Other Recurrences

Slogra and Gaibon

Super Castlevania 4
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

      

One of the surprises of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night comes early on when you run into Slogra and Gaibon, two of the boss guardians you faced a long time ago on the last level of Super Castlevania 4. Better yet--both look, act and attack identically to their past formations. The only difference, this time, is that they have some tag-team moves that they can use at any time. When you enter into their chamber, both will begin firing at you with their respective powers: Slogra will shoot explosive blasts from the tip of his spear while Gaibon will spit fireballs while grounded or while flying through the air--diagonally downward while in the air. If you strike Slogra, Gaibon will lift him into the air; Gaibon will then fly back and forth with him in tow until Slogra points the spear downward and is ready to land on your head.

When Slogra is damaged enough, he'll shed the spear and begin using his crouching beak dash. (Gaibon, if you let him live to this point, will continue to carry Slogra up to safety after each sword or whip strike.) When Gaibon is damaged enough, he'll turn red, wherein he becomes faster and his fireballs become more rapid. After defeating this vile team, you can move on. You'll run into both later--well, many individual incarnations of both, in fact--in the reverse castle; by this time, no Slogras or Gaibons should be a match for you.


Werewolf and Minotaurus

"Dracula X" Games
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

     
      

Lypuston and Minotarusu, as they're better known on this site, return from the Dracula X games as a team and as the chief servants of the spell-induced Richter Belmont. As with Slogra and Gaibon, both retain most of their powers from their past formations--but they add team elements in there as well. The Werewolf (described as a shape-shifting lycanthrope) can reach back, generate a blue flame, and throw it forward; he'll also cling onto the ceiling and dart toward you, sometimes hitting the floor with his fist and sending flaming debris everywhere. Minotaurus will readily attempt to poke you his ax or breathe stone-inducing mist in your face; he'll also use the ax for a diving ax thrust. When he's had enough of that, he'll flip the ax into the air and strike you with a flaming uppercut, getting back in time to catch his weapon.

As for teamwork: The move that they have in common is the air-dash, and they'll use this to crisscross each other frequently. When the two get close together, the Werewolf will curl into a ball, then Minotaurus will grab onto him and bounce him around like a basketball--which will be reminiscent of Lypuston's rebounding attack in the Dracula X games; the Werewolf can alternate the move by rolling around the walls and ceilings. On the sports note, they'll also play a game of baseball: When Lypuston throws the blue flames, Minotaurus will sometimes redirect them by swinging forward with his ax. It's always best to concentrate on eliminating one of them quickly in order to make it a one-on-one battle. The Werewolf is tougher as a singles foe, incidentally, so you'll want to defeat him first.

 

Shaft

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night




Shaft first appears in the Rondo of Blood, where he's a more active participant. At part of his gameplan, though, he will initially conjure up some servants and then step to the sidelines as the heroes tangle with, in order, the Mummy, Medusa, a Phantom Bat and the Frankenstein Monster. After the defeat of the four servants, there's no time to rest or regain energy because Shaft will teleport in for a final showdown. As Shaft teleports about, avoiding actual combat, he'll command two magical orbs to adopt elemental properties and attack in obvious patterns: (1) They'll transform into two large stalking flames that can be redirected if struck. (2) They'll float atop the screen and blast down parallel bolts of lightning. (3) They'll magnetically rotate around an invisible center point, thereby creating a a rather large obstacle.

Shaft returns in Symphony of the Night for what is a similar battle. Because he's this time without the aid of other ultimate evils, he ups his game by magically creating a virtual storm of elemental orbs. Before they spring to life, Shaft will place himself within the confines of a forcefield protected by rotating rings; this device allows him to move about the room as he pleases as the orbs do all of the work. That is, any number of electrically charged orbs will continue to rebound around the room to overwhelm the hero. At any time, a random pair of orbs can jump to opposite sides of the room, where they'll line up parallel, and create between them a damaging energy bolt; they'll then for a short period move the bolt vertically, up and back down, at room's length. With so much going on, it's difficult to concentrate on Shaft, the target in question.

