Beelzebub

Beelzebub is a boss in the Castlevania series. He is referred to as the "Lord of flies".
==Origins==
In Christian demonology, Beelzebub is one of the seven princes of Hell, according to Catholic views. The Dictionnaire Infernal describes him as a demonic fly who is also known as the "Lord of the Flies". In later Christian and Biblical sources, he is referred to as another name for the Devil.
The source for the name "Beelzebub" stems from a pun in the Hebrew language. Canaanites worshipped many gods who were titled Ba'al, "owner, lord" (for example, Hadad). Canaanites' neighbors, the Philistines from the city-state Ekron, worshipped an unnamed god titled Ba'al Zebul, with Ba'al meaning "lord of" (construct state) and Zebul meaning "exalted (abode)"; as a whole, "lord of the exalted (abode)". "Ba'al Zebub" was used in Hebrew as a derogatory pun to mean "lord of the flies" used to offend the Philistines and Canaanites, both enemies of the Israelites. In addition to this last position, is the fact that it was long ago suggested that there was a relationship between the Philistine gods and cults of flies appearing in the Hellenic world, referring to viewing them as pests, feasting on excrement.
==Description==
Beelzebub first appeared in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as a giant, rotting corpse boss with no attacks of his own. Alucard may fight him in the Reverse Castle, in the Necromancy Laboratory area, as an optional boss. Beelzebub "attacks" by taking control of the giant flies that are attracted to the stench of rotten flesh. He also releases maggots that can poison Alucard on contact. The battle starts rather easy, as his legs are easy to hit; however, the more damage he takes, the more body parts will fall down, eventually leaving only his head and half of his torso hanging high and surrounded by giant flies, making it difficult to reach and attack.
Beelzebub returned as a boss in the drop pieces puzzle game, Encore of the Night, and in the downloadable Chapter 9 of Harmony of Despair, appropriately titled "Lord of Flies".
While many people identify Beelzebub with Satan, the Castlevania series seems to take his "Lord of the Flies" moniker in a more literal sense.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
Called "Beezelbub" in the original English PlayStation version of Symphony of the Night, and rectified in later versions of the game.
One strategy that makes this boss very easy is to simply stand on the highest platform and throw the Axe sub-weapon continuously at his head. After repeated strikes, his head will fall off and his body will need only be struck once or twice more to defeat him.
Another method is to hover over the center of his body in Mist Form with the Gas Cloud relic active, allowing the player to hit his entire body at once. Caution must be exercised, though, as if Alucard runs out of MP, he will be in a disadvantageous situation.
If Alucard was able to obtain the Dark Armor from Malachi, by equipping both Dark Armor and Topaz Circlet, he won't be harmed at all.
The Cross is another alternative, as using it while standing right under Beelzebub will make its pillar-like attack to hit several of Beelzebub's parts at the same time and continuously, doing massive damage quickly (although at the pricey cost of 100 Hearts per cast).
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
While Beelzebub does not physically appear in Curse of Darkness, he makes a cameo as the combination material, Beelzebub's Seal. This item is dropped by Unicorns and it's one of the most difficult materials to obtain in the game.
===Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night===
===Castlevania: Harmony of Despair===
The battle against Beelzebub has three phases. The first one plays out similarly to Symphony of the Night albeit in the contrary, as he starts the battle with a large amount of flies which decrease as he takes damage instead of the other way around. Fortunately for the player, he won't use maggots, so there is no risk of poison. Since he "loses" flies the more he is damaged, one should destroy his legs quickly, preferably using attacks that can hit both legs at once and multiple times. The Yasutsuna's Special Attack is very powerful to perform this feat; otherwise, magic like Nitesco or other multi-hit attacks are just as good. When Beelzebub launches his flies to the player, one should avoid them by sliding quickly in a single direction. Since they are quite spread up, it makes jumping unwise, although sliding works fine as long as one is persistent.
After losing approximately half of his body, the second phase plays out and Beelzebub will employ a different tactic, summoning flies in formations instead of using them as a shield. The flies will come from either the very left or the very right and fly in straight horizontal lines in swarms attempting to ram the player, during this time the flies can move upward or downward, but they do so in set patterns and will never return to their original "line" (that is, if they start their rush from the bottom, they'll never rush from this position again until the swarm is respawned). These patterns are not difficult to avoid and at most require the player to pay attention from where they will appear and memorize them, which isn't difficult since they are rather simple in nature. Doing so will help the player calculate when to avoid the flies to continue on the offensive.
Beelzebub during this phase will also employ his Fly Shield, albeit sporadically. When only few parts of his upper body remain, Beelzebub enters his final phase and he will forsake his Fly Shield in favor of his Fly Formation, which he expands by being able to throw swarms in either the upper, middle and lower parts of the room, albeit with enough space to avoid them in between. It plays basically the same way as the second phase. The player should just be patient and pummel Beelzebub when they have the chance and avoid the flies when they come. For this phase, physical attackers like Soma or Alucard may be at a disadvantage if they don't have long range attacks they can use to deal good damage. Soma can use the Medusa Head's soul in order to float in air, which can help him pummel Beelzebub without having to jump continuously.
All in all, the fight is a battle of patience.
===Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls===
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
Beelzebub with Maggot.png|Beelzebub from Symphony of the Night.
Dxc 136.png|Beelzebub enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
Some enemies Gos.png|Beelzebub with other enemies in Grimoire of Souls.
==Trivia==
*Beelzebub is considered one of the most disturbing enemies of Castlevania, alongside Legion and the Forgotten One.
*Beelzebub is somewhat of an oddity, as it is never known from where he summons flies, much less how or even why he ended up hanged in the first place.
==See also==
*Bound Giant
==External links==
*Beelzebub (Castlevania) at the Villains Wiki
Category:Biblical Monsters
Category:Dictionnaire Infernal Demons
Category:Hebrew Lore
Category:Zombies
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Bosses
Category:Encore of the Night Bosses
Category:Grimoire of Souls Bosses
Category:Harmony of Despair Bosses
Category:Symphony of the Night Bosses
Category:Symphony of the Night Optional Bosses