The Castlevania Games Tier List 

Symphony not being SS is a crime

You lost me at Symphony not being S tier.

I get what you're saying, but Symphony of the Night is still at least S.

Extreme respect for the Aria placement

Aria of Sorrow is legit awesome. Underrated because it was on the GBA, but it is a true masterpiece of a game

the moment he put SOTN in A Tier I stop watching

*Edit: I Know* Hoping we can get the DS games in a future collection. Perhaps handled like how the ZX games were in the Mega Man Zero collection.

People talking about Symphony, but Dracula's Curse in B tier is the greater crime.

Very happy you included Bloodstained, those games are severely underrated

The well-deserved love and respect on Curse of Darkness is bringing me great joy. This is also a powerful reminder that Adventure ReBirth desperately needs some kind of rerelease

Rondo of blood is my favorite. Just a top tier game

Order of Ecclesia is my favorite Castlevania game of all time, it's good to see there's some appreciation for it.

it should be mentioned rondo of blood's cutscene artstyle is also the definition of "generic anime style" for the time it came out. the definition of "generic anime style" changed greatly between the 90's and 2000's though, and you could argue the story wasn't really a focal point in the early castlevania games, so perhaps thats why you don't recognize it/don't think its worth mentioning.

Lords of Shadow 1 was amazing. It was by far the best of the God of War clone games.

Rondo and the Sorrow games being at the top is exactly what I wanted to see, hell yeah

Symphony is simply SS.. played that over 10 times or so and never got bored of it

bro got me offended with that sympathy of the night being A tier

Saying SotN isn't a masterpiece... my heart. Is absolutely IS a masterpiece 😫

left the video when he said Symphony Of The Night is over rated lol

Bloodstained is one of those very rare Kickstarter winners, alongside Shovel Knight.

SOTN is not only the best castlevania game, it is one of the best games ever made.

The Sorrow games are godlike, and you've got my respect putting Aria on top. Imo, even with the no touch romhack, I still prefer Aria, it's definitely one of my top 10 favorite games of all time

symphony of the night it's just a masterpiece

Giving Bloodstained their deserved place in this list and the Sorrow Duology in SS? This is officially the best tier list

Other than bumping SotN up one tier, I can't really critique much about this tierlist. It's well thought-out and reasoned so kudos for that.

SotN deserves SS simply for jumpstarting castlevania metroidvanias. And the soundtrack is 10/10.

Great list! I love all of the bloodstained games and I’m really glad you included them. Order of Ecclesia is my personal favorite Castlevania game and one of my favorites of all time, but both sorrow games are wonderful as well. Really stoked for the future of the bloodstained games

It really is tragic how Konami just put in 0 fuckin effort into the franchise after Iga left and devolved it into casino machines

I only game placement I disagree with is SOTN. I would put it in SS. Its just a good as any other game in the top tier. You're basically saying circle of the moon is as good as sotn and thats just a nope lol. Also, dawn probably would be the best game if it wasn't for the seal mechanic.

Based tierlist. Curse or darkness is great. Would love to see a remake or remaster that adds a little bit faster movement and more combos. The wacky and secret equipment in the metroidvanias is my favorite aspect of them.

Portrait of Ruin was my favorite of the DS games, was young and doing nightshifts a lot at the time. Being able to main Charlotte who was cool and competent and a girl lifted the game for me.

Order of Ecclesia my favorite of the DS titles but I agree that the 3 games are peak castlevania. Glad you gave it another chance

Another banger tierlist, our tastes more or less line up in this one as well. The DS Castlevanias were honestly so good, I really hope they're next to get a modern rerelease.

