Castlevania is one of those series that has stayed with me since childhood.  I can still remember playing Simon’s Quest as a kid, then Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow on my GBA Micro, and Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin on my Nintendo DS.  The music, the gameplay, the graphics…It’s all still visible with my mind’s eye.  And now, with the Konami E3 announcement of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, I get to return to a series I have loved since childhood.

There are five playable characters.  From screenshots, it seems that the playables will be Soma Cruz (Aria of Sorrow/Dawn of Sorrow), Alucard (Symphony of the Night), Jonathan Morris (Portrait of Ruin), Charlotte Aulin (Portrait of Ruin), and Shanoa (Order of Ecclesia).  I’m very happy with Soma, Alucard, Jonathan, and Charlotte.  I’ve never played as Shanoa, so I can’t say much about that.  Obviously, I’d love to have Simon Belmont as a playable character as well, but I can settle for Alucard.  More characters and stages could be added as DLC in the future, if the game sells well.

The first multiplayer entry into the Castlevania series, Harmony of Despair will be released on Xbox Live Arcade this summer as part of Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade event.  Castlevania: Harmony of Despair offers co-operative multiplayer with up to 6 people online (no word if local multiplayer is included), very high resolution dot graphics (over 10 million dots per screen), and more.  Along with co-op multiplayer, a survival mode is included where you can play against other players.  Additionally, unlike previous Castlevania’s, the different areas of the maps connect, allowing enemies to follow through from other screens.

Here are some screenshots that have been released for the upcoming game:

E3 debut trailer:

Who’s ready to make Dracula their bitch?

I am.

-[insert MANKIND ILL NEEDS ANOTHER SAVIOR SUCH AS YOU! here]