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Alucard (Castlevania)
Encyclopedia
, better known as is a fictional character
in Konami
's Castlevania series
of video games. His first appearance in the series was in the 1990 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
, but he is best known for his role in the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
, released in 1997.
His design in Symphony of the Night was created by Ayami Kojima
, marking his first appearance in the Castlevania franchise.
In the series, Alucard is the son of Dracula
, the antagonist of the Castlevania series. Due to his human mother, Lisa, Alucard is a dhampir
, a half-human, half-vampire. His mother's death and admonition not to hate humanity caused him to take up arms against his father. In Dracula's Curse and Castlevania Legends
, he fights against his father alongside the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan, and he is featured as the protagonist of Symphony of the Night. Alucard additionally is present in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
and follow-up sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
, where he interacts with the protagonist of both games, Soma Cruz
, as the Japanese government agent .
Several video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Alucard's character. His role in Symphony of the Night was particularly noted, with several reviewers celebrating the depth and complexity his status as Dracula's son added to the plot; Games Are Fun called him "the best anti-hero to ever star in a videogame [sic
]." In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, where Alucard was present as Genya Arikado, reviewers noted that although he fell into a stereotypical character mold, the greater concentration on supporting characters was a welcomed change from previous Castlevania games.
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
, where he was designed by T. Fujimoto and I. Urata. He was intended to be a mirror image of his father, as evidenced by his name, his father's name spelled backwards. Much of the original artwork for the game was lost during the Great Hanshin earthquake
. Alucard's subsequent appearances would largely be designed by Ayami Kojima
, who managed the character designs for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
.
Kojima's work in Symphony of the Night was her first breakthrough into the gaming industry, and her dark, gothic style borrows heavily from bishōnen
-style art. In Aria of Sorrow, Kojima's designs followed the "different route" theme that producer Koji Igarashi
was attempting to pursue with Aria of Sorrow by placing it in a futuristic setting. Following this theme, Alucard's appearance as Genya Arikado was made much more contemporary, featuring modern attire as versus the medieval appearance of previous Castlevania characters. Kojima was not present in the design team for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
, and Arikado, along with the rest of the cast, were drawn in an anime
style. Igarashi, also the producer of Dawn of Sorrow, wished to utilize the anime style as a marketing technique due to his belief that the Nintendo DS
targeted a younger audience than previous Castlevania games had. The anime style would also serve as a litmus test as to whether future Castlevania games would incorporate the style.
for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM²
, which released only in Japan at the time). The seiyū (Japanese voice actor) for Alucard was Ryōtarō Okiayu
, and the English voice actor was Robert Belgrade. In Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles and Castlevania Judgment
, Alucard was English voiced by Yuri Lowenthal
. Igarashi noted that due to the complaints over the poor voice acting by Belgrade and the other voice actors in Symphony of the Night, a new script for the game better translating the original Japanese text, as well as a set of new voice actors were used.
, Alucard is initially a boss encountered over the course of the game by the primary protagonist, Trevor Belmont. If the player defeats Alucard, he can be utilized as a playable character in the game. This was a significant departure from the first two Castlevania games for the NES, and the fourth installment on the Super NES
, which only featured Simon Belmont as the primary playable character, and Alucard's abilities, a fireball attack and the ability to transform into a bat, were unique elements introduced into the series. Following the defeat of Dracula and the game's conclusion, Alucard voluntarily goes into a protracted sleep to ease his feelings of patricide
and to prevent his powers from harming the world.
