#albus castlevania

[beevean]

I'm now a bespectacled Albus truther. He will always wear glasses in my heart. It makes sense for his job, it's a neat detail in his design, and he looks handsome. 10/10 no notes

[cabe0512]

Just finished Order of Ecclesia (on an emulator) and I gotta say... Those painful hours were worth it. Shanoa may have just become my favorite Castlevania character (sorry, Alucard/Hector). The story is really beautiful if you think about it (NFCV got nothing on this gem!) and the glyph system is an inventive addition that made the game so unique among the series. And the music... My God, the music. Emerald Mist and Empty Tome stands as my favorite tracks from this game.

I have heard that this was the last true Castlevania game Igarashi worked on before Lords of Shadow came out. If that's the case, then he and his team gave it their all in this swan song of a title. Though it should be said that it's really effing difficult.

[ignix191]

Color Wheel Challenge (Yellow)

We got our Yellow character, so I give you the Gunslinger Big Brother of Shanoa from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Albus! 💛

Thank you soo much for participating in this Color Wheel Challenge!

Don't forget to give me characters for Green for the next piece! 💚

Here's the Solo piece!

Don't forget to gimme characters for Green! 😉💚

[nedofrisk]

Stock photos redraw part 2 (part 1) :’D

[pixelpulp]

Commission for the latest episode of Retronauts, which you can listen to early over here.

[lifextime]

Castlevania | Order of Ecclesia |

[onestepbackwards]

HOLY FUCK??

VAMPIRES SURVIVORS CASTLEVANIA DLC REAL!????

oh my god they are adding every character in the series as playable aren't they what the fuck

EVEN LEON'S FIANCEE SARA IS PLAYABLE???

oh my god x

[sepyana]

[grim-has-issues]

If you ever want more of Albus York after his 6+ hour run time, just know there is 4 seasons of Castlevania.

[zeteng]

Grimoire of Souls chat stamps. Wish I could use them for text messaging :'(

[renegade-red]

Albus from Castlevania: order of ecclesia for my bestfriends birthday yesterday :o) 💛

[beevean]

Top five Castlevania rivals?

I just realized that there are actually very few rivals in CV :P

5) Hugh Baldwin. I have nothing to say about this guy. His characterization is that he's jealous of Nathan because he inherited the Hunter Whip from his own father. He's more of a blueprint than anything lol. Also a shame that he was planned to be playable.

4) Mathias Cronqvist. Stretching the definition of rival a little :P I would put him much higher if he actually. y'know. appeared on screen before the pre-final boss cutscene. He's a pathetic man who clearly didn't value God enough if he threw a cosmic temper tantrum for the death of his wife accidentally killing his bestie's fiancée and not giving a shit about that. I love that he chose to spite God by throwing away his humanity dooming himself to a life of rage and grief, while Leon understood that eternity with his beloved would only be torture, and clung on his humanity, and in the future his descendants became the beacon of hope of mankind.

3) Maxim Kishine. Again, I said enough already :P

2) Albus. My man. Who gave you the right to break my heart like that? 🥺 I also talked about him in an old post about CV rivals lol (which also touch all of these other characters sans Mathias). Long story short, he's actually a well-played subversion of the trope of the jealous rival, and in reality he cares a lot about Shanoa like an older brother - oh, he cares so much ;A; He's just less... righteous than her when it comes to doing the right thing. He rejects the mentality that Shanoa is the weapon of Ecclesia, but he also thinks of himself mainly in terms of a protector, her protector to be precise. Also I like his design and weapons lmao.

