Shaft

Shaft
Japanese name(s)	シャフト Shafuto
Role(s)	Dark Priest, Dracula's servant
Species	Human (returns as a ghost)
Gender	Male
Date of death	1792 and 1797
Age	Unknown
Status	Deceased
Affiliation(s)	Followers of Darkness
Weapon(s)	Magic, element spell balls
Abilities	Dark sorcery
Firstappearance	Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Appearances	1792: Rondo of Blood and The Dracula X Chronicles 1797: Symphony of the Night and Encore of the Night
Partnerships	Dracula (master)
Dialogue	Dialogue page
English voice(s)	Tony Oliver (list of English voice actors)
Japanese voice(s)	Dai Matsumoto (list of Japanese voice actors)
Music theme	Poison Mind (DXC)

"The dark priest called Shaft, come to cleanse the world in the forge of chaos."

— Shaft introducing himself to Alucard, in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Shaft (シャフト, Shafuto^?) is a dark priest and loyal servant of Count Dracula. He was introduced into the series in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, and reappeared in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Character's history (The Dracula X Chronicles)

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

"Servants, come forth from the gates of Hell! Attack! Rid my master's castle of this pest!"

— Shaft to his servants

In 1792, Shaft resurrected Dracula and aided him in his plans to kidnap several young girls, including Maria Renard and Annette, in order to provide his master with a bride. Richter Belmont encountered him at least once in his adventure, and Shaft was defeated after conjuring several monsters previously fought by Simon Belmont. Exclusively in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, Shaft's final fate depends on the protagonist's actions. If Richter or Maria failed to rescue Annette, she took the place of Shaft Ghost as the boss of Stage 7, and Shaft Ghost survives, arriving before Dracula is killed and protecting him long enough for him to escape. If Annette is rescued, Shaft Ghost is fought properly and destroyed.

Shaft would come to exist only as a spirit transferred and kept in a crystal ball.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

"Ha... I die victorious... Count Dracula rises even now! Let him purge the world in flames! Hahaha!"

— Shaft's last words to Alucard

In 1797, Shaft kidnapped Richter and brainwashed him, knowing no one could defeat him because he was the strongest of all vampire hunters. He was instrumental in using his evil powers to control Richter, turning him against anyone who would seek to defy the Count (unbeknownst to Maria and Alucard). Maria guessed that he was under supernatural coercion and helped Alucard see past Shaft's deceptions. Alucard was able to save Richter instead of killing him and put an end to the dark priest's ambitions. However, Shaft, knowing he ultimately succeeded in his goal of resurrecting Dracula, ultimately was content even after Alucard tracked him down to the Reverse Castle and defeated him.

Abilities

• Magic Mastery: Shaft can use many types of magic attacks, most of which are fire, ice, or lightning-based. Shaft usually uses his magic through his orbs.
• Summoning the Dead: Like the Necromancer, Shaft can resurrect the dead.
• Immortality: Shaft can be killed, like Death and Dracula, but he can return in ghost form.
• Projection: While merged with his crystal ball, he was capable of projecting his corporeal form. This was best evident with his interaction with Alucard just prior to their battle.

Appearances

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Shaft

Shaft will not, at first, fight the player but instead summon Phantom Bat, Medusa, The Mummy, and Frankenstein Monster to fight, in that order. After all the monsters are taken care of, Shaft will teleport to fight Richter himself and summons orbs with elemental properties. They can transform into large flames that can be redirected with a strike. The orbs will also float to the top and unleash lightning downward. Shaft will also command the orbs to simply rotate around a point, creating an obstacle for Richter.

(PCE/PSP) Name Alt. Name HP EXP Shaft - 92 4,000 Location 6. Ceremonial Room

Shaft Ghost

As his penultimate form, Shaft manages to cheat Death himself for one last shot at Richter. When Richter enters the ceremonial chamber, Shaft's empty cloak appears on the altar, and soon comes to life. Shaft Ghost attacks mainly by flying around the room, continually pausing to summon the rotting remains of two past enemies: the Wyvern and the Behemoth. Wyvern breathes fire and dives at the hero, while the Behemoth leaps out from the ground itself.

(PCE/PSP) Name Alt. Name HP EXP Shaft Ghost Ghost of Shaft/Shaft's Ghost 92 3,500 Location 7. Clocktower

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Shaft is first encountered during Richter Belmont's boss fight, albeit not in physical form; he appears as a green crystal ball hovering over Richter and controlling his actions, and cannot attack by its own. The orb can only be seen as long as Alucard is equipped with the Holy Glasses Maria gave him at the Castle Center. Even though Shaft's HP is only 10, his defense is so great (5,000 DEF) that each hit will only deal 1 point of damage. Although he has no weakness, it is recommended to use a Holy or Stone attributed weapon, such as the Holy Sword or the Medusa Shield, since Richter is immune to those elements. Destroying the orb will release Shaft's ghost from it, and after a short conversation, Alucard will be granted access to the Reverse Castle where he will be able to continue his quest.

Shaft returns as the penultimate boss directly before encountering Dracula. He utilizes orbs (30 ATT, Hit) as he did in Rondo of Blood, although they are far more numerous. The orbs use the same elemental properties, although they attack in completely different ways. They can turn into flaming spheres that launch toward Alucard's general direction and which will burst into towering flames on impact (42 ATT, Fire). When two orbs become parallel with each other, they will launch lightning continuously between them (43 ATT, Thunder). The orbs will also occasionally start to rebound around the room (64 ATT, Hit).

No. Name JPN Level HP 145 Shaft シャフト Shafuto 88 1,300 Strong Immune Weak Absorb EXP - Poison - - - Location Drop Guard Reverse Castle Center - - Description "Dark Priest of Dracula."

Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night

Main article: Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night/Arcade Mode

Shaft appears as an opponent in story mode of Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night. He also is available as a playable character in Arcade Mode.

Name Title HP EXP Shaft 3,800 Drop Steal Location Demon Corridor List of Spells Skill Cost Effect

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Shaft makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit. His spirit can increase magical attacks.

Quotes

Symphony of the Night (original version)

• We'll see what happens when I destroy your weak human side!
• But my goal has achieved. Count Dracula has come forth to purify this corrupt world with the searing flames of chaos!

The Dracula X Chronicles

• Hmm, intriguing. Strong indeed. Very well, then. Face me!
• Shafton Fire!
• Shafton Lightning!
• Protect me!

Trivia

• The four bosses Shaft summons in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood are the same first four bosses that appeared in the original Castlevania: the Giant Bat, Medusa, the Mummy and the Creature (Death is not summoned in this encounter as he has his own boss fight).
  • As a side note, these five bosses (Death included) would each hold one of Dracula's relics in the sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
• Ghost in Stage 4' of Castlevania: Dracula X, is basically Shaft's (or his ghost's) equivalent in the game.
• Carmilla's abilities in Castlevania: Dracula X are nearly identical to Shaft's own powers in Rondo of Blood.
• Shaft's possession of Richter Belmont is foreshadowed during the first encounter with him, where "Belmont", while summoning a Minotaur and a Werewolf to deal with Alucard, says a similar incantation that Shaft used against Richter before summoning monsters to fight him ("Open, Hell's gate! Come forth, my servants! […] Crush this flea who invades my castle!").
• In Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, the remake of Rondo of Blood, Shaft's skin tone was changed to match the Castlevania: Symphony of the Night artwork of his ghostly self.
• The Dracula X Chronicles also changes the storyline of the original game to some extent by giving Shaft a larger role — he was ironically responsible for detecting and unlocking Maria's magical potential (rather than Maria getting caught while trying to be a hero), and was also the one to explicitly kidnap Annette.
• Also in The Dracula X Chronicles, if the player has not yet felled his ghost, Shaft will appear after Dracula's second form is defeated. The two villains will flee, thus ending the battle and the game prematurely.
• According to David Cox's post on Facebook, in the Lords of Shadow universe, Zobek is an amalgamation of Shaft and Death.
• Shaft's possession of Richter Belmont in Symphony of the Night was referenced by Alucard in Richter's Palutena's Guidance conversation in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• His name may be a miswriting of the German suffix "-schaft", which equates as "-hood" or "-ship" for words such as  bruderschaft (brotherhood) or partnerschaft  (partnership).

See also

• Followers of Darkness
• Ghost — A boss resembling Shaft in Castlevania: Dracula X.
• Necromancer — A boss resembling Shaft in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon.

External links

• Shaft at the Castlevania Fan Wiki
• Rondo of Blood manual scan