Skeleton

The is a recurrent enemy in the Castlevania series. It is a human skeleton brought to life as a monster by the fearsome dark power of Count Dracula.
==General information==
Risen from their graves, Skeletons now serve under the rule of the Dark Lord and make up the greater part of his army.
The basic skeleton may behave in one of two ways:
#Paces back and forth, clogging up platforms.
#Jumps high (sometimes in erratic patterns) and throws bones.
Despite their abilities, Skeletons are usually easy to kill. The bones they throw are presumably from their own rib cages, although they are also known to remove and throw their own skulls in some games.
Skeletons may come in a variety of colors in some games, whether it is white, blue, green, etc., although this is usually only to denote their power-level. 
Some varieties of Blue Skeletons, known as Exploding or Bomb Skeletons, have a fuse on top of their heads which will cause them to self-destruct either when the timer runs out, when they get near the player, or when taking damage. The ensuing explosion will destroy the skeleton as well as damage the player. Blue Skeletons in Castlevania Chronicles appear to be made of ice but are otherwise the same as regular skeletons. In The Adventure ReBirth, skeletons tinted blue throw bones while white skeletons don't.
Golden Skeletons often display different behaviors than their standard counterparts, making them very deadly in certain games.
Red Skeletons are basically just a variant of the standard skeleton, although they are immortal and regenerate a moment after being disabled. They are generally invincible in most games and can only be permanently defeated by special means.
==Types==
There are many different types of skeletons throughout the Castlevania series. There are skeletons that carry no weapons and just use their own bones to attack, skeletons carrying a wide range of weaponry, skeletons of various animals, skeletons wielding magic powers, skeletons so widely different from the others that they go in their own category, and the most peculiar: skeletons holding different occupations.
===Regular skeletons===
*Cheeta
*Gold Skeleton (Golden Bones)
*Skeleton
*Skeleton Rib (Slinger)
*Stone Skull
*Throw Master (Bone Thrower, Jack O' Bones)
*Yorick
===Armed skeletons===
*Dead Crusader
*Dullahan (Dhuron)
*Exploding Skeleton (Bomb Skeleton)
*Gold Skeleton
*Mace Skeleton
*Skelerang (Skeleton Boomerang)
*Skeleton Archer (Bone Archer, Skull Archer)
*Skeleton Blaze (Blade Soldier, Blaze Master, Blaze Phantom)
*Skeleton Bomber
*Skeleton Flail (Flail Guard)
*Skeleton Guardian
*Skeleton Gunman (Bone Musket)
*Skeleton Soldier (Undead Lord)
*Skeleton Spear (Bone Halberd, Spear Skeleton)
*Whip Skeleton (Simon Wraith, Whip-Toting Skeleton)
===Animal skeletons===
*Fish Head
*Flying Skeleton (Flying Bone, Skeleton Bat, Winged Guard, Winged Skeleton)
*Panther Skeleton
*Skeleton Monkey (Death Swinger)
*Skeleton Ape (Ape Skeleton)
*Skeleton Spider (Arthro Skeleton)
*Spittle Bone
*Were-Panther Skeleton (Wolf Skeleton)
===Magic skeletons===
*Astral Fighter (Astral Knight, Astral Warrior)
*Clear Bone
*Electric Skeleton
*Ghost
*Hanged Bones
*Mirage Skeleton
*Nova Skeleton (Beam Skeleton)
*Phantom
*Red Skeleton (Blood Skeleton, Bone Liquid)
*Skeleton Glass
*Skeleton Mirror
*Storm Skeleton
===Skeletons with occupations===
*Gladiator
*Kicker Skeleton
*Skeleton Athlete (Skeleton Medalist)
*Skeleton Breeder
*Skeleton Farmer
*Skeleton Frisky (Ghost Dancer (skeleton))
*Skull Bartender
*Waiter Skeleton
===Special skeletons===
*Bone Ark
*Bone Pillar (Bone Head, Bone Tower)
*Giant Ghost
*Giant Skeleton (Creaking Skull, Paranthropus)
*Jp Bonepillar
*Larva Skeleton
*Skeleton Flower
*Skeleton Biker
*Skeleton Rider (Skeleton Trooper)
*Skeleton Tree
*White Dragon (Frost Dragon, Quetzalcoatl, Quezlcoatl, Skeledragon, Thunder Dragon)
==Appearances==
===Castlevania II: Simon's Quest===
The skeletons from Simon's Quest behave very similar to those from the original Castlevania. Those which can throw bones, however, are much more agile and their thrown bones consume into flames for a brief moment once they touch the floor, which is also harmful.
====Simon's Quest (LCD watch)====
They appear behind the player in level one and two. They are destroyed with just one hit and are worth 5 points. Skeletons with shields also appear in this game.
====Simon's Quest (LCD handheld)====
They only appear at night and behind the player. They toss bones in an arcing pattern. They are destroyed with four hits and are worth 20 points. In later stages, they are equipped with a shield.
===Haunted Castle===
Skeletons can be dangerous that some of them will release an invincible Ghost when defeated. Luckily, such skeletons (or possibly the ghosts within) will let out a shriek before the surprise attack.
====Haunted Castle Revisited====
Instead of a shriek, the ghost will now slowly emerge out of the skeleton, stop in the air briefly and then accelerate to ram into the player. However, these ghosts can now aim at the player instead of just flying forward.
===Kid Dracula===
As enemies, these comical skeletons only appear inside the pyramid area of Egypt. They will roll their head like a bowling ball when getting close, and the body will march forward afterwards. They will also try to jump after taking hit.
One of the bonus games between stages has a skeleton tuck in a barrel, where the player is required to stab as many swords as possible into the barrel without hitting the "trap" hole where the skeleton head will pop out.
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
Skeleton foot soldiers that either rise out from the ground or come from a designated spot (usually a pile of green bones) in unlimited numbers. They fall apart as they take damage and can continue to pull themselves along the ground and attack without their legs. They are slightly harder to kill at night than they are during the day and are often more plentiful during that time.
There are several variations:
*White Skeletons run up to the player and attack with bones used as clubs. Some will remain stationary and throw bones at the player from a distance.
*Exploding Skeletons have a fuse on top of their heads which will cause them to explode either after a short period of time, when they get near the player, or when being damaged. This destroys themselves and damages the player as well.
*Red Skeletons in Castlevania will reassemble a short time after being destroyed. In Legacy of Darkness, they are simply common skeletons with two lives.
===Castlevania: Circle of the Moon===
Curiously, the first skeleton-type enemy (and the very first enemy) found in the game is the Skeleton Bomber, while the standard Skeleton can only be found from the Abyss Stairway onward.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
A wide variety of Skeletons appears throughout both castles. The weakest variant first appears at the Entrance, either as a singular obstructing enemy or in groups. They pace back and forth tossing a bone in an upward arc and may sometimes dislodge their skull and carry it around until they toss it. The skull can be thrown farther than a bone but deals the same amount of damage as one. Once thrown, the skull will bounce a little while until it explodes into flames. The lack of a skull does not hinder the skeleton from its movement and bone tossing attack.
===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
The basic Skeletons are armed with a bone that they use for clubbing.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
Skeletons are armed with a light club.
===Castlevania: The Arcade===
Regular skeletons armed with only their own bones are first encountered in the dungeons of the Underground stage.
===Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth===
There are two types of regular skeletons: White Skeletons, who pace back and forth, and Blue Skeletons, which also toss bones.
===Pachislot Akumajō Dracula===
Trevor battles hordes of Skeletons in several scenes in the first Pachislot Akumajō Dracula. They come from the ground in buildings and in open fields. Trevor is able to dispatch them by energizing his whip and releasing a wave of energy from it. Some skeletons drop items upon destruction.
A particularly small Comical Skeleton that can't be taken seriously is also fought occasionally in the first two Pachislot Akumajō Dracula games.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Despair===
Skeletons are minor enemies and act normally.
The Skeleton is also a playable character in multiplayer only. It has a halo over its head. Unlike the five playable characters, it cannot be selected (and there are no alternate palettes for it). It can only be played by someone when they die, and it is weak.
The Skeleton has infinite lives, but every time it is killed 3 minutes are lost from the timer. The Skeleton also does get the bonuses from the gold boss chest when the boss is defeated. The player can be restored by another player who has a Water of Life.
===Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody===
Due to localization for the Chinese market, where it is taboo to show bones, all skeletal monsters in Moonlight Rhapsody are depicted so as not to appear as bones. Many are shown as emaciated skin-and-bones human-like monsters. The standard bone-throwing skeleton throws axes instead of bones and is simply called a Thrower.
==Other appearances==
===Captain N: The Game Master===
A skeleton appears in the episode "The Most Dangerous Game Master", where in one scene Simon opens a door and a skeleton pops out and tries to attack him, although Simon is faster and manages to close the door in time.
Another skeleton appears in the episode "Mr. & Mrs. Mother Brain", where it was called "Mr. Bone". In one scene, the skeleton is shooting fireballs at Kevin, but Kevin tells Duke, his dog companion, to "get the bone", and Duke bites its leg which makes it disappear.
===Pachislot Akumajō Dracula===
===CR Pachinko Akumajō Dracula===
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
==External links==
*Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - Bestiary by Darth Nemesis at GameFAQs
*Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
*Skeleton (undead) at Wikipedia
es:Esqueleto
pt-br:Esqueleto
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