Simon Belmont

Simon Belmont (, Simon Belmondo) is a character from the series. A member of the legendary Belmont Clan, Simon is chronologically the fifth Belmont to assume the role of vampire hunter, and is "the most renowned of vampire hunters" during his tenure.

Due to his status as the first playable protagonist of the Castlevania series and his battles against Dracula being chronicled the most in games out of all the protagonists, Simon is often considered the face of the series alongside Dracula and Alucard, and has made several appearances outside of the series.

Simon Belmont made his Super Smash Bros. series debut in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, alongside his descendant Richter Belmont.

Origin
Simon Belmont is widely considered to be an icon of gaming by Japanese and US gamers, as he was one of the earliest popular characters on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and among the most recognizable video game characters from that era in regions where the NES was successful. He shares this status alongside characters like Nintendo's Link and Samus Aran, and Capcom's Mega Man. His original barbarian-esque attire and Vampire Killer are the most recognizable aspects out of all of his designs, and the pioneering attributes of the Belmont Clan, such as the "Belmont strut", stilted jumping, delayed whip attacks, and immense knockback when receiving damage all make his early home games among the most challenging in the console's library. Simon's appearance has varied notably, often alternating between a rugged, blonde warrior clad in brown, barbarian-esque armor and a somewhat softer, redheaded design with darker clothing.

Born in in 1669, Simon Belmont is the fourth direct descendant of the Belmont Clan, succeeding his grandfather Soleil Belmont and preceding Juste Belmont. The Clan was founded in 1094 by Leon Belmont, who swore that he and his descendants would always "hunt the night" in the wake of his betrayal by Mathias Cronqvist, his once-best friend who willingly transformed into a vampire and would later become known as the infamous Dracula. Unlike a typical vampire hunter, Simon boasts peak human physiology, thanks to the Belmont Clan's centuries-old training regimen and the magical blood of Sypha Belnades, a powerful witch who married Simon's distant ancestor, Trevor Belmont, after they defeated Dracula. According to the manual for Vampire Killer, Simon is the successor to the "Legend of Christopher," his great-grandfather Christopher Belmont, who fought Dracula twice and ultimately became the second Belmont to kill the Count.

The original Castlevania story, as depicted in the manuals for the original game, Vampire Killer and the opening cinematics of Castlevania Chronicles, sees Simon head to the castle after Dracula was resurrected by an evil cult on the evening of April 15, 1691 (Easter Sunday of that year) after spilling fresh blood and crushing a freshly extracted human heart over the Count's ashes. Wielding the Belmont Clan's heirloom, a holy whip known as the Vampire Killer, Simon storms Dracula's Castle, defeating several of his minions and the Count himself. After battling in the castle keep, Simon becomes the third Belmont to kill Dracula, and watches from a distance as the castle collapses, bringing with him a set of wounds that would seemingly not heal.

Simon's first battle against Dracula has been retold through multiple games, with varying differences. Vampire Killer for the MSX2 is a non-linear title that has him traveling around the castle utilizing many weapons. The arcade game Haunted Castle portrays Simon as being a newlywed man who has his wife, Serena, taken away by Dracula, forcing him to venture onward through the demon castle and rescue her. Super Castlevania IV for the SNES introduces a powerful omnidirectional whip capable of striking in eight directions, which would be retained in future Castlevania games. The original North American and European canon of Super Castlevania IV would state that this was Simon's third adventure against Dracula, until it was retconned as an alternate telling of the original Castlevania. Castlevania Chronicles, initially made for the Sharp X68000 and adapted to the PlayStation, is a more standard retelling of the original game, redesigning many of the original stages and enemies.

Seven years after his original adventure, Simon's wounds received during the battle remain unhealed. While visiting the cemetery of his clan, Simon encounters a gypsy woman who tells that he must resurrect Dracula by gathering his five body parts and destroy them in order to break the curse he had received, setting off the events of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Simon set out across Transylvania into five haunted mansions possessing the Ribs, Heart, Eyes, Nail, and Ring of Dracula, failing to find his Fangs. Returning to the ruins of Castlevania, Simon uncovers a secret altar beneath the main halls of the castle, where he burns the remains, inciting the revival of Dracula, who had hidden his fangs at the altar, using them to attack Simon. Simon defeats Dracula's freshly revived form and afterwards, he buries Dracula's remains and is praised as a hero.

Simon would later settle down and start a family, soon leading to the birth of his grandson, Juste, and his great-great-grandson Richter. Simon would be the one to inspire Juste's best friend, Maxim Kischine, to gather the remains of Dracula during a training session in 1748, leading to the events of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Simon makes a cameo appearance as a secret playable character in this same game through the use of a cheat code, albeit only in the game's Boss Rush mode.

Simon is also playable in the non-canonical spinoff games Castlevania Judgment, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, and Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls. Due to his status as a mascot of Konami, Simon has represented the Castlevania series by appearing in crossovers, such as DreamMix TV World Fighters and Super Bomberman R.

A different version of Simon Belmont appears in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate. In this alternate continuity, Simon is the son (instead of great-great-great-great-great-grandson) of Trevor Belmont, who sets out to avenge his father's death at the hands of Dracula. With the help of the mysterious Alucard (who, in this continuity, is a resurrected Trevor), Simon becomes the first of Clan Belmont to slay Dracula. Visually, the Lords of Shadow iteration of Simon combines the original Simon's initial rugged design with the red hair of the original Simon's redesign. This iteration of Simon also wields a leather whip, the Beast Hunter, much like the ones both the original Simon and Trevor initially wielded in the NES Castlevania games.

As a playable character
Simon was confirmed to appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable fighter on August 8, 2018 during the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct. His appearance takes inspiration from the NES Castlevania games with some minor tidbits taken from Harmony of Despair. In addition, many of his basic animations (e.g. idle pose, walking, jumping, etc.) appear to be based on his sprites from said games in a similar fashion to Mega Man. He also borrows attacks, such as the Leap Kick and Uppercut, from later protagonists in the series, such as Richter Belmont.

Simon's inclusion was largely facilitated by the results of the Super Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot, as series director Masahiro Sakurai has stated in a Famitsu interview that the Castlevania series was highly requested in the poll. When it came time to add fighters, he says his options were limited. He assumed a lot of players would be more familiar with Alucard, being the protagonist of the acclaimed Symphony of the Night, but he ultimately chose Simon and, as that was what fans would have preferred even if they were unaffiliated with later games in the franchise.

With his wide array of projectiles and a long disjointed range courtesy of his whip, the Vampire Killer, Simon plays as a powerful zoning fighter who can keep enemies at a distance. However, his recovery is among the weakest in the game due to his slow air speed and linear Uppercut, and so he mostly depends on his whip as a tether recovery.

Trivia

 * Simon, alongside Richter, are the first and so far only fighters who have a tether recovery that is neither a special move nor grab aerial.
 * Although Simon's name is the same between Japanese and English, the announcer pronounces it differently between regions: the English version pronounces it as "Sai-min", while the Japanese version pronounces it "Shi-moan". The Japanese pronunciation places it closer to how the name is pronounced in Romance languages as "See-moan".
 * Simon is the only fighter to have been revealed alongside their clone in the same reveal trailer.

External Link

 * Article on the Castlevania Wiki.

Simon Belmont