Vlad the Impaler- The Real Life Dracula...

Vlad III was a prince of Wallachia that lived from 1431 to 1476. He was known for resistance toward the Ottoman Empire. During the course of the war, he earned himself the nickname of Vlad the Impaler. he took pleasure in torturing many people through inhuman means. He impaled, drowned, burned, skinned, removed limbs, and did much more. It was rumored that he drank the blood of his dead victims from a wine glass. Another rumor was that he received a medallion that gave him super human powers as well. All these traits gave him the nickname of "Dracula." When taking a look at the Castlevania franchise, some things do connect with Vlad the Impaler. In Lament of Innoncence, the Crimson Stone was said to power to the person who held it (later to be revealed Dracula possessed this stone).When the player reaches the end of the game is about to face Dracula, he is usually seen drinking from a wine glass of blood. There are numerous traps in the castle that try to burn, impale, poison, slash, and curse the player with as he proceeds. Although Vlad the Impaler did inspire the Bram Stoker's Dracula, his existence mad a much bigger impact the videogame franchise that is Castlevania.

Similarities and Differences Between Myth and Game

The concepts behind Dracula and many of his allies was rooted from the classic stories by Bram Stoker and movies. I did mention in a previous post about the origin of the series but this post will focus more on how much they are alike. Classic Dracula had above average human strength and could turn into a wolf, a bat, or mist to get into places he normally could not. His main weaknesses were stake through the heart, decapitation, holy water, garlic, and the cross. Castlevania Dracula shares some these traits as well. He did have super human powers as well as the ability to transform into a bat or a group of bats but he could turn into things beyond imagination (some games change what he could turn into most of the time.. His main weakness was instead the Vampire Killer whip but he can be damaged through other means of attacks. The developers took what was said about him in the past and designed a monster that went further from a book, but into a videogame.

New Styles of Game Play for the 2D Castlevania

Within the past ten years, many recent Castlevania games have introduced new game play mechanics that have revolutionaized the series. Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow demonstrated the soul system. In both games, the player absorbs enemies' souls and uses their abilities for his own benefit. These souls could also be used to make new weapons and help the player progress through the castle.
 
In Portrait of Ruin, the partner mechanic was designed for the game. The player could control two characters at the same time. This new mechanic allowed for new ways to solve puzzles, switch between two characters, and unleash powerful combined attacks. Portrait of Ruin is only the game so far to use this mechanic in the series. It would be nice see another game use this system and take it to another level.

Order of Ecclesia's unique game play mechanic was the glyph system. In some aspect, similar to soul system but with some differences. Not every enemy the player would face dropped a glyph and glyphs were automatically absorbed. The player would have to hold up on the control pad until the glyph was absorbed. These glyphs also functioned as the player's weapons. MP was consumed everytime a glyph was used. Glyphs could also be combined create an ultimate attack. These mechanics gave the game a new level of difficulty to adjust to but still retained the Castlevania feel.

A New Beginning...

The most recent Castlevania game tthat hit the consoles was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. The plot behind this game revolves around Gabriel Belmont and his quest to search for a mask that has the power to revive one from the dead. To accomplish this task, he must seek out the Lords of Shadow who possess pieces of this mask. Unlike other games in the franchise, this game is a reboot of the series. It takes place in a different timeline from the other Castlevania games. In this timeline, Gabriel is the first of his bloodline and does not the wield the legendary whip, Vampire Killer. Instead the Combat Cross takes the place as the primary weapon and be used to create combos much like the Vampire Killer can. Another key difference is the developer. Kojima Productions (responsible for the Metal Gear series) was in charge of the design of this game. The concepts of the other Castlevania games were inputed into Lords of Shadow. After release, it was praised for finally making Castlevania work in 3D.This game has definitely made an impact on the series and fans alike because of it being the first in it's timeline. This game has established a name for itself and leaves many gamers and fans curious to see were other games in this timeline will go from here.

The Foundation of a Movie

The Castlevania series has received a large audience within recent years. It is highly popular series among many gamers. In 2005, movie production company Crystal Sky Pictures under the direction Paul Anderson claimed the rights for a Castlevania film. In mid 2006, Dimension Films discussed with Crystal Sky for direction. The original concept was to follow a story based around Dracula's origins with the Belmonts relations with him. The key characters would be Simon Belmont and Dracula (of course). In late 2006, Rogue Films took over production with multiple filim locations. In early 2007, filming was postphoned until the locations of filming has snow on them. Then in june 2007, direction under Anderson shifted to Sylvain White to work on another project. Then the idea just wen on hiatus with only minor details concerning the desing of the script. However, in July 2009, it was revealed that James Wan would take over production of the script and directing of the movie. Still the movie would feature Simon Belmont and Dracula as the two central figures in the movie.

http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Castlevania:_The_Movie

Saturday Morning Makeover...

The gothic art style has given the many games of the Castlevania series much praise. To acquire a younger audience, Iga thought by changing the serious gothic style into anime but still retaining the gothic feel. Iga took the risk because Aria of Sorrow, prequel to Dawn of Sorrow did not meet his sales expectations. The anime art style was used in two games only; Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin. Both games received praise from critics but only got negative comments for looking like a "Saturday morning cartoon." Some fans did care and others did not. Most of these comments came from long time veterans of the series. The critism was shut down when the pure gothic art style returned in Order of Ecclesia. Iga did succeed in this change as more people became more interested in the Castlevania franchise.

Castlevania: Legends

When Castlevania was established as a popular franchise of Konami, a timeline for the series was designed to keep track of the series events. In 2002, when the timeline was first put up, many games were omitted from it. Among these games included were Circle of the Moon, Legacy of Darkness, and Legends. When the timeline wa updated, Legends was still excluded.This decision was debated upon many gamers as it is believed to be fundamental to the timeline. Legends is said to be the prequel to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, which featured Trevor Belmont as the first Belmont to defeat to Dracula. The debate behind this decision was that Legends's hero, Sonia Belmont (would be the first female lead role in the series but since she does not exist in the timeline, Shanoa is the first) was first of the Belmont's to defeat Dracula and gave birth to the next generation of the Belmont clan; Trevor Belmont. The game describes the power of the Belmont clan and its relationship with Dracula's son, Alucard. Some gamers feel that leaving Legends out of the timeline, many plot points are left missing. Some gamers pleased to see Legacy of Darkness and Circle of the Moon back in the updated timeline but still upset about the exclusion of Legends. These gamers believe that regardless of being in the timeline or not, Sonia Belmont was the first true Belmont to defeat Dracula.