games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 


Miniboss Monday: Death photo

(This logo has been brought to you by bluemeep. Also, bears -- Mother Nature's natural born minibosses.)

Today's Miniboss Monday is one that is near and dear to my heart. For those of you who weren't around last year, I used to have today's miniboss as my editor icon. Yes, I am indeed speaking of Death himself from the long-running Castlevania series.

Death has made an appearance in most (if not all) Castlevania titles dating all the way back to the days of Simon's Quest on the NES. Since then, he has been reinvented and rethought over and over again (including a final boss appearance in Lament of Innocence.) It's strange, really. Whenever a new Castlevania title gets announced, I get curious as to where Death will make his appearance and how much badassitude he will have this time around.

Regardless, I have included three memorable iterations of Death in his prime after the jump! 

Simon's Quest Death

 
Simon's Quest was the highly-acclaimed sequel to Castlevania on the NES. As shown above, you can see how simplistic a fight was against Death. Don't get me wrong, this right here is classic gaming at its finest. A true miniboss, to be sure. It's amazing to look back on the little guy and see how he's grown over the ages. And, hell, he even learned how to talk and transform into stuff along the way. Let's continue.
 
Symphony of the Night Death
 
 
Next up is the Symphony of the Night version of Death years down the road from the old Simon's Quest version. Though the player in this video makes quick work of the Grim Reaper, many of us can remember the first time we met him (and jacked all our gear) and then found him hiding out in the reverse castle. My personal opinion is that the Symphony model of Death had the best sprite and best character out of any other version. The voice of Death was exactly how I'd imagine he'd sound just by looking at his sprite; other-worldly and bleak. I mean, it wouldn't exactly make sense if Ron Workman did the voice-acting, would it?
 
Aria of Sorrow Death
  
 
Last, but not least, is the elusive Aria of Sorrow version of Death. The fight begins simply enough with you slashing at Death's scythe, but escalates rather quickly when he throws down the gauntlet. I'm not ashamed to say that I fought Death severely under-levelled and got my ass handed to me more than I would've liked. Nonetheless, the double-bladed scythe was a cool touch and makes this Death a close second to Symphony's.
 
There ya have it, folks. I have now paid homage to one of my favorite bosses of all-time. I'm positive that almost all of you have faced him at one time or another, so now I wonder; what is your favorite version of Death throughout the years? Why?
 
That's all for this week. Check back next week for another boss to get their due on Miniboss Monday. Don't forgot to submit your ideas/logos/whatever to our tip-line e-mail tips@destructoid.com!

Continue: More Miniboss Monday stories





prev next

24 comments | showing # 1 to 24

Snaileb 's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:02
Snaileb
I.. can't see the vidoes. BUT.. I've beaten every iteration (except in reality) of Death.. so I know this dance all too well, and not to mention each generation gets harder. Stupid sickles.

Death on the 64 Castlevania.. and the new one on the PS2? Forget about it.. those guys were more of a chore than anything..