Isaac. Oh wow, quelle surprise. I couldn't even link to all the posts I made where I gushed about this guy :P I love him to death, my second favorite character in the whole series. He's perfect as Hector's rival, from all the details in his design to how the two start from a similar place but they diverge when it comes to morality and their place under Dracula. The two are inseparable, but they're also full characters on their own. He's a full-fledged villain, kind of like Mathias, but we see more of him, his story is actually tragic, his fate even more so, and yet he's just so fun to beat because he's an absolute bastard and proud of it <3

[land-of-appletun-and-anime]

Order of Ecclesia was my first Castlevania and still my favorite. I'm so happy new audiences get to experience it. I was scared it wouldn't ever see the light of day again and not only is it back but it's the flagship game of the collection 😭

[prying-pandora666]

Shanoa’s Real Identity and Richter’s Fate

Could Each Lingering Mystery Answer The Other?

Okay this is completely crazy but the more I stare at it, the more sense it makes, and as much as this is highly unlikely, I just have to share it with other fans!

Please bear with my Pepe Silvia-esque ramblings.

Can we talk about Order of Ecclesia, Mac? I’ve been dying to talk about Ecclesia.

So there’s two burning questions that have been bothering me for a long time.

What happened to Richter Belmont?

Who is Shanoa, really?

And the other day I had a revelation that might be able to answer both. However, it’s completely crazy and I was scared to share it in case people hated it. But I just have to talk about it with someone, so here goes, I guess.

Let’s start with question 1.

What happened to Richter?

Missing: Have you seen this man? Responds to “miserable little pile of secrets”.

According to canon, Richter disappeared shortly after SOTN, taking the Belmont bloodline with him. Vampire Killer was instead passed on to the Morris family and another Belmont would not be seen again until Julius Belmont in the 1990s.

Fans have long speculated the reasons why Richter and the Belmont line would simply disappear. There are two prominent fan explanations:

A. He was too ashamed after being possessed and gave up on vampire hunting as penance.

B. He was too afraid for his loved ones after being possessed and nearly losing Annette and decided to retire his family from the job.

He already told her twice! You turn into a vampire, you get the pyre. Turn into a succubus, you get thrown under the bus.

Trouble is, neither is particularly convincing, is it? Belmonts have been dealing with this sort of thing for generations and it hasn’t slowed them down before. Richter is one of the most powerful of all the Belmonts, as well as one of the most confident. It seems unlikely he would be discouraged by standard occupational hazards in the family business.

But what if there was a far more concrete explanation? One that Iga simply never got to elaborate on because his last game was Order of Ecclesia.

Which brings us to…

Who is Shanoa?

Shanoa has amnesia. It’s a significant plot point that she doesn’t know who she really is or where she came from. The true ending implies she gets her memories back, but it’s never revealed to the audience.

She looks awfully happy to have her memories back! Surely Konami will show the audience after we worked so hard to get them for her. Right? Riiiiight? Not like they have something to hide for a sequel they’ll never make!

So what can we determine? Let’s look at what we know.

Shanoa was created to fight Dracula and vampires because the Belmonts disappeared (allegedly. In reality she was being used to revive Dracula).

Shanoa has an adoptive brother named Albus who was supposedly experimenting with Belmont blood taken from distant descendants in Wygol village.

Shanoa works for an older man named Barlowe (who is later revealed to actually be trying to revive Dracula and was planning to sacrifice Shanoa).

Her game takes place sometime in the early 1800s.

Her English voice is Michelle Ruff.

So what can we glean from all this?

Here is my insane crack theory.

Shanoa is Maria Renard

I know, I know, it’s crazy. Hear me out!

How it All Connects

Oh sure. Alucard becomes “Genya Arikado” and no one bats an eye. Maria becomes Shanoa and everyone loses their minds!

It first started with the simple curiosity that Michelle Ruff voiced both Maria and Shanoa in English. Now this isn’t evidence of anything because voice actors play multiple roles all the time. But it did get me thinking.

The Order of Ecclesia was only created because Richter Belmont disappeared. So where did he go? And where did Barlowe come from?

Here’s my speculation: Barlowe either is a successor to, or actually is a new identity for, Shaft himself! I’m going with “successor” since Shaft had all those creepy cultist priests that served him.

