Simon Belmont


Simon Belmont is a fictional character who serves as the first protagonist to appear in the Castlevania series. He has appeared in Castlevania, Vampire Killer, Haunted Castle, ', Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania Chronicles, Castlevania Judgment, and '.

Character design and appearances

Simon initially kills Dracula in the year 1691, an event that is told in multiple games. In Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, it is revealed that Dracula placed a curse on Simon and all of Transylvania after he was defeated by him. To break the curse, Simon must gather the remains of Dracula in order to burn them at the ruins of Dracula's castle - though the fact that this will cause Dracula to return is unknown to Simon. In the best and canonical ending, Simon breaks the curse, and Transylvania recognizes his bravery, though it is hinted that Dracula will inevitably return, as his skinless hand rises from his grave. Simon is one of only two Belmonts to have faced Dracula twice in his lifetime, the other being his ancestor Christopher.
In Haunted Castle, Simon is blue-haired and has a wife called Selena, who is kidnapped by Dracula directly after their marriage. It is actually unknown if this is Simon at all. The guide to the game calls him Simons, a descendant of the canonical Simon, while a newsletter by Konami itself names him William.
Although Simon is the first Belmont to appear in a Castlevania game, in the Belmont lineage, Leon Belmont originates the direct bloodline of the clan. It can then be presumed that he is followed by Trevor, Christopher, Soleil, Simon, Juste, Richter, and then Julius. In ', Simon is playable in the Boss Rush mode, looking exactly as he did in Castlevania. In ', Simon is an extra character purchased as downloadable content, the sprite from the original game also being reused here. A special stage that recreates the game's castle layout can also be purchased.
Simon Belmont appears in the rebooted series , as the son of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, and grandson of Gabriel Belmont, later known as Dracula. He seeks revenge for the murder of his parents and throughout the game is unaware that Dracula is his grandfather. But, Konami shows the early design of young Simon as Gabriel Belmont a new protagonist at the game.
Simon's Castlevania Judgment incarnation was designed by Death Note artist Takeshi Obata. He has red-orange hair comparable to that of Light Yagami, a jacket with many belts on it that exposes his muscular chest, and bandages on his forearms. Series director Koji Igarashi emphasized that these designs were different from what he envisioned, Simon in particular, but commented that this was how Obata envisioned them. He added that while the design felt radically different, so did Kojima's. Simon's design by Obata was criticized, which was perceived as too derivative of Obata's work on Death Note.

In other media

Simon appeared in , a television cartoon featuring characters from contemporary games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. He is depicted as an arrogant and egotistical vampire hunter who competes with the main character Kevin Keene for the heroine Princess Lana, who he carries a torch for. Simon has a whip and a backpack of resources which he uses throughout the series. His appearance in the cartoon was met with criticism. Ben Rhudy of Monsters and Critics stated that he looks nothing like his video game counterpart, and that the show's creator DiC should have consulted the game before choosing this design. CDR is critical of the "cowardly" portrayal of Simon in the cartoon series, and felt that the creators should have drawn more from the source material.
Simon also appears in several games outside the Castlevania franchise including the 2003 GameCube crossover fighting game DreamMix TV World Fighters, the 2017 Nintendo Switch action game Super Bomberman R, and the 2018 Nintendo Switch crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well receiving amiibo latter.

Reception

CBR refers to Simon as the face of the Castlevania series, having been the protagonist of the original game, as well as multiple games overall. This is also the view of TheGamer, who calls him "the face of the franchise and the Belmont who started it all, Simon had headlined more games than any other Belmont in the series." In another discussion of the Castlevania characters, TheGamer celebrates Simon's multiple character designs, and decides that he is the most legendary vampire hunter of the Belmont clan.
Nintendo Power listed Simon as their seventh favorite hero, stating that while they respect all of the vampire hunters in Castlevania, he was the first. According to Nintendo Power, the worst cover for a Nintendo Power was one depicting Simon Belmont holding the decapitated head of Dracula. It is considered the worst cover because hundreds of parents called in to complain about the goriness of the cover. It was reported in the complaints that children suffered nightmares resulting from the image. The use of a whip is considered one of the features that make Simon Belmont a memorable hero character, which is echoed by CBR in saying "he's not Simon Belmont unless he cracks out his classic whip." GamesRadar+ stated that Simon Belmont deserves his own movie, While Kotaku claimed that Simon might be armed with a sword instead of whip. They also claimed that Simon in the Castlevania Judgement looks sexy as said that "Simons Judgment apparel is a lot of belts and leather wrapped around an exposed torso". First 4 Figures made a figure of Simon as for Halloween figure, where it was modeled at the original Nintnedo Entertainment System box art. Gameinformer criticized the character design at Castlevania Judgement that it is awful. Complex Networks listed Simon as a top 10 best vampire hunter in video games, and top 2 as a most drastic character makeovers in gaming. 2 Chainz dressed an outfit like Simon at the Grammy Awards.
Simon Belmont inclusion to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate received positive critics. Before his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, GameRadar+ included him on the Smash ballot, including Gameinformer and Complex. it also has been subjected as a fan favorite character. USgamer praised the addition as he defines "old school Nintendo nostalgia". VentureBeat also praised for giving a neglected character a chance. While Destructoid praised and said "The axe, the cross, the holy water items, they're all here, and they work wonderfully within the confines of Smash". Polygon ranked Simon as top 10 character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, While Paste magazine ranked it as top 5.