Next Generation

 

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Rosa
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Rosa is infected with the curse, so she, too, fights similarly to the typical vampires. Her main attack is to spit fireballs while chasing you around. In most cases, you'll wind up running in circles, which makes it difficult to gain ground on her; however, if you stay close--not close enough to where she could vampirize you--the fireballs will pass right by you before they lock on, and you can score some hits before she comes after you. If you don't keep moving, she'll follow up the fireballs by sending rose-thorns darting in your direction. If you get too comfortable afterwards, though, you'll fall victim to her Dracula-like sonic blast--this one is more wavy and unpredictable. Finally, if you get too close, she'll take out a sword and perform spinning slashes that'll surely cut you down. Striking her down, instead, will finally convince the fleeting Rosa of your intentions.

Games In: Castlevania 64 & Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Carrie's Cousin

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Saint Germain
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Saint Germain is yet another ally who forces one of those infamous "test battles"--this one to quell doubts about Hector's destiny. Germain, as a time-traveler, has complete control over time and its flow, a trait of which he'll take advantage during the duel. Most prevalent is his teleportation ability, which he'll use to continuously surprise Hector with sword stabs. He'll sometimes imbue his sword with a special property (a green glaze), and contact made will inflict upon Hector a poison state, which will disrupt his counterattack. Another of Germain's abilities is the time stop, with which he'll temporarily freeze Hector and attack sometimes before the forgemaster can regain movement. At any time (usually after a poisoning attempt is successful), he'll teleport high above the ground and use his magic to speed up time, which will advance the rate of poison damage and, more urgently, cause deadly vines to continuously break through the ground right where Hector stands; this will effectively keep Hector busy and distracted while Germain's teleportation attacks continue.

When Germain's energy meter has been reduced to its last bit, he'll again teleport high above and in this instance reverse the flow of time, which will replenish the yellow portion of his meter and extend the encounter. He'll continue his surprise sword attacks and time-advancing technique, certainly, but he'll now have available a new option: When he shouts, "Here we go!", he'll pull out a pistol and relentlessly open fire; since the bullets cannot be blocked, Hector will have to react quickly to stifle Germain or suffer what could possibly be a quick death.

Games In: Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Similar Enemies: None

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Security Crystal
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This will be a little bit different. In the Tower of Science, only in Legacy of Darkness, a crystal rests atop the tower in the center of a circular room--the tower's control room.

      

In order to destroy the crystal, you'll have to get close enough to unleash an attack; however, the crystal is protected on all sides by small cannons. There are about 6-8 cannons, each with a varying power: They can either fire bullets rapidly, blast you with grenade-like devices, or attack with a dissolving laser. If you destroy any of the cannons, the system slowly replaces it with a new one; destroying two or three of them will give you a little time to focus your attack on the crystal. If you're not careful, you'll be bombarded by cannon combinations and thus destroyed hastily.

Games In: Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: None

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Skeleton Diver
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The Skeleton Diver is a master of water, and it teams up with its partner, a giant fish, for a two-pronged assault. Since Hector is confined to a platform surrounded by water, the diver will take advantage of the situation by riding atop the fish and circling the cramped hero. As it circumnavigates the platform, it will viciously toss toward Hector a single trident or a set of flaming tridents. After a few trips, the duo will submerge and soon after dive out from the water and onto the platform, where the fish will wiggle its way across and into the water on the other side; contact with the fish will most assuredly damage Hector. Otherwise, the duo will dive well overhead with one of two outcomes: They will in their wake drop down more of same flaming tridents, or the diver will separate from its companion and lunge down for a surprise attack, furthermore partaking in one-on-one combat using a spear and any associated combos. The fish won't simply observe the contest--it will sometimes toss itself onto the platform, where it will (a) spit out a deadly stream of water or (b) from its side struggle across the platform to serve only as an obstacle. It's important to note that damage can be dealt to both the rider and the fish, regardless of separation.

