Cave Troll

The monster known as the "Cave Troll" is actually the Chupacabra, and is named as such in all Japanese versions of the games in which it appears. The persistence of its mistranslation is odd, as other mis-named monsters from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Venus Weed/Alura Une, Karasuman/Malphas, Granfalloon/Legion) were eventually corrected, though it's not the only one to have this (see Malachi). In all games in which they appear, Cave Trolls attack by sticking out their long tongues, somersaulting at the hero, somersaulting while whipping their tongues in a multi-hit attack, or by using a powerful electric field.

In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Cave Trolls appeared late in the game, but were not a particular threat. They are similar in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and their soul allows Soma to stick his tongue out at increasingly longer lengths. In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Cave Trolls gained an immense amount of attacking power, and their somersault-tongue and electric field attacks essentially became instant kills on the player. This repeated in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, in which they became immensely powerful enemies, something worth noting as one of them can be found remarkably early in the game.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Cave Trolls appear in some remote locations in the Reverse Caverns. Generally, they are very easy to find in the locations you find them in, and are not all that powerful. However, since they appear so late in the game, they are not to be considered the weakest enemies in the game. They attack by either shooting their tongue at you from the ground or midair, somersaulting through the air with their tongue whipping through the air, and hitting you with an electric barrier. All these attacks can be easily avoided, but if you're not quick enough, they can become really annoying really fast.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
The only two known locations of Cave Trolls in this game are in the room before the Rahab boss room in Subterranean Hell, and one of the unlockable rooms in the Wizardry Lab. They are not very powerful, and attack by either lashing out their tongues or by hitting you with an electric field if close enough. Their soul is allows Soma Cruz to attack using his tongue. The attack is extremely limited due to being very short range at the first level (though having a respectable range when maxed out), and it doesn't do a lot of damage if it does connect. It does serve a purpose, however. In second playthroughs, or Boss-Rush Mode, there is a glitch that prevents Dmitrii from using this soul. That is, he will still technically "absorb" the attack, and he will try to use it. But he won't be able to. He will still do the gesture, and the sound effect will still play, but nothing will come out. Therefore, the best second-run strategy to beat Dmitrii is to get him to absorb the Cave Troll soul, and then pummel him with weapon attacks.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Cave Trolls can only be found in the Nest of Evil in Portrait of Ruin, and have started living up to their alternative name by becoming one of your worst nightmares. First off, they have become faster than their Symphony of the Night and Dawn of Sorrow variants, and their attacks now do considerably more damage than their other variants. There are only three rooms where you can find these guys. The first has two of them, a Skeleton Blaze, and two Dogether enemies in the 3rd room before you fight Gergoth. The second room, which is the 2nd room before you fight Abaddon, has ten of them. The third one has two of them along with a Wyvern, in the fourth room before you fight Fake Grant, Fake Sypha and Fake Trevor. If you're not quick enough to defeat them, you will die automatically (A good technique to defeat them without getting harmed is using «1,000 Blades» several times.). However, the items they drop, Jamon Iberico and Peking Duck, have some of the highest healing rates in the game. Since either one will drop half the time, you will be able to restore your health if you lose some of it during a fight against these guys. Also, one interesting thing to note about their electrical field attack is that if they die while they use it, the field will remain as if the creature were still casting the spell.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Cave Trolls were slightly toned down in Order of Ecclesia. Still, they have the capacity to deal serious damage with it's tongue attack dealing 90 damage in one hit while it's electrical field attack can still kill the player instantly. This is especially true considering that one can be encountered in the Tymeo Mountains.

In Wygol Village, Marcel wants you to take a picture of one of these creatures to be featured in his news business. The earliest Cave Troll to be seen is in Tymeo Mountains, which somewhat lacks the magical power of the Cave Trolls found in Dracula's Castle.

When a Cave Troll is killed during its standing tongue-lashing attack, the tongue will continue to extend and retract during its death throes uninterrupted.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

 * See main page at Cave Troll (Lords of Shadow)

In this game, the misnomer concerning the name of the Cave Troll has finally been corrected, and the Chupacabras is depicted as a separate creature. In this incarnation, Cave Trolls are extremely strong, aggressive beasts that attack using only their brute strength, though they will occasionally pick up pieces of scenery to use as weapons if there are any present. After Gabriel obtains the Spiked Chain for the Combat Cross, Cave Trolls can be ridden after receiving enough damage, which means the player can use the Troll's great strength to their advantage, as Cave Trolls are able to smash through obstacles such as statues or steel gates.