Castlevania Nocturne, Story theories based on the lines from the Teaser trailer.

Now as for the story beats from these lines….

I’ve been thinking over the lines that they chose for this trailer, and clearly not all of these are connected and with good reason, since they could be pulled from any place in the voice acting script. However that doesn’t mean these lines don’t hold some information about what’s going on in the story and where our story-lines can and will go. I’ve broken them into groups to make them easier to talk about.

“Don’t Listen to her Richter.”

“I have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

As mentioned in the other post I made about the dialogue, the voice of the first person talking is an older male. Now again this can be pulled at any point in the story but the fact that the lines seem to indicate a familiarity with Richter and that they’re commanding him honestly leads me to think that these lines can be maybe from the same person but with different associations to a situation.

The first line indicates that the person talking is giving a command to Richter. To not listen, and who not to listen to is her, and we don’t know who “Her” is based on the line. But I have some theories of this line. When we look at it coupled to the second line by our first female voice in this trailer, we get a different picture. Our first female voice tells us that she has no choice, but no choice in what? The tone expresses a sense of calm, almost like this is their fate, they have to do this. It’s a polite voice, one that is direct and to the point.

Following this there is the same first man explaining that there’s always a choice, it’s in the same tone of voice as the first. Which makes me think the two are linked but is the woman in the middle also linked?

So going based on what I hear from this, and what I know of the games plot line, and again this is only guesses on my part there’s some theories that emerge from this.

First theory is that this is taking place early in the tv show, and namely the opening moments. The reason why comes down to story-lines in the game. Richter’s small choices, can change over how the story goes. If you take too long to rescue Annette for example she is turned into a vampire by Dracula. Your actions to find these women in the castle are a key factor in what ending you get and who you save and by making choices you change the outcome of the story to the true ending of the game.

In this case the male character is warning Richter that one always has a choice to what one is doing, thus the Don’t listen to her Richter line, however the I have no choice could also tie closely into the aspects of the time period. During the revolution many ended up giving up people in order to protect themselves or loved ones. It was a major plot point in the book the Scarlet Pimpernel, where in the lead’s love interest and wife, had to give up information to save the life of her brother. So there’s a conflict that’s going on here with the two characters.

The man is telling Richter not to listen to this woman, who claims she has no choice in what she is doing, and that she could choose to do something different. Now to me, because the woman is not using Richter’s name, and is so calm I do think this sequence of dialogue could be coming from the Black Mass moment at the start of the game.

In this we meet a sacrificial Maiden, who is a girl abducted from the village where this Mass is taking place. We have no idea of the time period between this and the attack of the village of Aljiba, which is where most of the story starts. In the game there’s little to know about this girl, only that she is killed to wake Dracula by her blood being poured into the coffin which she is laying on.

However given that they will have to expand the story, I feel like this could lead to a few moments which will come back to play a part in how Richter does things in the show. For example, Shaft is the leader of the Dracula cult, and in the game there’s not a lot known about the man. He is, for all aspects, a kind of generic second boss. But it’s clear that he can easily be from the group that Issac had created at the end of the first series. Meaning that Shaft could potentially be connected to that aspect of the story and give us more of what happened to Issac and what happened to his plans, if they decide to go with that.

As such the dialogue could be connected to the idea that Richter, plus whomever comes with him, could be called in to deal with a missing girl in another town. This again could be his father, or his mentor, or grandfather, the mentor choices could be Maria’s father or as I stated before Juste’s friend and former Rival Maxim. It makes me think that after doing some investigation the two of them run into the girl and she acts strange to them, causing the lines to be said before the events of her death happen. In this case the girl is under the sway of the cult and has rejected the offer for help. Thus leading Richter to be unable to save her, and allowing Shaft to complete the ritual.

Another option can be either before he goes into the castle or after he’s inside. In this instance the voice belongs to the Ferryman in the castle, and the Ferryman giving a warning to Richter about seeing a Succubus taking on the form of someone that he cares about, be that Annette, his mother, or some other person, and using her influence on him. Thus the lines about choices.

I honestly feel like this opening set of lines paints a very interesting picture of how this story is going to be playing out and in a way also sets up for the backdrop of the story. Choices need to be made, and claiming one has none in this world doesn’t allow for the protection of others. Unlike Trevor where it was a straight forward, we beat the bad guys, there’s probably going to be more political intrigue in here due to the whole Revolution. For example, if Richter is a noble, should he be considered part of the problem? Are the vampires helping those in power or are they working for the rebellion to undermine it, and what of those who are connected to the Hattian Revolution which was happening at the same time? Each choice Richter is going to make in the story will lead him down a different path, one which, I think Alucard may join him on for this story with Maria.

Also if this is Maria’s dad at the start and he is killed, then it adds to the drama of the relationships, namely the fact that Maria and Richter’s relationship relies on trust and understanding. One that grows over their time in the castle. By adding the connection between them of not only bloodlines through the Belmont clan, as the Renards are part of the Belmont Line and hunters in their own right, but through a tragedy of someone both respected and loved, then you add that level of understanding and why Maria becomes so determined later to help Richter. In addition, if Annette is Maria’s sister, then there’s that factor for family and something of a connection to Maria in having to deal with the possibility of killing her corrupted sister.

