Simon Belmont
     

Character's History

Simon is the most famous of the Belmont family members, and he's earned well this reputation by appearing in more titles than any other of the series' hero characters. In terms of his descent, Simon is most likely to be the grandson or great-grandson of Soleiyu Belmont, and, skill-wise, he can be described as marginally more powerful than Trevor, depending on which translation of his adventure you're experiencing. Almost all of the Akumajo Dracula remakes and translations employ the same tale, but the NES titles Castlevania and Simon's Quest are the only ones relevant to the accepted storyline.

Simon hunted Dracula the first time around for the sake of Transylvania, for Dracula was back with a vengeance and above all intent on instigating a rematch with a Belmont after Christopher had spoiled his first great plan. During the battle, Simon was unwittingly inflicted with a curse via his wounds that would slowly reveal itself over a seven-year period; upon learning of the true nature of the infliction thanks to the divine intervention of a beautiful vision, Simon's only option was to cure the life-threatening ailment by returning to action to search for and locate the five hidden body parts of Dracula; the result is that that he would then have to restore to human form the Dark Lord and within the ruins of the ancient Castlevania battle the specter and destroy it, finally ending the phase of a current cycle; it was only through this method would his wounds heal. Simon overcame all of the odds, foiling another of Dracula's seemingly foolproof plans. The only question that remained: Would future Belmonts take the proper precautions and learn well this lesson?

Click any of the following links to see Simon in action for a given appearance: Castlevania, Vampire Killer, Haunted Castle, Simon's Quest, Super Castlevania IV, Akumajou Dracula X68000, Chronicles and Harmony of Dissonance.

 

Appearances

Simon is unequivocally the series' most popular character. The enduring hero has multiple games to his credit, starting with his original--the NES classic Castlevania. Because the game became so popular, it spawned ports/translations to a few computer systems--the Commodore 64, Amiga Home Computer and the PC. It also saw several releases in Japan and the U.S., most notably in the arcades for Nintendo's Player's Choice and Versus series. So as the hero starring in the series' inaugural title, Simon's arsenal is prototypical. He starts with the leather whip, which can be powered up twice by the procuring of morning-star symbols; the whip will transform into a chain whip and then into the more powerful morning star whip. Too, he commands the five original mystic sub-weapons.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Dagger: A quick but weak dagger that Simon can toss forward at long range  
Axe: An unwieldy but powerful axe thrown in an arc, capable of damaging enemies above and below Vampire Killer: A leather form of the famous family whip; its range is short and its strength is weak
Holy Water: A vial of holy water that when thrown to the ground cracks and burns, engulfing enemies Chain Whip: The chain whip is roughly the same length as the leather whip, but its strength is great
Boomerang: A cross-shaped projectile that damages enemies while both coming and going Morning Star: The chain whip is lengthened and endowed with a spiked-tip ball
Stopwatch: A magical watch that stops time for five seconds, freezing enemies in their tracks

 

While Simon was winning over NES' owners hearts in the excellent Castlevania, he was unbeknownst to them putting in a rather low-key effort in the MSX's Vampire Killer, an aesthetically similar game but somewhat different in its gameplay. In this hidden gem (experienced only by those in Japan and parts of Europe), Simon starts out with a short-length leather whip; he can find a morning star symbol in a treasure chests and transform it into a longer chain whip. This is as strong as the whip can get. Simon can, however, replace the whip with a dagger, which can be thrown in almost endless streams, or the boomerang-like crosses (long-range and weak) and axes (short-range but strong). He can also equip the two sub-weapons simultaneously.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Holy Water: A vial of holy water that when thrown to the ground cracks and burns, engulfing enemies   Vampire Killer: A leather form of the famous family whip; its range is short and its strength is weak
Stopwatch: A magical hourglass that stops time for five seconds, freezing enemies in their tracks Morning Star: When powered up, the whip becomes a longer chain whip, greater in its strength
Dagger: Small and weak, daggers can be thrown one after another with none in the way of lag
Axe: The boomerang-like axe is slow in motion but highly damaging to the enemies it can strike twice
Cross: The cross is weaker than the axe, but it moves much faster for a better rate of attack

 

Around the same time Castlevania was gracing the NES, an arcade game sharing its Japanese name (Akumajo Dracula) was making its debut overseas. Haunted Castle, as it became known through localization, is Simon's third appearance; however, this is not a canon title and more or less a separate iteration of Castlevania, a similar yet distinct title that stands on its own merits. While Simon does start out with a typical leather whip, he can't power it up; rather, he can collect two other weapons to replace it: A short-length mace and a longer, stronger cuirass blade. Except for the stopwatch, his sub-weapon arsenal differs from those found in the Castlevania-titled games.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Bomb: When tossed onto the ground, it'll explode, the flames lingering; it can also be tossed directly onto an enemy, whence it'll strike for the most damage  
Boomerang: A traditional boomerang that will strike enemies while both coming and going Vampire Killer: A leather form of the famous family whip; though it can snapped quickly, its strength is weak
Stopwatch: A magical watch that stops time for five seconds, freezing enemies in their tracks Mace: Though shorter than the whip, this spiked steel club is greater in strength and nearly as quick
Cross: Multiple crosses are tossed forward, forming a net in which enemies will become trapped and repeatedly struck Sword: The medium-length cuirass blade is the game's most elusive and strongest weapon
Torch: When thrown to the ground, flames will be spewed in either direction, all capable of engulfing nearby enemies

