A side-scrolling platformer video game series by Konami, known in Japan as 悪魔城ドラキュラ (Akumajou Dracula, lit. Devil's Castle Dracula).
The player typically controls one character at a time, often of the Belmont clan, in a journey through Dracula's demon castle, Castlevania, to defeat him and his hordes.
The series was originally a straightforward, level-based 2D platformer, but with the release of the PlayStation entry Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the formula became more adventure-based and exploration-focused (to the point of being Metroid-like, coining the term "Metroidvania") and subsequently a hit, with most subsequent entries following its build.
