History VideoGame / CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness

* NiceChair: All of the chairs Hector can sit in and collect, with the save room chair and Dracula's throne standing out as particularly nice.

* OurWyvernsAreDifferent: Despite the Gothic Horror-like settings, there's a huge Wyvern residing on the top of Bahljet Mountains (which is actually the second appearance of such a monster in the series, the first being in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood''). Also one of the possible final evolution of the Bird Type I.D., specifically the [[PlayingWithFire Carmesi]] and [[AnIcePerson Indigo]].

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Legion and Nuculais]] are optional and are found after a passage with high-level monsters.

* CreepyCathedral: The Garibaldi Temple, which has [[spoiler:the BonusBoss [[IAmLegion Legion]] hiding within it]].

* HumanArchitectureHorror: The chamber beneath Garibaldi Temple in which [[BonusBoss Legion]] is fought is wallpapered with a flesh-y texture, and the floor is made up of piles and piles of corpses. The graphics make it hard to tell, but it would appear that the bodies that make up the floor have been immured into the ground to produce a flat, walkable surface.

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:Legion's second form]], the game's BonusBoss, is one of the few monsters in the game that's light elemental.

The second ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 following ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence'', released in 2005. It was also released for the UsefulNotes/XBox.

* TheDandy: St. Germain. The interesting part is that he's not the kind of dandy that would be prevalent in the game's time period (the 1400s), as he wears a top hat and carries [[SwordAndGun a saber and a dueling pistol]].

* BladeOnAStick: One of the five weapon classes. Also [[TheRival Isaac]]'s favored weapon.

* WhipItGood: Trevor Belmont appears with his trusty Vampire Killer, and he can turn it into a [[EnergyWeapon laser-whip]].

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Saint Germain is based on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_of_St._Germain Count of St. Germain]], who was heavy on self-mythologizing himself, including claiming to be centuries old.

* OldSaveBonus: If you have a save file from ''Lament of Innocence'' present on your memory card, [[EenieMeenieMinyMoai a Moai Head]] spawns near where you start the game: it can either heal you for [[GoroawaseNumber 573]] HP or be sold for ten times as much gold.

->So be it. I must descend into darkness and reclaim that accursed power once more... Heed my words. I will hunt you down like the beast you are. I will have my revenge!

** Hector in many ways also resembles a good/heroic Dracula/[[spoiler:[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Mathias]]]], up to having a similar motivation (wife burned as witch), and the same voice actor as [[spoiler:Mathias]] in the English version. As result of this though, along with his white hair, this also makes him quite similar to [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Soma]]]], with who he also shares weapon skills, and his usage of familiars.

Released shortly after ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', the game would be followed up by ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin''.

* AnAxeToGrind: Both two-handed and one-handed variants appear, although the latter tends to be more like CarryABigStick.

* BladeOnAStick: One of the five weapon classes. Also [[TheRival Isaac]]'s WeaponOfChoice.

* {{Backtracking}}: Averted with Hector as you will be transported to the Abandoned Castle's 4th floor after a cutscene in the Aiolos Ruins. But this is played straight in Trevor's Mode because there are no cutscenes nor scripts that allow him to quickly go back to the said castle, and there are no warp points to ease the trouble. ''Fortunately'', there is a secret wall that leads from the ruins to the castle, but as Trevor, you'll have to walk from the entrance to the Boss Room.
* BagOfSpilling: Justified. Hector abandoned all of his powers and equipment to live a normal life, but when Isaac ruined it, he came after him for revenge with the only weapon he had on hand - a Short Sword. Isaac taunts him for trying to do it WithThisHerring, and then [[INeedYouStronger sets up means for Hector to regain his powers so it'll be worth it when they fight]].

** At the end of the game, you learn that [[spoiler: Zead]] was pulling one as well, as [[spoiler: his true identity is Death]]. He had been manipulating Hector into chasing after Isaac by continually guiding him along his path and lying to him that Isaac is the cause of the curse. He also attacks St. Germain and demands he not interfere, which he does by insisting Hector avoid Isaac. It's only at the end of the game that it makes sense, [[spoiler: as Zead/Death reveals he had been luring Hector towards Isaac, intending on him to give in to his hatred and desire for vengeance by killing Isaac and becoming a new vessel for Dracula. It fails, but he simply uses Isaac instead.]]

