Summary

  • The best of Castlevania on PS1 was Symphony of the Night, a Metroidvania that elevated the series with RPG mechanics and a new protagonist.
  • Lament of Innocence on PS2 delved into the Belmont family history in a 3D environment, improving upon previous 3D entries in the series.
  • The PSP remake Dracula X Chronicles rectified a past botched port and introduced Richter Belmont, tying into Symphony of the Night.

Castlevania began on the system that started a lot of popular franchises, the NES. The first game was released in 1987 in North America which was a year after Japan. It had a huge presence in the 80s and 90s and it slowly started to go away in the 2000s.

Featured - Best Castles In Castlevania, Ranked
Best Castles In Castlevania, Ranked

Of all the Castlevania games, which has the best presentation of the titular fortress?

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It’s still known primarily as a Nintendo franchise via their partnership with Konami, but a few games have crossed onto Sony platforms. One of the greatest debuted on the PS1 in 1997 which was a banger year overall for the console. What Castlevania game was that and what other games have come to PlayStation consoles? Let’s find out.

Updated on July 26, 2024 by Mark Sammut: Konami has shown very little interest in bringing Castlevania to modern consoles. At the moment, the franchise has yet to make its debut on the PlayStation 5, and there is nothing to suggest that might change in the near future. At this point, even a compilation of older games seems unlikely, especially since the PS4 has a couple of packages that can be played on its console successor. To honor Castlevania's scattershot PlayStation legacy, a section included specs of other games released for the consoles has been added. For the most part, PlayStation Castlevania games have been shockingly rare.

5 PS1 – Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night

Metacritic Score: 93

Fighting enemies in Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
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Metroidvania
Action RPG
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Released
October 2, 1997
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
Developer(s)
Konami
Publisher(s)
Konami
Franchise
Castlevania
Platform(s)
PS1, PS3, PS4, PSP, PS Vita, Sega Saturn, Xbox 360
Genre(s)
Metroidvania, Action RPG
How Long To Beat
9 Hours

was the first entry in the series on the PS1 and it was a banger of a title to start with. This is the reason why the Metroidvania genre exists alongside Super Metroid. It took the Castlevania series to a new level by adding RPG mechanics to the action platforming gameplay. Players starred as Dracula’s son, Alucard, who returned from his supporting role in Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse.

Players could gain powers to reach new heights and collect weapons to arm Alucard with. He could also gain magical powers to zap enemies with. The PS Vita supported PS1 games, so this version is also the best game on that platform. One could argue it’s even better on the PS Vita because Metroidvanias or RPGs as a whole work well as portable companions.

Other PS1 Castlevania Games

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Castlevania Chronicles Tag Page Cover Art

Castlevania Chronicles
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Platformer
Action
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Systems
PlayStation-1
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Released
July 23, 1993
ESRB
t
Developer(s)
Konami
Publisher(s)
Konami
Engine
unreal
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Genre(s)
Platformer, Action
Metascore
69

4 PS2 – Castlevania: Lament Of Innocence

Metacritic Score: 79

Promo art featuring Leon in Castlevania Lament Of Innocence
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
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Released
October 21, 2003
Developer(s)
Konami
Platform(s)
PS2, PS3

Lament of Innocence was, for a time, the earliest entry chronologically for the series. It starred Leon Belmont who helped forge the family’s classic whip, The Vampire Killer. This followed the Metroidvania formula that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night spawned but it was in a 3D environment. It wasn’t the first 3D entry though as two N64 games came out before this but got critically panned.

While not perfect, the conversion to 3D in this game was a lot better despite some camera issues. It would receive a PS3 port digitally on the PSN store along with the other Castlevania PS2 entry, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. That game followed Hector who could summon demons as allies kind of like Pokemon. Fans of the Castlevania anime on Netflix should be familiar with his powers. Lament of Innocence is better, but both are fun 3D action games.

