Netflix's Castlevania adaptation takes inspiration from its video game series, especially in these 10 aspects.
Video game adaptations have been hit or miss since the very beginning, the most gamer accepting that the majority of recreations of their favorite past-times are going to be bad, no matter who is behind the project. This approach to video game adaptations changed somewhat with the release ofCastlevania on Netflix in 2017, as it is one of the few adaptations that is good by its own merits.
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Taking the general settings and premise from severalCastelvania games, most notably,Dracula's Curse andCurse of Darkness, this surprise hit takes many familiar elements from the classic game series, though not all of these elements are readily apparent to casual viewers.
For the majority of Castlevania games, the main goal of the story is to either defeat Dracula, who is, as always, up to no good or to prevent his resurrection by another villain. Although this has many of the same issues as the Legend of Zelda series as a result of constantly recycling the same antagonist, it also means that fans of the game series know what to expect in subsequent seasons of the Netflix series, as it is very likely that Dracula will return at some point.
Just as the antagonist ofCastlevania is often Dracula, the protagonist of the games is often one of the Belmont clan. Although the Netflix series takes some liberties with their past, as they weren't excommunicated from the church in the video games, their roles as monster hunters and the last hope of humanity against the vampires have carried over from the games. Although the audience has yet to see any of the other Belmonts aside from Trevor, there is a chance that they will be able to see some familiar faces in the future.
From a television standpoint, it seemed fairly obvious that Trevor and Sypha would become a couple at some point in the series, particularly following the ending of season one. In subsequent seasons, their relationship would come to the forefront of much of their storyline, though this is significantly more than they ever had in the games.
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While Trevor and Sypha's ending inDracula's Curse does hint that the two would become romantically involved, it wasn't untilCurse of Darkness that fans of the series were shown how their relationship turned out, as they were married by the end of the game.
Although Carmilla is somewhat of a loose cannon and generally only for herself in the Netflix series, she is still one of Dracula's followers in the Castlevania games she does appear in. Like her Netflix counterpart, video game Carmilla is ruthless,cunning, and not afraid to get her hands dirty, as well as having something of a preference for women over men when it comes to her allies. Both versions of Carmilla are based on the mainantagonist of the novellaCarmilla, which predates Bram Stoker'sDracula by a full 26 years.
Partway through the second season, Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard return to the Belmont estate to find a way to get inside Dracula's Castle, where Trevor stumbles across a very tightly locked chest, hidden away in the far corner of the vast library. Inside this locked chest, which is a clear reference to many different video games, is the Morning Star, which, for all intents and purposes, is anupgraded version of the whip that Trevor has used for the majority of the series so far. This weapon has been seen in many differentCastlevania titles, usually wielded by one of the Belmont clan, including Trevor's video game counterpart.
The powers that Dracula uses in the Netflix series, while outlandish, are very close to both his historical, mythical counterpart as well as how he is portrayed in the video game series. The majority of the powers he is shown to use, including his immense strength and how difficult he is to kill, are very similar to how he is shown in the many boss battles players have with him across the Castlevania series.
Like his father, Alucard's powers and abilities in the Netflix series are almost identical to his powers in Symphony of the Night, the game that inspired the art style of the Netflix series as well as being the most well known of Alucard's outings in theCastlevania series.
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The most notable power of his is the ability to control his sword from a distance, which he regularly does inSymphony of the Night, as well as his quick movement speed in battle that makes it look like he is teleporting around the battlefield.
It may seem like a strange limitation by today's standards, but the monsters in Castlevania only come out at night, much like the vampire masters who control them. This isn't just a nod to monster stories of the 1500s, when the series is set, but also to theCastlevania video games, as almost all of the games take place somewhere at night or inside Dracula's castle.
While only a handful of Castlevania's monsters are seen in the Netflix series, the majority of the ones that are shown are designed to look veryclose to how they appeared in the video game series. The most obvious of these are the gargoyles, which are virtually identical between their Netflix and video game counterparts, and the cyclops which appears briefly in the first season only to be slain by Trevor to free Sypha.
The idea of Dracula having a labyrinthian castle under his control is nothing new, as many iterations of the character show him with a similar kind of stronghold to contain his army. The design shown in the Netflix series, however, is vastly different to the majority of other versions of this castle, with the exception, of course, being his castle from the Castlevania video games. This is one aspect of translating the video game series to television that has stayed almost exactly the same, with even the interior layout being similar to the likes of the many games where players can explore it.
NEXT:Castlevania: 10 Worst Things The Heroes Did
Next The 10 Best Batman Villain Reinventions
Callum Archer is a freelance writer based in Perth, Western Australia. He is an avid gamer, Nintendo fanboy and lover of weird sci-fi novels, who also dabbles in manga from time to time, usually dark and twisted work like Uzumaki and Death Note.
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