Games In: Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Similar Enemies: None

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Spider Woman Queen
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This boss only appears in Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, in the underground caverns. The queen stands stationary in the north-most part of the room. From there, she spawns smaller spiders in droves, which more often than not distract your lock-on feature from the real target. While you fight off the onslaught of spiders, you may get caught off guard when the queen launches a spindle your way; if you get caught in it, she'll pull you forward and kill you in one shot. When damaged enough, she'll come out of her perch and chase you around. If she catches you in her spindle this time, she'll wildly spin you around and launch you into the air.

Games In: Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: None

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Thunder Elemental
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The Thunder Elemental is the most powerful of the elemental class. Even though it fights similarly to the Flame and Frost Elementals, it does it in a more unpredictable and effective way. The electrically charged Thunder Elemental fights with an equally electrical staff, which it can use to strike one-three times, randomly, and it can string together consecutive hits if the attacks are not blocked or dodged; it can also block most of your attacks and override most of them if you don't first allow it to exhaust its current flurry of staff swings. Thunder Elemental has its own selection of special moves: The first attack, which it tends to overuse, is to command several lightning bolts to strike down at random locations around the area where you're standing. It can surprise you by executing a blazing dash, which will knock you far back. And it'll stab its staff into the ground and cause electricity to spread out in an expanding ring, another attack that will knock you back. In "Crazy Mode," it has an extra attacks: It has more combo attacks, those similar to Leon's, and, while hovering in place, it commands lightning to strike down all around Leon.

Games In: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Similar Enemies: Flame Elemental & Frost Elemental

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Trevor
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Mistaken for an enemy, Hector will in the heart of the Garibaldi Temple find himself the target of Trevor Belmont. Though, this initial confrontation doesn't count as an actual boss battle, and Hector cannot win--he can only clear away a small portion of Trevor's meter, which will halt the battle and initiate a storyline animation sequence. Trevor will take to this battle with frightening whip combos (which include punches and a series of kicks) and holy water; alternately, he'll become enflamed and rush forward with a fiery uppercut. When the two meet again at the height of the Abandoned Castle, Trevor will show his true power. He retains all of the aforementioned abilities but with a noticeable increase in effectiveness. Before unleashing his wrath, Trevor will often channel his strength and become temporarily invincible, a state marked by a luminous glow; this state can only be wiped away through repeated strikes. Meanwhile, Trevor will introduce into the mix the cross sub-weapon, which he can throw normally, as a boomerang, or crash to summon forth a rotating shield of crucifixes; his fiery uppercut will now become a two-step attack; and his holy water, as well, now has a crash propensity.

Games In: Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Isaac

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Undead Parasite
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The undead parasite is a large virus that has infected and now inhabits a portion of the castle, and it has grown into an even more gruesome-looking entity. In order to drag out its true cause, you're going to have to do a little work. First, you'll have to destroy its four eyeballs that are implanted into the four corners of the room. While they offer no resistance to your attacks, there are two other things to look out for: The soullesses, two types of shapeshifting mud formations that pop up suddenly and lunge onto you, and a giant floating worm that emerges from one of the large openings on the wall and circles the area before exiting into another; it can also expose its head from an opening and breathe flames successively from left to right. When the eyes are destroyed, the fungal infection that caused this virus will begin emerging from a hole in the center of the screen, for seconds at a time, and from where the eyes once were. While you attempt to finish it off, the soullesses and floating worm will continue to wreak havoc. In "Crazy Mode," there will be more soullesses scouring the battlefield.

Games In: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Similar Enemies: None

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Vampires
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Vampires are more numerous than the usual array of bosses, and they can pop up almost anywhere. They're never "true" bosses in the sense that they guard the exit to a given stage, but they will be major foes during your journey. In their vampiric form, they can jump high, run fast and climb on ceilings and walls. They'll mostly chase you all around, trying to get close enough to do two things: (1) Their most persistent attack--to come forward with quickly-executed successive swipes with their claws. (2) Since they're attracted to warm blood, they'll they grab onto you and slowly suck your blood, using it to regain their own energy meanwhile infecting you with the vampire curse if you don't manage to break free. Most vampire bosses become minor vampires (lesser enemies) later, continuing to be a further menace to your cause.

