History Awesome / BossesCastlevania

Dracula keeps reviving, and the Belmont family and their allies keep sending him back whence he came. Along the way, they have had many awesome boss fights.
----
[[AC: Recurring bosses]]
* Dracula basically makes it his job to come up with a more awesome transformation every game. here's some that stand out:
** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness Curse Of Darkness]]'': A winged demon so big, you literally are barely the size of a FINGER to him.
** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse Dracula's Curse]]'': Your first fight him as himself, he switches into a giant, floating, disembodied, many-faced BRAIN (that drips acid, to boot!), and finally a huge laser-spewing demon.
** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines Bloodlines]]'': First his basic form, then a sort of fireball-throwing magician, and then a demon with a face on his torso, {{Devilman}}-style.
*** To clarify, Drac's "second form" isn't actually Drac; it's really his WickedWitch [[TheDragon Dragon]] (well, for ''Bloodlines'', anyway). The English version erroneously labeled this separate character as Dracula. Same thing in that game with the Dark Lord's [[DaddysLittleVillain niece]], [[DarkChick Elizabeth Bartley]], who [[SummonMagic summons]] Medusa but doesn't actually ''become'' her.
** And just when fans are getting bored with this, ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]'' gives us a Dracula who, after being defeated, simply shrugs it off and starts simply ''walking towards you'' instead of standing in one place, occasionally teleporting like most encounters.
*** This version of Dracula is easily the scariest. He doesn't need some giant bat form! HE WILL CALMLY WALK OVER TO YOU AND PIMPSLAP YOUR FACE OFF. And if you try to jump over him, he'll pimpslap you. If you try to fly, he'll pimplazerslap you.
** Oh and ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]''. "Boy, Dracula sure will be much easier since I have two characters to fight him this ti-... DEATH? AT THE ... SAME... TIME...." Made even more awesome by the fact that, like you, they have several Combination Attacks and, when one of them's low on health, ''Death lets Dracula use Soul Steal on him, resulting in a fusion of the two.''
*** Even better; ''they have {{Combination Attack}}s'', including a version of Dracula's [[ThatOneAttack hellishly destructive]] Demonic Meggido where Drac ''turns Death into a [[SinisterScythe scythe]] and slams him into the ground, creating a massive wave of ruination''. Holy...
* Just like ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'''s Ridley, Death in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'' manages to be ThatOneBoss and BestBossEver in many of the games he's in.
* Legion. Any incarnation. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]'' especially.
** Fighting Legion in full 3D in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness Curse of Darkness]]'' was pure awesome.
* Also the battles against [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness Isaac]], [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome especially the first one thanks to the music.]]

[[AC: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]] ]]
* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' has the final fight with Dracula and Alucard. It's not really the difficulty of the fight so much as the preceding [[IHateYouVampireDad dialogue between father and son]] and the rather heartbreaking WhatHaveIDone by Dracula after he's defeated.
* The miniboss fight with Fake [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse Trevor, Sypha, and Grant]] is extremely enjoyable, despite being a very short fight.
* If you don't cheese him out with a certain subweapon, the second Doppelganger fight is pretty freakin' intense. For even more fun, get rid of your cloak and familiar so that you're a perfect visual match.
* Galamoth, probably the most difficult battle in the game, but very satisfying if you don't use GameBreaker methods.
* [[spoiler: Richter Belmont]]. For the first time in the series, you're fighting against a [[spoiler:Belmont]], and he has all of the moves he would have if you were [[spoiler:fighting ''as'' him]] - and is not afraid to use them!

