The best TV adaptation of a video game

Netflix has just released the first season of Castlevania, an animated TV show based on the classic series of horror-fantasy themed action-adventure video games created and developed by Konami. Like most of the recent Netflix shows, Castlevania certainly did not disappoint.

Castlevania is an adaptation of the 1989 video game "Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse". The story is set in 1476 and follows Trevor Belmont, a reluctant hero and vampire slayer, who rather unenthusiastically sets out to defend the country of Wallachia from Dracula and his army. The show features all the major characters from the video game including Sypha Belnades, a speaker-magician and Alucard, the "dhampir" (half human half vampire).

You can easily see the heavy influence of animes on the artwork and animation style of Castlevania. Netflix's biggest success with the show, for me, has been giving the pixelated sprites from the video games distinctive characteristics and clear motivations.

The show turns the age-old concept of "Evil do evil, good do good" concept on its head. Unlike the games, Dracula does not terrorise Wallachia just because he is evil. Similarly, Trevor does not save humans just because he is the righteous hero. This is probably the most intriguing part of the plot. The show gives Dracula a legitimate background for the wrath that he brings forth and 10 minutes into the first episode, you can truly feel for him. On the other hand, Trevor does not seem to take a lot of pleasure in saving humans or champion his moral codes while doing so. He does it because that gives him an identity, his family's identity. That is what the Belmont family has done throughout history- protect humans from vampires. As a matter of fact, the show questions whether Dracula is even the true antagonist, depicting the backward misdeeds of the Church to ignite the havoc.

Castlevania's gritty animation works really well to emote with the viewers. The show is neither unnecessarily dark nor redundantly light-hearted. Trevor is probably the most charismatic protagonist of the show. There are some pretty good fighting sequences though the violence seems borderline flashy at times.

But like any other adaptation, the show has its flaws. Sypha and Alucard could get a bit more screen time. Also, persuasion in every step of the way seemed a bit too easy. It takes very little effort from the Elder of the speakers to turn the seemingly super reluctant Trevor into a decisive, determined savior. However, considering Netflix crammed the whole season into just 4 episodes, there was not much time to spare.

So the burning question, should you watch it if you are not a fan? The answer is, yes. The directors are aware that not many of the current viewership had an NES or was even born in 1989. Sure, if you have played through the originals, you will notice subtle references and easter eggs like how the characters dress according to their colours in the game or the road-signs reading out different Castlevania game titles, but the story is pretty well articulated for new experiencers. So even if you have never picked up a Castlevania game, you can easily binge-watch the roughly 100 minutes of engaging action.

Adi Shankar, the executive producer of Castlevania promised the fans that Castlevania will be the first Western TV show that does justice to a video game. Judging by the first season, the show pays enough respect to its source material. However, instead of blindly following the origins, it deviates from the source to give more depth to the plot. Yes, it is not an exact adaptation of the game cause hey, plates of chicken popping out of random walls may seem fine in video games but not very compelling on TV.

To sum up, while Castlevania is not a perfect adaptation, it is undoubtedly the best video game adaptation on tv till date and promises a lot more in the seasons to follow. So happy binge-watching!

Nafis Imtiaz Onish believes grinning is the answer to everything and avidly loves art, astronomy & all things nerdy. Send him Carl Sagan fan art at nafisimtiaz17@gmail.com