Lizard Man

The Lizard Man is an enemy in the Castlevania series. They are a half-man, half-lizard sub-human species, stronger than an average man and with a hide made of hard scales said to be thicker than armor.
They tend to move around in groups and are skilled at hunting in packs. They are relatively intelligent, and are usually armed with battle axes and shields.
==Origins==
Lizardfolk are a fictional humanoid species in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing games, having appeared in every version of the game to date.
Lizard men first officially appeared as part of the original D&D game in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement booklet. The lizardman artwork that appeared on the inside front cover of that supplement was used as part of the official TSR, Inc. logo from 1975 through 1978.
They are described as aquatic monsters with a rude intelligence, that are fond of eating human flesh.
==Description==
Lizard Men are one of the few enemies which were more prominently introduced in Castlevania (N64) (along with several other types of beast-men) which later became staples of the Castlevania series. They are intelligent beings who usually wield a weapon and a shield.
One of these creatures' common traits is the ability to become completely impervious to attack when hiding behind their shields, forcing the player to wait or attack constantly until they let their guard down.
Due to their similarities, Lizard Men have been often confused with Mermen, and in fact their names have been interchanged between each other in both Japanese and western releases in some occasions.
In most games these enemies appear in, three variants are usually featured, although there could be more depending on the game. These include:
*Lizard Man: The most basic variant and the ones usually encountered first, these are the grunts of the Lizard Men. They are generally green-skinned and don't portray any particular abilities.
*Poison Lizard Man: This variant is capable of spitting a poisonous liquid that inflicts this status ailment on contact. They are generally blue-skinned and sometimes come equipped with armor.
*Lizard Man Knight: Also known with a variety of other names, these are the Lizard Men's elite forces, usually displaying more advanced combat techniques and being more resilient to attack. Their skin is generally yellow or red.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge===
First appearance of Lizard Men in the series. They are encountered in various stages throughout the game and function as a miniboss battle of sorts. They jump high in the air continuously while tossing a pair of daggers downward.
In this particular case, it's not very clear if this enemy is in fact a Lizard Man or a Merman. It was originally called "Lizard" in the Japanese version of the game, although artwork in the instruction booklet clearly shows it with fish-like features, including fins. Perhaps because of this, it was renamed as "Merman" on the western release. Adding to the confusion, another enemy in that game, the Fish Man, who physically seems to have more in common with a lizard man, was renamed as "Water Creep" in the western release.
===Castlevania (N64)/Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
Lizard Men were more prominently featured in both Nintendo 64 games, becoming one of Dracula's main forces in certain levels.
In Castlevania, they start appearing in great numbers once the player reaches the Underground Waterway. They attack by suddenly jumping out of the water, armed with either a falchion or hatchet and wielding a small shield, and engaging in combat with different techniques depending on the color of their skin:
*Lizard Man: The most basic infantry units. They use their shields to block attacks but can be disarmed with constant strikes or by hitting them in unprotected areas.
*Poison Lizard Man: In addition to their melee combat skills, they also have the ability to spit squirts of poison at their foes.
*Fire Lizard Man: These warriors have the ability to breath long streams of fire. They are often positioned in strategic locations, where their long reaching flames may make the hero fall from a platform.
*Heavy Lizard Man: A more skilled and resilient version of the normal Lizard Man. There's also a boss version of this variant holding guard on one of the waterway's key areas.
More Lizard Men can be encountered later in the Castle Center, where they continuously emerge from some strange-looking machine pods, making one wonder if they are teleported from their world into this plane, or if they are the result of some weird scientific experiments.
In Legacy of Darkness, Lizard Men make an even more prominent appearance, being the very first enemies the player encounters in the game. It shall be noted, though, that these particular enemies are in fact Gill Men (Mermen) and that only their names were changed in the western release of the game.
Once reaching the Underground Waterway, the real Lizard Men start appearing. Their role is pretty much the same as in the original game, although their design and color schemes have been given an overhaul, making them look more detailed this time around. They can also be encountered in a couple more stages in this game.
Both games feature a unique Lizard Man who had been changed from a human by a machine. His name is Heinrich Meyer, and for some unknown reason he was able to maintain his intellect and ability to speak. He gives Reinhardt and Carrie hints on how to use the magic elevator.
===Castlevania: Circle of the Moon===
In Circle of the Moon, Lizardmen start appearing in the Underground Gallery, and more prominently in the Underground Waterway, with great numbers holding guard near Camilla's boss room.
They come armed with spears and will stab with them for a mid-ranged attack, although not very frequently. They are extremely slow but raise their shields frequently, becoming completely invulnerable and allowing other enemies to gather on their position. A good strategy to avoid this, is by jumping first and striking them on the way down, as attacks performed directly in front of them are what trigger them raising their shields. Sliding on them works too, as well as striking at them while jumping from a lower platform.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
Three variants of Lizard Men appear in Harmony of Dissonance:
*Lizard Man: A Lizard Man with a green-colored hide. It lunges forward with its sword in an attack that lasts a few seconds. It can also perform a rare attack in which it curls into a ball and then rolls forward in an attempt to run over the enemy.
*Poison Lizard: A Lizard Man with a blue-colored hide. In addition to lunging forward with its sword like its lower ranked counterpart, it also has the ability to spew a long, poisonous spray, immediately inflicting this status ailment on contact.