Because that is an option too, that this is the corrupted version of Annette, and that whomever is saying this to Richter is warning him not to trust Annette, or in this case she is telling him she had no choice but to allow herself to be turned to protect Maria from Shaft or some other reason.

Personally I think the idea of it being a mentor or father that starts us out in this story would fit with the idea of choices and sacrificing themselves to allow Richter to escape and save the lives of those from Dracula when he starts his shit.

“I’m sorry, Richter.”

This is our second Female voice, showing a connection to Richter, as she calls him by name. As I mentioned in the other post, the way the voice echoes a bit makes it seem that she is either in a room that is stone or has echo like set ups. So this person could be in a cell or it’s a memory. If this is Annette, what is she saying she’s sorry for? Her character is not someone who is weak or seems to be sorry for being taken. Rather she’s willing to kill herself over allowing herself to be turned into Dracula’s bride. Which means that she could be the voice of Richter’s mother or grandmother Lydie. If these are these women then that begs some questions. What are they saying they are sorry about? It’s clear that this is an intimate relationship given the tone of the voice. If this is his mother it’s an interesting line as what does this mean? Did she leave him?Die in some way or some other situation? Has she become a traitor to the revolution? Did she lose her head over something? I mean there’s a lot that could be going on here, including issues with the Belmont Clan and well, the previous curse brought on by Simon, even though he cleared that up.

Not to mention that if this is a memory moment and not the succubus playing a part, then it could be used as a growing moment for Richter and show us where he’s come from and why he’s doing the things he’s doing for the story. This could also be an illusion of some sort, as mentioned before they could bring in the Succubus as a means of adding onto the story and dragging in more of Symphony to connect the two more concretely. This could be a moment that is connected to the event above, where the Succubus is trying to get under Richter’s skin with a memory of some sort, and causing him to second guess his choices so far in the story. If this is the succubus, then this could be a set of testing to allow him to get closer to the end of his goals.

There’s also the chance that this could be one of the other women in the story. If this is Iris then maybe the “I’m sorry Richter” comes from being taken by the Vampires, or some other situation. The other option would be Tera who could feel bad about not being strong enough or that her choices led them to a situation that they have to fight their way out of. The line is vague but also something that clearly has deeper meaning given the tone and the feeling that the character has at this moment.

“He knows you kill Vampires.”

As I said before I really do think this is the voice of Maria Renard, and she’s talking to Richter either about someone, or with someone there. The” He”could be a few people, namely Shaft as a warning, to Richter that Shaft already knows what Richter can do and to watch out, also that because he knows she can help him because she is brave and smart and can beat out a lot of people, thus, Richter needs her for this mission. Or it could be referring to one of the other male characters that seem to be in this one. Which is very limited at this point in time, excluding Dracula himself. Other options could be Magnus the Incubus that wants to help Dracula, or the characters of Lyudmil, a vampire who used to work with Alucard and desires to get revenge for Lisa’s death and is helping Richter due to him being a way to get at Shaft.

The “He” could also be Alucard, though I’m not 100% sure it is his actor we’re hearing or if it’s him. But there is the option of Alucard starting to play his fake roles, which he later completes in the Sorrow Duology. If this is Alucard she’s talking about, it could be a moment when the three of them are meeting and Richter was trying to hide what he did in order to not worry Alucard, and Maria, clearly seeing Alucard can tell that the man is a Belmont, basically points out the fact that he already knows that Richter kills vampires, and it doesn’t matter if he tries to hide it right now.

They could also be taking from the Drama CD that was used, with the He being Cyril or the Vampire hunter Alexis who show up in the Drama CD but that’s more of a story connected to Alucard. In this case Cyril and Alexis are in the castle to try to find Lyudmil and Magnus and stop them from using the drug that they stole from Cyril. The “He” could be Cyril or Alexis and Maria points out that Alexis or Cyril knows Richter is a hunter. Or in this case, it could be the reverse, where Maria is explaining to the two hunters that Richter knows they kill vampires too.

“But I pray for you.”

I honestly think this is a line coming from one of the members of the church. During this time in France the Catholic Church was in a bit of a dilemma with how the new government felt about them. In this case it feels like Richter is meeting with possibly one of the Clergy members who has ties to Tera, a nun, and could be willing to help Richter out in some way. The line feels, the way it is delivered, that Richter might be going through some shit, and that the person saying it is genuinely worried about them. This is why I think this person might be the last person on the outside that Richter interacts with before going into the castle proper. It’s clearly someone with a thicker French accent. In this case, it could be that, as with Sypha’s band, there’s someone there to act as a companion till the castle then this male blesses him before he goes in. This might also be where Richter gets his cross weapon that he’s also known for, and which could be used as a way to make him different from Trevor and how the two act when dealing with people. In this case Richter is more friendly and willing to accept the man’s help, over Trevor who was a solo person until later.

“I’m so sorry.”

This is the hardest one for me to figure out. The voice is soft and British tone of voice. Because the voice sounds different than the other voices, and yet the same because it goes by so fast. So I can’t really place this one yet. Again it could be any of the two women, Iris or Tera, or it could be the Maiden at the start, since we don’t know who they are apologizing to, and the fact that Richter’s name is NOT used here at least says that this person may not be as familiar with him. May be, since this could be part of a longer line, it’s really hard to tell. To me this means that whoever this woman is, it’s someone who is feeling legitimately sorrowful for whatever happens. If it is say Tera, it could be apologizing to God for failing to uphold her vows or something, given how these vampires might treat the women there.

