Skeleton Blades, also known as Skeleton Blaze, are skeletons armed with a blade on each hand. In some games there are two levels of skills of skeleton blades, the weaker one is a Blade Soldier (Blades Novice in Japan) and the more experienced one, called a Blade Master. The first one is oftentimes stationary, sometimes lunging a sword forward (though it has an energy blast in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, where it is called the Skeleton Hero in the North American version). The more experienced one often jumps around, slides and performs large swipes with the blades. Curse of Darkness also has a third type, called the Blaze Phantom.
Appearances
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Skeleton Blades was first introduced into the series in Rondo of Blood. He is the first real threat encountered in the game, as he surprises the player by breaking out of one of the windows located on the second floor of Aljiba (Stage 1). His attacking patterns are much more advanced than those of the Skeleton Apes the hero has encountered so far, and he reacts according to the player's movements, either by jumping away or slide-kicking when the hero attacks.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
While Skeleton Blazes may be defeated relatively easy, one must be wary of his advanced version: the Blaze Master. This enemy has the ability to block frequently when attacked, sometimes inhabiting very confined spaces. Attacking it continuously may not be such a good idea, as he will keep blocking most attacks and often find an opportunity to counterattack, connecting many hits in quick succession and dealing considerable damage. If the room's layout allows it, it's recommendable to just jump over them and continue further.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Even when the Skeleton Blaze doesn't appear in Aria of Sorrow, his soul does. It can be obtained by destroying a Soul-Keeper container located in a room of the Dance Hall, only accessible after defeating the Big Golem. This soul will grant Soma the ability to slide, allowing him to move through narrow spaces and discover new areas.
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
There are three types of "blaze" enemies in Curse of Darkness. Even when they are still considered to be skeletons, their bodies are portrayed to be very muscular and athletic. What makes them so important are the rare materials they can drop or be stolen from them. However, they are some of the most difficult enemies to steal from, usually needing to perfect guard a specific attack so they can open their "stealing window" for a split-second, and then quickly trying to rob them. What makes things harder is the fact that most of the times they will be knocked away from Hector after he has successfully blocked the attack, sending them out of reach for stealing. To steal from them it's better to take care of the whole group, leaving only one or two, keep blocking while trying to corner one against a wall, perfect guard his attack and quickly attempt to steal.
The Blaze Master and the Blaze Phantom have the added ability to cover the floor with exploding knives[1], effectively compromising the area where they are fought.
Stealing guide
- Skeleton Blaze - He opens his stealing window while sidestepping.
- Drop: Wild Memory
- Steal: Potion
- Blaze Master - Make sure he's against a wall and perfect guard his flip attack. Quickly steal from him as he is being knocked back.
- Drop: Ancient Memory
- Steal: Ceremonial Tool
- Blaze Phantom - Same as with the Blade Master, make sure he's against a wall and perfect guard his flip attack. Quickly steal from him as he is being knocked back.
- Drop: Punch Rings
- Steal: Dark Matter
Enemy Data
| Enemy Data: Skeleton Blades | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Description |
Statistics | Items | Location | Notes |
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 2 Exp: 350 |
1. Village, 5. Ghost Ship |
|||
|
|||||
| Novice of twin-bladed combat. | Level: 8 HP: 16 Exp: 20 |
Drop: $400, Namakura |
Colosseum |
||
|
|||||
| Master of twin-bladed combat. | Level: 17 HP: 65 Exp: 80 |
Drop: Shotel, Cross Shuriken |
Colosseum |
||
|
|||||
| ' | Level: 9 HP: 64 Exp: 22 |
Common Drop: $25 Rare Drop: Potion |
Castle B: Castle Treasury, Castle Top Floor, Clock Tower |
||
|
|||||
| ' | Level: 33 HP: 280 Exp: 314 |
Common Drop: Steel Helmet Rare Drop: Bloody Glove |
Castle A: Castle Treasury, Luminous Cavern |
||
|
|||||
| A quick-moving, ninja-like skeleton. Uses razor claws and swift footwork to confuse and then kill. | Strong: Dark Weak: Fire, Light Level: 5 HP: 150 Exp: 7 |
Common Drop: Wild Memory Steal: Potion |
Abandoned Castle, Baljhet Mountains, Tower of Eternity |
||
|
|||||
| A superior skeleton. Along with super fast movement, it can throw exploding knives. | Strong: Dark Weak: Fire, Light Level: 14 HP: 247 Exp: 38 |
Common Drop: Ancient Memory Steal: Ceremonial Tool |
Garibaldi Temple, Mortvia Aqueduct, Tower of Eternity |
||
|
|||||
| An elite skeleton blaze. Uses its impressive speed to avoid damage when attacked. | Strong: Dark Weak: Fire, Light Level: 39 HP: 682 Exp: 317 |
Rare Drop: Punch Rings Steal: Dark Matter |
Infinite Corridor |
||
|
|||||
| An elite skeleton blaze. Uses its impressive speed to avoid damage when attacked. | Strong: Dark Weak: Fire, Ice Level: 44 HP: 795 Exp: 609 |
Rare Drop: Punch Rings Steal: Dark Matter |
Tower of Evermore |
||
|
|||||
| An elite skeleton warrior armed with two swords. | Strong: Dark Weak: Strike, Whip, Fire, Holy HP: 180 Exp: 193 Skill Pt: 4 |
Drop: Katar, Slick Boots |
13th Street, Nest of Evil |
||
|
|||||
| A skeletal savior, foretold since ancient days. | Strong: Ice, Darkness Weak: Strike, Flame, Light HP: 80 Exp: 50 Skill Pt: 1 Atk: 32 |
Ecclesia (Hard Mode), Tymeo Mountains, Skeleton Cave |
|||
|
|
|||||
| Excels at duels with its dual-wielding technique. | Strong: Ice, Darkness Weak: Strike, Flame, Light HP: 200 Exp: 190 Skill Pt: 3 Atk: 58 |
Barracks, Forsaken Cloister, Final Approach, Skeleton Cave (Hard Mode) |
|||
| ' | HP: 380 Exp: ~645 |
Drop: Hamburger; Meal Ticket Steal: ~5S, 50C |
Long Library |
||
Soul Data
| Item Data: Skeleton Blades | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
|
||||||||
| Slide by pressing DOWN + A. (Pressing DOWN + JUMP allows you to slide.) | Find: Dance Hall |
|||||||
Gallery
Trivia
- The weapons used by the Skeleton Blaze and Blaze Master in Curse of Darkness are similar to another weapon Hector can use, the Pata, an Indian sword with a gauntlet integrated as a hand-guard.
References
- ↑ From the Blaze Master's in-game description, although they appear to be more like little spherical bombs with protruding spikes which allow them to attach to surfaces.
| This enemy article may have been created with information obtained from other sources. Please see the Enemy Bibliography page for a list of possible sources that may have been consulted for this article or the source of some of the images used on this page. |