The simple fact that you put DoS in SS warrants my sub :D Also, the funny thing about Bloodstained Ritual Of The Night is that, the first time I played it, I just got out of my, idk, 15th completion of DoS, which incidentally also has my second favourite soundtrack in the franchise after SOTN, and none of the songs in Bloodstained actually stuck during my first playthrough. But then, replaying it a couple years later, which incidentally was just a couple weeks ago, I could finally appreciate the soundtrack for what it was and I have to say, it is easily in my top 5 from the franchise - I also think that Bloodstained is Castlevania rebranded. Gameplay-wise, Bloodstained, to me, feels like IGA wanted to reexplore Order Of Ecclesia's glyph system and make it better. Now, I haven't played OoE in about 10 years at this point so I kinda forgot how the glyph system was, but the Shard system in Bloodstained actually reminded me more of the AoS/DoS soul system, AKA my absolute favourite system in the franchise. Which can't be a bad thing, obviously. Now the ONE thing I hope IGA add in a future update of ROTN, or maybe in the sequel, is a whip-holding character that uses the whip the way the Belmonts do. Because I, for one, don't like how Miriam uses it x). But that just a small, cherry picked issue I have that doesn't really change the fact that to me, Bloodstained is actually a SS tier.

Honestly the funniest thing about Bloodstained to me is that they straight up remade Castlevania 1 with Bloodstained's assets and released it as an extra gameplay mode

Order of Ecclesia is my personal favorite of the DS vanias (though havent played Dawn all the way through yet) hearing that its your least favorite of the DS vanias and still being in S tier was a pleasant surprise.

Just began watching your videos, I LOVE the quality and information provided. Keep up the great work!

Bloodlines is the most underrated cv ever

You have my respect for not overrating SotN and putting both Aria and Dawn of Sorrow in SS. There are some places i disagree, but overall i think your tier list is very good.

Nyarly Castlevania arc continues.

While Symphony of the night is good one annoyance is that the difficulty curve is reversed. The game starts out with a good challenge but becomes easier the further in. Later in the game I could just facetank bosses and kill them in a short time (except the super boss unless cheesing him)

Breathed a sigh of relief to see the DS games in (roughly) the right spots lol Great list, but I do encourage you to spend a bit more time with Chronicles. It really hits a groove when you get comfortable with the jank, and the aesthetics are probably my favorite out of any of the Classicvanias. I probably will never put it above Rondo, but I was surprised how much I ended up treasuring my copy.

Your videos make me want to jump into the franchise. Played a few growing up. But maybe i need to take a closer look.

"Symphony of the Night is a great game but I don't know if I would say it's a masterpiece." - You don't have to say it, but it's true nonetheless! One of the best games ever made.

Eclessia not being SS is nuts.

Simons Quest could've been so much better if the translation hadn't been so atrocious and maybe shortening the day night transition. For what it was, it was ambitious for a Castlevania game for its time

Hard agree on Bloodstained! The fact that the developers were still improving the game's technical problems, while adding fun new content for free deserves a lot of respect. Also, the endgame becomes really fun. And yeah, Aria of Sorrow might be the best Metroidvania, period.

Well put together video! I personally have castlevania 4 as my top game, but respect the list

Just started to play some more games from the castlevania series after i finished aria of sorrow. This vid made me realize i was playing a not so great version of rondo of blood so thanks! i also got to see a ton of other games i didn t know about from the series. I recommend the ”Return to Castlevania DLC” for the Dead Cells game also. Altough not a stand-alone game, the addition of new weapons, dialogue, map layout/design and well placed refferences is worth checking out.

I loved the pause before actually placing SotN followed by the immediate opening argument for the defense lmao. I haven't played every Castlevania, but of the ones I did I think they were placed fairly. Good tier list.

I've got nothing but praise for all the bloodstained games to date. I hope to see more of them.

29:40 I wanna say that in 2024, the game is still alive, it has it's own dedicated discord, and even has it's own dedicated unity port of the game, featuring additional content not seen in in the original versions of the game on Xbox and PSN. Featuring more stages, characters, items, as well as makes characters like Jonathan behave like how he would more like in portrait of ruin, being able to use more than just his whip.

