[Castlevania] [Vampire Killer] [Haunted Castle] [Castlevania II: Simon's Quest] [Castlevania: The Adventure] [Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse] [Super Castlevania IV] [Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge] [Dracula X: Rondo of Blood] [Akumajou Dracula X68000] [Castlevania: Bloodlines] [Castlevania: Dracula X] [Castlevania: Symphony of the Night] [Castlevania Legends] [Castlevania 64] [Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness] [Castlevania: Circle of the Moon] [Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance] [Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow] [Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow] [Castlevania: Curse of Darkness] [Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin] [Castlevania: Order of Shadows] [Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles] [Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia] [Castlevania: The Arcade] [Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth] [Castlevania: Harmony of Despair] [Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate]

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Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
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For a while, Dracula's appearance in Harmony of Dissonance was one of its best-kept secrets. But he's back, and this time, it's personal. The Dark Lord, called in this instance the "Dracula Wraith," will in his initial form take to battle as you'd expect (more so if you've played the Dracula X games): He'll teleport to a random location, unleash an attack, and then quickly vanish. The rather unmotivated Count has, this time, only two offensive options: Most frequently, he'll open his cape and release his trusty three-directional fireballs, which Juste can easily leap over and in the process score a headshot. Or he'll expel one after another seven flaming spheres--one high, the next low, etc.--that after release rev up and blast toward Juste.

            

With his power depleted, Dracula takes this form, what I can best describe as a decomposed, disembodied skull that's been cracked in half (or as noted by Cattailwarrior63 a composite of the six body parts). Most pertinent to Juste is that its eyeball is exposed and, for whatever reason, it has a single clawed limb growing out of its jaw joint--the two features on which he must concentrate. Most prominently, it will swirl the claw around at a great distance, the limb extendable, and try to force contact via a foolish maneuver. At random intervals, it will pull back the claw and then quickly re-extend it, in a stabbing motion, toward the exact point in which Juste stands. The eye, too, is active: At any time, it will channel energy and fire forward an expanding laser, which can only be avoided by a crouching Juste. The problem here isn't that the attacks are random--it's that they're prone to happen at the exact same time; in such a case, Juste is destined to take a hit, so it's for him a case of "pick your poison."

 
 
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