Dracula

Dracula Vlad Țepeș
Official artwork of Dracula from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
A boss in	Ultimate
Universe	Castlevania
Console of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom Disk System)
Article on Wikipedia	Dracula Vlad Țepeș

Dracula (ドラキュラ, Dracula), full title Count Dracula Vlad Țepeș (ドラキュラ・ヴラド・ツェペシュ伯爵, Count Dracula Vlad Tepes) is the main antagonist of the Castlevania franchise. He is loosely based on the historical figure Vlad the Impaler, as well as the titular antagonist in the Bram Stoker novel Dracula.

Origin

Count Dracula originates as the title character of the Dracula novel and collection of short stories written by Bram Stoker in 1897. Originally a brilliant and well respected man in his life, he was the voivode of several battles against the Turks. However, his study and practice of alchemy and other black arts made society and god turns their backs on him, leaving him to die alone. What no one else knew at the time is that said study of alchemy led to the count discovering the process to become immortal, and he would use that knowledge to rise from his grave as the first modern vampire. He would spend the next several centuries in his castle in Transylvania, continuing his studies and keeping unwanted guests away, either by magical manipulation or killing if it comes to that. This lifestyle comes to a climax when a group of vampire hunters chase after him, leading to him being stabbed through the heart and turning to dust.

Dracula is loosely inspired by Count Vlad Tepes III of Wallachia, often known by many as "Dracula", which translates to son of the dragon. Forced out of his country and forced to flee to the Ottoman empire in 1447 after John Hunyadi, governor of Hungary, murdered Vlad's father and older brother and assigned Yadislav II, Vlad's second cousin, as voivode of Wallachia. While Hunyadi and Yadislav were away on a military campaign against the Ottoman empire, Vlad broke into Wallachia and took control of the country in October of 1448, only to be forced out again when Yadislav returned in November of the same year. Fleeing to Hungary, he would later ally himself with the country after relation with Yadislav deteriorated, and would once again take control of Wallachia with the help of Hungary on April of 1456. This second reign would last until July of 1462, When Mehmed II of the Ottoman empire forced Vlad out again and appointed Radu, Vlad's younger brother, as ruler. Vlad would drift between residences and alliances until either December of 1476 or January of 1477, where he forcefully took Wallachia. At this time, he preferred executing his enemies by placing them on a giant wooden stake and leave them there until they die. This would earn him the nickname "Vlad the Impaler." Witnesses also claim that Vlad would dip bread in the blood of his enemies and eat it. Vlad would die soon after taking control while fighting against the invading Ottomans.

Another inspiration for Dracula is Sir Henry Irving, famous stage actor and actor-manager of the Lyceum Theater on London's West End. In 1895, Irving was awarded a knighthood, being the first actor known to receive such a title. Stoker personally knew Irving, as he was the business manager of the Lyceum while Irving was active.

Dracula in popular media, Castlevania included, is a vampire who serves as the dark lord of a haunted castle in Transylvania, commanding an army of monsters to wage war on God and humanity. He has a variety of magic at his disposal, such as teleportation, conjuring projectiles and transforming into different beasts, which frequently occurs as he nears defeat. He is primarily opposed by the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. Though the Belmonts and other heroes repeatedly kill him, Dracula typically revives alongside his castle once every century, though his followers have also resurrected him prematurely.

Although Dracula debuted in the original Castlevania, his origins lie in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, where he was once a Crusader and partner to Leon Belmont named Mathias Cronqvist. However, upon the sudden passing of his wife Elisabetha, Cronqvist became filled with anger and hatred, declaring war on God. In 1094, Cronqvist takes control of the Crimson Stone and becomes a vampire, eventually changing his name to Dracula Vlad Ţepeş. Dracula later ended his war against God in 1455 when he met and eventually married, a human woman named Lisa. Together, they bore a son named Adrian. In 1475, Lisa was executed following accusations of witchcraft and Dracula declared war against humanity as a result. Adrian, who was present at the execution, was told to deliver Lisa's final words to his father. However, he finds himself unable to reason with him, even with the presentation of logic that it would be more fitting to go after the executioners rather than attack all of mankind. Adrian turned against his father and changed his name to Alucard, representing that he was against Dracula. A year later, Dracula was defeated by Trevor Belmont, Alucard, and their companions Sypha Belnades and Grant Danasty.

