Summary
In its eight episodes,Castlevania: Nocturneintroduces a wealth of characters. Most of them are original, and some of them are from the games. With so many to look at, it can be hard to tell who is a “real” character and who is an original.
This list will be a handy breakdown of the game characters that appear inCastlevania: Nocturne. The Abbot almost made the list as his servitude toward a certain allegiance resembles that of Shaft fromCastlevania: Rondo of Blood. However, Shaft is a certified villain, whereas The Abbot’s lore is more complicated in the anime. With that fact aside, there will be spoilers for the anime along with the gamesCastlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse,Castlevania: Bloodlines,Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, andCastlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Warning: This list contains spoilers for the anime and the games listed above!
6Richter Belmont and Annette
Richter is the easiest characterto scratch off of the list as he is this series’ main Belmont hero. The Belmont family, of course, are somewhat cursed to fight Dracula until the end of time. Richter first appeared inCastlevania: Rondo of Blood, which was a 1993 PC Engine game released only in Japan. The West would receive a paired-down version viaCastlevania: Dracula Xfor the SNES in 1995.
The game took place in the late 1700s, and Richter’s task was to notonly stop Draculabut to rescue his girlfriend, Annette, who was kidnapped by the aforementioned Shaft. She was a stereotypical damsel in distress in the game and not like the anime version of Annette at all. Besides her skin and hair color differing, Annette plays an active role in vanquishing evil inCastlevania: Nocturne. Her powers are kind of like an Earth Bender’s from theAvatarseries. Also of note in the game, there is a chance Annette can become a vampire and a boss based on choices.
5Maria Renard and Tera
Maria Renard alsofirst appeared inCastlevania: Rondo of Blood. Along with Annette, she was another captured victim of Shaft. Once players rescued her, Maria could be playable. Unlike Richter, Maria fought with magical creatures, which is well represented in the anime.
Now, inCastlevania: Nocturne, Maria is the daughter of The Abbot and her mother, Tera. Tera is a sorceress in the anime, while her game counterpart is a nun. She played a minimal role inCastlevania: Rondo of Bloodand suffered a worse fate in the anime, which Annette sidestepped. Tera makes the ultimate sacrifice and turns into a vampire to save Maria.
4Alucard
Alucard was oneof those characters that fans were eagerly anticipating to see inCastlevania: Nocturne. Unfortunately, he didn’t arrive until the last few minutes of the finale, but this, thankfully, also means he should play a bigger role in season two. Now, for those unaware, Alucard is the son of Dracula. He first appeared inCastlevania 3: Dracula’s Curseon the NES in 1990 in North America.
The game took place in the late 1400s, and this was also the game that the first Netflix adaptation focused on. Alucardaided Trevor Belmontand Sypha Belnades in the anime and now he has returned to fight alongside Trevor’s decedent, Richter. Alucard was one of four playable characters in the game, but he got a leading role inCastlevania: Symphony of the Night, which takes place soon after the events of Richter’s quest.
3Olrox
Olrox is one of the three main vampire villains in the anime.Castlevania: Nocturnebegins with Richter’s mom, Julia, fighting Olrox while making time for the young Richter to escape. Julia is not from the games, and there are veryfew female Belmontsrepresented in the core series. Belmonts aside, Olrox’s goals are mysterious in the anime as he appears to be on his own side.
He is originally fromCastlevania: Symphony of the Night, along with Alucard, but he has a minor role. Olrox appears as a boss and is wearing a suit of armor before he transforms into a lizard man. In the anime, he takes on a lizard-like form, too, but it is a lot more epic via a dragon transformation. Alucard has yet to face him in the anime, but it is almost assured that they know each other.
2Juste Belmont
Juste Belmont is the hero ofCastlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, which was released in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance. The plot is set approximately in the mid-1700s, with Juste setting out to face Dracula like so many before him. In the core series, this was his only game, but he appeared in the anime as Richter’s grandfather.
Like mostCastlevaniagames, Juste’s adventure had multiple outcomes.Castlevania: Nocturnechose the worst ending for Juste, where he loses two friends in his fight against Dracula. Although, in the anime, it’s not said Dracula was the culprit. Whomever he faced, it broke Juste, thus leading to his abandonment of the Belmont name.
1Drolta Tzuentes and Erzsebet Bathory
The inclusion of these two characters is perhaps the most baffling thing about this latest season of the Netflix adaptation. First, Drolta Tzuentes is a female vampire inCastlevania: Nocturneand the direct servant under Erzsebet Bathory. She appeared inCastlevania: Bloodlines, which was a Sega Genesis exclusive in 1994. Drolta was not a vampire in that game but was instead an old witch who was trying to resurrect her master, Elizabeth Bartley.
Names aside, Elizabeth Bartley and Erzsebet Bathory are the same characters, and they are both inspired by the serial killer Erzsebet Bathory. In the game, Erzsebet is the niece of Dracula, but that hasn’t been revealed in the anime yet. Also,Castlevania: Bloodlinestakes place in the 1900s, so it was weird to include it inCastlevania: Nocturne’stimeline, given that it is the late 1700s. Maybe some other characters fromCastlevania: Bloodlineswill show up in season two, like John Morris and Eric Lecarde, the two protagonists.
