Primarily inspired by the Romanian ruler Vlad III, Bram Stoker's Dracula changed the horror landscape for centuries to come. Thanks to the public domain, the undead scourge has been reinterpreted in countless media, with Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Gary Oldman gracing the role in the world of cinema. In gaming, the Dark Count is most prolific in the Castlevania series.

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The great thing about this bloodthirsty beast, a perfect gaming antagonist, is his ability to return repeatedly with no one questioning how or why. While vampire hunters have long sated their bloodlust with Konami's whip-cracking franchise, the Count has been a key figure in many other gaming titles.

10 Dracula Resurrection Demonstrated That Graphic Adventures Were Undead

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While graphic adventure games were long considered dead in North American markets, French developer Microids' effort demonstrated a more apt term would be "undead." Dracula Resurrection was a graphic adventure title that consisted of many pre-rendered environments played from the first-person perspective – much like Myst and The 7th Guest.

While not nearly in the same league as Grim Fandango – from both a gameplay and narrative standpoint – it was the first high-profile adventure title in a long time. The game spawned a series of sequels that were met with mixed to negative reviews.

9 Pretty Much Every Version Of Bram Stoker's Dracula Sucks

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To coincide with Francis Ford Coppola's cinematic adaption of the Bram Stoker novel, many tie-in games were released to pretty much every available platform. Releasing several rushed cash grabs with the hopes that one will prove to be decent is a gambler's fallacy, as each title is pretty bad in its own particular way. Traveler's Tales handled the 16-bit ports, which felt like a poor man's Castlevania.

Psygnosis' Sega CD version featured Redbook audio, pre-rendered backgrounds, and highly compressed clips from the movie. Nevertheless, the Sega CD port is worth a quick look for the laughs players will get from the digitized sprites and animations.

8 Frogwares Take On Bram Stoker With Dracula Origin

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Frogwares has made graphic adventure titles based on famous literary works, such as Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulhu Mythos, its niche. Dracula: Origin sees the player taking control of Professor Van Helsing with a point-and-click interface similar to the classic adventure titles from Sierra and LucasArts.

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The story mostly followed the book's plot with the expected deviations needed for a shift to the interactive medium. The game saw a follow-up of sorts with the title Dracula: Love Kills, which shifted to more of a hidden object puzzle title.

7 Van Helsing Is Another Devil May Cry Knock Off

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Based on the Hugh Jackman film of the same name, Van Helsing for the PlayStation 2 was another example of the multitudes of Devil May Cry knockoffs that flooded the market. The game was about on par with the PlayStation 2 Castlevania titles such as Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, but nowhere near the greatness of Capcom's hack and slash series.

The use of Jackman's likeness and vocal talents was a nice touch, and the game fared pretty well control-wise. Not a stake through the heart, but not quite enough to satiate a gamer who had already partied with Dante.

6 Kenji Eno's D Was Another Example Of The Director's Offbeat Titles

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D was a graphic adventure title from Japanese developer Warp. Players took control of a young woman named Laura Harris, who is informed by the LAPD that her father Richter has had an episode that resulted in a killing spree at a hospital where he works. When Laura arrives and attempts to reach him, she's mysteriously transported to a medieval manor.

At first glance, the game seems to have very little to do with Dracula or even vampires aside from its haunted mansion setting. However, once players make it to the game's conclusion, the nature of the hospital, Richter's murderous rampage, and the meaning of the game's title are all revealed.

5 Trail & Error Design Plague Dracula Unleashed

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Dracula Unleashed's FMV nature led to a somewhat esoteric approach to graphic adventures. Players could only use an item needed for a particular puzzle if they had it equipped before entering a building. Should they fail to do so, the game becomes unwinnable. However, no indication of this is made. Players will just be walking along before being hit with a cutscene that shows Alexander getting strangled by an escaped inmate or bitten by one of his recently turned friends.

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These deaths don't come immediately after, either. Forgot to give Mina a rose on Day 2? Alexander won't get the crucifix needed to save him on day 4.

4 Supernatural Terrors Become Anti-Social In Master Of Darkness

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Sega's Master of Darkness put players in control of the hilariously named Dr. Ferdinand Social, as he attempts to thwart Jack the Ripper's plot to resurrect Count Dracula. Unfortunately, the game is more or less a carbon copy of Konami's undead franchise, complete with the use of sub-weapons, items concealed within walls, and its unintuitive stairs.

One deviation from Castlevania is the presence of numerous primary weapons as opposed to the singular whip that the Belmont clan used throughout their adventures. Instead, the good doctor could also arm himself with knives, axes, and even a rapier in his quest. While not terrible, the presentation and soundtrack pale in comparison to the series it tries to ape.

3 Scary Tales Come True In King's Quest II Romancing The Throne

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In Graham's second outing, the recently turned king of Daventry crosses paths with the Count in his quest to save Princess Valanice. When Graham ventured into the island of Kolyma, a man of the cloth named Brother Fragola warned him of the dark vampire.

Only by driving a stake through the sleeping Nosferatu could players access the silver key needed for a crucial puzzle. Strangely enough, despite being on seemingly bad terms with the king, reduced to ash, and the presence of a cross in the chapel, Dracula managed to snag himself a front-row seat to Graham and Valanice's wedding.

2 Nosferatu's Blending Of Two Genres Is Undermined By Spotty Control

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Seta's Nosferatu for the Super Nintendo was a strange hybrid of cinematic platformer and brawler. Much like the original Prince of Persia, the game was very heavy on rotoscoped animation and psychics-based platforming. Unlike the Belmont clan, this vampire slayer relied on fisticuffs to best these supernatural terrors.

While the game is a graphical splendor and the mixture of these two genres proves somewhat intriguing, the controls are too imprecise for the game's demands. One nice creepy touch is that once the player uses eight continues, they can still proceed, but the Count will have bitten the hero's betrothed, leading to a tragic conclusion.

1 The Count Rises Again In Super Smash Bros Ultimate

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Masahiro Sakurai has said that highly requested characters like Goku and SpongeBob SquarePants are ineligible to join Smash because of their origins in mediums other than games. Despite that, the Count managed to get himself a spot as a random boss.

Considering the deals that Nintendo was able to make with other publishers and companies to bump up the roster, netting public domain characters like Dracula may not sound like a big deal. However, throw in the Belmonts and some classic Castlevania tunes, and these random encounters with the prince of darkness are the closest thing to a proper new title fans will likely ever get.