Castlevania graphics then & now: Skeletons, Belmonts, and more

A trip down a bloody memory lane

Castlevania has been haunting our game collections for a long time. Back in 1986, the first Castlevania made us journey through a dark world of monsters and mayhem, throwing everything from Frankenstein's Monster to mummies to the Grim Reaper at us before revealing the true architect of the malevolent test: Dracula himself. Its addicting gameplay and hair-pulling difficulity kept us coming back for more.

With Lords of Shadow 2 ready to creep us out again, I thought I would take a look back at the sights of the famed franchise, from the monsters we fought to the heroes we controlled. There's a lot of common threads strewn about the many games in the series, so why not take a look at what we've been doing all this time?

Outside of the Castle (Super Castlevania IV / Lords of Shadow)

Bat (Castlevania 1 / Lords of Shadow)

Knight (Castlevania 1 / Lords of Shadow)

Medusa (Super Castlevania IV / Lords of Shadow 2)

Sea Creature (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Mirror of Fate)

Werewolf (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Lords of Shadow)

Skeleton (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Mirror of Fate)

Death (Castlevania I / Lords of Shadow)

Simon Belmont (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Mirror of Fate)

Alucard (Symphony of the Night / Lords of Shadow 2)

Dracula (Castlevania I / Lords of Shadow 2)

It's been a graveyard smash

Werewolves and skeletons and bats, oh my! We've dealt with a lot throughout the years, and it's time to dive right back in again with Lords of Shadow 2. What? You're confused as to why we didn't use any images from Castlevania Judgment? Let's... let's not talk about that game, alright? Who's ready for more ghoulish glee?

For more Castlevania, check out the handy guide to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2's plotline and 16 deliciously dark things we did in the first four hours of Lords of Shadow 2.