7. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES)

The finest of the NES entries, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is a prequel to the original and struck a perfect balance between the innovations of Simon's Quest and the first game's more straightforward approach. Multiple playable characters in addition to your Belmont (Trevor, this time), multiple paths, the finest audio you'll find on NES hardware (even without the extra sound channels of the Japanese Famicom version) with visuals to match — it's one of the most ambitious 8-bit games ever made and still deserves your attention nearly 35 years on. Timeless, it is, and absolutely worth checking out via Switch's Castlevania Anniversary Collection.

6. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)

Featuring the return of the Morris clan, Portrait of Ruin sees Jonathan Morris (son of Bloodlines' John) joined by Charlotte Aulin in a wartime entry where the pair battle a triplet of vampires who have moved into Dracula's gaff. You can switch between the protagonists at will and the game's painting-hopping enabled a wider range of environments than some of the earlier castle-confined entries. With a bunch of extra modes including co-op multiplayer (although not the main campaign, sadly), it built on the foundation of Dawn of Sorrow with slicker use of the DS' unique features. The anime stylings of the art carried over from the previous game won't be to everyone's tastes, and this was ploughing a well-worn furrow in gameplay terms, but this is still an excellent handheld franchise entry.

5. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)

A fantastic showcase for the Super NES and its Mode 7 sprite scaling features, Super Castlevania IV is considered by some (including its director Masahiro Ueno) as something of a remake of the NES original for the new generation of hardware, although with its sumptuous visuals, reworked mechanics and startling 16-bit soundtrack, it has a very different feel to its 8-bit counterpart. It's available on the Super NES Classic Mini and the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, so if you missed out back in the day you've got ample opportunity to catch up with this gem.

4. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)

The last in the trilogy of Nintendo DS Castlevania games, Order of Ecclesia upped the overall difficulty level and, as such, is a good choice for series veterans who are after more of a challenge. A new Glyph system took the focus off the RPG elements that had become more prominent with each 'Igavania' game and arguably gives Order of Ecclesia more of an old-school Castlevania flavour than any of Iga's other entries. Add gorgeous visuals, a tip-top soundtrack, the usual Boss Rush mode, and a bunch of other modes and you've got yet another excellent handheld Castlevania game.

3. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)

The first DS entry in the series (if Dawn of Sorrow hadn't clued you in already), this saw Soma Cruz return in a fantastic game which continued the proud tradition of the GBA titles on its successor. Dawn of Sorrow's implementation of the console's touch screen (the Seal system) felt needlessly complex and gimmicky, and the Gothic art style of the previous games gave way to an anime aesthetic here which we were less enamoured with, but it's otherwise a wonderful addition to the roster. The great soundtrack, tight controls, engaging Soul-based skills system; it's all so good that we're inclined to forgive Dawn of Sorrow its faults.

2. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (TG-16)

No, we're not including this just to frustrate anyone who doesn't own it on the now-inaccessible Wii Virtual Console. It's a crying shame that this PC Engine CD game is not accessible to more people in its original form. The SNES remake Dracula X isn't bad, but Rondo of Blood is in a different league. Younger readers may be unfamiliar with 'Red Book Audio', but the arrival of CD-quality sound with disc-based games opened up a whole new world of musical fidelity and possibilities for the franchise. That coupled with the tight gameplay you'd expect from the series means Rondo of Blood casts a spell that's impossible to forget if you've ever had the pleasure.

Symphony of the Night was a direct sequel to this and would take Richter Belmont on to even greater heights, but Rondo of Blood is still an absolutely brilliant game. We live in hope of a 'Castlevania Anniversary Collection 2' that will contain this and a bunch of the other winners featured here. As you can see, there are more than enough brilliant options to pick from.

1. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Here we are: numero uno! The world's introduction to Soma Cruz takes the title of Best Castlevania Game in our books because it's possibly the purest distillation of the 'Igavania' style, and a fantastic experience whether you're a grizzled Castlevania veteran or a total newbie who needs whipping into shape. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow — which is available on Switch in the excellent Castlevania Advance Collection — mixes things up not only with its 2035 setting, but also with the introduction of the 'Tactical Soul' system which sees you collect unique equippable abilities from downed enemies. This enables you to customise your approach to combat and stamp your own style on a game already dripping in its own.

Having learned the lessons of its two GBA predecessors, Aria of Sorrow makes great use of the hardware and atones for the audio sins of Harmony of Dissonance with veteran series composer Michiru Yamane providing a soundtrack that stands alongside her best.

There's absolutely zero fat on Aria of Sorrow — none of the needless gimmickry of the DS era — and it's that purity which makes this Nintendo Life's — and Nintendo Life readers' — favourite Castlevania ever, despite the protagonist not wielding a whip or even being a Belmont. If a fine port of Symphony of the Night were ever to come to a Nintendo platform, we'd have a tough decision to make. Until that time, Aria of Sorrow is our top vampire killer.

And it's over. Well, for 100 years, at least. Disagree with the list above? Your personal list will likely depend on various factors, including where you started with the series and which flavour of Castlevania you favour.

Let us know where you jumped on and your personal favourite(s) below, and — as we said at the top — feel free to rate the games above by clicking on the star and exerting your influence on this 'ere Castlevania ranking.