All bosses in Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

1. The Fallen

The Fallen typically begins combat by throwing a Holy Cross at you that boomerangs back to him, and you can either jump over it twice or take the much easier route of hitting it with your sword, which will smash it apart. He then resorts to a three-attack combo composed of a swipe from each arm, followed by a massive slam attack with both arms. There's a slight delay after each attack, but don't let it confuse you. It's not worth attacking the Fallen head-on when he launches into this combo - instead, dash through him to attack from the opposite direction.

When a third of his health is gone, the Fallen roars and begins swinging from the Anchor at the top of the arena. You can crouch or slide to avoid this, and as long as you aren't standing in the centre of the room you should be okay. When the Fallen's finished swinging, he'll hop off the Anchor and raise both arms in mid-air as he prepares to slam the ground. Jump at the right time to avoid the resulting shock wave.

The only other attack you need to worry about is the Fallen's Arcane Whip, which grabs you and stretches nearly the entirety of the room. This is clearly telegraphed, so whenever you see him unfurl the whip, quickly move to the other side of the arena or jump!

2. Joan (Paris Streets)

Fighting Joan is an exercise in learning how to properly dash through an enemy to attack them from behind. If you followed our advice above, you did this a bit with the Fallen, but you'll be doing it constantly against Joan as she lunges forward with her sword or drags it along the ground. Since her attacks are relatively slow, a speedy series of blows with the Cestus is the best way to deliver consistent damage whenever she has her back to you. (Joan does have one attack where she rams her sword backwards, though, so stay sharp.)

During the battle, a row of fiery balls will appear in the air above you. When Joan raises an arm and yells "Flames take you!" then all of these fireballs will fall onto the ground. Stand in between them to avoid taking damage; this is also a great time to heal or toss a cross at Joan.

Halfway through the battle, Joan jumps into the air with her sword in both hands. When she lands, huge waves of fire will shoot up on the left and right sides of the arena, and the best way to avoid them is by whipping onto one of the two Anchors and swinging to the centre of the battlefield. Bear in mind that these Anchors are temporarily disabled with black flames after you latch onto them.

3. Medusa

When battling Medusa, be sure that you have the Holy Cross equipped, since it's the best Arcana for dealing extra damage against her oversized form. (Don't bother with Joan's Infernal Pyre, which was my go-to prior to this fight. Because Medusa technically isn't on the same platform as you, its ground-spewing flames are useless.) Start the fight with several strikes - preferably from a quick weapon like the Lance - and cross throws. This will whittle Medusa's health down fast, and get her to reappear on the opposite side of the room. When this happens, swing over and continue your assault.

Throughout most of the fight, take care to avoid standing on the bottom platforms, lest you get knocked about by Medusa's tail. The exception to this rule is when she lurches backwards before unleashing petrifying rays from the snakes on her head. As soon as this occurs, take refuge behind the boulder knocked from the ceiling that's landed on either one of the bottom platforms. If Medusa's on the left of the arena, it'll be on the right, and if she's on the right, it'll be on the left. Standing behind this is the only way you can avoid her rays, which will otherwise fill the entire screen and destroy you.

As the battle continues, Medusa begins summoning Medusa Heads to make things more complicated, and she'll also occasionally bash into one of the upper platforms with her snake heads in a sustained barrage. Swing to the opposite platform when this occurs and continue chucking crosses her way.

4. Death (Catacombs)

In most Castlevania games, you normally face Death near the very end, often right before Dracula. (Sometimes he's even the final boss!) As you might be able to surmise from this unusually early encounter in the Catacombs, Rose is no match for the Grim Reaper at this time, and you're not expected to win this fight.

That said, you might want to try surviving for as long as you can. If you start the battle standing close to Death (which I did), he'll retaliate by touching you with one skeletal finger. This depletes nearly all of your health. Death will then teleport behind you and let loose with a huge scythe swing that'll put Rose down.

In my playthrough, I was only able to deal a smidgeon of damage before this brief tussle ended, and it's unclear at the moment whether Death is truly beatable. Once I find out, I'll update this entry - but the game clearly expects you to lose here, as the ensuing cutscene reveals.

5. Isaac (Main Hall)

Isaac isn't too challenging at the moment, but you're instantly thrown into this combat after surviving the lengthy platforming gauntlet that is Notre-Dame Bridge, with tonnes of Gargoyles, Mermen, and Spear Knights to contend with. Try to avoid using too many Potions before fighting him, and grab the Meat hidden right above the door that leads to Isaac to replenish any lost health.

