Villagers

Villagers and citizens are characters frequently featured in the Castlevania series; they inhabit the many towns and cities found throughout the vast Transylvanian countryside.
Either appearing only by mention or actively taking part in the hero's journey, these individuals often offer clues, quests or are merchants who will sell weapons and other mystical items. Some of them, however, may also be town pranksters who will give false information if talked to."A few friendly strangers are town pranksters, and their clues are false." - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest instruction booklet, page 5. Some are fearful of Dracula and will try to mislead the hero. Yet, in some rare instances, villagers will actually help the hero while in combat, providing supporting offensive power.
==General information==
Villagers' most prominent appearances have been in games like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and Order of Ecclesia, where in the latter, they acted as quest givers, presenting Shanoa with numerous quests and rewarding her accordingly for each one successfully completed. They are also essential to the plot, as rescuing them is mandatory to unlock the true ending. They also made a brief appearance in the introductory stage of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow by helping Gabriel Belmont against a horde of Lycanthropes and a Great Warg that were terrorizing their village.
It should not come as a surprise the appearance of villagers in the series, as they are generally Dracula's first victims each time he comes back to life. Either by razing the nearby towns surrounding his castle, poisoning their sources of water, killing them in large numbers and turning them into legions of zombies, abducting groups to keep them prisoners in the dungeons and later serve as sustenance for the vampire population, be fed to Dracula's monstrous pets, practice unholy experiments with them, or forcing them to fight for their lives in the castle's arena, villagers surely don't have it easy when the Dark Lord returns from the dead.
Some more "lucky" villagers end up being given the "dark gift", as seen in Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness. It's not clear why certain individuals are chosen over others for this special treatment, but perhaps they satisfy certain requirements or simply happened to fall prey to another vampire. Yet, in some occasions, a vampire will deliberately infect someone cherished by their enemies, all while enjoying their futile attempts trying to save their life. The least affected ones only end up slightly afflicted by the curse which befalls the land every time Dracula is resurrected.
In one of Rondo of Blood's introductory cutscenes, the town of Aljiba is shown being rampaged by Dracula's forces, where we can see how Annette is kidnapped while trying to escape. One of the optional objectives in the game then becomes finding and rescuing four kidnapped maidens along the various stages of the game, one of them being Maria Renard, who once rescued can be selected as a playable character. This game's 2007 revision, The Dracula X Chronicles, elaborated a bit further on this premise, granting the heroes special items for each maiden rescued, which in turn gave them the means necessary to unlock many alternate paths along their journey.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania II: Simon's Quest===
First prominent appearance of villagers in the series. The player starts the game in the town of Jova, with many of its inhabitants pacing around in front of their houses. Being that Simon's Quest adopts a gameplay style more reminiscent of a role playing game adventure, these individuals can be talked to in the hope of them sharing a secret or selling items to the player. It is important to know that some villagers may give useless or even wrong information, unlike the hidden 13 Clues.
In most towns, Simon Belmont will find a church. Inside, the town's Priest will offer him to rest there for a while. Doing so will replenish all of Simon's health to continue on with his holy battle.
In the towns of Aljiba and Aldra, Simon will encounter two Vampire Killers who will exchange their own crystals for Simon's current one. The one in Aljiba will give him a blue crystal in exchange of his white one, and the one in Aldra will give him a red crystal for his blue one.
When the sun sets behind the Transylvanian mountains while in a town, all townsfolk will scatter for the safety of their homes and lock themselves inside, waiting for the morning sun to vanquish the horrible night while creatures of all shapes, sizes and hairiness roam the darkness.Castlevania II: Simon's Quest instruction booklet, page 7. Once the night is over, however, they'll come back out and continue providing clues and services as usual.