and Sega Saturn
, where he is featured as the game's protagonist and primary playable character. He is described as a man of great strength and inhuman beauty. Due to the brainwashing of the current member of the Belmont clan, Richter Belmont, Alucard heads to his father's castle to find Richter and ensure that Dracula does not return into the world. He encounters Richter, who has been controlled by the dark priest Shaft into believing he is the lord of Dracula's castle, and Alucard manages to free him from the spell controlling him. In response, Shaft creates an inverted version of Dracula's castle for Alucard to travel through, and Alucard defeats Shaft, and ultimately, Dracula as well. Symphony of the Night also expands on Alucard's background, revealing how his human mother, Lisa, was hunted down and executed by humans who believed her to be a witch. Despite this, Lisa admonished Alucard to respect humans and not hate them as his father did. Alucard's placement as a protagonist was unusual for the series up to that point, as previous Castlevania games had featured often members of the Belmont clan as the protagonists. Symphony of the Night would later be re-released as part of the Xbox Live Arcade
for the Xbox 360
, on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3
, and part of Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles, a compilation that contained Symphony of the Night alongside Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo
. Aside from the changing of the script and Alucard's voice actor to Yuri Lowenthal, his role in the Symphony of the Night portion of The Dracula X Chronicles remains the same.
was Alucard's third appearance in the series. Similar to his initial appearance in Dracula's Curse, he is a boss challenging the skills of the game's protagonist, Sonia Belmont. After she defeats him, he accepts her strength and decides to submerge his powers by sleeping, believing that she will defeat Dracula in his stead. Koji Igarashi later removed Castlevania Legends from the official canon
of the series, meaning that the plot of the game never occurred in the series' continuity
.
In the 2003 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow for the Game Boy Advance
, Alucard is present in disguise as the enigmatic Japanese government agent Genya Arikado in order to prevent the powers of his father, who was finally killed by Julius Belmont, from ending up in the wrong hands. He meets the game's protagonist, Soma Cruz
, and explains his "power of dominance," or his ability to absorb the souls of the monsters he defeats and use their abilities. He instructs him to seek out the castle's throne room, where Soma realizes that he is Dracula's reincarnation
. Arikado subsequently advises Soma to destroy the flow of chaos in the castle to free himself from his fate, which Soma succeeds in doing.
Alucard reprises his role as Arikado in the sequel to Aria of Sorrow, the 2005 Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS
, where he works to stop the machinations of a cult headed by Celia Fortner to create a new dark lord by killing Soma. Arikado initially requests that Soma does not become involved, but gives him a letter and talisman from Mina when he encounters him later in the game. After both of Celia's "dark lord's candidates," Dmitrii Blinov and Dario Bossi, are defeated, Arikado stops Celia's attempt to force Soma to awaken into the new dark lord, but inadvertently allows Dmitrii to revive himself. He confronts him, but is stopped when Dmitrii uses Celia as a sacrifice to seal his powers. Following Soma's battle with Menace, a giant demon that sprouts from Dmitrii, Arikado explains to Soma that he is not destined to become the dark lord, nor does he need to. In the game's Julius Mode, Arikado is playable as Alucard after he is found in the castle.
featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero". In a review of Symphony of the Night, RPGFan celebrated the fact that Alucard was not a member of the Belmont clan, the protagonists of most Castlevania games, and that the fact he was Dracula's son added "an element of depth to the plot" due to the varied reactions he would receive from the inhabitants of Dracula's castle. RPGamer
disagreed with this assessment, noting that the plot and Alucard's role "isn't very deep" and secondary to the concentration on gameplay. Games Are Fun called Alucard "the best anti-hero to ever star in a videogame" and that the relationship between Dracula and Alucard was "enthralling." Alucard's graphical representation was the subject of praise from critics. GameSpot called Alucard's sprite and running animation "easily some of the most impressive visuals in the entire Castlevania library." Games Are Fun extolled Alucard's sprite as "the star of the show," making note of its size, animation, and the variety of special effects that occur during gameplay, and also praised Alucard's design by Ayami Kojima
as "absolutely stunning." James Paul Gee noted that "even though Alucard is a vampire hunter
, he has no distinctive skills associated with this profession".
Alucard's appearance in Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow as Genya Arikado was also noted by reviewers. RPGamer celebrated how the greater concentration on supporting characters, including Arikado, were a welcome change from previous Castlevania games. RPGFan derided Arikado's "cool and impassive personality" as stereotypical, but praised the game's character development as setting him apart from previous supporting characters in the series. The switch to an anime style for the character designs in Dawn of Sorrow was notably criticized, as many reviewers preferred the designs made by Ayami Kojima. GameSpy
deplored the "shallow, lifeless anime images" and IGN
called the images "down to the level of 'generic Saturday morning Anime' quality."
