Minotaurus

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The Dracula X Titles
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Known here simply as "Minotaur," the horned devil brandishes a battle axe and combines this tool of destruction with some impressive agility. Its axe attacks include a short with its tip and a jumping swipe. If the hero comes near, it will lean over and spew a venomous mist capable of inducing a stone state. It will play dirty if necessary: It will reach to the ground, grab some, and toss it into the air. Otherwise, it will gather itself and execute an air-dash whose pure force will see it become lodged in the wall, open to repeated attacks. Its last-ditch effort, a flaming uppercut, is purely for show. (Note: Minotaurus appears as one half of a team, which is covered here.)

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Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
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The Dracula X team decided to bring back the Minotaur in a somewhat new form. A half-century later, you get to face the dreaded horned devil in two separate forms. The Minotaur isn't as nimble this time around, as it'll mostly rely on its strength. Oh, it'll jump around a lot, but that won't be your main concern. As mentioned, it shows up twice, in two separate forms--once with an ax, the other with a ball and chain. In either form, it'll mostly try to split your skull by viciously slamming its weapon into the ground. If it twirls the weapon around first, it'll instead fling it forward, making it act boomerang-like. In order to prevent being cornered, you can knock the Minotaur back a bit by getting in repeated strikes. One attack you can't prevent, though, is its returning midair dash. If the attack misses, the Minotaur will become lodged in the wall for a few seconds, wide open for attacks, before it quickly pops out. You've seen most of this before, but that doesn't make either battle any easier.

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Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
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This version of the Minotaurus, from Curse of Darkness, is every bit the bruiser its contemporaries hoped to be. Described as "A bullheaded monster that can use anything as a weapon," Minotaurus sticks to ripping apart pillars and using their remains to batter heroes; early on, it will swing the pillar in a two-step attack to cause major damage. It will continue to do this until the pillar shatters, in which case it will rip apart another of the room's pillars and use that. Its arsenal only grows as: It can eventually throw the pillars, shot-put (spin and toss) them, and while holding them execute a high jump with upon landing an expected shockwave. Due to its effective use of said pillars, mostly when discussing the item's range, it's difficult to get close enough to inflict repeated damage.

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Castlevania: The Arcade
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The towering Minotaur at first attempts to get up close and personal, lodging its large axe into the hero's skull; this attack can be thwarted if enough damage is inflicted pre-bludgeoning. While the hero deals with some still-lurking minor enemies, the lumbering Minotaur will be stalking the adventurer and potentially land a sneak attack on the oblivious exemplar by crashing through a nearby wall. When angered, particularly when low on health, the Minotaur will begin an endless rushing attack, taking down whole structures forcing the hero to fight while fleeing. Only death will stop its furious charge.

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