Konami's Castlevania Anniversary Video Sparks Hopes for a 3D Game Collection

Konami's celebration of Castlevania's 40th anniversary has given the long-running vampire-hunting series another moment in the spotlight, but a brief sequence near the end of its commemorative video is attracting especially close attention. Fans have spotted imagery that appears to highlight several of Castlevania's 3D outings, raising the possibility that a modern collection could be under consideration.

Nothing has been formally announced, and the anniversary video does not explicitly promise a remaster, rerelease, or compilation. Even so, the choice of games represented by four portraits has become a major talking point. The images feature artwork tied to the newly announced Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, PlayStation 2 titles Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, and the first Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

For players who have spent years hoping to revisit the series' polygonal experiments without returning to aging original hardware, that lineup is difficult to ignore. Konami has already made substantial progress preserving much of Castlevania's 2D history through its modern collections. The 3D branch, however, remains far less accessible, with several key releases still tied to the consoles on which they originally arrived.

A Carefully Chosen Set of Portraits

The anniversary video concludes with Simon Belmont moving through Dracula's castle before reaching a surprise party. On his path through the halls, a group of early series protagonists pass by four framed portraits. Those portraits are where the speculation begins.

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Belmont's Curse is an obvious inclusion, as it is the next mainline installment and is due to launch on October 15. Its presence helps connect the anniversary retrospective to Castlevania's immediate future. The other three selections are more intriguing because they all belong to the franchise's 3D lineage: Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, and the first Lords of Shadow.

That does not confirm that Konami is building a package around them. Anniversary videos often use imagery to acknowledge the breadth of a franchise, and the portraits could simply recognize games that do not fit as neatly into pixel-art callbacks. Still, the specific grouping invites interpretation. Rather than displaying a random selection from every era, it puts multiple 3D titles together in a conspicuous final sequence.

A collection containing those games would also make practical sense from a catalog perspective. Castlevania's classic library has been revisited repeatedly in recent years, while the 3D games have largely been left behind. A dedicated release could give Konami a chance to bring a less represented part of the series to contemporary audiences, whether through direct ports, enhanced versions, or a more ambitious restoration effort.

The 3D Castlevania Games Have Been the Holdouts

Castlevania has never been limited to a single format. The franchise is most closely associated with side-scrolling action, gothic pixel art, demanding combat, and the exploration-driven design popularized by titles such as Symphony of the Night. Yet Konami also spent years trying to translate those ideas into 3D spaces.

The results were often divisive, but they were rarely unimportant. The Nintendo 64 received Castlevania, commonly called Castlevania 64, followed by the expanded Legacy of Darkness. The PlayStation 2 era brought Lament of Innocence, a prequel that explored the Belmont family's earliest conflict with Dracula, and Curse of Darkness, which shifted focus toward Hector and its creature-raising Innocent Devil system.

Later, MercurySteam's Lords of Shadow reimagined Castlevania as a cinematic action series. Its first entry was a notably high-profile production and was the only Castlevania game produced by Hideo Kojima. It was followed by Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2, completing a separate continuity with its own interpretation of familiar names and mythology.

These releases have had very different reputations over time. Some are remembered as uneven transitions into 3D, while others have developed dedicated followings because of their atmosphere, combat systems, music, character work, or willingness to attempt something unlike the series' celebrated 2D formula. Their absence from modern Castlevania collections has consequently stood out more as the franchise's older games returned in other forms.

The existing compilations have helped keep many landmark entries available. That preservation work makes the continued lack of a comparable 3D package more noticeable, especially for players whose first encounter with the series came during the PlayStation 2, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 3, or Xbox 360 generations.

Curse of Darkness Could Be a Major Draw

Of the games suggested by the portraits, Curse of Darkness may have one of the strongest cases for renewed attention. It was not universally praised at launch, but it has earned affection over the years for doing more than simply repeating Lament of Innocence's structure.

