright shown pulling it out of a rift.
Sword and Gun: He uses his sword cane as a primary weapon and occasionally pulls out his pistol to fire at Hector during his boss fight.
Time Master: Being a time traveler, he has the power to manipulate time, though he is restricted from overdoing it.
Time Stands Still: One of his moves has him stopping time to attack Hector while he is defenseless. It's unblockable unless you have the Wizard-type familiar to help you.

Appeared in Harmony of Dissonance

Maxim Kischine

Voiced by (Japanese): Takuo Kawamura

"Tha-that bracelet... so you wore it after all..."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/231px-Maxim_3415.jpg

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.

Cool Sword: His trademark weapon, the Stellar Sword.
Demonic Possession: He sometimes gets possessed by the evil from Castlevania. He is trying to fight that possession, but eventually fails and becomes a Final Boss.
Expy: Of Hugh Baldwin from Circle of the Moon, a sword-wielding rival hunter who the player has to fight.
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.
Leitmotif: "Theme of Maxim Kischine".
Memento MacGuffin: His Bracelet.
McNinja: He uses a large shuriken in battle, delivers quick kicks, somersaults through the air, and can even create duplicates of himself.
No Shirt, Long Jacket: The only thing lacking in his wardrobe is a shirt, and his coat is open so it shows off his chest the whole time. No wonder he turned up with wounds all over.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Frequently regarded as such. The No Shirt, Long Jacket probably helps.

Lydie Erlanger

Voiced by (Japanese): Sanae Kobayashi

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.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lydie_1.jpg

Childhood Friend Romance: In the best ending, this is hinted at with Juste.
Damsel in Distress: She is kidnapped and trapped into Dracula's castle.
Leitmotif: "Theme of Lydie Erlanger".
Pimped-Out Dress: Almost resembles a maid's uniform.

The Merchant

A mysterious merchant that got lost within Dracula's Castle, so set up a shop there.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hod_merchant.jpg

What Happened to the Mouse?: In the ending, after Dracula's Castle is destroyed, he isn't seen.

Appeared in Rondo of Blood / Dracula X / Symphony of the Night

Maria Renard

Voiced by (Japanese): Yoko Teppotsuka (Rondo of Blood), Chisa Yokoyama (Symphony of the Night, adult), Hekiru Shiina (Symphony of the Night, child), Sawa Ishige (The Dracula X Chronicles), Miyu Matsuki (Castlevania: Judgment, Nocturne of Recollection), Chiwa Saitō (Harmony of Despair)

Voiced by (English): Kimberly Forsythe (Symphony of the Night), Michelle Ruff (The Dracula X Chronicles), Philece Sampler (Castlevania: Judgment, Harmony of Despair)

"Hmm. A gentleman after all. Thank you."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stand_p005_000.png

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 girlfriend) 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 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, and is able to convince him to remain awake. (If you get the Best Ending, Maria runs after Alucard, leaving Richter on the cliff. In the audio drama Nocturne of Recollection, Maria and Alucard are living together.)

