Maria began her adventures in the Castlevania games in Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. This originally came out on the PC Engine in Japan. It was ported (poorly) to the US as Dracula X on the SNES, and is the direct prequel to Symphony of the Night. The 3d-rendered remake of Dracula X is coming to the PSP very soon, and should be just as good (if not better, since Ayami Kojima's work is in it) as the PC Engine version. She and Richter make an appearance in Portrait of Ruin for the Nintendo DS as unlockable characters after you've beaten the game once. She is a prominent (but unfortunately unplayable) in the PS version of Symphony of the Night. In the Sega Saturn version however, she is playable from the beginning, storming through the castle with a host of spells and summons that make mincemeat of the enemies. (no, it's not a particularly hard mode, but it's fun ^_^)
In Dracula X, Maria was one of four village women kidnapped by Dracula for nefarious purposes. Upon being rescued by Richter, the player has the option of switching back and forth from her to Richter for the remainder of the game (a la Castlevania III). She attacks with her four animal companions, which represent the Four Chinese Gods: Suzaku (the phoenix, represented by birds), Seiryuu (the blue dragon), Genbu (the small turtle), and Byakko (the tiger cub). In this game she is 12, and acts much like a younger sister to Richter (indeed, she's his fiancee's little sister). Together, they vanquish Dracula, and the world is saved. For now.
In Symphony of the Night, Richter has mysteriously dissappeared, and Maria has resolved to go a find him. Now seventeen, her search leads her to the newly-restored castle of Dracula. Aided by her (now grown-up) animal companions, she races through the castle looking for Richter. She eventually runs across Alucard, and persuades him to help her search for Richter. Alucard finds the truth, that Richter has been seduced by the dark side, and is forced to fight him. Maria helps Alucard by giving him a special item that lets him see past the possession, and enables him to defeat Richter without killing him. Maria runs out to Richter's aid while Alucard descends deeper into the castle after the real villians. Working with the dhamphir, Maria develops a fondness for him, and after the defeat of Dracula, if the room exploration percent is high enough, she decides to chase after him. Perhaps something comes of their affection? Alucard seemed to grow fond of her, as well.
In Portrait of Ruin, Maria appears with Richter in a special "extra" mode, which completely throws off the timeline (unless they're some sort of "heroic spirits"). They appear apparently just for fun. (it IS fun... Richter and Maria are quite powerful, and it's a kick to go tearing through the castle with them ^_^).
Maria's blood type is AB.
English Voice Actress: Kimberly Forsythe
Ms. Forsythe has done voices for several video games including Tekken (1,2,4,5), Soul Blade, Soul Calibur, Bloody Roar 3, and Lunar Nights; as well as her work on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Japanese Voice Actress: Chisa Yokoyama
Yokoyama san is a well-known Japanese voice actress and has played in notable roles such as Sasami in Tenchi Muyo!, Lucrezia Noin in Gundam Wing, and Sakura Shinguji in Sakura Wars.
Japanese Voice Actress: Yoko Teppotsuka