[[AC: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]] ]]
* [[spoiler:Julius Belmont]] in the good ending. He knows every single [[spoiler:Belmont]] trick, does not hesitate to use said tricks, and is nightmarishly difficult--and then starts using subweapons! Far more satisfying than the final boss. And he has [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome awesome]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiSo9yL59Pw&fmt=18 theme music]].
** And look closely when he's [[spoiler:performing [[LimitBreak Grand Cross]]]]. The might of the attack is so powerful that it not only draws in Soma like a mini black hole, but when unleashed, it causes the castle in the background to start ''crumbling''.
* Fighting, of all things, [[spoiler:[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Chaos]]]] in the true ending.
** In that same vein, [[spoiler:Graham]] has the same effect.
* [[BackgroundBoss Balore]]. You enter the boss room in the arena level and is greeted by the Giant Bat, a standard boss in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania|1986}}''. Suddenly a GIANT HAND comes out of nowhere and crushes the bat, and an EvilLaugh is heard as Balore fades in from the background while a different boss battle music starts to play. Totally unexpected and an epic boss battle.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Lament of Innocence]] ]]
* The Forgotten One. Even if you forget the game (which is likely), you will probably never forget [[NightmareFuel this battle]].
* Joachim Armster.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]] ]]
* The Puppet Master, a giant wooden marionette head with four arms, constantly spitting small dolls at your, or creating a doll and trying to slam it in an Iron Maiden, at which point you switch places with the doll. Ouch.
* Bat Company. A twist on the usual "bunch of little bats join to form one big bat" in which the group of bats are still a group of bats, and change shape constantly. Fitting that it's fought in a [[ContinuityNod throwback level]] that's a homage to the original ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania|1986}}'', where the boss was a giant bat.
* Gergoth. A giant mutant dinosaur like boss, that slowly plods around the top of the Condemned Tower, jumping, shooting lasers, and blasting poison gas. Halfway through the battle, it smashes through the floor of the tower, and you fall all the way back to the ground floor where you started the level. And NOW it's gained speed!
** Though they originally [[DummiedOut showed him as an]] AdvancingWallOfDoom [[TrailersAlwaysLie in the trailer]]...
* Paranoia. A harlequin demon that flits in and out of the giant mirror in the background, while shooting at you from the mirrors on the sides of the arena. And when you do defeat it, it turns out you just fought its reflection, and the REAL boss fight starts up next room!
* Abaddon. A demonic conductor who orchestrates swarms of locusts to attack you.
* [[spoiler:Dark Lord Soma]] in Julius Mode is pure, classic Dracula. And the fight is accompanied by [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Illusionary Dance]].
** Except he surprises you by [[spoiler:pulling out a Gaibon familiar and Great Axe Armor's attack rather than Dracula's traditional fireballs. Then when he transforms into the monster from Rondo of Blood/Symphony of the Night, he gets a Harpy familiar, then will use Aguni, Larva and Abbadon.]]
* Zephyr from the Clock Tower. You are facing none other than ''Castlevania''[='s=] answer to '''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Dio Brando]]'''.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]] ]]
* Fighting [[spoiler:Barlowe]]. Probably partly for the [[spoiler:Treacherous Advisor part of it]]...
* The Dracula battle is pretty awesome... if just because he's ThatOneBoss ''without ever going OneWingedAngel,'' unlike almost every other ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'' game and every {{Metroidvania}} ever.
* [[spoiler:Albus]], who is probably the only guy in the series besides Soma to use a gun, making this fight unique and interesting. In fact, it gets even better when you fight him as [[spoiler:Albus]]... And the boss uses the same quotes, which make it hilarious when you realise he's addressing the ''wrong person'', but when you discover that the flaming kick attack is his weakness, flaming kick duels ensue. Think [[Manga/OnePiece Sanji]] fighting himself with his legs on fire. Awesome.
* The GiantEnemyCrab should deserve a mention -- how many other games let you smash a crab with an ''elevator''? Coupled with that boss being a major WakeUpCallBoss to a degree, it makes the ending soooo much more satisfying.
** What Shanoa says makes that ending even MORE satisfying. [[PreMortemOneLiner "Go to hell."]]
* Eligor ''deserves'' a spot here. It's a [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie Giant Robot Centaur Demon]] with a giant sword and ballistae on it's hips. Giant as in several stories tall. The fight is a ColossusClimb of epic proportions where you have to take out the knees and ballistae before you go for the head while it very effectively tries to swat you off. Also, it is [[NintendoHard hard]]. Really [[ThatOneBoss hard]].
* Blackmore. This guy greets you smarmily, before fighting you with his own '''gigantic shadow'''. And this shadow is shaped like a '''WOLF'''. Blackmore controlls the wolf-shadow by dancing and likes to use this big black laser move on you. By now you have Nitesco, a very effect glyph that also manifests as a laser. Mega-awesome laser fight ensues.

