Konami’s whip-lashing gothic horror action series has been active on the animation front, with the Netflix Castlevania series and its Nocturne follow-up livening things up. Yet it’s still been rather quiet on the video game front, beyond the DLC for Dead Cells. Once their Metal Gear Solid 3 remake and Silent Hill projects are done, there may be room for the Belmonts’ return to gaming.

Related

Best Castles In Castlevania, Ranked

Of all the Castlevania games, which has the best presentation of the titular fortress?

Not that it may end so happily for them. The games’ leads could collect all the MacGuffins, get to the top of Dracula’s castle, and finish him off for the standard happy ending. But if they missed something along the way or didn’t complete the game fast enough, they could get a less happy or even a bad ending. Even if the villains don’t win, the heroes can still lose in Castlevania’s darkest endings.

Updated on April 12, 2024, by David Heath: As dour as Castlevania gets, it has more happy endings than bad ones. At the very least, the hero (a Belmont or otherwise) stands on a cliffside as they watch Dracula's Castle crumble. At most, they'll get an extended epilogue. Even the rough Game Boy game Castlevania Legends saw Sonia Belmont go on to have a family and raise the next generation of Vampire Killers.

But that doesn't mean there still weren't any bad endings left to add to this list. This update features a few new additions that saw its leads either succumb to darkness or leave innocents trapped in evil's thrall. The other entries have also been spruced up a touch to further remind readers that evil can still win in Castlevania.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

10 Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Don't Kill the Vampire Sisters

Has anyone ever wondered where Castlevania: Bloodlines fits in the series? It was a great Genesis game, yet the other games largely sidestepped it. It wasn't until Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin came along that it got a follow-up. Set during World War 2, Jonathan Morris, son of Bloodlines' John Morris, works with Sypha's descendant Charlotte to overcome Dracula, the vampire Brauner, and prove himself worthy of wielding the Vampire Killer whip. The two will often be tormented in their quest by Brauner's daughters, Loretta and Stella. Or so they claim.

They turn out to be the children of Bloodlines' co-protagonist Eric LeCarde, wrapped up in Brauner's spell. Getting the game's good ending involves saving them with the Sanctuary spell. But if the player kills them, Brauner will choose to save them over carrying out his evil plan, letting the castle crumble. Dracula never returns, but Jonathan never figures out how to use the Vampire Killer, Eric LeCarde's ghost disappears, and the player gets a Game Over screen instead of End Credits, just to let them know they screwed up.

9 Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest

What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse

The black sheep of the original trilogy, Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest broke from the original’s linear gameplay to something closer to the later "Metroidvania" style, as Simon has to collect five of Dracula’s body parts and revive him within his castle to undo a curse the vampire placed upon him and the nearby settlements. Then, he has to send him back to oblivion afterward.

If players beat the game within a week, Simon will beat his curse and save everyone. Any longer, and they’ll get the "Normal" ending, where Dracula gets beaten, Simon dies from his wounds, and the city remains cursed until another hero arises. The "Bad" Ending (taking over two weeks) actually sounds cheerier, as both Simon and Dracula die, but the town and its people are saved.

8 Castlevania: Dracula X

Richter Loses His Love

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was arguably the best of the classic action-based games, but it didn’t get released in the West until the 2007 PSP collection Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. 90s kids had to make do with its SNES remake Castlevania: Dracula X (or Castlevania: Vampire’s Kiss as it was curiously called in Europe). It ultimately wasn’t as good, but it did have sadder endings.

Related

10 Castlevania Games With The Best Boss Galleries, Ranked

Players looking for the best Castlevania games with the best boss battles don't have to look further than these examples.

Failing to save Richter Belmont’s love, Annette, her sister Maria, or the other maidens in Rondo of Blood gives the player a bright scene of the Vampire Hunter that's pretty happy for a bad ending. Failing to save Annette or Maria in Dracula X showed a dark image of Richter on his horse, looking sadly over what he lost in the ruined castle. Saving Maria doesn’t mitigate it much, as the two mourn Annette while shrouded in a dark shadow.

7 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Soma Loses His Soul

Konami’s attempts to shift the series into 3D were mixed, but they continued to thrive in 2D, following Symphony of the Night’s open-world, action-RPG approach to the gameplay. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow switched things up by taking place in 2035, where the twisted missionary Graham Jones tries to revive Dracula by acting on a prophecy that says he’ll return via a vessel.

Usually, new lead Soma Cruz and his allies would prove him wrong. But it turns out the only thing he got wrong about his prophecy was who the vessel would be. Instead of Graham, it would be Soma himself. If he loses to Chaos at the end of the game, the ending will see Soma sitting upon his throne as the new Dracula, with only Julius Belmont returning to hold up his promise to kill Soma if he fell. It's not the best fate for the poor guy.

6 Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Things (Can) Get Worse For Soma

After Aria of Sorrow, things almost returned to normal for Soma Cruz. He knew he had the soul of Dracula within him, but without the castle, both it and his powers remained dormant. He could've lived out his life comfortably if Celia Fortner and her cult hadn't entered it. They seek to create a new lord of darkness by eliminating Soma, so he and his allies, including Julius Belmont, have to fight back against them.

