Frankenstein
Here you have
a clear advantage over the dead man since he's chained to the wall on the
left. The only problem is that he keeps hitting the wall, causing huge rocks
to fall from the ceiling, and he keeps flailing his chains wildly, about half
a screen's length, in between. There's hardly any room to move around when
he does this, so the key is to keep your distance while trying to finish him
off as quickly as you can; this will be made tougher because hunchbacks may
have had followed you into the battle area--a precursor to the Frank and Igor
combo in Castlevania perhaps? Of course, Frank is a boss in impossible
arcade game, so good luck.
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Castlevania
& Vampire Killer
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Some argue that he should be called
Frankenstein's Monster due to being Dr. Frankenstein's creation, but
he's adopted the name all his own. The big lug isn't even the real problem
in this game--his little buddy, Igor, the hunchbacked assistant to Dr. Franksenstein,
is the more aggressive party. Frank's job is to just walk back and forth across
the room, in no real pattern, while Igor does all of the work; he'll jump
high across the room, accurately lunging toward you, while spitting fireballs--he
serves well as a distraction to the real target. Remember that Frank's still
deadly to bump into.
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Castlevania
III:
Dracula's Curse
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He doesn't have any help this time,
but the big man is more than ready to compensate. He appears twice
in this game, depending on which path you take, but you'll only face him once
no matter the path. In both instances, he comes marching in from behind, from
the screen's left. He walks back and forth about the room, stopping to stomp
on the floor, which causes bricks to fall from the ceiling. If they miss,
he'll try again by accurately throwing one of his own bricks at you. They
give you safe spot on the right side of the battle area that's only useful
if you have a weapon like an axe; otherwise, you'll have to stand up to him.
Frank has lost his brick-throwing ability
this time around, but he's gained a host of others. Primarily, he'll throw
little vials onto the ground that break apart and cause flames to pour out
onto that floor, in a wave forward. Less frequently, he'll throw another type
of magical vial onto the ground that explodes and creates a clone Frankenstein
in its place. While the clones aren't of the same power, it can help the original
sandwich you for multiple vial attacks. If you disregard strategy and have
all your energy, you'll be able to beat him in a quick slugfest.
He can't get much taller than this,
I hope. His size isn't really a problem, regardless, because he basically
stays stationary on the room's right side. Frank has two attacks this time
around that he alternates between: He'll lash at you with a really long chain,
spinning it wildly if you're close by. Or he'll call upon an old trick where
he smashes a vial into the ground to cause a flame wave forward along the
battle area's ground. He's only a mid-boss in this instance, so a slugfest
should again do him in--if you're feeling brave.
Ol' Franky couldn't even make it into
this game as a boss. Instead, he appears on stage 7 as a sort of guardian
mid-boss. He's still pretty tough to take down, in any event. An electric
explosion will bring him to life, and he'll begin to march slowly towards
you, swinging his chain wildly all the way. You'll have to retreat quickly
while striking at opportune times because he'll stop every so often for a
quick dash, to gain some distance; you'll have to defeat him before he corners
you against a wall, wherein he can damage you repeatedly. If you can, it's
better to utilize stairways to hop over him and run quickly to avoid the battle.
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Dracula
X: Rondo of Blood
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He's back, and he's been hitting the
weight room in his time off. Like others in this set of bosses, he, too, is
a pawn in Shaft's game in Rondo of Blood. He's been afforded three
types of attacks this time around, all of which can be executed randomly.
(1) He can grab at you, as if throwing a punch, to damage you; if you don't
quickly shake free, he'll lift you into the air via a chokehold to damage
you more. (2) He regains his classic stomp-on-the-ground-and-cause-bricks-to-fall
ability; safe spots are again implemented on the room's sides. (3) He'll put
his hands together and generate a blue beam in which to sccurately blast you.
