The Castlevania series has no shortage of powerful vampire hunters and, considering that they're facing off against the most powerful depiction of Count Dracula in all of fiction, it's no wonder they're as strong as they are. Even outside of the famous Belmont clan, the world of Castlevania contains special individuals who are able to navigate the Devil's Castle with ease and face no equal in battle. Here are some of the franchises' mightiest heroes.
5. Maria Renard
Don't let her immaturity and small size fool you -- Maria is one of the most unstoppable characters the player will ever control. The secondary protagonist of Rondo of Blood, Maria is outright superior to Richter Belmont in almost all aspects except for endurance -- but at that point, the player would actually have to try to get hit.
Possessing a longer attack range, a controllable double-jump and multiple special attacks that devastate bosses, Maria's power is so great that she's sometimes derided by fans as Rondo of Blood's "easy mode." Perhaps it's best that most of her abilities are seemingly non-canon, as her defeat of Dracula is treated as something of a joke, and her older self's combat abilities in Symphony of the Night aren't nearly as impressive.
4. Shanoa
The forgotten heroine of the oft-overlooked Order of Ecclesia, Shanoa has the unique position of being a human vampire huntress who has absolutely zero ties to the Belmonts and is the first primary protagonist to have purely magical abilities. Possessing the mysterious Glyphs, Shanoa can use the magical tattoo on her back to absorb and copy enemy abilities, becoming more and more powerful as the game progresses.
But what makes her defeat of Dracula impressive even amongst that other Castlevania protagonists is that she fights the then-most powerful depiction of the Lord of Vampires -- Dracula has a whopping 9,999 HP, more than in any of his previous fights, and is confident enough to fight using only his fists with no Super-form like he usually transforms into. With no holy weapons or a Belmont ally, it's a shame that Shanoa's name was never written into history and that her astounding world-saving feat has mostly been forgotten.
3. Alucard
The dhampir son of Vlad Dracula Tepes and his wife Lisa, Adrian Tepes took the name Alucard in protest of his father's conquest of Europe, working together with Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, and Grant Danasty to give Dracula his very first defeat. After centuries of rest, Alucard awakens to explore Castlevania, rescuing Richter Belmont and defeating his father once more.
Alucard's supernatural vampiric abilities are second only to Dracula himself, and he is a master of many combat forms. He proves himself to be Richter Belmont's equal -- if not better. His abilities only grow stronger with time, and his immortal longevity serves as a way for him to continue to be a powerful ally to the Belmont family and the world, even in the 21st century.
2. Soma Cruz
At first, the unassuming hero of the Sorrow games seems to be a normal high school transfer student with a strange fashion sense and a natural talent for killing demons with ordinary weapons. Then, it is discovered that he possesses the Power of Dominance within his soul, an unparalleled ability that allows him to command the hordes of Castlevania. This is no coincidence -- Soma Cruz is the reincarnation of the long-defeated Count Dracula.
Despite possessing Dracula's power, Soma refuses to be a slave to fate, defeating Chaos (the embodiment of Dracula's malice) in a grand battle against good and evil. In doing so, he not only retains his free will and humanity, but he also proves himself more powerful than his previous self, having defeated the ultimate evil after destroying most of Castlevania's hordes.
1. Julius Belmont
Potentially the only being in the Castlevania universe more powerful than Soma, Julius is the last Belmont in the family line come the 21st century. It is said that the Belmonts become more and more powerful with every new generation, and Julius demonstrates his terrifying power and skill before he ever becomes playable.
Julius is famous for being the Belmont to finally destroy Dracula for good by locking his soul in the moon, doing so in the documented Battle of 1999 -- a fight that so legendary that it has never been depicted in any of the games for fear of never being able to do it justice. But perhaps the best indicator of his power is his incredibly hard boss fight in Aria of Sorrow, where Soma, the other most powerful character in the series, notes that Julius was holding back.