“So part of you has died.”

A number of comments I’ve seen about this voice is that it’s Alucard. If this is him, and he’s in one of his future disguise it could explain why the voice sounds different. The interesting thing about this line is the way it’s spoken, it’s not done as a question, but more of a statement of fact. The line seems to be part of a longer discussion, which becomes important in the story of Richter and Alucard.

So I’m about to spoil a part of the story regarding Symphony, but I’ll try to keep it as small as possible here for fans who have never played the games.

At a future time in the games Richter needs the help of Alucard after dealing with a curse of sorts. Because of this, Alucard grows to understand the younger Belmont and became a benefactor to him. Given that in SotN Alucard doesn’t wake up until he feels a change in things, this three hundred years after Trevor, Sypha, and Grant (or in this case Gerta). In this case, I’m not sure if they will have him sleeping. If they don’t and they have him wandering around, then having him join with Richter to find the girls will actually expand on what’s happening inside the castle as well as having someone other than Maria to talk to Richter and deal with the other monsters that come and cause trouble.

The line, as spoken by Alucard, could be when he’s connected to Richter and is listening to the young man’s pain. The line to me feels like he’s trying to express understanding of the situation, or explain it to Richter in his own way. There’s several parts this can be from, one of which I’m going to avoid like the plague right now.

The most likely though is at some point when Richter is at his lowest and feels like some part of him has died. This could be if they fail to save Annette, or if one of the other women dies, or if someone who is close to him ends up dead. Alucard probably is trying to comfort the man in his own way, afraid of getting close again due to what happened in regard to losing his friends and being alone again. He could be indicating to Richter he has to deal with that and push forward even if he doesn’t think he can. That only he can do this.

It could also be a moment when Richter doesn’t think he has the skills to do what he must, or that he has lost some of his innocence in this place. All of which could connect to the idea of Alucard trying to help him and connect to him. Which can build up their relationship, which could add more to the later story of how Alucard and Maria come to help Richter. Having them bond and become closer, for Richter and Alucard to connect to each other on a deeper level, is not a bad thing. Rather it expands on and makes for a stronger story and gives both men something to connect to on a personal level, along with Maria.

“We’re looking for Someone Called Belmont.”

So my guess is that this is probably a group of people from the Village of Aljiba who has come to find Richter for his help. It’s either that or the people who need help at the start with Shafts group. To me this sounds a lot like “Hero’s call” moment. As I said I suspect this could be Iris or a random person, but it’s clear that whoever this person is, they have a strong voice and ready to do their job getting the man to come help them.

Laughs

I’m pretty sure this is Shaft as in the game he laughs when Richter first fights him. It would make sense that they would want to have some nod to one of the big bads in the game and story. Having Shaft just laugh saves him for the trailer itself. Of note though this could be a new form of Dracula, since he plays a huge role in this game, and you need this man to do certain things to get to symphony.

“Richter!”

The voice sounds a bit like Sypha’s actress, but it is most likely Annette calling out to him at some point when she’s being taken away. It makes the most sense within the story context and fits her personality wellbeing someone who is kind, but willing to do whatever it takes to keep herself from being the reason he’s harmed, including killing herself. This being Annette trying to call to him even as shit is going down makes a lot of sense.

Annette, while in the game she doesn’t do a lot, is a strong woman who stands up to both Shaft and Dracula, and threatens death by her own hand before submitting to either of them. And, given my thoughts on the lines that are said in the Rondo of Blood game, it’s indicated that Dracula has interest in her not only because of her connection to Richter, but also because she does look like Lisa, thus Elisabetha, Dracula’s first wife, so she can possibly be seen as a reincarnation of the character and making it so Dracula may want her due to this.

Having her call out at the end of the trailer and him turning at that moment indicates their devotion to one another. All other character’s words don’t move him, but the moment that he hears Annette calling for him Richter reacts. This, to me, makes me think that their relationship will be a bigger role in the Rondo story of Nocturne.

I’m hoping when we get another trailer we can get more about the lines we hear, but also learn more about the characters that say them, and the story-line that we will be diving into. I’m super excited about how this story can play out, and I hope that it gets people to pick up the original games.

Castlevania Nocturne, Speculations on Voices and Characters from the Teaser trailer

Let’s talk about the dialogue in the Castlevania Nocturne teaser trailer!

So after listening to the lines in the trailer several times. I think I have some ideas of who these are. Now these are all theories of each character that’s speaking so bear with me on this as I’m pulling from a few sources in the Dracula X Chronicles Duology and the Nocturne Recollection’s CD.  I’m going to start out with taking a stab at figuring out who the voices are to and then talking about their roles in the coming series. (Just so people know when dealing with the acronyms

• Harmony of Dissonance = Harmony or HoD
• Rondo of Blood = Rondo or RoB
• Dracula X Chronicals = Dracula X or DXC
• Symphony of the Night = Symphony or SotN
• Nocturne of Recollections  =Recollections or NoR

Okay we all good.)

Opening line:

Male 1…“Don’t Listen to her Richter.” “There’s always a choice.”
The tone to me reminds me a bit of Trevor’s voice, gruff, but clearly this can’t be Trevor due to the time frame. So who is this man? Let’s look at the line. The person speaking is doing so as a warning. Their tone is serious and catching, telling Richter don’t listen to a female person. So that leads me to believe whomever this is, is an older person who knows Richter close enough to call him by his name. The tone is authoritative in nature, not suggesting but almost commanding Richter. This means this person is someone who Richter probably has a relationship with, possibility of a Mentor and Mentee.

