Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

is a console video game developed by Konami for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. It was produced by IGA, who has worked on several other metroidvania games in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also returning are series artist Ayami Kojima and composer Michiru Yamane.
==Plot==
According to Igarashi, Curse of Darkness is set in the year 1479, three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, thus the third official chronological installment according to the Castlevania timeline. Even though defeated by vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse continues to ravage the European countryside, spreading disease, mob violence and heresy in its wake. Amidst all this devastation is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked under the employ of Dracula but betrayed him sometime during the events of Dracula's Curse. Eventually growing disgusted with Dracula's brutal methods, Hector leaves Castlevania to live among humans, settling down to live a peaceful life. When Hector's fiancée, Rosaly, is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, he learns that her murder was staged by his fellow Forgemaster, Isaac. Seeking revenge, Hector chases his former colleague back to an abandoned castle, and back to the demonic life he believed he had left behind him.
==Character gallery==
==Dialogue==
==Gameplay==
A 3D game like Lament of Innocence before it, Curse of Darkness is said to differ from its predecessor in a number of ways, including a more complex, action/adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. As Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, he will not be limited to the traditional "Vampire Killer" whip and will have the ability (much like Alucard and Soma Cruz) to equip a variety of different weapons. However, there is an extra gameplay mode after finishing the game that allows players to play as Trevor Belmont, equipped with the "Vampire Killer" and the classic sub-weapons (knife, holy water, axe, etc.).
Departing from the central hub level layout of Lament of Innocence, wherein the player chooses from a number of distinct stages all accessible from a central hallway, Curse of Darkness is said to be a more complete game world, with a complete castle map as in Symphony of the Night. However, the game still uses the same map engine as Lament of Innocence, rather than the square-based grid of 2-D Castlevanias. Furthermore, a noticeable difference in level design is that much of the game does NOT take place in Dracula's castle, but rather exploring forests, mountains and villages in Europe. The player will be also aided by Innocent Devils (creatures developed by Hector himself), through the Devil Forgery skill, in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles within the game. The Innocent Devils (commonly referred as I.D's) come in six different types:
*Fairy-Type - An I.D. that supports Hector with healing.
*Battle-Type - An I.D. that utilizes physical and offensive attacks; Has the most heart points.
*Bird-Type - Flying I.D.s that can engage aerial-type enemies.
*Mage-Type - An I.D. that utilizes long distance attack magic.
*Devil-Type - A strong I.D. that utilizes powerful attacks.
*Pumpkin-Type - An I.D. meant for joke purpose;but do raise luck significantly.
==Trivia==
*This is the only Castlevania game where bats are not an enemy.
**However, an artwork in the Santa Lilio Sangre artbook depicted a bat-like Bird-Type Innocent Devil, although it did not appear in any form in the finished product.
*This is the first Castlevania game for an Xbox console, and the only one for the original Xbox; future Castlevania games would see releases on following Xbox consoles, like the Xbox 360.
*There are many enemies in the game that are palette-swaps or variants of the same enemies with different attacks such as:
**Cyclops = Red Ogre
**Skeleton Rider = Skeleton Trooper
**Skeleton Blaze = Blaze Phantom, Blaze Master
**Ghost = Vassago, Wight
**Efreet = Jin
**Executioner = Iron Gladiator
**Phantom Sword = Spectral Sword
**Zombie = Ghoul
**Flea Man = Death Ripper
**Wizard = Dark Warlock, Necromancer
**Orc = Sniper Orc, Rapid Sniper
**Lizardman = White Gravial, Lizard Shaman
**Lesser Demon = Flame Demon, Thunder Demon, Frost Demon
==See also==
*Curse of Darkness Bestiary
*Curse of Darkness Inventory
*
*Curse of Darkness Materials List
*Innocent Devil
*Innocent Devil Abilities
===Related games===
*Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - This game is a direct sequel to Dracula's Curse.
*Castlevania: Lament of Innocence - The PlayStation 2 game made before this one, uses the same engine.
*Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2 - Contains a remix of Bloody Tears with Curse of Darkness scenes playing in the background.
;Slot games
Available in Japan
*Pachislot Akumajō Dracula - A pachislot gambling game based on this game featuring a playable Trevor Belmont.
*Pachislot Akumajō Dracula II - Another pachislot gambling game based on this game featuring a playable Trevor.
Available in North America
*Castlevania: Valiant Guardian - A progressive integrated slots game based on this game featuring Hector vs. Dracula and his minions.
*Castlevania: Labyrinth of Love - A progressive integrated slots game based on this game featuring Trevor vs. Dracula and his minions.
*Castlevania: Ring of the Heavens - A progressive integrated slots game based on this game featuring Hector vs. Dracula.
*Castlevania: Labyrinth of Fire - A progressive integrated slots game based on this game featuring Trevor vs. Dracula.
Available in Australia
*Castlevania: Warrior of Darkness - Slot machine featuring a playable Hector.
*Castlevania: Vampire Hunter - Slot machine featuring a playable Trevor.
===Related music CDs===
*Curse of Darkness Original Soundtrack
*Curse of Darkness Promo Soundtrack
*Akumajō Dracula: Yami no Juin - Fukushū no Jokyoku - A small prologue comic and promo CD packaged with this game as a pre-order bonus.
*Akumajō Dracula Best Music Collections BOX - Contains music from this game on Disc 12.
*Music from Akumajo Dracula Aka - Contains music from this game on Discs 7 and 8.
===Related fiction===
*Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (comic) - A comic prequel to this game.
*Official Koma - Comic panels associated with this game.
*Akumajō Dracula: Yami no Juin - Fukushū no Jokyoku - A small prologue comic and promo CD packaged with this game as a pre-order bonus.
*Castlevania - Animated series on Netflix loosely depicting events of this game.
===Related guides===
*BradyGames Curse of Darkness Official Strategy Guide - US Official Strategy Guide.
*Konami Akumajō Dracula: Yami no Juin Official Guide - Japan Official Strategy Guide.
==References==
*"Castlevania: Curse of Darkness." play Magazine. February 2005. pp. 18–22.
==External links==
*
*Game FAQs
*Official site at Konami (archived: December 31, 2008 - Japanese)
*Curse of Darkness entry at GameSpot, with preview screenshots and videos
*Curse of Darkness game walkthrough
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