[15] Retrospectives attributed to the series' success to its unique blend of action, adventure, and horror elements;[16] and it has been praised for its challenging gameplay mechanics, atmospheric settings, and iconic music.

[15] Most Castlevania titles have been released in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia on various video game consoles, personal computers (PC) and mobile phones, with additional remakes and re-releases.

[19] Also released in 1986 was Vampire Killer for the MSX home computer, which played significantly differently from the original Castlevania, where players had to search for the exit before they could proceed to the next stage.

[17] Symphony of the Night introduced a major change to the gameplay, incorporating role-playing elements and a nonlinear map that the player could freely explore, which was previously seen in Simon's Quest and Nintendo's Metroid series.

[21][29] Elements of Symphony of the Night would influence the gameplay of future titles, beginning with the Game Boy Advance entries Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, which were released from 2001 to 2003.

[26] In 2003, the next 3D Castlevania title, Lament of Innocence debuted for the PlayStation 2 with combat-oriented hack and slash gameplay that drew comparisons to Devil May Cry and retroactively, God of War.

Castlevania, released for the NES in 1986, is a platform game in which the player takes the role of the character Simon Belmont, navigating through six levels of Dracula's castle.

Loss of all health, falling off-screen, or running out of time results in losing a life, with the game ending when all lives are depleted, though players can continue from the last checkpoint.

[44] Alongside the whip, Simon can use secondary weapons like throwing knives, holy water, and the boomerang-like cross, which consume hearts collected throughout the levels.

[43][46] Unlike the linear progression of the first game, Simon's Quest allows players to explore a freely accessible world map, revisit areas, and engage with a dynamic environment that includes day and night cycles affecting enemy strength and the availability of non-playable characters.

[43][44] 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night significantly expanded upon the gameplay introduced in Simon's Quest, setting a new formula for the series and influencing subsequent Metroidvania titles.

[47] Symphony of the Night also features non-linear exploration, requiring players to gather specific items and abilities to access different areas of Dracula’s castle.

[47][43] This installment expanded the role-playing elements by including a more complex attribute and leveling system where the protagonist, Alucard, increases his in-game statistics by gaining experience points from defeated enemies.

[48] Unlike the earlier 3D installment which involved navigating through various levels with a degree of platforming challenge, 2003's Lament of Innocence focused on a central hub system.

[49] The 2010 reboot, Lords of Shadow introduced a more diverse range of up to forty unlockable combos with the game's whip, the Combat Cross, integrating both direct and area attacks.

[50] Additionally, it functions as a tool for exploration, aiding in scaling walls, rappelling, and swinging across gaps, which deepens the platforming elements central to the franchise.

[69] The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is a member of the Brotherhood of Light, an elite group of holy knights who defend people from supernatural creatures.

[70] With a retractable chain whip called the Combat Cross, Gabriel fights a malevolent force known as the Lords of Shadow in order to obtain the God Mask, which he believes can bring back his deceased wife.

[72] In 2002, the games Legends, Circle of the Moon, Castlevania (1999), and Legacy of Darkness were retconned from the official chronology by Koji Igarashi, a move which had been met with some criticism by fans.

[77][78] An admirer of cinema, Akamatsu approached projects with a "film director's eye", and said the visuals and music for Castlevania were "made by people who consciously wanted to do something cinematic.

[79] Because of Nintendo of America's censorship policies at the time, most instances of blood, nudity and religious imagery were removed or edited in early Castlevania games.

[90] After KCEK was dissolved during 2002, the Game Boy Advance received a second installment, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, now produced by Igarashi and developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET).

[121] Symphony of the Night's art director, Osamu Kasai, requested Yamane to join the team,[120] and she would draw inspiration from Ayami Kojima's concept artwork.

[121] Unlike the FM synthesis that Bloodlines used, Yamane felt she had more freedom with Symphony of the Night as it was produced for a CD-ROM, which made it capable of much higher quality music and sound.

[122] His work on Lords of Shadow earned him a nomination for breakout composer of the year by the International Film Music Critics Association,[123] and he won "Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media.

[176] The franchise has received mostly positive reviews, with the most acclaimed game being Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation[133][132] and the most panned being Judgment, with aggregate scores of 93 and 49, respectively, on Metacritic and 93.38% and 52.71%, respectively, on GameRankings.

[181] The series as a whole was named the 4th best franchise in games ever by IGN, behind only Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda and Mario, and citing Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night as highlights.

[11] Illustrated by Kou Sasakura, a two-volume manga adaptation titled Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, based on the PlayStation 2 installment, was published in Japan from 2005 to 2006.

[196][197] The streaming service Netflix released an American animated series titled Castlevania as part of its original programming between 2017 and 2021, consisting of four seasons and 32 episodes.

[205] A Castlevania television series was considered in the late 1980s as part of the Super Mario Bros. Power Hour, a one-hour animation block of Nintendo-focused video game adaptations.