Dolores and Zoe Belmont

For a while there, Konami did not lack for ambition with the Castlevania series. They wanted to get the series out to as many gamers, on as many consoles, as they could. They not only regularly created new tiles in the main series, crafting new titles in their Metroidvania line, but also trying to get older titles on mobile phones as well. This eventually culminated in the bit-of-both game, Castlevania: Order of ShadowsThe first original Castlevania game released for mobile phones. Not a port of any existing title, this game was instead a new game built, from the ground up, as a Metroidvania title for mobile devices., a title designed for mobile phones but created in the Metroidvania genre.

Well, more or less. That title, while seemingly okay for a mobile phone, was hardly the rousing success any Castlevania fans were looking for. Its story and its characters -- from lead hero Desmond BelmontHero of the mobile-only Metroidvania, Castlevania: Order of Shadows. Desmond, with the assistance of his two sisters, must fight his way through a smaller adventure all in an attempt at stopping the titular order from resurrecting Dracula. to primary antagonist Rohan KrauseThe villain and primary antagonist of Castlevania: Order of Shadows. Krause looked to bring back the Dark Lord, Dracula, and used the power of his order, and the relics they'd collected, in his attempts. He attempted to take out the Belmont line once, murdering the parents of Demond, but failed to wipe away their children, leading to his own eventual downfall. -- were quickly forgotten, cast aside from the main continuity, never to be see again. That includes two of the additional characters thrown in, Desmond's sisters Dolores and Zoe, worthy female characters that probably should have been given their own game eventually were they not mired in this trashy mobile title.

What's interesting about these two is that they're worthy Belmont heroes in their own right. Before the game even gets going, these two have charged off into the castle of the Order to find out information and help to stop the evil Rohan. Hell, the game even notes that Dolores can swing the famed family whip, the Vampire KillerThe legendary whip charged with holy magic and created for the Belmont clan to aid in their fight against the forces of darkness. It has been the constant, reliable weapon of the clan through the many generations of their battles. Strong against vampires., with proper Belmont skill. If anything, it would have been fun to have an adventure with these two, something on the order of the mode given to Stella and LorettaThe two vampire daughters of Brauner. When the evil vampire painter takes over Dracula's castle, his daughters come along with. Except they may not actually be his daughters, and they could in fact hold the secret to his ultimate defeat. in Castlevania: Portrait of RuinThe penultimate Igarashi Metroidvania, Portrait was inspired by the "Julius Mode" adventure in Dawn of Sorrow, leading to a two-character adventure through Dracula's castle.. Not that a mobile phone could have handled such a complex mode, not when this game was released at least.

I wouldn't say it's a disappointment that this game never had a sequel, especially once starring these two fine, upstanding ladies -- Order of Shadows is trash, after all -- but there's some weird parallel universe where these two got their own game and, deep down, the editors of The Inverted Dungeon really want to live in that universe, at least long enough to play that potentially interesting title.