We Rank the Entire Castlevania Series! 32-11 (Part 1)

[@kyleparrish8745]

As a physical therapist, I find Simon's walk cycle in Haunted Castle concerning...

[@christopherroa9781]

😭😭😭

[@arios6443]

I've been waiting for this since the start of Castlemania. It's been a wild ride, and inside jokes such as the sword of darn, apples, avenging Luigi, and Albert will stick with me for a long time. My personal favorite streams were Castlevania 64, Harmony of Despair, and Lords of Shadow.

[@sylv3053]

Ah, good times. Also, "I'm right here." Mazeltov!

[@Ninjaananas]

Lords of Shadow had also the inappropriate trumpet. Also, what was the Albert insider? I cannot remember it.

[@pedrohdsr]

It's been a long time old one... I'm so glad that you finally released this ranking list Derrick. Castlevania is such a great series that deserves much more recognition than it has today, and the fact that you've streamed all the games and even made this list to get more people into it is awesome.

[@topdog23100]

This is an awesome video! This video convinced me to buy the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and I absolutely love it! 😍 Thank you Derrick for an awesome livestreaming series, and an awesome ranking video! 😄

[@Remedy_333]

Brings back many memories when Derrick streamed the games, I enjoyed every single stream he made, Especially Curse of darkness it was great

[@rlpn6710]

Harmony of dissonance is so underrated. At times I found it more fun than my favorite, SOTN. It's basically Castlevania with friends.

[@CoJoHo]

Your streams were a delight to watch and I can't wait for the Top 10! Some of my favs of yours are going to be there.

[@-postapokalypso-7289]

Are those streams still available somewhere?

[@BoundaryBreak]

Here we go!

[@TheCaptainHere]

People who don't enjoy Harmony of Dissonance tend to use the d pad instead of the shoulder buttons. It's built to be a faster paced mini sotn, and really succeeds when you make that mental adjustment. Maxim mode then builds on that speed to crazy levels.

[@Dont_tell_sarah]

Castlevania 64 is very underrated! The first 3D style Vania is so fun to explore. The way you creep into each room not knowing what awaits, it’s straight up eerie! The music is absolutely beautiful. I had a blast playing this. Should be higher than 29 imo. 💪🏼

[@ChaosOmnimon]

Happy to see where Circle of the Moon falls! Circle of the Moon was my very first castlevania and I still have my original copy!

[@Ninjaananas]

I would have put it higher.

[@ItsDangerousGoAlone]

Yeah, i think it should be in top 10

[@kaziashfaqulhuq8765]

As a metroidvania fan who started with Circle of the Moon, it would have been definitely on my top 10

[@richardgurney1844]

@@Ninjaananas Definitely above Harmony of Dissonance at LEAST

[@Ninjaananas]

@@richardgurney1844 Yes, I would also put it above that, through HoD is also great.

[@thevideogamebrothers3006]

Easily the best YT video I've seen in months. Thanks Derrick, for all your hard work, especially for going through those not-so-good games. Can't wait for part 2!

[@geoleo965]

Been missing Sypha Belnades as a playable character; at least we can all admire her in the animated series... No, *_Castlevania:Judgment_* doesn't count!

[@marcosgalvis3498]

I also wish she was a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Heck, if she gets in Smash we can also get a Echo fighter in the form of Yoko Belnades.

[@Ninjaananas]

@@marcosgalvis3498 She does not even have a spirit.

[@jasongarrett768]

Geo Leo To be honest I consider Judgment’s treatment of her to be character assassination. But that also applies to most of the characters present in that game.

[@marcosgalvis3498]

@gaming123456 that's why I said if. It's better for her to join in a future installment.

[@genericstickman5967]

That implies the animated series is any good which it isn’t since it still doesn’t have Grant

[@devilishjester7718]

"I played the two worst games on the same night" what a terrible night to have a curse

[@timcollett99]

Black dahlia for the win!

[@Ninjaananas]

Finally! I have been waiting for this since the end of the awesome streams. It even spawned a couple of its own memes.

