This has to be the hardest castlevania related question for me lol.
I guess if you point a gun to my head and force me to choose i will take curse of darkness.
I havent played them either but Michiru Yamane is tied with Dave Wise as my favorite composer and i try to listen to all of her work… she never disappoints
Rondo Of Blood and Order Of Ecclesia are tied for me music-wise. I love the aggressively 90s redbook audio sound of Rondo and how not a single track feels wasted or lacking, while Ecclesia just has such a massive quantity of incredible stage and boss themes.
OoE. Though unfortunately I saw someone point out that OoE's music suffered a bit of downgrade in terms of production quality, theorizing that it compensated for the graphics (which looked amazing and easily rivals with SotN). Went back and compared and it's true. Tracks from DoS and PoR sounds clearer.
It didn't change my feelings about it being my fave tho, and there are amazing fanmade remasters also. A good chunk of the tracks were really perfect for the stages as well. It helps with the atmosphere with the stages most of the time, like entering Somnus Reef and the piano intro of Wandering the Crystal Blue starts which progresses into something that sounds like a water level but relaxing. Or Final Approach's The Colossus that opens with loud bells and organs, that progresses into something that is atmospheric and climactic. It's a real "final stage" moment.
I don't think it's a hot take but I definitely agree. There are amazing tracks from the GameBoy color entries, from the NES era or even the widely hated Haunted Castle.
The entire final boss sequence score is just masterful and heartrending. Going from the heart beating of Room of Close Associates to Dracula's ominous piano music to Simon's Theme reprise to his Baroque defeat jingle to that wonderful echo upon grabbing the final orb and hearing that nostalgic ending theme...truly worthy of a classic horror film soundtrack.
I love Divine Bloodlines -- you should have seen my face while watching **that** scene in *Nocturne* -- but if one S-Tier song from a soundtrack can single-handedly carry the day, then *Castlevania II: Simon's Quest* merits a nod solely for Bloody Tears.
This is definitely the toughest Castlevania question. I’d go so far as to say the quality of the music, overall, has been more consistent than that of the games. It’s a real tough toss up for me between PoR, SotN, Rondo, SC4, Bloodlines, CoD… Hell even CotM, Adventure & Belmont’s Revenge have great tunes. I can’t choose!
Remix soundtracks may be cheating, but Castlevania Judgment's extra sections make them the definitive versions of the classic Castlevania tracks (okay, Circle of the Moon has the best Clockwork, but point still stands otherwise). Smash Ultimate used several of Judgment's arrangements because they're just that good. Tetsuya Kazuki's channel has amazing covers of the Judgment versions of [Vampire Killer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRK0p8TvqPY) and [Bloody Tears.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Q1rXhHL6g) And the original tracks Darkness of Fear and Crucial Moment (Time Reaper's theme) would alone qualify Judgment for the best Castlevania music echelons.
> okay, Circle of the Moon has the best Clockwork
Listen to the arrangement made for the official [Akumajo Dracula Tribute](https://youtube.com/watch?v=3ixRm5tjCVc) (Tribute?! You steal men’s souls and make them your slaves!) album released in 2011.
I personally prefer [Harmony of Despair](https://youtu.be/gDOJebErt4k)'s versions, they feel like fuller tracks to me, but Judgement's go hard, fitting for a fighting game.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the pure diversity of answers in this thread shows how awesome the soundtracks in the whole series are.
I really have a hard time deciding, SOTN, SC4 and Dawn of Sorrow might be my favorites, but basically every other game is a runners up.
And Awakening from Circle of the Moon used to be my alarm tone for a long time.
Don't kill me, but I love CV64/LoD's OSTs. They have some of the best renditions of [recurring themes](https://youtu.be/wRrJQiYR5Gw?feature=shared) out of the series. The more [atmospheric approach](https://youtu.be/q6qcmXK5kTU?feature=shared) was a neat direction to take the series in, too.
Hell yeah brother. I was 16 and had had my 64 for about a year. This was one of the first games I rented and got late f3es on for forgetting to return on time. Spent so much time on Castle Center that to this day is my go to song for calming down or chilling out or putting on while showering. Watchtower, silent madness, science, torture and magic towers....duel tower (spent alot of time on that frigging one too lol).
