Minotaur

The Minotaur is a common Were Beast (a "Were-Bull") found in later Castlevania games. It is usually armed with giant axe (first seen in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood) or with a giant pillar (first seen in Castlevania: Bloodlines). It is occasionally paired up with the fellow were-beast Werewolf (as depicted in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night).

Castlevania: Bloodlines
In this game, Minotaurs appear frequently through stage 2. In that stage you'll find minotaurs wielding knives, polearms, or charging about. A few minotaurs appear in Stage three where they grab a hold of marble columns and swing them around. Strangely, when ever you kill them, the sound they make is the same for when you destroy a Skeledragon.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
The Minotaur is the standard boss of Stage 3 and Stage 3'. In this game he has quite a few attacks, including two axe attacks (one high, one low), a fire attack, an attack where he uses floor panels against Richter, and a charging attack. The player can move under him when he uses his jumping axe attack, and do a back-flip over the Minotaur when he uses his charging attack. Once the Minotaur is defeated, the Minotaur will make a final strike by charging at the player in a last ditch uppercut attack, once after that, It will explode and fall down into pieces. Defeating of the Minotaur moves the player to Stage 4.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Is a large beast summoned by Richter Belmont in the Colosseum and he comes teamed with a Werewolf, impaling and slashing with his great axe at the player dealing a lot of damage if not careful, eventually the Minotaur will ram from one corner of the room to another, just like he does in Dracula X Chronicles.

In the Reverse Castle, the Minotaur appears again in the Colosseum as a regular enemy, using the same battle tactics and accompanied by Werewolves and other Minotaurs which can be even more difficult to deal with than before.

If you attack him with a not too slow sword repeatedly he'll be locked on the attack until it is destroyed. Also, it is considered a "were-bull", so the were-bane is extra effective against him.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
In Circle of the Moon, the Minotaur uses an axe to create a shock wave which travels forward, hitting the player with great force. There is a room with seven of them in the Battle Arena, which is notorious for it's extreme difficulty.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
In Harmony of Dissonance there are two minotaur bosses. The Minotaur wields a traditional battle axe. Upon defeat, Juste will have access to the next room, where he can find the Wind Book to infuse his sub-weapons with the power of wind magic.

The Minotaur Lv2 is a bit different, as he uses a ball & chain. This form is harder to defeat, as the movements of the ball & chain are harder to predict. The axe sub-weapon, infused with the magic from the Fire Book (which summons a salamander), can be very helpful in this battle, because you can keep your distance while the Minotaur receives heavy and constant damage, and the spell has a chance of knocking him back to the other side of the room. Upon defeat, Juste will have access to the next room, where he will find the Steel Tip whip enhancement.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
The Minotaur appears as he usually does, as a giant monster wielding a massive weapon, this time around a large pillar, unlike his predecessors this Minotaur has a wound on his back, that reveals his dorsal spine, and appears to be a zombie. His attacks are hard to avoid, and eventually will throw the pillar at the player, turning around to look for another and continue the battle.

Castlevania: Judgment
His appearance is similar to his appearance in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, he is in a Boss Battle in the Story Mode or the Castle Mode, he's much harder to defeat than the Iron Gladiator, the other powerhouse of the game. He only does one of two attacks:
 * 1) Swing his giant pillar in a wide, horizontal way. Run to his left to easily avoid this.
 * 2) Pound the floor, this attack is has a long, straight line range. Move to the side or dodge to avoid.

A difference from his Curse of Darkness incarnation is that he never throws the pillar weapon he has, as there are no others to grab.

Trivia

 * In the trailer for Castlevania: Judgment unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show 2008, a Minotaur was seen fighting Simon Belmont. There was speculation that Minotaur was a playable character. However, Konami said that Minotaur has been confirmed as a boss character for Story Mode.
 * The Minotaur is based off a creature in Greek Mythology.
 * It's name is occasionally spelled "Minotaurus", meaning "Bull of Minos". Sometimes mistranslated.

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