Inner Courtyard

The Inner Courtyard (中庭, Nakaniwa) is the interior open air section of the main courtyard for Dracula's Castle. It is usually located behind the Castle Front Entrance, while the Castle Front Court is located in front of it. It also may be interior to a Courtyard-Facing Corridor and/or Castle Front Walls. The area is often includes trees, gardens (including maze gardens), and fountains. Remnants of the Collapsed Castle Ruins may also be seen here. This area is often patrolled by Flea Men carried by Eagles or their equivalents.
==Appearances==
* Castlevania - Stage 11 (Collapsed Castle Ruins) - The Inner Courtyard is filled with Eagles who drop Hunchbacks. The broken remains of pillars and arches of the Collapsed Castle Ruins are visible. At the end, a Skeledragon guards the entrance to the Narrow Corridor (Stage 12).
*Vampire Killer - Block 4 (Inner Courtyard) - This stage is patterned after the environment of the same stage in Castlevania.
*Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - Stage 9-02 is the Inner Courtyard in this game. The part of the castle that had collapsed an formed the Collapsed Castle Ruins (The Inner Halls) has not yet fallen and is situated above this stage, with the pillars holding it up visible in the background. At the end, instead of going down into the Narrow Corridor, you go up into the Inner Halls.
*Super Castlevania IV - The Lower Court takes the role of this section in this game. It is in front of the Entrance instead of behind it. The Narrow Corridor also leads up to the Lower Courts, rather than the other way around. The Collapsed Castle Ruins appear in the background. The area runs parallel to a shallow stream (seen on the map) and there are some marsh-lands in the background.
*Castlevania Chronicles - Stage 7 (The Courtyard) - This stage adds some new details to this area. Tree creatures lunge at him from trees. Several fountains are encountered here, with statues firing arrows and water blobs rising up from the their waters. Some of the overhanging blocks that were in the background in Castlevania are now shown to be mud-filled remnants of the Collapsed Castle Ruins, elaborating on the marsh-environment first seen in Super Castlevania IV. In order to enter these ruins and go on to the Narrow Corridor, Simon must whip a bat demon statue at its base instead of the Skeledragon from Castlevania or the Bat Hook from Super Castlevania IV. This causes the top of the ruins to open up, allowing him to enter. 
*Castlevania: Dracula X - The Inner Courtyard can be seen in the background from the Courtyard-Facing Corridor in the Courtyard Stage where Bats dropping Flea Man appear, replacing the normal Eagles found in the Inner Courtyard. After going through some buildings and traversing some walls, he will end up in the proper Inner Courtyard section. The view of this area is different than in most games, with the full extent of the Collapsed Castle Ruins being visible in the background, where the entrance to the Narrow Corridor can be seen. He fights a Werewolf in this area and then travels through the Narrow Corridor and heads takes him to the Clock Tower (path depicted only on the map screen).
*Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Castle Keep - The area beneath the throne room is the Inner Courtyard. This section runs on top of the ruins that house the Narrow Corridor, with no trees visible. Nevertheless, it is filled with the same broken pillars and partially standing arches of the Collapsed Castle Ruins and Eagles carrying Fleamen. It is first entered by taking that Narrow Corridor from the Royal Chapel to the Pathway section of the Castle Keep Tower and then heading left.
(features the Collapsed Castle Ruins)
Category:Courtyards
Category:Recurring Locations