C2 Old Man Villager.JPG|Old Man
Townsman Concept Simon's Quest Cresent Moon.png|link=Townsman|Townsman
Townswoman Concept Simon's Quest Cresent Moon.png|link=Townswoman|Townswoman
Old Woman Concept Simon's Quest Cresent Moon.png|link=Old Woman (Simon's Quest)|Old Woman
Priest Concept Simon's Quest Cresent Moon.png|link=Priest (Simon's Quest)|Priest
Vampire Killer Concept Simon's Quest Cresent Moon.png|link=Vampire Killer (Simon's Quest)|Vampire Killer
Ferryman Concept Simon's Quest Cresent Moon.png|link=Gypsy|Gypsy (Ferryman)
===Castlevania: Rondo of Blood===
One of the main objectives in Rondo of Blood is to rescue four maidens who were kidnapped when Dracula's forces rampaged their hometowns. Doing so is the only way of obtaining the best ending of the game. One of these villagers is Maria Renard, a little girl whose inner powers started to manifest once she sensed Dracula's own powers. The foe, however, is aware of this predicament and orders his minions to capture her. Richter Belmont finds her midway through Stage 2, where he encounters the dark priest Shaft practicing some sort of sorcery on her, with the purpose of stealing her powers.
Once rescued, Maria becomes a playable character, and a valuable one that is, as she has better speed than Richter, can attack twice in a row and while walking, is smaller (and thus harder to hit by enemies) and can fit through narrow spaces, has the ability to double jump and slide, and her sub-weaponry comes in the form of the "Four Symbols" from Chinese mythology, which are four pet animals with great magical powers; not to mention Maria's own dark alter-ego manifestation: the Guardian Knuckle.
The other three kidnapped maidens are:
*Tera - A nun who is kept prisoner in Stage3', after passing through a swampy area and below a wooden bridge "guarded" by a dragon's skeleton.
*Iris - The daughter of a doctor who has some knowledge in medical treatments. She can be found in Stage 4', being held prisoner in a secluded cell beyond a flooded underground cavern. When rescued, she will heal the player to top condition.
*Annette - Richter's girlfriend and Maria's friend. She was taken away from her hometown in Aljiba. Knowing how valuable having someone as precious to a Belmont as Annette is to Richter would be, as well as wanting her for himself to reign together, Dracula offers her his "hospitality" by retaining her in a special room of the clock tower, near to the castle keep, and commands his loyal servant, Shaft, to keep an eye on her personally.
RB Annette.png|link=Annette|Annette
Maria Transparent.png|link=Maria Renard|Maria
RB Tera.png|link=Tera|Tera
RB Iris.png|link=Iris|Iris
Rondo of Blood - Shaft's Offering - 01.png|link=Sacrificial maiden|Sacrificial maiden
===Castlevania: Dracula X===
In Dracula X, the roster of kidnapped girls is reduced to only two: Maria and Annet (spelled like this in this game). Unlike in Rondo of Blood, which was the inspiration for this game, both girls are now sisters and not only friends. Both only play the part of "damsels in distress" this time around, meaning that Maria won't become a playable character after being rescued; and saving either one, both, or none of them, will only change the background image while the credits roll at the end of the game.
Akumajo Dracula XX Art Annet 1.jpg|link=Annette|Annet
Akumajo Dracula XX Art Maria 1.jpg|link=Maria Renard|Maria
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
In Reinhardt and Carrie's quests, they soon come across the corpse of a man and the skeletal remains of some other villagers. After paying their respects, and while preparing to head on their way, these suddenly come back to life and ambush them. A plethora of Skeletons will then infinitely keep digging their way out from the earth and pursue the heroes in various levels throughout the game, especially when they pass through a graveyard in the Forest of Silence.
Once the player reaches the Villa, and while attempting to reach the second floor, they'll be attacked by a vampire who appears to have been recently turned, as he keeps on wearing typical villager's clothing. After dealing with him, and while in a room on the second floor of this mansion, a villager will suddenly enter pleading for help. He tries to persuade the heroes into saving themselves and flee from that hellish place. While this happens, a rose's petal falls from a flower vase lying in front of a big mirror. The hero then catches a glimpse of the entire room through its reflection and discovers that the villager doesn't project an image in it. The man, noticing this and knowing his ruse has been discovered, reveals his true nature, he is another vampire.
