Castlevania

Castlevania (/ˌkæsəlˈveɪniə/), known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula, is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters.

Debuting with the 1986 video game on Nintendo's Famicom Disk System, the first entry and the majority of its sequels are side-scrolling action platformers. The 1997 game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, originally released for the PlayStation, returned to the nonlinear gameplay first seen in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which also introduced role-playing elements and exploration. Several installments later adopted Symphony of the Night's gameplay, which along with Super Metroid, have popularized the Metroidvania genre. 2010 saw the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a 3D action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Kojima Productions that served as a reboot of the series.

The Castlevania series has been released on various platforms; from early systems to modern consoles, as well as handheld devices such as mobile phones. The franchise has since expanded into several spin-off video games and other media; including comic books and a critically-acclaimed animated television series.

Spanning almost four decades, Castlevania is one of Konami's most successful and prominent franchises; several of its entries are ranked among the best video games ever made. Retrospectives have attributed the series's success to its unique blend of action, adventure, and horror elements; and it has been praised for its challenging gameplay mechanics, atmospheric settings, and iconic music.