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

Features
By Jason Fanelli published 24 February 2014

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A trip down a bloody memory lane

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?

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
Outside of the Castle (Super Castlevania IV / Lords of Shadow)

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

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
Bat (Castlevania 1 / Lords of Shadow)

Bat (Castlevania 1 / Lords of Shadow)

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
Knight (Castlevania 1 / Lords of Shadow)

Knight (Castlevania 1 / Lords of Shadow)

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
Medusa (Super Castlevania IV / Lords of Shadow 2)

Medusa (Super Castlevania IV / Lords of Shadow 2)

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
Sea Creature (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Mirror of Fate)

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

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
Werewolf (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Lords of Shadow)

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

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
Skeleton (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Mirror of Fate)

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

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
Death (Castlevania I / Lords of Shadow)

Death (Castlevania I / Lords of Shadow)

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
Simon Belmont (Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Mirror of Fate)

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

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
Alucard (Symphony of the Night / Lords of Shadow 2)

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

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
Dracula (Castlevania I / Lords of Shadow 2)

Dracula (Castlevania I / Lords of Shadow 2)

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
It's been a graveyard smash

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.

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
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Jason Fanelli
WHY HELLO THERE! Name's Jason, hailing from right outside Philadelphia. I've been playing the vidya games for well over 20 years, starting with the NES and making my way all the way up to the Wii U. My mother tells people that I taught myself to read at age 3 using Wheel of Fortune Family Edition on the NES. I'm the type of guy that will try anything once, but I do have a few favorite genres, fighting and RPG being at the top. I've been writing about video games since I finished my Broadcast Journalism degree at Temple University in December 2008, mostly for www.gamernode.com. Since then I've been to three E3s, two New York Comic Cons, the first ever PAX East, and many more to come (I hope). I hope everyone enjoys my stuff as much as I love producing it. Hit me up on Twitter @bigmanfanelli, I love talking games with anyone and everyone.
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