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| Although an official timeline has been officially revealed, it is quite outdated with new releases and contradictions. There is a mass of confusion surrounding what can be considered "canon," and what should not be. | | Although an official timeline has been officially revealed, it is quite outdated with new releases and contradictions. There is a mass of confusion surrounding what can be considered "canon," and what should not be. |
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| First off, the "canon" in Castlevania is incredibly expansive. Although there is one main timeline, things that do not align with that timeline are not necessarily non-canon or don't exist. As shown through "non-canon" characters like Cornell appearing in Castlevania Judgement, the Castlevania series exists in a multiverse, and games perceived a non-canon simply exist in an alternate timeline of events.
| | The entirety of the timeline and it's canon has been explained [[Castlevania Timeline|here]]. |
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| ''If you click '''Expand''', you will see a collection of explanations on why the timeline is laid out the way that it is, and why it includes events people will generally dismiss as non-canonical:''
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| <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="overflow: hidden;"><!-- overflow: hidden; due to the float here -->
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| ===Remakes/Remasters===
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| The canonicity of remakes and remasters are a large part of the confusion in the Castlevania canon, as many people are confused whether to consider the original game or the remake/remaster the main event. However, as directly stated by the director of the series, Koji Igarashi, in regards to Castlevania Chronicles (the remake of Castlevania,) he said: | |
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| "''IGA: FC版とX６８０００版ですが、X６８０００版はFC版をベースにアレンジを加えたものになっています。ゲームのアレンジは、その時に応じて、色々と施されるものですので、正直どちらも正統であると思ってよいのではないかと思っています。結論として、ドラキュラと戦い勝つというシナリオで、中間部分の切り抜きが違うと考えてもよいのではないかと考えています。スーパーファミコン版も違いますし…。どうしてもと考えるのであれば、FC版を尊重すべきかと考えます。''
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| ''Translation: Regarding the Famicom version and the X68000 version, the X68000 version is an arrangement based on the Famicom version. The arrangement of a game is the kind of thing where you add a lot of different things as needed, so honestly speaking, it think they both should be considered legitimate. In conclusion, I think they should be considered as the same scenario of fighting to defeat Dracula, just with a different middle part. The Super Famicom version is different as well... If you simply must have a clear answer, the Famicom version must be given deference.''"
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| This should apply to all remakes and remasters of the series. Each one is considered to be the same scenario, and thus either one can be considered in place of one another, and not one is more canon than the other; “both should be legitimate.”
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| ===Order of Shadows===
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| This point will be using the [https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/08/23/castlevania-order-of-shadows-qa Order of Shadows Q&A conducted by IGN], as reference.
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| Castlevania: Order of Shadows is a 2007 mobile game, developed and published by Konami, which has almost unanimously been grouped into the "Non-Canon" section by fans of the series. This is likely due to a very vague statement made by the director of the game, Tyrone Rodriguez, where he called the game a "gaiden," aka a side-story. This is not sufficient enough evidence to strip the story from the timeline, and there is in fact several more points to it being canon than not.
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| * '''Debunking "It's a side story, thus isn't canon"'''
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| This is basically the only evidence levied against the games canonicity, and simply isn't true. A side-story does not mean it is not canon, in fact its far from it. This simply means that the events of the game are not as major to the timeline as others, which reigns true. This game features a resurrection of Dracula that does not occur during one of his 100 year cycles (much like Harmony of Dissonance or Curse of Darkness,) and thus is considered a side-story. This has nothing to do with canonicity, and is taken out of context as well:
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| "''IGN Wireless: What sort of timeframe in relation to other Castlevania titles?''
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| ''TR: Officially, Order of Chaos is considered a "gaiden" or side story to the Castlevania canon. However, it takes place roughly in the late 1600s.''"
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| Here, Tyrone explicitly states that the story is a side-story to the canon, implying that it exists within the canon but funcions as a side-story. This is backed up when he gives the game a chronological timeframe as well.
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| * '''IGA's Involvement'''
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| Koji Igarashi, widely known as IGA, is the director of the entire Castlevania series, and is the one who dictates what is canon and what isn't. Something most seem to overlook is that iGA was directly involved with this game:
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| "''IGN Wireless: How closely are you working with Koji Igarashi for this new title? Was he pretty hands on during the development, or did he just offer some guidance? Did he enjoy the challenge of working on a new platform, or was it outside his expertise?
