Giant Skeleton

The Giant Skeleton, also known as Paranthropus, is a recurrent enemy in the Castlevania series, often appearing as a miniboss and rarely as an end of area boss. It is the skeleton of an enormous humanoid being. It carries around an equally gigantic weapon, usually a femur.
==Origins==
The Paranthropus is a genus of extinct hominin. Also known as robust australopithecines, they were bipedal hominids that probably descended from the gracile australopithecine hominids (Australopithecus) 2.7 million years ago.
Members of this genus are characterized by robust craniodental anatomy, including gorilla-like sagittal cranial crests, which suggest strong muscles of mastication, and broad, grinding herbivorous teeth. However, Paranthropus skulls lack the transverse cranial crests that are also present in modern gorillas. A notable difference between the real-life extinct hominins and the Giant Skeletons is that the Paranthropus are speculated to be between 3 feet and 4'6" (depending on gender and whether they were boisei), while the Giant Skeletons, as suggested by their moniker, are at least twice the size of a normal person.
There is a particular giant skeleton that appears in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow called the Creaking Skull, and whose original Japanese name is Gashadokuro. In Japanese mythology, the Gashadokuro are spirits that take the form of giant skeletons. They are fifteen times taller than an average person and said to be created from the amassed bones of people who died of starvation.
These yōkai roam after midnight, grabbing lone travelers and biting off their heads to drink their spraying blood. A loud ringing sound is usually heard in the ear of nearby victims, foreboding an imminent encounter.
They are said to possess the powers of invisibility and indestructibility; though Shinto charms are said to ward them off.
==Description==
The Paranthropus has a predictable pattern of attack:
*Chucks a bone forward in an arcing motion.
*Gathers itself for a moment and then swings a bone overhead, crashing it into the ground.
*Jumps into the air, trying to land on the player, and then slides along the ground.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania: Rondo of Blood/Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles===
First appearing in Rondo of Blood, the Giant Skeleton is a mid-boss encountered in Stage 3. It attacks with the same pattern described above and can be defeated with 18 whip strikes. Once defeated, the player is rewarded with a Pot Roast and allowed to proceed to the next room.
In The Dracula X Chronicles, after defeating the Giant Skeleton, the player is able to juggle its skull with the whip, earning 100 points at every eight juggles without letting it fall to the ground.
===Castlevania: Dracula X===
The Giant Skeleton also appears in Dracula X in the Caves, but unlike its Rondo of Blood counterpart, the player can simply evade it and proceed with the level as normal.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
Called Paranthropus in Symphony of the Night, a giant skeleton that throws bones at the player. If at least one "CLEAR" save file is present in the current memory card, the Paranthropus will be able to drop the powerful Ring of Varda (it will become unlocked as its rare drop), a ring that greatly boosts all stats; if no complete save files are present, it will drop Turquoises in its place.
The first Paranthropus can be found in the Colosseum. They appear more frequently much later in the game, in the Reverse Outer Wall.
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
A gigantic skeleton wielding a large bone. It appears twice as a boss in the Forest of Silence. The first battle occurs early on in the level, after the player unlocks a large door, behind which the King Skeleton stands waiting. In addition to using its club to strike the player, it will also strike the ground, causing normal Skeletons to appear. After defeating it, the King Skeleton will run away by jumping off a cliff. It will then stand at the bottom of the cliff and observe the player for a short time before continuing to run away. 
The King Skeleton reappears for a second battle right at the end of the level, climbing up from the gorge and preventing access to the Castle Wall. In addition to its previous attacks, the King Skeleton has now gained the ability to unleash a shockwave by jumping and then stomping on the ground, as well emitting an electrified aura, and a long range breath weapon when it roars. During the battle, the skeleton will begin falling apart, losing one of its arms first and then its legs, leaving it to simply crawl after the player until it is killed. A health restoring item can be retrieved from its mouth after the battle.
<tabber>Castlevania 64=
|-|Legacy of Darkness=
</tabber>
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
====Creaking Skull====
The Creaking Skull is a massive skeleton that is too large to properly support its own weight, with its legs presumably having crushed long ago due to not having been able to support the entire monster's weight and leaving only its upper body behind. It slowly drags itself forward, periodically pausing to swing its femur or spew a ball of fire at the player. A second one can be found in the basement section of the Dance Hall, where its soul can be gathered.
Gaining dominance over its soul grants Soma the Guardian Big Bone ability, which is the strongest guardian soul (based on its attack power). With it, Soma grows the Creaking Skull's skeletal club arm to fight any enemies behind him. While not technically useful, it can help defeat those enemies that gang up on him, like Fleamen and Rippers, although it can be replaced with other, more powerful, rear-guard souls later in the game, such as the Big Golem or Cagnazzo.