Not long after this encounter, the heroes reach a small flower garden within the mansion where a polite village girl named Rosa comes to attend the roses... watering them with blood. She reveals herself as yet another vampire but does not attack them and instead warns them of the dangers lurking around them and then vanishes into thin air.
Soon after entering the mansion's gardens, they encounter a little child named Malus. He tells them that the monsters burned his home village and that both of his parents were murdered during the attack. He also tells them that they took all of the village's children to the castle and that the "devil in the black cloak" was looking for a certain child. Not remembering any more details, they are suddenly attacked by a pair of Stone Dogs. A chase through the hedge maze then ensues. After outrunning the beasts, the protagonist sends Malus to safety through the nearby forest while they remain in the mansion. However, this is not the last they'll be seeing of this little child...
The corpses of some other villagers can also be found in other parts of the game, like the body of a man lying besides the shore of a poisoned water channel in the Tunnel.
Cv64-offart21.jpg|link=Rosa|Rosa
Cv64-offart19.jpg|link=Malus|Malus
CastlevaniaLegacyofDarknessVampire4 02Th.png|This villager turns into a vampire after he attempts to deceive the heroes.
Exclusive to Legacy of Darkness, saving the village's children Malus mentioned earlier is the main objective in Henry Oldrey's quest. His adventure ends when all six of them have been rescued and put to safety. They are:
Anthony.png|link=Anthony|Anthony(found in the Forest of Silence)
Bess.png|link=Bess|Bess(found in the Castle Wall)
Clark.png|link=Clark|Clark(found in the Villa)
Diana.png|link=Diana|Diana(found in the Tunnel)
Edward.png|link=Edward|Edward(found in the Underground Waterway)
Florence.png|link=Florence|Florence(found in the Outer Wall)
===Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles===
While essentially the role of the kidnapped female villagers hasn't changed from their portrayal in Rondo of Blood (Maria Renard being a playable character and rescuing Annette being a requirement to reach the true ending), this time Tera and Iris play a much more important part in the game:
*When rescued, Tera will give the hero the "Tera's Charm", a necklace with the power to permanently destroy Red Skeletons, consequentially allowing them to destroy walls made with the bones of these creatures and giving them access to hidden items and secret paths.
*Iris, on her part, will present the hero with the "Iris's Charm", another necklace which endows them the ability to destroy crystal barriers.
In Stage 7, the game will try to trick the player into thinking they've finally rescued Annette by opening the door of what was her cell in the original game. If falling for this ruse, the hero will meet Laura instead, thus having to fight her and wasting their Key. On the other hand, if the player refrains from opening that door and instead climbs up some sets of stairs, they will find a floor-switch behind a crystal wall (Iris's Charm required). Stepping on it will open a passage below where the real Annette can finally be found.
Cdxc-annette2.jpg|link=Annette|Annette
Cdxc-maria-renard2.jpg|link=Maria Renard|Maria
Cdxc-tera.jpg|link=Tera|Tera
Cdxc-iris.jpg|link=Iris|Iris
Dracula X Chronicles - Shaft's Offering - 01.png|link=Sacrificial maiden|Sacrificial maiden
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
Visiting Wygol Village for the first time allows Shanoa to have a conversation with the village founder, Father Nikolai. He will then give her the task of finding and rescuing the other twelve missing villagers who are being held captive by releasing them from their Torpor prisons. Rescuing them allows Shanoa to receive additional quests, and as a consequence, better equipment. Furthermore, if all thirteen villagers have been rescued prior to the events of the Mystery Manor, Shanoa can access Dracula's Castle and be able to obtain the good ending of the game. Failing to rescue them all will result in a bad ending, and during it, the game will also point out where to find them.
Ch back vl01 Father Nicolae.jpg|link=Nikolai|Father NikolaiThe founder of Wygol Village.