Personally, I feel that PoR stands in SS tier. The game has an absurd amount of content to it, that content is generally extremely good, and the game isn't bogged down by the content. You can beat the game and have an authentic experience without bothering to level subweapons or deal with the sidequests or anything of the sort. The portraits play very differently, with Sandy Grave being easy enemies and deadly traps, the Circus of Fools being complex platforming, the Evil Forest being a nearly linear gauntlet of hard enemies, and the pixel art detail being completely absurd. Just the shops in the first portrait alone are so absurdly detailed that it boggles the mind. Someone really spent time making individual sprites for cakes.

This video was awesome for the sheer fact that it shows so much love to the GBA & DS games Castlevania games. While Symphony of the Night will always be in my Top 10 games of all time, Aria & Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin made so many improvements on the SotN formula and are just totally addictive!

My favourite castlevania games are basically sotn, the ds games and my top 2 are specifically the Soma games in no particular order.

YES, i love castlevania. super happy about seeing you cover it

Omg being the father of all metroidvania and not be in SS, such a disrespect for SOTN.

When this guy put SOTN in A list, I automatically didn't continue watching the video. I mean, SOTN is the SS tier list of all castlevania games out there, PERIOD. Great bgm, gameplay, secrets, lore etc etc.

I was kinda dreading your opinion on Castlevania 64 & Legacy of Darkness purely due to their reputation online caused by, as you said, certain internet personalities. I was surprised when you gave them a fair shot and rating though! They're certainly not the best games, but they're definitely up there in my top Castlevania games. The levels, character designs and music are all so memorable to me.

Harmony of Dissonance is actually my favourite castlevania. The low quality samples for the music add to the unique atmosphere, in combination with the weirdly bright colors giving the feeling that this is just a really weird castle. (since it kinda formed from the whole double soul thing Maxim has going on at the start, it IS kind of a weird castle) It's right there in the name. Dissonance. Of course it's gonna have kinda unnerving music. Its twin castles are a better executed version of the two castles in SotN, which makes it REALLY fun to explore. It's interesting to see that doing something in one castle can affect the same room in the opposite castle (Just wish it was used a little more often). I like Juste's spellbooks more than Aria's soul system (a spicy take, but there's a lot of souls that just feel downright redundant), and his having both a back and forward dash just makes movement (and combat!) really fun.

Devil May Cry 1 is what 3d castlevania should have been

There is actually a fan port of Harmony of Despair for the PC. It's basic features are complete. But I think currently the project is in an indefinite hiatus.

SOTN overrated? Are you high!?

I find it funny how you said that Bloodlines was the most difficult of the 16 but era, with Bloodlines being the only Castlevania I have ever fully beat, I love it, SS tier easily.

Definitely enjoyed your insight on what Castlevania game is good and average. Also liked how you implemented the Bloodstained games as well especially since their Igurashi's babies. I speedrun the first Curse of the Moon game and it's a lot of fun to run for sure, BUT I would like to learn CoTM 2 and RoTN at some point.

I love your videos. The passion and way you articulate how good certain games are make me want to play them. Same with the SMT games you talked about, except I’m way less familiar with those (hoping to change that)

Played Symphony Of The Night recently and omg it’s so good Fans which game should I play next Beaten Rondo Of Blood and the remake in Dracula X Chronicles and Lords Of Shadow and SOTN, have access to 1,2 and 4 through collections and own LOS2

I like that you included all three Lords Of Shadow games in the same tier. And I also found your ultimate opinion of them very interesting: "These games aren't terrible, but, they just lack what makes Castlevania so much fun to me." I think that's one of the most neutral opinions I've ever heard about the LOS Trilogy, which is a welcome change, because most opinions I've heard regarding that trilogy lean more towards the negative side, whereas I am one of the few who actually really enjoyed that trilogy. One thing that you and I really seem to agree on regarding LOS is that the main thing that trilogy has going in its favor is its story. And for me, its story is also one of the main reasons why (and this is a very UNpopular opinion to a lot of die-hard Castlevania fans) Gabriel Belmont is my personal favorite incarnation of Dracula in the entire franchise (although the version in the Netflix anime is a very close second).