There’s a limited number of Male characters in Rondo of Blood, which does match the fact that we have limited numbers of male actors. We haven’t been introduced to Juste or other Belmonts, so this could be a few people.

Who could this be? There’s a few options.

Option one: Old Juste Belmont or Richter’s father. Historically Juste was the Belmont before Richter and one of the few that could be alive during the same time as Richter himself. Juste Belmont was born in 1730, and was 18 when his story took place in 1748, which means that he could be alive in 1792 putting him at 62, which means there’s a chance he could be the first voice we hear. However the issue is that Juste is more of a noble type of character, so while this could be him, I think they would save him for another storyline or a flash back sort of thing to expand the Rondo of Blood storyline. The other choice here is Juste’s son, who would be Richter’s father and would be in his forties at the time of the story here, and it would be an easy option to open the story with. Having Richter go with his father on a quest could be a strong lead into the story of Richter and show a difference between him and Trevor in regard to their family relationship.

Now this would only be speculation at this point but if it is Richter’s father or Grandfather, then it could very well be the two were asked to take care of the issue regarding Shaft’s black Mass moment and could end up getting killed if this is from early on in the show. Leading to Richter having more of a reason to stop Shaft if he is behind the death of his father or grandfather. Or both.

Option two: Maria Renard’s father. Maria’s family is a line off the Belmont family, not sure who exactly the line hails from, but it might be connected to Simon due to him being the same city as Maria’s family early on. In the original game we learn that Maria’s family are also vampire hunters, with them using magic, much like Sypha, and having birds (in this case doves) as protectors, and the ability to summon creatures to fight for them. In Rondo Maria’s parents are both killed before she is captured by Shaft’s cult, and it could work far more easily to have Maria’s father working with Richter, training him, and then passing on by the hands of Shaft as part of the Black Mass.

Said Black Mass would be the one where Shaft managed to get a sacrificial maiden to be killed as a way of bringing back Dracula. It could be an easy way to explain Maria and connect her more deeply to Richter and add drama to their connection. If he, Richter, feels he failed Maria’s father, could he honestly face her and help her in the castle?

Another choice for a mentor and one that I think could fill in this role nicely is Maxim Kischine, fellow vampire hunter and friend and Rival of Juste Belmont. Maxim was in the past taken over by a split personality that was connected to the relics of Dracula. (I am way simplifying this as the story of Harmony of Dissonance is a bit more complex but game play is simple) and a wraith that basically made it where Maxim turned evil for a while, and Juste beat it out of him. Maxim could be the one training young Richter as he would be the same age as Juste and if Juste isn’t around, nor is Richter’s father, he could easily play this part in the story as someone that could teach and help Richter.

Personally I would be okay if they did this as it could add layers onto Richter and show that Maxim has changed from a rival to a person that can be relied on.

As with Richter’s father or grandfather or Maria’s dad, Maxim too could die early on to give some angst to our boy. Or they could keep him around as an ally helping Richter outside of the castle.

Option three: The Ferryman. This is a lesser role in the game, but one I think could play an expanded part in the story. In the game he offers you a choice of how to travel to reach two stages. In game if you use his boat he can offer you rewards. His role could be expanded as a connecting thread to various aspects of the original Castlevania show, either though having him be someone who explains the castle, or someone who tells Richter about what happened with Dracula, Issac, and Hector. His help could be useful to new viewers.

Female 1 “I have no choice”

This one is a soft calm voice, there is no emotion to it in the same way later lines are read. It’s way to direct and resolved about something. I can see this from several points in the show because of the way the line is set up. It’s supposed to be echoing the First male voice we hear because of what comes after. But that doesn’t mean the lines are actually connected. Because she doesn’t use Richter’s name, and unlike some later lines that show familiarity in the tone of voice. I’ve come to think that whomever this is, is not someone close to Richter, at first. Which rules out Annette, or his mother, or someone close. This leaves a few options as there are more women in Castlevania then there are men in Rondo of Blood. Of note this one has a British Accent.

Option one: (And the one I’m favoring here) the sacrificial maiden. In the opening sequence to RoB, DXC, and Dracula X, we see a woman laying on an alter surrounded by Shaft’s cult. She seems to be resting, and not scared or worried about it while she’s laying on Dracula’s coffin. What happens next is pretty gruesome, she’s stabbed through and her blood drips into Dracula’s coffin waking him up. There’s also the option to cut out her heart and explode it over the coffin as well. In the game it’s indicated she was abducted and sedated to do this. In the show though, it could be that she’s okay with doing this, thus the “I have no choice” line indicating that she’s willing to do this because there is no other option. Why that is, could be anything from kidnapped family, to a willingness to offer herself up to Dracula as a gift to wake him up?

Option two: One of the two other women taken, Iris or Tera. Now this one is harder as the line may not fit either of them. Or it could be from someplace else in the show. While Iris could be an option, her character in the game is surer of herself and less timid than Tera is. So in this case I’m leaning more for Terato be the voice if it is one of the women. The reason behind it could connect to what’s going on with the Church in 1792 and with her being a nun, there may be little choices for her to make, especially if she is in the show as she is in the game, seeing illusions, or delusions of god.