A century passed since Trevor's defeat of Dracula. In that time, Trevor became the ancestor to Christopher Belmont, who took up the Vampire Killer whip that Trevor used in battle. However, a cult led by a man named Ivan Bartley resurrected the Count on a dark night, at the same time, resurrecting the castle that was destroyed after Trevor's battle. Thus started a cycle of resurrection occurring every 100 years. Christopher's blood called for him to challenge Dracula and seal his evil nemesis away for another one hundred years. Christopher eventually met and defeated Dracula in battle and afterward escaped the castle before it could crumble atop him. Watching the collapse from a distance, Christopher felt reassured that he had destroyed Dracula, not knowing that the Count had survived the battle by turning into a cloud of mist and reforming into a bat, laying in wait for his next attack.

Dracula's chance came fifteen years later in 1591, when Christopher was now the proud father to Soleil Belmont. The lad was coming of age as a Vampire Hunter and a ceremony was to be held in their honor, with the people of Transylvania feeling confident that this peace would prosper with the father-son duo. On the day following the ceremony, Soleil vanished and four castles of crystal, plant, cloud, and stone appeared. Christopher set out to these castles to find his son, defeating their guardians and watching as their destruction brought forth the return of Dracula's castle. Venturing into the castle, Christopher finds Soleil in the chapel but something was different about him. The two fought, with Christopher snapping his son out of the hex that was placed upon him. The boy revealed that he had been magically influenced by Dracula, having seen the boy as the best opportunity to strike back against the Belmont clan. In fact, the count had Soleil raise the four castles so that he could use the spirits of their guaridans to make himself whole once more. Christopher pressed on for the final confrontation with Dracula and destroyed the Count, ridding the world of him for the time being. Christopher and Soleil watched Dracula's castle fall with full confidence that he was gone and the Belmont bloodline would strongly continue, with Christopher being revered as a legend.

Nearly one hundred years later, Dracula was resurrected in a black sabbath on April 15th, Easter Sunday of that year, by a demonic cult by crushing a freshly extracted human heart over his ashes, spilling its blood on them. He was defeated by Christopher's descendant, Simon Belmont. In his dying breath, Dracula set a curse on Simon that slowly killed him from the inside, which was undone by reviving Dracula and destroying him once more. A century later, Dracula is revived twice by the Dark Priest, Shaft, but is defeated first by Richter Belmont, then by Alucard five years later. During his battle against Richter, he has Shaft kidnap various women from the town of Aljiba, including Richter's fiancée Annette Renard and her sister Maria, with the intent of using them as the next sacrifices for his next resurrection. He even offers Annette the chance to become a vampire herself and rule humanity alongside him. Just before his fight with Richter, he offers his manifesto: he is above humanity's concepts of morality, because power is the one true thing that rules the world. In his words, he describes mankind as "a cesspit of hatred and lies" (or "a miserable little pile of secrets"). After he is defeated by Alucard, his son tells him the last words of his wife: "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot." Alucard then adds that his mother would love the count for all eternity. Dracula asks for Lisa's forgiveness as he fades away, bidding his son farewell.

Across the 19th century, Dracula would see himself resurrected by his minions and humans that are drawn to his power. However, the Belmont clan was unable to fight back, as a prophecy had prohibited them from touching the Vampire Killer, the holy whip created by Leon until the appointed time had come. In the early 1800's, many organizations were established with the same goal as the Belmonts, and day after day they conducted their studies diligently, but each was dissolved when they failed to produce satisfactory results. But that was when Barlowe, the leader of the Order of Ecclesia, finally made a surprising breakthrough that could stand up against Dracula: using his own powers against him using a set of three Glyphs known as Dominus. Barlowe's two most promising disciples were Shanoa and Albus, brother and sister by bond, each with a different skill in their use of glyphs. Barlowe saw the most potential in Shanoa to be the one to use Dominus, sending Albus on an errand despite making a promise to him. When the ritual was to begin, Albus stole Dominus and Shanoa collapsed, waking up with her memories in pieces. Barlowe sent Shanoa to track down Albus and recover the pieces of Dominus, along the way rescuing villagers from the town of Wygol nearby. Shanoa found Albus consumed by Dominus and was forced to kill him. But upon obtaining the final glyph, Albus' soul from within Dominus revealed the truth to Shanoa: Barlowe meant to use Dominus to reawaken Dracula. Shanoa fought her former master but failed in preventing the resurrection of the Dark Lord. The young woman fought with Dracula in his keep, fulfilling the mission that she pledged long ago and tearfully smiling for Albus' soul as it ascended to heaven.

