Cursed into eternal warfare against Count Dracula, Castlevania’s Belmont family suffers considerably between 1094 and 2035. From Leon to Julius, Dracula’s curse torments the clan across generations. Fathers lose sons, sons lose their senses, and Vampire Killer– the whip destined to defeat Dracula– detaches itself from the only people capable of wielding it. It’s a heavy history for the Belmont clan, but it’s one they struggle to overcome. And they do overcome.

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Cursed they may be, not every Belmont actually comes in contact with Dracula. As he (usually) revives once every hundred years, a few family members only exist to pass the whip onto their son. From there, it’s expected that any Belmont who faces Dracula will do his job and leave it at that. Unfortunately, the forces of darkness are relentless, and Dracula only becomes more persistent with time. Premature resurrections do happen, and a few unlucky Belmonts have found themselves encountering the Count twice– even if they don’t pull their weight the second go-around.

5 Trevor Belmont

Trevor Belmont is credited as the first man to defeat Count Dracula after Mathias Cronqvist allowed himself to turn into the Dark Lord during the events of Lament of Innocence in 1094. Now 1476, Trevor finds himself the first Belmont descendant capable enough to march up to Dracula’s keep and take him out. With the help of Sypha Belnades (his future wife), Grant DeNasty, and Alucard himself, a Belmont defeats Dracula for the very first time.

Unfortunately for Trevor, the remnants of Dracula’s court would do everything in their power to revive him. Three years later, in 1479, the events of Curse of Darkness chronicle Trevor’s second encounter with Dracula from the perspective of Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who previously pledged his allegiance to Dracula. Of note, Trevor doesn’t defeat Dracula the second time around. He’s left injured before the final battle, forcing Hector to finish the final battle himself.

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Interestingly, the anime adaptation which covers both of these games didn’t have Trevor defeat Dracula during the second season, so it’s entirely possible he’ll steal Hector’s kill from the end of Curse of Darkness to keep the lore intact.

4 Christopher Belmont

The main protagonist of the Castlevania: The Adventure duology, Christopher Belmont first debuted in The Adventure for the Game Boy. Taking place in 1579, The Adventure predates the events of the first game and sandwiches Christopher between Trevor and Simon, serving as a bridge between the two vampire hunters. The Adventure is one of the worst games in the franchise, if not the worst, but its WiiWare remake, The Adventure: Rebirth, is an incredible game, as is The Adventure’s Game Boy follow-up, Belmont’s Revenge.

Now taking place in 1591, it’s revealed that Christopher actually failed to finish off Dracula during the events of his first game. Dracula manages to flee with just a sliver of his life, slowly regaining his strength so that he can possess Christopher’s son and the latest inheritor of the Belmont destiny– Soleil Belmont. Christopher is forced to hunt down Dracula yet again and subdue his son.

Funny enough, this would mark the first time that Dracula’s forces would end up possessing a Belmont. It would, however, mark the only time that a Belmont has outright failed to defeat Dracula. Leon doesn’t even fight Mathias, but every other Belmont at least kills Dracula when they encounter him. Christopher ends up letting Dracula get away, putting his son and bloodline in serious danger.

3 Simon Belmont

The main character of the original Castlevania, Simon Belmont, is rightfully the character with the most appearances in the series. Granted, it’s because the first game has been remade often enough where Simon himself has multiple different character designs, but his confrontations against Dracula are on a level that few other Belmonts can claim. Simon is the legendary Vampire Hunter.

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His first encounter with Dracula took place in 1691. Aware of what his ancestor, Christopher, went through, and the fact that Dracula becomes stronger with each subsequent resurrection, Simon prepares himself to destroy Dracula. Naturally, Simon conquers one of the most dangerous castles in the series and finished Dracula off as the sun begins to rise.

Unfortunately for Simon, the Count placed a curse on him, and by 1698, Simon has no choice but to collect the remnants of Dracula and bring the Count back himself in order to reverse the curse. He succeeds and bests Dracula yet again. Interestingly, the English localization turned Super Castlevania IV into a sequel, seemingly picking off where Simon’s Quest’s best ending left off. Of course, it’s non-canon.

2 Richter Belmont

1792 sees Dracula reviving with a vengeance. Instead of waiting for Richter to come to him, Dracula’s forces are sent to his home village. Although Richter is away at the time, his girlfriend, Anette, is kidnapped along with three other maidens. Richter storms Dracula’s castle, saves all four prisoners, kills both of Dracula’s right-hand men, and then finishes off the Count himself. It’s a decisive victory for the Belmont clan.

But it leaves Richter feeling empty as if his life no longer has purpose. Richter’s insecurities end up creating a vulnerability in his psyche where the ghost of Shaft is able to infect his mind and take full control. Bu 1797, Dracula’s Castle is once again standing, and none other than Richter Belmont is the king of the keep.

Like with Trevor, this is a case of Richter encountering Dracula’s presence twice and not necessarily the man himself. While Trevor actively tries to hunt down Dracula again, Richter is in Shaft’s control, acting as an agent of Dracula. Alucard ends up saving him, but it’s a morbid fate for a Belmont and one that ends up severing their link to the Vampire Killer until 1999.

1 Julius Belmont

On August 11, 1999, Julius Belmont killed Count Dracula for the final time. Dracula shall no longer haunt the Belmonts again, his soul now in flux, waiting to be reincarnated into Soma Cruz. Julius is an interesting character. The Battle of 1999 doesn’t have a game, which means that only secondhand information exists– and not that much of it.

Still, it’s clear that Julius is the one to finish off Dracula, so they did meet face to face. From there, it’s a matter of Julius’ relationship with Soma. Soma isn’t Mathias, that much is very clear, but the two share a soul. They are one and the same. Both Aria and Dawn even feature bad endings where Soma becomes Dracula proper, and Julius has to finish him off.

While the Battle of 1999 isn’t playable, Julius’ second fight against Dracula is! Dawn of Sorrow’s Julius Mode actually serves as a sequel to Dawn’s bad ending, picking up immediately where the main game left off. The final boss is even changed to Soma himself!

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