Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge Bosses
he Primary Evils of Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge are an interesting and colorful cast. There is quite a range of adversaries, from heavily armored sentinels to wall mounted foes, to evil wizards and even a member of the Belmont Clan. Belmont's Revenge has the first battle against a Belmont, which became sort of a cliché later on in the series. Prior to this, the closest thing was Trevor Belmont's Doppelganger in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
Count Dracula is reminiscent of his Adventure self, though very different and more challenging. The challenge of these boss fights is a bit strange. The first four are easy going compared to the final three. Never fear. These strategies should have you primed and ready for anything the Primary Evils have to throw at you.
Darkside
Darkside (no, not the D.C. Comics super villain) is a mage that controls the weather, at least to a certain degree. He has a vulnerable crystal that appears before he materializes. Only attack the crystal, the humanoid form is invincible. A nimbus cloud will hover over Christopher, and Darkside will use it in attempt to cast lightning down on the Vampire Hunter. The cloud will eventually stop in a place Christopher was standing, and then a bolt of lightning will shoot to that spot. The initial bolt is easy to dodge by simply moving, but where things may get tricky is with the wave of energy it sends across the floor. When the bolt hits the ground, it will release deadly shockwaves in both directions for a short distance. Because Christopher is so slow, it may be difficult to get out of harm's way in time.
Try to stay on the move. Dark Side likes to appear right next to Christopher, and you don't want him to corner you, because the bolt of lightning will be very difficult to dodge, if not impossible. Attack with the axe and whip consistently and this foe will fall in no time.
Iron Doll
Iron Doll is probably the toughest boss of the initial four primary evils. It's a bit deceiving because the first half of the fight is very easy. Iron Doll will lumber toward Christopher in very heavy armor. Simply move out of its way and strike with the whip. Every spot on this enemy is vulnerable, so you should have no trouble damaging it.
After half its health has been depleted, its armor will explode, and the enemy will become much lighter and nimble without it. It will hop around the room and shoot wide beams from its sword. It will always shoot a progression of two beams each attack. Duck under them and stay close to Iron Doll, but not within range of its massive sword. After it shoots the two beams it will jump twice, alternating from one side of the room to the other. Walk under its first jump. If you can keep walking under its first leap, ducking under its beams, and staying out of range of its sword, you should be able to beat Iron Doll unscathed.
It is safest to attack with the axe since that has the best range. Iron Doll's sword can be used for defense to keep you at bay, so attacking with the whip and staying out of range of Iron Doll's slashes can be risky. It is most open to attacks from the whip after the first leap it does, which lands it in the middle of the room.
Kumulo and Nimbler
Kumulo and Nimbler are a very basic boss fight if you have the axe, which isn't hard to get. They will surround Christopher on both sides and a platform that slowly moves up and down will rise in the middle of the floor, causing a gap. Stay on the platform and hurl axes at them. They will strike their tridents on the floor, which should be of no concern to you as long as you remain on the floating stage. After that, they will take turns shooting a wave of three fireballs at you. These can be knocked away with an axe or the whip. Use whichever is more convenient from your position.
Their goal is to knock you off the platform, and if that happens the battle may become tricky. There is a gap in the floor and they will try to knock you in it as you try to work your way back to the platform.
Angel Mummy
The Angel Mummy appears to be some sort of alter that has come to life. It has two snake-like protrusions that are your targets. The top one has the head of a skull, and the bottom has the head of a skele-dragon. This battle will be easiest with an axe. Begin by positioning Christopher on the lower platform and hurl axes at any head you like. The top section will send sections of its vertebrae toward the bottom section, thus shortening the top and elongating the bottom. Dodge these bony projectiles by ducking and then jumping when appropriate to the higher platform. When the lower section throws the bony sections back to the top, jump to floor level to avoid them. Afterward, jump back to the lower platform, and repeat the entire sequence while throwing axes at the two heads.
Bone Dragon King
This is when the difficulty begins to rise substantially. Bone Dragon King will come out of a series of pod-like tunnels that look like something out of Super Metroid. His body is extremely long and he will try to trap you with it. The screen continuously scrolls to the right, so you have to keep moving with it, but you must try to avoid touching Bone Dragon King, which is easier said than done.
His main goal is to get you to the far left of the screen and have the moving screen force you into his body while he's cutting the rest of the screen off. You know Bone Dragon King is going to come out of a tunnel when you see the entrance/exit to the tunnel quiver. Move to the right side of this tunnel if at all possible. There will be some instances when you won't be able to get ahead of Bone Dragon King. Wait for him to pass and then push to the right as fast as you can.
