Which Castlevania characters do you find to be iconic?

[Dr. Peach]

This thread is about the Castlevania characters that you would consider to be iconic and perhaps even well known.

For me, it would be Simon Belmont, Trevor Belmont, Richter Belmont, Maria Renard, and Sypha Belnades.

Maria Renard and Sypha Belnades is what comes to mind when it comes to female Castlevania characters because they're popular.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Simon is literally the only one, got an appearance in freaking Captain N as a weirdo, the rest are "literally who" to me.

Aside from Dracula, who isn't even technically a Castlevania character.

 

[Dr. Peach]

How come Maria Renard isn't getting any votes even though she has appeared in about as many games as both Simon and Richter? I mean she was playable in a lot of Castlevania games as well. She's had way more games than any other female Castlevania character. People did talk good about her in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. She's best remembered as the easy mode of Rondo of Blood for people who played that game.

 

[Glowsquid]

alucard

but only that one

 

[Xiahou Ba]

How come Maria Renard isn't getting any votes even though she has appeared in about as many games as both Simon and Richter? I mean she was playable in a lot of Castlevania games as well. She's had way more games than any other female Castlevania character. People did talk good about her in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. She's best remembered as the easy mode of Rondo of Blood for people who played that game.

Speaking as an utter casual who never played a single Castlevania game, no, I don't know who Maria Renard is. Hell, your name on the forum was the first time I ever saw her name. I knew who Simon Belmont was prior to registering here.

You seem to misunderstand what "iconic" means. Iconic doesn't simply mean they appear in many games. Iconic also means they're recognized by people who haven't played a Castlevania game, as well as being able to name the character. I've known Simon Belmont and what he does and what is signature weapon is without playing one of the games or even prior to the Smash direct. He's had a cartoon appearance as a main character alongside Mega Man and Pit (thought I wouldn't argue that Pit is "iconic"). On the other hand I don't even know Maria Renard and what she does and what games she appears in. All I remember from a Castlevania game is some dude with a whip killing a bunch of fantasy creatures in a 2d sidescroller map game. That's it.

 

[SonicMario]

How come Maria Renard isn't getting any votes even though she has appeared in about as many games as both Simon and Richter? I mean she was playable in a lot of Castlevania games as well. She's had way more games than any other female Castlevania character. People did talk good about her in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night.

You're not putting into account the general gaming public that don't know alot about Castlevania. An iconic character should be someone even those outside of Castlevania fans can recognize.

Simon Belmont is the one Belmont that is generally well-known publically. Dracula also may count as besides being a name that's really recognized even if Castlevania is it's own iteration of Dracula has exposure. Richter is a bit debatable since not many knew who he was when he was announced for Smash as Simon's Echo Fighter but still had a fair share going for him (But compared to Simon? No way). Though Smash Ultimate is sure to make him more popular regardless.

 

[GalacticPetey]

Simon definitely. He's an icon of gaming. But I think people in this thread are sleeping on Alucard. Symphony of the Night is one of the most iconic games from the original Playstation era. It's where the vania in "Metroidvania" came from.

Richter I'm sure will see a surge in popularity following Smash Ultimate.

 

[Alex95]

Simon

 

[Dr. Peach]

How come Maria Renard isn't getting any votes even though she has appeared in about as many games as both Simon and Richter? I mean she was playable in a lot of Castlevania games as well. She's had way more games than any other female Castlevania character. People did talk good about her in Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. She's best remembered as the easy mode of Rondo of Blood for people who played that game.

Speaking as an utter casual who never played a single Castlevania game, no, I don't know who Maria Renard is. Hell, your name on the forum was the first time I ever saw her name. I knew who Simon Belmont was prior to registering here.

You seem to misunderstand what "iconic" means. Iconic doesn't simply mean they appear in many games. Iconic also means they're recognized by people who haven't played a Castlevania game, as well as being able to name the character. I've known Simon Belmont and what he does and what is signature weapon is without playing one of the games or even prior to the Smash direct. He's had a cartoon appearance as a main character alongside Mega Man and Pit (thought I wouldn't argue that Pit is "iconic"). On the other hand I don't even know Maria Renard and what she does and what games she appears in. All I remember from a Castlevania game is some dude with a whip killing a bunch of fantasy creatures in a 2d sidescroller map game. That's it.

Well, you did see various pictures/artworks of her as part of my avatar rotation for my theme. You've seen her 12 year old self designs/artworks from Rondo of Blood, Dracula X Chronicles, and Harmony of Despair, her 15 year old self design from Judgement, and her 17 year old self from Symphony of the Night. Maria is mostly an unlockable in most Castlevania titles she's playable in except for a few that she is playable from the start like the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Judgement. Maria Renard is a vampire huntress who does the job of destroying Dracula too just like Simon Belmont or any other protagonist of the Castlevania franchise does. She uses doves or owls (in games that take place after Rondo of Blood like Judgement and SOTN) as her weapons along with her animal buddies as her attacks.

I know if you saw her artwork from her 12 year old self from Rondo of Blood and Harmony of Despair, you must have mistook her for a Peach wannabe/clone and a few people on here mistook her for that. But if they saw any of her other designs then they wouldn't see her as that.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

Simon definitely. He's an icon of gaming. But I think people in this thread are sleeping on Alucard. Symphony of the Night is one of the most iconic games from the original Playstation era. It's where the vania in "Metroidvania" came from.

Richter I'm sure will see a surge in popularity following Smash Ultimate.

as i told you, am an utter casual on the franchise, so i don't even know who Alucard is or looks like. I can't even name the games properly or how many of each are on a platform.

 

[GalacticPetey]

I mean, I've never played a Castlevania game either, and I know who almost everyone on the poll is. Symphony of the Night defined an entire genre, that's why I know it and Alucard.