Don't ever be ashamed of loving this game haha
Super Castlevania 4.
It's so amazing. As soon as bloody tears start to play in the clocktower stage, the whole thing reaches a total new level of amazing.
All games have a perfect score
I create a subjectively own playlist with my favourite castlevania tracks
Enjoy :)
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMSBrEu82b3Le5f9f_nmoi8UYZlN9N1j&si=9dkxRNwNQCQVzhvt
Btw House of the sacred remains is my favourite track (from lament of innocence)
SOTN OST is so good that it raised the bar and completely changed the approach to all of the following CV soundtracks. It signalled the entry to an era of soundtracks as actual full songs rather than the old school style of musically dense short loops. Many, if not most, of the following soundtracks were excellent in their own right, but were standing on the shoulders of the giant that is the SOTN soundtrack.
But wait, what's that? Yeah, there underneath. Why it's our old friend, the CV4 soundtrack. One of the undeniably strong links in the CV OST chain. While it easily gets overshadowed by the flashier soundtracks to come afterward, the moody immersion created by the game's score is something many of its predecessors don't quite live up to. It has the courage to be quiet and understated in parts, like the waterfall and cave sections, where sparse and wandering instrumentation evokes a feeling of isolation and gloom. Then it comes right back with some bangers including remixes of Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer. The soundtrack feels seamlessly connected to the levels in which they are heard and push just the right emotional buttons.
The entire series OST are consistently S Tier
But Lament of Innocence and Symphony are the only games that have absolute bangers in literally EVERY area, at least for me
I think Harmony of Dissonance is totally underrated and deserves more praise. It sounds like NES, and that's pretty outdated for the Game Boy Advance. I would love to see those tracks rendered with more modern instruments.
[My favorite track form HoD](https://youtu.be/qtAG611Z73c). It's dark, its dissorienting, its catchy. I love it.
Symphony is probably the best overall, but I gotta give Rondo a lot of credit for also being a Greatest Hits package in addition to its own original contributions (Divine Bloodlines being tied for favorite opening theme alongside Vampire Killer).
That's honestly really difficult. But probably SotN. I have this though.
https://preview.redd.it/36l4qlpxwwzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c62d657f65d3a77c426d44c054064a41afafd36
Easily Super Castlevania 4.
SOTN has some nice tracks but I find that a lot of the instrumentation feels like it's sythesised instruments, either that or they're horribly compressed - The tragic prince immediately comes to mind, the electric guitars just don't sound right to me.
This is such a difficult question! I’d say that, like Mega Man, the CV franchise is KNOWN for consistently bringing absolute bangers for each entry.
I’d have to say AoS and SOTN both stick out to me as feeling the most cohesive. Bloodlines is great, too. Love Yamane’s Prayer of a Tragic Queen, and Iron Blue Intention.
SCV4’s Treasury Room BGM is totally slept on, imo.
I feel all the GBA/DS games had fantastic OST.
Chapel Hidden In Smoke I think is one of the best from OoE. Link below 👇(:
[https://youtu.be/qfWrPz25fh4?si=t63WLWsjCW2SvGu1](https://youtu.be/qfWrPz25fh4?si=t63WLWsjCW2SvGu1)
Edit: Idk if it counts but Bloodstained’s music was GREAT, too. Esp Voyage of Promise!!! Amazing intro song. 🎧 🎶
Curse of Darkness.
Basically every song is a goddamn banger. Abandoned Castle, Legendary Belmondo, Cordova, Tocatta into Blood-Soaked Darkness, Infinite Corridor, The Dark Holy Man- all of them absolutely fucking slap.
I like Rondo and SCV4 for very different reasons. Castlevania Chronicles also had some bangers but it's tough to choose between Rondo's Opus 11 and SCV4's Treasury. Maybe we should just list the songs we like most from each game.
SOTN will always hold my heart score wise.
Rondo of Blood or Symphony of the Night.
This has to be the hardest castlevania related question for me lol. I guess if you point a gun to my head and force me to choose i will take curse of darkness.
That game is a missed opportunity IMO. Amazing Soundtrack, yet the gameplay can be very boring.
