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Today’s Miniboss Monday is one that is near and dear to my heart. For those of you who weren’t around last year, I used to have today’s miniboss as my editor icon. Yes, I am indeed speaking of Death himself from the long-running Castlevania series.
Death has made an appearance in most (if not all) Castlevania titles dating all the way back to the days of Simon’s Quest on the NES. Since then, he has been reinvented and rethought over and over again (including a final boss appearance in Lament of Innocence.) It’s strange, really. Whenever a new Castlevania title gets announced, I get curious as to where Death will make his appearance and how much badassitude he will have this time around.
Regardless, I have included three memorable iterations of Death in his prime after the jump!
Simon’s Quest Death
Simon’s Quest was the highly-acclaimed sequel to Castlevania on the NES. As shown above, you can see how simplistic a fight was against Death. Don’t get me wrong, this right here is classic gaming at its finest. A true miniboss, to be sure. It’s amazing to look back on the little guy and see how he’s grown over the ages. And, hell, he even learned how to talk and transform into stuff along the way. Let’s continue.
Symphony of the Night Death
Next up is the Symphony of the Night version of Death years down the road from the old Simon’s Quest version. Though the player in this video makes quick work of the Grim Reaper, many of us can remember the first time we met him (and jacked all our gear) and then found him hiding out in the reverse castle. My personal opinion is that the Symphony model of Death had the best sprite and best character out of any other version. The voice of Death was exactly how I’d imagine he’d sound just by looking at his sprite; other-worldly and bleak. I mean, it wouldn’t exactly make sense if Ron Workman did the voice-acting, would it?
Aria of Sorrow Death
Last, but not least, is the elusive Aria of Sorrow version of Death. The fight begins simply enough with you slashing at Death’s scythe, but escalates rather quickly when he throws down the gauntlet. I’m not ashamed to say that I fought Death severely under-levelled and got my ass handed to me more than I would’ve liked. Nonetheless, the double-bladed scythe was a cool touch and makes this Death a close second to Symphony’s.
There ya have it, folks. I have now paid homage to one of my favorite bosses of all-time. I’m positive that almost all of you have faced him at one time or another, so now I wonder; what is your favorite version of Death throughout the years? Why?
That’s all for this week. Check back next week for another boss to get their due on Miniboss Monday. Don’t forgot to submit your ideas/logos/whatever to our tip-line e-mail tips@destructoid.com!
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Published: Oct 22, 2007 12:00 pm