W H Y
I'll not lie: I have a keen weakness for Ayami Kojima's silver-haired Castlevania men, vampire and human alike. This
list includes but is not limited to Alucard, Juste, Nathan, Soma, and of course my dear Joachim. However, Joachim seems
not to fade away into that gaggle of names. In fact, I was taken by his presence the first time I faced him...not in the
Dark Palaces boss chamber, but in my player's guide. Yes, as I scanned the text and character artwork decorating the first
few introductory (and obligatory) cast pages, I must admit he had some kind of a hold on me.
Maybe it was his obvious aura of wistful, spiteful angst; as the guide said, he was an angry soul with a sad history, full
of solitude and servitude. But, I was drawn initially by his appearance, predictably noting enthusiastically his beauty, and
the fact that he was a vampire. Vampire characters have never failed to fascinate me immeasurably, and him being one was a
huge plus in my eyes. Not that that alone signaled his worthiness of a shrine, but it helped...immensely.
When I finally reached his lair, after toiling for hours in the Dark Palaces level, I was rewarded with a pleasant yet
fleeting glimpse of my beloved. It pained me to have to defeat him and endure his death scene, but I felt it was worth being
able to play his story later on. And so I did. I endured it--all for the promise that I would be able to complete his story
with him. And since then I have done just that.
The call to make a Joachim Armster shrine, for me, was supported by all of these reasons. But it also was apparent (and still
is) that there is a severe lack of Castlevania character shrines out there. It's a sad truth, because it's such a rich and
engaging series that has been with us for over a decade now. I strongly encourage the growth of more shrines for this series.
As far as I'm concerned, there are just too many deserving characters to have such a lack of online appreciation.