“Always two, there are; A master and an apprentice!”

Look at the similarities:

—Wants to revive Dracula through a dark ritual. —Plans to sacrifice a girl to do it by unlocking her magical potential. —Has the exact same attacks as Shaft: Fire orbs, ricochet orbs, lightning orbs, that bouncy ball attack, etc.

And who did Shaft want to sacrifice this way last time he got up to these shenanigans? Maria Renard.

Last time this unlocked her magical potential. It’s no surprise that Shanoa is similarly enhanced. What’s interesting though is that Shanoa is a uniquely qualified candidate, as Barlowe believes that Albus isn’t as suited for the role as Shanoa despite Albus volunteering to take her place. What’s so special about Shanoa anyway?

Could it be because she’s already had part of the ritual performed on her before?

Her name is also interesting. Shanoa is a corruption of the French “Chat Noire” meaning “black cat”. Maria is associated with animals already and her last name is French for “Fox”. Maria is also canonically considered a witch. What do some witches turn into in SOTN when they’re low on health? Black cats.

The Salome Witch’s sprites in SOTN. They turn into cute black kitties when you fight back. Dastardly!

Could it be that Barlowe kidnapped Maria Renard with the intent to finish the job Shaft started? Is this the real purpose behind wiping her memories, and the stated cause of her amnesia merely an excuse?

But let’s put a pin in Shanoa for a moment and look at another suspicious character: Albus.

Albus is the Key

Shanoa about to steal Albus’ sweet vest because that open back dress looks COLD to be standing on misty magical castle steps in the middle of the night.

Maria about to put flowers on Richter’s grave if he keeps flexing on Dracula.

Albus is Shanoa’s adoptive brother.

Not her biological brother.

Not her best friend.

He is specifically her adoptive brother. Why? There’s no mention of either of their families. Why this specific categorization?

Albus cares very deeply for Shanoa. Despite being wrongfully demonized and having Shanoa sent after him, Albus to the end self sacrifices in an attempt to save her. Why does he care about her so much?

Unless of course, we have it backwards. He doesn’t call her his adoptive sister because he wants to save her. He wants to save her because she’s his adoptive sister.

Who has an adoptive brother (or brother-in-law in one weird translation) relationship with Maria?

Richter Belmont.

What is it with you people thinking hair dye makes you unrecognizable?

How does Albus so easily find descendants with Belmont blood when no one can even find Richter?

It’s easy if you are a Belmont and know your family history. (Simon probably left a lot of bastards in Wygol. Gigachad that he was.)

Closer inspection reveals Albus has those Richter Belmont stunning-blue eyes!

Why does having all the villagers saved allow Albus to sacrifice himself to save Shanoa? It’s as if the Belmont blood of the villagers resonated with him at the end. But why would it? Unless he is a Belmont himself.

Could Albus be Richter going undercover to find out what happened to Maria? Only to discover the situation was too dire to easily leave until he stopped Barlowe’s plans? Is this why Albus offers to take Shanoa’s place in the ritual? Was it planned sabotage? And did Barlowe send Albus on a wild goose chase because he was catching on?

Seriously, even their “evil” looks share a resemblance. Too much smudgy eye-liner, for one.

So why did Richter Belmont disappear?

Because Albus died to save Shanoa.

Presumably, he left Annette behind with child and this is the line Julius is descended from. Annette simply went into hiding after Richter didn’t return.

Order of Ecclesia takes place in the early 1800s so it’s well within their lifespans.

If true, I wonder if Maria/Shanoa returned to Alucard after. Perhaps her altered hair inspired Alucard to change his own color to black as well for his Genya alias.

It’s not just a phase, and no you can’t sit with us!

Thank you for reading!

[thecodeveronica]

Uh oh, I'm at the "thinking about scenarios with this character while listening to music" stage

I've reached a terminal level too quickly, this wasn't supposed to happen

[biofreak659]