Option 3: Annette after being Corrupted by Dracula and she has to attack him. If they want to go with the sad ending then they could do that with her. But given how we need to get to Julius Belmont, and these two are engaged, I feel like it’s not going to be her in this case.

Option 4: (The other one I’m favoring). The Succubus, in Symphony Alucard comes across a moment where he sees Lisa, his mother, who tells him not to trust humans. In game this is an illusion that Alucard needs to beat. In the show, since the Succubus plays a role in the game later, it would be easy to have her become involved in Richter’s story as a means of weakening him pretending to be his mother or another person he trusts, telling him she had no choice and playing with the angst that he’s feeling.

Option 5 (Another one that I’m favoring here) Carmilla, in the game she is a lesser vampire with a servant Laura who tries to stop Richter. It wouldn’t be too hard for the story to imply that Shaft has brought Carmilla back from the dead and is using her to help him in his schemes. Or if not the Carmilla from the original show, then a new version who has taken on the name, or the role of Carmilla here.

Female 2 “I’m sorry, Richter.”  There’s a strange accent to her voice. Given that we know that its set in France, the voice has a bit of that to it. Kind of like Sypha’s in the original.  Now this character would have to know Richter in some capacity to use his name. This leaves us with a few options here, which is a good thing given the setting and the situation. Her tone is absolutely one of sadness and guilt. This is not a person who is happy at all and the fact that she whispers it makes me think she’s saying it softly. There’s also a bit of an echo, which makes me think she’s in a room or a cell or something. It could be the echo from the past as well. There is an intimate nature here that, like the first Male voice, this person knows Richter well enough to call him by his first name.

Option one: Richter’s mother or grandmother Lydie. It’s a hard one to guess on this, but if this is his mother or grandmother Lydie, then it could be explained in some ways. Such as learning his fate to become a vampire killer, or the fact that he didn’t know about his family. Given the echo and whisper, it could be that his mother or grandmother left him in the care of someone else, the Renard family or Maxim, and ran to cover her tracks after something bad happened. Given this is also French Revolution time, it could be that she is apologizing for the fall of the family or that she ratted someone out. It’s hard to say? Worst option is that she is being taken in for treason for helping the royal family.

Option two:  One of the two women that Richter saves. Either Tera or Iris, both who would feel guilty for having him have to deal with saving them. Particularly Tera as she has these delusions of God during the time that she’s locked away in the game. If she does know him due to the church connections then it would make sense she’s saying this.

Option three: Succubusin the form of Richter’s mother or friend. This one is the least likely due to the tone of voice and the way the line is being said, but it is an option.

Female three … “He knows you kill Vampires” Hands down this is Maria Rendard. The tone is that of a young girl in her tweens or early teens. It very much matches the tone used in the Dracula X game, and it’s one of the few lines I find very interesting and a bit Mysterious. Anyone who has played Dracula X Chronicles can tell you that while Maria is serious in the game her wit is still there from the original and she’s a sharp girl. This line….is certainly hers. Where it’s coming from, not sure yet. But I have ideas.

Male two… “But I pray for you.” Sounds like a French voice. The line seems so random but, it might have ties to the start of the story, or rather when Richter heads for the Castle. In this case, since one of the women Captured is a Nun, it could be that, as with Sypha’s band, there’s someone there to act as a companion till the castle then this male blesses him before he goes in. Might also be where Richter gets his cross weapon that he’s also known for, which is kind of important to making him different than Trevor. It’s also key to note that whoever this is, it’s a line that has no association with the Maria one. It’s important to note that the voice is older, like the first man.

Option one: random priest, which would fit in with the Tera story. Since she is a member of the church and at the time those in the clergy in France were not looked highly upon by those in the Revolution, and pretty much anyone practicing it at this point would be seen as being against the revolution. So this man could be a priest in disguise.  

Option two: Random character new to the show. Not much else to say here other than some new character and he’s there to pray for Richter. Possibly a villager or someone that gets him to the town of Aljiba being attacked.

Option three: Iris’s father the doctor. It could easily be him as well given that he’s indicated to be still alive by Iris in the game. And it’s something one might say to the young man leaving to save his daughter.

Female four…“I’m so sorry.” This one is the hardest because the voice sounds different than the other voices, and yet the same because it goes by so fast. So I can’t really place this one yet. Again it could be any of the two women, Iris or Tera, or it could be the Maiden at the start, since we don’t know who they are apologizing to, and the fact that Richter’s name is NOT used here at least says that this person may not be as familiar with him. Maybe, since this could be part of a longer line, it’s really hard to tell, it could be connected to the earlier I have no choice since both are British. .

Option one: The girl at the start. This could be a line from the sacrificial maiden. The tone is about right, but It’s hard to really fully tell due to it being whispered.

Option two: Annette, in game she calls out to him a few times, but in no case dose she say she’s sorry. The tone though is a lot like the first Female voice we hear. So both could be Annette. Thing is, what would she have to feel sorry for? Getting corrupted?

Option three: One of the two other women. Tera again seems the most likely given her personality. If it is Tera she’s more than likely saying she’s sorry to God for something. What that is I’m not sure.

