Editing Castlevania (section)

==Storyline==
The Story of Castlevania takes place over centuries, covering the heroic efforts of many in their attempts to fight back the creatures of the night and defeat the Lord of Darkness himself, Dracula. The basic plot of many games boils down to Dracula being revived and the protagonist(s) setting out to defeat him at all costs. Even in games where Dracula starts off dead, the main goal is typically to stop him from rising again by stopping antagonists that are actively trying to revive him using sacrifices and convoluted schemes. Story-wise, the Belmont family are the main characters of the games since they wield the Vampire Killer, but many installments involve the absence of the Belmonts and the need for somebody else to substitute.

The very first Castlevania is not the first slaying of Dracula in the overall story, as there are many prequels that detail events that transpired between Dracula's birth and his defeat by Simon Belmont. There are several retcons that occur throughout the history of the series with certain games being completely removed from the timeline or events being vague in their placement (Castlevania Judgement). All in all, most Castlevania games can be placed in one unified timeline starting with the Belmonts' Eternal Vow to defeat the Forces of Darkness to Dracula's final death and defeat of his successors.