Giant Skeleton

For the beast-like skeleton in the Saturn port of Symphony of the Night called "Skeleton Beast", see Were-Panther Skeleton.

Giant Skeleton
Paranthropus from Symphony of the Night.
Japanese name(s)	ビッグスケルトン Biggusukeruton (Big Skeleton) がしゃどくろ Gashadokuro バーバリアンスケルトン Bābarian Sukeruton (Barbarian Skeleton)
Alternate name(s)	Big Skeleton Creaking Skull King Skeleton Paranthropus Ram Demon Skeleton Beast Skeleton Warrior
Abilities	Attacks with a giant femur Great strength and resilience Throws giant bones Spews fireballs (AoS)
Type(s)	Skeletal monster
Origins	Based on a real extinct species Japanese mythology
Appearances	Rondo of Blood Dracula X Symphony of the Night Castlevania (N64) Legacy of Darkness Harmony of Dissonance Aria of Sorrow Order of Ecclesia Grimoire of Souls Moonlight Rhapsody

The Giant Skeleton, also known as Paranthropus, is a recurring enemy in the Castlevania series, often appearing as a miniboss and rarely as an end of area boss. It is the skeleton of an enormous humanoid being. It carries around an equally gigantic weapon, usually a femur.

Origins

The Paranthropus is a genus of extinct hominin. Also known as robust australopithecines, they were bipedal hominids that probably descended from the gracile australopithecine hominids (Australopithecus) 2.7 million years ago.

Members of this genus are characterized by robust craniodental anatomy, including gorilla-like sagittal cranial crests, which suggest strong muscles of mastication, and broad, grinding herbivorous teeth. However, Paranthropus skulls lack the transverse cranial crests that are also present in modern gorillas. A notable difference between the real-life extinct hominins and the Giant Skeletons is that the Paranthropus are speculated to be between 3 feet and 4'6" (depending on gender and whether they were boisei), while the Giant Skeletons, as suggested by their moniker, are at least twice the size of a normal person.

Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre
(Utagawa Kuniyoshi, c. 1844)

There is a particular giant skeleton that appears in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow called the Creaking Skull, and whose original Japanese name is Gashadokuro. In Japanese mythology, the Gashadokuro are spirits that take the form of giant skeletons. They are fifteen times taller than an average person and said to be created from the amassed bones of people who died of starvation.

These yōkai roam after midnight, grabbing lone travelers and biting off their heads to drink their spraying blood. A loud ringing sound is usually heard in the ear of nearby victims, foreboding an imminent encounter.

They are said to possess the powers of invisibility and indestructibility; though Shinto charms are said to ward them off.

Description

The Paranthropus has a predictable pattern of attack:

• Chucks a bone forward in an arcing motion.
• Gathers itself for a moment and then swings a bone overhead, crashing it into the ground.
• Jumps into the air, trying to land on the player, and then slides along the ground.

Appearances

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

First appearing in Rondo of Blood, the Giant Skeleton is a mid-boss encountered in Stage 3. It attacks with the same pattern described above and can be defeated with 18 whip strikes. Once defeated, the player is rewarded with a Pot Roast and allowed to proceed to the next room.

In The Dracula X Chronicles, after defeating the Giant Skeleton, the player is able to juggle its skull with the whip, earning 100 points at every eight juggles without letting it fall to the ground.

(RoB/DXC) Name Alt. Name HP EXP Giant Skeleton Paranthropus 48 1,000 Location Stage 3: The Cathedral

Castlevania: Dracula X

The Giant Skeleton also appears in Dracula X in the Caves, but unlike its Rondo of Blood counterpart, the player can simply evade it and proceed with the level as normal.

Name JPN Giant Skeleton ブラッディスケルトン Buraddisukeruton (Bloody Skeleton) Locatiom Stage 4': The Caves Requirement Alternate Path before Stage 4

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Called Paranthropus in Symphony of the Night, a giant skeleton that throws bones at the player. If at least one "CLEAR" save file is present in the current memory card, the Paranthropus will be able to drop the powerful Ring of Varda (it will become unlocked as its rare drop), a ring that greatly boosts all stats; if no complete save files are present, it will drop Turquoises in its place.