Male three … “So Part of you has died” And here’s the question mark. The voice does sound like Alucard’s Netflix voice actor James Callis, but without his accent. So it might not be him, or if this is Alucard he could be playing the part of someone to help Richter, but in a different look. The tone is calm, almost indicating that they realize something and acknowledging something has happened.

Option One: Alucard.As I said above it sounds like his VA minus his accent. Unlike in the game, unless Alucard went to sleep again in the castle and we have to wake him up again, he’d still be walking around. This could mean he’s starting to use his other names to cover up who he is, which plays a bigger role in later games in his story. However…since his blonde look is key to how he looks in Symphony, I think he’s still going to look mostly like he did in season one, with additional aspects to him. If this is him of course.

Option two: Lyudmil, a character from RoN’s drama cd. Lyudmil was a young man from the town that Lisa was practicing her medicine in and he was one of the ones she saved. In the drama cd he admits to having tried to save her. Failing he feels bitter towards those that killed her and eventually found Adrian. The two became friends after talking about Lisa and Adrian making him see hating Humans was not something Lisa would have wanted. Lyudmil became his servant after that, not having any place to return to. At some point in time, Alucard got Lyudmil to go back to the village to see his family, when he arrived though it was wrecked by the whole revenge thing from Dracula. One of Dracula’s Minion’s Magnus brought Lyudmil to near death, forcing Adrian to turn him, eventually leading Alucard to start drinking the blood of others, and Lyudmil to becoming a demon that Magnus uses in his scheme.

The voice here very well could be his, as it would add more layers onto the story of Alucard and expand on him and what he was doing before Trevor, or after Trevor and co.

Option three: Magnus, an incubus servant of Dracula’s who wants to torment Alucard and ultimately take his place with his father. He enjoys harming others mentally and breaking them. Which could work in this story as Richter needs to be vulnerable later on in the story. Magnus is also someone who can be an opposite of Shaft and lead into the SotN story, as well as expand on Adrian’s past.

Option four and five: Cyril and Alexis. Two young vampire hunters, one who is a noble, the other who seems to have ties to the church. The two are longtime friends and work well together. Cyril is from the House of Marquis, who is a rival hunter clan to the Belmont clan. Cyril has a rather strong reason for wanting to hunt down the vampire who killed his sister, and Alexis is there to keep him from falling down a dark hole. Either of these two could say this line.

Female five…”We’re looking for Someone Called Belmont.” Now this one I’m guessing might be the hero’s call. I’m not sure who this character is, but it could be Iris, since she’s the daughter of a doctor and may have gone to get help, or this could be Maria’s mother, or it might be Annette, changing up the relationship some rather than having her be his fiancée this early in the story. I do feel that whoever this is, they are someone that is pulling Richter to the town of Aljiba. Namely because the last Belmont that came there was looking for a way to break a curse, that being Simon, and he also saved and protected the town until Shaft did his black mass and screwed everything up.

Simon went to the town of Aljiba to break his curse. Annette is from this town. One thing about the tone is that it’s a more authority voice, so I’m also thinking Iristoo, which could expand her role in the story and having her be the reason for Richter coming to town. Making this voice be Iris and having her kidnapped from Richter could connect the women to him in a way that makes them friends and gives him stronger motivation to save all four of them.

Male Four…“The laugh”Shaft or Dracula -This one is a given. Either that’s Shaft laughing or Dracula laughing. But I bet it’s Shaft because they would want to Save Dracula up given the ending we had in the other series. It could also be Magnus, but feels more like a Shaft laugh, so I think it’s him.

Female Six…”Richter!” The voice sounds a bit like Sypha’s actress, but it is most likely Annette calling out to him at some point when she’s being taken away. It makes the most sense within the story context and fits her personality well being someone who is kind, but willing to do whatever it takes to keep herself from being the reason he’s harmed, including killing herself.

My guess is that this is Annette who calls out to him when she gets taken by Shaft.

Took a while for this one. Working on a post about thoughts on where the story of Castlevania Nocturne can go given the ending of the last series and the many moving parts of this stories arc given it has three major games connected to it, and one drama cd that expanded on the lore of Alucard. So this should be fun.

Castlevania: Nocturne Teaser Trailer Theories.

Buckle up boys and girls, we’re about to dive head first into some theories around Castlevania Nocturne and Dracula X. Now I know that the series will not be a one to one of the game, but for those who have never seen or played this game before, a short summary of events of Dracula X Chronicles, or Castlevania: Dracula X, or Rondo of Blood as it was known before the Remake.

Richter Belmont, the latest in the Belmont family line, is a vampire hunter who is being taunted by Death as he hurries to the town of Aljiba where his fiancée Anette resides. Turns out the town is being attacked and a number of the citizens are as good as dead. Prior to this point in time, the dark priest Shaft gathered followers who wanted to see Dracula rise again and brought him back though the power of the sacrifice of a human maiden. When he gets there all hell has broken loose and he sees Annette being kidnapped by Shaft, who then takes Annette to Dracula’s castle aka Castlevania. Richter gives chase learning that there are three other young women captured. After going through the castle the vampire hunter discovers Maria Renard, a young girl who manifests amazing powers of Magic and can summon things, including a dragon. Her family were also hunters, and used birds as protectors. With Maria as his ally Richter hurries off to find and save Annette and the missing nun Tera, and the doctor’s daughter Iris and stop Dracula once and for all.

