The (More Than) Complete Cast of CVRPG
Heroes, Villains, Low-lives, and Agents of Leisure
Maria Renard
Background:
Editor's Note: The Castlevania series created a rather complicated back-story for Maria, only because in her first appearance in the series, Rondo of Blood, Maria was just some warrior girl. It wasn't until Rondo of Blood was remade as Dracula X for the SNES that Maria was referred to as Annette Renard's sister. Of course, then the makers of Dracula X said that the game wasn't "officially part of Castlevania continuity", so Maria was, thus, not really Annette's sister. Except, then she was again in Symphony of the Night, which totally takes place in Castlevania continuity.
As far as Castlevania RPG is concerned, Maria is Annette Renard's sister. All material written for her reflects that. If anything, it makes Richter lusting after Maria even creepier, which is just the way we'd have it.
No one is going to dispute that Dracula is a bad man. Hell, Dracula would probably encourage the accusation (he's even gone so far as to have EVL BSTRD made as a novelty plate for his carriage). So when Dracula plotted the kidnapping of four local girls, all as a big "haha, sucker" taunt at Richter Belmont (one of the girls happened to be Richter's fiance), this seemed like just another day under the evil dictatorship of the Dark Lord EVL BSTRD.
What Dracula hadn't anticipated was that one of the four kidnapped girls, Maria Renard, would join up with Richter in the fight against Dracula (once she was freed, of course, because she totally wasn't going anywhere locked in a cage). That Maria proved to be an even more capable fighter than Richter only made circumstances even worse for the Dark Lord.
Knowing how Dracula's story always plays out, it should come as no surprise that Maria (with the help of Richter Belmont, although Richter tends to tell the story the other way around) freed the other girls and defeated Dracula quite handily. Richter might have had the Vampire Killer, but Maria had cunning, guile, and helper animals, and that's how she got shit done.
It was four years later that Maria had to step in again. Dracula's castle returned, and Richter went missing. Who else was going to save the day but Maria? Sure, Alucard played his part in the adventure (although, as he likes to tell it -- late at night at the pubs -- the adventure was really Alucard's), but it was Maria that explored through the castle, found the way to free Richter, and stopped the Dark Lord's full resurrection once again.
The only question remaining is: why isn't Maria the main hero of the series?
Personality Details:
Of the two Renard girls, Annette is the quiet one -- shy, reserved, rarely seen. Maria, though, is the brash, courageous one. Maria is not known for shying away from a fight (or, really, any encounter), and will get in someone's face if they cross her. While Annette was sitting at home, working on penmanship and crocheting, Maria was out in the fields, learning to fight, forage, and train animals to do her bidding.
Of course, her no nonsense attitude means that, as much as Richter wants to sleep with her (as Richter does with every female, ever), Maria wants little to do with him (regardless of the fact that he's married to her sister). She has slept with most of his friends, though, just to rub it in his face a little.
But don't think that she's some wild child, chaotically roaming the countryside looking for fights (and sex). Maria has a strong moral code, and will help those that need helping. Heck, she's saved the countryside from the forces of darkness. Twice.
Richter may be (leaning towards) evil, and Cornell may be useless, but Maria is the real deal.
First Appearance: #36: Yeah?! Now What?!
Last Appearance: #12: CVRPG Six, Part 2
