Giant Bat

Giant Bat
Myotia as it appears in Dracula X
Japanese name(s)	大コウモリ Ō Kōmori
Alternate name(s)	Bat Company, Darkwing Bat, Myotia, Phantom Bat, Zapf Bat
Abilities	Divides into smaller bats Flight Spews fireballs Swoops down at the player
Type(s)	Bat
Origins	Horror films
Appearances	Most games (see list below)

The Giant Bat is a recurring boss monster in the Castlevania series and is known for being the very first boss to appear in any of the games.

Description

In most games, it is shown to be composed of a company of bats. In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, it was revealed that the Giant Bat is one of three integral parts of Dracula's powers, the other two being the Flame Demon and the Succubus. Dracula even takes the form of a giant bat or a bat company in many occasions.

There have been several names and identities for the giant bats that have appeared throughout the games, including Phantom Bat, Zapf Bat (made out of treasure), Darkwing Bat (specializes in wind attacks), Bat Company (multitude of bats that move to form the shape of other things), Twin Bats (two giant bats in tandem), among others.

Appearances

Castlevania

The original Phantom Bat. It flies around the room, swooping down at Simon every once in a while. It can also spew fireballs from its mouth.

Vampire Killer

Called Phantom Vampire Bat in this game. It behaves similarly to the one in the original Castlevania.

Castlevania: The Adventure

Dracula's second form in Adventure is a phantom bat called "Dracula Bat". It just flies at the top of the screen from side to side, stopping every once in a while to unleash three smaller bats in a spreading manner to inflict contact damage.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (LCD handheld)

They flutter around above and in front of Simon and are indistinguishable from normal bats until they are right in front of him. Then they will swoop down and attack when he's on the ground or in the air. They only appear during the night. They are destroyed with two whiplashes and are worth 20 points.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

The Giant Bat that appears in Dracula's Curse does not shoot fireballs or swoops, and its main attack consists simply in fluttering about in an attempt to hit the player in close quarters. When struck, it divides into two smaller bats which continue with the same behavior. When these are struck, they divide one more time into two smaller bats. The Giant Bat is finally defeated only when all bats have been destroyed. The War Axe or Banshee Boomerang are two beneficial sub-weapons for this boss.

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge

These are normal enemies in Belmont's Revenge. Like the Giant Bat from Dracula's Curse, they split into two smaller bats when attacked with insufficient power to destroy them. These small bats are destroyed with one hit.

Super Castlevania IV

Fought at the end of Dracula's Treasury in Super Castlevania IV. The Zapf Bat appears to be made entirely out of gold and jewels. It attacks at first like any other Giant Bat, by flying around and swooping at Simon. Whenever it is hit, gold and jewels fall off from its body, which can damage Simon if they hit him. After it takes enough damage, the Zapf Bat splits into three smaller bats, each of which must be individually destroyed as they fly around and which constantly drop dangerous gold pieces. Each bat has its own HP, but only one needs to be destroyed in order to defeat the boss completely. The boss's remaining HP bar indicates the life of this bat only, and damaging the correct one is hinted by a different sound cue every time it's struck. Once dead, the other two bats will die as well. The Axe is a good sub-weapon for this boss.

The reason for the name is a mystery, although it may be related to Zapf Dingbats, a type of Wingdings font.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood / Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Like in the original Castlevania, it flies around the room, swooping down on the hero every now and then. It can also release fireballs from its mouth. Its form starts out as a company of bats which coalesce into a large bat. They scatter and become impervious to attack after being struck, only to re-coalesce and swoop down later. It also turns up its swooping prowess a bit and, instead of simply swooping down to hit its enemy, it curls himself up into a drill-like form and drills through the ground for a while, hurling debris around.

Castlevania Chronicles

Like in the original Castlevania, it flies around the room, swooping down on the hero every now and then. It can also release fireballs from its mouth. Its form starts out as a company of bats which coalesce into a large bat. They scatter and become impervious to attack after being struck, only to re-coalesce and swoop down later.

