Castlevania is a series of gothic fantasy action-adventure video games created and developed by Konami, centered on the Belmont family, a clan of vampire hunters, and their fight with Dracula. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of the original game for the Family Computer Disk System, followed by an alternate version for the MSX2 platform on October 30. Although the MSX2 port (localized in Europe and South America as Vampire Killer) was released first outside Japan, the series did not receive wide attention outside Japan until the FDS version was ported to cartridge format for the Nintendo Entertainment System and localized for North American and European releases of Castlevania in 1987 and 1988, respectively.[2][3]
The first title, as well as the majority of the early sequels, was a side-scrolling video game. The second and third titles, Vampire Killer and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, introduced non-linear exploration. Symphony of the Night made a return to non-linear gameplay and focused more on exploration than linear platforming. Along with Super Metroid, it popularized the Metroidvania genre.[4] Games developed in the Metroidvania genre continued on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS from 2001 to 2008. The first two 3D titles in the series were on the Nintendo 64 in 1999. 2010 saw the release of Lords of Shadow, a reboot of the series featuring 3D action and developed in Spain.
The Castlevania titles have been released on various platforms, from early systems including the Nintendo Entertainment System to modern consoles