III: Guardians

These supreme knights are both heavily armored and gargantuan, and the most powerful forms possess advanced fighting skill. Because of their power, most can be found guarding special items or protecting certain entranceways. You'll instantly be able to tell these apart from the lesser knight forms from their ability to absorb a large amount of damage before giving way.

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Armor Lords
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The Armor Lords are specially trained guardians that are tougher than any knight or armor before them. They come in two power levels:
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Boomerang Armor
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This large guardian is armed with a shuriken-like cross, which it throws across the room like a boomerang. Like others of its kind, it's endlessly coming forward and can only be repelled by connecting with three consecutive whip slashes.

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Brothers of Knighthood
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Symphony's enemy list defines these elite guardians as "Brothers." While their speed and attack styles are altogether similar, they command their weapons in different ways (from left to right):
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Discus Lord
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This cool customer will never leave its position, and its attack scheme is simple: It'll throw its bladed discuss to the exact point in which the hero is stands and make it spin in place, scoring multiple hits if it connects, before pulling it back. Its quickness in executing this attack is what makes it intimidating. The alternate versions instead release the discus from their chests, either on a string or through the air like a gear.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Disc Armor, Disc Armor Lv1 & Disc Armor Lv2

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Giant Armor
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Like the Guarder Armors, this type of Guardian takes after a boss--the Great Armor, in this case. They are the Final Guard and Shadow Knight. Though slightly different in appearance, their performance in combat is very much the same: Giant Armors excel in defense; their shields can guard against most any attack. Their large swords afford them two powers--they can quickly stab it downward, sending a wave of flame along the ground, or hold the sword overhead and unleash a vicious swipe. They can be hurt through contact to the head or lower legs or by using a weapon that can extend beyond their shield-range. Similar forms of Great Armor and Final Guards can extend forward their standard or spiky shields for crushing attacks.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Great Armor & Giant Armor

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Great Knights
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Great Knights are in the top tier of Castlevania's many elite armored guardians. The methodical but powerful knights use their intimidating mass and a frighteningly large axe weapon to slowly back down a hero and upon direct approach lower the boom; this entails slamming the axe's sharp edge into the ground, to hack at distanced foes, or by crashing the head of the axe into the immediate surface to bludgeon nearby pests. The advanced Final Knights, an elite class of warrior hunters, instead yield large two-sided scythes; while similar in their attack scheme, Final Knights can as a result of their long-ranged slam-attack cause dark energy to wave across the ground.

 Alternate Names/Forms: Final Knight

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Guarder Armor
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These guardians are stationed to areas where it's their job to protect secret entrances. From left to right, they are the Gate Guarder, Guardian Armor and Bronze Armor. Like the boss they're patterned after, the Living Armor, they're always marching forward, undaunted. These three, especially, are invulnerable to normal weapons and can only be temporarily repelled with three consecutive whip slashes. The objective is to use the surrounding environment to find an alternate way to defeat them.

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Hammer-Hammer
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Hammer-Hammer is a supersized hammer knight and a stronger version of Hammer (the brother). This Iranian armor smashes its large mallet into the ground, causing tremendous damage; the shock is so great that it beckons a swarm of Flea Men to drop down to distract you while the armor continues its march forward. Like the Guarder and Boomerang armors, it's susceptible to three consecutive whip strokes.

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Owl Knight
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Owl Knights are sort of like regular Armor Lords and Guardians, only with a pet owl at their command. The owl will fly forward, attacking in a swooping motion at its master's bidding. If killed, the knight will drop its guard to check on the owl, leaving itself open to an attack. If you don't use this time to destroy the armor, it'll become enraged and attack using the typical lunging overhead swipe.

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Pike Master
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This British form of guardian is equipped with a long wooden staff with a steel point (a pike). Like it did to its previous victim, it holds the staff overhead and tries to impale you by lowering it quickly; the staff is so long that you won't have much room to maneuver around it in order to launch a counterattack. As usual, this type of guardian can be repelled with three consecutive whip strokes.

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Possessed Armor
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When spirits tire of endlessly wandering the castle, they possess the monstrous suits of armor that adorn its corridors. They wield what is best described as a combination mace-hammer. They're adept at flailing this enormous mace--sometimes spinning it at short range, other times tossing it a long distance before violently retracting it--and slamming it to the ground with thunderous force. Should a hero get too up close and personal, the possessed armor will throw a defensive shoulder block to knock him back.

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Sword Lord
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Large, tough and powerful, these knights guard narrow passageways. Sword Lords will evade your attempts at offence and goad you in by retreating slightly. At this point, they'll try one of two attacks: (1) They'll swing their huge swords overhead, and any contact will send you reeling far back; and (2) they'll line up their sword to eye-level and dash forward.

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Victory Armor
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Victory Armor is kind of like an advanced form of Sword Lord--that is, they're faster and more resistant. They'll use their swords for three kinds of attacks: (1) The usual long overhead swipes. (2) They can fling their swords across the room to utilize them as large boomerangs. And (3) they cause their swords to become enflamed and then twirl them around wildly. All of these attacks are executed with great speed and at long range.

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Warg Rider
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Wargs and Armor Lords become a greater threat when they're teamed together. The jousting armor will use the Warg's flame-breathing ability to keep you at a distance while it stabs away with its lance. Their attack is relentless once it gets underway, so killing the duo quickly is a good enough plan; it's guaranteed to be a challenge, though, because this combo will show up in areas that are heavily populated with other lesser enemies.

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