Castle Front Court

The Castle Front Court or Castle Entrance Court (unofficial names) is the court just past the Castle Front Gate and in front of the Entrance of the Dracula's Castle. When it is an open court, it is called the Forecourt (前庭, zentei) or Castle Court. When it is a courtyard, it is the Castle Front Courtyard (unofficial name), or just the Castle Courtyard. It is sometimes enclosed by fences, outer walls, or elevated forest terrain. It was first introduced as the first segment of Stage 1 in Block 1 of the original Castlevania game and is the first Court area of that game. It is often devoid of enemies and may serve as the starting point of the game. It may contain gardens, statues, and/or fountains. 
In Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, the Castle Front Gate was placed along the Castle Front Walls over a pier that lead to an open lake. The gates and forest surrounding the area were thus replaced with walls, a feature that carried over to most games, making this area a proper courtyard.
==Appearances==
*Castlevania (Forecourt) - Stage 1A of Block 1
*Vampire Killer (Forecourt) - Stage 0 of Block 1
*Dracula's Curse (Front Courtyard Periphery) - Dracula's Curse Stage 7A - Actually a Courtyard Periphery style stage positioned at the Castle Gate and placed prior to the Entrance.
*Super Castlevania IV - This game has several courts in between the Castle Gate and Entrance that could be considered the Front Court or part of it.
**Block 1-1 (Front-Most Court) - This court functions as the Castle's front-most court, in that it is just behind the Castle gates. Instead of being just in front of the Castle Entrance building like in most games, however, it is in front of a fortress. Iron gates thrust upwards after entering the area, further dividing the court, possibly making part of it a courtyard for the fortress, while the rest of it is still the Castle Front Court.
**Stage 8-1 (Lower Court) - This part of the court is past the The Trick Manor and in between the gate and entrance to the Castle, but bordering neither. However, it is structured like the Inner Courtyard of most games. It consists of a spooky forested area and contains the Collapsed Castle Ruins.
**Stage 8-1 (Upper Court) - This part of the court is just prior the Entrance and resembles the Castle Front Court from other games the most.
*Castlevania: Belmont's Revenge - Dracula's Main Castle Part 1 - On the map, it appears as if this section consists of a large bridge. However, in the game it does not appear to be a bridge, although some of the moving platforms could represent bridges or rafts of some kind across a moat. The are high fences in the background, hinting at the presence of gardens from previous games. There are also statues of warriors on horseback, which may be more elaborate versions of the statues in the first game. Mountains in the background are reminiscent of those found in Dracula's Curse.
*Castlevania Chronicles (Forecourt) - Block 1 - Includes statues and a tree that is struck by lightning and falls down.
*Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (Front Court) - Stage 2 - Dracula's Castle is located at the tip of a long, narrow peninsula in this game, with the Castle Gate actually marking the beginning of this peninsula. After traveling through this peninsula, Richter dismounts from his horse upon arriving at an arch gate, which marks the beginning of the Castle Front Court. The court's general layout is similar to that of the original Castlevania game, with fountains replacing the statues.
*Castlevania: Bloodlines (Forecourt) - Ruins of the Castle Dracula
*Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Front Courtyard) - Entrance, Reverse Entrance - This area is a courtyard that includes some trees and bushes. It has a few features that would recur in later games, including a storage area that can be accessed once flight or high jump ability is obtained and a secret hatch that leads underground. The area under this hatch was unused in the Playstation version of the game, but led to the Underground Garden in the Sega Saturn version of the game. This garden is analogous to the gardens found in this area in earlier games, though it is underground.
*Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - Villa (prior to entering the mansion) - Cerberus are fought here when first arrived, contains a fountain and graves of the family of J. A. Oldrey 
*Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Front Courtyard) - Triumph Hallway
*Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Front Courtyard) - Castle Corridor - Soma Cruz wakes up in this area, which acts as a base for his allies.
*Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Front Courtyard) - Castle Courtyard - Gabriel climbs out of the Castle Sewers to the base of the Castle, then hops a fence to arrive in a courtyard area. The area is devoid of gardens, but does have some hooded statues reminiscent of those from the original Castlevania game set into the front of the entrance and some mounted warrior statues are in front of it reminiscent of the mounted statues in Castlevania: Belmont's Revenge. The gates do not open for him though, so he opens a mechanism that opens a hatch that takes him below ground (similar to the one seen in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). This takes him directly below the entrance to an area that acted as a holding cells for captive wargs (similar to those guarding the entrance in Symphony of the Night) and trolls. He then climbs the spiral stairways of one of the towers along the Castle Front Wall to the side of the entrance. He is unable to find a path into the Castle from there though, so he enters the Maze Gardens (which are analogous to the Underground Garden in Symphony of the Night). The greenery that was absent in this courtyard is prominently present in this area, which is on the other side of a fence from the front courtyard. After navigating these mazes, he is able to return to the front courtyard by climbing some walls to get over the fence and then open the entrance to the castle using an item that acts as a key found in the maze.
*Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls - Because of the way the Castle is laid out, this game has a separate area for the Front Court (area in front of the Front Gate) and the Front Courtyard (area between the Front Gate and Entrance). 
** Forecourt: Chapter 1 Part 1 (Prologue) - These stages represent the forest path that leads up to Dracula's Castle's Castle Front Gate and does show the area in front of the Castle. It starts with a similar arch gate that marks the start of the Front Court in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood with the Castle far in the background. It has hooded statues reminiscent of the statues in the Front Court in the first Castlevania game. The grave markers are more reminiscent of the Cemetery in the Forest of Evil Spirits in Super Castlevania IV and the Statues are part of Mausoleum structures like those found in the Forest of Silence in Castlevania for the Nintendo 64, which directly proceed the Castle in that game. The Front Gate appears at the end of stage 1-3, allowing one to enter the castle in stage 2-1, but additional areas of the Front Court can be explored in stages 1-4 and 1-5 when they are unlocked (which could actually be around the side of the castle).
** Front Courtyard Periphery: Chapter 1 Part 2 (In the Beginning) - This is basically the same area represented by the Courtyard stage of Dracula's Curse, which itself is a take on Castlevania Block 3 and done in the style of a Courtyard Periphery stage where the player stays very close to the walls and occasionally traverses them and crossing bridges that link various towers throughout the courtyard. It leads to the Entrance at the end of Stage 2-3. Further areas of the Front Courtyard can be explored in stages 2-4 and 2-5 (which could actually be in the Inner Courtyard).
==Gallery==
Castlevania-nes-ingame-41834.png|Castlevania
Castlevania-nes-stage1A.png|Castlevania Stage 1A map
VK Stage 1.JPG|Vampire Killer
Super Castlevania IV - Stage 5 - 02.png|Super Castlevania IV Stage 5
BR E.png|Dracula's Castle Part 1(Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge)
Entrada expandida 01.png|Symphony of the Night
Entrada expandida 02.png|Circle of the Moon(in Camilla's Castle)
Entrada expandida 03.png|Aria of Sorrow
Castle Courtyard Travel Book.png|Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Castle Courtyard
Quest map 1 1.png|Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Chapter 1-1 Prologue
Quest map 1 2.png|Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Chapter 1-2 In the Beginning
GoS Prologue.jpg|Prologue Screenshot
GoS In the Beginning.jpg|In the Beginning Screenshot
Category:Courtyards
Category:Recurring Locations
Category:Castle Entrances