Today marks the 25th anniversary of the very first Castlevania game -- one you likely didn't play, since it came out only on the Japanese MSX computer. But luckily for millions of fans worldwide, it was ported to the NES, a system with much wider appeal, and touched off a franchise that has enraptured fans of movie monsters, whip-wielding barbarians, fur-coated bishounen, and frustration.

In honor of that anniversary, and the relative obscurity built into its circumstances, we've rounded up some aspects of the series that may have gotten lost in the labyrinthine reaches of your brain, like a delicious pot roast hidden behind a brick wall.

[Image via The Arcade Flyer Archive]