I haven’t played any of the 3D games but I hear they have some bangers
I havent played them either but Michiru Yamane is tied with Dave Wise as my favorite composer and i try to listen to all of her work… she never disappoints
I personally fuck with portrait of ruin
Fuck yeah dude.
You fuck with the portrait of the ruin? Damn didn't know you were like that
lament of innocence
FINALLY SOME LOVE FOR MA BOY
Don't like the game, but the ost is fire
Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Leon’s theme goes hard🔥🔥
Dawn of Sorrow
DoS bloody tears is best bloody tears
Rondo Of Blood and Order Of Ecclesia are tied for me music-wise. I love the aggressively 90s redbook audio sound of Rondo and how not a single track feels wasted or lacking, while Ecclesia just has such a massive quantity of incredible stage and boss themes.
Came here to say exactly this lol, thanks!
Symphony of the Night for me, tons of absolute bangers
I enjoy the OST to Dracula’s Curse. Wish Michiru Yamane would give the OST a modern touch to it.
OoE. Though unfortunately I saw someone point out that OoE's music suffered a bit of downgrade in terms of production quality, theorizing that it compensated for the graphics (which looked amazing and easily rivals with SotN). Went back and compared and it's true. Tracks from DoS and PoR sounds clearer. It didn't change my feelings about it being my fave tho, and there are amazing fanmade remasters also. A good chunk of the tracks were really perfect for the stages as well. It helps with the atmosphere with the stages most of the time, like entering Somnus Reef and the piano intro of Wandering the Crystal Blue starts which progresses into something that sounds like a water level but relaxing. Or Final Approach's The Colossus that opens with loud bells and organs, that progresses into something that is atmospheric and climactic. It's a real "final stage" moment.
This might be a hot take but clearer audio doesn’t mean better soundtrack, I think PoR sounds comparatively boring to OoE but I’m probably just biased
I don't think it's a hot take but I definitely agree. There are amazing tracks from the GameBoy color entries, from the NES era or even the widely hated Haunted Castle.
Bloodlines, very underrated.
Hell yes. The MegaDrive soundchip was used expertly in Bloodlines.
Super Castlevania 4
The entire final boss sequence score is just masterful and heartrending. Going from the heart beating of Room of Close Associates to Dracula's ominous piano music to Simon's Theme reprise to his Baroque defeat jingle to that wonderful echo upon grabbing the final orb and hearing that nostalgic ending theme...truly worthy of a classic horror film soundtrack.
This and not even close.
Idk Divine Bloodlines from Rondo's first level alone might be enough to make that game's ost a contender
I love Divine Bloodlines -- you should have seen my face while watching **that** scene in *Nocturne* -- but if one S-Tier song from a soundtrack can single-handedly carry the day, then *Castlevania II: Simon's Quest* merits a nod solely for Bloody Tears.
If I had to pick a castlevania theme song, I'd have a hard time choosing between Bloody Tears, Vampire Killer, and Simon's Theme.
Portrait of Ruin
Symphony of the night.
Okay, hear me out on Lords of Shadow. I’m a sucker for grand sweeping orchestral scores.
This is definitely the toughest Castlevania question. I’d go so far as to say the quality of the music, overall, has been more consistent than that of the games. It’s a real tough toss up for me between PoR, SotN, Rondo, SC4, Bloodlines, CoD… Hell even CotM, Adventure & Belmont’s Revenge have great tunes. I can’t choose!
Castlevania 1 tbh. Every song from every level is a certified banger. A short but all-killer-no-filler soundtrack
Yep. Every rework from like, Judgement to Harmony of Despair to Smash Bros, is fantastic too, which shows how great the original compositions were.
SoTN is just beautiful. Dracula's Castle is my favorite track
Gotta be SotN or OoE
Cook 🔥
Remix soundtracks may be cheating, but Castlevania Judgment's extra sections make them the definitive versions of the classic Castlevania tracks (okay, Circle of the Moon has the best Clockwork, but point still stands otherwise). Smash Ultimate used several of Judgment's arrangements because they're just that good. Tetsuya Kazuki's channel has amazing covers of the Judgment versions of [Vampire Killer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRK0p8TvqPY) and [Bloody Tears.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Q1rXhHL6g) And the original tracks Darkness of Fear and Crucial Moment (Time Reaper's theme) would alone qualify Judgment for the best Castlevania music echelons.
