Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is set to be released later this year. This game marks Konami’s latest attempt to update the classic video game series by bringing it into 3D and jumpstarting the story anew. So what better time to introduce a new toy line based on what looks to be a very promising game?

OK, confession time: I am a huge Castlevania fan. The second game I ever owned on my original NES was Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. That was probably one of the most confusing games I’ve ever played, yet I loved every minute of it. Exploring the creepy Transylvanian countryside, fighting off monsters, talking with strange towns people, collecting Dracula’s body parts, all while trying my hardest to locate the graveyard duck or avoid staring into the death star. What’s not to love? Ever since then, through the highs and the lows, I’ve been hunting down Dracula in his many incarnations and saving the good people of the world again and again.

Then, obsession took root. That happens to me sometimes. I’ll enjoy something so much that I must support it beyond just buying the product. I begin to collect whatever I can: posters, books, magazines, pamphlets, clothing, and whatever else I can get my hands on. As an toy collector with over two hundred official non-toy CV items in my collection, I can say this for a fact: There aren’t enough Castlevania toys.

A few years ago ReSaurus held the license, but unfortunately went out of business before anything got past the literal drawing board. In 2007, NECA’s Player Select line introduced four characters and two official variants to the world of plastic. Simon Belmont, Dracula, Alucard, and the Succubus were a great start to what could have been an incredible line. So what happened? Somewhere along the line there was a problem, and the figures didn’t receive a full release until a year after their scheduled date. Internet rumors blamed everything from disagreements between NECA and Konami to the idea that the figures were just super rare and only a few hundred existed. We’ll probably never know for sure, but no matter what the reason, it led to the same place. The line was cancelled.

Where does that leave us today? Castlevania: Lords of Shadow isn’t just a new beginning for the franchise, it’s also a new dawn for the merchandising. What better way to kick it off than an action figure of the new game’s protagonist, Gabriel Belmont. With his steely gaze, striking red armor, and unique Combat Cross weapon, Gabriel’s the perfect choice. And, with all the great work I’ve seen coming out of NECA’s Player Select line, I think they should continue with the license. Just seeing the amount of detail and quality of the Bioshock and Assassins’ Creed figures gives me faith that they can deliver on this new version of Castlevania.

So to Konami, and Dave Cox producer of Lords of Shadow, from one huge Castlevania fan to another: I need some awesome action figures. I need to finally merge my two obsessive hobbies, toy collecting and Castlevania, into one perfect chunk of plastic that can whip the fangs off those Universal Monsters figures that Diamond is coming out with this year. Oh, and is there any way I can get one of those cool Lords of Shadow masks too?

-Vault