The original vampire killer of video games gets ready to whip it in a stunning art homage to the first Castlevania, originally released in 1986 for the Nintendo Famicom and the following year for the Nintendo Entertainment System.Dave Rapoza, who has illustrated for the likes of Epic Games, Marvel and Magic: The Gathering, shared the art to his Twitter account as part of the recent "Original ➡ Fanart" trend, which kicked off across social media in the month of November. Rapoza's post juxtaposes the original box art for Castlevania, known as Akumajo Dracula (Demon Castle Dracula) in Japan, alongside a grim version of Simon Belmont preparing to whip his way through the game's army of monsters.
Simply entitled "Simon Belmont," the artwork was originally finished by Rapoza in 2020 and commissioned by Cook and Becker, a Dutch company specializing in video game art. In an interview with the company, Rapoza said he relied on his "nostalgic memory" when composing the piece.
"I didn't look at the original video game for my research -- for me today, a two-tone purple monster will feel silly, right?" Rapoza said. "Like how's that scary at all? Yet when you dive into your nostalgic memory, the magic is still there, your interpretation of this world that was merely implied to you by the game makers. The pixels only imply certain shapes, and you fill in the blanks with your imagination."
Rapoza added that he did take the time to study more modern interpretations of Simon Belmont and the world of Castlevania. He extensively analyzed the work of series artist Ayami Kojima, as well as the Super Smash Bros. version of Simon, who is playable in the fighting game alongside his descendant, Richter.
"You mix all those interpretations and add your own ideas. Importantly, you have to keep to the established shape language of characters like Dracula or Simon," Rapoza said.
Aside from the first Castlevania, Simon notably starred in its direct follow-up, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, as well as a number of remakes of the original game, including Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania Chronicles. The character's signature barbarian-esque garb -- as well as his action pose on the original Castlevania box -- appear to have been inspired by both the 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger film version of Conan the Barbarian and a 1972 painting by esteemed fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, entitled "The Norseman."
Source: Twitter, Cook and Becker