No media (book, movie, or game) exists in a vacuum. Castlevania shared concepts in common with platformers that came before it and then influenced games afterwards. This is especially true once the series merged into the Metroidvania genre (which, we should note, happened with the second game in the series, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, although the bones were even beginning to take shape in the semi-remake/port Vampire Killer) -- it was inextricably linked to the explorational adventure-platformers, forever now being referenced when a new game (a "Metroidvania" game) in the genre is released.
So what makes a game a direct relative of Castlevania or Metroid? Is it just the ambiance, or the game play? Really, it's both as the style and substance of a game can indicate it saw what Konami (and/or Nintendo) was cranking out and decided to play in the same pool. Throughout this section we'll look at the games that came out before, around, and after the Castlevania entries and look at what was influenced by our favorite series and what might have been drawn from them in return.
Games and Series Started in the Classic Era
- Adventure (1980, Atari 2600)
- Dragon Slayer (1984, Various Systems)
- Xanadu (1985, Various Systems)
- Xanadu: Scenario II (1986, Various Systems)
- Romancia (1986, Various Systems)
- Faxanadu (1987, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Legacy of the Wizard (1987, Various Systems)
- Sorcerian (1987, Various Systems)
- Dragon Slayer Gaiden (1992, Nintendo Game Boy)
- The Legend of Xanadu (1994, NEC PC Engine)
- The Legend of Xanadu II (1995, NEC PC Engine)
Games and Series Started in the 8-Bit Era
- Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985, Various Systems)
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1988, Various Systems)
- Gargoyle's Quest: Ghosts 'n Goblins (1990, Nintendo Game Boy)
- Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1991, Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (1992, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Demon's Crest (1994, Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Makaimura for WonderSwan (1999, WonderSwan)
- Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (2006, PlayStation Portable)
- Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection (2021, Nintendo Switch)
- Knightmare: Demon Castle Legend (1986, MSX Computer)
- The Maze of Galious: Knightmare II (1987, MSX Computer)
- The Goonies (1986, Various Systems)
- The Goonies II (1987, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- The Legend of Zelda (1986, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Rygar (1987, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Metroid (1986, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991, Nintendo Game Boy)
- Super Metroid (1994, Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Metroid Fusion (2002, Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
- Metroid: Zero Mission (2004, Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
- Metroid: Samus Returns (2017, Nintendo 3DS)
- Metroid Dread (2021, Nintendo Switch)
- The Battle of Olympus (1988, Nintendo Entertainment System & Nintendo Game Boy)
- 8 Eyes (1988, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Holy Diver (1989, Nintendo Famicom)
- Ninja Gaiden (1988, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (1990, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (1991, Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Ninja Gaiden (1991, Sega Game Gear)
- Ninja Gaiden Shadow (1991, Nintendo Game Boy)
- Ninja Gaiden (1992, Sega Master System)
Games and Series Started in the 16-Bit Era
- Wanderers from Ys (1989, Various Systems)
- Cadash (1989, Various Systems)
- Actraiser (1990, Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Actraiser 2 (1993, Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
- Actraiser Renaissance (2021, Various Systems)
- Master of Darkness (1992, Sega Master System & Sega Game Gear)
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993, Various Systems)
- Rusty (1993, NEC PC-9801)
Games and Series Started in the Post-64-Bit Era
- Shantae (2002, Nintendo Game Boy Color)
- Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010, Various Systems)
- Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014, Nintendo 3DS & Nintendo WiiU)
- Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016, Various Systems)
- Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019, Various Systems)
- Mega Man Network Transmission (2003, Nintendo GameCube)
- Shaman King: Master of Spirits (2004, Nintendo Gameboy Advance)
- Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2 (2005, Nintendo Gameboy Advance)
Games and Series Started in the Modern Era
- Shovel Knight (2014, Various Systems)
- Odallus: The Dark Call (2015, Various Systems)
- The Mummy Demastered (2017, Various Systems)
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (2018, Various Systems)
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019, Various Systems)
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (2020, Various Systems)
- Dead Cells (2018, Various Systems)
- Dead Cells: Rise of the Giant (2019, Various Systems)
- Dead Cells: The Bad Seed (2020, Various Systems)
- Dead Cells: Fatal Falls (2021, Various Systems)
- Dead Cells: The Queen and the Sea (2022, Various Systems)
- Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania (2023, Various Systems)
- Timespinner (2018, Various Systems)
- Blasphemous (2019, Personal Computers)
- Wallachia: Reign of Dracula (2020, Various Systems)
- Midnight Castle Succubus (2020, Personal Computers)
- Crypt Stalker (2020, Personal Computers)
- Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (2021, Personal Computers)
Upcoming Games
- Gestalt: Steam & Cinder (TBD 2022, Personal Computers)
- Infernax (TBD 2022, Personal Computers)
- The Last Faith (TBD 2022, Personal Computers)
- Lords of Exile (TBD 2022, Personal Computers)
- Afterimage (TBD Eventually, Various Systems)
- Brave Earth Prologue (TBD Eventually, Personal Computers)
- Carpathian Night (TBD Eventually, Personal Computers)
- Grim Guardians: Demon Purge (TBD Eventually, Various Systems)
- Mandragora (TBD Eventually, Various Systems)
- The Transylvania Adventure of Simon Quest (TBD Eventually, Personal Computers)