I've never gotten into the Castlevania series, but in light of the upcoming Harmony of Despair and the high praise for the XBLA port of SotN, I feel like taking a dip into the franchise.  I'm a long time fan of Metroid games, and Shadow Complex is one of my favorite XBLA games, so I figure there must be something I'll enjoy in the Castlevania games.  My question for you, though, is where should I start?  I'm definitely considering picking up SotN (the XBLA version), but are any of the older entries worth checking out first?

Rondo of Blood. Bloodlines. I liked Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, though I'm sure many don't.
 
Also, Simon's Quest. Heh. Simon's Quest. Only play if you want to be deliberately lied to by the game. (Actually, I think that was only in the Japanese version, but that game still doesn't explain anything to anybody.)
 
@Twinzero said:

" the high praise for the XBLA port of SotN "

go with SotN. it's a good game; but it's HARD to get the 200.6%, mind you:-P

SOTN is predictably wonderful, though any of the GBA or DS games are fantastic as well. You really can't go wrong with any of the 2-D games since the PS1. 

I'd suggest starting from the beginning. Castlevania on the NES. Play through as much as you can without going insane (it's pretty tough), then move on. Probably skip Castlevania 2, as it seems to be one of those polar games that you either love or hate (and most seem to hate). Play Castlevania 3 the same way as with 1. Play Bloodlines and Rondo of Blood all the way through.
 
If SOTN appeals to you, play Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow.
 
Then watch the quick look for Castlevania: Judgment.

" SOTN is predictably wonderful, though any of the GBA or DS games are fantastic as well. You really can't go wrong with any of the 2-D games since the PS1.  "

Symphony of the Night is a good one. I would just go ahead and start with that. I also recommend Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow. There are some other good ones, but those three are my favorites.

I'd just like to point out that while Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow get the most attention and are admittedly great, Order of Ecclesia and Circle of the Moon IMO are the best on the DS and GBA respectively. 

All the Castlevania games are worth checking out except for Judgment and the N64 games.

I haven't played a Castlevania game for some time, so you should start with the early versions (not the crappy Xbox game).

I'm old, so I will tell you to play Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES. This one felt the best to me. But it is a different style game than current CV games. I even liked CV64 though, so maybe I'm a bit of a fanboy?

" Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES. This one felt the best to me. "

" @yakov456 said:

" Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES. This one felt the best to me. "

WHAT?! "

If you play any of the Castlevania games before SOTN make sure your controllers can withstand being smashed against walls. I broke a few beating Castlevania 1-3 on the NES.

" @Bloviator said:

" @yakov456 said:

" Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES. This one felt the best to me. "

WHAT?! "

I have to agree tbh, as much as I love SOTN, sc4 felt like it was far more about improving your skill at the game than getting phat l00t. "

" @Bloviator said:

" @yakov456 said:

" Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES. This one felt the best to me. "

WHAT?! "

I have to agree tbh, as much as I love SOTN, sc4 felt like it was far more about improving your skill at the game than getting phat l00t. "

I'm just going by memories and feeling honestly, Super CV 4 hit a sweetspot for me and I love that game. Easily in my top 5 of all time. The controls just felt so refreshing after playing the previous ones, much more forgiving. Not too hard but not a cakewalk either. Fantastic music. And of course the limp whip. To each his own yes?

" I'm old, so I will tell you to play Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES."  

" I'm just going by memories and feeling honestly, Super CV 4 hit a sweetspot for me and I love that game. Easily in my top 5 of all time. The controls just felt so refreshing after playing the previous ones, much more forgiving. Not too hard but not a cakewalk either. Fantastic music. And of course the limp whip. To each his own yes? "

 Symphony of the Night, nuff said. Plus the DS games are awesome as well.

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate the help getting some perspective on what's what in such a large and varied series.  Blindly choosing from the whole Castlevania catalog struck me as a bad idea, so I'm glad I've got a slightly more focused set from you guys.

Symphony of the Night is a good place to start. All post-Symphony Castlevanias are worth playing (with the possible exceptions of the N64 games and Curse of Darkness) -- especially Order of Ecclesia. As for the old-school games, Rondo of Blood is definitely the best. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and the first one are totally worth playing though, if you aren't afraid of a challenge and don't mind 8-bit graphics.

" All the Castlevania games are worth checking out except for Judgment and the N64 games. "

" All the Castlevania games are worth checking out except for Judgment and the N64 games. "

If you've got a PSP, Dracula X Chronicles is great. It's an updated remake of Rondo of Blood, and includes Symphony of the Night and the original PC Engine version of Rondo of Blood as well. Other than that, you can't go wrong with any of the DS ones.

