The Creature

See also: Frankenstein (disambiguation)

The Creature
Franken as he appears in Rondo of Blood.
Japanese name(s)	フランケンシュタイン Furankenshutain (Frankenstein) フランケン Furanken (Franken)
Alternate name(s)	Franken Frankenstein Frankenstein's Monster The Monster
Abilities	Hits the wall or stomps the floor, causing debris to fall from the ceiling Unleashes a powerful electric blast from its hands Great strength and resilience
Type(s)	Zombie
Origins	Horror films, literature
Appearances	Most games (see list below)

The Creature, sometimes referred to simply as Frankenstein or Frankenstein's Monster, appears as a boss or as a regular enemy in several Castlevania games. It has immense strength and physical prowess. It may control electricity and sometimes can use different kinds of weapons. In only one game, it is encountered alongside Igor.

Origins

Boris Karloff as the Creature in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Frankenstein's monster (or Frankenstein's creature) is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. In the novel, mad scientist Victor Frankenstein creates the creature from many dead bodies. Frankenstein notably neglects to give his creation a name, a symbol of his lack of a parental figure and the absence of any human sense of self and identity. The creature does call himself the "Adam of your labours" after obtaining a Bible and reading it. He is also variously referred to as a "creature", "fiend", "dæmon", "wretch", "spectre", "devil", "being" and "ogre" in the novel. In common parlance, the character is often referred to simply as "Frankenstein".

Castlevania's incarnations of the Creature are based on the famous 1930s Universal film series starring Boris Karloff. The film was based largely on a play by Peggy Webling, performed in London in 1927. In the film, the monster is notably less lucid and more monstrous, lumbering around and unable to form coherent speech, unlike in the book. Curiously, Webling's version of Victor Frankenstein actually does give his creature his name. The Universal film reverted to the empty cypher, however: the film's credits list the character Karloff plays as a series of question marks.

Appearances

Castlevania

See also: Igor

Frankenstein is the boss of Block 4, and can give the player a hard time, as not only do they have to deal with him, but also with his miniature hunchbacked partner, Igor. The rule with this fight is that Igor is invincible but can be stunned temporarily with attacks, but the Creature is the one who actually takes damage and must be defeated in order to kill Igor as well. If the player knows how to avoid Igor and his fireballs, both enemies can be defeated in a considerably easy manner. When the player first enters the room, it's recommended to run and jump onto the side of the lower right platform to get in some quick hits before Igor starts moving.

Igor will generally hop while he's in the middle of the screen and then jump high when he reaches the platforms in the corners. Hiding on the inside edge of the platforms is recommended, although the player should be ready to move out of the way as Igor won't always follow this pattern exactly. Even though Frankenstein can get in the way, he'll usually stay on right side of the screen for the duration of the fight. Staying close to the platforms will make it easier to jump over the bosses if trapped.

If the player has brought the Holy Water sub-weapon, they will be able to deal some serious damage to Frankenstein and maybe even defeat him right away, while at the same time stun Igor in place and not let him move at all, especially if possessing the Double or Triple Shot (Igor only gets stunned and any damage dealt to him won't deplete the boss's HP bar). Without the Double or Triple Shot, the bosses will likely break out of the stun after a few seconds, but the player should be able to take anywhere between 1/4 to almost 1/3 of Frankenstein's health. After that, hitting him with the whip and stunning him with more Holy Water is recommended.

If the player has the Cross Boomerang, it's recommended to toss them at the boss at the start. Hitting Frankenstein from a distance with the Boomerang will stun him and combining this attack with the whip can also lock Igor.

Vampire Killer

Now more appropriately named "Frankenstein Monster", except for a change in his palette, he acts exactly the same as did in the original Castlevania.

Haunted Castle

In the arcade title Haunted Castle, Frankenstein is found chained to the far left wall of the late Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory, preventing him from wandering across the screen. He isn't entirely helpless, however, as he can strike the back wall and cause large boulders to come raining down upon the player from the ceiling above. If the player gets too close to him, the monster will swing his chains around in an attempt to knock them away.

This battle can be made harder if the Hunchbacks from the previous screen aren't dealt with prior to the boss fight. If not slain, they will follow the player into the room where Frankenstein dwells.

Attacks

• Brandish chain
• Falling debris

Strategy

Frankenstein is chained to the wall, so he himself poses no real danger; however, he can make blocks to drop from the ceiling; these can be destroyed, although it takes a lot of hits. Luckily, a Skeleton right before the boss room will drop a Cross. Shoot Frankenstein repeatedly in the kneecaps with the cross and he'll die in short shrift.

Haunted Castle Revisited

The Creature is still chained to the wall, but he can cause more debris to fall down, and Hunchbacks will spawn every few seconds. Every while, the skeleton on the right desk (who seems to play the Dr. Frankenstein role) will suddenly reanimate and start the power switch, allowing the Creature to move to the right end. The player can attack this skeleton to stop the power, making the chains to retract and pull the Creature back to the left wall.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

There is concept art for a "Franken" enemy that never made it into the game in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. He is described as only walking toward the player and making the ground shake when collapsing.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

The Creature now has abandoned his former comrade Igor when it takes up residence at the end of the Tower of Terror (or the Basement depending on the player's path). In both encounters, the Creature's attack strategy remains the same. He'll come marching in from the left side of the screen and then start to saunter to and fro across the floor, stopping only to stomp the ground to cause an avalanche of bricks to come crashing down from above. If all of the bricks miss the player, the Creature will pull out a new brick and toss it toward them in an arced path.

When the Creature is defeated, it will collapse to the ground and burn up, leaving his skull exposed as he's consumed by the flames.

Locations

• Tower of Terror (Stage 5A)
• Basement (Stage 6)

Attacks

• Stomps on the ground, causing harmful debris to fall from the ceiling.
• Throws a stone block at the player.

Strategy

Like many other bosses that appear in the game, the Creature in is another blast-from-the-past boss enemy from the original Castlevania. Thankfully, however, Frankenstein is a little different in this game than he was in the original version and is a lot easier to defeat. As Frankenstein enters into the room from the left, start jumping up and whipping him in his head; it's his only weak point, and hence the only place you can damage him. When you can get to his left, hit the first block platform with your whip to reveal some meat, which you will probably need, as the stage itself is pretty long and arduous. Frankenstein mainly attacks by stomping on the ground, which causes an earthquake; through this earthquake, debris falls from the ceiling to damage you. Avoid the falling blocks the best you can and bare in mind that you can use the platforms all over the room as protection from the debris by simply standing under them. If you don't want to have to jump and whip to hit him, get on one of these platforms and hack away at his head... just be careful that he doesn't run into you. Also, avoid his seldom used attack, which is throwing a block (identical to the ones that fall from the ceiling) at you. They're easily avoided, however. The battle seems hard, but it's actually quite simple for this stage in the game.

The Creature is also the boss of Block 6, so either path the player takes, they'll end up fighting him. The strategy is the same as in the first battle, only differing about the hidden meat in the destroyable block, and hiding under platforms.

Kid Dracula/Kid Dracula (GB)

Frankens make an appearance in both, Boku Dracula-kun and Kid Dracula games.

Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Castle

Frankens make an appearance in Wai Wai World 2.

Wai Wai Bingo

Franken from Boku Dracula-kun makes an appearance as a bingo number along with other Konami characters.

Super Castlevania IV

The Creature returns to his late creator's lab in the midst of The Dungeons in Dracula's castle. Its attack strategy has again changed although meandering back and forth still remains. Taking advantage of the shelves of chemical filled vials behind it, the Creature will now hurl these in the player's direction.

Attacks

• Pink flask: The Creature throws various flasks at the player. The pink one has a small flame come out on the floor. If Simon is standing on a platform the player should not even worry about this, as Simon can hit the flask to destroy it, neglecting the activation of its effect.
• Green flask: In contrast to the pink flasks. the player should worry about this one. When The Creature throws it, it bursts in mid air and flames burst out and fall to the floor. Since it explodes in the air, the player cannot block this move.
• Gray flask: When this hits the floor, another Creature is brought out. While the copy is walking around, the real one will do the same, not throwing anything. Destroying the fake one will end this process. This flask can also be destroyed by the player before activation.

Strategy

The easiest way to fight the Creature is to remain on the left side of the screen and attack constantly whenever he comes within range.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Called Franken in this game, the Creature is merely a pawn of Shaft in a grand scale battle that involves the four main bosses from the original Castlevania: the Giant Bat, Medusa, the Mummy Man and Franken (excluding Death, who has his own boss battle elsewhere).

Attacks

Franken has three methods of attack which he'll pull off in a random fashion with little to no warning:

• Grabs the player in a choke hold that, if they don't manage to shake free, can quickly lead to death.
• Generates an electric blast from his hands which he then launches at the player.
• Jumps and stomps on the ground, causing debris to come crashing down (a similar attack was first seen in Dracula's Curse, sans the preceding jump).

Attacks/Abilities:

Franken's appearance in Rondo of Blood.

Grabs the player in a choke hold that.

Stomps the floor, causing debris to fall from the ceiling.

Electric blast

Franken defeated

Castlevania Chronicles

The Creature, known in this game as Frankenstein's Monster, returns yet again as a sub-boss stationed in the Torture Chamber/Laboratory (Stage 7). This is perhaps the only time in the series where the player doesn't actually have to fight him, and instead is given the option to use the environment's layout to avoid fighting him altogether, like climbing a set of stairs, walk above him and run away.

When Simon first approaches him, electricity bolts emanating from a strange machine will bring him to life. After rising up from his position, Frankenstein's Monster will proceed to march slowly toward him, madly swinging the chain he's grasping in his hand all the while, and periodically stopping to do a dash attack. It's best to defeat him quickly, as being cornered will spell certain doom for the player.

Castlevania: Bloodlines

Frankenstein is encountered midway through The Munitions Factory as a sub boss this time around, with this probably being his tallest incarnation in the series. His only methods of attack are striking the floor with his fist to produce a jolt of electricity that travels to the other end of the screen and swinging a long chain wrapped around his wrist. He doesn't wander much in this title, unlike most of his other appearances.

Strategy

Use your ultimate item or simply get close and attack quickly. When he swings the chain around, jump away. When he releases it straight, crouch. When he unleashes the lightning bolt along the ground, jump to the platform on the left.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

This time around, the Creature's appearance has been altered quite a bit from his earlier incarnations complete with a new method of attack: a sledge hammer.

His new appearance comes fully equipped with a new set of attacks. His primary attack being to slam its hammer down into the ground upon the player. At different intervals, the Creature will roll himself up into a ball and roll all around the perimeter of his room, using the slopes to roll onto the walls and ceilings and to increase his overall speed. When in this form, his tubing and machinery pokes out making it harder to perform a jump over his rolling body.

Strategy

Slash at it and back-dash when he raises its axe. When you see it kneel down, get ready to jump, because its going to roll across the floor, hitting the wall, and then rolling back to the other wall. Jump over it as it approaches you, and see if you can get in a diagonal hit when you land. When he stands back up, continue attacking. Nothing to it. The Tooth of Vlad is your prize.

Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

The Gardener (properly named Frankenstein Gardener in the US release of Legacy of Darkness) shares many obvious similarities with the traditional depictions of the Creature, including a giant stature, strong body build, green skin, short black hair and multiple scars all over his body. It appears that the Gardener uses the remains of an in-game model intended for a canceled playable character who was to appear in these games, Coller, whose main weapon was supposedly going to be a shotgun which he held in one hand, and a chainsaw mounted in place of his right arm as his secondary weapon.

The Gardener resides in the maze garden of the Villa level in both titles and is equipped with a chainsaw in place of his right arm. He is not a boss in these two titles, but instead serves as a very dangerous immortal hazard. During Reinhardt's and Carrie's campaigns. The player can find the Gardener pruning one of the hedges of the maze, if approached or attacked, he will pursue the player.

After meeting Malus, the player has to escape the Gardener, this time accompanied by two Stone Dogs. The hounds will chase after the player and attempt to hold them by their ankles, allowing the Gardener to catch up and deliver a mortal wound with his chainsaw.

In Legacy of Darkness, Cornell is asked by Mary Oldrey to save her son, Henry, from the Gardener in exchange for the Copper Key. The player is required to escort Henry to the exit while defending him from the Gardener.

The Gardener and the Stone Dogs cannot be killed normally. If attacked repeatedly, they will collapse to the ground for a short time (sometimes leaving gold or a healing item), before rising up again and continue their pursuit. This makes escaping from the garden maze all the more difficult, and only by strategically using sub-weaponry as a means to slow him and his stone comrades down makes it any easier. Unique to the Hard Mode in Legacy of Darkness, trying to pick up the Copper Key in Reinhardt and Carrie's scenario will trigger an extra fight where the Gardener and the Stone Dogs can be killed for good.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

In this title for the Game Boy Advance, the Creature has been downgraded to the status of a lesser enemy known as Franken, and only makes his appearance in the Eternal Corridor after the player defeats Death in the Underground Warehouse.

He lumbers along very slowly, only to stop and deliver a two-fisted downward smash whenever the player wanders too close to him. His power shouldn't be underestimated, though, as he can deal large amounts of damage even if the player has a high level. However, while fighting them is completely optional (the player shouldn't even revisit the areas where they appear in a normal playthrough), it's worth paying them a visit as they drop two of the highest STR enhancing armors in the game: the Ninja Garb (STR +30, DEF +80) and the Soldier Fatigues (STR +50, DEF +120, LCK +10).

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Much of his general appearance resembles his Rondo of Blood appearance, including role and attacks. Notably, he is immune to the Cross Sub-Weapon and receives minor damage from its item crash. When defeated, he dissolves as a visible pile of sand.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

For the first installment on the Nintendo DS handheld console, the Creature remains a lesser enemy in the game (though rather strong), appearing ever so rarely throughout the castle. When approached, the monster is activated by a few bolts of lightning and then proceeds to stroll slowly in the player's direction, only to speed up tremendously when it draws within close proximity to them. Its main method of attack is his electrically charged hammering fist, which has great range and is dealt very quickly, making it difficult to dodge.

His soul is one of the hardest to obtain in the entire game (though certainly not the hardest). It grants the Regenerator ability, which allows Soma Cruz to gradually restore HP.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

The Creature returns as the boss of the Dark Academy. He once again springs to life after being charged by lightning bolts (which apparently has become a tradition in the series). Even though he uses the same sprite set he had in Rondo of Blood, he now counts with a whole new range of techniques in addition to his classic ones.

Attacks

• He keeps his old quick lunging and grabbing-choke hold technique.
• He keeps his old forward open hands attack, although now he shoots an arcing lighting bolt instead of a beam. The bolt is aimed directly at the player's current position; it is capable of reaching almost any spot of the entire room and traces an arc over its immediate vertical area, potentially covering with this a wide area. Move and jump away when the Creature extends his arms to avoid.
• Performs a high diagonal leap and then comes crashing down hard on the player. He has a very quick reacting time for performing this move and will almost instantly do it whenever the player tries to jump over him, catching them in midair.
• Opens his arm by the elbow area, revealing a hidden mounted turret inside, and fires a long barrage of machine gun-like bullets, which he will then proceed to spread down and up a couple of times, covering the entire middle-to-ground area of the whole room, even if he is offscreen, and only leaving most of the middle-to-top area clear. This attack can be instantly and entirely nullified by certain air clearing skills (such as Tempest or Dark Rift).
• Opens his arm by the elbow area, just like the aforementioned attack, but now he launches a very powerful heat-seeking missile. This is his strongest attack, dealing well over 200 damage per hit. Fortunately, it can also be instantly nullified by certain air clearing skills (again, like Tempest or Dark Rift).

When defeated, the Creature dies in a similar manner to how he did in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.

Two Creatures appear at the same time in one of the later levels of the Nest of Evil. The Creatures will begin attacking immediately when the player enters the room and all of their projectiles and attacks come quickly with very little warning. In the worst case scenario, they may even start attacking offscreen. Because of this, there is no known, consistent way to avoid taking at least one attack, making the room one of the hardest encounters to beat in the entire game, especially on the Level 1-locked versions of Hard Mode. As of most floors, the doors will open after a minute and the player can then escape to the next room, although unlike most floors, killing one of the Creatures allows the player to escape to the next room. If they are trying to gain a good amount of Experience instead, then they may opt to kill both under the expense of some HP.

A good tactic to beat them both is to use the Greatest Five Dual Crush. However, due to its high MP cost, as well as the likely necessity to cast the spell several times it is highly advisable to have the Magus Ring equipped on one of the characters. This is only applicable on revisits to this room, as the Greatest Five Dual Crush is precisely the reward for completing the Nest of Evil itself, and the Magus Ring can only be obtained through clearing all Quests (which likely involves exploring most of the Nest of Evil at least once).

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia

The Creature is a common enemy in this game. He can shoot lightning from his hands and can also switch one of his hands for a hidden flamethrower and launch a medium-sized flame with it which he spreads up and down. Other than that, he uses kicks as a normal form of attack. He is remarkably resilient at the point in the game when he's first encountered, although he's also weak to Slash attacks. A viable way to easily defeat him is to equip two glyphs with this attribute on each hand (like Secare or Hasta) and cast three or four Glyph Unions on him (and finish him off with normal attacks if he's still alive).

The first Creature can be found inside a large laboratory located midway through the Minera Prison Island. This is the same room where Shanoa first catches up with Albus and he forces her to absorb the Dominus Hatred glyph. If Shanoa reenters the room, a Creature will now be found inside it.

Two other variations of the Creature appear later in the game, called Enkidu and (aptly named) Rebuild. In addition, the boss of the Giant's Dwelling, Goliath, also bears an overall similar design to the Creature, although being much larger.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

Like in Bloodlines, the Creature appears as a miniboss in the clock tower stage. It has two separate attacks: Summoning a sphere of electric energy and producing an electric current that slides along the ground. It can sometimes use both attacks at the same time.

Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night

The Creature makes an appearance in Encore of the Night.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair

The Creature makes an appearance in Harmony of Despair.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The Creature appears in Dracula's Castle.

The Creature, together with Flea Man, also appears as an Advanced-ranked one slot support spirit, which reduces poison damage.

Other media

Famicom Cap

The Creature appears in Volume 3.

Captain N: The Game Master

The Creature appears in the episode "The Most Dangerous Game Master".

