The 8 Best Castlevania Games of All Time, bioware games ranked

The 8 Best Castlevania Games of All Time, Ranked

Quick answer: in this bioware games ranked-style rundown of the series, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997) is still the consensus No. 1, but the list has genuinely shifted for the first time in two decades. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, released October 15, 2026, holds an 86 on Metacritic, making it the fifth-highest-rated traditional Castlevania and the best-reviewed new entry since Dawn of Sorrow in 2005. The Game Boy Advance era supplies the highest aggregate scores, Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow both at 91, while the 16-bit run of Super Castlevania IV, Rondo of Blood and Bloodlines forms the historical backbone. Nearly every pick below is playable on current hardware through the Anniversary, Advance, Dominus and Requiem collections.

The Rankings at a Glance

Scores from Metacritic; release dates and platforms from Konami and publisher materials. "n/a (no aggregate)" indicates no Metacritic score is recorded for that release, based on the rankings that tracked critic scores only where Metacritic recorded them.

Bloodlines (Sega Genesis, March 1994) is the honorable mention just outside the eight. It earns its place in the discussion below as the first Castlevania scored by Michiru Yamane, who became a recurring series composer.

Ordering here weighs influence and staying power alongside raw scores, which is why Symphony of the Night outranks two games that aggregate higher: no other entry did more to define what a Castlevania can be.

Why Belmont's Curse Broke Into the List

Belmont's Curse arrived on October 15, 2026 for PS5 with an 86 on Metacritic (PS5, 53 reviews), backed by Game Informer at 9.25/10, IGN at 8/10 and GamesRadar+ at 80/100 (per El Mediatico's review round-up).

That score places it fifth-highest-rated among traditional Castlevania releases, behind Circle of the Moon (91), Aria of Sorrow (91), Symphony of the Night (89) and Dawn of Sorrow (89). It is the best-reviewed new entry since 2005, and that is the entire reason this list looks different than it would have a year ago.

The game is set 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, in 15th-century Paris, and stars Rose Belmont. It is a 2D action-exploration game co-developed by Konami with Evil Empire and Motion Twin, the studios behind Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania (2023). Konami announced it in February 2026, with production having begun in 2022 as part of the company's return to console and PC development. It is the first standalone new Castlevania since Lords of Shadow 2 (2014). Our Belmont's Curse Review covers how that Dead Cells pedigree translates into whip combat and castle layout.

No. 1: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

The PlayStation release landed in Japan on March 20, 1997, in North America on October 3, and in PAL territories on November 1. It holds a 93 on Metacritic and is widely credited as the definitive pioneer of the Metroidvania genre alongside Super Metroid.

What makes its top spot secure is the long tail. Symphony of the Night initially sold poorly but became a sleeper hit, moving over 700,000 units across the US and Japan, and its inverted-castle structure and RPG progression have been copied ever since. It is available in Castlevania Requiem for PS4 (2018), bundled with Rondo of Blood.

The Game Boy Advance High-Water Mark: Aria of Sorrow and Circle of the Moon

Aria of Sorrow (GBA, May 2003) was the 20th main entry, produced by Koji Igarashi, and introduced the Tactical Soul system, which let Soma Cruz absorb enemy abilities. Set in 2035, it carries a Metacritic of 91. Circle of the Moon matches that 91, tying Aria of Sorrow for the series' highest aggregate score. Both are re-released in the Castlevania Advance Collection.

Dawn of Sorrow and the Igarashi Era

Dawn of Sorrow (DS, 2005) is the direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow and the first Castlevania on Nintendo DS, adding the stylus-based Magic Seal system. Its 89 keeps it level with Symphony of the Night on aggregate score.

Igarashi's fingerprints are on most of this list. He was lead producer on Castlevania from Castlevania Chronicles (2001) to Harmony of Despair (2011), left Konami in 2014, and released Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night in June 2019 as a spiritual successor. Dawn of Sorrow is playable via the Castlevania Dominus Collection (August 27, 2024) on Switch, PS5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S, alongside Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia.

The 16-Bit Backbone: Super Castlevania IV and Rondo of Blood

Super Castlevania IV (SNES, October 31, 1991) brought Mode 7 rotation, an eight-direction whip, grappling to distant points and the whip-as-shield to the SNES, and it is considered one of the greatest games ever made. It is included in the Anniversary Collection.

Rondo of Blood (PC Engine Super CD-ROM², October 29, 1993) was Japan-only until later re-releases. It was remade as Dracula X (SNES, 1995) and The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP, 2007), and it is bundled with Symphony of the Night in Requiem (PS4, 2018). Bloodlines (Sega Genesis, March 1994) rounds out the era and was re-released in the Anniversary Collection on May 16, 2019.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and the Series' Roots

Dracula's Curse released in Japan on December 22, 1989 and in North America on September 19, 1990. A prequel starring Trevor Belmont, it introduced branching level paths and multiple playable characters, and it is the narrative anchor for Belmont's Curse 23 years later.

The original Castlevania debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986 as Akumajō Dracula on the Famicom Disk System, reaching North America on April 30, 1987. The term "Metroidvania" is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania, built on templates from Metroid (1986), Simon's Quest (1987), Super Metroid (1994) and Symphony of the Night (1997).

Where to Play Every Pick on Modern Hardware

The Anniversary Collection launched May 16, 2019 and the Dominus Collection on August 27, 2024, the latter also including Haunted Castle Revisited. Belmont's Curse is a PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC release (Konami: "Wishlist now available on console and PC").

The Netflix Series and the Decade Between Games

The Netflix Castlevania series ran from July 7, 2017 to May 13, 2021, adapting Dracula's Curse, and Castlevania: Nocturne followed from September 28, 2023 to January 16, 2025, adapting Rondo of Blood. Together they kept the brand in public view during the gap between standalone games, which ran from Lords of Shadow 2 (2014) to Belmont's Curse (2026). For more on where the franchise goes from here, see Castlevania's Resurgence: How Belmont's Curse Signals a New Era for Konami's Iconic Franchise.

Picking Your Entry Point in 2026

If you have never played a Castlevania, start with Symphony of the Night in Requiem: it teaches the exploration loop every modern entry builds on. If you want the tightest pure action, Super Castlevania IV in the Anniversary Collection remains the cleanest introduction to the classic formula. And if you want to see where the series stands right now, Belmont's Curse is the one to watch, and a strong argument that Konami's revival is more than nostalgia. Read our Belmont’s Curse Hands-On Preview for the early impressions, or head to the Castlevania hub for news, guides and community discussion.

Sources

• Metacritic, aggregate review scores for all ranked titles
• Konami and publisher materials, release dates and platforms
• Game Informer, IGN, GamesRadar+, individual Belmont's Curse review scores
• Polygon, OpenCritic, TheGamer, Wikipedia, supporting reporting and background