Bat Form

Bat Form is the ability to transform one's body into a bat, acquiring with this the usual characteristics of these types of mammals, the most prominent being the ability to fly. This ability is mostly associated with vampire lore (which, depending on the source, only some races of vampires can develop). The most well known vampire character to employ this ability is without a doubt Count Dracula, who has been frequently portrayed in diverse forms of media as being able to transform his whole body into a bat; the Castlevania series being no exception, where he's usually seen turning either into a giant bat or, more frequently, into a colony of bats.
Alucard, Dracula's son, and Soma Cruz, his reincarnation, can take the form of a bat in many games. Alucard, being a dhampir, naturally possesses (or acquires throughout the course of a game) this ability, while Soma eventually develops it thanks to his power of dominance over souls.
==Game specific information==
===Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse===
Alucard is able to transform into a bat in Dracula's Curse at any time by pressing ↓ and [JUMP] at the same time. Flying around as a bat allows him to avoid obstacles, although it consumes Hearts at a steady rate. Being hit by an enemy while in bat form will cause him to revert to human form; this can be very dangerous, as this ability is generally used for flying over big "bottomless" chasms which, if hit in midair, usually means instant death as Alucard will helplessly plummet down to his death if the player isn't able to transform back into a bat fast enough.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
In Symphony of the Night, Alucard is able to turn into a bat once he finds the Soul of Bat relic. While in bat form, he will normally fly at a slow speed while consuming MP. The powerful Wing Smash, which causes his bat form to dash across the screen at high velocity while dealing out Hit damage, can be pulled off if the player knows the button combination (hold [Jump] + ↑↖←↙↓↘→, release [Jump]). The Wing Smash ability varies depending on the version of the game. In the PlayStation version and ports, it has a fixed duration and Alucard will automatically leave bat form after a short dash. The dash can be extended by re-inputting the command for the spell during the previous one, allowing a Wing Smash to continue until Alucard either hits something or runs out of MP. In the Saturn version, the Wing Smash won't automatically end and will continue for as long as Alucard doesn't hit something or run out of MP.
Alucard can gain additional abilities for his bat form by gaining additional relics, including:
*Fire of Bat: This relic allows him to shoot fireballs while in bat form.
*Echo of Bat: This relic gives him a sonar which will allow him to see what is ahead in dark areas.
*Force of Echo: This relic causes his sonar to deal damage.
If the Bat Familiar is out while Alucard is in bat form, it will mistake him for a possible mate and a heart will appear over its head. Smitten, it will follow him much more closely and additional bats will be summoned depending on the familiar's level (one additional bat for every 20 or so levels). If the Fire of Bat relic has been found, whenever Alucard fires off a fireball while in bat form, any Bat Familiars following him will launch a fireball as well. The Bat Familiar has no actions to match the Echo of Bat/Force of Echo ability or the Wing Smash spell, however.
The color of the currently equipped cloak, as well as the customizable Joseph's Cloak, affects the color scheme that Alucard's bat form will take.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
Soma Cruz can also take the form of a bat in Aria of Sorrow, where he can activate the Giant Bat's soul to do this. While in bat form, equipping the Flame Demon's soul (Hellfire) and the Succubus' soul (Death Touch), allows him to shoot fireballs; equipping the Bat's soul (Echo of Bat) allows him to use this ability; equipping both Blue Crow's and Red Crow's souls allows him to summon crows in rapid succession (although the limit of the soul is still considered).
Throughout the game, Soma can find three ancient books, each of which give a hint about a particular soul combination that has to be used at the Top Floor. Ancient Book 2 says: "The second spirit is the King of Bats."; if all three correct souls are equipped while dealing the last blow to Graham's first form, Soma will then be able to confront his second form, eventually accepting his condition as the reincarnation of Dracula; then the good ending become available to the player. Giant Bat is the only one of these three souls that is not a random drop, being granted after defeating Balore.
In speedruns, the Giant Bat Soul is used extensively due to how it affects wall-zipping mechanics in the game: Soma is pushed upward when inside a wall in human form, while the Bat Form is pushed left or right. This allows for quick out-of-bounds navigation of the castle.