Action Girl: Without a doubt! She can fight through Castlevania as easily as any of the Belmonts.
A-Cup Angst: Only in Judgment; she's obsessed about her chest size and admires the other females' assets. Ironic considering how endowed she was in Rondo of Blood.
Badass Adorable: As a young girl, she's very cute, but also very deadly with her attacks.
The Beastmaster: Her attacks are magical animals that she summons.
Beware the Silly Ones: Particularly in Judgment, she's a lot lighter in tone than you'd expect of a Castlevania protagonist — she's practically a Magical Girl. Despite this, she's capable of going toe to toe with Dracula and every monster at his command. In Judgment, Eric proclaims that her power is legendary, said to be even greater than that of the Belmonts.
Calling Your Attacks: "Guardian Fist!" "(holy beast name), appear!"
Conveniently an Orphan: In the PSP remake, when Richter instructs her to go home because her parents are worried about her, Maria informs him that they're already watching over her in heaven because they were killed.
Cute Clumsy Girl: In Judgment, she has a cutesy tendency to trip; her Hyper attack involves her tripping at the last moment, allowing an empowered Osca to beat up the enemy for her, while two of her special attacks can randomly fail due to this.
Cute Witch: In Rondo, where she's a cute young girl who fights demons with her animal friends and magic. A Time Skip later, she outgrows the trope to turn into a Hot Witch.
Double Jump: Maria is capable of this in every game she appears in, including Rondo (in which Richter just does a backflip), so Maria can reach areas he can't.
Expy: Her original design in Rondo of Blood is a dead ringer for Sailor Venus.
The Four Gods: Four of her animals are cuter versions of them. She summons the Four Sacred Beasts when she has those animals and performs an item crash.
Fragile Speedster: She is much more agile than Richter is, but she cannot take anywhere near as much damage as Richter does before she dies.
Full-Contact Magic: In the Saturn version, 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.
Glass Cannon: Her doves act as if they are battle boomerangs, allowing them to deal two hits per attack at very close range because they make a second hit on the return trip. Since each hit is as strong as one of Richter's hits from his normal attack, she can deal twice the damage as Richter can per attack. She can also fire off doves much more frequently than Richter can swing his whip. However, Maria cannot take anywhere near as much damage as Richter can before she dies.
Gratuitous Japanese: The names of her attacks.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has blonde hair, and as a girl, basically gives a Shut Up, Hannibal! to a defeated Dracula.
Head-Turning Beauty: In Symphony of the Night.
I Hate Past Me: Downplayed. The older Maria isn't too thrilled upon meeting her younger self in Grimoire of Souls, insensitively calling her immature. Though she eventually comes to appreciate and respect her younger self.
Improbable Weapon User: Animals, including doves, dragons, cats, owls...
Implied Love Interest: For Alucard. With the prompting of Richter, she follows Alucard after the end of the game to help him out of his solitude. In the radio drama, the two of them are living together.
Innocently Insensitive: Her initial reaction upon meeting her younger self in Grimoire of Souls is calling her immature. She probably meant to say she's inexperienced, but it offends the pre-teen Maria.
Kid Hero: She's 12 in Rondo of Blood.
Leitmotif: "Slash"; it's both her theme in Judgment and the music accompanying her spirit battle in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In the Saturn version, it's "Guardian", which plays during her boss fight and while fighting Shaft as her.
Lethal Chef: Implied in the radio drama. When Maria declares that she would cook that night, Alucard's imp servant asks if she plans on giving Alucard a stomachache, which he agrees to the imp's point. This only spurs Maria on to try her best in cooking as she storms off to buy ingredients.
Lethal Joke Character: She's a very silly-themed character, even making her first game Lighter and Softer by choosing her and she regenerates health by eating cakes, but she has a very small hit box, a Double Jump (one of the first, if not the first, Castlevania characters with this), can abuse her slides and rolling, has different subweapons than Richter, and has an insanely high-damage Invulnerable Attack Spell.
Little Miss Badass: Her abilities put Richter to shame. In Judgment, she's the final boss for Eric in Story Mode, and he comments in awe that her abilities are said to be greater than those of the Belmonts.
My Future Self and Me: The younger Maria eventually meets her older counterpart in Grimoire of Souls. While the Rondo of Blood version is excited to meet her, the one from Symphony of the Night is not initially impressed. They get better, though.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: She is the daughter of local nobles.
Pink Means Feminine: She wears a short pink dress when she's a little girl. Though in the PSP remake, she's wearing a masculine outfit, but it's also pink.
Plucky Girl: Her power to control the four holy beasts was awakened during an incident when she was 12 years old, her parents were killed by Dracula whom also had her abducted, and the dark priest Shaft placed her in a chamber alone to perform a ritual sacrifice (or, in the remake, is said traumatic event that unlocked her powers). And yet, she presses on, eager to fight evil.
Related in the Adaptation: Dracula X makes Maria the younger sister of Annette for some reason. This little factoid is not acknowledged in any other Castlevania game, but likely stems from the fact that Maria calls Annette onee-chan.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: During her Golden Ending in the PSP remake, she counters Dracula's dying I Was Beaten by a Girl rant about how there's no such thing as good or evil, by stating the very obvious fact that hurting others is wrong.
Spell My Name With An S: Her surname is rendered "Renard" in English, but fans noticed that the Japanese equivalent (ラーネッド, Rāneddo) is closer to "Rarned" or rather a transliteration of the surname "Learned" as seen in other contexts.^note Her Harmony of Despair Character Pack uses another rendition: "Maria Rendard".
Squishy Wizard: All her attacks are magical, and she cannot take much damage before dying.
Steel Drums and Sunshine: Her ending theme in Rondo, "Mary Samba".
Summon Magic: She can summon and control the Four Sacred Beasts.
Sweet Tooth: Richter's health powerups are meat. Maria's are sweet cakes, candies, and ice cream.
Token Mini-Moe: A little girl in a pink dress in a series where most of the other playable characters are at least in their late teens. No longer the case in Symphony, where she is a teen herself.
Vampire Hunter: She swore to hunt Dracula after her parents were killed.