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Castlevania series
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
of video games. His first appearance in the series was in the 1990 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
-Reception and legacy:Nintendo Power listed it as the ninth best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for its strong improvements over previous entries in the series.A 1991 Captain N episode was based on this game....
, but he is best known for his role in the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
, released in 1997.
His design in Symphony of the Night was created by Ayami Kojima
Ayami Kojima
is a Japanese game and concept artist who is best known for her work on the Castlevania series of video games with Konami. She is self-taught and enjoys reading shōnen manga...
, marking his first appearance in the Castlevania franchise.
In the series, Alucard is the son of Dracula
Dracula (Castlevania)
, whose real name is Mathias Cronqvist , is a fictional character from the multi-platform Castlevania video game series...
, the antagonist of the Castlevania series. Due to his human mother, Lisa, Alucard is a dhampir
Dhampir
A Dhampir in Balkan folklore is the child of a vampire father and a human mother. The term is sometimes spelled dhampyre, dhamphir, or dhampyr. Dhampir powers are similar to those of vampires, but without the usual weaknesses...
, a half-human, half-vampire. His mother's death and admonition not to hate humanity caused him to take up arms against his father. In Dracula's Curse and Castlevania Legends
Castlevania Legends
Castlevania Legends is the third and final Castlevania title released for the original Game Boy. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1997 and in North America on March 11, 1998...
, he fights against his father alongside the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan, and he is featured as the protagonist of Symphony of the Night. Alucard additionally is present in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series, and the third installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on...
and follow-up sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. The game is the sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and...
, where he interacts with the protagonist of both games, Soma Cruz
Soma Cruz
Soma Cruz, known in Japan as , is a fictional character and the protagonist of Konami's action-adventure games Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, part of Konami's Castlevania video game series. He was designed by Ayami Kojima as part of producer Koji Igarashi's desire to...
, as the Japanese government agent .
Several video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Alucard's character. His role in Symphony of the Night was particularly noted, with several reviewers celebrating the depth and complexity his status as Dracula's son added to the plot; Games Are Fun called him "the best anti-hero to ever star in a videogame [sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
]." In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, where Alucard was present as Genya Arikado, reviewers noted that although he fell into a stereotypical character mold, the greater concentration on supporting characters was a welcomed change from previous Castlevania games.
Conception and design
Alucard first debuted in Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseCastlevania III: Dracula's Curse
-Reception and legacy:Nintendo Power listed it as the ninth best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for its strong improvements over previous entries in the series.A 1991 Captain N episode was based on this game....
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, where he was designed by T. Fujimoto and I. Urata. He was intended to be a mirror image of his father, as evidenced by his name, his father's name spelled backwards. Much of the original artwork for the game was lost during the Great Hanshin earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...
. Alucard's subsequent appearances would largely be designed by Ayami Kojima
Ayami Kojima
is a Japanese game and concept artist who is best known for her work on the Castlevania series of video games with Konami. She is self-taught and enjoys reading shōnen manga...
, who managed the character designs for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series, and the third installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on...
.
Kojima's work in Symphony of the Night was her first breakthrough into the gaming industry, and her dark, gothic style borrows heavily from bishōnen
Bishonen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...
-style art. In Aria of Sorrow, Kojima's designs followed the "different route" theme that producer Koji Igarashi
Koji Igarashi
, also known simply by the nickname IGA, is a Konami employee and one of the producers of the Castlevania video game series. He is best known as the assistant director of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, his first major involvement in the Castlevania series , also known simply by the nickname...
was attempting to pursue with Aria of Sorrow by placing it in a futuristic setting. Following this theme, Alucard's appearance as Genya Arikado was made much more contemporary, featuring modern attire as versus the medieval appearance of previous Castlevania characters. Kojima was not present in the design team for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. The game is the sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and...
, and Arikado, along with the rest of the cast, were drawn in an anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
style. Igarashi, also the producer of Dawn of Sorrow, wished to utilize the anime style as a marketing technique due to his belief that the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
targeted a younger audience than previous Castlevania games had. The anime style would also serve as a litmus test as to whether future Castlevania games would incorporate the style.
