Technically speaking the latter is closer to Simon Belmont as he appears in the instruction manual with the Short Red hair (the "real" Simon as some snobs like to claim):That guy doesn't come even close to what Simon Belmont went through
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Also the image you are using form "Classic" Simon comes from Grimoire of Souls, which uses the same design as Simon in Smash Ultimate due to brand synergy (Notice how every appereance from that game onward uses said look)
The Barbarian Simon as seen in the Cover of CV1 was first used in-game proper via Haunted Castle and fully canonized in the Sharp X68000 remake of Castlevania............only to be redesigned AGAIN with Chronicles for the PS1, which i still believe to be one of the worst redesigns of any game character and the worst design by the otherwise talented Ayami Kojima.
I could go and make a huge essay video about every design Simon has went through, but don't mistake this fact-check as me saying Judgement or Chronicles Simon designs are good, they SUCK. It's just that Simon's history is far more complicated than people give it credit for.
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