Balore

Balore is a boss in the Castlevania series. He is a demon whose very gaze induces terror.
==Origins==
Balore is taken from the Celtic mythology of Ireland. Balor was the king of a race of giants known as the Fomorians who possessed unusual physical properties, Balor himself having only one eye. As a child, Balor was observing druids preparing noxious spells and the fumes entered his eye, this granted his eye incredible destructive power and so his eyelids grew heavy so that the destructive forces could be contained behind them.
In the Castlevania series, Balore is giant and wields a destructive eye-based attack, both features shared with his origin. The most recent interpretation shows severe damage to Balore's face (perhaps a remainder of his childhood incident), as well as a deathly gray color to his skin in Dawn of Sorrow onward rather than the normal, somewhat bronzed tone he had in Aria of Sorrow.
==Description==
A giant imprisoned in the depths of the castle from times long forgotten. Pure rage fuels this monstrosity and he recognizes no allies, destroying everything and everyone who dares to cross his path. His right eye has the ability to unleash a devastating energy beam (the Portrait of Ruin version is just an horizontal-swapped sprite of the one in Dawn of Sorrow, making him fire from his "left eye" instead).
==Appearances==
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
Noted as "a demon with a fear-inducing gaze", Balore is a fearsome enemy. When Soma Cruz first enters the boss room at the Arena, he finds a swarm of bats hanging on the ceiling. These quickly fly to the center of the room as soon as they notice his presence, coalescing into another, more powerful creature: the Giant Bat. Its dramatic appearance doesn't last long, however, as a giant hand suddenly comes out and crushes it instantly in a rain of blood, while a dreadful chuckle can be heard in the background. Balore then enters the scene, only peeking his face and arms into the room through some broken pillars, unable to enter due to his colossal size.
To fight him, Soma must attack his left eye while looking out for Balore's fists. When his health has been lowered to 2,000 HP, Balore will switch to his right eye instead and constantly sweep the ground with beams that leave a trail of fire. In this phase, his DEF drops to 10. The easiest way to defeat him at this point is to use the Medusa Head's soul, Vector ZERO, to hover near his eye, avoiding the ground fire and gaining a clear shot.
Defeating Balore rewards Soma with his and the Giant Bat's souls (the latter found in a Soul-Keeper in the next room). Balore's soul provides him with the Balore Punch ability, an extremely powerful punch attack, while the Giant Bat's soul grants him the ability to transform into a bat and fly.
====Strategy====
Due to the position of Balore's eyes, at the center of the room and above the player, it's recommended to use a weapon that traces a wide overhead arc, preferably if it has a quick swing (such as the Claimh Solais). When the battle starts, start hitting the eye about three times; Balore's hands will initially move away toward their own respective side of the room –left and right– and then perform a double quick punch with both toward the center. Slide under his left hand (that is, the one on the right from the player's perspective) toward the right and stay behind it. Balore will then raise both hands, preparing to smash the ground; just walk under his left hand toward the left, back to the center of the room, and resume hitting the eye. Keep repeating this process until the boss enters his second phase.
Once Balore switches to his right eye, his hands will leave the screen and stop being a threat. Balore will then start shooting energy beams that swipe the entire room, leaving trails of flaming pillars that follow their path. These beams can be shot in either direction, from left-to-right or from right-to-left. The beams themselves aren't harmful to the touch, just the flames. The pillars are relatively easy to avoid, just a well timed jump will keep the player out of harm's way and also allow them to hit Balore's eye while airborne. However, as Balore keeps sustaining more damage, he'll start shooting the beams at a faster rate, eventually only allowing the player to jump over one flame at a time and hit the eye once per jump, but if the player has good rhythm, the fight can be finished in just a matter of seconds.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
Balore is first seen in the tail end of the opening sequence of the game, where he emerges from underneath the ground shortly after Dario Bossi's counterattack on Soma Cruz (with Balore presumably having been summoned by Celia Fortner as backup). However, Soma then proceeds to form a Magic Seal to encapsulate him.
Soma once again encounters Balore in the Wizardry Lab, who demonstrates his power by destroying a massive wall of ice that stands between him and Soma. This time around Balore has been completely redesigned. His skin is now blue and the upper half of his body is shown on the left hand side of the screen, perhaps to show that he has indeed previously been slain by Soma, but has come back to life through a zombification process.
The player can also stand on Balore's fist to be at level with his face. Balore's face is shown to have rotten on one side and being metal-bolted on the other. The rotten side of his face can be seen when he screams and fires his eye beam, or when he is killed and disintegrates.
Balore is weak against Piercing and Slashing attacks (both attributes being easily obtainable at this point of the game) and shouldn't pose much of a threat.
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
In Portrait Of Ruin, Balore appears in the Nest of Evil as the first boss. He has the same appearance and attacks from Dawn of Sorrow, only now faces the opposite direction, which may slightly confuse players who were familiar with his attacks in the previous game. He is also the first boss to challenge players in the first Boss Rush course.
===Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls===
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
AoS 110.png|Balore enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.
Balore.png|Balore from Aria of Sorrow.
Balore DoS Trailer.png|Balore in the trailer of Dawn of Sorrow.
==Trivia==
*According to an interview to Shūtarō Īda, Chief Programmer for Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, in the NTT Pub Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Official Guide, Balore was originally meant to provide his characteristic energy beam as a soul power instead of a punch.NTT Pub Castlevania: Akatsuki no Minuet Official Guide:飯田：バロールというボスがいますが、 最初はバロールからはレーザが手に入る予定でした。でもレーザーを撃つソウルって意外と多いんです。 それで「いや、 レーザーはもういいよ」という話になって (笑)、 急遽パンチに変わったんですよ。Iida: There is a boss named Balore. At the beginning, it was programmed to get a laser from this Balore. But there were so many surprises from shooting a laser. This is why (I said): "No, I do not want a laser" (laughs), and so this thing became a fist.
==See also==
*Bound Giant
*Fomor
==References==
de:Balore
es:Balore
Category:Demons
Category:Fire Bosses
Category:Irish Monsters
Category:Platform Bosses
Category:Aria of Sorrow Bosses
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Bosses
Category:Grimoire of Souls Bosses
Category:Portrait of Ruin Bosses
Category:Portrait of Ruin Optional Bosses