One of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's coolest game modes is the absolutely massive World of Light adventure mode. Not only do many different game franchises get their moment to shine with spirit battles, but World of Light also has dedicated subsections that pay homage to specific games. While the Street Fighter, Legend of Zelda and Pac-Man sections are often highlighted as some of the best, the Castlevania dungeon is by far the best segment in World of Light.
In the second half of the game's adventure mode, players venture into Dracula's Castle in order to awaken seven different fighters and numerous spirits, culminating in a boss fight against Dracula himself. This area has a ton of details for long-time Castlevania fans to pick up on. Along with how the various Castlevania spirits and fighters are handled, these elements make Dracula's Castle a perfect homage to Castlevania.
One of the first details that many players will notice is that this entire segment is done from a side perspective, in contrast to World of Light's typical top-down perspective. This mimics the perspective of a majority of the Castlevania series, though this reference goes much deeper than that. A detail that may not have been picked up by everyone is that this version of Dracula's Castle is a recreation of the original Castlevania's version.
This particular subsection is absolutely massive, containing several smaller sections within it that are all stylistically distinct yet still recognizable. On top of that, the soundtrack that plays throughout this section almost completely matches the soundtrack from Castlevania. Smash's remix of "Vampire Killer" plays in the main halls of the castle. The only differences in the soundtrack are that "Starker / Wicked Child" replaces "Walking on the Edge" in the castle's basement and "Vampire Killer" replaces "Heart of Fire" in the dungeons.
As for the spirits in Dracula's Castle, they end up being a nice mix of Castlevania characters and other horror-adjacent spirits. There's an amazing catalog of iconic Castlevania monsters represented as spirits, such as the Medusa Head and a Werewolf. Despite nearly every Belmont from the franchise having a spirit in Smash Ultimate, the only Belmont spirit that's obtained in Dracula's Castle is Leon Belmont.
While the Castlevania spirits are a wide majority of the ones available in Dracula's Castle, the other spirits wouldn't be too out of place if they appeared in the franchise. A Boo, Houndoom, a ReDead and even The Legend of Zelda's Happy Mask Salesman are all great picks to populate Dracula's Castle. There's a wonderful understand of Castlevania's overall feeling behind its design, given that the spirits are a mix of many different kinds of horror.
Besides the spirit battles, the fighters that players can awaken here are also notable. While players would have already unlocked Simon Belmont at this point, Richter Belmont becomes available to awaken once players clear Dracula's Castle of ghosts, which are defeated by completing puzzles throughout the area. Richter appears blocking the way to the area's final boss fight, referencing how Richter was once mind-controlled by Dracula.
Of course, the highlight of this subsection is the boss battle against Dracula. The intro to the battle pays homage to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night where Dracula throws a glass of blood to the ground. In fact, much of Smash Ultimate's take on Dracula is heavily based on his appearance in Symphony of the Night, with this appearance being directly based on concept art from that game.
The fight itself is a two-stage battle where Dracula's various attack patterns are all pulled from Castlevania. Dracula can't be damaged unless players attack his head and trying to attack any other part of his body will actually create a burst of mist that references Symphony of the Night's Mist Form mechanic. The second phase involves Dracula turning into his demonic appearance from Symphony of the Night, where Dracula relies much more on physical strength rather than projectiles.
While the Dracula's Castle subsection in World of Light borrows a lot from the original Castlevania and Symphony of the Night, the area ends up being more than just a reference and moe-so an homage to why so many fans love the series. The unique blend of horror styles, iconic moments and characters from the series, and a near-perfect reimagining of one of Castlevania's most iconic locations easily makes Dracula's Castle the best area in World of Light, especially for Castlevania fans.
0 Comments