Games In: Castlevania 64 & Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Charlie Vincent, Female Vampire & Gilles De Rais

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Vampire Oldrey
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When Cornell infiltrated the Oldrey Villa Mansion, he stumbled into the bedroom to find Master Oldrey bickering with his wife, who had locked herself in the next room. Cornell soon learned the crux of that bickering, as Oldrey, recently bitten, revealed his true vampiric form. As a foe, he'll use his supernatural abilities to chase Cornell around in order to grab and suck his blood, or he'll stop to throw two flailing claw swipes in succession. When he's had enough, he'll turn into a bat and fly off. Years later, he'll show up to antagonize Reinhardt and Carrie when they enter the mansion, using the same fighting techniques before flying off. Finally, he'll show up at stage's end for a final round, again sticking to his strengths--and he'll show off his super jumping ability by clinging to and trekking along the ceiling to drop on your head.

Games In: Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: All vampires

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Walter Bernhard
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Walter is an all-powerful vampire and the ruler of his own castle within the Forest of Eternal Darkness. Even though his existence predates Dracula, he fights very similarly to the Dark Lord. Without saying, he has the ability to teleport in and out and appear elsewhere within the chamber. To initiate the real battle, you'll first have to destroy his ebony stone by connecting with a shot using the Vampire Killer whip. Thereafter, the attack is on. If he doesn't immediately relocate after a teleport, he can do three things: He can fire a three-pronged homing ball in your direction. He can release one or three glowing orbs that will explode and potentially capture you within their net for repeated damage. And he can charge into you with his shoulder and knock you back. When his meter has been depleted halfway, he'll occasionally teleport to near his throne and show his "true power" by causing a small nuclear explosion that will engulf the whole middle of the chamber. He'll also throw in an extra attack to his teleport cycle: He'll command five circular symbols to appear underneath you as you run, each releasing small explosions that can amount to successive damage. In "Crazy Mode," there are some differences: (1) He doesn't teleport as much if you stay close, and (2) he uses the nuclear blast over and over again until you attack him, only with the whip, while he's executing it.

Games In: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Similar Enemies: Dracula & Dracula's Servant

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Warewolf
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As part of Ortega's continuing mind games with Cornell, he presents to him one of the true man-beasts that was able to break the man-beast seal and reach his full potential using Dracula's added aesthetic power--the "Warewolf," as it's called, the strongest and most relentless of all the were-beasts. After Ortega sics the beast on you and leaves, the battle within the caged domain will begin. The quirk of this battlefield is that the floor near the four corners of the cage is partly missing, replaced by small lava beds that will drain your energy; this is meant to discourage you from avoiding combat. The Warewolf can pull off three offensive moves depending on where you're positioned: (1) If you remain at a distance, it'll continue to charge forward with shoulder blocks that cause mini-quakes, each made more painful by its bulky frame. (2) To change things up, it'll dive into the air, with its limbs extended, and try to land on top you; if it misses, it remains vulnerable until it can get back to a vertical base. (3) If you stay too close, it'll slash one of its claws upward, lifting you into the air if the attack connects--mostly, you'll land in the lava beds where your energy meter will begin to drain.

