Julius Belmont

Julius Belmont is the latest warrior in the Belmont Clan line that have been the heroes of nearly all the Castlevania games. He has the fairly high honor of being responsible for the final defeat of Dracula during 1999, previous to the events of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, but this caused him to have amnesia. Only remembering that his name started with a "J", he wandered the lands and eventually found himself in Dracula's castle. He also makes an appearance in Aria's direct sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, where he joins Yoko Belnades and Genya Arikado in attempting to stop Celia Fortner and her cult from reviving the Dark Lord once more.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
During the events of Aria of Sorrow, Julius has had amnesia ever since his battle with Dracula in 1999. Through some hidden intuition, he arrives at Dracula's castle and begins searching it for clues of his identity. He later regains his memory and learns that it was Soma Cruz, not Graham Jones, who was the reincarnation of Dracula, and goes off to find the Vampire Killer whip of his lineage - used by him to help seal Dracula and his castle in the eclipse - to prepare for the inevitable conflict between him and Soma, should Soma succeed in defeating Graham and regaining Dracula's power.

Just as he predicts, Soma does indeed regain Dracula's power, and the two engage in battle right before Soma enters the Chaotic Realm to sever Dracula's ties with the Chaos that fed him. Despite being at full strength, Julius was defeated by Soma, who realized Julius had intentionally held back. This was because Julius could sense Soma's pure soul fighting back the dark influence of Dracula's power, and desired to help him fulfill his quest to rid himself of that influence. Before they parted, Soma made Julius promise to finish the job their fight had started, should he fail. Should the player fail in defeating the final boss, Chaos, then Soma sits upon the throne in the castle, drinking from a goblet containing a liquid of blood red color. Julius enters, and says that he will make good on his promise. Soma rises and it is assumed that the two do battle. The canonical ending, however, is that Soma defeats Chaos, and preserves his humanity. Julius is one of the three enemies in the game that does not give any souls, along with Graham and Chaos.

As an enemy, all of Julius's sub-weapons don't have holy element. Possibly, this is because Julius doesn't attack Soma seriously, as stated by Soma right after the battle.

Julius Mode
Once the player has completed Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, if a new game is started with the file name "JULIUS", they can play through the game as the vampire hunter, with all the classic Castlevania abilities, including the High Jump (which he also mixes with an Uppercut attack) and a new ability, the Omnia Vanitas, which lets him become intangible while sliding behind the enemy. However, most players prefer playing as Soma, since Julius cannot acquire souls or new weapons, and in Aria of Sorrow he never levels up, making the first parts of the game ridiculously easy and the latter parts of the video game almost "broken" with the extreme difficulty (that is, if the player chooses not to fight some of the bosses that could be skipped as a result of Julius's inherent ability to double jump, high jump, and slide from the beginning, since collecting the reward orb increases Julius's STR, INT and CON). Beating Aria of Sorrow as Julius is seen as a badge of honor among Castlevania fans.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
$Dawn of Sorrow$.

In Dawn of Sorrow, Julius comes to the reflection of Dracula's castle along with Genya Arikado and Yoko Belnades in order to stop Celia Fortner, the leader of a shadow cult, from reviving the Dark Lord. Soma's first encounter with Julius is at The Lost Village, as Julius and Yoko are standing at the edge of a chasm. Julius encourages Soma to leave the castle, due to the fact that he may succumb to his dark nature. Soma refuses, and Julius accepts his determination. He then makes a massive leap across the chasm and continues down the bridge on the other side.

The next encounter with Julius is in the Condemned Tower, where Julius is examining a barrier that has been formed in that location. When Soma asks Julius whether he can break the barrier, Julius says that he can, but it would drain his powers immensely. He then asks Soma about his current investigation through the castle, and Soma reveals Celia's plan to revive the Dark Lord via defeating Soma with one of the Dark Lord's candidates, Dmitrii Blinov or Dario Bossi. Julius leaves to search for Arikado, with whom he will confer on this matter.

Shortly after Soma enters the Cursed Clock Tower, Julius enters along with Arikado to confront Celia. Celia is overconfident, as she has finished bonding the soul of a powerful flame demon to Dario's soul, granting him vastly increased powers. Arikado instructs Julius to follow Dario, and he himself will pursue Celia.

Evidently, Julius did battle Dario, but was defeated due to his inability to use a Magic Seal. Because he could not use a Magic Seal, Dario simply gathered more dark energy from the gates of darkness in the castle and renewed his health, something he could do indefinitely. Soma arrives to save Julius and Dario retreats, but reveals to Soma the location of their final battle at The Pinnacle. Julius explains to Soma why he lost, but Soma asks him whether he had faced enemies that regenerated before; Julius revealed he had, but he had destroyed them before they could regenerate. Due to Dario's powers and the gates of darkness, however, this tactic was impossible. Julius then sends Soma off to stop Dario, saying his flame powers are immense, but Soma should have the necessary power to stop him.

Near the end of the game, Julius converses with Arikado next to the barrier he originally claimed he could break while Soma enters. Although Julius is reluctant to use so much power, as it will leave him unable to continue the fight, Arikado convinces him that his power is the only way to pierce the barrier. Julius relents and uses his full power to break the barrier, and following the ordeal, is exhausted. He then tells Soma the pains of age and asks him to pursue Celia and Dmitrii through the newly opened passageway.

Julius's last scene in the game is after Soma has defeated the final opponent, Menace, and escaped the castle along with Arikado. He laughs with the other characters as they poke fun at Soma and Mina as they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
$Harmony of Despair$.

