Barrels occasionally roll in the player's direction, attempting to trip them up. They first appeared in the Game Boy game Kid Dracula, in the Ghost Pirate Ship stage. In later games, they are thrown by Skeleton Apes. Other times, they are breakable objects which may have items inside or even explode.
Game specific information[]
Kid Dracula[]
Kid Dracula is the only game where the Barrel is considered to be an actual enemy on its own. They appear in the fourth level, the Ghost Pirate Ship.
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Castlevania: Rondo of Blood[]
Barrels first appeared in a Castlevania game in Rondo of Blood, in the burning town of Aljiba, thrown by Skeleton Apes.
Castlevania: Bloodlines[]
Barrel Skeletons appear in the Munitions Factory stage of Bloodlines. They hide inside metal drums and quickly come out to chuck bones at the hero.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night[]
The barrel-hurling Skeleton Apes from Rondo of Blood return in Symphony of the Night; however, barrels now have a very specific use which will allow Alucard to explore new areas. Making his way to the left side of the Underground Caverns, Alucard will come across a wooden bridge. With no way to interact with it, he continues on his way. Eventually, he will reach the top of a giant waterfall. If he manages to make it to the ledge on the other side, he will find a room with another wooden bridge and a depressible switch on the far wall. Pressing this switch will spawn a Skeleton Ape behind him who will hurl a barrel at the bridge, destroying it, and a message will appear: "Something appeared near to the wooden bridge", hinting that Alucard should return to the first bridge to investigate. Upon doing so, the player may notice that a new enemy is now lurking the area, another Skeleton Ape holding a barrel on his back. Alucard must avoid attacking him and instead lure him near the bridge, making him throw the barrel at it, destroying it and gaining access to the lower levels of the caverns.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow[]
Barrels, as in previous titles, are thrown by Skeleton Apes. If Soma is able to gain control of this enemy's soul, he will gain the Power Throw ability. While this soul on its own doesn't do anything, if used in conjunction with most other Bullet Souls, these can be thrown farther and with great force, similarly to how Skeleton Apes throw their barrels. With this soul, Soma may reach the other side of the flooded cave filled with spikes located in the Subterranean Hell by also equipping the Puppet Master's soul (Substitute Puppet) and then throwing a dummy to the far safe spot beyond the spikes, switching places with it and effectively taking him to the other side.
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness[]
In Curse of Darkness, there is a cellar in the basement of the Abandoned Castle containing a big wall of barrels stacked over each other. These can be destroyed, revealing a hidden alcove behind them, and they may randomly drop bottles of Wine for the player to collect.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia[]
There are five barrels scattered throughout Wygol Village; while they can be destroyed, they won't have anything inside. However, they form part of Serge's first quest, "Hide and Seek!". Serge will ask Shanoa to play with him, to which she will agree. Serge will then hide inside one of the barrels while she isn't looking. Shanoa must then hurry and break as many barrels as possible until she finds him before the time limit (15 seconds) expires. If she can't find him in time, she may talk to Serge and try again. The reward for completing this quest is one set of Red Drops.
A couple of exploding barrels attached to air-filled balloons can be found in the depths of Kalidus Channel. Shanoa must move them little by little to the sides by making contact with them and try to position them near piles of boulders in the vicinity, all of this while an endless number of annoying Gelsos spawn around. Once the barrels are in the desired spot, Shanoa must hit them to make them explode and remove the blockade, providing new shortcuts and giving access to many power-ups.