[@failightbringer9845]

For real? I haven't seen any meme of it, I'm curious! :D

[@ShadowSkyX]

🍎🍎🍎

[@Ninjaananas]

@@failightbringer9845 The memes are insiders and don't really appeared outside the streams. But example are the apple incidence, the Sword of Darn, Avenge Luigi and the inappropriate trumpet.

[@Ninjaananas]

@@ShadowSkyX The most famous of them all.

[@KayFiOS]

Last year I decided to beat a Castlevania game, as I'd never done so before without a Game Genie. That game was Aria of Sorrow, and I loved it! Can't wait to see how it and Dawn of Sorrow stack up against the other games in this list!

[@jjc4924]

Aria of Sorrow was an fantastic game. I can't wait to see how Dawn goes.

[@BigDreamsGarage]

by far that my favorite game ever made

[@jwill7998]

Aria is top 3 material

[@kanekiken-hg3jx]

dawn of sorrow is an amazing game

[@KayFiOS]

@@Snesgamer I bought the Castlevania Anniversary Collection during the Summer Sale. I probably would've hated Castlevania Adventure without save states (which I am using at points where I respawn because game overs are for arcade games and need to die.) I did love the autoscrolling level with spikes, because it was the most memorable setpiece in the game, and once I made it to the top of the vertical shaft only for more spikes to appear to force me to go left, I couldn't tell if I should yell in frustration or laugh my ass off. I played Kid Dracula next, which... wow. I wish I had that game as a kid, I would've loved it! I felt like a kid playing it, it just has a lovable charm to it. Now I'm playing Super Castlevania IV, which I'm really enjoying so far. I keep getting nervous with each jump, as I keep forgetting Simon says screw midair forward momentum in this one and can change directions! Knockback is still a bitch, but overall, I'm having a better time with it than the NES games.

[@MilesWilliams88]

This is a great video! I've always been a Castlevania fan, but I mostly played them in passing when I was a kid. Lately I've been on a huge Castlevania kick and decided to go back and play a bunch of them... I'm also doing the same thing with Mega Man. It's been a blast!

[@damnson5642]

Didn’t think anyone would rank Lords of Shadow 2 over 1

[@Ninjaananas]

@jose ramiro reynoso ruiz Indeed, but one could already guess so when watching the streams.

[@gabrielgoes0]

I'm just watching this now, but damn, if those Castlemania streams weren't a good time, I don't know what were. Thanks a lot again, Derrick, and for this video as well!

[@rudeboyspodcast]

Rondo of Blood is obviously in the top 5, callin it now

[@Ninjaananas]

@jose ramiro reynoso ruiz No, he said it was his favorite classicvania. His favorite overall is, as he already spoilered, Order of Ecclesia. Rondo of Blood is indeed very likely to be in the top five, though. Together with SotN and Aria of Sorrow, I bet. It is also surprising that LoS 2 made it into to the top ten, though he visibly enjoyed the game in the stream. Still surprising.

[@jwill7998]

Rondo is great, but wouldn't crack my top 5. That's just a testament to the greatness of the series.

[@eliasisthegreatest]

Great list! Can't wait for the top 10.

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

Kinda odd that you say the Wii virtual console was the first English version of Rondo when the bonus port in DXC predates the Wii port by 3 years, DXC even releasing in North America a month before it released in Japan for some reason so that port was actually released in the west first

[@N7Link]

Great list Derrick it was a lot of streams to get this far but I remember having fun watching.

[@KirbyPhelpsPK]

I watched all your streams and have been waiting to hear your rankings. Great video! Needs more views!

[@loki.odinson]

Excellent coverage. As a true Castlevania aficionado I can say that you certainly do the series justice. Bravo.

[@graymatter9431]

Thanks for being one of the few who talks good about castlevania legacy of darkness. That is one of my favorite castlevania games and I even put it in my top 5. I really love the game and have great memories of it. Especially the amazing music.

[@kewincesar6956]

I think I saw this video already lol

[@failightbringer9845]

It went live like a week ago and then went Private for some reason...

[@TheComicRelief9001]

An apple a day keeps the vampires away

[@failightbringer9845]

Keeps the karma balanced that way... :p

[@kingbill8155]

I think that bloodlines should actually be higher at least in the top 5 it’s one of the best in the series in my opinion

[@Ninjaananas]

That's your opinion but most people enjoy the metroidvanias much more and Super Castlevania 4 and Rondo of Blood are usually also prefered more.

