The vampire hunters of Konami's long-running Castlevania franchise have utilized a full arsenal of weaponry to dispatch Dracula and the forces of darkness, with the Belmont clan often relying on the legendary Vampire Killer whip to slay any monster that stands in their way. One notable omission in the vampire hunters' extensive set of weapons is the inclusion of firearms, even as Castlevania has moved from the medieval era into the modern era and beyond. While guns were eventually included in Castlevania, the use of firearms has a particularly protracted history in the fan-favorite video game franchise.
In addition to the Vampire Killer, the Belmonts are often armed with a plethora of sub-weapons that they discover strewn around Dracula's castle and the surrounding Transylvanian countryside, putting them to good use to destroy any monster that menaces them. While the original 1986 Castlevania for the Nintendo Entertainment System had Simon use everything from holy water to the powerful Combat Cross to fight against the forces of evil, there were initial plans for one of Simon's sub-weapons to be included in the game, as confirmed by design documents included in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. A modern pistol loaded with silver bullets was planned that would have been able to kill the werewolf with a single shot but have a weaker effect on the other monsters in the game before the sub-weapon's inclusion was discarded entirely in favor of strictly medieval weaponry.
Instead, the first game to include a gun as a weapon was 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the original PlayStation, with one of the rare sub-weapons obtainable by Alucard and Richter Belmont being a derringer known as the Agunea. The magical pistol would fire a single, electrified shot at a target, with the Agunea later glimpsed in the Castlevania Netflix series among Trevor Belmont's family armory. A similar sub-weapon appeared in 2001's Castlevania: Circle of the Moon for the Game Boy Advance but the strangest inclusion of firearms in Castlevania took place in 1999's Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for the Nintendo 64. In Henry's campaign, the monster hunter's primary weapon was a pistol with seemingly unlimited ammunition as he rescued children imprisoned within Dracula's castle parallel to the main events of Castlevania 64.
Firearms would play a much more prominent role in 2003's Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow for the GBA and its 2005 sequel for the Nintendo DS, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. Taking place in 21st century Japan, both games had protagonist Soma Cruz able to equip a 9mm handgun as one of his primary weapons while exploring Dracula's castle, with the gun described as being loaded with Parabellum rounds to deal with the monsters. Aria of Sorrow would feature a more lethal Silver Gun, discoverable on the game's hard difficulty setting, firing two silver bullets at once and particularly effective against enemies that stood a decent distance away from Soma.
Ultimately, Castlevania is best known for the medieval and religious weaponry that has long been associated with being able to put down monsters and that's perhaps for the best. There is something admittedly strange about seeing Soma pull out a handgun to blow away a skeleton, even if his two adventures are set well into the 21st century. And when it comes to putting down Dracula and the various monsters he has assembled to terrorize humanity, there is no better substitute than the Vampire Killer to put down the vampire warlord back in his grave.
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