The game stars Hector, a former Devil Forgemaster seeking revenge against Dracula. Its most distinctive mechanic is the Innocent Devil system, which allows players to create and develop supernatural companions with different abilities. That system gave the game a more experimental identity than a straightforward character-action title, mixing combat, progression, and creature management in a way that remains unusual within the broader Castlevania catalog.

Hector has also become one of the franchise's more recognizable characters, particularly after his role in the animated Castlevania universe. A reissue of Curse of Darkness would therefore have appeal beyond nostalgia alone. It could introduce the original game version of the character to viewers who know him from animation but have not had an easy route to play his PlayStation 2 adventure.

Lament of Innocence has its own historical importance. As a story centered on Leon Belmont, it helped establish a foundational chapter in the timeline. Its large castle environments and real-time combat were clear attempts to bring Castlevania's identity into a new dimension while retaining familiar gothic settings, monsters, and relics. Revisiting it today could provide useful context for fans interested in the larger Belmont lineage.

Lords of Shadow Remains a Different Kind of Castlevania

The first Lords of Shadow is also a particularly notable possibility. It was a dramatic departure in tone and structure, leaning into large-scale action, elaborate set pieces, and a cinematic presentation. Gabriel Belmont's journey offered an alternate continuity rather than a simple continuation of the established timeline, which made it both accessible to newcomers and controversial among longtime fans.

Its inclusion in the anniversary imagery is significant because it acknowledges a branch of Castlevania that has often sat apart from the traditional canon in fan discussion. Whatever players think of its reinterpretations, Lords of Shadow was an ambitious, major-budget effort that helped keep the brand visible during its original release period.

A modern collection could potentially provide an opportunity to revisit that entire arc, including Mirror of Fate and Lords of Shadow 2. But this is where the portrait lineup becomes more complicated. The video appears to feature the first Lords of Shadow, while Lords of Shadow 2 does not appear among the images.

That omission does not necessarily mean anything definitive. Konami may have selected the original game because it is the best-known installment of that trilogy, because the artwork fit the video's presentation, or simply because the scene was intended as a celebratory reference rather than a product tease. Yet if viewers are reading the portraits as a potential roster, the missing sequel naturally becomes part of the debate.

Not Every 3D Entry Is Represented

The Nintendo 64 games are another conspicuous absence. Neither Castlevania 64 nor Legacy of Darkness appears in the discussed portrait selection, despite both being important milestones as Castlevania's first major move into 3D environments.

Those games remain among the most difficult Castlevania releases to revisit through official modern means. They have passionate defenders, even though their camera, controls, and technical limitations have long been subjects of criticism. Legacy of Darkness in particular is often valued for expanding on the earlier Nintendo 64 release with additional content and a different protagonist.

Leaving them out could indicate that any potential collection would focus on PlayStation 2 and later releases rather than the entire 3D history. It could also mean that there is no collection planned at all. The portraits may simply be a curated celebration of selected games, with no expectation that every Castlevania title or subseries must receive equal representation in a short video.

That uncertainty is important. Fans have understandable reasons to be excited, but there is currently no confirmed title, platform list, release window, feature set, or final roster for a 3D Castlevania compilation. Until Konami says more, the anniversary sequence remains a tantalizing visual clue rather than an announcement.

Belmont's Curse Marks a New Chapter

The timing has made the speculation even livelier because Castlevania is not solely looking backward. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is set to arrive on October 15, marking the first new mainline game in 12 years. A demo is also scheduled to begin the Halloween season in October, with save data carrying forward into the full game.

That upcoming release places the franchise in an unusual but promising position. Castlevania has remained culturally visible through animation and rereleases, yet a new mainline entry gives the series a chance to move forward again. A collection devoted to the overlooked 3D games would complement that momentum, pairing a new chapter with an effort to make more of the back catalog available.

For now, the anniversary video offers possibility rather than certainty. The portraits may be a deliberate signal, an affectionate retrospective detail, or something in between. But after years in which the 3D Castlevania games have remained stranded on older systems, even a small hint of renewed attention is enough to give their fans reason to watch Konami's next move closely.