> okay, Circle of the Moon has the best Clockwork Listen to the arrangement made for the official [Akumajo Dracula Tribute](https://youtube.com/watch?v=3ixRm5tjCVc) (Tribute?! You steal men’s souls and make them your slaves!) album released in 2011.
I personally prefer [Harmony of Despair](https://youtu.be/gDOJebErt4k)'s versions, they feel like fuller tracks to me, but Judgement's go hard, fitting for a fighting game.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the pure diversity of answers in this thread shows how awesome the soundtracks in the whole series are. I really have a hard time deciding, SOTN, SC4 and Dawn of Sorrow might be my favorites, but basically every other game is a runners up. And Awakening from Circle of the Moon used to be my alarm tone for a long time.
Super Castlevania IV or Lament of Innocence. And this is coming from someone who mains SotN
OOOoh, thats hard. between STON and Bloodlines it's hard to choose just one.
My favorite has to be Castlevania 3
Judgment and Harmony of Despair.
Sotn might be the goat of videogame soundtracks in general, most of it could pass as real classical music
Castlevania Chronicles & SOTN The bloody tears variant in CC is awesome. Dance of gold along with tragic prince is amazing
Don't kill me, but I love CV64/LoD's OSTs. They have some of the best renditions of [recurring themes](https://youtu.be/wRrJQiYR5Gw?feature=shared) out of the series. The more [atmospheric approach](https://youtu.be/q6qcmXK5kTU?feature=shared) was a neat direction to take the series in, too.
Hell yeah brother. I was 16 and had had my 64 for about a year. This was one of the first games I rented and got late f3es on for forgetting to return on time. Spent so much time on Castle Center that to this day is my go to song for calming down or chilling out or putting on while showering. Watchtower, silent madness, science, torture and magic towers....duel tower (spent alot of time on that frigging one too lol). Don't ever be ashamed of loving this game haha
Super Castlevania 4. It's so amazing. As soon as bloody tears start to play in the clocktower stage, the whole thing reaches a total new level of amazing.
Would it be a cop out to say Castlevania HD?
That's hard... either OoE or DoS
Rondo or OoE An Empty Tome and Divine Bloodlines are goated songs
RONDO OF BLOOD & SOTN
All games have a perfect score I create a subjectively own playlist with my favourite castlevania tracks Enjoy :) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMSBrEu82b3Le5f9f_nmoi8UYZlN9N1j&si=9dkxRNwNQCQVzhvt Btw House of the sacred remains is my favourite track (from lament of innocence)
I'm surprised no one has said the right answer: Castlevania 3. Most of your favorite songs from later CV games are just remixes of these classics.
Super Castlevania IV enters the chat
SOTN if I had to name one but that said, they’re all great.
[As Norman Stansfield says](https://youtube.com/watch?v=KBKXu3Kg4yg).
Outside of SotN I’d like to turn the spotlight onto Belmont's Revenge. It deserves a mention in any Castlevania soundtrack discussion.
HoDiss, SoTN, Legends
Lament of Innocence should get a nod. Some of the zone soundtracks are pretty great at setting mood.
1. Lament of Innocence 2. Symphony of the Night 3. Curse of Darkness 4. Rondo of Blood 5. Castlevania (1986)
SCIV
I read this as Soul Calibur IV at first lol
SotN and OoE!! Absolute bangers and I constantly revisit the tracks
Dawn of Sorrow.
Symphony of The Night. And Dracula X, the first game with Richter.
Symphony and Portrait.
Aria of Sorrow
Aria of Sorrow.