Annette

Voiced by (Japanese): Atsuko Honda (Rondo of Blood), Sayaka Ohara (The Dracula X Chronicles)

Voiced by (English): Sally Cahill (The Dracula X Chronicles)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daa78e91b0cd4ff5ee78ad4e15606a46.jpg

Richter Belmont's girlfriend. She gets kidnapped in Rondo of Blood.

Damsel in Distress: She gets kidnapped at the start of Rondo.
Evil Costume Switch: She gets a succubus outfit complete with demonic wings.
Official Couple: With Richter.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: If she becomes a Lesser Vampire in the PSP remake, as well as while Brainwashed and Crazy in Grimoire of Souls.
Related in the Adaptation: Dracula X makes her related to Maria. However, this isn't so much as mentioned in any other source material (except the manual for Symphony of the Night, but that was only because the translator was more familiar with Dracula X than Rondo of Blood).
Satellite Love Interest: There isn't much to her aside from being Richter's girlfriend.
Spell My Name With An S: Her name is spelled Annet in Dracula X and Annette as of The Dracula X Chronicles.
Tragic Monster: In Dracula X, she becomes an incarnation of Carmilla if she isn't rescued in Stage 6 and replaces Death. This concept was recycled for Rondo's PSP remake, where she becomes a Lesser Vampire if she isn't rescued in Stage 7 and replaces Shaft G. Grimoire of Souls combines the two so that Annette is made Brainwashed and Crazy by Carmilla and initially acts like first-form Laura and then fights as her vampiric form during the second phase, but she reverts back to normal after Carmilla is beaten.
Yandere: In the PSP remake, once she becomes a Lesser Vampire in the bad ending route, she immediately wants to turn Richter into a vampire so they can be together.
Maria: "I'll make you mine forever!"

Tera and Iris

Voiced by (Tera; Japanese): Hiromi Murata (Rondo of Blood), Eri Sendai (The Dracula X Chronicles)

Voiced by (Iris; Japanese): Akie Yasuda (Rondo of Blood), Mizuhara (The Dracula X Chronicles)

Voiced by (both; English): Karen Strassman (The Dracula X Chronicles)

Tera is a nun and Iris is the daughter of a doctor. Both were kidnapped along with Maria and Annette.

Cloudcuckoolander: Tera gives off this vibe in the PSP remake. She sees Richter as the manifestation of God Himself and Maria as a Guardian Angel.
Damsel in Distress: Just like Annette.
The Medic: Iris bandages up an injury that your character received when she's saved.

Lisa

Voiced by (Japanese): Rika Fukami (Symphony of the Night)

Voiced by (English): Alison Lester (Symphony of the Night), Wendee Lee (The Dracula X Chronicles)

"If my death can save others, I gladly surrender my life..."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lisa_5.png

Dracula's second wife and the mother of Alucard. Introduced in Symphony of the Night, where it was revealed that her death provoked Dracula into a war with humanity.

