It’s finally happening! Castlevania: Nocturne has an airdate.
The 2021 series finale of Castlevania concluded the adventures of Trever Belmont, Sypha, and Alucard with a happy ending for all. Even Dracula. Yet the end was…not the end.
Castlevania: Nocturne, the newest installment in the franchise, centers around Richter Belmont and Maria Renard. It drops on Netflix on September 28th. Director, Same Deats, describes the story as taking place during the French Revolution. Those who know the Castlevania timeline can guess what to expect.
The Netflix Treatment
The original 2017–2021 anime pulled elements from Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse as well as Curse of Darkness. It also included a barrage of original characters. From the teaser trailer, it looks like we can expect the same treatment in Castlevania: Nocturne. We can also anticipate further world-building centered around the French Revolution, a new backstory for Richter Belmont, and what appears to be cameos of Syphas. How is that possible when Nocturne is supposed to take place over 300 years after the events of the original Castlevania anime?
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Rondo of Blood — regarded as one of the greatest Castlevania games of the franchise — serves as the source material this time. It introduced iconic character and villain designs and was (arguably) the first Castlevania game to tell a story broader than a Belmont storming the castle to slay Dracula.
In the game, Dracula returns, wishing to take a new bride. He kidnaps several women before stumbling upon Richter Belmont’s girlfriend. Armed with the Vampire Slayer’s whip, vengeful Richter storms the castle to free all the women and stop Dracula from turning his lover into a vampire. But he won’t be alone. Another player feature that made Rondo of Blood so iconic was the single unlockable character, Maria Renard!
Maria was only a child, but already a professional vampire slayer, and she won audiences over immediately. She was better than Richter in almost every way, just more fragile. Like in the game, Maria will be joining Richter to fight against the armies of darkness in Castlevania: Nocturne.
Are you ready for more Castlevania? Tell us in the comments below!
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