[@jwill7998]

I know it's your opinion, but it's wrong.

[@knkn5049]

create video to proove it) but Dracula'sCurse(jap) provides to you more interesting gameplay puzzles than Bloodlines's long corridors ^^ at this video was shown as Sypha goes down by stairs and anyway catch fireball from scull cannon - he didnt realize to jump over the gap and dodge fireball- that is puzzle, also he climbed up to AxeKnight when there where possibility to jump from right side to hit knight from distance by knife or firejet - brain works

[@ChizFreak]

Love this kind of video and I love the Castlevania series! My favorite Castlevania is Symphony of the Night, followed by Rondo of Blood. Now that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is out I played that game to 100% and enjoyed it a lot, I would rank it at 2, just behind of Symphony of the Night because it doesn't have as much content as SotN.

[@Nexils]

Ooooh, so nice to see how the games from 'my childhood' (what a ghastly thing to say, honestly) yet have to come! When I was younger I played Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia on my Nintendo DS and I really liked those. I wonder in what order they'll appear on this list. I've heard PoR is considered to be 'too easy', so I guess it'll be the lowest, followed by Ecclesia and then DoS. But that's just me guessing, because I remember liking Ecclesia more.

[@jjc4924]

Portrait of Ruins isn't easy. It's pretty much in the middle of difficulty, but in a good way.

[@TheJoaovicente]

Actually, you can play the adventure rebirth through emulation. I was surprised to see that dolphin also plays wii ware games

[@Cerby9]

As a long time fan of the series I can absolutely agree and support Harmony of Dissonance being a great game for beginners. Hell, it's what got me into the series! Harmony of Despair is amazing btw, glad you gave it proper credence instead of putting it lower. The DLC maps, songs, and characters are absolutely worth it as well given some of the craziness each can have and the special drops you get for the bosses. I wish it was higher tbh, but I think your ranking is more than fair. Maybe we'll see it again in these collections that are coming out eh?

[@DrRESHES]

I didn't expected to return to this video so soon. makes me want to play all those Castlevania games. i wonder if i should emulate the DS games or just go get one...?

[@Cyanmartinez]

2:06 I laughed so hard I almost choked on my lunch.

[@MischaVetter]

Castlevania for me is a amazing thrilling series with a lot of fun. My favorite titles from the franchise are Super Castlevania, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Symphony of the Night, Rondo of Blood, Bloodlines, Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania 64

[@billcook4768]

I actually like Castlevania: The Adventure. Yes, when it first starts I was thinking, "what is this mess." But once I got used to it, it was a ton of fun.

[@andreasfreij4485]

Play the hack of it instead....i beat the original version before

[@puffdaddy6488]

This is awesome that you did this. The one thing I wish you would've done is ranked the Famicom version of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. It was released in the west, just as you mentioned, via the Anniversary Collection. That makes it just as eligible for this list as Kid Dracula (Famicom/NES).

[@mattheil6873]

Great list so far, can’t wait to see what the top 10 are.

[@efilwv1635]

Super Castlevania IV is my favorite by far!

[@garou119]

This is a very safe list, but l just live seeing Derric going on on Castlevania. Love you, man, watched the entirety of Castlevania

[@diegog1853]

I honestly would put bloodlines even higher, its just so good, i don't know the order of 10-1 but i prefer bloodlines over the original castlevania and super castlevania 4. I have no nostalgic conection to either 16 bit castlevanias, and I still think bloodlines looks better and its more fun to play and better designed. The stiffness of the controls and the limited attack options i believe are an integral part of classic castlevania, in the same way classic megaman doesn't shoot up or double jump. Super castlevania 4 feels a bit more generic, whipping monsters in all directions without putting too much thought into it.

[@Gemini476]

Bloodlines is a good game, but unfortunately it also has the whole "if you game over you have to restart the entire game" thing. It really pulls it down, IMHO.

[@diegog1853]

@@Gemini476 yeah you are right. I mean its not hard and i think most people could finish it in their third try or something. But you are right its annoying and you can already kind of ignore it. Since at the end of each level you get a password giving you infinite tries as long as you put the password in. So they should've just let you try infinetely and spare you the annoyance of putting a password in.

