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The Year is 1987.
The future is bright neon, personal computers are booming, red-haired vampire hunters do not exist (yet), and Castlevania has arrived on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
With it, an 8-bit man with a holy whip struts through a gothic castle, determined to vanquish Dracula and the darkness for good.
This is Simon Belmont, the early hero in a lineage of Christian vampire hunters who save their world when no one else can.
While others may better remember other Belmonts like Trevor or Richter from later Castlevania games—or the Netflix show, for better or worse—Simon is the first of his kind and an homage to the '80s fantasy-action protagonist. I never expected the character to grow on me as much as he did, but after maining him in Smash Ultimate for a long time, he has become my favorite Belmont and my favorite buff blond to ever grace video games.