There are two bad endings on offer here. The first is akin to Portrait of Ruin, where Soma defeats Celia's minion Dario, who dies as a result of fusing with a fire demon. All that's left afterward are unanswered questions. Freeing Dario from the demon opens the door to the other bad ending, where Celia kills Soma's girlfriend Mina to make him become Dracula. It'll be up to Julius, Alucard, and Yoko Belnades to put him down Castlevania 3-style in Julius Mode. If only Soma had worn that talisman he got from Mina. Then he would've had a happy ending.

5 Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

How Dracula's Rivalry With the Belmont Clan Began

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence was one of the better-received 3D games. Despite its occasionally repetitive level design and backtracking, it played well enough to get decent praise. The game only had a single ending, but it was a bittersweet one that explained how the eternal battle between the Belmont Clan and Dracula began. After Matthias tells Leon Belmont that his fiancée Sara has been kidnapped by a vampire called Walter, they head out to save her.

Related

Castlevania: 5 Most Evil Characters in The Games, Ranked

The Castlevania game series is chock-full of sinister characters, but some are far more evil than others.

But he ultimately fails, having to kill her to prevent her from becoming a vampire. Then Matthias takes Walter’s power and reveals he was behind everything. It was all a plot for him to avenge himself on God for his own love's death by becoming a vampire, too. He offers Leon the same opportunity, who instead promises that he and his kin will destroy Matthias one day. Thus, Matthias became Dracula, and the Belmonts turned into his deadliest enemies.

4 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Juste Loses Everyone

Following Simon's Quest, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance saw Simon Belmont’s grandson Juste trying to save his childhood friend Lydie from captivity inside Dracula’s castle. During his quest, he learns his friend Maxim tried to destroy Dracula’s remains like Simon did and ended up possessed by an evil spirit born from the remains and his jealousy of Juste's popularity.

The spirit drove him to kidnap Lydie and use her blood to fully become a vampire in order to destroy what’s left of the original Maxim. If the player got both Juste and Maxim’s rings, Juste could save both Lydie and Maxim for the best ending. With just one, he loses Maxim but saves Lydie. Without either, Lydie dies, Maxim is lost forever, the castle crumbles, and Juste damns his fate, declaring he’s failed as a Vampire Hunter.

3 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

The End of the Belmont Clan and Maria

Simon’s Quest and Castlevania’s MSX port Vampire Hunter technically beat Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to the punch, introducing search-action gameplay to the series. Nonetheless, this PS1 classic formed the basis for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games, as Alucard returns from Castlevania 3 to destroy his father’s castle, only to learn that Richter Belmont is trying to revive Dracula for another battle to give his life purpose.

With enough searching, Alucard would get the Holy Glasses to discover Richter was being possessed by Dracula’s devotee Shaft. Without them, he’s forced to kill Richter, ending the Belmont lineage and Dracula’s revival in one fell swoop. Curiously, there was a worse ending that was hidden on the game disc. It was meant to be used if Alucard beat Richter with the Glasses equipped. This time, Maria arrives to save Richter, only to be possessed by Shaft, who then tries to bring the castle down upon everyone. Alucard survives and laments both Richter’s death and Maria’s "transformation." Its replacement was the same as the regular bad ending, only with Alucard breaking the bad news to Maria instead of mourning alone.

2 Castlevania 64

Carrie Becomes Betrothed to the Lord of Vampires

To think Nintendo magazines at the time were pleased over getting the 3D Castlevania 64 instead of the PS1's 2D SotN. The game does have its defenders, but when it’s compared to the rest of the series, both it and its Legacy of Darkness update falter. However, it does have an intriguing story, as Reinhardt Schneider and Carrie Fernandez try to stop a series of child kidnappings in which they suspect Dracula and his servants are involved.

Related

7 Underrated Castlevania Games

The Castlevania franchise has spanned decades, but which vampire-slaying game in the series is the most underrated?

They learn this thanks to help from Malus, one of the kidnapped victims. If players beat the game fast enough, they learn Malus is Dracula reborn as a child via a ritual performed by his servants. If they don't, they will remain blind to the ruse and "save" Malus from his servant Gilles de Rais. Reinhardt would raise Malus as the next Vampire Hunter, while Carrie would promise to become his bride when he grows up, unaware of his true intentions.

1 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

Shanoa Gets Tricked into Giving Up Her Soul

After going to the future in Aria of Sorrow and its sequel Dawn of Sorrow, the series went back in time to the early 1800s with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Following the Belmont Clan’s disappearance after SotN, the Order of Ecclesia was founded to stop Dracula’s revival. Using the Dominus ritual, they’d trap Dracula’s power in Shanoa, one of their members.

But it was stopped prematurely when Shanoa's colleague Albus stole the necessary glyphs away to Wrygol Village, costing Shanoa her memories and emotions. If the player managed to save all the villagers, they'd learn that the Order was actually trying to revive Dracula with the ritual. If they didn’t, Shanoa would kill Albus, reclaim the glyphs, and complete the ritual. She'd die in the process as Dracula returns with no one strong enough left to oppose him.

More

8 Games Where the "Bad Ending" Was the Best Ending

Sometimes, a video game's "bad ending" isn't all that bad and can offer a more satisfying conclusion to a story or even better in-game rewards.