 

Simon returned in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, the direct sequel to the NES classic. In this adventure-RPG, he starts with his usual leather whip. Rather than powering it up with symbols, he can buy/gain new whips to use in its place. In order of power, they are the Thorn Whip, Chain Whip, Morning Star Whip and Flame Whip. His mystic and sub-weapon weapon arsenal has also increased with some old goodies and several new additions.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Holy Water: A vial of holy water that can damage enemies and clear away certain blocks   Vampire Killer: A leather form of the famous family whip; its range is short and its strength is weak
Dagger: A quick but weak dagger that Simon can toss forward at short range
Thorn Whip: A longer leather whip adorned with thorns, its striking power is greater than the normal thorn whip
Silver Dagger: It flies farther and has greater strength than the normal dagger
Chain Whip: A whip created from chain links, the chain whip packs much more of a punch
Golden Knife: The strongest of the daggers has great range and can inflict multiple hits on a target
Morning Star: A lengthened chain whip endowed with a spiked-tip ball--the strongest normal whip
Diamond: A precious gem that rebounds about the area and damages any enemy in its path
Flame Whip: Magic power allows for the morning star to become enflamed whenever its snapped, a lethal response
Mystic Flame: When a smaller spark hits the ground, a wall of flames rises up and traps enemies within for multiple hits
Garlic: Enemies that make contact with garlic will be overwhelmed by its aroma, damaged repeatedly; too, Simon can use garlic to uncover hidden souls
Laurel: By eating this foliage, Simon will become invulnerable for a fixed period of time
Oak Stake: A wooden stake specially designed for cracking the orbs that hold Dracula's body parts

 

Simon was forced back into the spotlight once again for another iteration of the original Castlevania--Super Castlevania IV. His weapon selection, by that logic, is kept intact from the original adventure: He starts out with a regular leather whip, which he can power up twice by collecting morning star symbols, first transforming it into a short-length chain whip and then into a longer, stronger morning star whip. The only difference is that Simon can swing the whip in eight different directions, and he can brandish the whip quickly, in any form, to give it almost-unfair range. He can also use the whip to latch on to floating rings and swing his way over to distant platforms. Aiding him further are the usual five mystic weapons.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Dagger: A quick but weak dagger that Simon can toss forward at long range  
Axe: An unwieldy but powerful axe thrown in an arc, capable of damaging enemies above and below Vampire Killer: A leather form of the famous family whip; its range is short and its strength is weak
Holy Water: A vial of holy water that when thrown to the ground cracks and burns, engulfing enemies Chain Whip: The chain whip is roughly the same length as the leather whip, but its strength is great
Boomerang: A cross-shaped projectile that damages enemies while both coming and going Morning Star: The chain whip is lengthened and endowed with a spiked-tip ball
Stopwatch: A magical watch that stops time for five seconds, freezing enemies in their tracks

 

The popularity only grew, which spawned yet another iteration of the original game for the Japanese-only Sharp X68000 computer system--Akumajo Dracula X68000. (Not until Castlevania Chronicles came along six years later did U.S. audiences get to experience this game, under its more conventional title of "Castlevania.") As expected, Simon starts out with his regular leather whip, which he can power it up twice by collecting morning star symbols to first transform it into a short-length chain whip then into a longer, stronger morning star whip. In addition, he can swing the whip, in any of its forms, diagonally downward while in the air. He commands the same five mystic sub-weapons plus a returning addition from Simon's Quest.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Dagger: A quick but weak dagger that Simon can toss forward at long range  
Axe: An unwieldy but powerful axe thrown in an arc, capable of damaging enemies above and below Vampire Killer: A leather form of the famous family whip; its range is short and its strength is weak
Holy Water: A vial of holy water that when thrown to the ground cracks and burns, engulfing enemies Chain Whip: The chain whip is roughly the same length as the leather whip, but its strength is great
Boomerang: A cross-shaped projectile that damages enemies while both coming and going Morning Star: The chain whip is lengthened and endowed with a spiked-tip ball
Stopwatch: A magical watch that stops time for five seconds, freezing enemies in their tracks
Stopwatch: A magical watch that stops time for five seconds, freezing enemies in their tracks

 

Simon had fulfilled his obligations as far as starring roles went, but he did manage to make a secret appearance in 2002's Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, ripped directly out of the original Castlevania. I'll defer to that commentary: "So as the first Belmont introduced to us, his arsenal is prototypical. He starts with the leather whip which can be powered up twice by morning star symbols to become a chain whip and then a more powerful morning star whip." The only difference is that, due of Harmony's stopwatch-less selection, he only gets to command four of the usual mystic weapons.

          

Sub-Weapons
Striking Weapons
Dagger: A quick but weak dagger that Simon can toss forward at long range  
Vampire Killer: This is the Belmonts' famous family whip in its powered-up morning star form
Axe: An unwieldy but powerful axe thrown in an arc, capable of damaging enemies above and below
Holy Water: A vial of holy water that when thrown to the ground cracks and burns, engulfing enemies
Boomerang: A cross-shaped projectile that damages enemies while both coming and going

 
 
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