{
  "id": "castlevania",
  "title": "Castlevania",
  "description": "From Leon’s medieval origins to Soma’s future: dated games, their retellings, licensed print and audio, Netflix and Lords of Shadow. Research edition includes Belmont’s Curse (1499) and makes inaccessible interiors and unresolved placements visible.",
  "continuities": [
    {
      "id": "original",
      "label": "Original history & connected stories",
      "note": "Main game history, compatible official side stories and licensed retellings. Reported excluded gaiden remain visible with disputed labels; their inclusion does not assert that every ending is mutually compatible. Hide disputed canon to narrow the view."
    },
    {
      "id": "lords",
      "label": "Lords of Shadow",
      "note": "Explicit reboot: Gabriel becomes Dracula and Trevor becomes Alucard. Chapters with large time jumps are separated; modern-day events have no invented release-year date."
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix",
      "label": "Netflix animated history",
      "note": "A separate adaptation, including Nocturne. Continuous seasons are grouped. Significant opening flashbacks are optional embedded scenes."
    },
    {
      "id": "crossovers",
      "label": "Crossovers & parody stories",
      "note": "Licensed meetings and comedy worlds without a demonstrated insertion into the original calendar. This is an index of different settings, not a claim they share one continuity."
    }
  ],
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "lament",
      "title": "Castlevania: Lament of Innocence",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1094",
      "order": 1094,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2003",
      "description": "Leon confronts the vampire plot that begins the Belmont struggle.",
      "note": "Year cross-checked in secondary chronology; Japanese official page confirms medieval premise.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lament",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1094",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "lament"
    },
    {
      "id": "lament-comic",
      "title": "Lament of Innocence — mobile comic, episodes 1–40",
      "type": "Comic",
      "date": "1094 (adaptation position)",
      "order": 1094,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2007–2008",
      "description": "Licensed serial retelling of Leon’s adventure.",
      "note": "Continuous adaptation grouped with the game. Defunct mobile distribution; no readable legal interior located.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "lament"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1094",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View franchise information",
      "productMatch": "Original mobile service unavailable; no exact Amazon collected edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View franchise information",
      "storyGroup": "lament"
    },
    {
      "id": "legends",
      "title": "Castlevania Legends",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "15th century; est. 1450",
      "order": 1450,
      "canon": "Disputed canon",
      "release": "1997",
      "description": "Sonia Belmont confronts Dracula.",
      "note": "The reported 1450 placement is retained as an estimate. Its origin story conflicts with Leon’s later-developed origin; not excluded simply for being a handheld game.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates",
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1450",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "legends"
    },
    {
      "id": "dracula-curse",
      "title": "Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1476",
      "order": 1476,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1989",
      "description": "Trevor, Sypha, Grant and Alucard oppose Dracula.",
      "note": "Konami’s Curse of Darkness and Belmont’s Curse pages independently anchor the 1476 battle.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "curse",
        "belmont-curse",
        "anniversary",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1476",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "dracula-curse"
    },
    {
      "id": "curse-manga",
      "title": "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness — Kou Sasakura, volumes 1–2",
      "type": "Manga",
      "date": "est. 1476–1479",
      "order": 1477,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2005–2006",
      "description": "Hector’s defection and life with Rosaly lead toward the game.",
      "note": "The prequel spans the Dracula-war aftermath. Exact chapter boundaries are not asserted without accessible interiors. Two volumes grouped; not identical to Kojima’s bonus manga.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "manga",
        "curse",
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1476–1479",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/201216021113/",
      "productName": "View publisher edition",
      "productMatch": "Publisher listing for volume 2; identifies one part of the two-volume serial, not a complete omnibus.",
      "actionLabel": "View publisher edition",
      "storyGroup": "curse-manga"
    },
    {
      "id": "prelude-revenge",
      "title": "Prelude to Revenge / Fukushū no Jokyoku",
      "type": "Manga",
      "date": "est. before 1479",
      "order": 1478,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2005",
      "description": "Ayami Kojima’s promotional Curse of Darkness prelude.",
      "note": "Separate interpretation from Sasakura’s manga. Creator commentary and interiors were not inspected; narrative bonus retained as connected material.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "curse"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Before 1479",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2005_ps2",
      "productName": "View related game information",
      "productMatch": "Preorder manga has no verified standalone Amazon edition.",
      "actionLabel": "View related game information",
      "storyGroup": "prelude-revenge"
    },
    {
      "id": "curse-darkness",
      "title": "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1479; three years after Dracula’s Curse",
      "order": 1479,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2005",
      "description": "Hector pursues Isaac after Rosaly’s execution.",
      "note": "Japanese official story states the three-year interval after 1476.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "curse"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1479 · +3 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "curse-darkness"
    },
    {
      "id": "belmonts-curse",
      "title": "Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1499; 23 years after Dracula’s Curse",
      "order": 1499,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2026-10-15",
      "description": "Rose Belmont faces a supernatural threat in Paris.",
      "note": "Konami explicitly supplies both year and interval. Rose is Trevor’s daughter; no invented connection to Sonia. Full game chapter chronology remains unaudited.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "belmont-curse"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1499 · +23 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/4231820/Castlevania_Belmonts_Curse/",
      "productName": "View on Steam",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding official game; no exact Amazon edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Steam",
      "storyGroup": "belmonts-curse"
    },
    {
      "id": "adventure",
      "title": "Castlevania: The Adventure / The Adventure ReBirth",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1576",
      "order": 1576,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1989 / 2009",
      "description": "Christopher Belmont challenges Dracula.",
      "note": "ReBirth reimagines Christopher’s adventure; grouped at its source-story position rather than dated by release.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1576",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "adventure"
    },
    {
      "id": "belmont-legacy",
      "title": "Castlevania: The Belmont Legacy #1–5",
      "type": "Comic",
      "date": "1576 (Christopher retelling)",
      "order": 1576,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2005",
      "description": "IDW’s licensed Christopher Belmont story.",
      "note": "Continuous five-issue run beside The Adventure. Adaptation placement; actual issue captions not inspected. Unrelated IDW backup advertisements are not extra Castlevania stories.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "idw",
        "idw-collection",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1576",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.comics.org/issue/2631314/",
      "productName": "View collected-edition record",
      "productMatch": "Matching official collected edition identified; exact Amazon stock/listing unverified.",
      "actionLabel": "View collected-edition record",
      "storyGroup": "adventure"
    },
    {
      "id": "belmont-revenge",
      "title": "Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1591; fifteen years after The Adventure",
      "order": 1591,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1991",
      "description": "Christopher searches for his son Soleiyu.",
      "note": "The fifteen-year passage explains the new generation; not Simon’s Quest despite the similar numeral.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "revenge",
        "dates",
        "anniversary",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1591 · +15 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "belmont-revenge"
    },
    {
      "id": "order-shadows",
      "title": "Castlevania: Order of Shadows",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1600s; exact year unspecified",
      "order": 1650,
      "canon": "Disputed canon",
      "release": "2007",
      "description": "Desmond Belmont investigates a cult with his sisters.",
