Cerberus

For other uses, see Cerberus (disambiguation).

Cerberus
Keruberosu artwork from Dracula X.
Japanese name(s)	ケルベロス Keruberosu
Alternate name(s)	Cerberos Kerberos Keruberosu Three-Headed Dog
Abilities	Flame breath Great agility and stamina Spews fireballs
Type(s)	Carnivore, legendary creature
Origins	Greek mythology Dictionnaire Infernal
Appearances	Dracula X Symphony of the Night Castlevania (N64) Legacy of Darkness Circle of the Moon Encore of the Night Moonlight Rhapsody

"Three-headed beast."

— CR Pachinko Akumajō Dracula official website description.

Cerberus (ケルベロス, Keruberosu^?) is a recurring boss in the Castlevania series. It is a large hellhound with three heads. It possesses an extraordinary jumping ability and can spew fireballs or a constant stream of fire.

Origins

Statue of Cerberus.
Heraklion Archaeological Museum, Crete, Greece.

In Greek mythology, Cerberos (in Greek Κέρβερος Kerberos, "demon of well") was the dog of Hades. He was a canine monster with three heads (although sometimes it's said that he had fifty or a hundred) and with a many-headed serpent in place of a tail.

Cerberos guarded the door of Hades and ensured that the dead did not leave and that the living could not enter. He was son of Echidna and Typhon, and the brother of Orthrus, a two-headed hellhound.

Cerberus, as illustrated by Gustave Doré in Dante's Divine Comedy.

The myth of a supernatural guard dog watching the gates of the underworld dates back to ancient Indo-European mythology. Other such watchdogs of the underworld include the bloodstained dog, Garmr, of Scandinavian mythology, who serves a role much akin to Cerberos, and their more benevolent cousins, the Welsh Cŵn Annwn, who were the spectral guard dogs of the paradise otherworld, Annwn.

Concerning his name, it is unclear if there is an association with Cerbere (Naberius) from the Dictionnaire Infernal, although in 1583 Johann Weyer considered both of them to be the same demon.

Appearances

Castlevania: Dracula X

Keruberosu is the first boss in Dracula X. It starts the fight by roaring and jumping into the screen. It will attempt to close toward Richter's current position throughout the course of the encounter and, after being hit or being too close, will jump back and spew a flame diagonally-down that will traverse along the ground. Keruberosu will jump forward afterward.

Faithful to some of the creature's classic descriptions, its tail resembles a serpent in this incarnation. Oddly enough, its roar resembles more that of a big feline rather than a canine.

Name JPN Keruberosu Cerberus Locatiom 1. Burning Town

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Cerberus is the boss of the Abandoned Pit to the Catacomb. He has four main attacks:

1. Shoots a single fireball (35 ATT, Fire).
2. Shoots a series of eight fireballs (35 ATT, Fire). During this time, his heads will appear to be rotating on his body after shooting one fireball each.
3. Sits and shoots a stream of fireballs (40 ATT, Fire). This will be done only if the player's position is higher than him.
4. Pounces on the player.

Single and continuous fireball attacks.

Stream of fireballs attack.

Pouncing attack.

Cerberus can be easily defeated, though. For example, if Alucard brings either the Holy Water or Vibhuti sub-weapons and stands on top of a column, Cerberus will try to aim diagonally but most probably won't be able to do it properly and miss. Alucard may then just drop several flasks/ashes at him, dealing heavy damage.

Note that while his fireballs are multicolored, all of them are Fire elemental attacks.

No. Name JPN Level HP 90 Cerberus 23 800 Strong Immune Weak Absorb EXP - - Ice Fire 1,500 Location Drop Guard Abandoned Pit to the Catacomb - Life Vessel Description "Watchdog of Hell."

Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

The player will be quickly ambushed by a pack of Cerberi as soon as they enter the Villa. These canines are very quick and agile, and some also have the ability to spew fireballs in a spreading manner.

• Castlevania 64
• Legacy of Darkness

Name JPN HP Cerberus 40 Location Villa

Name JPN HP Cerberus 40 Location Villa

Once the first wave has been dealt with, the gate that leads to the Villa's courtyard will open; at this point, another pack of Cerberi will leap over the fences and attack.

