In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night changed the face of what we call a Castlevania, leading to half a dozen hand held sequels in its image.  But just after, the classic Gameboy saw a new title in the form of a classic prequel.  Starring Sonia Belmont, Castlevania Legends sought to put an origin story to the series.  But in revitalizing the series, Koji Igarashi felt that the game did not fit his Castlevania time-line, and removed it from the official lore.  So, what exactly are we missing, then?

Castlevania Legends takes place in 1450, 26 years prior to Trevor Belmont’s fateful journey as the first of the Belmonts cursed to defeat Dracula.  Transylvania is ruled under the iron grip of the evil count.  Enter 17 year old Sonia Belmont, who has lost her family to the dark lord.  Having manifested mysterious powers since her youth, she takes up the family’s heirloom whip and strikes out to save the world.

At least that’s what we’re able to gather.  For an origin story, Legends leaves quite a bit to the imagination.  If you would like to form your own opinions, I’ve cut together a 10 minute video of the in-game dialog and narrative.  Recommended, but not required reading.

Back with me now?  Yes, that was Alucard, half-vampire son of Dracula and resident Castlevania bad-ass.  If you didn’t pick up on the hints, or just didn’t feel like watching, Sonia and Alucard were attached at the hip.  Somewhat more implied, but generally accepted by fans of Legends, is that prior to their venture to defeat Dracula, Sonia and Alucard made whoopie, and the child that Sonia gives birth to in the end is Trevor Belmont of Castlevania 3, the first Belmont to officially challenge Dracula.

Right about now, half of you are going "aw hells no!" and the other half are saying "omg frikkin’ sweet!"  It’s probably one of the harder splitting point among fans.  I, personally, quite adore the idea of Alucard being the origin of the Belmont curse.  However, it sits wrong with a lot of fans.  It also seems to be too much exposition and compassion for a character that many fans consider to be a cold loner steeped in mystery.

Did you ever doubt that the first Belmont was a raging dominatrix?

Another point that seems to bother people is the complete lack of origin for an origin story.  Sonia is born with strange, magical gifts.  She fights with the whip handed down through her family.  Aside from the fact that it says that no one has stood up to Dracula before now, you’re not really given concrete proof that things started with her.  Where did these powers come from?  What is the Vampire Killer whip?  Who is Dracula?  The Lament of Innocence, released several years later, would use the far more advanced Playstation 2 to tell a whole new origin story that was, without question, far more detailed, atmospheric, and all around appealing.  Legends doesn’t hold up a heart-baring candle in comparison.  What even made this an origin story to begin with?

Dracula (to Sonia): Darkness will never die out as long as there is light in the world.  I am the ruler of that darkness, and I will rise again and again, as long as people like you are alive.

It was Castlevania, as it was before Koji Igarashi (IGA, as he’s more commonly known) and those of his inspiration recrafted the series.  Concrete story was not a primary goal.  Things were highly symbolic.  It’s a traditional, fantasy, Gothic world, with heavy undertones of Christianity and good versus evil.  It’s stated that Dracula trades an evil deity his humanity and free-will for immortality and great power.  It wouldn’t be a stretch to make the assumption that in such a fantasy-Christian setting, one girl finding it within herself to stand up against the odds and face the overwhelming evil might simply be divinely blessed. 

Sonia: We all decide our own fate.  It was you who taught me that, Alucard.

At this stage, it’s actually interesting that we know nothing of Dracula’s orgins.  We know that, even as a vampire, he loved a human woman (later games would call her Lisa), and having her as his only humanity, he left the world to its devices, and even gave birth to a son.  His wife was then tried as a witch and burned.  In his rage, he was consumed by his darkness and turned on the world.  Symbolically, Alucard would now be his only strain of humanity, and as such, Alucard chose to stand up to his father.  Sonia then defeated Dracula, taking the curse upon herself and passing it to her and Alucard’s son, Trevor.  This makes Trevor and every succeeding Belmont the lineage of Lisa, Dracula’s "humanity".  Her love for him subdued his darkness, the ultimate evil, and the results of that love continues, generation beyond generation, to subdue it.  It’s a very poetic dance, really.  I think people get too worked up over the idea of Belmonts being part vampire to see just what kind of symbolic relationship this legacy would give them.

Dracula: Oh, I’ve just been toying with you so far.

So, you might notice I’ve touched very little on the actual gameplay.  Truth be told, Castlevania Legends is mediocre.  If Symphony of the Night had not been released along side it, one would predict that Konami was ending their dying franchise on a dying system with a story of the beginning.  It borrowed from but improved upon the mechanics of the previous Gameboy games, Castlevania Adventure and Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge.  At very least, Sonia doesn’t play like she’s got lead underpants the way Christopher did, and her jumping is even somewhat maneuverable, but she’s still as stiff and unresponsive as any 8-bit Belmont.  After each boss, Sonia gets a magic spell that she can switch between and use with found hearts (replacing traditional sub-items).  Once per level or life, she can go into a menstrual rage that gives her a limited speed boost and invincibility, making most bosses in the game your bitch.

Of the three hand-held titles, old-school fans of the series generally regard Belmont’s Revenge as the most entertaining in the series, for its level and boss design and closest feel to the original NES game.  Still, if Legends wasn’t a $30 collector’s item, it wouldn’t be a poor choice to spend some time with.  Just be prepared to hate bats.  A lot.

