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Top 5 hardest Castlevania Dracula fights
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If you’ve ever picked up a Castlevania game chances are you’ve come to the realization that Dracula is a persistent problem. Time and time again we’re brought to the steps of the castle which harbors the lord of darkness, each time with even more dangerous tricks than the last. You’d think they’d find a way to eliminate the castle and the problem, but that’d mean no more malevolent fiery-beams or impossibly large clock towers to drain the time we should be using for sleep. In short, like the game over screen when Drac drains you of all cognitive abilities, the Castlevania series isn’t going anywhere. This list celebrates his ability to get the best of you and look good doing it.
5) Circle of the Moon (Game Boy Advance)
What’s so bad about him?
First of all, it’s Dracula. You already know going into this fight that it’s going to be difficult, but that’s before you realize he has a second form. This multi-eyed tentacle vampire bat abomination, we’ll call him Johnny, is a hazard through and through. Much like his appearance, Konami decided to bestow quite the variety of powers unto his undigested form. Laser beams of fire, meteor rain, hell the thing can teleport and smack you with flaming glee if it gets bold enough. Johnny can also turn into a floating eye completely surrounded with bats. I don’t need to describe what happens if you get hit by that.
Why’d he make the list?
Besides having a repertoire of the most uniformly insane and idiosyncratic powers coupled with an appearance that wilts the heart? I can’t quite think of a good reason.
4) Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo)
What’s so bad about him?
Controversially the most evil looking (complete with ominous atmospheric music) this Dracula refuses to walk. Unfortunately this means that our hero will be bombarded by constant teleportation attacks. Standard triple-fireballs come packaged with new demon fire magic which homes in on your location and collapses on you if hit. My favorite though, is when the count decides to shoot a glowing sphere that’s impossible to dodge, sometimes two. If you manage to hit these spheres of aggravation they shoot purple-hate fire 360 degrees and, gasp, drop some health! All things come with a price though and once Drac is mortally (undeadly?) injured conjures up massive torrents of electrical undeadliness. Cue a steady stream of curse-words.
Why’d he make the list?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, developers simply never give you health because they can and that goes double for the final boss fight. People just aren’t that nice.
3) Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS)
What’s so bad about him?
More vocal than the rest, this Dracula has either been playing too much Street Fighter or has viewed an unhealthy amount of Dragon Ball Z episodes; it’s unclear. Thankfully this mannerism enables you to know what attack is coming next whether it be a storm of meteors or a hail of green missiles. However, complementing them on this mechanic is like saying the pre-emptive growl to a mountain lion’s attack gives you enough time to defend yourself. Within a second, Drac is on you sucking the soul out of your body or crushing you with a tsunami of bats. To make matters worse, sometimes he’ll walk over to you and do a drop-kick so explosive you’ll regurgitate your last meal. Here’s to hoping the onlookers of the event pay you the same respects as the poor soul who got mountain lion’d.
Why’d he make the list?
You don’t need to be clairvoyant in the ways of Castlevania to immediately realize that you’re going to die. Accepting your fate will make you a better person, but this doesn’t help the fact that Dracula still carries on, taunting you with a play-by-play of every move he does yet you’re unable to stop it. It’s kind of like that extremely attractive girl surrounded by steely bodyguards. When you’re caught staring, be prepared to be kicked in the manhood; hard.
2) Castlevania (NES)
What’s so bad about him?
The game itself, I still believe, was impossible until emulators came out allowing saves anywhere at anytime. Surely you’d need those devices to stand a fighting chance against Dracula in this game. While he only does the standard teleport, triple-fireball technique over and over the frigid controls make this battle an endless aneurism. When you finally whittle his health down and land the final hit you’ll jump out of your seat in unrivaled glory. That is, until Dracula comes back with more health, a really ugly form, and a burning ambition to, ala Mario, stomp your head in.
Why’d he make the list?
You finally master the fireball jump, kill him, and rejoice as you’ll never have to play the game again. Then he comes back, kills you, and now you have to do the whole level over again. Need I say more?
1) Portrait of Ruin (Nintendo DS) 
When Portrait of Ruin was being conceived the best of the Konami torture squad got together and pointed out the fact that in almost every Castlevania game you fight Death and Dracula. Well, after extensive discussion, a few bowls of mini-wheats laced with serrated bone, and heavy lashings of failed artists in the dungeon, the team came upon the conclusion that Death and Dracula would team up at the end of the game. That day, the sky rained blood.
What’s so bad about him?
This is without a doubt, single-handedly the most brutal, vicious, and downright cruel battle able to be experienced in a Castlevania title. The moment you realize you’re fighting both is right around when you’ll experience your first game over screen. Drac and Death go through multiple phases, of course, and during the first Death really just hovers and when directly above you, dives downward in hopes of separating you from your organs. Dracula, on the other hand, is one frustrating bastard who does a lot of what we’ve seen in the past and more. He constantly throws waves of fireballs and meteors, following all of it up by teleporting around, sometimes doing it as hundreds of tiny bats who will tear you apart if you’re caught in it. Variety-wise they don’t do too much, but when you have two separate entities attacking you that do insurmountable damage it becomes very difficult to maneuver. 
Eventually Death gives Dracula his power which turns him into an even more murderous bat-beast. This form is where the hardship really shows itself in the form of pure sadism. Since Death gave Dracula his abilities he’ll be throwing scythes at you left and right with an attribute I like to call blinding speed. When he gets bored he’ll pound the ground with his fist, more than likely smashing you in the process as well. Oh, and sometimes he’ll summon fire missiles out of the air while moving toward you, making the area to avoid the waves smaller and smaller. All this pales in comparison to his most devastating attack, the wing crush. Dracula flies into the background and moves both of his wings up to make a crushing wall. Think of it like the garbage disposal Luke and the others were trapped in during Star Wars: A New Hope. It moves together slowly and if you don’t counter fast enough, well, you’ll be a might thinner.
Why’d he make the list?
Maybe I wasn’t exactly clear. You fight both Death and Dracula at the same damn time. The abilities both utilize are incredibly effective in a very uncouth manner but really, it doesn’t matter at all. These two are enough to piss off the Pope. Their attacks make children cry and create unrest throughout the rest of society. Good job Konami, I now understand why Castlevania fans return time and time again. We’re a bunch of old-school, masochistic, harbingers who can never be satiated fully, and let everyone else know about it.
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