The CastleVania Dungeon

THE HEROES

Simon Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1691 - Haunted Castle
1691 - Vampire Killer
1691 - Castlevania
1691 - Castlevania 4, Super
1691 - Castlevania Chronicles
1698 - Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Simon is the character featured in the most Castlevania games. His adventures began when the residents of Transylvania sought the current Belmont to fight Dracula. Later he had to rid himself of a curse put upon him by Dracula, and then had to fight Drac yet again, because he wasn't quite dead. Probably the most prominent and recognized of the Belmonts.
His uniform is brown (CV1), red (Vampire Killer, Castlevania 2) or blueish (Castlevania 2). Nobody quite knows his hair color...it has been seen to be blond, brown, black or pink, depending on the game.

Trevor Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1476 - CastleVania 3: Dracula's Curse

When the town of Warakiya fell under attack from the evil Count Dracula, the people found a surviving Belmont, who was Trevor (the Belmonts had previously been exiled from the country, because of the populace's fear of the Belmont's extreme powers.) Although he is not widely as known as his grandson Simon, he is still well recognized. He wears a similar outfit to Simon, although wears a cape when not fighting vampires. For whatever reason, Trevor is named Ralph in Japan.

Christopher Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1576 - CastleVania Adventure
1591 - CastleVania: Belmont's Revenge

Christopher Belmont made his appearances in the two Castlevania games for the Gameboy. There's not really a whole lot to say about this Belmont, except for the fact that he's yet another one of the family that killed Dracula when he arose again. He also saved his son Solieyu from Dracula when he was kidnapped in Belmont's Revenge. Christopher is most likely the great-grandfather of Simon.

Sonia Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1450 - CastleVania Legends

Sonia Belmont is actually the first member of the line of Belmonts to fight Dracula. Taking him on in Castlevania Legends for the Gameboy, she wields an upgradeable flame whip just like Christopher. Sonia has blond hair which is usually tied back into a pony tail, and wears a light armor. It is uncertain whether Sonia is the mother or sister of Trevor Belmont. Although she does not wield any of the traditional Castlevania weapons, she has a variety of soul powers, as well as a "Burning Mode", which makes her invincible to damage.

Richter Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1788 - Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
1788 - CastleVania: Dracula X
1797 - CastleVania: Symphony of the Night

Richter is most likely the grandson of Solieyu Belmont, captured in Belmont's Revenge. Hero of both Dracula X's (and also an enemy in Symphony of the Night), Richter had to fight his way through yet another wave of Dracula's baddies to save his girlfriend Annette, and her sister, Maria. In Symphony of the Night, Richter mysteriously dissappears, and nobody is quite sure why. He may have been kidnapped by minions of Dracula, to work for him. Richter has a very cool backflip ability which gets him out of sticky situations.
Richter wears a stylish headband and a cool blue uniform. In 'Symphony of the Night', he wears his hair quite a bit longer and looks more like an 18th century warrior than before. He also gains a few new abilities, most noticeable a dash, a slide attack, a super jump and an uppercut.

Maria Renard
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1788 - Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
1797 - CastleVania: Symphony of the Night

The sister of Annette Renard, who is Richter's girlfriend. After Richter married Annette, she became a sister-in-law of the Belmont clan. Kidnapped by Dracula at 12 years old in an attempt to lure Richter into his hands, she can be freed and used as another character to play as. Her main attack is to throw doves, which return after flying a short distance. She also attacks with birds, turtles, a dragon, and even her shrill singing voice. Maria also has a double-jump power, can slide, and has a powerful move that projects her alter-ego. Unfortunately, she cannot take as many hits as Richter.
In Symphony of the Night, Maria is now a teenager, and sets out to find the missing Richter Belmont. No longer the cute little girl she was before, Maria is a brave young woman. When she begins her search, Castlevania mysteriously appears, as if to lead her on the search. When first meeting Alucard, she seems unsure whether to trust him, but soon learns that he is a noble being. She posses magical skills, able to charge up and shoot out magical bolts, as well as summoning more grown-up versions of her animal compatriots. She can also triple jump.