Sorry but couldnt take you seriously after not putting Symphony on SS , it is better than any of the advance games and Rondo of Blood

Castlevania Adventure has excellent level design. The lack of enemy variety, uninspired bosses, and sluggishness gameplay hold the game back, but the creativity on display in the layout and challenge of the levels is S tier.

I'm 43 years old and I've played all the Castlevania games. None of them Castlevania S.o.t.N. it cannot replace . I don't know how you judged it, but S.o.t.N. the art and music design in it is not present in any of them. RPG elements, equipment variety, strategies and more. Also, the game is not easy at all. For some reason, when I was 19 years old, everyone I knew who was my age found the other Castlevania games childish. This is my interpretation dinosaur as a gamer and artist :) ... sorry.

Here is my list, which is more a favorites than objective list: 1) Portrait of Ruin - Simply does so many things great. 2) Aria of Sorrow - Good story, souls system is great, fun game 3) Dawn of Sorrow - At first lower on my list, but after revisiting it, I must pump it up. I love the Julius mode is tied into the story. 4) Circle of the Moon - I am biased, since this was my introduction to the series. Even though the light issue is objectively a bad thing, I really liked the dark gothic style and I think this entry did it great if not best. I completed all modes, so to this day is the game I have beaten the most in the series. 5) Bloodstained - Great spiritual successor, but I think it lost something in without the eternal conflict between Dracula and the vampire hunters. 6) Order of Ecclesia - Like you, I didn't liked it that much at first and may still feel like I enjoyed SotN better, but it did do many things well, including the magnet glyph that made traversal challenging and fun. A game I think I would enjoy more if I revisited it, just as I did with DoS. 7) Symfoni of the Night - I respect what it did, but I feel it has been surpassed. The surprise of the inverted castle just felt like bad pacing to me, you have already unlocked enough to freely explore, so you somewhat lose the core of a Metroidvania here. 8) Dracula X Chronicles (Rondo) - I am more into Metroidvanias and I bought this game for SotN, but still played Rondo. It is a great game, but I just like the Metroidvanias more. 9) Harmony of dissonance - I really disliked the style of the game, especially coming from CotM and only found it good enough to play once.

Castlevania 3 and lament of innocence are my two favorites. Both SS for me their so good and are great challenges. Not to mention the soundtracks 😮

Symphony has to be at least S! It’s got an S in the title for the love of christ!

SOTN IS NOT ON SS TIER LIST? THIS GUY CRAZY...DISLIKES

Where would you put Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania? I loved it a lot, but it's also my only direct exposure to the franchise.

Man, Aria and Dawn of Sorrow are pieces of art

Sotn in the same tier as circle is a crime

Symphony of the night is an SSS tier solo in my humble opinion! Simply amazing !

Aria had so much memorable tracks. Castle Corridor and Clock Tower were already bops the first time I heard them

Super Castlevania and Symphony of the night are the two games I always go back to play. Those were the best games for me. Also i know this game doesn’t count but Dead Cells just had a castlevania dlc a while back and it took a game I was already head over heels for and made it one of my favourites of all time.

I think i'd genuinely put Bloodstained (Ritual) in SS simply for its depth of content ans ease of replayability thanks to things like its inbuild randomizer. It's just such an easy game to randomply pick up every once in a while and have a fresh experience with. Other than that, i'd personally rank the Lords of Shadows games much higher, but i can definitely see why people don't like them. For me, it's the voice actor performance that anchored the game into my memory. There's this dialog between Gabriel (Robert Carlyle) and Marie (Natasha McElhone) in LoS2 that, to this day, gives me goosebumps. Great List!

Where would you put Simon's Denstiny?