[@verixforgotten1121]

Hell ya, curse of darkness is making the top 10!

[@skeletankmcgraw7343]

Lament of Innocence is better.

[@krisisgod666]

@Gamexplain What happened to all the Castlevania let’s plays you guys had? They are ALL gone! (Minus 1). Please bring those back! They were PHENOMENAL! 😭❤️👍🏻

[@Chamberz55]

15:00 Simon's Quest needs a modern HD reboot. I know it will likely never happen but imagine Castlevania 2 with flushed out mechanics like Aria or Symphony but with modern aesthetics like Bloodstained. (Fully aware that is not an official Castlevania game, but lets be real, it is the closest thing we have.) Just finished Circle of the Moon. it was a real slog after a while. Great vid.

[@smashbear9315]

What happened to the original upload? I watched all of it and couldn't see any problems could you please reply or say something?

[@luckycapgaming5957]

Must’ve been something they wanted to schedule

[@smashbear9315]

@@luckycapgaming5957 yeah probably but It's just kinda weird ya'know

[@DarkRose0523]

The first Castlevania game I ever played was Castlevania adventure rebirth. I still have it on my Wii. I really hope it gets rereleased in a collection at some point ❤

[@jc30081983]

I am loving every second of this video

[@phazongroove]

Castlevania Lords of Shadow was my favorite Castlevania of all time

[@greyfox3178]

One of the best franchises in gaming history

[@gottman861]

I'm happy I can attempt to watch this again. Hopefully I don't mess with your analytics by skipping to where I stopped.

[@ABAgamer_]

I was actually introduced to Castlevania from the flash game Super Mario Crossover. There was a playable character named Simon, and I had no clue who he was and mistook him for Hercules. But once the Belmonts were announced for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I suddenly remembered seeing that character from SMC and realized how important he must've been in the NES era (not to mention any character wielding a whip grabs my attention instantly). The games were hard at first but I started to feel comfortable with how challenging they were and its gameplay and soon the series became one of my favorite games to play in my pass time. From the creepy aesthetic to the adventurous environment made Castlevania and the Belmonts memorable characters that I should've discovered sooner, and thanks to the Anniversary Collection I had most of the classics at my hands! I do wish Konami, instead of being Cuntnami nowadays, made more or even remade some of the classics to bring the franchise to a newer generation. Without SMC and their inclusion to Smash, I would still be clueless about the amazing Castlevania.

[@tammyhall2530]

Bloodlines was my first classic castlevania and I really love it

[@doorknob5223]

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CASTLEMANIA PLAYLIST???

[@cyberfennek]

Super Castlevania 4 is the best of them all swinging your whip around where ever you like upgrading throwing weapons and then there is the music so epic and no tedious stupid level grinding :) it is also not too difficult as long as you stick with the boomerang weapon

[@Plasmariel]

Cant talk about Dracula's Curse without the music

[@ciregoku]

if your anything like me I already know what the top 10 are going to be but you could surprise me like how you had the patience to play every single one of these games over the course of a year and a half despite only just getting interested thanks to Smash Ultimate.

[@Gojiro7]

im shocked it wasn't mentioned that the reason Belmonts Revenge is so loved is because of its amazing soundtrack

[@joelking313]

I'm a huge castlevania fan and I loved LoS. You just have to play game for what it is and stop expecting it to be the exact same format as every other castlevania game. I actually found it kind of refreshing.

[@thomasgarcia8626]

Never have I agreed more with a list.

[@jwill7998]

Top 3: Symphony of the Night Aria of Sorrow Super Castlevania IV (any order is acceptable) 4.) Portrait of Ruin 5.) Dawn of Sorrow

[@Sinn0100]

I have played and beaten most Castlevania games. I have finished every console iteration that has released stateside including the 3d outings. I beat the two original GameBoy games and yes, Adventure is so bad it's almost unplayable. I still don't know how I managed to beat it. The only games I have missed really are the GameBoy Advance games and DS titles but I'm working on that right now. I got the Castlevania Advance Collection for my Series X and Switch (one for home and the other for on the go).