Badass Bookworm: She studied medicine to cure victims of a plague that was ravaging the area at the time. Unfortunately, the people were suspicious of anything resembling witchcraft, and once they learned of a woman practicing medicine, they captured Lisa and executed her on false charges.
Burn the Witch!: Accused of witchcraft due to being, apparently, a very good doctor.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Lisa has pale blonde hair, which Alucard inherits. He also takes his good nature from her.
Identical Stranger: She is the spitting image of Mathias/Dracula's first wife Elisabetha, implying a Reincarnation Romance. Though since Lament of Innocence came later, when she was first introduced she was Dracula's one and only wife, as far as anyone knew.
Living Emotional Crutch: Her death served as Dracula's motivation to wage war on humanity, finalizing his transformation into the main antagonist of the games.
The Lost Lenore: To her sore widower, Dracula.
Meaningful Name: Not only does she look like Elisabetha, her name is a diminutive of hers.
Motherly Side Plait: Her hairdo sports this style, and true to certain patterns associated with such hair, she ends up dying early. It's not called the "anime mom hair of doom" for nothing.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Executed as a witch for practicing medicine. Deconstructed due to Dracula's reaction.
Only One Name: She's only referred to by her first name, so it's unclear if Alucard's middle name is her maiden name.
Posthumous Character: She's been dead long before her introduction in Symphony of the Night.
Shout-Out: Her existence and impact is a loose nod to Bram Stoker's Dracula, where the suicide of Dracula's wife Elisabeta leads to his start of darkness. This wasn't in the original novel.

Master Librarian

Voiced by (Japanese): Masaharu Sato

Voiced by (English): Dennis Falt (Symphony of the Night), Kyle Hebert (The Dracaula X Chronicles)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/master_librarian.jpg

"Hehehe... thank you."

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.

Every Man Has His Price: The Librarian initially refuses Alucard's request for his help, but immediately and enthusiastically reconsiders when Alucard offers to pay him.
Gold Fever: He eagerly casts aside his devotion to Dracula the very moment Alucard offers to reward his efforts, and sounds very happy when said reward is provided.
My Master, Right or Wrong: No matter what Dracula may be, the Librarian is his devoted servant and will not betray him lightly. He wants nothing to do at all with Richter or Maria, and seems to only be willing to deal with Alucard because he is Dracula's son and they have prior history.
No Hero Discount: Justified. The Librarian is actually in the employ of Dracula, and only helps Alucard at all because he's a greedy bastard. And if you use any of the extra characters, he'll refuse to deal with them at all; Alucard is permissible because he's the Master's son, estranged or not, but dealing with the Belmonts would be outright treason.
Only in It for the Money: He tells Alucard that he couldn't possibly betray Dracula, only to immediately change his mind when Alucard says he'll pay him. However, he only does this for Alucard, since he's still Dracula's son, estranged or not. He won't even speak to the other playable characters.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Just like with the Merchant in Harmony of Dissonance, he disappears from the series after the game featuring him is over.

Appeared in Circle of the Moon

Nathan Graves

Another non-Belmont, he is trained alongside Hugh Baldwin by Morris Baldwin, 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.

Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: Nathan's strength scales decently to his level. Using the DSS cards to augment his attacks allow him to keep up much better with the increasingly tough enemies.
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.
Show Girl Skirt: Male example; he wears a long brown cloth that's tied around his waist with belts, which gives the impression of a faux Badass Long Coat

Morris Baldwin

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.

Distressed Dude: He's captured at the start of the game.

Hugh Baldwin

Morris' son and Nathan's rival. He is jealous of Nathan because Nathan was chosen as the successor to Morris. He also believes that Nathan is too weak to fight alongside him.

Brainwashed and Crazy: Later in the game, thanks to Dracula.
Jerkass: Even before he gets brainwashed, he tells Nathan to leave and that he'd only get in his way. He gets better after he's beaten, though.
More than Mind Control: It's implied that his grudge against Nathan being chosen as the successor by his own father was amplified by Dracula or Carmilla, eventually leading to his Face–Heel Turn.
The Resenter: Envied Nathan for being his father's successor instead of him, which Dracula took advantage of to make him his minion.
The Rival: Towards Nathan. He later lets his jealousy get the better of him and falls under Dracula's thrall for a time.
Rival Turned Evil: By the time you face him, he's gone so mad with his hatred of Nathan and being controlled by Dracula that it takes a Beat the Curse Out of Him to make him snap out of it.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Hugh's father chose Nathan to be his successor instead of him. His jealousy over this is what allowed Dracula to corrupt him.

