and saves his son. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood takes place in 1792 and stars a new Belmont named Richter. This was the first game in the series to use substantial voice acting to further the narrative. Dracula is resurrected by a cult led by a dark priest named Shaft. He proceeds to kidnap several villagers including Richter's girlfriend Annette (who was renamed to Annet Renard in Castlevania: Dracula X and became Maria's sister) and Maria Renard. In the "best" ending of the game, Richter saves all the kidnapped women and defeats Dracula. The protagonist of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is Alucard, who enters Castlevania in 1797 following the disappearance of Richter. Symphony of the Night introduced the character of Lisa, Alucard's mother and Dracula's wife who had been executed as a witch for preparing medicine to help the sick. Alucard discovers that Shaft had placed Richter under a dark spell, the idea being that Richter would destroy all other enemies of Dracula. Alucard defeats Shaft, then faces his resurrected father. They exchange words before Alucard defeats Dracula, telling him Lisa's last words: "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot". Dracula cries out for Lisa's forgiveness as he returns to the abyss. In Castlevania Legends, a loose prequel to Symphony of the Night, Sonia Belmont, heavily implied to be Trevor's mother, faces Dracula circa 1450. Alucard is also featured in the game, and it appears that Sonia and Alucard were lovers. Series producer Koji Igarashi, who was not involved with Legends''' development, has declared it to not be part of the Castlevania canon.Castlevania: Bloodlines (known as Castlevania: The New Generation in Europe and Australia) is set in 1917 and attempted to tie the series closer to Bram Stoker's novel. The protagonists are John Morris and Eric Lecarde. John was intended to be the son of Quincey Morris from the novel. This game introduced Dracula's niece, Elizabeth Bartley, named for Elizabeth Báthory. It was implied that Bartley arranged the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in order to precipitate World War I. She resurrects Dracula, but she and her uncle are defeated by John and Eric. The 1999 Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness take place in the mid-19th century. In these games, Dracula's return is accomplished through the unusual method of having