[@nochawk1313]

My first and only Castelvania was Circle of the Moon when it released. I really need to give that game another shot. I had a lot of trouble when I was younger

[@Jack_80]

i was the opposite with some of these games. beat castlevania 3 several times as a kid and didnt find it that difficulty, tried to replay it recently and i was getting my ass kicked.

[@ScrupulousProd]

Castlevania 64 is underrated and deserves a remaster with quality of life improvements so everyone can enjoy it. It’s the most pure form of Castlevania in 3D and I wish more sequels built on this foundation. THERE I SAID IT

[@ivanquote1807]

I started playing the Iga-Vania games after the series was announced for Smash. I loved Symphony, Aria, and especially Ecclesia, but Circle of the Moon was a sore point for me, perhaps because I played it after these other games. The controls stiff and the card drops random, not helped by lacking shop or bestiary, and an incredibly aggravating final boss to cap it off left a bad taste in my mouth. It makes sense to see it lower on the list.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Iga wasnt involved with COTM so a lot of his design philosophies werent there. Harmony of Dissonance is basically his take on COTM, having basically the same plot beats and being whip-only. It's way better but COTM still has stuff to enjoy.

[@andreasfreij4485]

In the new collection there is a bestiary in COTM

[@1SWINZ1]

IMO: 1) Castlevania III 2) Castlevania 3) Super Castlevania IV 4) Symphony of the Night 5) Rondo of Blood I still need to playthrough Bloodlines and, I wouldn't be surprised if that takes my number 4 slot. I play Castlevania for the challenge and can't stand how Igarashi's games are pretty much devoid of challenge. I do, however, love them for their atmosphere.

[@quag311]

Nice vid!

[@belmontzar]

I gotta say, I do agree for the most part, but personally Circle of the moon rates fairly high for me personally, particularly with the Extra Modes you get every time you beat the game. Fighter had you play super strong but you Cant use DSS Mage gives you all DSS and a massive boost to magic and MP Thief is the regular game but with a giant boost to the Luck stat Shooter lets you grab two dagger sub weapons and they then become seeker weapons with some Mad Damage boosts. Everymode takes the base game, changes it subtly and combined with the amazing castle layout and that SWEET Ost made of past game Remixes... Oh and dont get me started on how good AWAKE is, and probably my FAVE version of Dance of Illusions. I play the game fairly often still thanks to emulation, but if it ever came back out for Switch it would be a Day One purchase no question. Nathan Graves is my fave non Belmont protagonist right alongside Alucard and Soma, canonical or not.

[@UndernetChara]

My favorite Castlevania games: Classic stage based games: Rondo of Blood. Metroidvania: either Symphony of the Night or the Soma Cruz games (Aria and Dawn of Sorrow).

[@Nintendonator3000]

I actually quite enjoyed Castlevania Adventure, but that was only with excessive save state usage.

[@adventuresofdave3324]

Draculas Curse should definitely be top 10. I found it hard but not really all that crazy hard everyone plays it up to be. But as a very casual speed runner of the original game, maybe my skills are better put to use on it than most others.

[@BassForever]

The fact Lords of Shadow 2 is going to genuinely make a top 10 list of castlevania games is the ultimate sign that 2020 is the worst year of all time

[@steamy5075]

I just fucking love this series, it’s so good.

[@GoldStorm07]

I still haven't played near as much of the series as I'd like. Dracula's Curse and Order of Ecclesia are probably the ones I most want to get to.

[@IdkYoYo]

11:18 Oh thats why the dude on the cover looks like Light

[@DeskoDev]

You know what makes that even funnier? That's *Simon*. It at least looks like his Chronicles redesign, but yeah...

[@IdkYoYo]

@Desko The art style mightve even been on purpose, cuz I know most talented artists can replicate other artstyles or at least draw in a style that isnt their usual one, but DeathNotes author decided to stick to his style. So Im thinking maybe it was a design choice to give the series something different. Idk

[@adamitalosadoun3969]

What exactly happened to the first upload I was expecting part 2

[@stueystyler]

Judgment above 64 and Legacy of Darkness!?!?!?

[@Crestfallen_Fawkes]

Thanks to this I noticed how biased I was to Dracula X Chronicles, since it was the first game I ever played.

