Castlevania

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula: Circle of the Moon (悪魔城ドラキュラ Circle of the Moon Akumajō Dorakyura Circle of the Moon, lit. “Demon Castle Dracula: Circle of the Moon”), and simply as Castlevania in Europe, is an action-adventure platform game released for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance in 2001. The game was the first Castlevania game for the system. It was the last game in the franchise to bear the classic “Akumajō Dracula” title in Japan until Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow was released. Subsequent entries also adopted the “Castlevania” moniker.

Plot
The year is 1830. At an old Austrian castle, the worshipers of Chaos attempted to revive the Lord of Darkness, Count Dracula. Vampire Hunter Morris Baldwin and his apprentices, Nathan Graves and Hugh Baldwin, heard of this and headed to Castlevania to stop Count Dracula's resurrection and restoration of power. However, they arrived a few seconds too late and Camilla, a minion of Count Dracula, started the rite to revive her master.

In order for Dracula to regain his former power, he would need to wait until the full moon ritual was completed. Before the group could fight Dracula and reseal him, Dracula destroyed the floor under Nathan and Hugh, causing them to plummet down a long shaft, leaving Morris alone with Dracula and Camilla. Fortunately, Nathan and Hugh survived the fall. Hugh ran off to save his father after telling Nathan to leave the castle. Nathan decided not to, as he too wanted to ensure that his master was safe. He then explored the large castle, fighting Dracula's minions along the way.

After fighting Camilla, Nathan learned that Hugh was possessed by Dracula after the vampire exploited his desire to become more powerful than Nathan. He wanted to prove that he was superior to Nathan so Morris would bestow the Hunter Whip to him instead of Nathan. When Nathan defeated him, Hugh came to his senses and leaves to find Morris.

Nathan arrived at the ceremonial room to vanquish Dracula and save his teacher from being sacrificed in the full moon ritual. While he fought Dracula, Hugh freed Morris and together they escaped the castle, leaving Nathan to finish vanquishing Dracula. He succeeds in beating Dracula's ultimate form. Before he was sealed, Dracula stated “It is a wasted effort. I will never be truly gone. So long as there is darkness and desire in the soul of man, I will continue to be revived”. Nathan replied, “And we will be there to stop you. You can bet on that”. Dracula dies and the castle crumbles. Nathan then leaves to continue his training with Morris and Hugh.

Note: The storyline from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon has been retroactively removed from the official Castlevania timeline by Koji Igarashi. Many claim it has been reinstated after the release of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin because it can be found in the timeline that accompanied the pre-order bundle for that game in America; however, the game was still not listed on the official timeline issued by Konami in 2009.

Source: TheGamesDB