Ch back vl03 Yakushi.jpg|link=Abram|AbramA healer and former thief.
Ch back vl05 Kockion.jpg|link=Aeon (Order of Ecclesia)|AeonA chef.
Ch back vl11 Ana.jpg|link=Anna|AnnaDaughter of Irina.
Ch back vl12 Daniella.jpg|link=Daniela|DanielaAn old woman with memories of fighting monsters with her grandfather.
Ch back vl04 Eugen.jpg|link=Eugen|EugenA blacksmith.
Ch back vl07 George.jpg|link=George|GeorgeA musician.
Ch back vl13 Irena.jpg|link=Irina|IrinaA baker and mother of Anna and Serge.
Ch back vl02 Jacob.jpg|link=Jacob|JacobA shopkeeper.
Ch back vl08 Laura.jpg|link=Laura (Order of Ecclesia)|LauraA jeweler.
Ch back vl09 Marcel.jpg|link=Marcel|MarcelA reporter.
Ch back vl06 Monica.jpg|link=Monica|MonicaA seamstress.
Ch back vl10 Serge.jpg|link=Serge|SergeSon of Irina.
===Castlevania: Lords of Shadow===
A group of villagers make a brief appearance in the introductory stage of Lords of Shadow, by helping Gabriel Belmont fight against a horde of Lycanthropes and a Great Warg which are terrorizing their village.
Villagers-1-.png|Villagers concept art from Lords of Shadow.
Dead Villager.jpg|Dead villager from Lords of Shadow.
===Castlevania (animated series)===
Citizens and villagers play a much more relevant role in the animated series than they ever did in the games. Makes sense, since much of the storyline takes place along the various cities and towns that comprise the vast Romanian countryside, where it is evidenced the effects the ongoing vampire war against humans has had on their inhabitants' lives.
The heroes are often seen arriving to an endangered city or town, where they help and teach their inhabitants how to fight back the night hordes. Likewise, the antagonistic factions are often seen raiding and taking control of human settlements in order to enslave and feed from their inhabitants.
Armorer - 03.png|link=Armorer|Armorer
Bosha - 01.png|link=Bosha|Bosha
Greengrocer - 01.png|link=Greengrocer|Greengrocer
Innkeeper - 07.png|link=Innkeeper|Innkeeper
Kob - 01.png|link=Kob|Kob
Large Woman - 01.png|link=Large Woman|Large Woman
Piter - 04.png|link=Piter|Piter
Young Woman - 01.png|link=Young Woman|Young Woman
Targoviste People Model 1.jpg|Targoviste citizens.
Targoviste People Model 2.jpg|Targoviste citizens.
Targoviste Kids Model.jpg|Targoviste children.
The Lindenfeld Family Model.jpg|Lindenfeld family.
The Lindenfeld Ladies Model.jpg|Lindenfeld women.
Lindenfeld Children Model.jpg|Lindenfeld children.
Lindenfeld Kid Head Model.jpg|Lindenfeld child.
===Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody===
Several villagers were taken by the Dark Priest Gary and held captive in the Royal Chapel at Dracula's Castle in order to be offered as sacrifices to increase the strength of Dracula and his monsters. They were rescued by Elvis and his allies.
Priest Portrait.jpg|link=Priest (Moonlight Rhapsody)|Priest
Female Villager Portrait.jpg|link=Female Villager|Female Villager
Male Villager.png|link=Male Villager|Male Villager
Monk Portrait.png|link=Monk (Moonlight Rhapsody)|Monk
==Trivia==
*According to some unused Order of Ecclesia sprites, there probably were more villagers planned that didn't make it to the final version of the game. Notably, one of them is labeled Manseru (マンセル) and another Georugu (ゲオルグ), which most likely are preliminary sprites for Marcel and George, respectively.
**The "Georugu" sprite was apparently modified and used for the Ghoul in the final game.
==References==
Category:Supporting Cast
 
Category:Simon's Quest Characters