Voice actors
Symphony of the Night was the second Castlevania game to use voice actors for the characters (the first being the Akumajō Dracula X Chi no RondoCastlevania: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, known in Japan as is a platform video game developed by Konami for the PC Engine. The tenth installment of the Castlevania video game series and a 2D side-scroller, it acts as a middleground between the earlier, typically linear Castlevania games and the later...
for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM²
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
, which released only in Japan at the time). The seiyū (Japanese voice actor) for Alucard was Ryōtarō Okiayu
Ryotaro Okiayu
is a Japanese voice actor, who was born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, and raised in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. He has been active since 1989, and is currently affiliated with Aoni Production....
, and the English voice actor was Robert Belgrade. In Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles and Castlevania Judgment
Castlevania Judgment
Initial reaction to the announcement that the game would be a fighting game was received by some with shock and skepticism. IGN's initial viewing of the pre-E3 build of the game made their reviewers conclude the game had promise...
, Alucard was English voiced by Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal is a voice actor that has voiced several anime and video game characters. He also voiced Kamal for the alternate reality game I Love Bees....
. Igarashi noted that due to the complaints over the poor voice acting by Belgrade and the other voice actors in Symphony of the Night, a new script for the game better translating the original Japanese text, as well as a set of new voice actors were used.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
In the 1989 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Alucard is initially a boss encountered over the course of the game by the primary protagonist, Trevor Belmont. If the player defeats Alucard, he can be utilized as a playable character in the game. This was a significant departure from the first two Castlevania games for the NES, and the fourth installment on the Super NES
Super Castlevania IV
Super Castlevania IV, known as in Japan, is a platform game developed and published by Konami and the first Castlevania game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was originally released in 1991 and later re-released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console in 2006...
, which only featured Simon Belmont as the primary playable character, and Alucard's abilities, a fireball attack and the ability to transform into a bat, were unique elements introduced into the series. Following the defeat of Dracula and the game's conclusion, Alucard voluntarily goes into a protracted sleep to ease his feelings of patricide
Patricide
Patricide is the act of killing one's father, or a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin word pater and the Latin suffix -cida...
and to prevent his powers from harming the world.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Alucard's following appearance in the series is in the 1997 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PlayStationPlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
and Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, where he is featured as the game's protagonist and primary playable character. He is described as a man of great strength and inhuman beauty. Due to the brainwashing of the current member of the Belmont clan, Richter Belmont, Alucard heads to his father's castle to find Richter and ensure that Dracula does not return into the world. He encounters Richter, who has been controlled by the dark priest Shaft into believing he is the lord of Dracula's castle, and Alucard manages to free him from the spell controlling him. In response, Shaft creates an inverted version of Dracula's castle for Alucard to travel through, and Alucard defeats Shaft, and ultimately, Dracula as well. Symphony of the Night also expands on Alucard's background, revealing how his human mother, Lisa, was hunted down and executed by humans who believed her to be a witch. Despite this, Lisa admonished Alucard to respect humans and not hate them as his father did. Alucard's placement as a protagonist was unusual for the series up to that point, as previous Castlevania games had featured often members of the Belmont clan as the protagonists. Symphony of the Night would later be re-released as part of the Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and part of Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles, a compilation that contained Symphony of the Night alongside Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, known in Japan as is a platform video game developed by Konami for the PC Engine. The tenth installment of the Castlevania video game series and a 2D side-scroller, it acts as a middleground between the earlier, typically linear Castlevania games and the later...
. Aside from the changing of the script and Alucard's voice actor to Yuri Lowenthal, his role in the Symphony of the Night portion of The Dracula X Chronicles remains the same.