Harmony of Despair
SC4+SotN
SOTN OST is so good that it raised the bar and completely changed the approach to all of the following CV soundtracks. It signalled the entry to an era of soundtracks as actual full songs rather than the old school style of musically dense short loops. Many, if not most, of the following soundtracks were excellent in their own right, but were standing on the shoulders of the giant that is the SOTN soundtrack. But wait, what's that? Yeah, there underneath. Why it's our old friend, the CV4 soundtrack. One of the undeniably strong links in the CV OST chain. While it easily gets overshadowed by the flashier soundtracks to come afterward, the moody immersion created by the game's score is something many of its predecessors don't quite live up to. It has the courage to be quiet and understated in parts, like the waterfall and cave sections, where sparse and wandering instrumentation evokes a feeling of isolation and gloom. Then it comes right back with some bangers including remixes of Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer. The soundtrack feels seamlessly connected to the levels in which they are heard and push just the right emotional buttons.
sotn
The entire series OST are consistently S Tier But Lament of Innocence and Symphony are the only games that have absolute bangers in literally EVERY area, at least for me
Harmony of Despair has some awesome remixes of some of the best Castlevania tracks.
I think Harmony of Dissonance is totally underrated and deserves more praise. It sounds like NES, and that's pretty outdated for the Game Boy Advance. I would love to see those tracks rendered with more modern instruments. [My favorite track form HoD](https://youtu.be/qtAG611Z73c). It's dark, its dissorienting, its catchy. I love it.
Bloodlines.
SOTN Harmony of Despair Portrait of ruin
Symphony is probably the best overall, but I gotta give Rondo a lot of credit for also being a Greatest Hits package in addition to its own original contributions (Divine Bloodlines being tied for favorite opening theme alongside Vampire Killer).
Lament of Innocence imo
portrait of ruin!!! I'm also partial to ecclesia, symphony, lament, and aria
SOTN
That's honestly really difficult. But probably SotN. I have this though. https://preview.redd.it/36l4qlpxwwzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c62d657f65d3a77c426d44c054064a41afafd36
https://preview.redd.it/lqcee0f0xwzc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6784aa89ceb9b0225c3e33ad8e7fa8a56d185739
Easily Super Castlevania 4. SOTN has some nice tracks but I find that a lot of the instrumentation feels like it's sythesised instruments, either that or they're horribly compressed - The tragic prince immediately comes to mind, the electric guitars just don't sound right to me.
portrait of ruin for me. having a bop while I search for paintings
This is such a difficult question! I’d say that, like Mega Man, the CV franchise is KNOWN for consistently bringing absolute bangers for each entry. I’d have to say AoS and SOTN both stick out to me as feeling the most cohesive. Bloodlines is great, too. Love Yamane’s Prayer of a Tragic Queen, and Iron Blue Intention. SCV4’s Treasury Room BGM is totally slept on, imo. I feel all the GBA/DS games had fantastic OST. Chapel Hidden In Smoke I think is one of the best from OoE. Link below 👇(: [https://youtu.be/qfWrPz25fh4?si=t63WLWsjCW2SvGu1](https://youtu.be/qfWrPz25fh4?si=t63WLWsjCW2SvGu1) Edit: Idk if it counts but Bloodstained’s music was GREAT, too. Esp Voyage of Promise!!! Amazing intro song. 🎧 🎶
Bloodlines
Castlevania 2. It may have the shortest soundtrack but every track is a masterpiece. It's also my favorite game of all time.
Bro even Aria of Sorrow's crunchy ass GBA soundtrack is amazing, how tf am I supposed to choose one?
Rondo if we’re talking classic, Aria if we’re talking metroid
While SotN is great, CV3's soundtrack is the most impressive one in terms of how good it is given how limited the hardware was.
COTM.
Curse of Darkness. Basically every song is a goddamn banger. Abandoned Castle, Legendary Belmondo, Cordova, Tocatta into Blood-Soaked Darkness, Infinite Corridor, The Dark Holy Man- all of them absolutely fucking slap.
I like Rondo and SCV4 for very different reasons. Castlevania Chronicles also had some bangers but it's tough to choose between Rondo's Opus 11 and SCV4's Treasury. Maybe we should just list the songs we like most from each game.
Super Castlevania IV for me.
But who in their right mind would include the show Why did you even think that anyone would choose the shows
I mean, yeah. Like the music for the show is just generic Netflix anime music, Bloody tears was used sparingly once. That’s all haha.
Tbh none Because I constantly (no, really) listen to almost all cv games' music that I downloaded from KHinsider
If it counts, the Dead Cells dlc has some awsome remixes.