I’m holding off talking about the ending because it became a huge plot point in Symphony of the Night. But I would not be surprised if the ending bleeds into two more seasons making Nocturne probably 4 seasons in total.

Watching the trailer I noticed a number of things. As noted by @ruiniel, in their post Feral, Richter has the same pose as the prologue manga Symphony of the night indicating, at least, that we’re going to get maybe more connections to the game this time around since Rondo of Blood is an important part to the follow up game Symphony of the Night, and Richter is, after Simon, one of the most popular and might I add powerful members of the Belmont Clan. I won’t get into the Pose too much as that could be a spoiler for late in the season, but it’s definitely worth noting.

So what can we glean from just the visual parts of this trailer. Well a lot, which is really great if you’re a fan of the game and know a bit or a lot of the layout and storyline of Rondo. On the other hand it’s keeping it mysterious for new fans. So just a warning and a heads up, if you want to go in blind to Nocturne in this case, and want no info about it, jump out now because I’m going to be dropping some spoilers in here. At least one big one that could happen, but it’s part of an alternative ending, so I don’t know if it would happen or not.

So you have been warned.

Right then. Let’s get into the thick of it. The very first shot we see is that of Richter on a paved street near what looks like a dock. There’s a ship in the background, meaning he’s near the waterfront. There’s also street lamps, and we have a given date and location. France 1792. Now this is important because this is the setting of the French Revolution, and also a key time in that it borders on the end of the American Revolution and the start of the Victorian era which will be coming up and is the setting for the Novel Dracula, which also is part of the Castlevania timeline. Yup Dracula is part of the story of the Belmonts, and is connected via the character Quincy Morris, whose family is one of the lines of the Belmont Clan.

So why is the ship in the background important? Well it can indicate a few things. First in the PSP game, which the designs of Ayami Kojima from Dracula X Chronicles are clearly being the influence for this season(s?), Richter during a part of the game enters a ghost ship as part of his path to find his fiancée Annette. It should be indicated that the ship is an alternative path to getting to Annette, so you have to beat a version of Carmilla (the vampire from the games not the show) to unlock this ship. If this is a nod to that. I have to wonder if it’s an indication that we’re going to see all the levels, thus making the game longer or maybe splitting them between Maria and Richter.

The other option in this case is the fact that in the animated series the castle seems to move but might not move too far. So it could be that instead of a Ferryman as we have in the game who shuffles along Richter in the castle, he may be the owner of a ship that brings Richter to Castlevania. It’s an option to keep things simple. Though we might get the Ferryman anyway as the number of men in the story is very limited.

It could also be a nod to the ship that Dracula used in the original Stoker novel to travel from his home in Transylvania to England. You can see the wheel of the ship and it matches its description minus one dead captain. The indication here is to feel gothic horror in this case and I think the image does that well. Richter is living in a world where modern tech of the period, gas lights for example, is a thing and it’s clear from the image that either the boat is either in dock or it’s been left to the current and is moving it. There’s no sails up, meaning it’s not moving by wind. In the animation it’s not moving at all, so likely it’s docked for some reason. Also there’s a building ahead, indicating that this is a more fully developed town then what Trevor was dealing with in the original.

The town in the game was Aljiba, Annette’s home town and one that has a deeper connection to Richter. So a small warning for the games Castlevania: Belmont’s Revenge,  Simon’s Quest and the original Castlevania game.

So Simon is the descendant of Christopher and Soleil Belmont, who dealt with the count one hundred years after Trevor and Simon fights Dracula twice one hundred years after Christopher. Soleil Belmont and Simon both have a direct connection to Richter in that both had issues with Dracula and a curse. Again I can’t spoil too much in regard to Richter as some might want a surprise for Symphony, but in the case of both Soleil and Simon the curse was lifted. Now for Simon he had to travel to this very town to find answers that he was seeking, so the Belmont clan has direct ties to the town of Aljiba, which is where Rondo of Blood’s story starts and where Annette, Maria and the other two ladies are from originally.

So with that in mind if we are going into the town of Aljiba, we need to note that there’s a lot of history there for Richtor to deal with, amongst that history is Simon’s tale. And it certainly will draw parallels to not only Simon, Soleil and Richter, but also the changing history of the world at the time that this is taking place.

Additionally@demigoddessqueens points out in the comparison post on Trevor’s back and Richter’s back as seen here the fact that Richter is still wearing the family Templar cross as Leon once did. Aka in this version, the family crest. This to me indicates that the family line of vampire hunting under the same symbol as Leon (Knights for the crusades) fought under shows there’s still connection to the whole past issues with Dracula and that hasn’t changed as of yet.

As mentioned earlier the pose of Richter can have some significance to his future. While I’m going to try to not spoil too much for new fans of Symphony, one aspect of the pose that’s important is the way he is looking ahead and holding himself. Which also plays a part in how he’s going to appear later on in the series, if they do alter his looks. We can tell Richter is watching something or looking at the ship ahead of him. He’s gripping the whip showing that he’s upset about something. This isn’t a man that is happy, as we see in his face moments later. He’s more stoic than Trevor, more serious. So to me this at least indicates either this is at the start of the story, before the town that he goes to falls to ruin, or this is before the Black Mass happens, which is a good indicator of things to come. We’ll get more into that later and more in the dialogue post I plan on making.