Grant DaNasty
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1476 - CastleVania 3: Dracula's Curse

A former pirate whose family was killed by Dracula. Grant tried to fight back, but he was turned into a monster and forced to guard the top of the Clock Tower. When Trevor Belmont freed him from the spell, Grant agreed to help him destroy Dracula. He is very light and agile, able to jump high and change direction in mid-air. Grant attacks with a small dagger that, while powerful, has a very short range. His main ability, however, is that he can cling onto walls and ceilings, and climb on them. However, he is physically weaker than Trevor, and only has two special weapons: the axe and throwing dagger.
His name was taken from the Dinesti family, a historic rival of Vlad Tepes, Dracula.

Sypha Belnades
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1476 - CastleVania 3: Dracula's Curse

Vampire hunter that set out to destroy Dracula. Although all of the instruction manuals and even the game itself tells Sypha to be a male, the ending and future CV games show that Sypha is indeed a female (much like Samus Aran in Metroid, I guess.) When she met the Cyclops, she was turned to stone, and left as a statue at the Cyclops' den in the forest. After that, she was assumed dead by the townspeople. However, when Trevor freed her from the stone curse by destroying the Cyclops, she offered to come with him.
Although Sypha cannot take many hits, and her staff is very weak, her spells are what make her invaluable. There is some confusion over this character's name: her name is spelled "Sypha", not "Syfa".

Alucard
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1450 - CastleVania Legends (non-playable)
1476 - CastleVania 3: Dracula's Curse
1797 - CastleVania: Symphony of the Night

Alucard (or "Dracula" spelled backwards) is the long lost son of the Count. He is half human, half vampire, as his mother was a mortal. Although he served his father, he was soon convinced that spreading his father's evil was wrong, and joined Trevor Belmont in his fight. In Catlevania 3, he uses a Ball of Destruction as his main weapon, but he can't use any other special weapons. Alucard can take as many hits as Trevor. Since Alucard is a vampire, his main power is the ability to turn into a bat and fly around until the hearts run out (turning into a bat consumes heart at the rate of roughly 2 per second) or when he gets hit by an enemy.
Alucard is also known as Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes. After helping Trevor destroy his father, Alucard put himself to sleep in order to put his cursed bloodlines. However, he is awakened once again to discover why Richter Belmont has disappeared in Symphony of the Night. In Symphony, Alucard's primary weapons are a selection of swords and shields, as well as a number of magic spells.

John Morris
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1917 - CastleVania: Bloodlines

John is the son of Quincey Morris, the valiant Texan that lost his life when Dracula was killed in 1897. He witnessed his father's final battle from the shadows. A second generation American, he knew that he must uphold his family's tradition and destroy the Countess Bartley when she tried to resurrect Dracula. Despite the name, the Morris line does indeed come from the Belmont lineage.

Eric Lecarde
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1917 - CastleVania: Bloodlines

A childhood friend of John, born in Spain. Eric set off with John to destroy Dracula, for the primary reason that his girlfriend, Gwendeloyn, had been the victim of vampires in the past. His primary weapon is an Alcarde Spear, which he can handle with great deftness.
No one is quite sure of his hair color...it's blond in one place and green in the game. Still, the green could be Eric's cape.

Reinhart Schneider
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1852 - CastleVania 64

Though the Belmont surname may have been lost to Reinhart Schneider, the blood inside of his veins remains the same. Alas, so does his destiny: villagers have been found mutilated and drained of blood near Dracula's castle, and Reinhart has to stop it. He carries the typical Vampire Killer whip, but can also wield a short sword for any time where the whip can prove awkward to use. (Early in development, his name was Schneider Belmont.)

Carrie Fernandez
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1852 - CastleVania 64

Carrie is a young, 12-year old orphan with mysterious magical powers. Drawn to Dracula's castle, she sets off alone to fight the evil forces that murdered the rest of her family. She is a descendant of the great warrior Sypha Belnades, whose family name must have changed over time to further represent her Spanish heritage (or simply mistranslated, whichever story you prefer.) Carrie has two razor sharp rings to cut through enemies and an energy orb that home onto enemies.

Cornell
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1844 - CastleVania: Legacy of Darkness

After months of intense training, Cornel returns to his home village only to see it ravaged by Dracula's lackeys. With the blood of the man-beast flowing his veins, Cornell sets off to avenge the townspeople and find his adopted sister Ada. Cornell's attack consists of a strong, far-reaching blade that emerges from his claws. He can also turn into a werewolf, which simply boosts his power, but eats away jewels one by one until they are all depleted.

