Maxim Kischine

Maxim is a childhood friend of Juste Belmont and ninja-like Vampire Hunter of Harmony of Dissonance. He wields a one-handed longsword called the Stellar Sword, which, compared to Juste's Vampire Killer, is much faster and does more damage - at least in the first part of the game. His only sub-weapon is a large boomerang-like Shuriken (similiar to Cross subweapon).

Maxim trained alongside Juste and beat him at every competition they had. One day, Maxim went on a training expedition and was never heard from again until two years later, when he appeared, injured, and delivered terrible news: Lydie Erlange, Juste's and Maxim's childhood friend was kidnapped and was being held at a place which location only Maxim knew. It was the only thing he remembered; during his expedition he lost his memory. He couldn't even recall what happened and injured him, but he still remembered Lydie's kidnapping all too well.

Maxim's true intention for going on the training expedition was to resurrect the Dark Count Dracula by gathering his remains. Then he would destroy him in a weakened state and gain glory of the vampire killer. This plan backfired, though, and Maxim ended up getting possessed by the dark power of Dracula's remains. Because of this Maxim ended up developing a split personality - a dark Maxim, through which Dracula's will spoke, which Juste would meet in the Sky Walkway. This evil side of Maxim was actually the one who kidnapped Lydie and left Maxim with his amnesia so Juste could be lead to the castle unknowingly by Maxim. Another result of this divide was that the castle has been split as well: there were two castles, or rather two sides of the same castle, connected by portals. They were named Castle A and Castle B, each representing one side of Maxim's mind, as the castle's creator.

Depending on the player's actions and whether or not Juste was wearing both Maxim's and his own bracelets affected Maxim's fate, giving the player access to multiple endings - a bit like fight with Richter in Symphony of the Night. This is what happens to Maxim in all three endings:

Ending A - Bad

True Maxim, faced by Juste in Castle A, begs Juste to just take his life and relieve them all of the danger. Shortly thereafter, he loses all control over his dark side and attacks Juste with his full power, leaving the Belmont no other choice than to fight him. He finally reverts to his old self, already mortally wounded. He manages to tell his friend that he just wanted to relieve him of his 'cursed fate' to fight for all eternity. His last words are "Take care of Lydie, will you...". Juste leaves Castlevania with Lydie, as Maxim's body stays inside as the castle starts to dissolve... It's considered a 'Bad' ending.

Ending B - Worst

Evil Maxim, faced by Juste in Castle B, welcomes Juste, claiming that he doesn't have any remains of old Maxim living within him and that, thanks to the blood of Lydie, he's gained a great power. Taunting Juste, he proceeds to battle him. He seems to be right; even lying in defeat and at a brink of death, he doesn't show any hint that soul of vampire killer's friend still lives within him. Wondering how could he lose with all of Dracula's powers, he still curses Juste; he tells him that with him, real Maxim and Lydie, bitten, will perish as well, and that eternal vampire hunt is just good enough fate for someone like him. He presumably dies then. Juste leaves the castle, cursing he couldn't save anybody, which dissolves, taking Maxim's and Lydie's bodies along with it. This ending is considered the 'Worst'.

Ending C - Best/Canon ending

Evil Maxim, faced by Juste in Castle B, welcomes Juste, claiming that he doesn't have any remains of old Maxim living within him and that, thanks to the blood of Lydie, he's gained a great power. Taunting Juste, he proceeds to battle him. Though, as Maxim gets wounded, he stands up uneasily, clutching his head. He notices that Juste is wearing both his own and Maxim's bracelets and, newly motivated by his friend, tries to fight off dark influence. He tells Juste to kill him off while he still can restrain his evil side, but then, Dracula's remains start to fly away from Juste and form a circle. Dracula then ditches Maxim's body and, by the power of his remains, he manages to retain his old, however unstable, body, claiming that Belmont's blood will once again make him whole. After the fierce battle Dracula burns away, leaving the Castlevania dissolving.

Outside, Maxim is back to normal. He asks about Lydie, but Juste claims she'll be all right. Maxim apologizes to Juste, and the Belmont just tells him it's all behind them now. Lydie then comes to senses, telling her friends, confused, that she thinks she's been bitten by Maxim. Juste tells her it probably was just a nightmare. Maxim protests, saying that they should tell her the truth, but Juste tells him to be quiet. As Lydie notices Maxim, he and Juste quarrel and actually are close to fighting, but Lydie calms them down, saying they're ruining the moment and that they'll talk about it back home. She then gets closer to Juste, saying that it had been a long time since they were home... It's considered the 'Best' ending and as the things should have been.

Maxim Mode
The precursor to Julius mode is Maxim mode by typing in "MAXIM" in the name entry after beating the game one you get to play as Maxim who is surrounded by a red aura and has multiple abilities. Maxim has a huge attack stat compared to Juste's and has access to Life and Heart ups, he also has access to the triple jump ability, which is very high since Maxim is very light and literally floats for a few seconds before falling. Maxim however does not have any equipment or potions, the locations that would normally hold equipment were replaced with a single heart, Maxim also has terrible defense stats and can't take that much damage before dying. This maybe due to having Maxim becoming a more balanced character. This mode doesn't have a story line. Maxim is playable in boss rush mode by holding L+R when choosing the difficulty. For more information and a full list of Maxim's moves, abilities and more, here is a FAQ about Maxim. http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/554981-castlevania-harmony-of-dissonance/faqs/35538

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See also