The first Paranthropus can be found in the Colosseum. They appear more frequently much later in the game, in the Reverse Outer Wall.

No. Name JPN Level HP 67 Paranthropus ビッグ･がいこつ Biggu Gaikotsu (Big Skeleton) 16 100 Strong Immune Weak Absorb EXP - - Holy - 50 Location Drop Guard Colosseum, Reverse Outer Wall Gauntlet, Ring of Varda (if one or more complete game saves) Turquoise (if no complete saves; drops instead of Ring of Varda) Description "Giant skeleton."

Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

A gigantic skeleton wielding a large bone. It appears twice as a boss in the Forest of Silence. The first battle occurs early on in the level, after the player unlocks a large door, behind which the King Skeleton stands waiting. In addition to using its club to strike the player, it will also strike the ground, causing normal Skeletons to appear. After defeating it, the King Skeleton will run away by jumping off a cliff. It will then stand at the bottom of the cliff and observe the player for a short time before continuing to run away.

The King Skeleton reappears for a second battle right at the end of the level, climbing up from the gorge and preventing access to the Castle Wall. In addition to its previous attacks, the King Skeleton has now gained the ability to unleash a shockwave by jumping and then stomping on the ground, as well emitting an electrified aura, and a long range breath weapon when it roars. During the battle, the skeleton will begin falling apart, losing one of its arms first and then its legs, leaving it to simply crawl after the player until it is killed. A health restoring item can be retrieved from its mouth after the battle.

• Castlevania 64
• Legacy of Darkness

Name JPN HP King Skeleton King Skeleton 80 (1st encounter), 180 (2nd encounter) Location Forest of Silence

Name JPN HP Giant Skeleton King Skeleton 150 (1st encounter), 315 (2nd encounter) Location Forest of Silence

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

No. Name JPN Lv. HP 21 Big Skeleton ビッグスケルトン Biggusukeruton 9 128 Tolerance Weakness Common Drop Rare Drop EXP - Fire $25 Opal 22 Location (Castle A) Location (Castle B) Clock Tower Skeleton Cave, Castle Top Floor

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Creaking Skull

The Creaking Skull is a massive skeleton that is too large to properly support its own weight, with its legs presumably having crushed long ago due to not having been able to support the entire monster's weight and leaving only its upper body behind. It slowly drags itself forward, periodically pausing to swing its femur or spew a ball of fire at the player. A second one can be found in the basement section of the Dance Hall, where its soul can be gathered.

Gaining dominance over its soul grants Soma the Guardian Big Bone ability, which is the strongest guardian soul (based on its attack power). With it, Soma grows the Creaking Skull's skeletal club arm to fight any enemies behind him. While not technically useful, it can help defeat those enemies that gang up on him, like Fleamen and Rippers, although it can be replaced with other, more powerful, rear-guard souls later in the game, such as the Big Golem or Cagnazzo.

The Creaking Skull is also the only boss found in the mobile version of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, with the exception of the end boss, Graham Jones.

In Boss Rush, the Creaking Skull gets a 1,000 HP and 20 STR boost.

Giant Skeleton

The Giant Skeleton is an enemy version palette swap of the Creaking Skull and appears close to the end of the game. It is now colored lime-green. It attacks almost in the same way as the Creaking Skull, by slowly crawling forward and swinging its femur. Unlike the Creaking Skull, it can't spew any fireballs, although its strength makes up for it. Its soul is a short-range projectile where Soma throws giant skulls.

Interestingly, when comparing the two enemies, the Creaking Skull seems to have what looks like a heart shielded inside its rib cage, while the Giant Skeleton doesn't.

• Creaking Skull
• Giant Skeleton

No. Name JPN HP MP EXP 34 Creaking Skull がしゃどくろ Gashadokuro 240 259 110 Attack Defense Tolerance Weakness Time Stop 35 10 Dark Holy Location Common Drop Rare Drop Soul Castle Corridor (as a boss), Dance Hall - - Guardian Big Bone Description "A giant corpse whose body has collapsed under its own weight."