The Creaking Skull is also the only boss found in the mobile version of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, with the exception of the end boss, Graham Jones.
In Boss Rush, the Creaking Skull gets a 1,000 HP and 20 STR boost.
====Giant Skeleton====
The Giant Skeleton is an enemy version palette swap of the Creaking Skull and appears close to the end of the game. It is now colored lime-green. It attacks almost in the same way as the Creaking Skull, by slowly crawling forward and swinging its femur. Unlike the Creaking Skull, it can't spew any fireballs, although its strength makes up for it. Its soul is a short-range projectile where Soma throws giant skulls.
Interestingly, when comparing the two enemies, the Creaking Skull seems to have what looks like a heart shielded inside its rib cage, while the Giant Skeleton doesn't.
<tabber>Creaking Skull=
|-|Giant Skeleton=
</tabber>
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
The Giant Skeleton appears in Minera Prison Island as the game's second boss. It is not like the other giant skeletons found in the series, as its fighting style is completely different. What makes this fight hard is the fact that the skeleton will bend backward if Shanoa ends up behind it, and it is harder to damage and to avoid when it is in this position. It's also the only boss that can be encountered as a regular enemy later in the game, appearing twice in the same room in Tristis Pass, along with a Mimic. Even with these difficulties, if the player takes full advantage of the Magnes glyph and constantly shoots over it when it looms close, it will be an easy battle.
When it is encountered later in the game, it can be defeated as quickly as a normal enemy. Ignis deals lots of damage per hit, and with multiple hits it will defeat it easily.
The Giant Skeleton has three variants in Order of Ecclesia:
*Giant Skeleton: The first variant encountered in the game and the weakest. Wearing no armor and wielding no weapons, it attacks using its arms and legs. This variant is the only one that can bend backward, making it quite a challenge in the early game. It appears as a large, white skeleton, about three or four times the size of Shanoa.
*Skeleton Beast (Barbarian Skeleton in the Japanese version): A more powerful variant encountered from early mid-game onward, the Skeleton Beast cannot bend backward, but swings at Shanoa using a powerful mace. It can deal considerable damage quickly to low-level players. It shares a similar sprite with the Giant Skeleton, but wears short armor and a helmet decorated with black fur.
*King Skeleton: The most powerful and high-ranking variant, encountered in the late game. Its color palette is identical to that of the Skeleton Beast, but it has brown and orange striped fur on its helmet. It wields a long axe. It is usually found in the company of a Great Knight.
<tabber>Skeleton Beast=
|-|King Skeleton=
|-|Giant Skeleton=
</tabber>
===Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody===
Due to cultural sensitivities in the Chinese market about portraying human bodily remains, the giant skeleton was replaced with a Ram Demon in Moonlight Rhapsody. It otherwise behaves like a typical Giant Skeleton.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
===Artworks===
RoB Paranthropus.JPG|Giant Skeleton from the Japanese Rondo of Blood instruction booklet.
OoE 03 edit.jpg|Giant Skeleton in the official Koma comic strips of Order of Ecclesia.
Shofar MR.jpg |Ram Demon from Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody.
===Screenshots===
HoD 021.png|Big Skeleton enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
Evolution Skateboarding Giant Skeleton.jpg|Giant Skeleton from Evolution Skateboarding (2002).
AoS 034.png|Creaking Skull enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.
AoS 093.png|Giant Skeleton enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.
Dxc 067.png|Paranthropus enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
==See also==
*Adramelech - A monster similar to a Ram Demon.
*Giant Skeleton Warrior
*Guardian Big Bone
*Skull Knight
==External links==
*Gashadokuro at Yōkai Wiki
*Gashadokuro at Yokai.com
*Gashadokuro at Wikipedia
ru:Скрипучий череп - Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Category:Extinct Species Monsters
Category:Skeletal Bosses
Category:Skeletal Monsters
Category:Japanese Monsters
Category:Aria of Sorrow Bosses
Category:Aria of Sorrow Enemies
Category:Castlevania 64 Bosses
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Enemies
Category:Dracula X Enemies
Category:Grimoire of Souls Enemies
Category:Harmony of Dissonance Enemies
Category:Legacy of Darkness Bosses
Category:Moonlight Rhapsody Enemies
Category:Order of Ecclesia Bosses
Category:Order of Ecclesia Enemies
Category:Rondo of Blood Enemies
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