 

Camilla

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

               
  

Camilla got her start in Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest as the unseen controller of the Vampira mask, which Simon Belmont encountered in Laruba Mansion. It wasn't until Rondo of Blood where we got our first glimpse of the vampire countess and eternal worshipper of Count Dracula. It's in Rondo where Camilla teams up with her own personal servant, Laura, who at battle's start observes the action from her unassuming chair. The wild-haired Camilla mounts a flying skull and continues to float from one side of the room to the other; from atop her perch, Camilla tosses down single flames that combust and spill out, spreading into four--two arcing in either direction. Laura will eventually get involved and while walking about attempt to grab onto a nearing hero and drain his or her hearts while holding said hero for a Camilla attack. When Camilla is defeated, Laura will ditch the dress, don battle gear, and attack with martial arts--a flurry of high-flying kicks.

Camilla takes the spotlight in Circle of the Moon, where she plays the role of the main antagonist and the chief lieutenant in charge of the resurrection and the regaining of full power of Count Dracula. After an initial meeting, where the battle lines are drawn, Nathan Graves and Camilla finally tangle in the castle's Underground Waterway. Little has changed in terms of Camilla's fighting style; she once again mounts a giant flying skull (of some unknown monstrosity) and rides it, high overhead, from one side of the room to the other, always staying busy. While in motion, Camilla will litter the air with a spate of poisonous fumes--this to stall Nathan's effort and act as temporary protection for her next maneuver: A swoop attack wherein she'll try to catch him by surprise. Otherwise, she'll gather into either corner, begin bobbing up and down, and insofar release a short-ranged electrical charge, further keeping Nathan at bay.


Skull Knight

Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

In his special interview in Castlevania Chronicles, one of the game's creators, who was also one of the staffers that produced Symphony of the Night, noted his love for Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. In tribute to that, he brought back a couple of its boss creatures. Back then, the Skull Knight, a lesser version of the Skull Knight King, could only patrol back and forth and throw a short-ranged sword slash. Hundreds of years later, the Skull Knight has learned some new tricks.

The Harmony version has to be defeated three times: It will initially fight like it did back then: It'll charge toward you with high jumps and swing its sword mightily. If you strike the Skull Knight, it'll put up its shield and thwart any of your attacks. After you strike the Knight enough times, it'll lose its sword and submerge into the ground, signaling the start of round two. Without its sword, it'll now rely on its devastating dash attack, which can be executed the length of the room, depending on your position. This attack will be used often, forcing you to stay mostly airborne. When struck some more, it'll finally lose all of its protection and once again submerge into the ground, popping back up elsewhere for the final round. This time around, the Skull Knight debuts its most powerful attack: An expanding laser which can only be ducked under; its duration is usually lengthy, but the Skull Knight will sometimes intentionally flash it shortly to psyche you out.

 

Cyclops

Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

Much like the Skull Knight, the Cyclops was another favorite of Harmony's staffers. So after a long layoff, it returns to the team. It makes you wonder where most of these bosses go when they're absent from a game. Does Dracula send them to a minor league division for evil? Anyway: The Cyclops as you knew it was limited offensively because of its bulk. With its sledgehammer in hand, it would slowly march toward you and try to plant it into your skull. If you were to stay grounded, it would occasionally show some speed and execute a dash in your direction, gaining better momentum for its hammer smash. The Cyclops returns over three hundred years later, bulked up, trickier, and with a much higher rank--it's ultimately the game's second-last regular boss.

The Cyclops in Harmony is like a cross between the Minotaur and Skull Knight from the same game. Its nimble in its movement, both while on the ground and in the air, and it executes its hammer smash with excellent speed, wide range, and a crippling amount of power. At any time, it will also execute its new and improved dash attack, very much mimicking the Skull Knight--using this move, the Cyclops can reach as far as the room stretches, again depending on your position; however, the Cyclops' dash is quicker than the Skull Knight's and comes with less warning. These turn out to be its only two moves, but at that point, where it's late in the game, that's about all it needs. Your only real advantage, as you've had over similar enemies, is that you can force the Cyclops to retreat slightly by striking it repeatedly.