[[AC: [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]] ]]
* The fight with Brauner. Mostly for his [[LargeHam overly dramatic]] [[CallingYourAttacks attack-calling]]. "A painting of the SOUL!" "THIS is ''ART!''" "I'll make YOU my masterpiece!" And so on...
* Fighting [[spoiler:the Whip's Memory, aka the essence of Richter Belmont inside of the Vampire Killer]]. Little breathing room. [[DuelBoss Jonathan only]]. The boss can and ''will'' hand your ass, but it's a wildly satisfying battle from start to finish. [[spoiler:And just imagine if it was the ''real'' Richter, who was widely touted as the greatest of the Belmonts.]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFvTqdKvf74 The music]] [[spoiler:a remix of "Divine Bloodlines", which is more or less Richter's theme]] only plays up the intensity of the fight.
----

* Just like ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'''s Ridley, Death in ''{{Castlevania}}'' manages to be ThatOneBoss and BestBossEver in many of the games he's in.

* [[BackgroundBoss Balore]]. You enter the boss room in the arena level and is greeted by the Giant Bat, a standard boss in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}''. Suddenly a GIANT HAND comes out of nowhere and crushes the bat, and an EvilLaugh is heard as Balore fades in from the background while a different boss battle music starts to play. Totally unexpected and an epic boss battle.

* Bat Company. A twist on the usual "bunch of little bats join to form one big bat" in which the group of bats are still a group of bats, and change shape constantly. Fitting that it's fought in a [[ContinuityNod throwback level]] that's a homage to the original ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'', where the boss was a giant bat.

* The Dracula battle is pretty awesome... if just because he's ThatOneBoss ''without ever going OneWingedAngel,'' unlike almost every other ''{{Castlevania}}'' game and every {{Metroidvania}} ever.

* The Forgotten One. Even if you forget the game (which is likely), you will probably never forget [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel this battle]].

** Also the battles against Isaac, [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome especially the first one thanks to the music.]]

* Galamoth.

* [[spoiler:Julius Belmont]] in the good ending of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]''. He knows every single [[spoiler:Belmont]] trick, does not hesitate to use said tricks, and is nightmarishly difficult--and then starts using subweapons! Far more satisfying than the final boss. And he has [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome awesome]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiSo9yL59Pw&fmt=18 theme music]].

** Similarly [[spoiler: Richter Belmont]] in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]''.
* Fighting Legion in full 3D in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness Curse of Darkness]]'' was pure awesome.

* Fighting [[spoiler:Barlowe]] in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]''. Probably partly for the [[spoiler:Treacherous Advisor part of it]]...
** While we're on ''Ecclesia,'' the Dracula battle is pretty awesome too... if just because he's ThatOneBoss ''without ever going OneWingedAngel,'' unlike almost every other ''{{Castlevania}}'' game and every {{Metroidvania}} ever.
** From the same game, there's also [[spoiler:Albus]], who is probably the only guy in the series besides Soma to use a gun, making this fight unique and interesting. In fact, it gets even better when you fight him as [[spoiler:Albus]]... And the boss uses the same quotes, which make it hilarious when you realise he's addressing the ''wrong person'', but when you discover that the flaming kick attack is his weakness, flaming kick duels ensue. Think [[Manga/OnePiece Sanji]] fighting himself with his legs on fire. Awesome.
* The Forgotten One in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Lament of Innocence]]''. Even if you forget the game (which is likely), you will probably never forget [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel this battle]].
* The fight with Brauner in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]''. Mostly for his [[LargeHam overly dramatic]] [[CallingYourAttacks attack-calling]]. "A painting of the SOUL!" "THIS is ''ART!''" "I'll make YOU my masterpiece!" And so on...
* Fighting, of all things, [[spoiler:[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Chaos]]]] in the true ending for ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]''.
** In that same vein, [[spoiler:Graham]] has the same effect in the same game.
* The GiantEnemyCrab from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]'' should deserve a mention--how many other games let you smash a crab with an ''elevator''? Coupled with that boss being a major WakeUpCallBoss to a degree, it makes the ending soooo much more satisfying.