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Castlevania:
Symphony of the Night
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This time around, they try to pass
him off as a whole different enemy--a undead creature created by sewing together
parts of dead warriors--but we all know he's the same ol' Frank. His most
frequent attack is smash you over the head with his huge mallet; this is executed
with speed and power. But this is all second nature to his rolling technique;
he'll curl himself into a large ball and begin rolling back and forth about
the room, his protruding wiring dangerous to touch, using its slopes as a
proverbial halfpipe to gain speed. You can't possibly keep up with him at
this point, so you'll have to guess when it's the right time to jump.
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Frankenstein shows up as a "boss"
in Legacy of Darkness' Hard Mode, as faced by Reinhardt and Carrie
after either retrieves the Copper Key within the final leg of the Villa Hedgemaze;
he'll hop the fence along with his hound friends and attack as typically encountered
as a minor enemy. Otherwise, more recognized, Franky shows up in the Villa
Hedge Maze to antagonize heroes while they lead Malus or Henry to safety--and
boy is he quick, contrary to past attributes. What makes him a terror
is the chainsaw that has been sewn on to his arm; he quickly accosts a hero
and swings it wildly to knock he or she back; if the hounds that patrol the
garden stun a hero, Frank will surely try to finish it off. He can't be defeated
(he can only be immobilized temporarily through repeated strikes), so he'll
simply recover slowly and then just keep on running. He won't make his presence
known until you find Malus or Henry; though, if you'd like, you can locate
him somewhere in the maze at an earlier time (this isn't a particularly clever
move, since he'll now now be following you around at an earlier time).
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Castlevania:
Circle of the Moon
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Well, it finally happened--after years
of always having been a boss, a mid-boss or, at the very least, a guardian
gardener, Frank has finally been downgraded to the role of lesser enemy. In
this case, there are many of these Franks (called "Frankens"), and
they're among the stronger of the lesser enemies in this game. They march
forward very slowly, stopping only to throw thundering axe-handle blows
when you get close; they're very tough, too, so it'll take many whip strokes
to bring them down. That's it. Maybe he'll be a boss again one day.
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Castlevania:
Dawn of Sorrow
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Ol' Franky has seemed to accept his
new role as a minor enemy to the cause. Known this time as "The Creature"
and defined as "a humanoid constructed from numerous corpses," Frank
suddenly springs to life after an electric blast, at which point he begins
to slowly stalk the hero. Though, this is to instill in the hero a false sense
of security so that it can set up its attack--a powerful, electrically-enhanced
punch, which is executed quickly and over a fairly long range. True to form,
also, Frank has plenty of stamina even considering his "minor" status.
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Castlevania:
Portrait of Ruin
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After spending years in the proverbial
minor leagues of Dracula souls, the mad doctor's creation finally re-stakes
its claim as a boss. This version, once again called "The Creature,"
is ripped almost directly out of Rondo of Blood, from which he retains
some of his known maneuvers; he loses the debris-causing stomp but retains
the grabbing punch and his hands-clenched electric blast (more lightning-based,
in this instance, rather than a beam). His new selection of moves includes
a quick-angle jump attack plus two other projectile assaults, which he'll
execute by bending back his arm to reveal an elbow-embedded turret; these
include a repeated machine-gun blast fired low, high, then low, and a quick-moving
heat-seeking missile. Franky is back, and he's not fooling around.
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Castlevania:
The Adventure Rebirth
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This version of "The Monster"
is best described as analogous--a hulking, robed monstrosity only fitting
the visage of the undead, reanimated humanoid that we automatically associate
with "Frankenstein." All the same, its electrical powers are still
in line with the prototype creature chronicled above. It has only two main
attacks: It can channel and release a large blue energy sphere, which travels
slowly, and it can send out an electrical current, which treks along the ground,
the charge picking up acceleration as it moves. While both are deadly, either
attack is predictable and easy to dodge. The problem? The Monster can at random
release both projectiles at once, forcing Christopher to showcase his
agility, to leap the current while avoiding the large sphere.
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