 

[Dr. Peach]

I mean, I've never played a Castlevania game either, and I know who almost everyone on the poll is. Symphony of the Night defined an entire genre, that's why I know it and Alucard.

Does this include Maria Renard who I have a forum theme after in which you see pictures of her most of the time? She was one of the main characters in SOTN too as well as being a supporting character because she was the one who went to Dracula's castle to investigate Richter's disappearance and is the one who tells Alucard about Richter and the mission of finding him for her, and she gives you the holy glasses which is the thing you need to free Richter from Shaft's mindcontrolling spell and continue onto the other half of the game. And she's playable in certain versions of SOTN like the Saturn version and the Dracula X Chronicles PSP version.

 

[PanchamBro]

Simon is definitely the iconic character here, compared to some other characters you listed (except Dracula); Richter, I only know because of Smash Bros, and Maria, your username, pfp, and your various comments about her.

 

[Teedgee]

Simon, Dracula and Richter.

 

[Meta Knight]

Simon Belmont for sure, although I will give Richter credit because I think he's pretty popular in Japan and his Smash Bros. appearance will get more people to know him. Dracula and Alucard don't really count for me because they are characters that date to way before Castlevania.

 

[Koops]

I mean, technically, it's Simon who first comes to mind.

But Richter appeared as an NPC in a SMBX episode I downloaded long ago, and that was before I ever knew about Castlevania, which is the reason I recognized him as soon as I saw him in the Simon reveal.

 

[Dr. Peach]

I mean, technically, it's Simon who first comes to mind.

But Richter appeared as an NPC in a SMBX episode I downloaded long ago, and that was before I ever knew about Castlevania, which is the reason I recognized him as soon as I saw him in the Simon reveal.

And what about Maria Renard? I mean you have seen artworks/pictures of her including the ones where she is with Richter as part of my avatar rotation and my Maria Renard theme, and she was the secondary main protagonist of Rondo of Blood because she was playable after being rescued by Richter. I agree unanimously that Simon Belmont is what most people think of when it comes to Castlevania in general, but when it comes to female protagonists, Sypha Belnades and Maria Renard are what comes to mind because they've appeared in plenty of games than any other female Castlevania character. Granted most people focus on the guys and not the girls.

 

[Fanny]

Simon Belmont is the face of the series, an iconic character from the NES and SNES era.
Richter Belmont has somewhat replaced Simon's place in the series, as he has frequently appeared as playable character in the more recent games.
Dracula has appeared as the Final Boss in almost every game, making his role almost vital to the series.
Alucard is also one I guess, but I don't know what to say besides Castlevania: Symphony of The Night is a revolutionary game for the Metroidvania genre etc. etc. etc.

 

[Dr. Peach]

It makes me sad that people don't know about (or ignore) Maria Renard who is Richter's blood relative and the secondary main protagonist of Rondo of Blood. She was the first out of the four girls Richter had to rescue and she's more notable because she was a playable character and that made her the secondary main protagonist of Rondo of Blood. She's someone who does the task of destroying creatures just like Simon and Richter. She's also a supporting character in SOTN and was the one who went to investigate Richter's disappearance by going to Dracula's Castle and she's the one who makes Alucard look for Richter as one of the tasks you have to do and she's vital to the plot of the game, and on top of that she gives you an item called the Holy Glasses which are what you need to break Richter free from Shaft's mind control. In some versions of SOTN such as the Sega Saturn and Dracula X Chronicles PSP versions, she is a playable character, where she is playable from the start in the Saturn version because of a character selection screen when making a file in that version and an unlockable after beating the game in the PSP version. Maria has also appeared in Castlevania: Judgement, Portrait of Ruin, Harmony of Despair, and Grimoire of Souls as a playable character.

 

[PanchamBro]

It makes me sad that people don't know about (or ignore) Maria Renard who is Richter's blood relative and the secondary main protagonist of Rondo of Blood.

It's probably because she wasn't in the original Castlevania. Even so, Simon would still be this iconic character due to his popularity among gamers alike.

Why then would Sakurai add Simon in the game, and Richter as an echo? It's because he's taking them from ballot results. Simon probably had more votes than Maria, and Richter was a bonus since echo fighters exists.

If anything Maria would definitely get trophy status in a heartbeat.

I know Smash Bros has nothing to do with Castlevania (except two characters are in the game), but it's obvious that I'm not a huge fan of the Castlevania games at all.

 

[winstein]

I voted for Simon, Dracula and Alucard, because those three comes to mind when it comes to Castlevania. Richter is somebody I never heard of until Smash Bros. (despite being from the most influential Castlevania game), and Maria I only know about because of a speed run since Maria's abilities are incredibly potent.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Dr. Peach]

I voted for Simon, Dracula and Alucard, because those three comes to mind when it comes to Castlevania. Richter is somebody I never heard of until Smash Bros. (despite being from the most influential Castlevania game), and Maria I only know about because of a speed run since Maria's abilities are incredibly potent.

Thank you for reading.

I kinda agree with your point about Maria Renard's abilities. I mean for speed running in Rondo of Blood she's pretty much a requirement because she's faster than Richter, and her abilities are best suited for speed running than Richter's. The quickest Rondo of Blood run involves Maria Renard.

 

[London Parris]

Simon and Richer. I haven't heard of Simon before the leaks before he was revealed, as for Richer, I only heard during the August direct. I find their movesets pretty awesome.

 

[Noct]

Frankly all of them + Soma Cruz and Julius Belmont.

 

[Mcmadness]

Simon Belmont, (or really the Belmonts in general) Dracula, Death(who is not on this list) and Alucard I'd say.