Characters

Character summaries, bios, and my own short description of them. SPOILERS ARE UNMARKED.

Shanoa

Age: 20
Official Bio: Shanoa is one of Ecclesia's female warriors. She joined the clan at a young age, and was groomed in her training to destroy Count Dracula. An accident during the Dominus ceremony wiped away her memories and emotions. Shanoa possesses a unique ability, allowing her to channel power through glyphs that are marked on her body.

Shanoa is a stoic, dutiful woman who has been trained to use Dominus since she was very young. Though she lost her emotions, she still dedicates what’s left of her heart to what she sees as her purpose. She often compares herself to inhuman objects or weapons, but despite all this she is a compassionate person, often making sure to help others, like the Wygol villagers. She somewhat resents her emotionless state, even apologizing for it on occasions. Shanoa is a person who’s hard for the average player to figure out, but by paying attention to dialogue, you begin to puzzle out what person she may have been- and the person she will eventually become.

Trivia:
-IGA says Shanoa’s name is a code name, and didn’t have a “real name” planned for her- to give her an air of mystery.
-In an interview, IGA called Shanoa a pitiable, tragic character, and said that the music of the game was specifically chosen to reflect that.
-“Shanoa” is likely a mistranslation or corrupted version of “Chat Noir”.
-Shanoa seems to have some ability to sense magic energy nearby, often remarking that she feels powerful magic through a door or in specific rooms.
-There appears to be an unused Shanoa portrait inside of the files, which doesn’t have a working pallet.
-Most of Shanoa’s best stat boosting items and glyphs often come at risk of her own life or sacrifice of her HP- for example, the Death Ring, Arma Custos, Dominus Agony, etc. This fits with the themes of the game’s narrative.

Albus

Age: 24
Official Bio: Albus is Ecclesia's Chief Researcher and, like Shanoa, was trained from a young age to harness Dominus. Dedicated to research, he became Barlowe's trusted assistant. Using Agartha, a charmed firearm, Albus is able to channel glyph energy into bullets, which become magical projectiles./Expert in the use of firearms. His gun is called "Agartha."

Albus is fiery and passionate, and lets his emotions rule him, the opposite of Shanoa. His main goal takes priority over all else, and anything that endangers what he cares about can send him into a panic. He, too, is compassionate at heart, though he takes a morally grey path. His true motivations- his love for Shanoa, his sister- are a key element of the main plot. He tries to solve problems on his own rather than explaining his reasoning or goals, which tends to backfire for him. He is often self-destructive.

Trivia:
-According to the Curry the Kid Reddit AMA, a “letter from Albus” was considered as an element of the game, but scrapped. Indeed, in the files there is a sprite for a “letter” option in the menu.
-Albus’s gun, Agartha, is actually called Agathe- alongside his attacks Max Shot and Kaspar Shot, it references characters from the opera Der Freischutz.
-The Japanese script implies Albus used to experiment on himself. “これ以上、実験を受け続ければ、あなたの体が壊れてしまう…!!”
-Albus coming equipped with two Master Rings, accelerating his attribute point growth, is consistent with his characterization as a genius and fast learning.

Barlowe

Age: 72
Official Bio: Barlowe formed Ecclesia to study glyphs as a way of fighting Dracula. His research culminated in Dominus, a glyph of ultimate power. Barlowe prays that its power is enough to save the world from darkness./A pitiable madman, his body is now Dracula's vessel.

Projects a warm and friendly, even fatherly exterior towards Shanoa, but beneath that is a man who prioritizes total authority in pursuit of his goals- to resurrect the count. Manipulative and has a way with words, and believes that Dracula continues to be revived because humanity is inherently sinful. Ecclesia once struggled with receiving support and funding from the church, as their glyphs would not break the seal, but Barlowe’s creation of Dominus, a so-called ultimate weapon, gleaned them favor.

