Dracula in Bloodstained

I think the "Dracula boss fight" is going to be replaced by Igarashi for the exclusive backer boss fight.

It would be interesting to have an incarnation of "Dracula" in the game though. To make Bloodstained's Dracula unique, maybe he could just be an incredibly smart human who's so proficient in alchemy, magics and knowledgeable with the mythology, that he fools people into thinking he's something much more. The game could keep it vague/open-ended as to what he is exactly, or if vampires even exist in this universe. 

Picture this scenario for example: Miriam finds Dracula harvesting blood for something, then Dracula notices and seemingly turns to mist. Miriam tells Johannes that she thinks she saw a vampire, but Johannes simply laughs it off and says there's no such thing. 

Or maybe just have the Dracula from the book who relies mostly on his cunning to get what he wants instead of just using raw power.

I think it would be amusing if there was a Dracula boss fight, but instead of fighting against the legendary vampire Dracula it's the historical Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. It'd be a nice way of acknowledging that Castlevania and Bloodstained have similar roots, but they're their own different thing.

His moves could involve melee/close-range attacks involving weapons since he was known for torturing people personally, using fire since he burned down entire villages, and use have spears pop out from the ground since he's famous for impaling people (and use them to keep the fight a close-range fight if the player tries to distance themselves from him).

I also like H's idea where he's an incredibly smart human who uses alchemy and tries to convince people he's much more than he actually is.

You've just described Matthias Cronqvist. A powerful human with cunning, knowledge of alchemy, and an excellent deceiver who manipulated the world into believing he was a victim only to play the role of a powerful dark lord, later on. He's better known as Lord Dracula, in Castlevania.

At the risk of repeating myself from elsewhere, I'll just copy paste what I posted as part of another long-winded post on the board here.

"Mathias Cronqvist was Leon Belmont's good friend. In the world of knights who lacked education, he was a genius tactician who was even called Cronqvist the Wise. Because Mathias's family had books recording secret arts transmitted orally concerning alchemy, a science that experiments with the arcane, Mathias himself had a detailed knowledge of alchemy. {insert Lament of innocence prologue here}

In fact, Mathias had deceived Leon and was not likely really bedridden. In deep mourning, Mathias devised a plan to take revenge on God for stealing Elisabetha by becoming a vampire and living eternally. He manipulated Leon, Rinaldo, Sara, even Walter and his monsters, in order to obtain a vampire's soul with the Crimson Stone, and he was reborn with it.  As time went on, Mathias renamed himself Dracula, taken from the Romanian word "Dracul" meaning dragon and devil."

So Castlevania's Dracula isn't even a true vampire. He's a man wielding the powers of one via alchemy and sorcery.

Ironically, this was also based closely on Bram Stoker's Dracula,  as the reasons for Mathias's fall and metamorphosis seem to be strongly inspired by Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula film of 1992, based on Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula".

Both Mathias and Coppola's Dracula renounce God and seek and obtain immortality out of anger at the death of their wives. While Elisabetha Cronqvist does not commit suicide, she does pass away while Mathias is away 'fighting in God's name' (It has been proposed that this was during the First Crusade, however this is not possible as according to game canon Elisabetha died in 1093, one year before the events of the game - Pope Urban did not call the First Crusade until the 27th of November, 1095). Further, she shares the name of Dracula's wife in the film. Not a bad secret, eh?

But I digress. It appears that a fated encounter with a powerful vampire will need to wait until another day. That... or a fated backer battle with Lord Igarashi, who will give us a new reason to do battle...

Yeah, the whole Cain thing is oddly vague as to what happened to him. Some studies say that he had remorse for his actions, and that his people became lights of the world. Others say that he set up  a society for murderers and that his great grand son was the one who killed him. Some people have interpreted that the "mark" on him was that which makes him technically "immortal" from anyone ever harming him. It's all on how you choose to interpret the scripture in The Bible! I am excited to see any other references that they may have.

Ah yeah, it has been a long time since I played LoI Canopus . I guess I saw the "human" Dracula as something more to a Batman level of genius. Using theatrics and technology to put fear in the hearts of the foes. I was thinking maybe this Dracula could be harvesting blood for alchemical or magic ritual purposes, but is familiar with the story of Carmilla possibly and uses that folklore to his advantage by masquerading as a "Vampire". Using different spells/technology to make him look like he's capable of all these crazy things. Maybe this "Dracula" could have similar workings to Yoshimitsu, in that someone eventually takes his place so that it appears that he really is immortal. I just thought of this to keep it vague on whether or not there really are vampires in this universe. 


Either way, I am excited to see what easter eggs they put in this game that reference anything towards CV!

I don't think the similarities between H and LoI's Dracula stories are that big of a deal. What really matters is how the story is told/played out/executed, not the story itself. I think H's version with the "is he real? is he deceiving people?" would still fit with the game and make sense for a side character/optional boss.

Like already said, Bloodstained is NOT Castlevania though it is like its younger brother.

I think we can still hope an easter egg about him, a secret boss or at least, a famous quote.

I like Dracula a lot, but I feel his use and identity really handicap the depth of the game and possible sequels. As great as Castlevania itself is, I feel even it suffers from a lack of variety and depth because of it's repeated return to B movie monsters as villains.

What I'd hope for is more mythology, and diverse cultural inspirations. A vampire as one of the bosses would be good, but not the primary boss, and not the most powerful. As for which?, how about the first? Take a level and fill it with greek monsters and mix in some external vampire references, than introduce Ambrogio, the "first vampire" (and not the most powerful). Have a little telling dialogue of his involvement and relations (wife, progeny), fight him, NOT KILL HIM!

I think one of the worst problems with these games, especially as they become serialized, is that they kill all the cool bosses, eliminating opportunities to reuse them again later and further their depth and involvement throughout the series. You can beat foes and simply force them to surrender, retreat, or left for dead, but they recover and depart. They can show up in later games, change sides, spawn further interaction, and maybe die later in another game.

As for Dracula himself, if they do it, do it with class, do Dracula so well that you don't even have to name him, give the players the satisfaction of realizing it. In the first game he could be an ally, or bystander, pursuing his own goal. He could be named Vlad Tepes, or "Son of the Dragon", and be a powerful warrior (with a brutal spear), that is either looking for a power to save his people, or resolving a family mystery of his father's involvement in dark dealings (eluding to his title as son of the dragon). He could even be an accomplice in a fight with a vampire, and play as a non interactive part of the fight (perhaps you fight the boss while the boss clashes with Vlad, their exchange can be completely scripted). You can defeat the vampire, leaving Vlad to darker devices, after witnessing him square a powerful vampire valiantly even as a mortal, than move on and not encounter him again til another game, maybe as a playable secret character, than later still as a corrupted monster.

He can be Vlad the Impaler, Son of the Dragon, and many other iconic names dancing around the fact that you know his fame.

Anyway, that's what I'd suggest at least, and it would be nice if these grand exoeriences were littered through the game, not just at the end. And for goodness sake, DON'T KILL EVERY VILLIAN, it gets tacky when you have to resurrect them or reboot just because you want to use them again, when you could have spared them to begin with. The best stories have reoccurring and lasting villains, that are genuinely more powerful than the protagonist and reward the player with the feeling that you outperformed a truly superior opponent.