** Zead has a hidden blade in the sleevs of his robe, which he uses to cut up dimensional shortcuts into thin air.

* CartoonBomb: The Skull Bomb. If you have the Proboscis Fairy press a switch in a certain room in the Aiolon Ruins, one will drop into the room and blow up. The explosion [[AshFace turns Hector completely black]], destroys the nearby walls, and knocks the fairy out. The Proboscis Fairy can also use a Skull Bomb as an attack, which can actually damage Hector if he's too close to the blast and doesn't block, but does minimal damage to enemies. It turns out to be a LethalJokeItem, as using it against [[spoiler: Death]] will take out 25% of his life bar.

* CoolSword: many, including RoyalRapier, KatanasAreJustBetter, {{BFS}}, and even a LaserBlade!

* DubInducedPlothole: An Averted Inversion: Usually, the presence of the Japanese dub would mean that players in the west who heard it would be puzzled at Trevor being called Ralph, even though he was still being called Trevor in the subtitles. Konami solved this problem by simply recording the Japanese voice-overs where the name in question is mentioned TWICE, one time with "Trevor" being said (the version which made it onto the game sold in the US), and one time with "Ralph" (for the version which was sold in Japan).
* DungeonBypass: [[spoiler:Playing as Trevor allows you to skip certain areas entirely and move with much more freedom, as you don't have the Innocent Devils and thus don't really need them to surpass certain obstacles, and most hidden areas are already uncovered for you. For example, you can get to Aiolon ruins from Cordova without facing Isaac or even visiting the Clock Tower.]]

** Hector in many ways also resembles a good/heroic Dracula / [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Mathias]] ]], up to having a similar motivation (wife burned as witch), and the same voice actor as [[spoiler: Mathias]] in the English version. As result of this though, along with his white hair, this also makes him quite similar to [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Soma]] ]], with who he also shares weapon skills, and his usage of familiars.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Refusing to kill Hector [[HonorBeforeReason until he regained his full powers]], [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter which already surpassed yours]], might not have been the best idea to exact your revenge, Isaac. [[spoiler: Sure Death, you needed him to do so in order to resurrect the castle and the count, but that same power was also enough for Hector to slay you both]].

** Spears have the Chauve-Souris, Isaac's weapon which has an additional combo finisher, and is also required to wield to get the final evolution of the devil-type innocent devil; The End (which Isaac's familiar Abel is one of).

** Hector can have this fighting style if equipped with rapiers and/or knuckles type weapons, which are weaker than usual but can strike several times in a row and have good comboes.

* LouisCypher: [[spoiler:Zead, who occasionally advises Hector, turns out in the end to be Death. He uses the SdrawkcabName approach, but to add a twist, he reverses the Japanese pronunciation of his English name (in Japanese, the "th" is pronounced as "S" or "Z").]].

** "Hector" has both Greek and Spanish origins, but its Spanish origin means "tenacious", which refers to "holding fast to something". This describes Hector fully as he pursues Isaac with single-minded determination to exact revenge on him for the death of Rosaly, [[spoiler: until the very end, at least]].

* NintendoHard: ''Curse''...isn't exactly easy, and it's especially grindy if you wish to keep up with the ever growing list of craftable equipment to stay on par with the enemies who grow steadily stronger. You also have to keep up with your Innocent Devils and not only their levels, but their skills and evolutions as well. Even doing all this, enemies can still mop the floor with you if you're not careful, especially since having your ID out cuts Hector's experience gain in half since it's split between him and his current ID summon. While you can rectify this by fighting alone, this does gimp you slightly and also reduces your ID's effectiveness when they miss out on levels. Beyond that, the game is filled with a LOT of secrets [[GuideDangIt some of which are only barely hinted at, if it's even given a hint at all]]. To put it simply, this is a difficult game that almost reaches ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' level of not holding your hand.

* NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: Hector's currently equipped weapon, obviously isn't going to be rendered in the game's pre-rendered FullMotionVideo cutscenes. This makes him fight bare-handed in such cutscenes instead.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Isaac gets Hector to come after him by having his [[DisposableWoman wife Rosaly]] accused of witchcraft and manipulates the trial to ensure her conviction. She's [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]] and Hector vows revenge.

* ALoadOfBull: One of the level bosses is a giant undead minotaur which tries to crush Hector with columns adorning its arena.

* BlowYouAway: Using the above-mentioned spear class weapons, you can create a small tornado, which causes multiple hits of [[ElementalRockPaperScissors Wind damage]]. Really useful against the [[ALoadOfBull Minotaur Boss]].

* UnderwaterBossBattle: Type II against the Skeleton Diver. It's also a DualBoss.

* InescapableAmbush: Half of the rooms in the dungeons lock up after you enter them, and all enemies must be defeated to be able to proceed.

* AIBreaker: Dracula's first form can be caught in an infinite combo through use of the weapon Hien. By repeating the weapon's first attack over and over, you can end the battle before he does anything.