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How Castlevania Lost Its Soul

TheMentok

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By the late 2000s, Castlevania was at a crossroads. The handheld era had peaked, the series had grown darker and more complex, and Konami was desperate to reinvent it for a new generation. From Curse of Darkness to Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia, and the ambitious but divisive Lords of Shadow trilogy. So as we wait for the series' revival, this is the story of how Castlevania lost its soul.

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00:00 - Our Story So Far...
03:17 - Castlevania: Curse of Darkness - When Hector Was Cool
13:19 - Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin – JONATHAN! CHARLOTTE!
20:32 - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – IGA's Final Mainline Title
28:04 - Castlevania: Judgment – The Franchise’s Most Unexpected Spin-Off
32:39 - Castlevania: Harmony of Despair – Castlevania’s Online Experiment
36:35 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – The Rebirth of Castlevania
54:55 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate
59:51 - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 - The End of an Era
1:09:00 - What's Next for Castlevania?

20 Comments

@TheMentok Creator 11 months ago (edited) Pinned

Edit: Konami watched my video and decided to bring Castlevania back.

@Z-Man7 11 months ago (edited)

Seriously, we need a collection of the PS2 Castlevanias.

When Konami?

Edit: Oh the good times are coming back. ✨️

@FallenTreeCalmsAil 9 months ago

I find it ironic and poetic that in the end, as in the game, players devoted to Castlevania are longing for Dracula’s return.

@deezcastforms 10 months ago

If Konami ever wants to truly revive the main series Castlevania games, they have to make the 1999 Julius Belmont game that was getting gassed up for the ENTIRE handheld era

@monopolyrubix1875 11 months ago

The true terror of the night is Konami

@freshPupusa 11 months ago

Something important to remember is Konami basically never gave Castlevania the budget for marketing they gave their other games. Until Lords of Shadow. Which is why they often flopped.

@Nah_no_thanks 11 months ago

The acting in lords of shadow is still incredible. Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart lent so much credibility to what was a bit wacky story. Jason issaacs as Satan was also an excellent surprise.

@Harotham 11 months ago

After finishing Lords of Shadow, I remember thinking, "Dracula is a Belmont? What's next, Trevor is Alucard?"

And then they fucking DID IT

@RecordPlayer38 11 months ago

Just want everyone one to know this man got me to not only LIKE Castlevania but I also bought the collection bundle on PS5 and beat cookie monster

@Kungpl0w 10 months ago

Romanian here! Yous said it right! Also many of the enemies in the Castlevania series are from Poland or polish descent.

@mrheroprimes 11 months ago

I find it funny that one of the reasons Sonia Belmont was removed, because they did not want the Belmont's to be glorified skywalkers because she did the deed with Alucard. Only for lords of shadow to turn around do that very thing by make Dracula a Belmont.

@wackyswacky1374 11 months ago (edited)

It sort of makes sense that Johnathan Morris never met Eric Lecarde, because John Morris died fairly young due to the effects of overusing the Vampire Killer. Also, I imagine many peoples fathers have good friends that you, their child, have never met.

Also, the real villain in this story has always been Konami. They are legendary for how badly they managed all of their big franchises in the late 2000s and 2010s.

@MitoRequiem 11 months ago

Order of Ecclesia my beloved

@grapexxjelly 11 months ago

I know my boys a real harmony of despair fan when I see two miser rings in his stash

@ZanderWarren 11 months ago

Wow, you just snuck it in there! Clutch timing - I really wasn't sure how you'd cover the whole franchise by month's end but by gum you did it.

@mikebipping6166 11 months ago

13:10 Gen Z here and i remember playing this one on my dad's truck. i didn't have much fun playing GTA because my dad's rules were i couldn't merc civilians. the next best thing was Castlevania CofD, cooking up monsters with a former-bad guy. the issue was i didn't have a memory card, so every time i played i had to restart. as a kid i had no clue what replayability was, but the fact that i had to restart every day and never got bored says very much about the game. thanks for a small window into my childhood!

@tarothegreatandterrible2314 11 months ago

I LOVE curse of darkness so much. It’s so grindy but in a good way. I can’t tell you how much trouble I had stealing from death just to make his scythe 😂