Castlevania/Enemies

Ghouls
These are lost souls that walk trance-like straight ahead. They walk across the screen and then leave. They often appear in groups of two or three and from both sides of the screen. Because they move so slowly, you can destroy many of them with a single crack of your whip.

Bats
Bats come in two varieties; a black bat, and a red bat. Black bats cling to the ceiling and, when you draw near, come swooping down on you. Before they reach you, prepare yourself. Red bats fly at you moving up and down in a wave-like pattern. Because they don't fly fast, you can adjust to their wave-like motion and knock them down with your whip.

Fish Men
They jump out of the water, and if they touch down on ground, they will walk around and shoot out fireballs once in awhile. They are simple to kill but watch out when they jump out of the water, especially when you're on the moving platforms on stage 4. Be very careful on these platforms as you can be easily knocked off by a Fishman as he appears.

Panther
Panthers patiently lie in wait for their victims. They remain as still as a statue until Simon gets within strike range, and they immediately propel themselves along the ground the catch their prey. They will drop down to lower levels if they have to and will always reorient themselves towards Simon when they do.

Spear Knights
Spear Knights wander around back and forth and they do not attack by striking. Because of its thick armor plating, you cannot destroy it with one strike. Since it might turn back towards you at any time, avoid approaching one from close range while it's walking away after you drop down or jump from a platform.

Medusa Heads
They appear from the direction you're facing and then leave the screen. When you encounter them try not to turn in the other direction or they will start coming from that direction instead. Jump over or walk under them to avoid them. If you intend to hit them, make sure that you time your strike so that they are on the same level as your weapon.

Ghosts
They appear in set places in a few stages. They don't move very quickly, but they try to home in on your position. It takes two hits to defeat one so whip them quickly or move out of their way before they hit you.

Bone Towers
These towers stand perfectly still but, at certain intervals, spit fire at you. It takes several blows from your whip to destroy them. You must avoid the fire bullets while attacking them. You can whip them or jump over them. Boomerangs and Holy Water are effective weapons against them.

Ravens
Ravens are pretty quick and relatively weak, but they can be quite deceptive. When the jump into the air, they stall for a brief moment before diving in your direction. Once they find themselves on the other side of you, they quickly fly in the other direction in an attempt to hit you from behind. Beware of these creatures as they may not fully leave the screen when you expect them to, and they may prepare for another strike.

Hunchbacks
Hunchbacks don't appear in various locations of the castle, or they may be carried aloft by a giant Eagle. They appear to move about quite randomly. Their typical attack pattern is two short hops followed by a large leap. Hit them as soon as possible but don't let them get close or gather in groups. You don't need to duck in order to hit one.

Skele-Dragons
They rarely appear but they are one of the toughest enemies in the game. They attack by shooting fireballs out of their mouth, and moving their bodies around to avoid your attacks. Since it's anchored to the wall, you should stand as far away as you can and attack it from a distance.

Axe Knights
The axe throwing knights are one of the toughest enemies in the game. They attack with axes that they will toss either high or low. The axes will also come back after flying a distance away. The best way to destroy them is to use Holy Water or Axes. Whip the Axes that they throw as well so that they don't become a bother when they come back towards the Axe Knight.

Eagles
They will only appear carrying Hunchbacks back and forth across the screen. The Hunchback fall to the ground randomly and bother you until you kill it. If you kill the Bird while it's carrying the Hunchback, both of them will be killed at the same time.

Skeleton
They are the main enemy you encounter after the Ghouls in the first stage. They walk around slowly and wait to turned into a pile of bones. Simple enough. Throwing Skeletons are an upgraded variety of the regular Skeleton. They are quicker and attack by tossing their own bones at you in an arc, but they are still pretty simple to kill.

Red Skeleton
Red Skeletons are enchanted skeletons that can't be killed. When you hit one it will collapse into a pile of bones, but it will rise again shortly after. Whip them and move on before they have a chance to get up and continue walking.