Castlevania Top 16

[This Old Neon]

This Old Neon stands with Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi by excluding Konami’s pachinko machines from this super-bracket, and instead including the recent Bloodstained games as unofficial “official” Castlevania entries. If you don’t think they should be included, we invite you not to vote for them.

• You can vote for one (1) game in each poll.
• The winner of each poll will advance to the Quarterfinals.
• You can’t change your votes once they’ve been submitted, so click carefully. Voting closes on Saturday at 11:59 P.M. ADT.

VOTE HERE

Kickstarter of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, 1997)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Multiplatform, 2018)

Dracula X's Curse
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1989)
Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES, 1995)

Order of the Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA, 2001)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS, 2008)

Console Wars Edition
Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis, 1994)

Simon vs. Richter
Castlevania (NES, 1986)
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PCCD, 1993)

Ritual of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA, 2003)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Multiplatform, 2019)

Portrait of Dissonance
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA, 2002)
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS, 2006)

The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES, 1987)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS, 2005)

[Kong Wen]

Kickstarter of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, 1997)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Multiplatform, 2018)

Dracula X's Curse
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1989)
Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES, 1995)

Order of the Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA, 2001)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS, 2008)

Console Wars Edition
Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis, 1994)

Simon vs. Richter
Castlevania (NES, 1986)
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PCCD, 1993)

Ritual of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA, 2003)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Multiplatform, 2019)

Portrait of Dissonance
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA, 2002)
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS, 2006)

The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES, 1987)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS, 2005)

This is a fun one!

Symphony of the Night easily defeats that Castlevania III clone. As I said in a previous bracket, I'm happy to stop voting for the "honorary" 'vanias at this point in the competition, and SotN is one of the stronger entries anyway (top seed, natch).

The real Castlevania III easily defeats the weirdo mangled SNES version of Rondo.

Order of Ecclesia beats Circle of the Moon. Even though CotM is underrated and kind of a black sheep, Order is just so well-executed, and Shanoa is a great character. The game has aged pretty well.

I'm going to be crucified for saying this, but I find the Super Castlevania vs. Bloodlines poll kind of uncompelling. They're both great entries in the classic series, but I strongly prefer all three of the NES entries over either of them.

Original Castlevania beats Rondo. Original Castlevania beats almost everything here. Maybe everything. It's a rare gem and the exemplar for a "first game in a series" that lays out and then perfectly executes an entire series's language.

Aria of Sorrow is the best metrovania in the series. Great character design mixed with great mechanics. The setting feels jarring at first, but it's not long before you realize you're playing a true, core Castlevania game. Easily beats the other honorary entry.

Harmony of Dissonance vs. Portrait of Ruin is the other uncompelling bracket here. They're kind of... the forgettable entries in the official timeline?

The final bracket is a tough one for me because I love the Soma games and I love Simon's Quest perhaps more than I should... in fact, I think I'm going to vote for Simon's Quest. Dawn of Sorrow is weaker than Aria of Sorrow, and Aria is really the one that should advance. So I'll spread the love.

[The Shoemaker]

Having only played an hour of SOTN, I'd vote for it over Bloodstained for the music alone. Curse of the Moon was fun though.

[Claytone]

Rondo vs CV1 was a tough choice! Went with Rondo, but if you'd asked me on a different day, I might've gone with the original. Both are so good. But I'm awfully fond of the skellies and the soundtrack from Rondo, so it wins today.

Meanwhile, I actually voted for Curse of the Moon over SotN. This is partially because I like Classic more than exploravania (used to avoid upsetting Kong), and partially because CotM is *really* good. It might be the game I'd recommend to someone if they'd never played the classic games, since it's a bit easier and does a good job of getting that feel nevertheless. Love it.

[Kong Wen]

Rondo vs CV1 was a tough choice! Went with Rondo, but if you'd asked me on a different day, I might've gone with the original. Both are so good. But I'm awfully fond of the skellies and the soundtrack from Rondo, so it wins today.

Meanwhile, I actually voted for Curse of the Moon over SotN. This is partially because I like Classic more than exploravania (used to avoid upsetting Kong), and partially because CotM is *really* good. It might be the game I'd recommend to someone if they'd never played the classic games, since it's a bit easier and does a good job of getting that feel nevertheless. Love it.

I guess I should play it then! SotN isn't at the top of my IGA list, so it's certainly possible a classic (even an "homage" classic) might have beaten it there.

[This Old Neon]

Kickstarter of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, 1997)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Multiplatform, 2018)

Dracula X's Curse
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES, 1989)
Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES, 1995)

Order of the Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA, 2001)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS, 2008)

Console Wars Edition
Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis, 1994)

Simon vs. Richter
Castlevania (NES, 1986)
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PCCD, 1993)

Ritual of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA, 2003)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Multiplatform, 2019)

Portrait of Dissonance
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA, 2002)
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS, 2006)

The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES, 1987)
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS, 2005)

Winners and upcoming tie-breakers.