Games In: Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Were-Tiger and Were-Bull

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Were-Bull
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The Were-Bull is the strongest and toughest were-beast in Castlevania 64 and overall second-toughest of the N64 games' selection. Deep into the Duel Tower, when you enter into its caged domain, it'll pop out from a center lift, ready for bear. The catch is that the cage sides aren't strong enough to hold up the chamber's ceiling, so it will be lowering gradually as you battle the beast; if you can't destroy the bull fast enough, the walls will give way, and both yourself and the bull will be crushed to death. To make sure that death falls upon you either way, the bull will come at you with typical were-beast offense: Most prominently, it'll execute a uninterrupted gliding dash that sees it flail its claws wildly. Other times, it'll harness its raging tendencies, becoming enflamed before lunging toward you with speed and power; if you make contact at this point, you'll be knocked clear across the chamber. The Legacy battle is slightly different in that you face the bull within a ring of fire. If the bull misses its raging lunge this time around, it'll get caught in the fire's net and become immobilized until it can gather itself.

Games In: Castlevania 64 & Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Warewolf & Were-Tiger

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Were-Cougar
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The long-clawed Were-Cougar is exclusive to Legacy of Darkness' Duel Tower. The battlefield this time around is a moderately-sized square platform that's surrounded on all sides by the tower's molten lava. When the cougar emerges from a lift in the northern corner, it'll begin its mission to kill by trying to overwhelm you with offense or by trying to knock you off of the battle area and into the lava. Overall: The Were-Cougar is like a combination of a Were-Leopard and Werewolf. It'll constantly, quickly, remain in motion, circling around the hero while trying to come in at difficult angles. Its offense includes only a series of successive claw swipes; the in-close slashes are nothing to fear, but its dashing swipes can knock you far back, potentially into the lava if you're not centered on the platform. While not the toughest were-beast, it truly is the quickest and peskiest.

Games In: Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Were-Leopard and Werewolf

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Were-Leopard
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In either game's Duel Tower, the Were-Leopard will be one of your test battles within one of those caged domains where the ceiling is slowly lowering. The Leopard is a no-nonsense foe that'll immediately pop out from a center lift and begin circling you quickly, looking for an opening, whence it'll charge forward with successive claw swipes; it won't let up this assault until it connects with a blow or until you fend it off with one of your weapons. However, this particular were-beast's strength is that is has the quickest recovery time--once you strike it, it'll instantly recoup and start charging forward again with more claw swipes. The only time it'll let up is after it makes contact, wherein it'll simply back off and begin its circling motion again as you recover. Remember: You must act quickly to defeat it before the ceiling falls.

Games In: Castlevania 64 & Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Were-Cougar & Werewolf

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Were-Tiger
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The musclebound Were-Tiger, while easier to defeat than the others because of its sloth, is still strong enough to be relegated to third in the order. As it pertains to the Duel Tower: The tiger will be the last of the were-beasts that you'll face within another of those caged domains. Despite its slow nature, the tiger is so large that you won't be able to break away and get to a safe distance; your ingenuity will be tested within the small battle area. The tiger has two offense moves that are both crippling: (1) When it gets close to you, it'll crouch down slightly and flail its arms through the air, knocking you far back on contact. If it misses on both punch attempts but manages to stay within range, it'll pick you up and throw you a pretty long distance. Even though it does make its most important appearance in the Duel Tower, it does show up in the Forest of Silence early on as a sub-boss.

Games In: Castlevania 64 & Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Warewolf & Were-Bull

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Werewolf
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The more common Werewolf is last in the order of were-beasts, but you'll find that it hardly seems the case. The Werewolf is typically a lesser enemy, but it becomes a boss only in Castlevania 64's Duel Tower, where it serves as test #2 within a ceiling-lowering caged domain. The Werewolf is very quick and full of stamina, which makes this foe perfectly suited for this kind of boss role; it'll always be riding you even if it appears that you've broken away. The wolf is a reactionary enemy that executes its attacks depending on the distance at which you stand. If you're close, it'll crouch down and trip you up with a spinning sweep-kick. When you're at a medium distance, it'll steal one of your moves and come forward with a sliding kick. If you're far away, it'll charge forward with a typical gliding claw swipe.

Games In: Castlevania 64 & Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Similar Enemies: Were-Cougar & Were-Leopard

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