Best 8 Music Tracks from Castlevania (1998-2008)

Released as a launch title for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance, Circle of the Moon – despite later being classified as a “standalone” title outside of the series’ main canon – was still a key entry point for the then-new portable console (and, of course, jumpstarted Konami’s focus on having the series as a primarily handheld-oriented franchise in the 2000s). The game’s ending credits theme, “Repose of Souls,” is another somber-sounding piece like “Requiem for the Nameless Victims”; however, it also gives players an emotional underscore of peace and victory following a long and harrowing journey.

Successor of Fate (Castlevania: HoD, 2002)

2002’s Harmony of Dissonance, an entry set approximately 50 years after the events of Simon’s Quest, continued the series’ presence on the GBA with a brand-new (and canon) story featuring Juste Belmont: grandson of Simon, the main protagonist of the original two NES games and Super Castlevania IV. Right from the very opening section of the castle, players will be serenaded with the track “Successor of Fate” – quite possibly one of the entire series’ most adventurous and heroic-sounding pieces of music (even keeping in mind the GBA’s admittedly limited sound capabilities).

Demon Castle Top Floor (Castlevania: AoS, 2003)

As the third and final entry of the series’ “trilogy” of GBA releases, 2003’s Aria of Sorrow would actually take the intergenerational story to the then-far future of 2035 following the reemergence of Dracula’s titular castle during a solar eclipse in Japan (as prophesized after Dracula’s unseen “final defeat” in 1999). Towards the end of the game, mysterious new protagonist Soma Cruz eventually reaches the previously inaccessible upper sections of the castle, with a moody – and somewhat techno-sounding – track playing through the monster-infested (and very difficult) area.

Dark Palace of Waterfalls (Castlevania: LoI, 2003)

Released in 2003, PS2 title Lament of Innocence was developed to serve as the chronologically “first” major entry in the fictional timeline, and to also try one more time to bring the series into a fully 3D gameplay format following two less-than-stellar attempts on the N64. While Lament was comparatively received better than those aforementioned attempts at 3D, it still suffered from criticisms regarding its repetitive levels and excessive backtracking; however, it still offered a very decent soundtrack, including the mysterious and atmospheric track “Dark Palace of Waterfalls.”

Into the Dark Night (Castlevania: DoS, 2005)

Starting a new trilogy of games for the Nintendo DS, 2005’s Dawn of Sorrow would directly follow up on the storyline of Soma Cruz (seemingly) concluded in Aria of Sorrow: now one year later, Soma is confronted by a strange cult who wishes to sacrifice him following the refusal of his…”unusual” heritage (and associated powers). While players scour a replica of Dracula’s castle owned and inhabited by the cult to face them and find answers, the track “Into the Dark Night” is used as a recurring boss theme – and it’s a wonderfully intense and pulse-pounding piece of music!

Young Nobleman of Darkness (Castlevania: CoD, 2005)

As a follow-up to Lament of Innocence, Castlevania: Curse of Darkness featured a storyline set three years after Dracula’s Curse, with a primary focus on the conflict between newcomers Hector and Isaac (who many will recognize – albeit, in greatly reimagined forms – as Dracula’s necromantic human servants from the Netflix animated series). Despite receiving similar criticisms like LoI (as well as other issues with the game’s plot and characters), CoD also provided some fantastic musical selections, such as Isaac’s fast-paced and hard-hitting boss theme “Young Nobleman of Darkness.”

Invitation of a Crazed Moon (Castlevania: PoR, 2006)

Portrait of Ruin, set in 1944 during WWII (placing it approximately 27 years after the events of Castlevania: Bloodlines), stars new protagonists Jonathan Morris (son of John Morris from Bloodlines) and Charlotte Aulin (a mage with distant familial connections to Sypha Belnades from Dracula’s Curse). The catchy synth-pop track “Invitation of a Crazed Moon” serves as Portrait‘s opening area theme and, like with the beloved “Dracula’s Castle” from Symphony of the Night, sets very high anticipation for players to go forth and take on the looming forces of darkness yet again.

An Empty Tome [Stage BGM] (Castlevania: OoE, 2008)

Developed as the third and final entry in the series’ DS trilogy of games (and serving as the last major title released for the “original” canon starting in 1987), 2008’s Order of Ecclesia takes place sometime in the 1800s and features new protagonist Shanoa: a magically gifted member of an organization formed to combat Dracula in the Belmonts’ absence. When players eventually reach and start working through the first section of Dracula’s castle, a stage theme version of “An Empty Tome” (the game’s intro track) kicks in with a funky, disco-esque beat dripping with pure determination.

Honorable Mentions

“Annex – Quiet Madness” (Castlevania [N64]); “Tower of Ruins” (Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness); “Awake” (Castlevania: Circle of the Moon); and “Chapel Sky” (Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance).

“Condemned Tower” (Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow); “Piercing Silence” (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin); “Mournful Serenade” (Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles); and “Ebony Wings” (Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia).