Cerberus

Cerberus
Cerberus artwork from Dracula X
Japanese name(s)	ケルベロス Keruberosu
Alternate name(s)	Cerberos, Keruberosu
Abilities	Flame Breath Fire, Ice, and Thunder elemental attacks
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

For the song, see Cerberus (music).

Cerberus is a recurrent boss from the Castlevania series. He is a large hellhound being with three heads. He possesses an extraordinary jumping ability and can spit fire, or, as the series progressed, each head can breath a different elemental-based attack.

Origins

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

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

Cerberos guarded the door of Hades (the name of the Greek underworld, as well as the name of its ruler) and ensured that the dead did not leave and that the living could not enter. He was son of Equidna and Tifón (Echidna and Typhon), and the brother of Ortro/Orthrus, a two-headed hellhound.

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 blood-stained 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

Cerberus first appears as the first boss of Dracula X. He starts the fight by howling and jumping into the screen. He will close into Richter's position and, after being hit or being too close, will jump back and release a flame attack that traverses along the ground. He will jump forward afterward. Oddly enough, his howl resembles more that of a feline than a canine.

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. Pounces on the player.
4. Sits and shoots a stream of fireballs (40 ATT, Fire). This will be done only if the player's position is higher than him.

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 aim properly and miss. Alucard may then just drop several flasks/ashes at his body, as he will just remain there, taking constant and heavy damage.

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

Castlevania (N64) / Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

The player will be quickly overwhelmed by a pack of Cerberi as soon as they enter the Villa. They are very quick and agile, and some also have the ability to spit fireballs in a spreading manner. Once the first wave has been survived, the gate that leads to the Villa's courtyard will open. Still, more Cerberi will leap over the fences and attack again. Once they have been dealt with and when everything seems to be calm again, the entire scenery will darken and the Ghost Cerberus will appear, who is more fierce and dangerous than his brethren and can unleash a large and continuous stream of flames upon his preys.

Exclusive to the original Castlevania (N64), an invisible platform located at the right side of the screen when the level starts, can be climbed upon. 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 he looks very similar to the Wargs from Symphony of the Night, but even if he appears to have only two heads in this portrayal, if one looks closely to his in-game sprite, a third ear can be seen on the upper part of his body, which most probably belongs to a third head. The Double necklace can be found in the next room after defeating him. His attacks include:

• Quick pouncing and biting.
• Summoning 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).
• Leaping onto a platform and unleashing a devastating fiery beam which covers almost the entire room.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

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

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

• Dextro Custos
• Sinestro Custos
• Arma Custos

Once she has found these 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.

Enemy Data

Enemy Data: Cerberus
Image	Name - Game Description	Statistics	Items	Location	Notes
	Keruberosu  (Cerberus) - Dracula X				[ edit ]
	'			1. Town
	90. Cerberus (jpn) [alt] - Symphony of the Night				[ edit ]
	Watchdog of Hell.	Strong: Fire (absorb) Weak: Ice Level: 23 HP: 800 Exp: 1,500	Guard: Life Vessel	Abandoned Pit to the Catacomb
	Cerberus  - Castlevania 64				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 40		Villa	Abil: Claws and bites
	Fire Cerberus  - Castlevania 64				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 40		Villa	Abil: Breaths fire
	Ghost Cerberus  - Castlevania 64				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 60		Villa	Abil: Darkens sky
	Cerberus  - Legacy of Darkness				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 40		Villa
	Fire Cerberus  - Legacy of Darkness				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 40		Villa, Castle Center (Reinhardt-Only)
	Ghost Cerberus  [alt] - Legacy of Darkness				[ edit ]
	The gatekeeper of Hell, this dog-beast guards Dracula's castle annex and attacks intruders with his scorching "Napalm Breath". His ferocious, cunning nature makes him the ideal watchdog.	HP: 50		Villa, Castle Center
	Cerberus (jpn) - Circle of the Moon				[ edit ]
	'	Strong: Light HP: 600 Exp: 500 Atk: 150 Def: 100	Guard: Double	Catacomb	(Strategy)
	Cerberus  - Encore of the Night				[ edit ]
	'	HP: 1400 Exp: +1 level	Steal: ~52S, 50C	Castle Keep

Gallery

Cerberus

Keruberosu (Cerberus) from the Japanese Dracula X instruction booklet

Cerberus from Castlevania (N64)

Cerberus from Circle of the Moon

CotM-01 Catacomb 23c.PNG

Fire elemental Cerberus from Circle of the Moon

CotM-01 Catacomb 23d.PNG

Electricity elemental 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 the Forsaken Cloister, from Order of Ecclesia

Kerberos' promotional render from Pachinko

Trivia

• Some names from the Japanese manual of Castlevania: Dracula X were poorly translated to English, that's why Cerberus is called Keruberosu in it. The Japanese versions generally use the Greek spelling, which appears to have confused translators unfamiliar with it.

See also

• Carnivores
• Hellhound