The Entire Castlevania Timeline Explained

Since the release of the original game in 1986, the Castlevania series has become something of a cult sensation. The franchise spans multiple consoles, devices, and media, including animated television and comic book adaptations. Through the series, Konami helped establish the action-adventure gothic-horror genre and the Metroidvania sub-genre. Both styles continue to exert their influence on the industry.

Castlevania features over 15 titles, not including the many spinoffs and non-canon works it has spawned over the past three decades. Drawing inspiration from horror cinema and literature, the premise centers on the eternal feud between the monster-hunting Belmont clan and Count Dracula, who revives at least once a decade. Part vow, part curse, the descendants of the Belmont bloodline are forever bound to combat the immortal Lord of Darkness. With so many entries, the series' narrative can prove tricky to follow. We've laid out the key events of the main series released by Konami. This excludes the Lords of Shadow reboot developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions, as the games exist outside of the canonical timeline.

Sharpen your stakes. It's time to crash Dracula's castle.

In the centuries following the events of Lament of Innocence, the people of Wallachia, afraid of their supernatural power, drove the Belmont clan out of the region. By the year 1476, Count Dracula and his forces have ravaged much of Europe, plunging the land towards evil and darkness. Unable to combat Dracula themselves, the Church summons Trevor Belmont, the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip, to defeat the count and his army. Trevor recruits three companions on his holy quest across Europe: Sypha, a witch; Grant Dynasty, a freedom fighter; and Alucard, Dracula's son. Together, they make their way to Dracula's throne room and destroy him. Their job done, Sypha settles down with Trevor, Grant starts to rebuild Wallachia, and Alucard disappears, heart heavy with guilt.

Curse of Darkness takes place in 1479, three years after Castlevania 3. Though defeated, Dracula's curse continues to corrupt Europe, spreading disease and violence. The game follows Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who worked for Dracula but betrayed him. When another Devil Forgemaster, Isaac, arranges for Hector's fiance to be burned for witchcraft, Hector takes up his old powers in a quest for revenge. This path leads to Dracula's unsuccessful reincarnation inside of Isaac before Hector defeats him and uses his powers as a Devil Forgemaster to break the curse.

15 years after defeating Dracula and destroying his castle, Christopher Belmont holds a coming-of-age ceremony for his son, Soleiyu. As part of the event, Christopher passes the mantle of vampire hunter to Soleiyu, who inherits great magical power. Having waited for this occasion for over a decade, Dracula uses the last of his own power to twist Soleiyu's inheritance against him, turning him into a demon. Dracula assumes human form with the demon's aid and raises four castles from the earth with a hidden fifth castle serving as his new base.

Christopher fights his way through the four castles, defeating their demonic rulers and weakening the spell ensnaring his son. Entering Dracula's secret lair, he battles Soleiyu and breaks the dark lord's hold on him. Deprived of Soleiyu's aid, Dracula uses the spirits of the four castles to complete his rebirth, only to be defeated by Christopher once more. Soleiyu, recovered from the dark curse, carries on the family legacy.

By the year 1748, the Vampire Killer whip passes to Juste Belmont, Simon's grandson. After embarking on an expedition, Juste's best friend, Maxim, suddenly appears covered in wounds and missing most of his memories from the previous two years. Ignoring his condition, Maxim leads Juste to the place where he believes their childhood companion, Lydie, is being held captive. There, they discover a menacing castle.

The men split up to cover more ground. Each time they reconvene, Maxim's personality seems to shift. Through Death, Juste learns that two spirits inhabit Maxim's body. One is his original spirit, the other an evil double created when Maxim assembled the six pieces of Dracula's remains. After regaining more of his memories, Maxim confesses to being Lydie's kidnapper. Juste tracks down Lydie, who Death then abducts. After defeating Death, Juste searches for Maxim, picking up Dracula's remains as he moves through the castle.

Harmony of Dissonance has three possible endings based on the player's actions. In one, Juste must fight a possessed Maxim before fleeing the collapsing castle alone, unable to save either friend. In the second, Juste kills Maxim before Dracula's spirit possesses him and leaves the castle with Lydie, unharmed. In the third, Maxim resists the possession, allowing Juste to defeat Dracula in a weakened state. All three friends then escape the castle together.

Not wishing to remain reliant on the Belmont clan, the leaders of the world look for other methods to counter Dracula's power, founding several research organizations in the years after the dark lord's defeat. In 1862, Barlowe, the leader of the Order of Ecclesia, makes a breakthrough: Dominus, a triad of powerful glyphs capable of defeating the count. Barlowe chooses Shanoa, an order member, to serve as Dominus' vessel, but during the ritual, Albus, Barlowe's pupil, steals the glyph, and Shanoa loses her memory. 

Barlowe sends Shanoa to retrieve Dominus. She tracks Albus to a village, discovering he has kidnapped the locals to perform experiments on them. As she frees the villagers, she encounters Albus twice, who gives her two of the Dominus glyphs. After the third Dominus glyph possesses Albus, Shanoa fights and kills him, absorbing the glyph with his mind and soul. Through his memories, she learns he stole Dominus because he knew using it would kill Shanoa and that the villagers were the descendants of the Belmont clan. He'd hoped to use their blood to control the glyph, letting him defeat Dracula in Shanoa's place.

Shanoa confronts Barlowe, and he reveals his plans to use her to resurrect Dracula. When Shanoa defeats him, he sacrifices himself to complete the resurrection. Shanoa then faces the count, destroying him with the Dominus glyph. However, the power comes at the cost of one soul. Albus pays the price, letting Shanoa live on.

In the year 1944, the lost souls of those killed during World War II cover the globe. An ancient vampire, uses these souls to summon and take control of Dracula's castle. Stella and Loretta, twin vampires and his adopted daughters, join their father in his plot. Two heroes travel to the castle to face the new threat: Jonathan, son of John Morris, and Charlotte Aulin, a powerful mage. Though Jonathan wields the Vampire Killer whip, he cannot access its full power as he is not a direct descendant of the Belmont family.

After entering the castle, Jonathan and Charlotte meet a ghost who calls himself Wind. He shares his knowledge with them, acting as a mentor figure for Jonathan. In pursuit of their vampire foe, the heroes travel through a series of magical portraits created to control the castle's power. During their exploration, they discover Wind is actually the ghost of Eric Lecarde and that Stella and Loretta are his daughters. Charlotte uncovers a spell allowing her to dispel the twin's vampirism and saves them at Eric's request. Returned to their senses, Stella and Loretta help Jonathan awaken the dormant powers of the Vampire Killer whip, enabling Charlotte and Jonathan to defeat their sire, slay the risen Dracula, and release Eric's soul.