Soprano from the television drama The Sopranos as an example in regards to Dracula's characterization. By Lords of Shadow 2, Dracula starts questioning his actions. Kojima's input included advising Cox's team to redesign some of the lead character, Gabriel, who he felt needed a "more heroic face". Originally, Gabriel's design resembled a classic barbarian, before Kojima then advised the staff to refine him into a character that was more relatable for the player. Cox mentioned that the voice acting provided by Robert Carlyle helped humanize Gabriel's character. Appearances Dracula first appeared in 1986's Castlevania, set in 1691. At this point the plot of the series was very simple – Simon Belmont takes up his ancestral weapon, the Vampire Killer whip, and ventures into Dracula's castle to defeat its proprietor. The original game has no in-game text to drive the story along. The plot of Castlevania was re-used in the remakes Vampire Killer, Haunted Castle, Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania Chronicles. In the manual of the second game, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, it is revealed that, in his dying moments at the end of the first game, Dracula placed a curse on Simon, which condemned him to slowly die of his wounds. In 1698, Simon sets out to gather Dracula's scattered body parts and use them to resurrect the Count in the ruins of his castle. Simon then defeats the reborn Dracula. The best ending hints that although Simon defeats Dracula and dispels his curse, Dracula nonetheless revives himself. The 2 other endings in the game reveal that Simon died as a result of the final confrontation(this result happens if you take more than 7 days during the game to defeat Dracula). Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is a prequel to the original game, starring Simon's ancestor Trevor in 1476. This game introduced Alucard, Dracula's estranged son. In Dracula's Curse, it is stated that Dracula "practiced sorcery in order to create a bad world filled with evil". The people of Transylvania secure the aid of Trevor Belmont, who journeys to Castlevania and meets up with several allies along the way, including Alucard, Sypha Belnades and Grant Danasty. In Castlevania: The Adventure, set in 1576, Christopher Belmont defeats Dracula. It is later revealed that Dracula escaped and survived until 1591, when he kidnapped Christopher's son Soleiyu and tried to turn him against his father. In Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Christopher defeats Dracula again