      "note": "Century placement, not the midpoint 1650 as a fictional fact. Retained in the inclusive view; reported creator gaiden treatment is sourced separately.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "gaiden"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1600s",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "order-shadows"
    },
    {
      "id": "original-game",
      "title": "Castlevania — Famicom / NES and MSX2",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1691 (Simon’s first campaign / retelling)",
      "order": 1691,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1986",
      "description": "Simon Belmont enters Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Distinct game treatments of Simon’s story grouped together; no release-order sequel asserted.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "anniversary",
        "dates",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1691",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "simon-first"
    },
    {
      "id": "super-iv",
      "title": "Super Castlevania IV",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1691 (Simon’s first campaign / retelling)",
      "order": 1691,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1991",
      "description": "Simon Belmont enters Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Japanese Konami description explicitly calls this a remake. English localized century-later wording is not used to invent a second campaign.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "anniversary",
        "dates",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1691",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "simon-first"
    },
    {
      "id": "chronicles",
      "title": "Castlevania — X68000 / Castlevania Chronicles",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1691 (Simon’s first campaign / retelling)",
      "order": 1691,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1993 / 2001",
      "description": "Simon Belmont enters Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Distinct game treatments of Simon’s story grouped together; no release-order sequel asserted.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "anniversary",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1691",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "simon-first"
    },
    {
      "id": "haunted-castle",
      "title": "Haunted Castle / Haunted Castle Revisited",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1691 (Simon’s first campaign / retelling)",
      "order": 1691,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1988 / 2024",
      "description": "Simon Belmont enters Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Distinct game treatments of Simon’s story grouped together; no release-order sequel asserted.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "anniversary",
        "dominus",
        "dates",
        "amazon-dominus"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1691",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5X997ZB",
      "productName": "Dominus Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #251 (cover may vary)",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia, Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited. Cover may vary; stock and delivery not asserted.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "simon-first"
    },
    {
      "id": "simon-quest",
      "title": "Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1698; seven years after Simon’s first victory",
      "order": 1698,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1987",
      "description": "Simon tries to break Dracula’s lingering curse.",
      "note": "The sequel’s seven-year interval anchors Harmony fifty years later.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "anniversary",
        "dates",
        "harmony",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1698 · +7 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "simon-quest"
    },
    {
      "id": "worlds-power",
      "title": "Worlds of Power: Castlevania II — Simon’s Quest",
      "type": "Novel",
      "date": "1698 adventure; modern reader-frame date unspecified",
      "order": 1698,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1990",
      "description": "A reader is drawn into Simon’s quest.",
      "note": "Licensed retelling stays with Simon’s Quest. Modern frame not equated with the 1990 publication date. Interior unavailable.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "power",
        "inventory",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1698",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24627191M/Castlevania_II?show_page_status=1",
      "productName": "View book edition record",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Scholastic book, ISBN 9780590437752; no verified exact Amazon listing.",
      "actionLabel": "View book edition record",
      "storyGroup": "simon-quest"
    },
    {
      "id": "harmony-dissonance",
      "title": "Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1748; fifty years after Simon broke the curse",
      "order": 1748,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2002",
      "description": "Juste and Maxim seek Lydie in Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "1748 derives from the explicit fifty-year passage after the 1698 curse-breaking, not fifty years after 1691.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "harmony",
        "dates",
        "advance",
        "amazon-advance"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1748 · +50 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G7H296P2",
      "productName": "Advance Collection — Nintendo Switch, standard edition",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X. Platform, language and regional compatibility should be checked at the retailer.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "harmony-dissonance"
    },
    {
      "id": "rondo",
      "title": "Castlevania: Rondo of Blood / The Dracula X Chronicles",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1792",
      "order": 1792,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1993 / 2007",
      "description": "Richter Belmont rescues the captives of Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Same source-story position; Dracula X is an official reimagining with differences, not an event years after Rondo.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates",
        "advance"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1792",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "richter"
    },
    {
      "id": "dracula-x",
      "title": "Castlevania: Dracula X / Vampire’s Kiss",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1792",
      "order": 1792,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1995",
      "description": "Richter Belmont rescues the captives of Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Same source-story position; Dracula X is an official reimagining with differences, not an event years after Rondo.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates",
        "advance",
        "amazon-advance"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1792",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G7H296P2",
      "productName": "Advance Collection — Nintendo Switch, standard edition",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X. Platform, language and regional compatibility should be checked at the retailer.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "richter"
    },
    {
      "id": "symphony-prelude",
      "title": "Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight — bonus manga",
      "type": "Manga",
      "date": "est. before 1797",
      "order": 1796.9,
      "canon": "Assumed canon",
      "release": "1997",
      "description": "Promotional manga associated with Alucard’s return.",
      "note": "Prelude placement is bibliographic; no explicit interior date verified. Kept near Symphony rather than automatically labelled undated.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Before 1797",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View source-game information",
      "productMatch": "Preorder bonus; exact official collected edition unverified.",
      "actionLabel": "View source-game information",
      "storyGroup": "symphony-prelude"
    },
    {
      "id": "symphony",
      "title": "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night / Saturn version",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1797; five years after Rondo",
      "order": 1797,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1997 / 1998",
      "description": "Alucard explores the returned castle and Richter’s disappearance.",
      "note": "Four years after Rondo Richter disappears; the ensuing search adds the remaining year. Saturn additions remain with the same adventure.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1797 · +5 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "symphony"
    },
    {
      "id": "puzzle",
      "title": "Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1797 (Symphony retelling)",
      "order": 1797,
      "canon": "Assumed canon",
      "release": "2010",
      "description": "A puzzle-game adaptation of Alucard’s castle journey.",
      "note": "Same story position as Symphony; mobile availability is not asserted.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1797",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "symphony"
    },
    {
      "id": "recollection",
      "title": "Dracula X: Nocturne of Recollection — complete audio drama",
      "type": "Audio drama",
      "date": "1798; one year after Symphony",
      "order": 1798,
      "canon": "Assumed canon",
      "release": "2008 broadcast / 2010 CD",
      "description": "Alucard and Maria encounter another supernatural conspiracy.",
      "note": "Complete serial grouped. Embedded earlier memories are not separately dated without transcript inspection. Radio Chronicle is its programme/edition context.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "radio",
        "inventory",
        "dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1798 · +1 year",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.play-asia.com/en/castlevania-akumajou-dracula-collection-konamistyle-limited-edi/13/703rcg",
      "productName": "View licensed drama edition",
      "productMatch": "Konami collection includes the drama; archival retailer record, current stock not claimed.",
      "actionLabel": "View licensed drama edition",
      "storyGroup": "recollection"
    },
    {
      "id": "ecclesia-game",
      "title": "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1800s; exact year unspecified",
      "order": 1800,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2008",
      "description": "Shanoa seeks the stolen Dominus glyphs.",
      "note": "Century-range insertion after Richter’s era. Relative order against the 1830 and 1840s gaiden is unresolved; the sorting anchor does not assert a year 1800.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "ecclesia",
        "dominus",
        "amazon-dominus"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1800s",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5X997ZB",
      "productName": "Dominus Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #251 (cover may vary)",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia, Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited. Cover may vary; stock and delivery not asserted.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "ecclesia-game"
    },
    {
      "id": "circle",
      "title": "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1830",
      "order": 1830,
      "canon": "Disputed canon",
      "release": "2001",
      "description": "Nathan Graves fights Camilla’s resurrection scheme.",
      "note": "Year cross-checked in chronology. Reported exclusion is a separate canon issue, not a reason to suppress the date.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "advance",
        "dates",
        "gaiden",
        "amazon-advance"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1830",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G7H296P2",
      "productName": "Advance Collection — Nintendo Switch, standard edition",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X. Platform, language and regional compatibility should be checked at the retailer.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "circle"
    },
    {
      "id": "legacy-darkness",
      "title": "Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness — Cornell campaign",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1844; eight years before the 1852 campaign",
      "order": 1844,
      "canon": "Disputed canon",
      "release": "1999",
      "description": "Cornell seeks his abducted sister Ada.",
      "note": "Major time jump separated from the later playable campaigns.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates",
        "gaiden"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1844",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "legacy-darkness"
    },
    {
      "id": "castlevania-64",
      "title": "Castlevania 64 / Legacy of Darkness — later campaigns",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1852",
      "order": 1852,
      "canon": "Disputed canon",
      "release": "1999",
      "description": "Reinhardt, Carrie and Henry face the revived castle.",
      "note": "Legacy’s later character campaigns and the original N64 adventure share the 1852 era; route differences are not additional decades.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "dates",
        "gaiden"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1852 · +8 years",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "castlevania-64"
    },
    {
      "id": "bloodlines-game",
      "title": "Castlevania: Bloodlines / The New Generation",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1917",
      "order": 1917,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "1994",
      "description": "John Morris and Eric Lecarde pursue Elizabeth Bartley.",
      "note": "1897 Quincy Morris history is backstory, not this game’s date.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "bloodlines",
        "anniversary",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1917",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "bloodlines-game"
    },
    {
      "id": "portrait-game",
      "title": "Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1944",
      "order": 1944,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2006",
      "description": "Jonathan and Charlotte investigate Brauner’s painted worlds.",
      "note": "Official Japanese story explicitly gives 1944. Sisters and Richter bonus modes stay with the game; full independent chapter dates not verified.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "portrait",
        "dominus",
        "amazon-dominus"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1944",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5X997ZB",
      "productName": "Dominus Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #251 (cover may vary)",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia, Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited. Cover may vary; stock and delivery not asserted.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "portrait-game"
    },
    {
      "id": "aria-game",
      "title": "Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "2035",
      "order": 2035,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2003",
      "description": "Soma Cruz enters the castle during a solar eclipse.",
      "note": "Japanese setting takes priority over localized biographical differences. Julius mode is a bonus route, not a second dated resurrection.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "aria",
        "advance",
        "amazon-advance"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "2035",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G7H296P2",
      "productName": "Advance Collection — Nintendo Switch, standard edition",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Dracula X. Platform, language and regional compatibility should be checked at the retailer.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "aria-game"
    },
    {
      "id": "dawn-game",
      "title": "Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "2036; one year after Aria",
      "order": 2036,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2005",
      "description": "Soma faces a cult seeking a new dark lord.",
      "note": "Explicit one-year interval. Julius-mode alternative outcome is contained here, not invented as a sequel after the canonical ending.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "dawn",
        "dominus",
        "amazon-dominus"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "2036 · +1 year",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5X997ZB",
      "productName": "Dominus Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #251 (cover may vary)",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection includes Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia, Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited. Cover may vary; stock and delivery not asserted.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "dawn-game"
    },
    {
      "id": "divine-abyss",
      "title": "Kabuchi no Tsuisōkyoku / Reminiscence of the Divine Abyss",
      "type": "Novel",
      "date": "2037; one year after Dawn (secondary chronology)",
      "order": 2037,
      "canon": "Assumed canon",
      "release": "2008",
      "description": "A licensed prose continuation of Soma’s era.",
      "note": "Magazine story, not an available standalone novel. Date secondarily documented; inaccessible Japanese magazine interior remains a verification gap.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "narita",
        "narita-date"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "2037 · +1 year",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://twofive-iiv.jp/creators/ryohgonarita/",
      "productName": "View author bibliography",
      "productMatch": "Author confirms uncollected story; no unrelated Amazon product substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View author bibliography",
      "storyGroup": "divine-abyss"
    },
    {
      "id": "grimoires",
      "title": "Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "After the 1999 sealing; present year unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2019 / 2021",
      "description": "Arikado investigates awakened grimoires containing past battles.",
      "note": "The framing present is not automatically 1999 or the Apple Arcade release year. Internal book reenactments revisit older events. Service ended September 3, 2026.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "gos"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "After 1999",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/gos/global/en/",
      "productName": "View official story archive",
      "productMatch": "Service has ended; official information only.",
      "actionLabel": "View official story archive",
      "storyGroup": "grimoires"
    },
    {
      "id": "judgment-game",
      "title": "Castlevania Judgment",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Time rift connecting different centuries",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Assumed canon",
      "release": "2008 / 2009",
      "description": "Aeon gathers fighters from different periods.",
      "note": "Creator explicitly explains the cross-era meeting. No unique calendar slot; this does not prove a new disconnected franchise universe.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "judgment",
        "history"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Across centuries",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "judgment-game"
    },
    {
      "id": "despair",
      "title": "Castlevania: Harmony of Despair",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Cursed-book framing era unspecified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Assumed canon",
      "release": "2010",
      "description": "Heroes confront a castle assembled within a sinister book.",
      "note": "Reused heroes do not establish a literal chronological gathering after Dawn. Frame date requires further primary-text inspection.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "history",
        "inventory",
        "despair-official"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Date unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/products/cvhod/",
      "productName": "View official game",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Harmony of Despair product information.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game",
      "storyGroup": "despair"
    },
    {
      "id": "arcade",
      "title": "Castlevania: The Arcade",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Historical vampire-hunting era; exact year unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Disputed canon",
      "release": "2009",
      "description": "Three hunters confront an undead threat.",
      "note": "Reported creator gaiden treatment disclosed; no made-up nineteenth-century year.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "gaiden"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Date unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game history",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Konami game inventory and product links. Exact Amazon edition not verified; information link, not a playable copy.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game history",
      "storyGroup": "arcade"
    },
    {
      "id": "castle-gamebook",
      "title": "Akumajō Dracula: Kojō no Shitō",
      "type": "Gamebook",
      "date": "1950s (bibliographic setting)",
      "order": 1955,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1987",
      "description": "A licensed narrative interpretation of Castlevania.",
      "note": "Futabasha gamebook with a later Simon namesake. Decade anchor only; interior and precise year not inspected.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "1950s",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View narrative information",
      "productMatch": "Exact corresponding Amazon product not verified; no unrelated product substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View narrative information",
      "storyGroup": "castle-gamebook"
    },
    {
      "id": "legend-gamebook",
      "title": "Akumajō Densetsu: Shinsei Vampire Hunter",
      "type": "Gamebook",
      "date": "After 1476; later descendant era unspecified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1990",
      "description": "A licensed narrative interpretation of Castlevania.",
      "note": "A descendant’s gamebook adventure, not a retelling assigned automatically to Trevor’s 1476 campaign.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Date unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View narrative information",
      "productMatch": "Exact corresponding Amazon product not verified; no unrelated product substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View narrative information",
      "storyGroup": "legend-gamebook"
    },
    {
      "id": "blood-novel",
      "title": "Akumajō Dracula: Akuma no Chi, Chi no Akumu",
      "type": "Novel",
      "date": "Date unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1992–1995 serial / 1994 book",
      "description": "A licensed narrative interpretation of Castlevania.",
      "note": "Ichiro Tezuka’s licensed prose reimagining. No verified game-calendar insertion.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Date unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View narrative information",
      "productMatch": "Exact corresponding Amazon product not verified; no unrelated product substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View narrative information",
      "storyGroup": "blood-novel"
    },
    {
      "id": "takarazuka",
      "title": "Castlevania: Awakening in the Moonlight",
      "type": "Stage production",
      "date": "Late 18th century; French revolutionary setting",
      "order": 1789,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2025",
      "description": "A licensed narrative interpretation of Castlevania.",
      "note": "Original Takarazuka story, not silently merged with Symphony. No exact 1797 date asserted; historical period anchor only.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "stage"
      ],
      "continuity": "original",
      "railLabel": "Late 1700s",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/revue/2025/dracula/info.html",
      "productName": "View narrative information",
      "productMatch": "Exact corresponding Amazon product not verified; no unrelated product substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View narrative information",
      "storyGroup": "takarazuka"
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-one",
      "title": "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow — main campaign",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "1047",
      "order": 1047,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2010",
      "description": "Gabriel seeks a way to restore Marie.",
      "note": "Medieval campaign; far-future ending is an optional embedded scene, not a reason to date the whole campaign in the modern era.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "1047",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/234080/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Ultimate_Edition/",
      "productName": "View on Steam",
      "productMatch": "Ultimate Edition includes the main game, Reverie and Resurrection.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Steam",
      "storyGroup": "lords-one"
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-dlc",
      "title": "Lords of Shadow: Reverie & Resurrection",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "est. 1047; after the medieval campaign",
      "order": 1047.1,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2011",
      "description": "Gabriel’s confrontation with the Forgotten One continues the ending.",
      "note": "Two directly continuing narrative DLC chapters grouped. Before the first game’s modern epilogue.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "After 1047",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/234080/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Ultimate_Edition/",
      "productName": "View on Steam",
      "productMatch": "Ultimate Edition includes the main game, Reverie and Resurrection.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Steam",
      "storyGroup": "lords-dlc"
    },
    {
      "id": "mirror-trevor",
      "title": "Mirror of Fate — Trevor’s campaign (Act III)",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "est. 1073; roughly a generation after Gabriel",
      "order": 1073,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2013 / 2014 HD",
      "description": "Trevor enters the castle and confronts Dracula.",
      "note": "Chronologically before the Simon/Alucard acts despite being played later. Exact opening cards need a Japanese-script audit.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "1070s",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/282530/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Mirror_of_Fate_HD/",
      "productName": "View on Steam",
      "productMatch": "Full Mirror of Fate HD game; this timeline entry identifies the campaign portion.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Steam",
      "storyGroup": "mirror-trevor"
    },
    {
      "id": "mirror-later",
      "title": "Mirror of Fate — Simon & Alucard campaigns (Acts I–II)",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "est. 1103–1104; official synopsis: 57 years after the first game",
      "order": 1103.5,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2013 / 2014 HD",
      "description": "The next generation explores Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "Konami’s 57-year interval added to commonly indexed 1047 yields 1104; common 1103 indexing differs by one year. Bounds retained until game-card comparison resolves it.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "1103–1104",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/282530/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Mirror_of_Fate_HD/",
      "productName": "View on Steam",
      "productMatch": "Full Mirror of Fate HD game; this timeline entry identifies the campaign portion.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Steam",
      "storyGroup": "mirror-later"
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-two-prologue",
      "title": "Lords of Shadow 2 — medieval castle prologue",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Centuries before the modern campaign; after Mirror of Fate",
      "order": 1500,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2014",
      "description": "Dracula defends his castle.",
      "note": "Only the relative interval is asserted; 1500 is not a story date.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "Centuries earlier",
      "segment": true,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game information",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Lords of Shadow game inventory; exact Amazon edition not verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game information",
      "storyGroup": "lords-two-prologue"
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-epilogue",
      "title": "Lords of Shadow — modern epilogue",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Modern era; centuries after the medieval campaign",
      "order": 2000,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2010",
      "description": "Zobek finds Gabriel in a changed world.",
      "note": "Embedded ending shown separately to preserve the large time jump.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "Modern era",
      "segment": true,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/234080/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Ultimate_Edition/",
      "productName": "View on Steam",
      "productMatch": "Ultimate Edition includes the main game, Reverie and Resurrection.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Steam",
      "storyGroup": "lords-epilogue"
    },
    {
      "id": "revelations-dlc",
      "title": "Lords of Shadow 2: Revelations",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Modern era; immediately before Lords of Shadow 2",
      "order": 2000.1,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2014",
      "description": "Alucard prepares the events surrounding his father’s return.",
      "note": "Official DLC premise places this before the main campaign, although it released later.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "revelations",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "Before Lords 2",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/revelations/BQNXL842VVPM",
      "productName": "View official DLC edition",
      "productMatch": "Revelations narrative expansion; Lords of Shadow 2 base game required.",
      "actionLabel": "View official DLC edition",
      "storyGroup": "revelations-dlc"
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-two",
      "title": "Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 — main campaign",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Modern era; after the first game’s epilogue",
      "order": 2000.2,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2014",
      "description": "Dracula confronts Satan’s return in a modern city.",
      "note": "No exact 2014 fictional date inferred from release.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "lords-story",
        "inventory",
        "lords-calendar"
      ],
      "continuity": "lords",
      "railLabel": "Modern era",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View official game information",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Lords of Shadow game inventory; exact Amazon edition not verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View official game information",
      "storyGroup": "lords-two"
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix-lisa",
      "title": "Castlevania — Lisa & Dracula opening scenes",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "1455 → 1475",
      "order": 1455,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2017",
      "description": "Lisa meets Dracula; her later execution begins his revenge.",
      "note": "Embedded scenes from season 1 episode 1, separated because of the twenty-year jump.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1455–1475",
      "segment": true,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/138",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "netflix-lisa"
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix-one",
      "title": "Castlevania — season 1, episodes 1–4",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "1476 main campaign",
      "order": 1476,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2017",
      "description": "Trevor, Sypha and Alucard converge against Dracula.",
      "note": "1455/1475 opening scenes can be shown separately. Season grouped through the directly continuing campaign.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1476",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/138",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "netflix-one"
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix-two-series",
      "title": "Castlevania — season 2, episodes 1–8",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "1476; continuation of season 1",
      "order": 1476.1,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2018",
      "description": "The alliance strikes at Dracula’s castle.",
      "note": "No new calendar year inferred solely from the season change.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1476",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/139",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "netflix-two-series"
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix-three",
      "title": "Castlevania — season 3, episodes 1–10",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "est. 1476–1477; about a month after Dracula’s defeat",
      "order": 1476.2,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2020",
      "description": "The survivors follow diverging paths after the battle.",
      "note": "Relative passage retained; calendar crossing not verified. Concurrent character stories stay together.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1476–1477",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/140",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "netflix-three"
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix-four",
      "title": "Castlevania — season 4, episodes 1–10",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "est. 1476–1477; after season 3",
      "order": 1476.3,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2021",
      "description": "New resurrection schemes draw the survivors back into conflict.",
      "note": "Continuous season grouped, including its short epilogue. No independent exact year claimed.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1476–1477",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Evidence-based estimate",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": true,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/141",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "netflix-four"
    },
    {
      "id": "nocturne-boston",
      "title": "Castlevania: Nocturne — Boston opening",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "1783; nine years before the main story",
      "order": 1783,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2023",
      "description": "Young Richter witnesses a formative tragedy.",
      "note": "Opening flashback from season 1 episode 1, not a separate episode or series.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates",
        "netflix",
        "netflix-two"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1783",
      "segment": true,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/142",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "nocturne-boston"
    },
    {
      "id": "nocturne-one",
      "title": "Castlevania: Nocturne — season 1, episodes 1–8",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "1792",
      "order": 1792,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2023",
      "description": "Richter, Maria and Annette confront a revolutionary-era vampire threat.",
      "note": "Netflix explicitly dates the main French story to 1792.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz",
        "screen-dates",
        "netflix",
        "netflix-two"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1792",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/142",
      "productName": "View official season edition",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed season edition; no generic Amazon search substituted.",
      "actionLabel": "View official season edition",
      "storyGroup": "nocturne-one"
    },
    {
      "id": "nocturne-two",
      "title": "Castlevania: Nocturne — season 2, episodes 1–8",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "1792; direct continuation",
      "order": 1792.1,
      "canon": "Confirmed canon",
      "release": "2025",
      "description": "Alucard joins the struggle against Erzsebet.",
      "note": "Eight-episode season grouped. Publisher-linked Amazon Blu-ray edition corresponds to this season.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "viz-two",
        "netflix",
        "netflix-two"
      ],
      "continuity": "netflix",
      "railLabel": "1792",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Relative / stated chronology",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1WCWXVC",
      "productName": "Castlevania: Nocturne — season 2 Blu-ray",
      "productMatch": "Exact publisher-linked season 2 Blu-ray; check region and current availability.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "nocturne-two"
    },
    {
      "id": "kid-dracula",
      "title": "Kid Dracula — Famicom & Game Boy adventures",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Parody future; exact calendar unspecified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1990 / 1993",
      "description": "A young vampire and his allies confront rival monsters.",
      "note": "Two related adventures grouped in a comedy setting; the hero is not assigned Alucard’s birth date from the main history.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "anniversary",
        "inventory",
        "amazon-anniversary"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "productName": "Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "productMatch": "Matching collection. Includes the NES/Famicom original, Simon’s Quest, Dracula’s Curse, Super IV, Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge, Bloodlines and Famicom Kid Dracula. Does not include MSX2, ReBirth or Game Boy Kid Dracula.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "kid-dracula"
    },
    {
      "id": "waiwai",
      "title": "Konami Wai Wai World / Wai Wai World 2",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Crossover worlds; no shared calendar verified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1988 / 1991",
      "description": "Konami heroes visit each other’s worlds.",
      "note": "Licensed narrative crossover campaigns retained without fabricating a Castlevania-century insertion.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View franchise information",
      "productMatch": "No exact matching Amazon edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View franchise information",
      "storyGroup": "waiwai"
    },
    {
      "id": "waiwai-book",
      "title": "Konami Wai Wai World — licensed gamebook",
      "type": "Gamebook",
      "date": "Crossover adventure; calendar unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1988",
      "description": "A printed interactive adventure through Konami worlds.",
      "note": "Separate format indexed; exact relation to either game’s scenes requires interior inspection.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View franchise information",
      "productMatch": "No exact matching Amazon edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View franchise information",
      "storyGroup": "waiwai-book"
    },
    {
      "id": "captain-n",
      "title": "Captain N: The Game Master — Simon Belmont appearances",
      "type": "TV series",
      "date": "Videoland; Earth-year anchor unverified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1989–1991",
      "description": "Simon joins the Nintendo-themed animated ensemble.",
      "note": "Appearance-level episode audit remains open; this record does not assert every episode has a Castlevania story.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View franchise information",
      "productMatch": "No exact matching Amazon edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View franchise information",
      "storyGroup": "captain-n"
    },
    {
      "id": "captain-n-comic",
      "title": "Captain N: The Game Master — Valiant comics #1–5",
      "type": "Comic",
      "date": "Videoland; internal story dates unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "1990–1991",
      "description": "Licensed print adventures of the animated ensemble.",
      "note": "Series-level inventory, not a claim Simon appears in every short story. Backup interiors still require inspection.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View franchise information",
      "productMatch": "No exact matching Amazon edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View franchise information",
      "storyGroup": "captain-n-comic"
    },
    {
      "id": "dead-cells",
      "title": "Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Dead Cells crossover; original-calendar insertion unverified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2023",
      "description": "The Beheaded joins Richter and Alucard against Dracula.",
      "note": "An actual crossover adventure; its reused characters do not establish a date after Symphony.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "dead-cells",
        "amazon-cells"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C75NWQ28",
      "productName": "Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition — Nintendo Switch",
      "productMatch": "Physical corresponding Dead Cells edition including the Castlevania expansion. Not a standalone sequel in Castlevania’s calendar.",
      "actionLabel": "View on Amazon",
      "storyGroup": "dead-cells"
    },
    {
      "id": "dbd-chapter",
      "title": "Dead by Daylight: Castlevania — chapter & original lore",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "The Entity’s realm; arrival dates unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2024",
      "description": "Dracula and Trevor are drawn into the Fog.",
      "note": "Official character prose is narrative material. Cosmetic appearances alone are not counted as separate sequels.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "dbd",
        "dbd-trevor"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://deadbydaylight.com/news/castlevania-adds-dracula-and-trevor-belmont-to-the-fog/",
      "productName": "View official chapter & lore",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding licensed chapter, with legal original story text.",
      "actionLabel": "View official chapter & lore",
      "storyGroup": "dbd-chapter"
    },
    {
      "id": "vampire-survivors",
      "title": "Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "Crossover castle; no original-calendar placement verified",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2024",
      "description": "The Castlevania cast enters Vampire Survivors’ castle campaign.",
      "note": "Licensed expansion retained; no precise main-history date asserted from character selection.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory",
        "ode"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://poncle.games/ode-to-castlevania-faq",
      "productName": "View official expansion information",
      "productMatch": "Corresponding Castlevania expansion FAQ; Vampire Survivors base game required.",
      "actionLabel": "View official expansion information",
      "storyGroup": "vampire-survivors"
    },
    {
      "id": "smash",
      "title": "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate — World of Light / Castlevania encounters",
      "type": "Game",
      "date": "World of Light; calendar unresolved",
      "order": null,
      "canon": "Non-canon connected",
      "release": "2018",
      "description": "Simon and Richter join the crossover rescue adventure.",
      "note": "Only narrative campaign context indexed, not every match or costume as a new story.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "inventory"
      ],
      "continuity": "crossovers",
      "railLabel": "Era unresolved",
      "segment": false,
      "confidence": "Placement unresolved",
      "inspection": "Source / inventory checked; full work not inspected",
      "estimated": false,
      "productUrl": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "productName": "View franchise information",
      "productMatch": "No exact matching Amazon edition verified.",
      "actionLabel": "View franchise information",
      "storyGroup": "smash"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "history",
      "title": "Konami Japan — official release inventory",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/history",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Release inventory checked against the story list. Release dates are not used as fictional dates."
    },
    {
      "id": "anniversary",
      "title": "Konami — Anniversary Collection",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/50th/ac/castlevania/jp/ja/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Eight included games checked. Japanese description identifies Super Castlevania IV as a remake of the original; the English hundred-year premise does not create a separate sequel here."
    },
    {
      "id": "advance",
      "title": "Konami — Advance Collection",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/advance_collection/us/en-us/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Circle, Harmony, Aria and Dracula X confirmed; Dracula X is a reimagining of Rondo."
    },
    {
      "id": "dominus",
      "title": "Konami — Dominus Collection",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/dominus_collection/us/en-us/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Dawn, Portrait, Ecclesia, Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited included."
    },
    {
      "id": "belmont-curse",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Belmont’s Curse",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/belmonts_curse/jp/ja/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Official site inspected: 1499 Paris, 23 years after Dracula’s Curse, Rose is Trevor’s daughter; October 15, 2026 release. Full game not inspected."
    },
    {
      "id": "lament",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Lament of Innocence",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2003_ps2",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Medieval Crusades premise; 1094 is cross-checked through the published chronology reference, not claimed as visible in this page."
    },
    {
      "id": "curse",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Curse of Darkness",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2005_ps2",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Japanese story explicitly gives 1476 battle and three years later: 1479."
    },
    {
      "id": "harmony",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Harmony of Dissonance",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2002_gba",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Fifty years after Simon broke the curse; Maxim returns from two years of training."
    },
    {
      "id": "aria",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Aria of Sorrow",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2003_gba",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Japanese setting explicitly 2035 Japan. English exchange-student localization is not used."
    },
    {
      "id": "dawn",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Dawn of Sorrow",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2005_nds",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "One year after 2035: 2036."
    },
    {
      "id": "portrait",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Portrait of Ruin",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2006_nds",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Explicit 1944 wartime setting."
    },
    {
      "id": "ecclesia",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Order of Ecclesia",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_2008_nds",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Early nineteenth-century disappearance of the Belmonts; no exact year asserted."
    },
    {
      "id": "revenge",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Belmont’s Revenge",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_1991_gb",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Christopher’s later adventure; fifteen-year interval cross-checked with the chronology reference."
    },
    {
      "id": "bloodlines",
      "title": "Konami Japan — Bloodlines",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_1994_md",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "1917 story; 1897 Morris victory is backstory, not a separate released game."
    },
    {
      "id": "dates",
      "title": "Castlevania Crypt — chronology cross-check",
      "url": "https://www.castlevaniacrypt.com/castlevania-timeline/",
      "kind": "Secondary",
      "note": "Secondary calendar index used for older story dates where the modern official portal omits a number. Not a claim that archived manuals or every game opening were inspected."
    },
    {
      "id": "inventory",
      "title": "Castlevania media bibliography",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Castlevania_media",
      "kind": "Secondary",
      "note": "Games, mobile releases, print, audio and screen inventory cross-check. Bibliographic identification does not establish canon or an interior date."
    },
    {
      "id": "judgment",
      "title": "Koji Igarashi interview — Judgment",
      "url": "https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/16557/mr-castlevania-koji-igarashi",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Creator describes bringing together characters unable to live in the same period. A time rift is not a calendar year."
    },
    {
      "id": "gaiden",
      "title": "Reported Igarashi chronology answer — transcription",
      "url": "https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php?topic=6337.0",
      "kind": "Secondary transcription",
      "note": "Secondary transcription reports separate-world treatment of 64, Legacy, Circle, Order of Shadows and The Arcade. Original interview not independently inspected; this uncertainty is why these retained entries are disputed."
    },
    {
      "id": "gos",
      "title": "Konami — Grimoire of Souls",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/gos/global/en/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Official premise describes the 1999 sealing and awakened grimoires. Service ended September 3, 2026; information link only, not an offer to play."
    },
    {
      "id": "idw",
      "title": "Grand Comics Database — The Belmont Legacy #1–5",
      "url": "https://www.comics.org/issue/407807/",
      "kind": "Bibliographic",
      "note": "Licensed five-issue run and creators identified. Full interiors/legal readable preview unavailable; 1576 is adaptation placement, not a claimed inspected caption."
    },
    {
      "id": "idw-collection",
      "title": "Grand Comics Database — Belmont Legacy collection",
      "url": "https://www.comics.org/issue/2631314/",
      "kind": "Bibliographic",
      "note": "Collected edition identified; no exact Amazon listing verified."
    },
    {
      "id": "manga",
      "title": "KADOKAWA — Curse of Darkness volume 2",
      "url": "https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/201216021113/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Publisher record: Kou Sasakura, April 22, 2006, ISBN 9784840113878. Readable story preview not available in the inspected record; internal chapter dates remain unverified."
    },
    {
      "id": "power",
      "title": "Library edition — Worlds of Power: Castlevania II",
      "url": "https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24627191M/Castlevania_II?show_page_status=1",
      "kind": "Bibliographic",
      "note": "Scholastic licensed novel, ISBN 9780590437752. Bibliography checked, interior unavailable; modern reader frame not assigned the publication year as an exact fictional date."
    },
    {
      "id": "narita",
      "title": "Ryohgo Narita — official works profile",
      "url": "https://twofive-iiv.jp/creators/ryohgonarita/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Lists Kabuchi no Tsuisōkyoku as not collected in a standalone volume. No unrelated Narita novel substituted for a product."
    },
    {
      "id": "narita-date",
      "title": "Kabuchi no Tsuisōkyoku — bibliographic chronology",
      "url": "https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Akumaj%C5%8D_Dracula%3A_Kabuchi_no_Tsuis%C5%8Dkyoku",
      "kind": "Secondary",
      "note": "Secondary identification of 2037 sequel. Original magazine interior not accessible in this audit."
    },
    {
      "id": "radio",
      "title": "Konami licensed collection — drama and Radio Chronicle inventory",
      "url": "https://www.play-asia.com/en/castlevania-akumajou-dracula-collection-konamistyle-limited-edi/13/703rcg",
      "kind": "Licensed edition bibliography",
      "note": "Retail inventory confirms drama/Radio Chronicle discs. Radio Chronicle is the programme container, not an extra independent sequel; current stock not asserted."
    },
    {
      "id": "stage",
      "title": "Takarazuka — Awakening in the Moonlight",
      "url": "https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/revue/2025/dracula/info.html",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Official original-stage-story production. French revolutionary setting is not proof it retells Symphony in 1797. Full script not inspected; historical period only."
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-story",
      "title": "Konami support — Lords of Shadow story",
      "url": "https://eu-support.konami.com/hc/en-gb/articles/9648480028695-What-is-the-story-of-the-Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow-series",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Mirror takes place 57 years after the original; Lords 2 follows the modern epilogue. Keep the interval and disclose the one-year mismatch with commonly indexed 1103."
    },
    {
      "id": "revelations",
      "title": "Konami — Revelations narrative DLC",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/topics/116/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Alucard prepares for his father’s return: before Lords 2 main campaign, not after it because the DLC released later."
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix",
      "title": "Netflix — Nocturne official synopsis",
      "url": "https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81436901",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Explicit French Revolution setting: 1792."
    },
    {
      "id": "netflix-two",
      "title": "Netflix — Nocturne season 2",
      "url": "https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/castlevania-nocturne-season-2-release-date",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Season 2 and continuing adaptation confirmed. No unverified later season added."
    },
    {
      "id": "viz",
      "title": "VIZ — Castlevania video editions",
      "url": "https://www.viz.com/castlevania",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Four original seasons and two Nocturne seasons inventoried; publisher provides corresponding disc editions."
    },
    {
      "id": "viz-two",
      "title": "VIZ — Nocturne season 2 edition",
      "url": "https://www.viz.com/anime/tv-show/castlevania-video/video-unit/279",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Eight episodes and direct Amazon edition B0G1WCWXVC linked by the publisher; not a generic Amazon search."
    },
    {
      "id": "screen-dates",
      "title": "Castlevania animated series — episode inventory",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania_(TV_series)",
      "kind": "Secondary",
      "note": "Opening 1455/1475 scenes distinguished from 1476 campaign; later season exact calendar crossings remain uncertain."
    },
    {
      "id": "dbd",
      "title": "Behaviour — Dracula’s original crossover lore",
      "url": "https://deadbydaylight.com/news/dracula-lore/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Official licensed narrative text, not merely a cosmetic appearance. Entity-world date has no proved insertion into the original calendar."
    },
    {
      "id": "dbd-trevor",
      "title": "Behaviour — Castlevania chapter",
      "url": "https://deadbydaylight.com/news/castlevania-adds-dracula-and-trevor-belmont-to-the-fog/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Dracula and Trevor chapter verified; character lore accompanies the game content."
    },
    {
      "id": "dead-cells",
      "title": "Evil Empire — Return to Castlevania",
      "url": "https://evilempirestudio.com/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Developer confirms crossover adventure. Not treated as a dated sequel to Symphony."
    },
    {
      "id": "ode",
      "title": "poncle — Ode to Castlevania FAQ",
      "url": "https://poncle.games/ode-to-castlevania-faq",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Official licensed expansion FAQ; crossover scope and base-game requirement."
    },
    {
      "id": "despair-official",
      "title": "Konami — Harmony of Despair product",
      "url": "https://www.konami.com/games/eu/en/products/cvhod/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Corresponding official game information."
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-edition",
      "title": "Konami on Steam — Lords of Shadow Ultimate Edition",
      "url": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/234080/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Ultimate_Edition/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Corresponding complete game edition; includes Reverie and Resurrection."
    },
    {
      "id": "mirror-edition",
      "title": "Konami on Steam — Mirror of Fate HD",
      "url": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/282530/Castlevania_Lords_of_Shadow__Mirror_of_Fate_HD/",
      "kind": "Primary",
      "note": "Corresponding full game; both separated campaign periods link to the same edition."
    },
    {
      "id": "amazon-anniversary",
      "title": "Amazon US — Anniversary Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #106",
      "url": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ML8N2K6",
      "kind": "Retail edition",
      "note": "Actual product title and listed format/content checked against publisher collection contents on October 19, 2026. No price or availability claim."
    },
    {
      "id": "amazon-advance",
      "title": "Amazon US — Advance Collection — Nintendo Switch, standard edition",
      "url": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G7H296P2",
      "kind": "Retail edition",
      "note": "Actual product title and listed format/content checked against publisher collection contents on October 19, 2026. No price or availability claim."
    },
    {
      "id": "amazon-dominus",
      "title": "Amazon US — Dominus Collection — Nintendo Switch, Limited Run #251 (cover may vary)",
      "url": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5X997ZB",
      "kind": "Retail edition",
      "note": "Actual product title and listed format/content checked against publisher collection contents on October 19, 2026. No price or availability claim."
    },
    {
      "id": "amazon-cells",
      "title": "Amazon US — Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition — Nintendo Switch",
      "url": "https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C75NWQ28",
      "kind": "Retail edition",
      "note": "Actual product title and listed format/content checked against publisher collection contents on October 19, 2026. No price or availability claim."
    },
    {
      "id": "lords-calendar",
      "title": "Lords of Shadow — calendar cross-check",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_Lords_of_Shadow",
      "kind": "Secondary",
      "note": "Secondary 1047 campaign date; original opening card not directly inspected."
    }
  ],
  "scope": [
    {
      "title": "Collections, ports, translations, demos and soundtracks",
      "type": "Edition inventory",
      "status": "Covered / not separate sequels",
      "note": "Anniversary, Advance, Dominus, Requiem and Dracula X Chronicles distribute the indexed adventures. A demo, music album or new platform is not a new narrative unless distinct story content is verified.",
      "sources": [
        "history",
        "anniversary",
        "advance",
        "dominus"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Medal, pachislot and pachinko Castlevania releases",
      "type": "Game / promotional narrative",
      "status": "Research pending",
      "note": "Licensed machines include numbered pachislot releases and a Lords of Shadow machine. Complete story-film inventories and legal footage have not been inspected; cannot assert these add no narrative or fabricate dated entries.",
      "sources": [
        "inventory"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Older promotional manga and crossover cameos",
      "type": "Manga / game / animation",
      "status": "Research pending",
      "note": "1997 advertising manga, Famicom Rocky chapters, Goemon OVA parody, DreamMix TV and other Konami crossovers require story-level verification. V Rising cosmetic pack is not automatically a separate narrative; Simon boss/lore needs a direct audit.",
      "sources": [
        "inventory"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "1999 Demon Castle War and 1897 Morris battle",
      "type": "Backstory",
      "status": "Referenced, not missing standalone games",
      "note": "1999 sealing and 1897 Morris victory are referenced events. No officially released standalone game is invented for either year. Bram Stoker’s historical novel connection is context, not a licensed Castlevania product substitution.",
      "sources": [
        "gos",
        "bloodlines"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "audit": {
    "checked": "2026-10-19",
    "status": "Research edition — verification gaps disclosed",
    "checks": [
      "Pre-build research table produced with every indexed narrative, canon label, supported date/interval, citation and matching information/product destination. Reviewed before page generation.",
      "Official Japanese inventory compared against games, mobile retellings, licensed prose/manga/audio, six animated seasons, stage production and narrative crossovers; known incomplete inventories retained in scope notes.",
      "1499 and +23 years independently anchor Dracula’s Curse to 1476; Curse of Darkness independently supplies 1476 +3. Harmony is 1698 +50, not 1691 +50. Aria 2035 +1 yields Dawn 2036.",
      "Simon retellings share 1691; Christopher comic shares 1576; Dracula X shares 1792; puzzle retelling shares 1797. Continuous IDW #1–5 and manga volumes 1–2 grouped.",
      "Netflix, Gabriel reboot and unrelated crossover settings do not overwrite original-game dates. Reported gaiden exclusion is a disclosed secondary canon question, not a split created by unknown years.",
      "Mirror’s 1103/1104 discrepancy retained as bounds. Broad-century sorting anchors never presented as exact years.",
      "No pirate scans used. Publisher manga listing checked for readable preview; unavailable interiors disclosed. No claim of exhaustive interior inspection or complete franchise coverage.",
      "Product matching reviewed: actual Amazon listing titles checked for Anniversary, Advance, Dominus, Dead Cells and Nocturne season 2. Collection omissions are explicit where a grouped version is absent. Other works retain publisher/collection/bibliographic or legal story links. Defunct Grimoire service is information only."
    ],
    "gaps": [
      "Older exact calendar dates partly depend on secondary published chronology; original Japanese manual/date-card and archived official timeline comparison should continue. No inaccessible primary source is described as inspected.",
      "IDW issue interiors, Sasakura manga interiors, Kojima bonus manga, gamebooks, mobile comic and Narita magazine story were not legally accessible in this audit. Their captions, flashbacks and potential time jumps remain unverified.",
      "Captain N appearance-level episodes/backups, machine narratives and older short promotional/crossover stories remain inventoried research gaps. This is a broad research edition, not a completed reference-quality exhaustive bibliography.",
      "Lords of Shadow Mirror calendar mismatch and detailed Japanese act cards remain unresolved. Animated later-season exact calendar crossings need script verification.",
      "Grimoire framing year and its relation to Soma’s 2035–2037 stories are unresolved. Judgment and Harmony of Despair have no invented calendar insertion.",
      "Most out-of-print exact Amazon editions are not verified. Corresponding information links are provided honestly; do not interpret them as watch/read/play availability."
    ],
    "publishReady": true
  }
}