*Master Lizard: A Lizard Man with a yellow-colored hide and wielding a shield. This variant is higher ranking, more powerful and more prone to attack than the others, although it will automatically raise its shield and become invulnerable if attacked first. In some instances, it's just better to jump over it and continue onward.
===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
Three variants of Lizard Men appear in Lament of Innocence:
*Lizard Man: A Lizard Man with a green-colored hide. It lunges forward with its sword, can perform an nosedive attack by jumping in the air and spewing fire.
*Poison Lizard: A Lizard Man with a blue and red-colored hide. As his name suggests, he spews poison instead of fire to poison the player.
*Lizard Knight: A Lizard Man with a green-colored hide and wearing armor. While he can neither spit fire nor poison, he can perform a sword sweep attack that can inflict great damage.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
Three variants of Lizardmen appear in Curse of Darkness, each one with different attack techniques:
*Lizardman: The first Lizardmen appear early in the game, as soon as one sets foot in Baljhet Mountains, but can also be found in the Forest of Jigramunt and the Tower of Eternity . Their special attack consists in jumping high in the air and then attempting to plunge their spear on the hero (like in the previous game), time at which their stealing window also opens. They commonly drop the Jet Black material, allowing Hector to upgrade his weapon and armor for the journey ahead. He may combine a Short Sword with a Jet Black to craft a Broad Sword (ATK +20), and a Soft Leather Armor with a Jet Black to craft a Hard Leather Armor (DEF +8), among other possible combinations.
*White Gravial: A white-skinned version of the normal Lizardman, this time wearing armor over their already hard hide. They come armed with a halberd and have the ability to spew purple squirts of a poisonous liquid, time at which they also open their stealing window for 100 gold. They can be found in Cordova Town, Eneomaos Machine Tower and Tower of Evermore.
*Lizard Shaman: An agile, green-skinned Lizard Man adorned with red fur, wearing the skull of an unknown creature on its head and wielding a lance with another skull affixed to one of its ends which holds a crystal ball in its mouth. Every once in a while, it will stop for a moment and unleash a large stream of flames from its lance and spread it out in front of him. It opens its stealing window while doing this, allowing Hector to get his hands on a fine sample of valuable Ether. They can be found in Cordova Town, Eneomaos Machine Tower and Tower of Evermore.
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
Two variants of Lizardmen appear in Order of Ecclesia:
*Lizardman: A green-skinned Lizardman wielding a heavy shield. In its neutral stance, it appears excited, bouncing expectantly and occasionally hopping, and salivates from the mouth. When moving, it will step slowly toward the character, and upon close proximity, it will swing its blood-stained sword sideways, throwing its head and puffing out its yellow chest. However, it will rarely attack and instead resort in raising its shield frequently to buy time for other enemies to gather around. Attack constantly until it lowers its guard to defeat it; a glyph union that can hit continuously, like Weapon + Vol Fulgur, may be used for this effect. This variant drops the Vol Scutum glyph.
*Lizardman Blade: A purple-skinned Lizardman with a red underside. This variant generally has the same neutral behavior as its lower-ranking counterpart but is much more aggressive; once one sees Shanoa, it will wait a couple of seconds, unsheathe its great sword, and then rush forward into a berserk attack while slashing it twice, potentially inflicting heavy damage. It does not wield a shield, however, so attack it quickly before giving it a chance to fight back.
===Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth===
The Lizard in ReBirth is similar to its incarnation in Belmont's Revenge (called Merman in the US), which is different from its more recent appearances. Instead of walking back and forth, and attacking when the player gets near, it will immediately jump into the air and toss three swords. It repeats this until killed.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
BR Lizard.JPG|Lizard (called Merman in the North American version) from the Japanese Belmont's Revenge instruction booklet.
History of Castlevania Belmont's Revenge Lizard.png|Lizard production data sheet for Belmont's Revenge published in The History of Castlevania.
Cv64-offart35.jpg|Heinrich Meyer artwork from Legacy of Darkness.
HoD 017.png|Lizard Man enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
HoD 073.png|Poison Lizard enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
HoD 091.png|Master Lizard enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
Lizardman COD Unused Portraits.PNG|Unused portraits of Lizardman from Curse of Darkness.
White Gravial COD Unused Portraits.PNG|Unused portraits of White Gravial from Curse of Darkness.
Lizard Shaman COD Unused Portraits.PNG|Unused portraits of Lizard Shaman from Curse of Darkness.
Lizard Swordsman MR.jpg|Lizard Swordsman artwork from Moonlight Rhapsody.
==See also==
*Heinrich Meyer
*Merman
*Towers Guardian
Category:Animal-Type Enemies
Category:Poison Enemies
Category:Tabletop Role-Playing Game Based Monsters
Category:The Adventure ReBirth Enemies
Category:Belmont's Revenge Enemies
Category:Castlevania 64 Enemies
Category:Circle of the Moon Enemies
Category:Curse of Darkness Enemies
Category:Harmony of Dissonance Enemies
Category:Lament of Innocence Enemies
Category:Legacy of Darkness Enemies
Category:Moonlight Rhapsody Enemies
Category:Order of Ecclesia Enemies