Reinhardt Schneider (ja. ラインハルト･シュナイダー) is a vampire hunter from Konami's Castlevania video game series. He appears as a playable main character in Castlevania and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, both of which were published on the Nintendo 64 in the late nineties. His backstory and quest is just about the same for both games. A young, broad-shouldered man who wields a holy whip as his main weapon, Reinhardt is a formidable warrior and a noble soul.
Character History
Reinhardt, like Maria Renard and Nathan Graves, is a Belmont descendant who boasts a deviating surname. Though, the deviation in the surname was more than just a cosmetic difference: As he grew up within the system, he was often teased by his schoolmates, as if they couldn't believe that Reinhardt was actually directly in the line of such a famed group of warriors. These experiences polluted Reinhardt's mind with feelings of self-doubt, but they eventually manifested into a will to prove wrong all of the naysayers. Under any name, it was this young man who was chosen to receive the title of Vampire Hunter and with it the weapons that accompanied the honor. Specifically, he was fiercely trained by his father, Michael Gelhart Schneider, who taught him the true values of a vampire hunter and a man of God.
Reinhardt in Castlevania 64 & Legacy of Darkness
Template:Spoiler When the time has come, Reinhardt sets out to destroy Dracula, knowing he has to overcome many dangers to achieve his goal. His quest sees him fighting his way through a cursed forest and a cursed castle, where Reinhardt has to defeat several gruesome beasts. However, when Reinhardt reaches a mysterious Villa mansion, he encounters a woman named Rosa who, Reinhardt is shocked to find, is a vampire, albeit unwillingly. Instead of attacking the Vampire Hunter however, Rosa helps him, and Reinhardt leaves the Villa thankful for her help, although he is worried about what will happen to her next.
This would however not be the last time he meets Rosa, as he at a later stage of his quest sees her, despairing at her fate as a cursed creature, attempting a sunlight-assisted suicide, and the Vampire Hunter finds himself for the first time ever saving a vampire's life. He gets little grattitude in return however, as Rosa says he should have let her die. She departs with an ominous warning.
When Reinhard after overcoming the monsters and riddles of the Castle Center encounters the powerful demon Death, one of Dracula's most dangerous lackeys, his worsts fears comes true when he sees Death has brought Rosa, and Death forces the vampire to fight Reinhardt. The emontionally charged battle ends with Reinhardt winning, but Rosa surviving, and she and Death disapears in a puff of smoke.
But Rosa still wasn't completely in evil's power, and when Death attempts in a cowardly ambush atop the clock tower to kill Reinhardt, Rosa appears once more to shield Reinhardt from the attack and absorbs the fatal blow. She did believe in him, after all, and he returns the favor by promising the fearing Rosa that God would forgive her tortured soul. He then proceeds to destroy Death and sends the evil demon back to Hell.
One last hurdle remains, and Reinhardt finally confronts Dracula, and after a titanic battle against the dark lord in his many forms, the Vampire Hunter fulfils his quest by defeating the most powerful of vampires. The victory brings more than just glory, as Rosa, because of Dracula's defeat and her own will to live and to overcome the curse through forgiveness, was allowed to return to this world as she once lived. Through this victory, therein, Reinhardt gains more than just the respect of his peers.