Alucard (Castlevania)

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Alucard

Castlevania character

Alucard in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, artwork by Ayami

Kojima

First game Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989)[1]

Designed by Ayami Kojima[2] (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)

Voiced by show

English

show

Japanese

In-universe information

Species Dhampir
 Gender Male

Adrian Fahrenheit Țepeș (アドリアン・ファーレンハイツ・ツェペシュ, Adorian

Fārenhaitsu Tsepeshu), better known as Alucard (アルカード, Arukādo), is a fictional
character in Konami's Castlevania series of video games. His first appearance in the
series was in the 1989 game 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 her first
contribution to 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 the follow-up sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, where he
interacts with the protagonist of both games, Soma Cruz, as the Japanese government
agent Genya Arikado (有角 幻也, Arikado Gen'ya). The Lords of Shadow reboot series,
starting with the character's introduction in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of
Fate, introduces a reimagined Alucard with a new backstory, revealing him as Trevor
Belmont, once a mortal who was transformed into a vampire after his death at the
hands of his biological father, the remorseful Dracula.
Several video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Alucard's
character. 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.

Contents

 1Conception and design

o 1.1Voice actors
 2Appearances
o 2.1Lords of Shadow
 3In other media
 4Reception
 5See also
 6References

Conception and design

Alucard debuted in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the Nintendo Entertainment
System, where he was designed by T. Fujimoto and I. Urata. [1][6] He was intended to be a
mirror image of his father, as evidenced by his name, his father's name spelled
backwards.[1] Much of the original artwork for the game was lost during the Great
Hanshin earthquake.[7] 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.[2]
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.[2] 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.
[8]
 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.[8] 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.[9][10] The anime
style would also serve as a litmus test as to whether future Castlevania games would
incorporate the style.[11] Alucard has a long coat, a vampire cape, and tall boots, which
can increase his height in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. He has long blonde hair,
yellow eyes, and occasionally is depicted with sharp vampire fangs. According to in-
game measurements, his height his about estimated to be around 178.562 - 180.975
centimeters (5'10.3 - 5'11.25), or about 5'10.75" (179.705 centimeters) while not using
his secret boot items, which increase his height to around 6'2" to 6'3" (188 cm to 190
cm).
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 Rondo for the PC Engine
Super CD-ROM², which released only in Japan at the time).[12] The Japanese voice actor
for Alucard was Ryōtarō Okiayu,[4] and the English voice actor was Robert Belgrade.
[13]
 Igarashi noted that due to fan complaints over the poor voice acting in a majority of
the original cast 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. [14][15] In
the Lords of Shadow series, he is voiced by Richard Madden,[4][16] while he is voiced
by James Callis in the 2017 Netflix series Castlevania.[16][failed verification][17]