Julius has been released as a downloadable character. He uses the Vampire Killer as his primary and only weapon. Despite sharing the main weapon and some sub-weapons with Jonathan Morris, Julius has a different play style. Julius can whip in all 8 directions, similarly to Simon Belmont in Super Castlevania IV; in addition, his whip range is longer and his attack speed is greater than Jonathan's. He only has 6 sub-weapons: Knife, Axe, Ricochet Rock, Holy Water, Cross and Bible. If you found a copy with Jonathan already, Julius has access to that, as well. Julius has access to 2 martial arts, Uppercut and Omnia Vanitas. Again, if you found a copy of the Uppercut with Jonathan, you already can use the martial art with Julius. The Belmont's uppercut deals less damage and hits only directly above Julius. His second martial art is based off of the teleport move used in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Julius can also use Shanoa's Magnes points to swing off of them, again a reference to Simon's abilities in Super Castlevania IV. Julius, in terms of raw damage, is able to do more than Jonathan both with whip and sub-weapons.

Otomedius X: Excellent!
In Otomedius X: Excellent! (set in 2011), Julius has a sister, Kokoro Belmont, who wants to become a Vampire Hunter after she graduates in middle school of St. Gradius Academy in Japan. She journeys along with Hanafuuma and the Angel Squadrons to Transylvania, preventing the invasion of the Bacterians.

Notes on Julius's Age

 * Julius may be the eldest of the Belmonts to be called into active battle. In Dawn of Sorrow, he is 56 according to the Konami manual, which indicates he was born in 1980. This would place him at age 19, the exact same age as his ancestor Richter at the time of Rondo of Blood, in the battle of 1999. This last fact should be kept in mind because, like the other Belmonts, he was at his prime during his biggest adventure, but the battle of 1999, referred to as the Demon Castle War, has not yet been made into a game.
 * In Castlevania: Bloodlines, Belmont descendant John Morris took up the Vampire Killer to take on Dracula. Although John was originally slated to make an appearance in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, it was re-written so that he had died, having passed the whip, and role of hero, to his son Jonathan. It is likely that Julius would have done the same thing, but the amnesia he received after the battle of 1999 made him forget the importance of having a child to continue the Belmont legacy. Thus, when the cult threatened the world, he was forced to go back into battle himself.
 * While Richter is often noted as the most powerful Belmont, Julius's description in Aria of Sorrow specifically states that he is the most powerful vampire hunter, a broader generalization. This could mean Julius is the current strongest vampire hunter and not the strongest Belmont. It could mean the notes on Richter reflect the pre-1999 time while the notes on Julius were post-1999.

Trivia

 * In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, Julius never uses the weak Dagger, and instead used the powerful Grand Cross.
 * In Aria of Sorrow, although Soma can stand on the shoulder of a Catoblepas or a Gorgon safely, Julius cannot.
 * It is possible to fight Julius in Aria of Sorrow at some very low levels: level 17 if the player doesn't use glitches and level 4 (432 EXP) if the player uses glitches.
 * Julius is one of the two Belmonts not to star in his own game, alongside Soleiyu Belmont.

Enemy Data
If the player defeats Graham with the correct souls equipped, Soma will awaken as the true reincarnation of Dracula, and the door in the Floating Garden, which has been previously blocked by a wall of dark energy, will be unlocked. Upon entering, the player will encounter Julius. After a brief conversation, Julius will initiate the battle.

Julius Belmont is possibly the most powerful and difficult boss in Aria of Sorrow. He has high HP and MP, his attack and defense are well balanced, and his speed is quite fast. Notably, he is also resistant to many elements. In particular, his resistance against the Holy element will render Claimh Solais, which is one of the best weapons in the game, almost useless. Compared to other bosses in the game, Julius has a lot of characteristic moves in his arsenal, making the battle quite tricky.

First Phase
During the first phase of the battle, Julius will attack with moves listed below:
 * Whip Attack : Julius swings Vampire Killer directly in front of him. It deals heavy damage, and reaches far. He can perform this attack while standing, crouching, or jumping. All of these traits make this move very deadly, although it is just a regular attack.
 * Slide Kick : Julius hops back a short distance, and then performs a slide kick.
 * Jump Kick : Julius jumps up high in the air, and kicks downwards diagonally.
 * Omnia Vanitas : Julius dashes forward quickly, eventually turning around at the end. During this move, he is completely incorporeal, and thus cannot be damaged in any way.

Grand Cross
When Julius takes enough damage, he will move to the central portion of the room. He will slowly rise up in the air while pulling Soma towards him. The castle in the background starts to shake and it gradually falls apart one by one. Julius then unleashes Grand Cross, inflicting severe damage on Soma for a total of seven consecutive hits. Because Soma flinches when damaged, and he is constantly pulled towards Julius, it is highly likely that once Soma is hit, he will receive all the remaining hits. Julius then comes back to the floor, starting the second phase of the battle.

Second Phase
During the second phase of the battle, Julius uses all of the moves in the first phase. In addition, he gains three more moves, all of which are sub-weapons of a vampire hunter. Another notable thing is that the background changes slightly: bits and pieces of the castle destroyed by the Grand Cross falls endlessly in the back, until the battle is over.
 * Cross : Julius raises his hand, and a spark of blue energy flashes. He then throws a cross that travels forward, stops for a moment, and then travels back. If Julius catches it, it will disappear. If he doesn't, it will travel to the end of the screen. Keep in mind that you cannot dodge the cross by crouching.
 * Axe : Julius raises his hand, and a spark of red energy flashes. He then throws a red axe in a large arc. It deals harsh damage, but strikes only once.
 * Holy Water : Julius raises his hand, and a spark of green energy flashes. He then throws a vial of holy water that causes holy flames to erupt on the spot. It covers a wide area, and it strikes multiple times.