Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was artist Ayami Kojima's first appearance in the video game industry. She worked on the game as a character designer, conceptualizing the game's main and supporting cast. Her designs for the game are heavily influenced by bishōnen-style art.

The game's story takes place during the year 1797, 5 years after the events of Rondo of Blood. The story begins with Richter Belmont's defeat of Count Dracula, mirroring the end of the former game. However, despite Dracula being defeated, Richter vanishes without a trace. Castlevania rises again five years later, and while there are no Belmonts to storm the castle, Alucard, the son of Dracula, awakens from his self-induced sleep, and decides to investigate what transpired during his slumber.
Meanwhile, Maria Renard, Richter's sister-in-law, enters Castlevania herself to search for the missing Richter. She assists Alucard multiple times throughout the game.

There are four separate endings to the story. If a certain sequence of events is followed, Richter is revealed to be under the influence of the dark priest Shaft. After the latter is defeated, an upside-down version of Castlevania, the Reverse Castle, appears from the heavens. This castle contains another entire series of adventures, crowned by the ultimate face-off between Alucard and his revived father, Dracula himself.

Dracula Vlad Ţepeş (formerly known as Mathias Cronqvist) is the primary antagonist of the Castlevania series. He is loosely based on the character of the same name in Bram Stoker's novel and the historical figure, Vlad Drăculea.

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