* Legion. Any incarnation. ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]'' especially.
* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'' is noted for having many unique, interesting, and just plain fun boss fights.
** The Puppet Master, a giant wooden marionette head with four arms, constantly spitting small dolls at your, or creating a doll and trying to slam it in an Iron Maiden, at which point you switch places with the doll. Ouch.
** Bat Company. A twist on the usual "bunch of little bats join to form one big bat" in which the group of bats are still a group of bats, and change shape constantly. Fitting that it's fought in a [[ContinuityNod throwback level]] that's a homage to the original ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'', where the boss was a giant bat.
** Gergoth. A giant mutant dinosaur like boss, that slowly plods around the top of the Condemned Tower, jumping, shooting lasers, and blasting poison gas. Halfway through the battle, it smashes through the floor of the tower, and you fall all the way back to the ground floor where you started the level. And NOW it's gained speed!
*** Though they originally [[DummiedOut showed him as an]] AdvancingWallOfDoom [[TrailersAlwaysLie in the trailer]]...
** Paranoia. A harlequin demon that flits in and out of the giant mirror in the background, while shooting at you from the mirrors on the sides of the arena. And when you do defeat it, it turns out you just fought its reflection, and the REAL boss fight starts up next room!
** Abaddon. A demonic conductor who orchestrates swarms of locusts to attack you.
** [[spoiler:Dark Lord Soma]] in Julius Mode is pure, classic Dracula. And the fight is accompanied by [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Illusionary Dance]].
*** Except he surprises you by [[spoiler:pulling out a Gaibon familiar and Great Axe Armor's attack rather than Dracula's traditional fireballs. Then when he transforms into the monster from Rondo of Blood/Symphony of the Night, he gets a Harpy familiar, then will use Aguni, Larva and Abbadon.]]
** Zephyr from the Clock Tower. You are facing none other than ''Castlevania''[='s=] answer to '''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Dio Brando]]'''.
* [[BackgroundBoss Balore]] in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]''. You enter the boss room in the arena level and is greeted by the Giant Bat, a standard boss in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}''. Suddenly a GIANT HAND comes out of nowhere and crushes the bat, and an EvilLaugh is heard as Balore fades in from the background while a different boss battle music starts to play. Totally unexpected and an epic boss battle.
* Joachim Armster from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Lament of Innocence]]''.
* Fighting [[spoiler:the Whip's Memory, aka the essence of Richter Belmont inside of the Vampire Killer]] in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin Portrait of Ruin]]''. Little breathing room. [[DuelBoss Jonathan only]]. The boss can and ''will'' hand your ass, but it's a wildly satisfying battle from start to finish. [[spoiler:And just imagine if it was the ''real'' Richter, who was widely toted as the greatest of the Belmonts.]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFvTqdKvf74 The music]] [[spoiler:a remix of "Divine Bloodlines", which is more or less Richter's theme]] only plays up the intensity of the fight.
* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' has the final fight with Dracula and Alucard. It's not really the difficulty of the fight so much as the preceding [[IHateYouVampireDad dialogue between father and son]] and the rather heartbreaking WhatHaveIDone by Dracula after he's defeated.
** From the same game, the miniboss fight with Fake [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse Trevor, Sypha, and Grant]] is extremely enjoyable, despite being a very short fight.
** If you don't cheese him out with a certain subweapon, the second Doppelganger fight is pretty freakin' intense. For even more fun, get rid of your cloak and familiar so that you're a perfect visual match.
** Galamoth from the same game.
* Eligor from ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]'' ''deserves'' a spot here. It's a [[NinjaPirateRobotZombie Giant Robot Centaur Demon]] with a giant sword and ballistae on it's hips. Giant as in several stories tall. The fight is a ColossusClimb of epic proportions where you have to take out the knees and ballistae before you go for the head while it very effectively tries to swat you off. Also, it is [[NintendoHard hard]]. Really [[ThatOneBoss hard]].
** From the same game, Blackmore. This guy greets you smarmily, before fighting you with his own '''gigantic shadow'''. And this shadow is shaped like a '''WOLF'''. Blackmore controlls the wolf-shadow by dancing and likes to use this big black laser move on you. By now you have Nitesco, a very effect glyph that also manifests as a laser. Mega-awesome laser fight ensues.

** From the same game, there's also [[spoiler:Albus]], who is probably the only guy in the series besides Soma to use a gun, making this fight unique and interesting. In fact, it gets even better when you fight him as [[spoiler:Albus]]... And the boss uses the same quotes, which make it hilarious when you realise he's addressing the ''wrong person'', but when you discover that the flaming kick attack is his weakness, flaming kick duels ensue. Think [[OnePiece Sanji]] fighting himself with his legs on fire. Awesome.

** Here's another from ''Dawn'': Zephyr from the Clock Tower. You are facing none other than ''Castlevania''[='s=] answer to '''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Dio Brando]]'''.