What caught my is the differences in the Vampire Killer Whip, and yes for now I’m calling it that as the other one is the Morning Star and not the Vampire Killer. Trevor’s Vampire Killer and Richter’s Vampire Killer has the same marking on the base of the whip, the cross with the embellishments or crest on it. However whereas Trevor’s is simple and is just the crest,

Richter’s now has a gold overlay around the base with either Flowers or two daggers crossing at the top part of the base handle above the crest. Further is the fact that Trevor only has a simple gold band at the top of the handle before the whip starts, Richter on the other hand has another band that curves around a pearl set in the middle of it, with possible flowers at the base of the band.

Additional to all of this there are, on my count: two seen pearls near the base (possibly a third hidden by Richter’s fingers) then one in the center of the handle, and again three at the top, one in the center of the band at the top of the handle and two on the sides below it. This tells me that at this point the Belmont’s have some form of money, Richter isn’t just a poor traveler like Trevor was, he’s a well off noble, and, given his clothing, and it shows that the Belmont’s apparently connected back to their more well off historical roots.

Another important thing about the trailer that we have, is that Richter is being approached from behind, meaning that someone is coming up to him and we’re zooming in as the person gets near. It’s when we get close that he turns and we see his face. There’s a few important things about him. Let’s start with the face. A number of people have noticed that Richter has “Sypha’s eyes”, however I contest that Richter has Sypha’s face, and jaw line more, and has Trevor’s blue eyes. (Of note, All Belmonts have been retconned to have blue eyes to match with Leon Belmont.) Richter clearly has the Belmont Blue, and it’s intense, showing that he’s not a man to be treated lightly.

So what can this trailer tell us about what’s going on, what could be happening and where the story is going?

I honestly think this sequence we’re getting can be two scenes, possibly a third if they want to expand the past to explain Annette and Richter a bit more.

Option one: The Prologue to Rondo of Blood or Dracula X or Dracula X Chronicles. In the start of the story we are treated to a long summary of how peaceful things are and then serious shit happens:

A long time ago, people lived in peace and harmony. No one noticed the looming shadow among them.

Their senses clouded in darkness, evil ate away at their souls. Driven by madness they made a pack with the devil..

In the late hour they came together to call the powers of darkness with their sinful blood - to save them from their mortal existance, expecting the dawning of a new world!

After one hundred years evil was once again made flesh. An immortal creature of the night, it can assume the shape of a wolf, a bat or fog. Feasting on the blood of humans.

Dracula, lord of darkness, master of the devil’s castle, walks among us.

This sequence leads into the Black Mass lead by Shaft. In the game we watch as a girl is laid on a table in a church and killed by a group led by Shaft to resurrect Dracula. Given we’re going to need to expand on things. I imagine we might get this opening with a change, where in Richter has come to town to try to help save a missing girl, and ultimately fails in this case. Given that, in the Dracula X Chronicles, Maria mentions her dead parents, it could easily be changed that Maria’s father is helping Richter and is killed during this Black Mass to protect his younger mentor. So this could be the meeting of the two in the town where this is taking place in.

Another option that fits the early part of the story is that this is the first meeting of Annette to Richter who happens to be waiting for someone and he protects her from being harmed. This could be used as a means of expanding on Richter and Annette’s relationship and introducing him to the town of Aljiba. One could have her being in town, might not be Aljiba and looking for perhaps Maria, or because her father is Richter’s mentor, or some other reason, and thus the two meet when they lock eyes and she rushes to him to get away from someone. This would not indicate someone weak, but rather that she might be in over her head and may have made a mistake leading to her getting away from others.

Option two could be a later sequence of Richter deciding to go travel to Aljiba after being found by the woman who mentions looking for a Belmont in the dialogue. We know from the trailer that someone is looking for a Belmont, which could indicate that the town of Aljiba is in danger at this point and that Richter has decided to head out to stop Shaft and rescue the four women that have been captured by Shaft as gifts for Dracula. The ship being in the background indicates travels to happen, so this could be him meeting others who are going to be going with him. This also could be a disguised Alucard coming to meet him and travel with him, but I don’t think he’d meet Alucard till later, more on that in the dialogue post I’m working on. .

It’s hard to tell but the image reminds me a lot of events in the book Dracula and the arrival of Dracula to the town of London, and both Morris, Stewart and Harker realizing they need to confront the count. Whatever this moment is, I feel like there’s enough clues here that indicate that this story is going to have some very gothic feels to it verse the more medieval setting in the first series. What’s going to be interesting is if there’s any call back to the history of France, namely the start of the revolution of France, the death of some of those in Louis’s court, and more importantly, the start of the French assembly. Connecting these two the situation in the castle, namely the fall of the church which would be connected to Tera who is a nun, and Iris being the daughter of a doctor, thus the raising of science, and how it was being used during this time, along with Shaft’s choice to re raise Dracula and his comment in Rondo of blood to Annette that he could lead the world into their desires, this could all be a very interesting deeper look into the world of Nocturne.

Adding into that, the name Nocturne comes from a future story that happens after Symphony of the night, Nocturne of Recollections. This could be connected to the CD drama which introduces several elements into Alucard’s history and could, potentially, play a part in this season and the sequel, which I have no doubt will be either called Symphony of the Night, or Recollections, or just keep the Nocturne title.

All in all I’m excited to see how our next trailer pans out. And yes I was screaming when I saw it show up.