Appeared in Order of Ecclesia

Shanoa

Voiced by (Japanese): Houko Kuwashima

Voiced by (English): Michelle Ruff

"I am the blade to banish all evil, and I've come to see you annihilated."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stand_p002_000.png

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 Dracula. Albus, one of her colleagues, became jealous of her and stole the glyph, 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. After Dracula is revived and his castle emerges, 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.

Action Girl: The only one to be the singular main protagonist in a Castlevania to boot.
Adaptational Modesty: Judgment gives her a nun outfit, which is incidentally fitting for this trope. However, her back remains exposed for canonical reasons.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Tall, dark, and beautiful as mentioned above, and while we don't know much about what she was like pre-Dominus, she fits the personality portion during the game.
Amnesiac Hero: She begins the game with no memory of anything except what Barlowe tells her, and her fighting skills intact.
Big Eater: in a gameplay sense, it's standard for a Castlevania protagonist to recover health by eating entire pot roasts and whole cooked turkeys, but Shanoa is probably the only case where it's actually acknowledged in-universe; she's able to keep Aeon's failing kitchen in business entirely by herself due to his food being such a effective means of healing.
Cat Girl: Shanoa can transform into one with the right glyph. Aside from granting her different attacks, it also enables her to talk to the cats in Wygol Village, and enemy catwomen will become friendly and even aid her in battle.
Emotionless Girl: After the first botched attempt to use Dominus. Later averted in the good ending, after Albus sacrifices his own soul to revive Shanoa and tells her to smile, which she does, indicating that her memories and emotions have returned.
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.
Lady of War
Leitmotif: "An Empty Tome"
Magic Knight: Thanks to the glyphs, she can wield any weapon you can think of.
Ms. Fanservice: A Sexy Backless Outfit with a skirt that splits at her thighs and shows off her legs? Oh hell yes!
Only Known By Her Nickname: According to IGA, Shanoa is just her codename from when she joined Ecclesia. Her real name is unknown.
Power Copying: Some glyph attacks copy other enemies' attacks.
Power Tattoo: The glyphs on her back and shoulders serve as the focus for her powers.
Sexy Backless Outfit: Her dress and her armour. Justified because she needs to expose the Glyph tattoo on her back to absorb Glyphs.
Shoot the Dog: Is forced to do this to Albus, after absorbing Dominus drives him insane. It also applies to a certain extent to Barlowe, given working with Dominus has also driven him insane.
Swiss-Army Hero: Shanoa can obtain glyphs that change her form into a Cat Girl, a bat-woman, and an automaton (a slow but sturdy little robot). The enemy bat-women keep attacking her, but enemy Automatons will promptly fall in love with Automaton!Shanoa when they spot her.
Tyke-Bomb: She was trained from a young age by the Order of Ecclesia to become a powerful warrior that'll defeat Dracula, though she's more of an example used for good, at least intentionally. It's later revealed, however, that much of her magical training was so she could use Dominus to revive Dracula at the cost of her own life. When Shanoa learns the truth, she kills Barlowe for tricking her.
Vindicated by History: In-universe example. While the ending states the story was long forgotten, her appearance in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair indicates she may eventually have received some recognition as one who fought Dracula, as the game takes place in a tome that contains records of all the battles against Dracula.
When She Smiles: Per Albus' Last Request, she smiles for him while tears trickle down her face.
You Can't Thwart Stage One: It turns out that 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.

Albus

Voiced by (Japanese): Toshihiko Seki

Voiced by (English): Keith Silverstein

"What... kind of brother would I be... if I didn't protect you...? That's... my role."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/albus_gos.png

A childhood friend of Shanoa's, whom he views as a younger sister.