The Giant Bat itself is formed from a colony of bats when preparing to attack Soma Cruz. However, shortly after forming into the Giant Bat, it ended up suffering a premature end by being squished in Balore's hand.
===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
Although the Bat Cloud is not an actual gameplay element used by the player, the ending of the game has Mathias Cronqvist turning into a bat after revealing he had turned himself into a vampire to spite God over Elisabetha Cronqvist's death and having Death dispatch Leon Belmont after the latter refused to condone his actions.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
In Dawn of Sorrow, Soma can transform into a bat by activating the Bat Company's soul. Equipping the Flame Demon's soul (Flame Ball) allows him to shoot fireballs while in bat form. Soma is also able to summon a Fleaman while in bat form by activating the Fleaman's soul (Hopping Man).
Alucard could take the form of a bat in Dawn of Sorrow by selecting it as a sub-weapon.
===Castlevania Judgment===
In Judgment, Alucard is not seen actually taking the form of a bat. However, bat wings sprout on him while he performs the Wing Smash dashing-slash move, and during his Infernal Blade finishing move.
===Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls===
Alucard takes his Bat Form briefly during his Wing Smash attack, and Soma Cruz can also do the same via his Tactical Soul: Giant Bat attack.
==Item Data==
==Enemy Data==
==Gallery==
===Artworks===
Bat KD F.JPG|Kid Dracula's Bat magic power artwork from the Boku Dracula-kun (FC) instruction booklet.
Bat KD GB.JPG|Kid Dracula's Bat magic power artwork from the Kid Dracula (GB) instruction booklet.
===Screenshots===
Lament of Innocence - Bat Form - 01.png|Mathias's (later known as Dracula) very first chronological bat form transformation in the series in Lament of Innocence.
DxC Dracula Large Bat Form.png|A close-up of Dracula's Bat Form from The Dracula X Chronicles.
DXC Dracula Bat Form.png|Dracula's bat form flying with the swarm, as seen in the introduction of The Dracula X Chronicles.
The Arcade-Dracula-Bat Form.jpg|Dracula's Bat Form from The Arcade.
===Animations===
DC Bat.gif|Bat Form from Dracula's Curse.
BDK Bat Form.gif|Bat power from Kid Dracula (FC).
KD Bat Form.gif|Bat power from Kid Dracula (GB).
SOTN Soul of Bat.gif|Bat Form transformation from Symphony of the Night.
SOTN Fire of Bat.gif|Fire of Bat from Symphony of the Night.
AoS Giant Bat.gif|Giant Bat soul from Aria of Sorrow.
DOS Bat Company.gif|Bat Company soul from Dawn of Sorrow.
DOS Bat Form.gif|Alucard using Bat Form from Dawn of Sorrow.
===Other media===
Count (Captain N) - 03.jpg|The Count in bat form in Captain N: The Game Master.
Captain N - The Game Master - 13.png|Redesign on Season 3 of the same show.
Freedom Was Sweeter - Nocturne - 50.png|Vaublanc transformed into a bat in the Nocturne animated series.
==Trivia==
*In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the tail-like formation which the bat familiars take when following Alucard while in bat form is reminiscent of how Options follow the player's ship in the Gradius series.
*In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Gandrayda's character can take different forms during his fight against Samus Aran. One of them, the Swarmbot-G, looks like a bats cloud similar to Dracula's Bat Moon in Portrait of Ruin.
==See also==
*Bat (enemy)
*Bat Cloud - Transform into many bats to travel from one place to another.
*Bat Familiar - A single bat that accompanies the player for a long time.
*Bat Swarm, Bat Swarm (Lords of Shadow) (sub-weapons) - Utilizes swarms of bats in a single attack.
*Echo of Bat
*Owl Morph - A similar flying transformation ability.
*Mist Form
*Wing Smash
*Wolf Form
Category:Alter Art Weapon Skills
Category:Bats
Category:Form Relics
Category:Forms
Category:Guardian Souls
Category:Sub-Weapons
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Items
Category:Dracula's Curse Items
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Items
Category:Encore of the Night Items
Category:Grimoire of Souls Items
Category:Symphony of the Night Items