Richter Belmont

Overview

Richter Belmont is a playable character in Konami's Castlevania series who first appeared in 1993's PC Engine release Dracula X: Rondo of Blood and its SNES port. He would appear again in its PlayStation direct sequel Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as a quasi-villain, and had a cameo in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for Nintendo DS.

Richter is always dressed in blue. In Rondo of Blood, his look was marked by a headband, a blue jerkin, and long brown boots. In Symphony of the Night his appearance was matured by series artist Ayami Kojima by growing out his hair and trading in his jerkin for a long blue coat. In the remake Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, she redesigned his Rondo getup to match closer stylistically with his Symphony of the Night outfit.

He generally has more abilities than most of his Belmont counterparts, most notably a backflip, along with special abiltiies in Symphony of the Night including a blade dash and high jump. Richter Belmont's musical theme, called either "Bloodlines" or "Divine Bloodlines" is from the first stage of Rondo of Blood, and is reprise during his appearances in Symphony of the Night and Portrait of Ruin.

Rondo of Blood

Richter was born in the late 18th century and is likely the grandson of Juste Belmont. This also makes him a direct descendant of Simon Belmont, who fought Dracula only a century earlier. Wielding the legendary Vampire Killer whip of his ancestors, Richter was the strongest Belmont yet. He also had a girlfriend named Annette.

In 1792, an evil priest named Shaft resurrected Dracula, whose armies of undead poured out of his demon fortress Castlevania and began laying waste to the Transylvanian countryside. In addition, Dracula kidnapped Annette and a few other women, including a young girl named Maria Renard. Of course, Richter's strength prevails and he destroys Shaft, Dracula, and Castlevania.

In Dracula X Chronicles, the matter of saving Annette is slightly changed -- if the player has not freed the rest of the female captives, Annette is turned into a vampire and Richter must see to her defeat.

Symphony of the Night

Four years after Richter showed Dracula he didn't belong in this world, Shaft, seemingly still alive, saw fit to resurrect his master yet again. He knew he would never succeed as long as a Belmont was there to stop him, so he put in action a plan to completely eliminate Richter as a preventative force. To do this he set a magical curse on Richter, which deluded him into using his Belmont powers for evil. Shortly thereafter, Richter went missing.

A year later, Shaft was successful in raising Castlevania yet again. This stirred the long slumber of Dracula's son Alucard, who, instead of finding his father on the castle's throne discovered that Richter, now twisted and evil, had become lord of the castle. With the help of a matured Maria Renard, she and Alucard correctly surmised that Richter was being controlled by Shaft and broke the magic spell he had over Richter. Though the Belmont was weakened and unable to fight, Alucard himself was able to finally put an end to Shaft's plans and prevent his father's evil from seeping out of the castle once more.

Legacy

Though he was the mightiest of the Belmont vampire hunters, the curse put onto Richter by Shaft. would prevent any of his direct descendants from being able to use the Vampire Killer whip. However, those of non-Belmont descent who use the whip are subject to having their life force drained by its spiritual power.

The next documented user of the whip is John Morris, the son of Quincy Morris from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, in the events of Castlevania: Bloodlines. Set in 1917, John and his friend Eric Lecarde put an end to Dracula's evil across war-torn Europe. Despite his heroics, the power of the Vampire Killer puts a premature end to John's life years later.

During World War II, John's son Jonathan would be the next to wield it, in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. From the spirit of Eric Lecarde, Jonathan learns that for a non-Belmont to use the true power of the whip, he must overcome the spirit of the last true Belmont user -- in this case, Richter, in the form of an optional boss fight. If the player chooses to partake in this fight, then Jonathan defeats the Spirit of the Whip and accepts the consequences of using the whip. Richter also appears in Portrait's "Greatest Five" special attack.

The curse of Richter Belmont is finally broken sometime after the events of Portrait of Ruin, as another in the Belmont bloodline named Julius brandishes it in the as-yet-undocumented events of Dracula's resurrection in 1999.

Super Smash Bros.

Richter, along with his ancestor Simon, is a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. The two Belmonts were introduced in the same trailer, where Richter jumps in to save Simon from Dracula's fireball and delivers a version of his famous line to the vampire.

Technically, Richter is an Echo Fighter of Simon, meaning that they share the same moves. However, some of their moves were originated by Richter, including his blade dash, uppercut, and the Grand Cross, his Final Smash. Richter also makes use of traditional subweapons like the cross, axe, and holy water.

Castlevania is also represented with a stage based on Dracula's throne room. Several songs from Richter's games, including a new arrangement of his own theme, can be played while fighting there.