Enemy Data

Main article: The Creature/Enemy Data

Item Data

Item Data: The Creature
Image	Name - Game   Type - Users Description	Attributes / Consume	Statistics / Sell	Found	Notes
	Tooth of Vlad (Nail) - Symphony of the Night   Relic (Dracula's Relic) - Alucard				[edit]
	1 of 5 Treasures. STR +10		STR +10	Find: Reverse Outer Wall Guard: The Creature
	Ninja Garb (Ninja Costume) - Circle of the Moon   Body (Clothes) - Nathan				[edit]
	A black ninja suit		DEF +80, STR +30	Drop: Franken, Were-Jaguar
	Soldier Fatigues (Military Uniform) - Circle of the Moon   Body (Clothes) - Nathan				[edit]
	Fatigues normally worn by soldiers		DEF +120, STR +50, LCK +10	Drop: Catoblepas, Franken
	Tinned Spinach (jpn) - Dawn of Sorrow   Recovery Item (Food) - Soma				[edit]
	May give the illusion of bulking up muscle mass.		HP +40 Sell: $50	Common Drop: The Creature
	The Creature - Regenerator - Dawn of Sorrow   Enchanted Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Restore HP gradually.			Rarity: *** Drop: The Creature
	Rusty Food Tin (Rusty Canned Food) - Harmony of Despair   Item (Food/Bad Food) - any				[edit]
	Are you brave enough to open it?		HP -100 Sell: $25	Rarity: * Drop: The Creature (5.30 %)
	Grenade (Combat Bomb) - Harmony of Despair   Sub-Weapon - Jonathan				[edit]
	Explodes for fire damage one second after the pin is pulled.	Attrib: Fire Consume: 12 MP	ATK +10	Rarity: ** Find: Green Chest (Chapter 2/3/4) Drop: The Creature (4.3%)	Evolve: Stronger with each Lv.; Three hits at Lv. 5, stick grenade at Lv. 9
	Berserker Mail (jpn) - Harmony of Despair   Chest (Body Armor) - Soma, Alucard, Jonathan, Julius, Richter, Shanoa				[edit]
	Armor that increases damage, both dealt and received.	Attrib: Strike -50, Slash -50, Pierce -50, Fire -50, Ice -50, Lightning -50, Holy -50, Darkness -50	HP -20, STR +10, CON -20, MND -20 Sell: $11,250	Rarity: ***** Drop: Death (Hard), R. The Creature
	The Creature - Harmony of Despair   Enchanted Soul - Soma				[edit]
	Restore HP gradually.			Rarity: **** Steal: The Creature (0.8%)	Effect: Regeneration

Gallery

Main article: The Creature/Gallery

Trivia

• The Creature is based on the monster created by Dr. Victor Henry Frankenstein from the classic horror tale Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. The monster is often mistakenly called "Frankenstein", although her name for the Creature, though not used in the novel, was "Adam", in reference to the Biblical "first man".
• Up until Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the Creature was generally referred to as "Frankenstein" within the games. In most Japanese titles, it was called "Franken" instead (or slight variations of it).
  • This has been a common misconception that is not limited to the Castlevania series, but probably since the character's introduction into pop culture media. However, the name "Frankenstein" is actually the surname of its creator, Victor Frankenstein. In the novel, the monster is never given a name and is instead called by different monikers, including "creature", "fiend", "spectre", "demon", "wretch", "devil", "thing", "being", "ogre", and most properly, "Frankenstein's monster".
• The Frankenstein Monster sprite from Vampire Killer features the iconic screws on the neck; however, all other sprites from the different versions of the original Castlevania –which share the same or similar sprites– don't have these screws.
  • On a related note, most incarnations of the Creature along the Castlevania series and its spin-offs don't feature the screws at all. It is unknown if this was due to different artistic approaches or just for detail limitations (some people even speculate it could have been to avoid potential copyright issues with the Universal films specific depiction of the character).
  • A few games depict the monster with the screws on the (fore)head instead, these include: Kid Dracula (both the NES/Famicom and Game Boy version), Symphony of the Night, Circle of the Moon, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
  • While in Portrait of Ruin, the Creature uses the same sprite from Rondo of Blood, the screws on his neck were edited out for unknown reasons.
• The Creature's overall appearance was reused for a few other enemies in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, including Enkidu, Rebuild, and a gigantic boss version of it named Goliath.
• The Creature makes a brief appearance in the 1993 Konami arcade game Quiz Gakumon no Susume.

See also

• Bound Giant
• Enkidu
• Gardener
• Goliath
• Igor
• Iron Gladiator - Another monster that was created by stitching dead bodies together.
• Rebis
• Rebuild
• Victor Frankenstein