Castlevania Legends
The 1997 Castlevania Legends for the Game BoyGame Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
was Alucard's third appearance in the series. Similar to his initial appearance in Dracula's Curse, he is a boss challenging the skills of the game's protagonist, Sonia Belmont. After she defeats him, he accepts her strength and decides to submerge his powers by sleeping, believing that she will defeat Dracula in his stead. Koji Igarashi later removed Castlevania Legends from the official canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
of the series, meaning that the plot of the game never occurred in the series' continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, Alucard is present in disguise as the enigmatic Japanese government agent Genya Arikado in order to prevent the powers of his father, who was finally killed by Julius Belmont, from ending up in the wrong hands. He meets the game's protagonist, Soma Cruz
Soma Cruz
Soma Cruz, known in Japan as , is a fictional character and the protagonist of Konami's action-adventure games Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, part of Konami's Castlevania video game series. He was designed by Ayami Kojima as part of producer Koji Igarashi's desire to...
, and explains his "power of dominance," or his ability to absorb the souls of the monsters he defeats and use their abilities. He instructs him to seek out the castle's throne room, where Soma realizes that he is Dracula's reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
. Arikado subsequently advises Soma to destroy the flow of chaos in the castle to free himself from his fate, which Soma succeeds in doing.
Alucard reprises his role as Arikado in the sequel to Aria of Sorrow, the 2005 Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, where he works to stop the machinations of a cult headed by Celia Fortner to create a new dark lord by killing Soma. Arikado initially requests that Soma does not become involved, but gives him a letter and talisman from Mina when he encounters him later in the game. After both of Celia's "dark lord's candidates," Dmitrii Blinov and Dario Bossi, are defeated, Arikado stops Celia's attempt to force Soma to awaken into the new dark lord, but inadvertently allows Dmitrii to revive himself. He confronts him, but is stopped when Dmitrii uses Celia as a sacrifice to seal his powers. Following Soma's battle with Menace, a giant demon that sprouts from Dmitrii, Arikado explains to Soma that he is not destined to become the dark lord, nor does he need to. In the game's Julius Mode, Arikado is playable as Alucard after he is found in the castle.
Castlevania: Judgment
Alucard was one of the playable characters in Castlevania Judgment for the Wii, a fighting game based on the series.Reception
Alucard has received praise and criticism from several video game publications, primarily concentrating on his role in Symphony of the Night. GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero". In a review of Symphony of the Night, RPGFan celebrated the fact that Alucard was not a member of the Belmont clan, the protagonists of most Castlevania games, and that the fact he was Dracula's son added "an element of depth to the plot" due to the varied reactions he would receive from the inhabitants of Dracula's castle. RPGamer
RPGamer
RPGamer is a media and news website dedicated to covering computer and video game RPGs. Its coverage includes North American game news, European game news, Asian game news, gaming industry news, game reviews, game previews, hands-on game impressions, gaming conventions, game merchandise, release...
disagreed with this assessment, noting that the plot and Alucard's role "isn't very deep" and secondary to the concentration on gameplay. Games Are Fun called Alucard "the best anti-hero to ever star in a videogame" and that the relationship between Dracula and Alucard was "enthralling." Alucard's graphical representation was the subject of praise from critics. GameSpot called Alucard's sprite and running animation "easily some of the most impressive visuals in the entire Castlevania library." Games Are Fun extolled Alucard's sprite as "the star of the show," making note of its size, animation, and the variety of special effects that occur during gameplay, and also praised Alucard's design by Ayami Kojima
Ayami Kojima
is a Japanese game and concept artist who is best known for her work on the Castlevania series of video games with Konami. She is self-taught and enjoys reading shōnen manga...
as "absolutely stunning." James Paul Gee noted that "even though Alucard is a vampire hunter
Vampire hunter
A vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a character in folklore and fiction who specializes in finding and destroying vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures....
, he has no distinctive skills associated with this profession".
Alucard's appearance in Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow as Genya Arikado was also noted by reviewers. RPGamer celebrated how the greater concentration on supporting characters, including Arikado, were a welcome change from previous Castlevania games. RPGFan derided Arikado's "cool and impassive personality" as stereotypical, but praised the game's character development as setting him apart from previous supporting characters in the series. The switch to an anime style for the character designs in Dawn of Sorrow was notably criticized, as many reviewers preferred the designs made by Ayami Kojima. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
deplored the "shallow, lifeless anime images" and IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called the images "down to the level of 'generic Saturday morning Anime' quality."