Unknown to the outside world, Good had vanquished Dracula's evil once more, as all record of Ecclesia seemingly vanished into the mists of time, recorded only by a few grimoires that chronicled the legend of Dracula and his demonic castle. Other hunters would take the Order's place, including Morris Baldwin, Nathan Graves and Morris' son Hugh, Reinhardt Schneider, and the Morris clan; Quincey, John, and Jonathan. Quincey himself did not use the Vampire Killer in his battle with the count; Instead, Quincey plunged his bowie knife into the vampire's heart just as the sun had set on November 6th, 1897, dying of his wounds minutes later in the arms of his companions. After resurrections in both World Wars, the final battle against Dracula ensued in 1999, where he was permanently destroyed by Julius Belmont, Alucard, the US Military, and their allies. Portions of his power were passed down to those who were born on the day of his death and Dracula himself reincarnated as Soma Cruz in 2017. Soma learned of this when the castle manifested in a solar eclipse over Japan in 2035, but he resisted Dracula's influence, telling Julius to kill him should he become the evil count. One year later, Soma stopped a cult that sought to resurrect Dracula through those who had inherited portions of his power. An alternate, non-canon scenario depicts a corrupted Soma transforming into a reincarnation of Dracula, forcing Julius, Yoko Belnades, and Alucard to defeat him.

Since the original Castlevania, Dracula transforms into his second form when his life bar is depleted. The shape his second form takes varies by game: examples include a giant bat, a giant head, a demon, or simply his humanoid form with enhanced abilities.

Dracula has even made a few playable appearances, such as in the fighting game spin-off, Castlevania Judgment. His reincarnation, Soma Cruz, is the protagonist of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow and is also playable in Harmony of Despair. In the rebooted Lords of Shadow series, protagonist Gabriel Belmont becomes a vampire and comes to be known as Dracula.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a stage element

Dracula appears as a background character on Dracula's Castle. When the moon disappears and bats gather around Dracula's coffin, lightning will flash and reveal Dracula's shadow in one of the windows.

As a boss

Dracula's two forms as they appear in Ultimate.

Dracula's location in World of Light

In Classic Mode, he is fought by Luigi, Pac-Man, Simon, Richter and Sephiroth. Dracula appears as a boss in Classic Mode and Adventure Mode: World of Light. In World of Light, he is fought at the end of the Dracula's Castle dungeon in the Dark Realm, and must be defeated before the player may challenge Dharkon. He reappears during the Final Battle as part of the boss rush leading up to the Galeem and Dharkon fight. He does battle on a stage resembling the Dracula's Castle stage, but with a flat and empty layout that extends to the side blast zones. Nothing to Lose usually plays during the fight in the first form, which will change to Black Night when he changes to his demon form, but Dwelling of Doom plays in Pac-Man's Classic Mode, Dance of Illusions in Richter's Classic Mode, and Galeem / Dharkon during the boss rush.

Defeating Dracula in Classic Mode is a challenge, which unlocks the Black Night music track. Defeating Dracula in the Dracula's Castle dungeon in World of Light rewards the player with the Dracula and Dracula (2nd Form) spirits.

Dracula begins the fight in his regular humanoid form, based on Ayami Kojima's artwork for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The battle opens with Dracula on his throne holding a glass, which he tosses aside as he gets up, then warps onto the stage to start the fight. Like in his own series, Dracula moves about the stage by teleporting in a beam of light. Dracula only takes damage when hit in the head, which has traditionally been his weak point since his first appearance. Attacking any other part of his body creates a small mist effect, which resembles Alucard's mist transformation.

When his health bar is depleted, Dracula will transform into a large green winged demon, as depicted in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. His health is fully restored, and he uses an entirely different set of attacks. Unlike his first form, Dracula's second form may be damaged by hitting any part of his body and will walk and jump instead of warping to move.

