Konami is famous for leaving its beloved franchises unloved for long stretches. Fans have watched almost every IP under the widely despised company's thumb waste away without quality representation. The finest piece of Castlevania media in the past decade happens to be an animated series that ran for four seasons on Netflix. The upcoming spin-off, Castlevania: Nocturne, will offer a new look at Richter Belmont.
The Belmont family leads many entries in the Castlevania franchise. When Nintendo reached out to add representatives of the series to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, they picked two Belmonts. Simon Belmont was the original hero who led the first two games. Richter Belmont was the family member who appeared in the franchise's flagship entry, Symphony of the Night.
How is Richter Belmont related to Trevor and Sypha?
Richter is the distant descendant of Trevor and Sypha. They're separated by roughly 320 years. Several generations of the Belmont Family tree are missing. The original series' lovely couple begat Frediric Belmont sometime in the late 1400s. Frediric's son's name is unknown, but his son was called Christopher. Christopher begat Soleil Belmont and Gerhart Belmont around 1576. One of Chris's kids has a son who goes on to sire Simon Belmont. Simon's grandson, Juste Belmont, was born around 1730. 43 years later, Richter Belmont is born. He's related to Juste, and Simon is considered his ancestor, but his connection is unclear. The missing links make it tough to track his exact family bond, but it's clear that he's Trevor and Sypha's descendent. He's either eight or nine generations removed from the lovely couple. Incidentally, his ancestor Julius is chronologically the last member of the family to appear in the canon.
How is Richter Belmont portrayed in the games?
Richter is known as the youngest Belmont to fight a fully-resurrected Dracula. Richter was only 19 in his first appearance. Simon was 22, Trevor was 20, and Juste never fought Dracula at 100%. Christopher's age was unknown, but he had a 15-year-old son at the time, so it's safe to assume he was older than Richter. Richter shows his age by being much more hot-headed and passionate than his forebearers. He's reckless, cocky, and proud. Richter demonstrates naivety in his interpersonal interactions. He considers himself the only man suited to take on the creatures of the night, and it takes a display of power from Maria Renard to convince him otherwise. Though he's a bit impulsive, he's exceedingly kind towards friends and strangers. He's the picture of young idealism and has the skill to back it up. Unfortunately, his fire burns out early.
Richter defeats Dracula at 19, but the impact of accomplishing that feat at such a young age leaves him depressed. Unlike Trevor, Richter enters the fight against darkness with uncomplicated sincerity and an unstoppable drive toward heroism. After Dracula dies, Richter begins to feel unfulfilled. Without the thrill of battle, with no more darkness to drive off, Richter fears that he'll become useless to the world. He's the kind of guy who doesn't think he should exist if he isn't helping people. It's a tragic character flaw. He's so sincerely motivated by an innate desire to do what's right that the lack of a demon to slay leaves him empty.
A dark wizard named Shaft seizes upon his insecurity and fear to possess him, turning him into a villain in Symphony of the Night. Shaft's influence pushes Richter into his darkest impulses. Richter tries to resurrect Dracula so he can have the thrill of slaying the dark lord again. The game states that Shaft is pulling his strings, but the magic only works because of Richter's genuine emotions. After Alucard frees Richter, the young Belmont is ashamed. At 24, he flees society and spends the rest of his life in hiding. He entrusts his family's ancestral weapon, the Vampire Killer, to the Morris family, an offshoot branch sired by Trevor and Sypha's daughter Ann. The Belmont name remains in the shadows for almost 300 years.
The tale of Richter Belmont is deeply tragic. His only moral failings were peaking too soon and wanting to relive the past. Castlevania took Trevor's story of redeeming his family in the eyes of the church and built a new personality around it. The Trevor that appears on Netflix is so much more human than the one in Curse of Darkness or the Pachislot games. Reading the story of poor Richter Belmont reveals so much sadness. It's easy to miss the fine details of his character in the games, but the show has a rare opportunity. Castlevania: Nocturne will be the deepest study of Richter Belmont as a character yet. Fans will have to wait and see whether he finally gets the recognition he deserves. Trevor was a reluctant monster slayer, fighting his baser instincts to save the people who shunned him. Richter was a shining beacon of kindness and heroism who fell from grace after his great deeds. Their last name is the same, but their stories are almost exact opposites.