• Castlevania 64
• Legacy of Darkness

Name JPN HP Fire Cerberus 40 Location Villa

Name JPN HP Fire Cerberus 40 Location Villa, Castle Center (Reinhardt only)

Once the second pack has been dealt with and when everything seems to calm down again, the sky will darken and the Ghost Cerberus will appear, who is more fierce and dangerous than its brethren and can unleash a large and continuous stream of flames upon his preys.

• Castlevania 64
• Legacy of Darkness

Name JPN HP Ghost Cerberus 60 Location Villa

Name JPN HP Ghost Cerberus 60 Location Villa, Castle Center

Exclusive to the original Castlevania 64 version, there's an invisible platform which can be climbed onto located to the right side of the level's starting point; from there, the player may have an easier time dealing with the pack, given they can use ranged attacks.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Cerberus appears at the end of the Catacomb as the first boss in Circle of the Moon. This time it looks very similar to the Wargs from Symphony of the Night, but even if it appears to have only two heads in this portrayal, upon close inspection to its in-game sprite, a third ear can be seen on the upper part of its body, which most probably belongs to a third head.

Its attacks include:

• Quick pouncing and biting.
• Summons two electrical spheres which hover high up and project bolts of lightning to the ground (an attack similar to the one used by Shaft in Rondo of Blood).
• Leaps onto a platform and unleashes a devastating fiery beam which covers almost the entire room.

The Double necklace can be found in the next room after defeating it.

Name JPN HP EXP Cerberus ケルベロス Keruberosu 600 500 ATK DEF Location 150 100 Catacomb Common Drop Rare Drop - - Resistance Light

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

While Cerberus itself doesn't appear in Order of Ecclesia, a set of three glyphs, called Custos, must be found in order to complete the game, each glyph representing one of its heads. Two of them are arm glyphs and the third is a back glyph (which works like a harmless version of Dominus Agony).

Shanoa will eventually find a statue of Cerberus in the Forsaken Cloister and will make a comment about it, hinting that the player must find all three Custos glyphs and use them in that room. Furthermore, every time she absorbs one of these glyphs, she'll comment about returning to the statue. These glyphs are:

• Dextro Custos
• Sinestro Custos
• Arma Custos

Once she has finally acquired all three glyphs and used them on the statue, the path that leads to the Final Approach will reveal to her, allowing her to finally confront Dracula.

Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night

Name Title HP EXP Cerberus 1,400 +1 level Drop Steal Location - ~52S, 50C Castle Keep List of Spells Skill Cost Effect

Item Data

Item Data: Cerberus
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Life Vessel [alt] - Symphony of the Night   Item (standard) - any				[edit]
	Increases the player's maximum HP (life) capacity.		Maximum HP +5 (Alucard); maximum HP +10 (Richter and Maria)	Find: Found throughout the castle, often in containers Drop: Most bosses	Effect: Restores all life and increases Max HP
	Double - Circle of the Moon   Magic Item - Nathan				[edit]
	Another jump can be performed while in mid-air.			Find: Catacomb Guard: Cerberus	Effect: Allows Nathan to perform double jumps.

Gallery

Keruberosu from the Japanese Dracula X instruction booklet.

Cerberus from Castlevania 64.

Cerberus and Griffin concept sketch from the canceled Castlevania: Resurrection by Greg Orduyan.

Cerberus from Circle of the Moon.

Cerberus enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.

The Cerberus statue in Order of Ecclesia.

Kerberos promotional render from Pachinko.

Three-Headed Dog artwork from Moonlight Rhapsody.

Trivia

• The MegaDriveFAN strategy guide for Vampire Killer (Castlevania: Bloodlines) refers to the miniboss from the first stage as "Cerberus"; however, it lacks Cerberus's characteristic three heads (or at least multiple heads), a trait that is essential on this creature, and the picking of that name was likely a liberty taken by the author(s) of that article.
• Some names from the Japanese instruction booklet of Castlevania: Dracula X were poorly translated to English. The Japanese versions generally use the Greek spelling, which appears to have confused translators unfamiliar with it. As a result, Cerberus appears in the manual as "Keruberosu", along with other enemies and bosses which also appear with unorthodox translated names.

See also

• Carnivores
• Cerberus (music theme)
• Hellhound