The Bloodstained (ブラッドステインド Buraddosuteindo) series is a Gothic fantasy themed franchise of 2D action-adventure platformer games developed by renowned producer Koji Igarashi. The games that comprise it are intended to be developed in the same vein as those from the Castlevania series, and the franchise as a whole is considered to be a spiritual successor of his previous work on said series (mostly notably Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia.
Games[]
The Bloodstained series is currently comprised of three games, plus two DLC campaigns and one upcoming game:
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (2018) - Six possible endings; one is considered the True one in the Japanese version.
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019) - Three possible main endings, one of which is considered the True one. Different playable characters (Zangetsu, Bloodless, and Aurora) have their own endings, but these are considered non-canonical.
- Classic Mode (2021) - An extra mode of Ritual of the Night added in a free update, whose story is loosely based on the main game. It has only one ending and is not considered canonical.
- Classic II: Dominique's Curse (2024) - An extra mode of Ritual of the Night in the form of paid DLC, which continues its main game's storyline. Three possible endings, one is considered the True one.
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (2020) - Two possible final endings, plus an alternate-ending-like scenario mid-game that can add an additional playable episode. No information has been given on which of these choices are considered the True ending.
- Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement (TBA, 2026)
Setting[]
Regardless of the continuity, the series's currently released titles all share the same general setting:
At the beginning of the 18th century's Industrial revolution, a large Alchemy Guild, fearing to lose all of its wealthy patrons to the new scientific discoveries, recklessly summoned a gigantic army of demons in the human world, triggering a massive catastrophe, while also leading them to the creation of the Shardbinders, humans augmented with demonic powers. A decade after the event, the world, in one way or the other, is still struggling against the lingering demonic forces plaguing the land, with the threat of a new, full-scale demonic invasion never too far away.
Storyline continuity[]
The series takes place across several distinct continuities:
- Sorted chronologically, the main continuity consists of The Scarlet Engagement,[1] Ritual of the Night, and Dominique's Curse.
- Classic Mode is an isolated storyline, though it features plot points from Ritual of the Night's main story.
- The events of Curse of the Moon and Curse of the Moon 2 are considered their own, spin-off storyline, in an alternative take to the premise of Ritual of the Night.
While most released games feature a variety of multiple, alternate endings, most of them also make it clear which one is labeled as the True Ending for that particular adventure.
While there are some elements that make it clear that Curse of the Moon 2 is a sequel story of Curse of the Moon, none of the latter's possible endings perfectly match the scenario presented in Curse of the Moon 2; this still applies to the Japanese version of Curse of the Moon, despite definitively having labeled one of the endings as the "True Ending".
References[]
External links[]
- Bloodstained at the Crossover Wiki