Badass Bookworm: He is a researcher, after all.
Brainwashed and Crazy: When he tries absorbing the third piece of Dominus, it doesn't end well, as the soul of Dracula possesses him.
Death Cry Echo: "SHANOAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Demonic Possession: By Dracula. Albus tries his damnedest to wrest back control of his body, but...
Disc-One Final Boss: He's the last boss of the game if you don't rescue all of the villagers first.
Expy: Iga says Albus was based around himself, but he resembles Balthier from Final Fantasy XII so much more.
Fake Defector: He was Good All Along, but his ploy to spare Shanoa did veer a bit off of the deep end.
The Gunslinger: Complete with Magic Bullets.
Heroic Sacrifice: Takes Shanoa's place for it.
I Did What I Had to Do: "Let's just say I knew what mattered to me, and what had to be done."
Knight Templar Big Brother: Makes him more of an Anti-Villain.
Last Request: Asks Shanoa to smile for him before he makes his Heroic Sacrifice. She does.
Laughing Mad: His Sanity Slippage results in this during his Boss Battle.
Leitmotif: "Cantus Motetten". His boss theme is "Sorrow's Distortion."
Like Brother and Sister: To Shanoa.
Meaningful Name: His name is Latin for "white" or "bright", hinting at his true, heroic nature.
Playing with Fire: His Quad Ignis kick.
Redemption Equals Death: Once Albus dies and is absorbed by the Dominus, his lingering spirit regains his original personality. He only ever wanted to protect Shanoa.
Sanity Slippage: The more he interacts with the Dominus, the more he loses his mind, to the point where he believes he is Dracula. Whether this is truly a case of Demonic Possession or not is unclear, but Shanoa's only response is to acknowledge that Albus is too far gone and must die.
Shanoa: Rest in peace, Albus.
Spanner in the Works: His various interferences with the Dominus Glyph are ultimately what allow him to shield Shanoa from its fatal side-effects, as well as return her memories and emotions into the bargain. He gets bonus points from doing this while his soul is inside Dominus itself, making him a literal Spanner in the Works.
Teleport Spam: Try hitting him in the scenes where he presents Dominus Hatred or Anger for you to absorb, he'll simply teleport to a different spot in the area and await you to absorb it. It's also an ability he has when playable, but understandably it takes up a good chunk of your MP to do so.
Albus: You can't hit me.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Despite being Good All Along, he still imprisoned innocent people and manipulated Shanoa.

Barlowe

The leader of the Order of Ecclesia.

Gratuitous Iambic Pentameter: For most of the game, Barlowe speaks this way.
Treacherous Advisor: Barlowe did not found the Order of Ecclesia and forge the Dominus glyphs because he wanted to prevent Dracula's rebirth. Everything he's done was to manipulate Shanoa into unleashing the Dark Lord back into the world. If the player fails to rescue every villager before the final battle against Albus, Shanoa fails to realize his trickery, leading to the Bad Ending.
Kung-Fu Wizard: Despite looking like your typical old Squishy Wizard, Barlowe packs a punch capable of knocking Shanoa back to the other end of the arena, as demonstrated during his boss fight.
With My Dying Breath, I Summon You: Being unable to use the Dominus glyphs to revive Dracula, he instead sacrifices himself to bring him back to life.

The Villagers

The denizens of Wygol Village, a small settlement tucked away in the forest. They are all attacked and kidnapped by Albus for unknown reasons shortly after he escapes with Dominus. They are promptly left trapped and strewn all across the land, for Shanoa to find and rescue. As it turns out, they are all descendants of the Belmont Clan, and Albus kidnapped them in hopes of finding another way of defeating Dracula.

In General

Famous Ancestor: All of the villagers are distant descendants of Leon Belmont.
Fetch Quest: Once rescued, Shanoa can accept to run several errands for them. Most of them are this, but they do give Shanoa access to better weapons and equipment.
Training the Peaceful Villagers: It's implied that this happens after Shanoa defeats Dracula, once they find out about their Belmont heritage and their calling due to this.

Father Nikolai