If only this series had precedence for time foolery and characters being collected together from different eras.
the more story focused a Castlevania game is, the less replay value and play incentives it has and the more restricted it is, which isn't cool.
it doesnt even need story reasons to have characters from different eras playable and present.
Castlevania HD is still played these days online, and much of its values and flexible nature is thanks to not being story focused.
heck, Richter and Maria were only playable in SOTN, because they made it possible to include a version of the game that removes the story elements so
that the extra characters can be adaptable to it. though on the flipside, BECAUSE OF STORY, the extra playable characters can't fight story triggered bosses
like Werewolf and Minotaur, Death, Dracula nor Succubus.
so the overall series and genre should not invest its design and focus on storytelling. its better having things open and up to interpretation, so players can shape their own stories and meaning out of it through their own choices, preferences and playstyle and decide their own character(s) they want to play as, without the game forcing a character on them, that turns off a lot of people and they go play battle royale games instead, games that respect freedom of identity, and dont need storytelling to hold interest.