No. Name JPN HP MP EXP 93 Giant Skeleton ビッグがいこつ Biggugaikotsu (Big Skeleton) 2,000 81 1,200 Attack Defense Tolerance Weakness Time Stop 75 50 Dark Holy Unaffected Location Common Drop Rare Drop Soul The Arena, Chaotic Realm - Durandal Big Skull Description "A huge skeleton with no lower body that crawls along the ground."

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

The Giant Skeleton appears in Minera Prison Island as the game's second boss. It is not like the other giant skeletons found in the series, as its fighting style is completely different. What makes this fight hard is the fact that the skeleton will bend backward if Shanoa ends up behind it, changing it's attacks, speed and hitbox and making it harder to damage and to avoid. Even with these difficulties, if the player takes full advantage of the Magnes glyph and constantly shoots over it when it looms close, it will be an easy battle. Another strategy is for Shanoa to use Magnes to stay at the top of the screen, it will simply walk backwards, Shanoa can them reposition herself, still using Magnes, to attack within a safe range with Culter or Ascia (or even Arcus in Hard Mode) until it looms closer again. It will not take a lot of damage per hit, taking more time to kill it, but it's a safer way to get it's Boss Medal.

It's also the only boss that can be encountered as a regular enemy later in the game, appearing twice in the same room in Tristis Pass, along with a Mimic and without the Magnes discs, but it can be defeated as quickly as a normal enemy, as Ignis deals a lot of damage per hit, and with multiple hits it will defeat it quite easily.

The Giant Skeleton has three variants in Order of Ecclesia:

• Giant Skeleton: The first variant encountered in the game and the weakest. Wearing no armor and wielding no weapons, it attacks using its arms and legs. This variant is the only one that can bend backward, making it quite a challenge in the early game. It appears as a large, white skeleton, about three or four times the size of Shanoa.
• Skeleton Beast (Barbarian Skeleton in the Japanese version): A more powerful variant encountered from early mid-game onward, the Skeleton Beast cannot bend backward, but swings at Shanoa using a powerful mace. It can deal considerable damage quickly to low-level players. It shares a similar sprite with the Giant Skeleton, but wears short armor and a helmet decorated with black fur.
• King Skeleton: The most powerful and high-ranking variant, encountered in the late game. Its color palette is identical to that of the Skeleton Beast, but it has brown and orange striped fur on its helmet. It wields a long axe. It is usually found in the company of a Great Knight.

• Skeleton Beast
• King Skeleton
• Giant Skeleton

No. Name JPN HP ATK 54 Skeleton Beast バーバリアンスケルトン Bābariansukeruton (Barbarian Skeleton) 400 50 Tolerance Weakness Ice, Darkness Strike, Flame, Light Location Drop Glyph EXP AP Giant's Dwelling, Oblivion Ridge, Skeleton Cave (Albus Mode only) Barbarian Helm (2%) - 190 3 Description "A skeletal brute armed with a huge club."

No. Name JPN HP ATK 101 King Skeleton キングスケルトン Kingusukeruton 700 90 Tolerance Weakness Ice, Darkness Strike, Flame, Light Location Drop Glyph EXP AP Arms Depot Barbarian Shoes (4%), Barbarian Belt (2%) - 460 7 Description "A skeleton armed with a huge battle ax."

No. Name JPN HP ATK 108 Giant Skeleton ビッグスケルトン Biggusukeruton (Big Skeleton) 800 36 Tolerance Weakness Ice, Darkness Strike, Flame, Light Location Drop Glyph EXP AP Minera Prison Island (as a boss), Tristis Pass Skeleton Medal (boss only) - 350 10 Description "A giant condemned in ages past."

Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody

Due to cultural sensitivities in the Chinese market about portraying human bodily remains, the giant skeleton was replaced with a Ram Demon in Moonlight Rhapsody. It otherwise behaves like a typical Giant Skeleton.