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| ''TR: We met with IGA pretty early on in the development process, he gave his blessing, but also reminded us that the game had to be fun and keep with the spirit of the Castlevania series. This needs no interpretation and reaffirmed our believe that the game had to be designed to embrace the mobile platform. IGA took a look at the design, story and script, giving his input and comments as necessary. He was actively involved with ensuring the game was consistent with the current canon. His attention to detail and knowledge of the series is obviously unrivaled. It's really great to have a living, breathing encyclopedia, even if he's in Roppongi Hills most of the time.''"
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| Here, Tyrone not only directly confirms IGA's involvement with making sure the game was as faithful to the Castlevania series as possible, but also worked on the story scrips and was actively involved with ensuring the game fit into canon. This alone should prove that the game is a part of the main timeline.
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| * '''How it fits into the timeline'''
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| As Tyrone stated, the events of Order of Shadows takes place during the late 1600s, which slot in extremely nicely. Simon Belmont's adventures take place in late-1600 leading into early 1700, with his Christopher being his great-grandfather as confirmed by the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120210205046/http://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/castlevania-adventure-rebirth.php official Castlevania ReBirth website]. Christopher's son, Soleil, would thus be Simon's grandfather, leaving the gap of who Simon's father (and Soleil's son) is.
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| Christopher - Late 1500s, early 1600s
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| Soleil - Early to Mid 1600s
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| Simon - Late 1600s, early 1700s
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| Desmond, confirmed to take place in the late 1600s, would slot in perfectly there, as the son of Soleil and father of Simon. This is even further supported by Rohan Krause, who [https://youtu.be/Gv6eTpW5m9s?t=257 claimed that Desmond's father wielded the Vampire Killer whip], which Soleil had passed down to him at the end of Belmont's Revenge.
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| All of this evidence; from lines taken out of context, to IGA directly helping the game fit into canon, to the game actually slotting into the timeline perfectly, confirms that Order of Shadows is absolutely a part of the main timeline which should not be excluded.
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| </div>
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| ===Main Timeline===
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| *'''Castlevania: Lament of Innocence''' (1094 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse''' (1476 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Curse of Darkness''' (1479 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: The Adventure''' | '''Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth''' (1576 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge''' (1591 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Order of Shadows''' (16?? A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania''' | '''Super Castlevania IV''' | '''Castlevania Chronicles''' (1691 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest''' (1698 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance''' (1748 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Rondo of Blood''' | '''Castlevania: Dracula X''' | '''Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles''' (1792 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night''' (1797 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia''' (18?? A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Bloodlines''' (1917 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin''' (1944 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow''' (2035 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow''' (2036 A.D.)
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| *'''Castlevania Judgement''' (Time Rift)
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| ====Belmont Family Tree====
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| ''If you click '''Expand''', you will see the family tree of the Belmont Clan, featuring only the Belmont's within the Main Timeline:''
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| <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="overflow: hidden;"><!-- overflow: hidden; due to the float here -->
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| [[File:BelmontFamilyTree.png|600px]]
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| </div>
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| ===Alternate Timelines===
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| These are games within the series that are specifically excluded from the official main-series timeline, because they contradict the main timeline of events in some shape or form.
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| *'''The Legend of Satanic Castle: The Vampire Hunters''' - Book featuring '''[[Sid Belmont]]'''
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| *'''Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy ''' - Comic featuring an alternate '''Christopher Belmont'''
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| *'''Haunted Castle''' - Video Game featuring an alternate '''[[Simon Belmont (Haunted Castle)|Simon Belmont]]'''
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| *'''Castlevania: Circle of the Moon''' - Video Game featuring '''[[Nathan Graves]]'''
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| *'''Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness''' - Video Game featuring '''Cornell'''
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| *'''Castlevania (N64)''' - Video Game featuring '''Reinhardt Schneider'''
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| *'''Kid Dracula''' - Video Game featuring '''Kid Dracula'''
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| *'''Kid Dracula (Game Boy)''' - Video Game featuring '''Kid Dracula'''
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| *'''Castlevania Legends''' - Video game featuring '''[[Sonia Belmont]]'''
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| ==Non-Canon== | | ==Non-Canon== |