You should use the same "dash and attack from behind" tactics on Isaac that you utilised on the Fallen and Joan, but be wary of the extreme range of his spear. When he takes to the air and tosses his spear at you, it'll either do a quick spin in the air or directly home in on the last place where you were standing. The spear always spins three times before it returns to Isaac's hand, and it'll target you each time, so stay moving.

Isaac does hit pretty hard, but at least all of his attacks are telegraphed clearly. If you're good at parrying with Holy Light, this is your time to shine.

6. Carmilla

The battle against Carmilla is a semi-timed affair, because she'll start things off with an unavoidable blood curse that puts a number 8 above your head. Whenever you're hit by one of her blood attacks, this number will tick down, and when it hits 0, she'll grab you for an insta-kill.

While this seems stressful, this is actually a pretty fun fight once you learn how to dodge Carmilla's attacks. She is impervious to all damage until you smash the two skull shields that rotate around her, and in the meantime, she'll unleash blood waves at you that move forward and backwards across the screen. Jump over the apex of each wave (the part that's pinkish rather than red) and keep attacking the skulls until they break, then whack away at Carmilla without remorse!

When her health is halfway gone, Carmilla switches up tactics and creates pillars of blood in various patterns across the screen. It's pretty clear where these will appear, so try to stand in the safe spots. Finally, when Carmilla's nearly dead, she'll start making huge rows of pillars, with each followed by two waves of blood. All of this ends in a final row of pillars that boxes you into the centre of the arena, with blood waves coming your way. Jump to avoid them, and deliver your final attacks on Carmilla to put her down for good.

7. Talos

This is a tough fight, because partway through, it becomes a stressful exercise against a timer. Talos starts the battle by summoning blue drones that generate a shield around him. It's easy enough to latch onto these with the Arcane Whip and smash them. When the shield's down, attack Talos' core, and watch out for his slam move where he hits the platform on his right, followed by the one on his left. Talos will eventually send out yellow drones that crackle with energy; look for a safe place in the room to stand, because they'll all explode before long. He also shoots fireballs that can be avoided if you duck behind the platforms around him.

Once his health is about halfway gone, Talos shifts to the bottom half of the room, and you'll need to undergo a tricky platforming gauntlet to access him. This sees you evading the huge slamming hands that can be found all over the Clock Tower, jumping over spikes, and hooking onto Sharpened Anchors to avoid your death. Once you reach him, Talos is much the same as before, except he'll occasionally engulf the entire room in surging flames. Luckily, the safe spots to stand are obvious.

But wait, the worst is still to come. When he has but a sliver of health remaining, Talos suddenly transports back to the top half of the room, and sets up a timer of 1 minute and 30 seconds for you to get up there and defeat him. You'll need to quickly make your way back through the platforming gauntlet and deliver a few final hits, and this is truly a frustrating exercise. Stay patient and don't lose your cool during the platforming section. It took me three tries, but I eventually made it - with three seconds on the timer to spare!

8. Brauner

After the painful affair that was Talos, at least Brauner is a walk in the park - as in you don't even have to fight him. As long as you've thoroughly explored the Main Hall, you'll have probably discovered Brauner's Atelier, a large room where a sculpture designed by Dracula's resident artist lies. After defeating Talos, return to this room, swing to the top, and use your newfound Slam ability to crack the sculpture into bits.

Brauner will then appear, all ominous and slick in his purple suit, spouting lines about how he's going to whoop your butt. Alas, he proves to be all talk and no bite - kind of like a goofy vampire hipster - because Rose beats him automatically.

While he's a bit of a joke, we're including Brauner in this list anyway since he's presented in a way that makes you think a battle is imminent. "Defeating" him is also key to unlocking Notre-Dame, a very challenging area contained within a painting that he created. It appears that Brauner's power is all within his art rather than his brawn!

9. Death (Notre-Dame)

This time, Rose is more than ready to battle Death. He's definitely a hardy foe, but you can avoid most of his tricks by watching his tells. Whenever his finger glows green, he's about to use the touch of death that he one-shotted you with back in the Catacombs. When he raises his scythe, he'll slash forward in a tremendous arc that you can avoid with quick jumping or dashing. And last but not least, when he teleports to the centre of the room and lets loose with projectiles, dodge them and hook onto him with the Arcane Whip for an easy attack chance.