Enemy Data: Ram Demon
Image	Name - Game Description	Statistics	Items	Location	Notes
	10-2. Ram Demon  (羊角魔) - Moonlight Rhapsody				[ edit ]
	'			Castle Keep	Videos: Bestiary

Enemy Data

Main article: Giant Skeleton/Enemy Data

Item Data

Item Data: Giant Skeleton
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Gauntlet (jpn) - Symphony of the Night   Other (Gauntlet) - Alucard				[edit]
	ATT+5		ATT +5	Buy: $8,000 (later) Drop: Paranthropus, Lion
	Ring of Varda (Skull Ring) - Symphony of the Night   Other (Ring) - Alucard				[edit]
	Golden ring to rule over all!		STR +30, ATT +10, CON +10, DEF +10, INT +30, LCK +5	Drop: Paranthropus (Clear game only)
	Turquoise (jpn) - Symphony of the Night   Other (Jewel/Ring) - Alucard				[edit]
	Fairly valuable ring [salable]		ATT + 6 (with Jewel Sword - Saturn only) Sell: $1,500	Find: Forbidden Library, Castle Keep Drop: Fire Warg, Paranthropus, Yorick Create: Jewel Sword
	$25 - Harmony of Dissonance   Pick-Up (Money) - Juste Belmont				[edit]
			Gold + 25	Common Drop: Skeleton Blaze, Big Skeleton, Skeleton Flail, Skeleton Spear, Skeleton Ape, Big Balloon, Arabaki, Fleaman Armor Rare Drop: Skeleton, White Dragon, Bomber Armor, Balloon, Large Ghost
	Opal (jpn) - Harmony of Dissonance   Jewel - Juste Belmont				[edit]
	A white jewel.		Sell: 125G	Find: Shrine of the Apostates (Castle A) Rare Drop: Giant Skeleton
	Creaking Skull - Guardian Big Bone (jpn) - Aria of Sorrow   Guardian Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Supports a battle from behind. (A shambling skull supports a battle from behind.)	Consume: 5 MP/sec	40 ATK	Drop: Creaking Skull
	Durandal (jpn) - Aria of Sorrow   Weapon - Soma				[edit]
	Sword forged by the hands of giants.	Attrib: Sword	ATK +58 Sell: $6,000	Rare Drop: Giant Skeleton
	Giant Skeleton - Big Skull - Aria of Sorrow   Bullet Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Throws giant skulls.	Consume: 19 MP	163 ATK	Rarity: 12 Drop: Giant Skeleton
	Barbarian Helm (Barbarian Met) - Order of Ecclesia   Head Gear (Helmet) - Shanoa				[edit]
	Barbarians prefer this tough helmet design.		STR +5, CON -5	Drop: Skeleton Beast
	Barbarian Shoes (Barbarian Sandals) - Order of Ecclesia   Leg Gear (Sandals) - Shanoa				[edit]
	Why do barbarians wear open-toed sandals like this?		STR +5, CON -5	Drop: King Skeleton
	Barbarian Belt (Barbarian Harness) - Order of Ecclesia   Body Gear (Armor) - Shanoa				[edit]
	Piecemeal armor worn by barbarians.		STR +10, CON -10	Drop: King Skeleton
	Skeleton Medal (jpn) - Order of Ecclesia   Item (Boss Medal) - Shanoa				[edit]
	Medal awarded for defeating the Giant Skeleton.		Sell: (cannot be sold)	Drop: Giant Skeleton Conditions: Defeat Giant Skeleton without taking damage.

Gallery

Artworks

Giant Skeleton from the Japanese Rondo of Blood instruction booklet.

Giant Skeleton in the official Koma comic strips of Order of Ecclesia.

Ram Demon from Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody.

Screenshots

Big Skeleton enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.

Giant Skeleton from Evolution Skateboarding (2002).

Creaking Skull enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.

Giant Skeleton enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.

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

See also

• Adramelech - A monster similar to a Ram Demon.
• Giant Skeleton Warrior
• Guardian Big Bone
• Skull Knight

External links

• Gashadokuro at Yōkai Wiki
• Gashadokuro at Yokai.com
• Gashadokuro at Wikipedia