7. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance GBA

Putting you in the role of Juste Belmont, the developers learned their lesson from Circle of the Moon and punched up the colour values making Harmony of Dissonance a much brighter entry for the GBA's dim little screen. Of course, this means playing it on the TV via a Virtual Console release or other means these days supercharges all those hues, but it remains a pleasing visual change from the murkiness of its predecessor and the pervading darkness of the series in general.

Igarashi began steering the franchise in the direction of Symphony of the Night with this entry and while its immediate successor refined things further, Harmony of Dissonance is still a fantastic game. Fortunately, both this and Aria of Sorrow came bundled together on the Castlevania Double Pack for GBA and can be found on Switch in the Castlevania Advance Collection, so there's no excuse for missing out on CHOD, as nobody abbreviates it.

What's that? A question? Yes, you at the back. "If it's so fantastic, why isn't it at the top of the list?" Well, we'd remind you that there are plenty of great Castlevania games, so being this 'low' doesn't mean it's 'bad' — we're well into the 'Good' section already. In fact, this would likely be a good deal higher were it not for a soundtrack, which falls well short of the series' exceptionally high standards.

6. 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.

5. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia DS

The last in the trilogy of Nintendo DS Castlevania games and playable on Switch via the Dominus Collection, 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.

4. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon GBA

A launch title for the Game Boy Advance, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon wasn't perfect (its dark visuals greatly benefited from the later backlit revisions to the GBA hardware), but it offered a polished presentation of the Castlevania experience the likes of which had never been seen on a handheld.

Its successors would perfect the portable formula, but this was a solid foundation. Provided you had perfect ambient lighting conditions or one of those little worm lights for your GBA.

3. 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 taste, and this was ploughing a well-worn furrow in gameplay terms, but this is still an excellent handheld franchise entry and worth hunting down on Switch's Dominus Collection.

2. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow GBA

Here we are: numero uno! Hang on...

The world's introduction to Soma Cruz takes the title of Best Castlevania Game in many people's books (this writer included) 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 gimmickry of the DS era — and it's that purity which makes this our 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 personal top vampire killer.

Though evidently not yours.

1. 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, the tight controls, the engaging Soul-based skills system; it's all so good that we're inclined to forgive Dawn of Sorrow its faults and we're very happy to have it on Switch as part of the Dominus Collection.

And it's over. Well, for 100 years, at least. Let's answer some quick questions before we head off...

Castlevania FAQ

Hang on, where's [insert Castlevania game here]?

We've included some spin-offs and oddities in this list, although we excluded the Switch collections that gather multiple games. We've noted above in which collection you can find the relevant games if you're playing on Switch.

As for any other missing 'vanias, if they didn't come to a Nintendo system, we haven't included them. Speaking of which...

Is Symphony of the Night on Switch?

It is not. (Sorry, it's a sore point.) SotN originally launched on Sony's PlayStation and Sega's Saturn and is considered one of the series' very best, but it's never come to a Nintendo console.

We'd do terrible things to get a Switch 2 port. Fingers crossed it will happen one day.

There's always Koji Igarashi's non-affiliated Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night once you've exhausted all the Belmonts above. The Switch version is far from perfect, but it has improved since launch (and is better on Switch 2) and is arguably the closest thing fans will get to Symphony of the Night on Switch.

What Castlevania games should I start with on Switch?

For Switch owners specifically, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection should obviously be your first port of call, with the following Castlevania Advance Collection containing one of the very best games in the series, and, most recently, the Castlevania Dominus Collection bringing the DS trilogy to modern consoles.

Those collections themselves don't feature in this ranking — only the games within — but rest assured that every one's a winner.

How can I change the ranking above?

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.

It's worth remembering, too, that there's so little difference between the games at the top of the table that things could easily shift with just a few new ratings.

So, feel free to rate the games above by clicking on the star and exerting your influence on this 'ere Castlevania ranking. Alternatively, here's a handy search bar to find the ones you're looking for: