Richter Belmont

For fighter info, see Richter (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).

Richter Belmont
Richter Belmont in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.
Universe	Castlevania
Debut	Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993)
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Dead Cells (2023, via DLC)
Appears in
Console of origin	PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16)
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Brown
Created by	Toru Hagihara
English voice actor	David Vincent
Japanese voice actor	Kiyoyuki Yanada

Richter Belmont (リヒター・ベルモンド, Rihitā Berumondo^?) is a renowned vampire hunter and the descendant of Simon Belmont. He is the main character of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and a recurring character in the Castlevania series overall. He appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as Simon's Echo Fighter. He is the Ninth third-party character, following Solid Snake, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Ryu, Cloud Strife, Bayonetta and his ancestor Simon Belmont.

Character Description

As a member of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters, Richter is famous for his prowess in both the use of the family's Vampire Killer whip and sub weapon usage. Richter was called into action in the year 1792 AD, the events of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, when the evil Count Dracula attacked Richter's hometown of Aljiba and kidnapped a number of maidens including Richter's fiancée, Annette. During his mission, Richter rescued a young girl named Maria Renard, who he reluctantly allowed to join his quest since Maria displayed considerable magical power and had control of the Four Celestial Beasts. Richter, was successful in rescuing Annette from Dracula's clutches, as well as a nun, Tera, and a doctor-in-training, Iris. Along the way, Richter, had his first encounter with the dark priest Shaft.

Richter eventually came face to face with, and defeated Dracula. Though the vampire lord promised his return in due time thanks to the innate greed and evil of humankind, Richter countered that there would be another Belmont to stop him, and love would keep humankind strong.

Four years later, Richter vanished under mysterious circumstances. His friend Maria set out to look for him, only to come across Dracula's castle, appearing as if to guide her. At the same time, Dracula's son Alucard had arrived as well, seeking to find out why Dracula's castle had appeared earlier than intended. This culminated in the events of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

It later transpired that the evil priest Shaft had captured and brainwashed Richter into becoming the dark lord of the castle, intending to turn the holy power of vampire hunters against Dracula's enemies, coinciding with the imminent resurrection of Dracula. As Richter was the strongest of all, he was the prime candidate for this dark plot. Thankfully, Alucard and Maria were able to free Richter from Shaft's control. Maria and Richter fled the castle to safety, allowing Alucard to defeat both Shaft and Dracula once more. At the end of the game, Alucard states his intentions to rid the world of his own cursed bloodline and vanish forever. Depending on the player's map coverage, Maria and Richter can either allow Alucard this, or Richter, can convince Maria to look after Alucard and ease the pain in the dhampir's haunted soul.

It is unknown what happened to Richter after this, but what is known is that later in life, Richter gave up the Vampire Killer due to his actions as Shaft's possessed victim and went into hiding with the other Belmonts. During that time, non-Belmont vampire hunters took possession of the whip including Reinhardt Schneider in the mid 1800s, and John Morris in the 1910s, although he discovered the main drawback of the whip: its tendency to steal the life of its non-Belmont wielders. Nonetheless, in the year 1944, during the events of Portrait of Ruin, John's son Jonathan Morris battled the memory of the Vampire Killer to unlock its full power for him to use. During this trial, the whip's memory took the form of Richter.

Richter has a bonus playable campaign unlockable in Symphony and Portrait, though both are non-canon and lack stories, though Richter's unique moveset and playstyle (along with Maria's in POR) make up for this. Richter was also a DLC character in the HD multiplayer game Harmony of Despair, where he retained his vampire hunter's weaponry and Martial Arts moves.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a playable character

Richter in Ultimate.

Richter appears as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is an Echo Fighter of Simon Belmont, meaning that they share the same moveset, although some of their moves originated from Richter.

Trivia

• Although Rondo of Blood is greatly celebrated as the superior of the fifth installment of the classic Castlevania games, its featured console of the TurboGrafx-16 and its CD add on of the PC Engine failed to catch on to the western market. Dracula X, although a shortened port, presents itself as the pentultimate- and one of the last - classic Castlevania game made for the Super Nintendo, and was able to make Rondo of Blood's existence prevalent to hardcore fans in its turbulent time of the mid 1990s. Richter himself is also representative the last of the classic Belmont protagonists and their era, as their torch would be passed on to Alucard and Symphony of the Night's next generation Metroidvania style of gameplay.