Trivia:
-There is some debate over whether during Barlowe’s boss fight, he is possessed or corrupted, or acting of his own free will. My personal stance is that he was acting of his own free will and resurrecting Dracula was always the plan- however, after Shanoa says she “feels a new power”, Dracula is communicating directly through his mind. It's also worth noting that in the original script, he wasn't called "Dracula's vessel", but rather described as "driven mad by Dracula", which is much more ambiguous.

Nikolai

Age: 70
Official Bio: By the grace of God, he cleared away the wilderness to plant the seeds of this village.

Not much is known about Nikolai directly, but other villagers speak of him highly and refer to him as Father. He saved Eugen from death, founded the village, and also is implied to be the priest that redeemed Abram from his status as a criminal. He seemingly provides a welcoming environment to those who live there, and worries about them often. Eugen also mentions worrying about him, so they’re probably somewhat close.

Jacob

Age: 48
Official Bio: This peddler seemed a natural fit, and moved into the village.

A kind and friendly shopkeeper who’s eager to help Shanoa on her quest, even offering discounts on his wares. Most quests in the game will expand the shop’s catalogue.

Trivia:
-There’s a cut quest name (“Get Business Started”) that may have been intended for him at one point.

Abram

Age: 26
Official Bio: Once a common thief, he found salvation in the church and studied thenceforth to become a healer.

Initially fearful and distrustful of Shanoa due to an unexplained “incident”, he gradually befriends her when she brings replacements for his stolen medicinal herbs. Erratic and hard to understand, but seems to have good intentions.

Eugen

Age: 50
Official Bio: A quiet, gentle man of 50 years. His good faith brought him to this community, where he used his carpentry skills to build houses.

Was once saved by Nikolai, and given the advice to “do what you can”, Eugen is a kind but gruff man who seems to worry and care for Shanoa as she goes on dangerous adventures. Blunt and to the point, but a friendly presence in the village. Though he doesn’t give you his armor for free, amusingly, he will give you a significant amount of money, likely enough to help you afford it. Interestingly, he comments on Albus having a mysterious “purpose” in his eyes, which he speculates about.

Laura

Age: 24
Official Bio: She places her trust in the cards of the tarot, which foretold she would do great things here, as well as finally locate her soul mate.

Laura is a jeweler who didn’t originally come from Wygol. She was once in an apprenticeship of some kind with an overly critical master who constantly pointed out her flaws. Eventually, she ended up running away to Wygol, hoping to leave those flaws behind, but her self esteem is low, often blaming herself and her self-perceived inadequacy for Shanoa’s inability to smile. However, through their friendship, Laura ends up confronting her past and improving her jewelry-work for her own sake- not for the approval of anyone else. She’s rather open about her love for Shanoa, while also cagey about its true nature- could she be Laura’s foretold soulmate…? She’s extremely generous and kind, even offering to create a commissioned piece for free, knowing that it was for the village children.

Trivia:
-Her name is seemingly mistranslated, and was likely intended to be “Lola”.
-Unused voice lines imply a scrapped tarot reading mechanic. If you go into the sound test mode of the game, you can listen to them.
-There’s another gem in the game, Zircon, which has no use in-game, possibly implying a quest was cut from the game or rewritten to feature different gems.
-There’s a line of cut dialogue that implies she was meant to be a shopkeeper at some point in development.
-Laura is the only villager who plays a direct role in another villager’s quest.

Monica

Age: 17
Official Bio: This young girl is bright, but shy. The other villagers are like her family, since her real parents passed away.

A shy, nervous tailor with a habit of self-deprecation for her reliance on others. Eventually she learns a bit of self confidence. Seemingly has a crush on Shanoa.

George

Age: 34
Official Bio: Dracula's legend enticed this minstrel to come along. Townsfolk don't look twice, but avoid his eerie songs.

A passionate but pretentious artist. His records are actually the original soundtrack to the NES Castlevania game! Has an interest in eerie and strange things. Was only temporarily visiting Wygol, but ends up staying long-term.