" I'd just like to point out that while Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow get the most attention and are admittedly great, Order of Ecclesia and Circle of the Moon IMO are the best on the DS and GBA respectively.  "

Get all the GBA games.  Shitloads of fun.

Either SOTN or Castlevania IV. 
 
I have fond memories of both, especially IV as it was the second game I got for my SNES back in the day.  While they aren't as bad as people make out I wouldn't start with the N64 duo.

As someone who never played the PS1 version SOTHN on the 360 is fine. Besides that one I really liked the original Castlevania, so play those two and don't bother with any of the 3D ones.

Any RPG based Castlevania game. The older ones on NES and SNES probably won't work for you. So of course Harmony of Dissonance, Circle of the Moon, Aria of Sorrow, Symphony of the Night, Dawn of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia, and Portrait of Ruin. There isn't an exact order to play these. Well, except for Aria and Dawn of Sorrow.

To echo everybody else, without a doubt start with SotN. Rondo of Blood laid down the foundation but Symphony was the blueprint for almost every Castlevania that followed after. 
 
The brief dips into 3D on the N64 and PS2 are a toss up, some people enjoyed them and many hate them. I say if you find one that appeals to you give a try, but only if you can score a cheap used copy. If you already have a DS or two to play all the handheld games them I'd say just stick with those for now.

" @Jimi said:

" @Bloviator said:

" @yakov456 said:

" Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES. This one felt the best to me. "

WHAT?! "

I have to agree tbh, as much as I love SOTN, sc4 felt like it was far more about improving your skill at the game than getting phat l00t. "

Does improving skill necessarily make a better game experience overall with all that is considered in the games we are discussing?  I'm intrigued a little by both of your statements.  I wholeheartedly disagree, but I'd like to know your rationales.  "

" If you've got a PSP, Dracula X Chronicles is great. It's an updated remake of Rondo of Blood, and includes Symphony of the Night and the original PC Engine version of Rondo of Blood as well. "

Although it's one of the hardest entries in the series, I'd say Order of Ecclesia is also one of the best.

As has already been mentioned, Castlevania is really divided into two separate sub-genres of sorts. You've got your classic-style Castlevania games, and you've got your Metroidvanias. (Yes, I'm aware that a lot of people hate that term.) I'd be very careful about checking out the classic-style (i.e. level-based, rather than free-roaming) games, because I really don't feel that they've aged as well. I honestly feel that a lot of potential new fans to the series could be seriously turned off by certain older games in the series. 
 
The best game in the series, in my opinion, is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Sure, it's way too easy, for the most part, but the game has so much charm and so many surprises that I can still find out new things about it to this day. You can't go wrong by starting out with that one, although it'll definitely wrongfully set your expectations as to what sort of difficulty you should expect from a lot of other games in the series. 
 
If you happen to like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, then I'd recommend Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin or Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia next. The former is just such an action-packed game with a lot of variety in the stages (although it's still considered to be free-roaming), while the latter provides more difficulty (although, sadly, far less depth in the item drops). If you don't mind grinding for items, then you may want to check out the Sorrow games, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. I don't really care a whole lot for them, personally, as they rely too much on item drops (in the form of collectible souls), but they do offer a lot of depth (although it's in a really stupid way - i.e. you need a certain soul in order to sink in water, c'mon). 
 
I really enjoyed Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, as well, although it's certainly a less memorable experience than a lot of the other games. It throws a really cool twist at you about halfway through the game that's worth experiencing, and the armor puzzles are pretty cool. I'd recommend avoiding Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. It hasn't aged well, and it's a total tease. You'll think that you're progressing about eighty times in the game, only to reach a dead end with a minimal stat increase. Lame. 
 
As for the classic-style games, I'd say maybe go with Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (if you don't mind some really unfair boss fights. While a lot of people would recommend the original Rondo, I'd recommend skipping it. Its feel always just seemed kind of off to me, and the remake just controls better. I'd honestly recommend Castlevania: Dracula X (the SNES version) over the original Rondo, again, because of the better feel. Super Castlevania IV seems to get a lot of positive feedback from fans, but it honestly feels to me as though you're controlling a piece of cardboard, and the physics are just really unpredictable with the whip swinging. It also has one of the worst localizations in the series, as well as some gimmicky Mode7 effects that do nothing more than slow down the pace and frame rate. I prefer Castlevania: Bloodlines, personally. Much better game. 
 
If you'd like the purest classic-style Castlevania experience, then I'd recommend Castlevania and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse on NES. They're hard as fuck, but totally worth it. Oh, also, check out Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth for WiiWare. Good stuff.