Dracula: On no, my dear.  I have merely done what you humans wished for, fulfilling your insatiable desires.
Sonia: People must fulfill their dreams with their own power.  You who have been consumed by the power of evil no longer have the strength to determine your own fate!

So, why was Legends removed from the Castlevania time-line?  While many games were thought to be retconned out, the release of Portrait of Ruin and its associated documentation brought several ignored titles back into the main story, leaving only Legends out in the cold.  Some quote inconsistencies with the other games.  Some feel the game makes bold claims that are just too outlandish, or too significant to be in a rare Gameboy cart.  Others claim that IGA himself said that, simply put, fans weren’t ready for a female lead in a Castlevania game.  If that last one is indeed the case, then the fans have most certainly changed their minds.

IGN: As a quick note, we’re loving the idea of a female lead again. The last time we had that was Castlevania Legends!
Igarashi: (laughs) Yes we’re very excited for that as well. It was a huge request from the fans.

In October ’08, we can expect the first canon female lead in a Castlevania game, ever.  I’m not talking about co-leads like Charlotte or Maria, but rather a solo, center-stage lead.  Wielding a wide variety of tattoo-like Glyphs, the raven-haired Shanoa will solo the dark lord in the third Nintendo DS title, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, taking place roughly around the 19th century, after the disappearance of the Belmonts.

Sonia will most likely never make a return.  She was expected to star in a Dreamcast title, Castlevania: Resurrection, but it was cancelled during production, most likely due to the Dreamcast’s failing health in the market.  In the official view of the game, she is gone, though the spin Legends adds to it will remain with me.  So that, when I play through Symphony of the Night or Castlevania 3 that 20th time, and Alucard meets face to face with a Belmont, in my mind, he’s looking at family and the love that keeps his father at bay.  And if that’s too sappy for you, then sod off!

And there is not a single person who knows when the next legendary fight between another Prince of Darkness and human will begin.

 

What are people saying about "Sonia Belmont, I Will Never Forget You (Castlevania Legends)"?

Othgar the Flamboyant Re: Sonia Belmont, I Will Never Forget You (Castlevania Legends) Aren't they're newer games now that take place in relatively modern times that don't focus on the Belmonts?  I read something on it a while ago but I never can remember if it was some fans wishful thinking or it actually was made

Axel Night Re: Sonia Belmont, I Will Never Forget You (Castlevania Legends) That's extremely true.  Richter was the last starring Belmont, chronologically.  After the events of Symphony of the Night in 1797, he disappears and we don't get another Belmont until Aria of Sorrow (2035) with Julius Belmont (and he's still not the main character), who supposedly slays Dracula permanently in 1999 (though, no game covers this).  Many characters have some relation to the Morris and Belnades (Sylph Belnades was the mage in Castlevania 3 who Trevor married) families.  In fact, no game covers the 1897 once per century official resurrection of Dracula, because it was Harker, Van Helsing, and Quincey Morris who faced him.  Yes, the Morris family is that Morris from Bram Stoker's tale. So, yes, games up to Rondo of Blood/Dracula X star a Belmont, and games taking place from Symphony of the Night and onward star someone else.

Othgar the Flamboyant Re: Sonia Belmont, I Will Never Forget You (Castlevania Legends) your like a castlevania wikipedia this is awesome.  Any recommendations as to which of the newer games i should try out first?

Axel Night Re: Sonia Belmont, I Will Never Forget You (Castlevania Legends) Hehe, thanks.  I try.  ^_^ If you own a Nintendo DS, you can't really go wrong.  Well, maybe with the first, Dawn of Sorrows, only because you're coming halfway into Soma Cruz's story, which began in the third GBA game, Aria of Sorrow (it's still a great game).  Portrait of Ruin is pure awesome, and the upcoming Order of Ecclesia has high expectations.  If you have a GBA, Aria of Sorrow is the way to go, as it out shines Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance (which is technically an "old" Castlevania, as it stars Juste Belmont, despite playing like the post-SotN games) immensely.  Both Aria and Dawn of Sorrows star Soma Cruz, a youth reincarnated with the defeated Dracula's power a couple decades in the future, and make for great fun.  If you lack a handheld all together, the PS2 has two 3D titles.  Lament of Innocence takes place in the 11th century, and explores deeply the origins of Dracula, the Belmonts, and the Vampire Killer whip.  Curse of Darkness (also for the X-Box) has you as a devil summoning mage of sorts, who had betrayed Dracula and gone to live a life of peace until crap hits the fan.  I haven't given either much attention, and have no real love for them.  LoI seems to have a pretty good story, but CoD is just too far gone from the series to make me think "Castlevania".  It does look like fun, though. And if you have a X-Box360 with a few points to toss, and have never played Symphony of the Night, it's the one that changed the series to what it is now, and is totally worth the download. There's, of course, the N64 Castlevania games, but people don't like to talk about those.  I don't hate them, but I can see why people do.  You aren't hurting your quality of life by avoiding them.

Othgar the Flamboyant Re: Sonia Belmont, I Will Never Forget You (Castlevania Legends) ehh them being so scattered around on different consoles hurts me a bit but i was planning on getting a 360 and im sure i can borrow my brothers ps2 since he was in my opinion an idiot for buying the PS3.  Also i havent had a hand held since the black and white game boy that was like a cinder block with a screen...ahh im still mourning over that guady love of mine

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