This, I must say, really deserves the Mini-Boss title. I liked this one!
blehman's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:07
blehman
Nice call, Death completely slipped my mind when thinking mini-boss.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:08
king3vbo
Death on SOTN was fucking awesome... and I hated him for making me weak in the beginning. So when I got to him I was like FUCK YEAH PAYBACK TIME
Mxyzptlk's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:08
Mxyzptlk
I'm still stuck on the Aria of Sorrow Death... I really need to go back and level up some more. And glad to see this series back!
Mxyzptlk's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:09
Mxyzptlk
I'm still stuck on the Aria of Sorrow Death... I really need to go back and level up some more. And glad to see this series back!
witthaus's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:12
witthaus
death on the NES era Castlevanias was a bitch
PwnDaddy's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:26
PwnDaddy
The Death for XBox was rediculous. Miniboss he wasn't, if you didn't kill him fast enough, he just blew your shit up. I had to beat him with the Colichmarde rapier and totally whore the air combo to kill him.
BlindsideDork's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:47
BlindsideDork
Scythe!
Jordan Devore's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 12:53
Jordan Devore
Death has always been my favorite Castlevania boss.
cjpkiller's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 13:34
cjpkiller
best miniboss monday yet!
SourGr8pes's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 13:40
SourGr8pes
Castlevania Death was way cooler than that sissy death from Kid Icarus
trunxkam45's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 14:23
trunxkam45
But Death isn't a miniboss, he's a boss.
mispelt's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 14:32
mispelt
When you say Death to me, I think of Death from the Gantlet series. I have a lot of memories of sitting around grinding with my friends when all of a sudden we all shout "It's Death!"
Tino's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 16:16
Tino
What about the newest iteration of Death? The double team between Death and Dracula in Portrait of Ruin was nuts!
Rancor's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 16:36
Rancor
@ the martino; yes that death was fucking great. . . i totally did not see that coming.
Knives's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 17:09
Knives
I never played Aria of Sorrow... now with that out of the way, death never gave me that much trouble, but it was pretty cool in SoTN.
grrza's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 17:17
grrza
The double team with Dracula was cool, but I liked Death better when he was silent. It's much creepier when he doesn't sit there and talk your ear off instead of just materializing and attacking...
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 18:28
Necros
Yeah, Death's voice in SotN was pretty much the only decent voice in that game. Definitely one of my favorite minibosses, and he's often harder than the final boss.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 18:31
Wedge
DEATH RAWKS. That is all.
DrNutt's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 18:50
DrNutt
He was definitely the hardest boss in Castlevania III. But that was the last Castlevania I've played.
Dexter345's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/22/2007 19:56
Dexter345
I died plenty of times on Aria of Sorrow's Death. Don't feel bad.
Jinky Williams's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2007 18:51
Jinky Williams
How about Castlevania IV's incarnation (well, not really incarnation, per se... maybe appearance)?

Took my friend and I many attempts to overcome him and his vacuum-scythe.

I agree about death being silent. Much more impressive when he just shows up and starts wailing on you.
trunxkam45's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/05/2007 16:14
trunxkam45
Dawn of Sorrow Death was definitely the coolest.
KuchKuto's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/18/2007 18:46
KuchKuto
I'm not angry or anything. But this is too Savant, and I hope he checks these comments out.

I'm KuchKuto, the YouTuber that was playing as Simon in the SimonQuest video, and a good friend of mine Castlevania Moogle was playing the Soma in the Aria of Sorrow game.

As I said I'm not mad, but the next time you take one of our movies could you please tell us. Thanks.
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos

    Win this!
    Dive in! meetup+play for a chance to win a PC

    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Echoes review
    Assassin's Creed 2 review
    Crossfire Remote Pistol review
    Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles review
    Left 4 Dead 2 review
    more reviews
    Driver
    Avatar
    GT Racing Motor Academy
    Bad Company 2 beta dishes out meaningful experiences
    Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 51192 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing
    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Joseph Leray: Revisited: Gears of War 2, Pinocchio, and masculinity





















    More Destructoid Originals



     Popular now more
    Assassins CreedReview: Assassin's Creed 2
    591 comments + 41542 views
    Destructoid OriginalWhy No More Heroes HD could mean a Wii total victory
    152 comments + 30508 views
    FAILGirl smashes boyfriend's Xbox 360, films it
    160 comments + 16924 views
    BattlefieldBad Company 2 beta dishes out meaningful experiences
    43 comments + 16114 views
    Black FridayBlack Friday: Walmart going nuts with game sales
    31 comments + 16048 views
    Amazon.comBlack Friday: Amazon dropping deals all week long
    16 comments + 15004 views
    Amazon.comAmazon teases its Black Friday sales line-up
    18 comments + 14836 views
    Destructoid OriginalThe tragic history of the videogame turkey
    51 comments + 13276 views
    CapcomHot new SSFIV trailer shows Guy, Cody and Adon in action
    54 comments + 13222 views
    Call of DutyModern Warfare 2 DLC still planned for spring 2010
    27 comments + 12568 views


    Team Destructoid   tips@destructoid.com
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief    		 Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor    		 Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Dale North
    News Editor    		 Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor    		 Colette Bennett
    Tom Fronczak Brad Nicholson
    Ashley Davis Ben Perlee
    Conrad
    Zimmerman    		 Chad Concelmo
    Jonathan Holmes Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Will Maddock Matthew Razak
    Dyson Joseph Leray
    Topher Cantler Samit Sarkar
         
      Dexter
    Adam Dork
    Daniel Lingen
    Hollie Bennett
         		Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Stella Wong
    Josh Tolentino




     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    		 support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    		 keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online     		seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap     		our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?



    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006