 

Balore

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Dawn of Sorrow / Portrait of Ruin

Balore appears in the two Sorrow-themed titles and Dawn's DS follow-up, Portrait of Ruin. In Aria of Sorrow, it will at first seem as though another pesky phantom bat will stand in your way. Balore will end that threat by crushing it to death, an act of intimidation from one of the more powerful bosses. Though, only the gigantic Balore's face and fists will be visible to you. The objective is to damage its open right eye while avoiding contact with its fists, which are always in motion; it's especially a bad idea to remain underneath the open eye because Balore is always crashing its fists into the ground where you stand, contact that always knocks you across the room. When the right eye is damaged enough, it'll retract its fists and open the left eye. This eye will expel across the ground, from left to right or vice versa, lasers that make a wave of flame ignite in that direction; the pace of this attack quickens as you damage the eye further. In this case, you'll have to execute quick jumps to clear the high-rising flames and find a way to initiate own offense.

Balore returns in Dawn of Sorrow (and then again in Portrait of Ruin, ripped by the developers directly from the previous Dawn of Sorrow) to again intimidate. The more compressed and yet still fearsome Balore will this time use a single arm, which it will always keep in motion. Using its overmuscled limb, Balore will strike in two ways: Either by crashing its fast into the ground, in an attempt to smash grounded prey, or by throwing toward the ceiling a vicious uppercut should the hero be at the time airborne. Though, they don't for nothing describe Balore as "having a fear-inducing gaze," which is more terrifying when you actually see it. That is, Balore will at any point fire from its exposed eye a devastating expanding laser, which can strike multiple times for a possible one-shot kill.

 

Wyvern

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

The wyvern first appeared in Rondo of Blood, where it gained the distinction of being one of the series' biggest pushovers. There's not much to it, really: The wyvern hovers overhead and either (a) spews multiple flame blasts that hit the ground and bounce unpredictably in either direction or (b) swoops in for an attack with its outstretched claws. A few hits are all that's needed to reduce this thing to a collection of fossils. It will reclaim some of its dignity, later, when its skeletal remains serve as a summoned assistant to the ghostly Shaft boss.

Not all wyverns are pushovers, as the specimen in Curse of Darkness reveals to us. This frightening beast is as durable as it is gigantic, and its weak spot (its head) is never a fully accessible target due to its constant movement. Mainly, the wyvern will continue to viciously whip its tail; it will snap its head forward for a sharp-toothed bite attempt; and it swing its head around before crashing into the ground so hard that it'll become lodged in the earth. Naturally, it can breathe heavy flames, all the while whipping its head forward and back to cover a large area. It will other times fly upward a short distance before crashing down its huge frame and causing deadly shockwaves to spread forward. When things get serious, it will take to the air, circle the area, and come flying in with heavy flame breath--it will do this twice per flight. When it lands, it will do so with the same intensity and cause more in the way of shockwaves.

 

Werewolf

Dracula X titles and Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

As you learned in the description of the Werewolf-Minotaur combo, the lycanthrope is a speedy and overwhelming force. Still, due to its abnormal strength, in which it showcases in spurts, this half man, half wolf isn't just a one-trick pony. In its typical solo form, it has three separate games to its name, and it's been content to follow that template: When grounded, it'll utilize a dashing slide attack, or it'll hold back its fist, generate energy, and throw forward a flaming projectile. Though, it prefers to take the battle to the air, from where it'll use said exclusiveness to execute a few dizzying maneuvers; these include quick evasive jumps, rolling into a ball and quickly rebounding all about the room, and clinging to a wall before pushing off with full force and meeting the hero midair with a slicing kick.

In returning for Portrait of Ruin, it stays true to its roots and even throws into the mix some tricks used by other series-residing werewolves (like Akumajo Dracula X68000's She-Wolf). This more-bulky adversary certainly has some speed, but it prefers to keep things close to the ground where it can strike at close range using its powerful limbs; it'll do this with backhand punches and choking maneuver that while applied will continue to drain the heroes' health. It will otherwise showcase said speed using a quick-dash clawswipe or a running uppercut (which it learned from the Mintoaur, I guess). If the heroes refuse to engage at close range, it'll begin plucking out nearby lampposts and tossing them like harpoons. Finally, it can put its beastly nature to good use and with a screeching howl call for the assistance of several wolves that run in and do their part in crowding the heroes into submission.

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