Appearances
In the 1989 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NES, Alucard is initially
a boss encountered by the primary protagonist, Trevor Belmont. If the player defeats
Alucard, he can be utilized as a playable character in the game. [18] 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. [1][18] This is the first instance of Alucard
with light colored hair.
Alucard's following appearance in the series is in the 1997 Castlevania: Symphony of
the Night for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, where he is featured as the game's
protagonist and primary playable character. [7] 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. [12] 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. [19] 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.[20][21] 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. [22] Despite this, Lisa admonished
Alucard to respect humans and not hate them as his father did. [23] 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.[24] Symphony of the Night would later be re-released as part of the Xbox
Live Arcade for the Xbox 360,[25] on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3,[26] and
part of Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles, a compilation that contained Symphony
of the Night alongside Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo.[14] Aside from the changing of
the script and Alucard's English voice actor to Yuri Lowenthal, his role in the Symphony
of the Night portion of The Dracula X Chronicles remains the same.[14]
The 1997 Castlevania Legends for the Game Boy 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.[27][28] 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.[29][30]
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.[31][32][33] 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.[34] He instructs him to seek out the castle's throne room, where
Soma realizes that he is Dracula's reincarnation.[35] Arikado subsequently advises Soma
to destroy the flow of chaos in the castle to free himself from his fate, which Soma
succeeds in doing.[36]
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.[37] 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. [38] 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.[39][40] He confronts him, but is stopped when Dmitrii uses
Celia as a sacrifice to seal his powers.[41] 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.[42] In the game's Julius Mode, Arikado is
playable as Alucard after he is found in the castle. [43]
Alucard was one of the playable characters in Castlevania Judgment for the Nintendo
Wii, a fighting game based on the series.
Lords of Shadow
A reimagined Alucard appears in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, the
second installment in the Lords of Shadow reboot series, which follows a different
continuity from the original. It is revealed that this version of Alucard was originally
Trevor Belmont, the son of Gabriel and Marie Belmont, conceived before Gabriel was
turned into a vampire and became the dark lord Dracula. Trevor grew up not knowing of
his true origin until the Brotherhood of Light reveals to him who his parents were.
Believing that his father Gabriel murdered his mother in cold blood, he decides to
pursue him in the hopes of destroying him and bringing peace to the land. After
infiltrating the castle, Trevor successfully fights his way to the throne room, where he
confronts Dracula without letting on that he is his son, or telling Dracula his name.
Although Trevor puts up a valiant effort, in the end he is defeated and stabbed in the
heart with his own Combat Cross. Dying and gazing at the Mirror of Fate he finally
realizes the truth of what really happened to Gabriel and feels sorry for him, calling him
his father. Dracula, confused, gazes at the mirror as well and learns who Trevor was all
along. Remorseful and horrified for killing his own son who had been unknown to him
the entire time, Dracula desperately tries to bring him back to life by giving him his
blood, which seems to be in vain. Dracula mourns over his loss, and places Trevor in a
coffin with the name Alucard, since he never learned his son's real name. Many years
later Alucard awakens, with pale white skin, white hair, and glowing orange eyes. He
meets up with Dracula and his own son, Simon. Alucard tries to finish what he started,
angry that his father turned him into a vampire. Dracula asks Alucard to join him in
remaking the world and destroying the brotherhood, but Alucard refuses. Dracula
proceeds to attack Simon for being a Belmont, wishing to end the Belmont bloodline
due to his hatred of his past life. Alucard and Simon manage to defeat Dracula, and part
ways as Dracula's castle crumbles.
Alucard appears in the sequel Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 as a supporting
character. Since the game takes place centuries later, Alucard's personality and
standing towards his father has drastically changed. He believes that Dracula can still
be redeemed and makes it his goal to free the world from tyranny and vanquish the evil
that had corrupted him and his father. He concocts a centuries spanning plan to put his
father into a deep sleep by piercing his heart with the Crissaegrim sword, in order to
draw out both Zobek and Satan. Once they do, Alucard would remove the sword so
Dracula can resurrect and destroy the two for good. Dracula agrees with his son's plan
and awakens centuries later during modern times. Throughout the game Alucard also
appears as a younger Trevor Belmont and guides Dracula through his Castle to help
him recover his old powers and missing memories. In order to not draw suspicion to his
plan, Alucard masquerades himself as Zobek's Lieutenant and eventually reveals his
true identity to his father once he remembers their pact. They destroy Zobek and Satan
and appear to be on good terms in the end. Alucard is also the protagonist of the DLC
Revelations, taking place shortly prior to the events of the game.