Other PS2 Castlevania Games

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    haunted castle

    Haunted Castle

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    Systems
    super greyscale 8-bit logo PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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    Released
    December 26, 1987
    Developer(s)
    Konami
    Publisher(s)
    Konami
    Franchise
    Castlevania
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    Genre(s)
    Platformer
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    N/A
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    Castlevania: Curse of Darkness Tag Page Cover Art

    Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
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    Action-Adventure
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    Systems
    PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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    Released
    November 1, 2005
    ESRB
    M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Violence
    Developer(s)
    Konami
    Publisher(s)
    Konami
    Franchise
    Castlevania
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    Genre(s)
    Action-Adventure
    Metascore
    70

3 PSP – Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Metacritic Score: 80

Fighting enemies in Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
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Released
October 23, 2007
Developer(s)
Konami
Platform(s)
PSP

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles was a remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The game was originally released in the West as Castlevania X on the SNES which was a downgraded port of Rondo of Blood from the PC Engine version. The Dracula X Chronicles was kind of like a make-good on that botched port which cut out a lot of content. This was the first title that starred Richter Belmont who had a critical role in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

The two games are tied significantly together even though Rondo of Blood wasn’t a Metroidvania. It, and this PSP remake, fell in line with the level-based action platformers of the past. This version made the platforming easier and it secretly hid a copy of Symphony of the Night within the game’s data. Anime fans can check out Richter and Alucard’s relationship in the sequel anime on Netflix, Castlevania: Nocturne.

2 PS3 – Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow

Metacritic Score: 85

Gabriel in Castlevania Lords Of Shadow
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
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Released
October 5, 2010
Platform(s)
PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow replaced Castlevania: Lament of Innocence as the earliest game chronologically. It also somewhat perfected 3D gameplay at long last by admittedly borrowing from other action titles like God of War and Shadow of the Colossus. From the quick time events that led to brutal kills to the towering boss fights, the inspiration was obvious. Players got into the role of Gabriel Belmont who was led down the path to eventually become Dracula.

Dracula depicted in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the Netflix series
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That’s a spoiler for the end, but it’s kind of obvious early on. Dracula’s rise to power was a big part of the sequel which also hit the PS3 although it did not review as well. Technically, these games are not canon within Konami’s fiction but they are fun what-if scenarios for the Belmont family tied even more directly into their war with Dracula. There was also a 3DS entry that tied into this separate universe, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, which was a more traditional 2D Metroidvania with 3D models.

Other PS3 Castlevania Games

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    Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate HD

    Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate HD

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    Adventure
    Hack and Slash
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    Systems
    PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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    Released
    October 25, 2013
    ESRB
    M For Mature
    Developer(s)
    MercurySteam
    Publisher(s)
    Konami
    Franchise
    Castlevania
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    Genre(s)
    Action, Adventure, Hack and Slash
    Metascore
    73 (Xbox 360); 70 (PS3)
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    Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Tag Page Cover Art
    6 /10

    Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
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    Top Critic Avg: 61 /100 Critics Rec: 7%
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    Released
    February 25, 2014
    ESRB
    m
    Developer(s)
    MercurySteam
    Publisher(s)
    Konami
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    Genre(s)
    Action, Adventure
    Metascore
    66

1 PS4 – Castlevania Advance Collection

Metacritic Score: 84

Fighting enemies in Castlevania Aria Of Sorrow

Castlevania Advance Collection is worth the price of admission a hundred times over because all three Metroidvanias are a blast. The only downside is that Konami didn’t package the trilogy of DS Metroidvanias into this as well. Regardless of those omissions, this collection does include Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. They were originally Game Boy Advance games, hence the title of this collection.

Of those three, Aria of Sorrow is the best as it feels like the true sequel to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. From poaching enemy abilities to taking place in the future, it was like an evolution. Again though, all three games are absolute bangers. For old-school fans of the franchise, there is also the Castlevania Anniversary Collection which contains Castlevania, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, Super Castlevania 4, Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and Kid Dracula. Kid Dracula’s NES inclusion is significant because only the Game Boy version of it was released initially in the West.

Other PS4 Castlevania Games

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    Castlevania Requiem

    Castlevania Requiem

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    Action
    Adventure
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    Systems
    PlayStation-1
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    Released
    October 28, 2018
    Developer(s)
    Konami
    Publisher(s)
    Konami
    Franchise
    Castlevania
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    Contains:Rondo of Blood & Symphony of the Night

    Genre(s)
    Action, Adventure
    Metascore
    74
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    Castlevania Anniversary Collection

    Castlevania Anniversary Collection

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    Adventure
    Platformer
    Compilation
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    Systems
    super greyscale 8-bit logo PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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    Released
    May 16, 2019
    ESRB
    T For Teen
    Developer(s)
    Konami
    Publisher(s)
    Konami
    Franchise
    Castlevania
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    Contains:Castlevania, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, Kid Dracula, Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge, Castlevania Bloodlines, & Super Castlevania 4

    Genre(s)
    Action, Adventure, Platformer, Compilation
    Metascore
    81 (Switch); 74 (PS4)
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