[@Sashinega]

I'd love a Castlevania game with dark souls mechanics

[@virgogaming6488]

Castlevania 64 is actually my favorite Castlevania game.

[@Dave-rf1zj]

Kid Dracula on the Famicom is a great game. Any fan of that should try the Splatterhouse one as well.

[@tyranitararmaldo]

4:50 Constipated. He looks constipated. It's like his real quest was not to find his wife, but where Dracula keeps his toilet inside the castle.

[@cuccooverlord9812]

I will say the same, Castlevania 64 is heavily underrated and also Circle of the Moon.

[@METR0lD]

I agree with the vast majority of this ranking so far. The only changes I'd make are bumping up Castlevania Chronicles much higher on the list. I feel it's way better than at least 5 or 6 of the games currently ranked above it. I'd also swap the order of Adventure ReBirth and Bloodlines. ReBirth is a better game in my opinion.

[@SpeedbreakerNo1]

Number 1 and 2 are probably Rondo Of Blood and Order Of Ecclesia. Not sure which will be number one though. But both are most likely the best of the Action-platformer and Metroidvania styles. The other games are a little bit harder to figure out. Best 3D Castlevania is either Lords Of Shadow 2 or Curse Of Darkness, because both are way better than their reputation.

[@MilesWilliams88]

Lament of Innocence is super under rated in my opinion. I love that game.

[@NocturneCesarito]

It's really hard to pick a favorite when it comes to Castlevania, mine are: 1- SotN 2- LoS 3- Curse of Darkness 4- Harmony of Dissonance 5- Aria of Sorrow 6- LoS 2 7- LoS MoF 8- Circle of Blood 9- Portrait of Ruin 10- everything else

[@jwill7998]

1. Aria 2. Super Castlevania IV 3. SotN 4. Portrait of Ruin 5. Dawn of Sorrow 6. Rondo 7. Harmony 8. Castlevania (NES) 9. Circle of the Moon 10. Bloodlines Full disclosure, I'm just not into the 3D Castlevanias.

[@jeffjackson9679]

I beat Castlevania 3 as a 10 year old kid. Not sure why people wine about it being so hard like this guy. It was tough, but not impossible by any means. You just have to know how to use the right characters when playing it.

[@carlosraruto]

Im just happy Portrait of Ruin made it to top ten and that only the 32-31 are really considered 'bad' as legends is perfectly skippable at worst. Still a great ranking tho.

[@tomasgarcia7499]

I agree with your opinion on 3, it’s hard AF!!!! I died so many freaking times! 😭

[@andreasfreij4485]

You should also play the fangames Lecarde Chronicles 1 & 2...amazing games

[@handoffate7262]

Sometimes I forget that not everyone has access to an NES or an Snes anymore and playing these games on an original cartridge isn’t the easiest way to play some of these

[@ooberallen]

completely agree with Dracula X, I was legitimately angry when they revealed it's inclusion in the recent Castlevania Advance collection

[@143622010]

When is part 2 😭😭 I’ve been waiting for dayssss

[@jasongarrett768]

*sees 32* Video’s already starting on the right foot. :) (I do love Battle of the Holy though)

[@renesav]

am i crazy or i saw this video a while back?

[@pinealdreams1064]

I'm a huge Castlevania fan, and will never, ever, ever understand why 64 get so much hate. It's brilliant, and easily in my top 5 without any shadow of a doubt. But it just seems to be popular to hate it, for some reason.

[@allangibbs4300]

Calling it right now his number one will be OoE on the DS

[@Ninjaananas]

He already spoilered it anyway.

[@jjc4924]

I thought it was Aria of Sorrow that's his favorite.

[@Ninjaananas]

@@jjc4924 It was at first but he changed his mind when playing OoE.

[@jwill7998]

OoE was easily my least favorite of the DS games. It wouldn't crack my top 5, let alone be number 1.

[@jjc4924]

J Will. What is it about OoE you dislike? I thought the game was amazing for myself.

[@PikaLink91]

Say what you will about Judgment, but I love Obata's re-designs.

[@NewNeko2000]

What about Castlevania Order of Shadows? I can see you missed it and this is also original game made by Konami. Where would you put it?