Graham Jones

"My name is Graham. Let's just say... I'm a missionary."

— Graham introducing himself to Soma

Graham Jones (グラハム・ジョーンズ, Gurahamu Jōnzu^?) is the main antagonist in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. He was the founder and the chief missionary of a religious sect with hordes of devout followers, and he preached that the prophecies of apocalyptic events that were popular at the end of the 20th Century will come to pass in 2035. The events in question he would attempt to execute, in a sense; He was born in 1999, at the moment Dracula was destroyed and therefore possessed magical powers, and in turn this led him to believe that he was the reincarnation of Dracula. Therefore, when the solar eclipse of 2035 occurred and Dracula's castle showed itself, he entered it intending to take over Castlevania as the Dark Lord he believed himself to be.

Recent speculation suggests Graham Jones' classification as a paranoid schizophrenic lightly classified by his character development through the progression of the game's storyline. Believing himself to be the reincarnation of Dracula, Jones suffers from delusions of grandeur. Furthermore, Jones also casts Soma Cruz as his rival for the powers of Dracula, a relatively false delusion of persecution until Soma confronts him in the throne room, a conflict prompted by Graham's belief.

Character's history

Graham encounters Soma Cruz several times and he initially does not consider him to be of any threat, so he acts quite friendly. However, when Soma reveals that his special power is the Power of Dominance, Graham suddenly changes his attitude; he is disturbed that someone possesses a power closer to those of Dracula than his own powers and he runs to the top of the castle, stabbing Yoko Belnades along the way because she tries to stop him from taking over the castle's dark influence. Soma confronts Graham at the castle keep and the two wage battle. Although Graham admits that he could help Soma escape the castle with his powers, he intends to execute Soma for "stealing" his ability to dominate demon souls and made clear he does not care if Soma knew how to give the ability back to him, causing Soma to decry him as "one selfish bastard" and insane. After a fight, he also noticed that Soma possessed three powers that were unmistakably Dracula's and wonders where he got them before denying Soma to be "the one". Graham then uses the dark powers he gained in the keep to transform into a massive, unholy entity to destroy Soma, but he is ultimately killed, expressing shock at this meaning that he wasn't the true Dracula after all. Soma demonstrated the true powers of Dracula during this fight, and that causes the dark powers Graham absorbed to appear and enter Soma's body. Soma is suddenly very close to becoming one with Dracula's evil influence and he must confront the core of Dracula's powers of chaos to cut himself off from that influence and save himself.

Technically, Graham is considered to be the final boss. However, if the player has the Flame Demon, Giant Bat and Succubus souls equipped throughout the first phase of the fight, all of Graham's powers will transfer into Soma and he will realize he is the reincarnation of Dracula. This unlocks the Black Panther soul and also unlocks the Chaotic Realm level.

Despite him not actually being Dracula, Graham Jones' unique birth nonetheless inspired the creation of the Dark Lord candidates to take over the position of Dracula a year later after Soma refused to become him.

Appearance

Graham Jones in his human form has gray hair, gray eyes and a handsome appearance, although with a slight smirk. He also wears a white suit with a purple tie and ceremonial scarf.

Upon transforming using the demons inside Dracula's castle, he becomes a grotesque entity resembling a pair of conjoined, pale, white-haired females severed below the waist, with a halo entering through their eye sockets, four arms (two on each side, the front pair possessing eyes on the back of the hand and red fingernails), and having their insides exposed, showing a rib cage, a pulsating intestinal tract hanging below the body, and various internal organs. Graham Jones himself is found in the pulsating "heart" at the center of the demon. He also summons a "halo" made of skulls and four crucifixes which fire a ray of light on his opponents from above.

Aria of Sorrow (mobile)

Graham features prominently in the mobile version of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow as well. He stabs Yoko as he did in the Game Boy Advance version. Graham is the final boss in this game and is also only the second boss in the game, after the Creaking Skull. In order to enter the throne room to face him, the player must collect all three Ancient Books; and upon fighting him, only his transformed form is confronted. Entering the battle equipped with the three souls of Dracula's power will not lead to a second ending, and the fact that Soma is actually Dracula's true successor is never revealed.

Strategy

Graham has three different phases. The first phase is very similar to Dracula in previous installments. He will teleport himself continuously and use Hellfire or Dark Inferno. He will always be floating and only his head can be hit. In this phase, it is recommended to use a weapon with long reach and massive size such as the Balmung, since it can hit him while eliminating the Hellfires. In this phase, he has 1,500 HP, 100 ATK and 60 DEF.

In the second phase, he teleports to the center of the room and starts spawning Dark Infernos in a spiral movement. He comes back with the same stats as the first phase. Depleting his HP will force him to enter the third phase.

In the third phase, Graham changes his form into his final form. In this phase, he has 2,000 HP, 100 ATK and 110 DEF. A halo is formed above him with 4,000 HP, 100 ATK, and 73 DEF. The halo will continuously follow the player and cast a lightning bolt on a vertical line which deals Sword damage. Killing the halo will not affect Graham at all, so it is not recommended to destroy it, especially in Boss Rush Mode. His other attack is attacking with his hands, which cannot hit a crouching target. The hands will glow before attempting to attack; therefore, it is recommended to use massive overhead weapon such as the Final Sword or the Claimh Solais while crouching and sliding to avoid getting hit by his hands and lightning. The same strategy can be applied to Julius, although he needs to jump to attack Graham.

Enemy Data

No.	Name	JPN	HP	MP	EXP
112	Graham	グラハム Gurahamu	5,000	9,999	0

Attack	Defense	Tolerance	Weakness	Time Stop
100	80	Poison, Curse, Petrify, Time Stop (unaffected)	-

Location	Common Drop	Rare Drop	Soul
Top Floor	-	-	-

Description	"A missionary gone amiss. Believes himself to be Dracula."

Notes

If the player does not equip the Flame Demon, Giant Bat and Succubus souls during the first phase of the fight, Graham will initially express shock that Soma is putting up a fight against him, although this will soon change to relief for not having to confront Dracula's powers before proceeding to transform into his ultimate form. When killed, he will express disbelief that he was defeated by Soma before fading away while the castle starts to collapse.
Graham is one of the three bosses in the game that does not drop any items or souls, along with Julius and Chaos. He does, however, end up transforming Soma into Dracula's likeness upon his death.