Death's most troublesome tactic comes when he vanishes and exclaims, "Don't fall, little Belmont." When this happens, a green line will appear on screen showing the trajectory of his next attack, which is a massive surge of energy. These lines appear wherever you're standing, and Death draws them a whopping seven times. Even worse, the old lines do not vanish whenever he draws a new one, meaning that by the seventh attack, they'll form a criss-cross pattern across the screen depending on where you've run or jumped.

The fact that the lines are based on your position is critical. Try to give yourself space to avoid them by hooking onto platforms or jumping to make them appear in out-of-the-way places. Remember, you've got to deal with seven of these, and the arena will get increasingly crowded. Look for safe places to stand (if you can keep the lines from appearing on the floor, that's ideal), and in an emergency situation, get ready to dash out of the way. Also, keep in mind that the energy surge that follows a line is fairly large. Don't stand or duck too close to one, as you can still be hit even if you think you're clear.

10. Arthur

Also known as the Brittle King, Arthur can be found in the eastern sections of Notre-Dame after you've defeated Death and unlocked the Double Jump. It isn't immediately obvious what to do in his boss room, where you can find Excalibur and a cryptic clue about how only a titan of strength can pull the sword from the stone. Hmm...a titan? Sounds like equipping the Talos Arcana might be in order!

Once you do so, Arthur comes to life and is more than a little goofy, in a Monty Python kind of way. The stained glass king attacks you with gusto, slashing away with his sword and shouting out "En garde!" While his shield can soak up frontal attacks, once you Double Jump over him and let loose with repeated Vampire Killer strikes on his backside, his health bar will go down swiftly. Even better, jump above him and attack down with the Vampire Killer when you're in mid-air.

Arthur's at his most dangerous when he hilariously yells out, "Lasers?! Is it Lasers?? It is!" He'll hold up his shield and blast lines of lasers across the screen in various configurations, and you need to stand in between them to avoid taking damage. It's similar to what you endured while fighting Death, but easier since at least Arthur stays stationary, and the lasers aren't tracking you. Overall, this isn't a hard combat, but it is a very amusing one.

11. Mammon

Finding Mammon is harder than actually fighting him. He's hidden behind the Gate of Flesh, an area in the western Catacombs of Paris that can only be reached after you've acquired all traversal abilities and are backtracking. However, the Gate of Flesh also needs the following three eye-shaped Relics before it can be opened:

• Oozing Eye - Located in a chest at the end of the Circle of Greed section of the far western Catacombs, to the south-west of the Gate of Flesh itself.
• Thrilling Eye - Located in a chest in the lower section of the Hospital, a room that can be found in the western Paris Streets, not far from the Street of the Tomb Masons exit that leads to the cemetery.
• Trembling Eye - Located in a chest within the Pillaged Tombs area in the Holy Innocents' Cemetery. The Pillaged Tombs can be accessed by dropping down into the floor grate that's blocked off prior to reaching the Fountain of the Innocents. (Slide into the hidden alcove east of the grate to find a lever that opens it.)

Once you've found all three eyes, equip them in your Relic slots and the Gate of Flesh will open. Mammon reveals himself as the gold-obsessed, mutated bishop who initally summoned Trevor and Rose to Paris, and his attacks alternate between bouncing across the screen and shooting off fiery blasts of energy. He can be taken down with repeated strikes of the Vampire Killer, which is especially handy for lighting him on fire and dealing ongoing damage as he bounces around. As long as you stand in the correct areas to avoid his blasts, he'll go down fast.

12. Succubus

Another hard-to-find boss, the Succubus lurks at the end of the maze that is the Hall of Mirrors. After her ploy to masquerade as Rose's mother Sypha fails, the Succubus attacks by firing projectiles and zipping across the room, both of which are easily avoidable with well-timed jumps. She'll then create copies of herself, and you'll need to try and find the right Succubus to attack.

As the combat goes on, the Succubus moves to the centre of the screen, surrounds herself with a shield, and creates tendrils of energy connected to each of her copies. You'll need to destroy every copy before damage can be inflicted on the Succubus herself, and if you get hit with a tendril, the Succubus exclaims "I'll feed on your desires!" She then siphons away some of your health, replenishing hers.

Stay aggressive during this fight and keep inflicting regular damage on the Succubus with whatever your best weapon is. The Vampire Killer works wonders, especially as its passive fire effect can help chip away at whatever HP recovery the Succubus gets if she touches you with her tendrils. But any of the top-tier, ATK 100 weapons like Valmanway or Excalibur work well here, and you've hopefully got at least one of them before you enter this battle.