The way Bone Dragon King defeats opponents is by luring them into attacking him, which causes them to wait around instead of stay on the move. If you wait, you will be hit. You may get your attack on Bone Dragon King, but he can kill you a lot faster than you can kill him, so it benefits him. Do not be greedy with your attacks and be more concerned about staying on the move and getting hits in when you know it is safe. Stay away from the left side of the screen whenever possible.
Holy water is useful for laying traps for him.
Soleiyu Demon
The Soleiyu demon is by far one of the trickiest opponents in this game, second only to Count Dracula.
Pound for pound Soleiyu is more powerful than Christopher, so do not engage in a head on slug-fest, even if it is tempting. You are destined to die if you take that course. You will have to be shrewd and calculating to win this fight. You must outsmart Soleiyu and constantly stay one step ahead of him, which means knowing what he is going to do and when. Careful observation will let on that Soleiyu is very pattern inclined. The difficulty in this is that his pattern is convoluted and if you aren't in the right place at the right time, you're in trouble.
He will begin by throwing a trio of swords into the air diagonally. They will spin around and propel toward Christopher. Go toward the room's middle ledge (not on top of it) and duck to avoid the swords. Soleiyu will jump on the platform above you. Once he moves off that platform, take his place on it. He will throw the swords in the air again, except this time you are both on the same side of the screen (the right side). Stay on the platform. Soleiyu will move to the middle ledge of the room. When he jumps toward it, it is safe to whip him in the back. If you stay on the platform the swords will not hit you.
Make your way to the left side of the room. Soleiyu will head toward the top platform on the left side. After that, he will come back around and head right toward you. It's your turn to jump on the platform on the left side. He will once again throw the swords in the air, and then he will head toward the right side. When he jumps toward the middle ledge, whip him.
He will go to the right only momentarily and then head right back for the left side of the room. From the middle ledge, he will jump up toward the platform, so as he's coming to the left side of the room, make sure you are at floor level. Then use the middle ledge to jump to the platform on the left side, because he will come down to floor level on the left side and once again throw a trio of swords in the air.
After he throws the swords, he will then move to the extreme left of the room, and up to the floating platform on the left side. Work your way to floor level on the left side to avoid a head on head confrontation with him, which is what we've been trying to do this whole time. The swords will descend toward you, so make your way to the left floating platform. By that time, Soleiyu will be headed toward the right, to begin his entire pattern all over again. Jump up to the platform on the right side to avoid his swords. He will then take the extreme right side to head up toward the platform, so get to ground level on the right side.
Continue this pattern. Remember, the trick to beating Soleiyu is to get his pattern down and stay one step ahead of him, and only attack when he leaves himself vulnerable. The safest time to attack with the whip is when he's headed in a direction opposite to where you are, and holy water traps work very well. Never go head to head with him.
Count Dracula
The final confrontation between Christopher Belmont and Lord Dracula. Christopher defeated Dracula fifteen years ago, but the Count escaped annihilation. This is the battle that will finally settle the long and personal feud between these two warriors.
When you reach the Master's Chamber, a demonic head will appear in the top center of the room, and the four Castle Spirits will unite to make Count Dracula whole again. The Dark Lord does not waist any time, so you must immediately head to the bottom left platform of the room and duck to avoid Dracula's magical onslaught, which will spread around the chamber. He will then teleport to the bottom left platform. Move to the center and attack his head, which is his only vulnerable spot. After your attack, immediately head to the lower right platform and to its right edge, and duck until his attack passes. Following that, he will teleport to the upper left platform. Remain on the same platform, but take a step or two the left edge of it and duck.
Next, he'll teleport to the upper right platform. Head to the wide middle platform of the room, to its left edge, and duck. He will then teleport to the low middle floor you were just on. Head to the left platform beside him and attack his head.
This is when it gets complicated. After your attack, go to the extreme left platform on the extreme left side of it, and wait for his attack to come toward you. When you see the balls incoming, jump to the right, and you should go through them without getting hit.
He will then head to the lower right platform. Jump to the low wide middle floor, to its left edge, and duck. He will then go to the top center, so head to the lower left platform and duck. Lastly, he will go to the wide bottom center again, attack, and then retreat to the extreme left platform and to its extreme left edge. This is when we have to do that jumping business again. When you see his balls of destruction headed toward you, jump to the right.
. . .
And then he begins the pattern all over again, so repeat this whole sequence. If you follow these directions to the letter, you will be able to defeat this incredibly challenging boss without suffering any damage, and finally give Christopher peace once he destroys his mortal foe.