Trivia:
-Has scrapped alternate rescue dialogue that doesn’t touch on the subject of Albus, unlike the final version.

Marcel

Age: 38
Official Bio: Hearing rumors of monsters nearby, he traveled here to further his research. He's a curious man, and won't hesitate to share information.

A bit confident and arrogant, and has a flirty personality (much to Shanoa’s chagrin, being wholly uninterested in men). His quests send you in pursuit of cryptid photos, which the sports magazine he works for aren’t really interested in… Eventually ending in him getting fired. Interestingly, he mentions that the press bans a story he wrote about Shanoa. Was originally only visiting in the area, but ends up settling down in Wygol.

Aeon

Age: 40
Official Bio: A confident chef whose motto is, "I can cook anything!" He moved here to avoid the serious competition of the big city.

Moved from far away, and has been fired by several different restaurants. Seems to have an aversion to tasting his own cooking due to it having made him sick once and having got him berated by the chefs in charge, and as a result he seems to focus more on finding strange ingredients rather than making sure they taste good. Over the course of his questline he changes his perspective and improves his cooking.

Anna

Age: 8
Official Bio: Irina's daughter and Serge's sister. She's a sensitive girl, and endowed with an awareness of the ethereal world.

Often possessed by demons and evil spirits, which her cat, Tom, saves her from, often at his own expense. Anna is said to be a “crybaby”, but also has abilities that give her dream visions. Very sweet and friendly and always refers to Shanoa as “Miss”.

Serge

Age: 10
Official Bio: Irina's son looks after his sister, even though he thinks she's a big crybaby.

Serge projects an image of being brave and tough, but often asks Shanoa for good luck charms or reassurance. It surely has something to do with how Albus told him to be strong enough to protect Anna- who, amusingly, he considers a crybaby, while actually being somewhat fearful himself- probably exacerbated by the experience of being quite suddenly kidnapped. At the end of his questline he resolves to be brave on his own, rather than relying on Shanoa. He’s closer to understanding Albus’s true intentions than any other character, at least before Shanoa discovers the truth. Always calls Shanoa “Lady”.

Trivia:
-He has 4 unused alternate outfits in the files.

Irina

Age: 45
Official Bio: Her children are Serge and Anna. She came to the village by accident, but decided to stay and share her excellent cuisine with the others.

A worrisome single mother who loses sleep over making sure her children are alright. Tends to prioritize this over other people’s feelings, but seems to mean well. It’s easy to be high strung when you’re expected to care for two children on your own, after all. Initially was only visiting Wygol, but decided to stay.

Daniela

Age: 85
Official Bio: She appeared in the village one day, as if she had always lived there. Some days she's ignorant, and yet other days she's quite wise.

A former vampire hunter. Appears to have issues with remembering things, but is very kind and welcoming. The description of the sketchbook calls it “A grandmother’s gift to her favorite grandchild”, implying she has a lot of affection for Shanoa. She seems to have some precognitive abilities, similar to Anna’s dreams about the Belmonts. Her arc is concerned with overcoming past grief while also resolving to keep it close in your memory.

Trivia:
-It has often been speculated that the grandfather she speaks of is Richter or Juste or some other known Belmont character.

Dracula

Official Bio: Vlad Tepes Dracula is a powerful vampire, and the Lord of Evil. His dark magic is embodied in the demon fortress, Castlevania./The true master of the castle, and the prince of evil.

Dracula’s characterization here is interesting, considering it follows up Symphony of the Night, where he gets the closest to expressing regret for his actions. However, he has fully engrained himself back into the cycle of revenge. Perhaps the idea of not having any Belmonts in his way was far too tempting…? Either way, he is especially nasty here, dismissing the idea that Shanoa could be a threat and being extremely condescending towards her.

Trivia:
-Dracula has a lot of cut voicelines, disproportionate to the amount of screen time he has.