Castlevania: Dracula X

In the American manual it is called Myotia. A giant bat that breaks into a chain of bats when hit. Its attacking behavior is different from its Rondo of Blood counterpart. After Myotia has been struck once, it will divide into a formation of smaller bats that fly toward Richter's direction in a wave-like manner. After a determined amount of time, they'll return to the spot where they initially divided and coalesce into Myotia's main form again. Due to Richter's limited maneuverability this adds a bit of strategy to the fight, as the player should be wise in choosing when and where to attack the boss, thus making the smaller bats easier to attack and/or evade. Once defeated, Myotia will explode into nine smaller bats spreading out to the bottom half of the screen in a final attempt to harm Richter. Also, if the boss's HP bar is completely depleted while in its smaller bats form, it will still have to coalesce into its main form once more before it dies.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Perhaps one of the most simple bosses in the entire game. Found in the Reverse Clock Tower, the Darkwing Bat has wings about double the size of its actual body.

It has three main moves.

1. It will flap its wings to create a gust of wind, sending the player flying against the opposite wall while dealing 1 damage. This can be avoided by either crouching, activating Form of Mist, or by getting behind the bat.
2. It will fly to the player and bite him (45 ATT) three times.
3. It will wrap its wings together and charge like a drill (65 ATT, Hit).

Beating the bat will grant Alucard the Ring of Vlad.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

The Giant Bat in Harmony of Dissonance is basically the same as the one found in Rondo of Blood. It retains it's curling and ground-drilling ability and spits fireballs every once in a while. Each time it's struck a third time, it will split into a company of smaller bats and relocate in another location of the room. These smaller bats are harmless, however, and just serve as an aesthetic for when the Giant Bat is changing positions.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

The Giant Bat from Aria of Sorrow has an impressive introduction, coalescing from a multitude of bats hanging from the ceiling of the Arena's boss room. However, it is suddenly squashed in Balore's giant hand before it can attack Soma. After Soma defeats Balore, the Giant Bat's soul can be found in the next room, which endows him with the Bat Form ability. It is one of the three requirements for the true ending.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

The Bat Company in Dawn of Sorrow may take three forms:

• Giant Bat - The company of bats will start the fight in this form. They will lunge at Soma two times before scattering to take another form.
• Giant Hand - They will take the form of a giant, open hand. If they make contact with Soma, the hand will close and hold him, dealing constant damage.
• Moai - As a reference to the Gradius series, they will turn into a Moai head and shoot their characteristic ripple laser rings at Soma.

The Bat Company can only be harmed when it has taken one of its three possible forms. When the bats are scattered, they are impervious to attack.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

The Phantom Bat returns as the mid-boss of the first stage. It will flutter around, only stopping to dash across the screen. This is its only attack, but when it is struck three times, it will scatter into smaller bats and reform somewhere else.

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls

The Giant Bat appears as the first boss in Grimoire of Souls. It can attack players by splitting into several smaller bats.

Enemy Data

Main article: Giant Bat/Enemy Data.

Item Data

Item Data: Giant Bat
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Ring of Vlad (Ring) - Symphony of the Night   Relic (Dracula's Relic/Ring) - Alucard				[edit]
	1 of 5 Treasures. INT +10		INT +10	Find: Reverse Clock Tower Guard: Darkwing Bat
	Giant Bat - Bat Form - Aria of Sorrow   Guardian Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Transforming into a bat gives you the ability to fly.	Consume: 30 MP/sec		Find: The Arena	Effect: One of the three souls that represent Dracula's powers required to continue the game after the Graham boss fight.
	Bat Company - Bat Form - Dawn of Sorrow   Guardian Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Transform into a bat and fly.	Consume: 15 MP/sec		Rarity: 100% drop rate. Drop: Bat Company
	R. Fireball (L. Fireball) - Harmony of Despair (DLC)   Bound Spell - Charlotte				[edit]
	Flames once spat by an ancient creature.	Attrib: Fire Consume: 12 MP	ATK +6	Rarity: * Bind: R. Fish Man, R. Dragon Cannon, R. Skele-Dragon, R. Phantom Bat First Obtained: Chapter 10
	R. Phantom Bat - Harmony of Despair   Bullet Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Summon an 8-bit Phantom Bat.	Attrib: Strike Consume: 12 MP	ATK +12	Rarity: *** Steal: R. Phantom Bat (3.5%) First Obtained: Chapter 10	Effect: Summon Phantom Bat

Gallery

Main article: Giant Bat/Gallery

Trivia

• The name of this boss in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, "Bat Company", is probably a reference to English rock band Bad Company, which was prominent during the '70s and early '80s. This is further supported as many characters from several other classic Konami franchises are also named after famous rock musicians and bands.

See also

• Bat