In other media
A version of Alucard makes a minor appearance in Captain N: The Game Master. Here,
he is depicted as a rebellious teenager who enjoys skateboarding and music, much to
his father's chagrin. He appears in the Season 3 episode "Return to Castlevania",
initially posing as an ally to the heroes before revealing himself to be in league with the
Count.
A version of Alucard based on his game incarnation appears as a major character in the
2017 Castlevania animated series based on the 1989 video game Castlevania III:
Dracula's Curse, voiced by James Callis.[44] While grieving over his mother's death at the
hands of the Church for condemning her as a witch, Alucard attempts to stop his father
from taking revenge on humanity for her sake. But Dracula mortally injures Alucard,
forcing him to spend a year recovering within the underground levels of Gresit. He is
eventually reawakened by Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, and after a brief battle,
he agrees to aid them in stopping his father. After Sypha discovers a way to force
Castlevania to appear at the Belmont home and stay there, they storm the castle and
defeat Dracula's forces before engaging Dracula himself. When the fight takes them into
Alucard's childhood bedroom, enough of Dracula's sanity returns for him to be horrified
that he's killing his son, and Alucard drives a wooden stake into his heart, followed by
Trevor decapitating him and Sypha burning what remains. Trevor gives the Belmont
estate to Alucard, who undertakes to preserve the knowledge accumulated by both his
father and the Belmonts. During the third season, Alucard trains a pair of Japanese
vampire hunters named Sumi and Taka. They seduce him, only to almost kill him,
revealing that they believe he is withholding information from them. Alucard kills them
with his telekinetically controlled sword, and stakes their corpses in front of the castle,
just like Dracula. In the fourth and final season, Alucard is enlisted to help the village of
Danesti. He allows them to move into the castle as a safe haven, and finds himself
fending off a vampire invasion alongside the village headwoman Greta. The timely
arrival of Trevor and Sypha turns the tide, and the four repel the invasion and prevent
Saint Germain and Death from resurrecting both Dracula and Lisa. When Trevor is
presumed dead following his battle with Death, Alucard convinces Sypha to stay with
the people at the castle, intending to name the new village Belmont. When Trevor turns
out to be alive after all, he teasingly tells him that the village will be named "Treffy." He
also seems to be on the cusp of a relationship with Greta. Series' director, Sam Deats,
revealed in a tweet that this incarnation of Alucard is reimagined as bisexual. [45]
Alucard makes a cameo appearance as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros.
Ultimate.[46] He also cameos in the Palutena's Guidance conversation for Richter
Belmont, wherein he recalls the events of Symphony of the Night before telling Pit not to
underestimate Richter.
In Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the character Orlok Dracule, nicknamed "O.D.", is
designed as a homage to Alucard. He is voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu and Robert
Belgrade, Alucard's respective Japanese and English actors from the original dub
of Symphony of the Night.

Reception
Alucard has received praise and criticism from several video game publications,
primarily concentrating on his role in Symphony of the Night. GameSpot featured him in
their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero". [47] 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.[24] RPGamer disagreed with this assessment, noting that
the plot and Alucard's role "isn't very deep" and secondary to the concentration on
gameplay.[48] GameSpot called Alucard's sprite and running animation "easily some of
the most impressive visuals in the entire Castlevania library."[12] James Paul Gee noted
that "even though Alucard is a vampire hunter, he has no distinctive skills associated
with this profession".[49] In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 91st best hero in video
games.[50] Empire also included Alucard on their list of the 50 greatest video game
characters, ranking him as 34th.[51]
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.[52] 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. [53] 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." [54][55]
The animated version of Alucard's characterization in Netflix's Castlevania series
earned mixed responses as he and his allies were overshadowed by Dracula's
underlings who were seen as more fleshed out cast members than Alucard.
[56]
 GameSpot agreed that the trio's appearances in the first episodes were
underwhelming as the cast spends their time interacting in a library, adding that their
relationship gets uninteresting quickly.[57] On the other hand, Blasting News felt that the
second season of Castlevania gave more screentime to develop the chemistry between
Alucard and his friends in contrast to his brief role in the first season.
[58]
 Destructoid agreed mostly due to the way Alucard and Trevor push aside their
differences to defeat Dracula yet they keep insulting each other across the story leaving
good comic relief in the process.[59] IGN felt that the relationship between Alucard and his
father was one of the best aspects of the second season thanks to the well performance
of their voice actors.[60]

See also