I'm in the middle of reading Dracula (perhaps more towards the end than middle actually) and I do believe it would be the perfect time for some Castlevania discussion.

Personally, this is one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite game series of all time. Everything about Castlevania is great. The art style, the gameplay, and oh the MUSIC!

Hell, even the plot is wonderful. Nothing from the NES really gets deep in terms of plot, but Lament of Innocence had a great plot. Dracula had always been one of my favorite villains, but that game alone made him my favorite video game villain of all time. I really got to feel for him in Lament of Innocence, and researching him into Symphony of the Night I got a bit more backstory on him. He's also basically THE character that makes the Castlevania series what it is.

Not to mention how extremely badass he looks.

http://www.naimoka.com/image.php3?im...-sotn/dx05.jpg

Of course, the Belmonts are also kickass as well. My favorite Belmont is ol' Richter "HYDRO STORM!" Belmont. He's got the moves. The slide, the flying deal and of course the invaluable dash. He's also killed Dracula a good deal of times (if memory serves me right the only Belmont who has beaten Dracula more times than Richter is Simon)

As for the games themselves. I recently completed Castlevania Chronicles for the playstation. Let me tell you, I've beaten Castlevania 1 and I can say that Chronicles is actually harder than it. Any seasoned gamer will tell you that there's one particular spot in Castlevania 1 that can easily rank as one of the most frustrating parts in gamedom. Does anyone know of what part I speak of?

Chronicles is a lot like that. It's damn hard. It's also just an amalgamation of previous Castlevania levels too. Nothing really new in it. Dracula himself is just as he is in Castlevania 1 although his level is much harder.

As for the music. What can I say other than I love the music? My absolute favorite track from Castlevania is "The Theme of Simon Belmondo" with "Vampire Killer" a close second. "Wicked Child" "Heart of Fire" and "Bloody Tears" are also damn good.

So lets talk Castlevania now.

What Castlevanias have you played? Which is your favorite? Least favorite? Who is your favorite Belmont? Who is your favorite boss? What's your favorite Castlevania track?