Symphony of the Night overrated? Finally someone said it! Also I buy the fight all the time in internet about how Aria and Down of Sorrow are great games, not many people had the opportunity to play on a DS and the emulators really don't do justice to the DS. It's funny how our experiences with Order of Ecclesia was the same, I hated at first (especially the difficulty lol) but now it's one of my favourite games, in my opinion all the DS games are SS, also I don't buy the argument of DS games being bad because of anime style where Rondo of Blood had it and also had a silly end with Maria.

Totally agree on SOTN.

This is the first tier list that didn’t feel like a generic SotN fan

IV is S. The best controls, amazing music. It’s as good as Rondo (which I love). The presentation is close to if not as good, and it’s more satisfying to move/whip. The mode 7 stuff, swing from rafters, multi-directional whipping blew our minds back then.

Not a Castlevania expert. I despise the oldschool ones, love the metroidvanias, but I'm an RPG guy, so... I'll just enjoy the rankings for what they are.

Finally somebody that appreciates the n64 castlevanias, those are the best games on the console. I have one to play those, I like the first game over legacy of darkness myself.

I agree with Symphony of the Night. While I own Orders of Ecclesia. I have yet play it lol. Portraits of Ruins its still my favorite Game in the series, Love how the game looks and the replay ability. I remember beating the game Multiple Times back in the day. This Video got me Hype! now I just want to play Castlevania again lol

So happy to see the original Bloodstained project so high lol. Everyone always just talks about the 8bit ones but god I love Ritual of the Night so much. It’s a game that more people seriously need to play, it’s got so much to enjoy and it really is just metroidvania goodness. Although I haven’t played all the metroidvania ones, I can say that I only prefer Order of Ecclesia and the sorrow Duolingo over Ritual of the Night. It really just is so fun

The DS trilogy are the peak of castlevania. I spent hours on it until I got everything the game had to offer. Portrait of ruin is by far my favorite.

As someone who beat every almost every Castlevania in the year they appeared, up until COD, I'd say: S: CASTLEVANIA 3. SOTN. ARIA. RONDO. Legacy of Darkness. A: Bloodlines. Castlevania. Castlevania 4. Circle of the Moon. Dawn of Sorrow. Portrait of Ruin. C64. Order of Ecclesia. B: Harmony of Dissonance. Belmont's Revenge. Castlevania 2. Dracula X. Castlevania (X68000) C: Lament of Innocence. Adventure. D:Curse of Darkness. Legends. F: Haunted Castle.

Having symphony of the night as the lowest ranked metroidvania game is an absolute insult

I just watched your Castlevania Handgun-Only Run. What a coincidence!

How interesting, as someone that played and loved all of the metroidvania castlevania games, I still don't think ANY of them had as much budget and love poured into it as Symphony of the Night did. All those secrets, all that content, it definitely feels the most "full" game of them all so i expected at least an S rank, even though i think it should be SS for starting the genre with one of the truly best games ever in the genre. Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, Order of Eclessia the true golden 3 The less said about dawn of sorrow the better, genuinely one of the worst disappointments I've ever experienced after how good Aria was, will never understand why people like it at all.

I know Castlevania 64 isn't objectively the best, but subjectively it's my favorite. My first game on the Nintendo 64 and blew me away and scared the hell out of me. This was the beginning of my Castlevania addiction. What a game for me!

Aria of sorrow is the best game in the series, mostly because of what it pulled off on the GAME BOY ADVANCE. Dawn is good too, but the environments and level design is not as tightly woven as it is in aria, Symphony of the night, or even in portrait of ruin. Plus it's pretty easy. Great ranking, except not putting Symphony of the night in S tier. I would have accepted A teir if there was no SS tier.

Super Castlevania IV is, in my opinion, one of the best traditional Castlevanias you could try out. And AoS is always fucking goated so… yeah. But this list is reasonable.

I agree with this list, but Dawn can't be SS with that trash art style