Skeleton Blades

Skeleton Blades, also known as Skeleton Blaze or Blade Master, is an enemy in the Castlevania series. It is an elite skeleton warrior armed with two swords.
==Description==
Skeleton Blades are skeletons armed with a blade on each hand. In some games there are two levels of skills of skeleton blades, the weaker one is a Blade Soldier (Blades Novice in Japan) and the more experienced one, called a Blade Master. The first one is oftentimes stationary, sometimes lunging a sword forward (although it has an energy blast in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, where it is called the Skeleton Hero in the North American version). The more experienced one often jumps around, slides and performs large swipes with the blades. Curse of Darkness also has a third type, called the Blaze Phantom.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania: Rondo of Blood===
First appearance of Skeleton Blades in the series. It is the first real threat encountered in the game, as he surprises the player by breaking out of one of the windows located on the second floor of Aljiba (Stage 1). His attacking patterns are much more advanced than those of the Skeleton Apes the player has encountered so far, and he reacts according to their movements, either by jumping away or slide-kicking when the player attacks.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
While Skeleton Blazes may be defeated relatively easy, one must be wary of his advanced version: the Blaze Master. This enemy has the ability to block frequently when attacked, sometimes inhabiting very confined spaces. Attacking it continuously may not be advisable, as he will keep blocking most attacks and oftentimes find an opening to counterattack, connecting many hits in quick succession and dealing considerable damage. If the room's layout allows it, it is recommendable to just jump over them and continue onward.
It is possible to witness multiple Skeleton Blaze submerged in water within Castle A of the Luminous Cavern. Due to the liquid, these enemies cannot jump or move horizontally, always only "moving" at their base position.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
Even when the Skeleton Blaze does not appear in Aria of Sorrow, his soul does. It can be obtained by destroying a soul-keeper located in a room of the Dance Hall, only accessible after defeating the Big Golem. This soul will grant Soma the ability to slide, allowing him to move through narrow spaces and reach new areas.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
There are three types of "blaze" enemies in Curse of Darkness. Even when they are still mentioned to be skeletons, their bodies are portrayed to be very muscular and athletic. What makes them so important are the rare materials they can drop or be stolen from them. However, they are some of the most difficult enemies to steal from, usually needing to perfect guard a specific attack so they can open their stealing window for a split second, and then quickly trying to mug them. What makes things harder is the fact that most of the times they will be knocked away from Hector after he has successfully blocked the attack, sending them out of reach for stealing. To steal from them, it is recommended to take care of the whole group first and leave only one or two alive; keep blocking while trying to corner one against a wall, perfect guard his attack, and quickly attempt to steal.
The Blaze Master and the Blaze Phantom have the added ability to cover the floor with exploding knives,From the Blaze Master's in-game description, although they appear to be more like little spherical bombs with protruding spikes which allow them to attach to surfaces. effectively compromising the area where they are fought.
====Stealing guide====
*Skeleton Blaze - Opens his stealing window while sidestepping.
**Drop: Wild Memory
**Steal: Potion
*Blaze Master - Make sure he is against a wall, perfect guard his flip attack, and quickly steal from him as he is being knocked back.
**Drop: Ancient Memory
**Steal: Ceremonial Tool
*Blaze Phantom - Same as with the Blade Master, make sure he is against a wall, perfect guard his flip attack, and quickly steal from him as he is being knocked back.
**Drop: Punch Rings
**Steal: Dark Matter
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
If Hard Mode is enabled in Order of Ecclesia, the very first training room will spawn a few Skeleton Heroes. Challenging them in a fresh save is not an easy task, considering that the only available attack method is the Confodere glyph with minor damage.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
Cvr39.jpg|A concept art of an ambidextrous pirate-like skeleton from Castlevania: Resurrection, possibly a representation of a Skeleton Blades.
HoD 020.png|Skeleton Blaze enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
HoD 077.png|Blaze Master enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
Skeletonblaze.png|The Skeleton Blaze soul allows Soma to slide in Aria of Sorrow.
CoD Skeleton Blaze Concept.JPG|Skeleton Blaze concept art from the BradyGames Curse of Darkness Official Strategy Guide.
Skeleton Blaze COD Unused Portraits.PNG|Unused portraits of Skeleton Blaze from Curse of Darkness.
Blaze Master COD Unused Portraits.PNG|Unused portraits of Blaze Master from Curse of Darkness.
Blaze Phantom COD Unused Portraits.PNG|Unused portraits of Blaze Phantom from Curse of Darkness.
Skeleton Blaze Cinema.jpg|Skeleton Blaze attacking Annette in The Dracula X Chronicles.
Dxc 026.png|Blade Soldier enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
Dxc 069.png|Blade Master enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
Dual Blade Soldier MR.jpg|Dual Blade Soldier artwork from Moonlight Rhapsody.
Warglaive Soldier.jpg|Warglaive Soldier artwork from Moonlight Rhapsody.
==Trivia==
*The weapons used by the Skeleton Blaze and Blaze Master in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness are similar to the Pata, another weapon Hector can use.
==References==
Category:Dark Enemies
Category:Original Castlevania Lore
Category:Skeletal Monsters
Category:Curse of Darkness Enemies
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Enemies
Category:Encore of the Night Enemies
Category:Harmony of Dissonance Enemies
Category:Moonlight Rhapsody Enemies
Category:Order of Ecclesia Enemies
Category:Portrait of Ruin Enemies
Category:Rondo of Blood Enemies
Category:Symphony of the Night Enemies