Henry Oldrey
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1852 - CastleVania: Legacy of Darkness

When Cornell first encounters young Henry Oldrey, he is under attack from the minions of Dracula that have overrun his father's castle. Though he makes it away safely, he mourns over the loss of his father, turned into vampire, and his mother, surely dead. Seven years later, he returns wearing a full suit of armor and wielding a six shot pistol. His mission: to save all of the kids that Dracula had imprisoned. He doesn't want them to suffer the same fate that he came so close too.

Nathan Graves
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1830 - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

A young vampire killer in training, Nathan is thrust in the roll of the hero when his master is kidnapped by Dracula and his partner, Hugh Baldwin, is possessed by the dark spirits of Castlevania. It does not seem that he is actually related to the Belmont clan at all. He attacks by gathering DSS cards and combining them to grant him a plethora of attack abilities.

Juste Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1748 - Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

The son (or perhaps grandson) of Simon, Juste (pronounced Joost) is sent into the castle once again to save his friends Maxim and Lydie from Dracula. Apparently having inherited some of the magic abilities from his ancestor Sypha, Juste can combine his special weapons with magic spells, in addition to the traditional whip. His name is actually French in origin,

Maxim Kishine
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1748 - Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Juste's buddy and rival, Maxim helps Juste in his search for Lydie. He is a headstrong and brave man - unfortunately, that it also his tragic flaw. Unlike the traditional vampire hunter, Maxim wields a sword and a powerful shuriken-type blade weapon. He's also incredibly agile, and possess a triple-jump ability.

Soma Cruz
CALLED INTO ACTION:
2035 - Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

A high school exchange student living in Japan, Soma is mysteriously transported into Castlevania when he enters the Hakuba shrine with his friend Mina. When attacked by enemies, Soma learns that he has a dark energy that can absorb the souls of the monsters throughout the castle. Now he must explore and find the reason why he has been called to fight. Much like Alucard, Soma does not merely wield just a whip, as he can attack with swords, hammers, daggers and other weapons found throughout the castle. As a side note, "Cruz" is Spanish for "cross". When spelled in Japanese (kurusu), it means "crucifix".

Julius Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
2035 - Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Found wandering throughout the castle, Julius Belmont (who calls himself J) was one of the vampire hunters who sealed away Dracula's castle in 1999. Unfortunately, this incident has left him bereft of his memory. Only by exploring the castle can he hope to restore his mind and discover his true purpose. He can be unlocked as a playable character after beating the game, and has access to the usual selection of Castlevania special weapons. He also has a special "warp" manuever that lets him quickly dash behind opponents to surprise them.

Leon Belmont
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1094 - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

A noble knight in 11th century Europe, Leon's dear lady Sara is wisked away by the vampire Walter. Headstrong, he enters the castle grounds unarmed, and is given a whip by the old man Rinaldo, who inhabits the premesis. Using this and his magic gauntlet, he enters the castle, in hope to find his fiancee.

Joachim Armster
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1094 - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Unlike all of the other playable characters in the Castlevania series, Joachim isn't in any way a good guy, although he is a vaguely tragic character. He was a regular human until Walter turned him into a vampire. Tired of being a servant, he attempted to rebel but got locked in the castle's watervein, where he serves as its ruler. Being the vampire that he is, walking is beneath him - he floats. Joachim controls swords that float around him and fly out to attack enemies, as well as magic powers that build up when bad guys are killed.

Pumpkin
CALLED INTO ACTION:
1094 - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

There's no real information given on Pumpkin, except that he has the head of a jack o' lantern, a burlap sack for a body and candy for hands. He somehow wields a whip more powerful than Leon's and has his own special set of pumpkin-related attacks. He's a jolly ol' fellow, with squeaky footsteps, and will hum Joachim's theme when standing still.

Kid Dracula
CALLED INTO ACTION:
Kid Dracula (Game Boy)
Kid Dracula (NES)

When Alucard was younger he looked up to his Dad. He would dress like him, and he called himself 'Kid Dracula'. He is half human, half vampire, as his mother was a mortal. Although he loved his father, he soon learned that spreading his father's evil was wrong. Even as a youngster (you know, just a few decades old) he fought for good against evil monsters who threatened humans. Even then he knew how to use a Ball of Destruction. Since Kid Dracula is a vampire, he has the ability to turn into a bat and fly.
After his 'young adventures' he put himself to sleep for a while until he was awakened by his Father to face Trevor Belmont. His good side prevaled, and he joined Trevor in his quest against Dracula.