Moveset

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First form

Move	Damage	Description
Hellfire		Dracula takes a step back and wraps himself in his cape, then flings it open to launch a spread of three fireballs forward. This first appeared in the original Castlevania.
Dark Inferno		Dracula takes a step back, then holds out his arm as he launches a series of large dark fireballs forward. The fireballs alternate between being just above the ground and at about Dracula's height, which is high enough to miss short or crouching characters. This originates from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Magic orbs		Dracula wraps himself in his cape, then flings it open and holds his arm out to his side, launching multiple sets of red and blue magic orbs. These orbs either revolve around him with sets flying in an alternating clockwise and counter-clockwise fashion as they spread outward, or fly straight with sets alternating between all cardinal and diagonal directions. The red orbs are more powerful than the blue ones and can be absorbed. This move resembles one used by Graham Jones in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which used Dark Inferno's fireballs instead of orbs.
Fire pillars		Dracula raises his arm, and harmless flames appear on the ground, either with many appearing at once or in a sequence. After a moment, these flames erupt into tall fire pillars that hit multiple times. At low health, he combines it with one of the above three moves. It resembles a combination of his primary attack in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Dario's fire pillars in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and one of his attacks in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.
Bat Moon		Dracula thrusts his cape upwards, then transforms into a swarm of bats and rushes ahead to deal darkness damage. This originates from Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. Some characters, like Squirtle, can crouch underneath this attack to dodge.

Second form

Move	Damage	Description
Ghost Chaser		Dracula spits a series of three spirits, which initially float up in front of him before flying towards the player's current location. These spirits disappear upon reaching their destination, and they may inflict the poison status upon hitting players. It originates from Portrait of Ruin.
Fire burst		Dracula charges up, then spits a widespread of three fireballs aimed at the player, which explode on contact. It originates from his triple fireball attack in Castlevania.
Electric wave		Dracula charges up, then spits an electric wave forward, which is nearly as tall as him. This was one of his primary attacks in Rondo of Blood. Despite its appearance, it actually deals aura damage.
Claw swipe		Dracula swipes in front of him with his claws. He may either perform it in place or while taking a step forward. This attack may inflict the poison status.
Claw combo		Dracula performs a series of three claw swipes while stepping forward with each swing. The final swipe deals darkness damage.
Dark claw		Dracula does a wide overhead swing with his claws, which deals darkness damage and can meteor smash. He may either rear back and perform it in place or take a step forward.
Jumping slam		Dracula jumps to a different spot on the stage. His landing deals damage.
Shockwave punch		Dracula jumps, then slams his fist into the ground, producing a shockwave that moves to both ends of the stage. The initial jump, falling punch, and shockwave all deal damage.

Spirits

Primary spirits

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
1,075		Dracula		★★★	3	2925	8800	1594	4796	1331	4004	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	Castlevania Series
1,076		Soma Cruz		★★★★	3	4843	12110	2510	6275	1893	4734	Giant Killer	Castlevania Series

Support spirits

No.	Image	Name	Class	Cost	Ability	Series
1,077		Dracula (2nd Form)	★★★	2	Unflinching Charged Smashes	Castlevania Series

Gallery

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  Screenshot of Dracula as he appears in Ultimate.

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  Dracula's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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  Dracula's shadow as seen in the Dracula's Castle stage.

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  Hellfire.

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  Dark Inferno.

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  Magic orbs.

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  Bat Moon.

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  Dracula teleporting.

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  Fire pillars.

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  Dracula's body becomes mist if attacked anywhere other than his head.

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  Fire burst.

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  Electric wave.

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  Claw combo.

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  Ghost Chaser.

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  Shockwave punch against Richter.

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  Dark claw.

Trivia

• Dracula casts a shadow in the Dracula's Castle stage, despite vampires traditionally being unable to cast shadows, as they lack a soul.
  • This could be a reference to the 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, where Dracula has a living shadow in his form.
• Dracula and Rathalos are the only third-party bosses in Adventure Mode: World of Light.
• Dracula and Galleom are the only two bosses not to be fought by any of the "Original 8" fighters.
• Dracula's glass-throwing entrance as a boss references his introduction in Castlevania Chronicles, where he does so after sipping blood from it. This is also seen in its more well-known iteration in the opening sequence of Symphony of the Night.

External Link

• Article on the Castlevania Wiki.