Richter Belmont/Symphony of the Night

Richter Belmont is played at the beginning of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night during the prologue, which gives a recap of the events at the end of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. After defeating Dracula, Alucard's quest begins. After beating the game with Alucard, a new game can be started with Richter by entering the name RICHTER in the Name Entry screen (in the mobile version, there is no need to beat the game first, as he and Maria are available from the start). Richter is then able to play through the entire game until he faces Shaft. In the Saturn version, Richter is selectable from the start of the game, and there is no need to beat the game first or to enter any name. He also has an alternate costume that can be chosen by holding up on the d pad when selecting him.
In the English versions of the game, Richter is voiced by Scott McCulloch (in the PlayStation version) and David Vincent (in The Dracula X Chronicles version).
==Richter Mode==
<tabber>Movements=
Richter is one of the most agile Belmonts. He has a variety of movements, many of which also deal damage to enemies. All of Richter's moves deal twice the damage in the Reverse Castle. Richter has 0 DEF, is immune to all status effects, and is neutral to all attributes.
|-|Vampire Killer=
Richter wields the ancestral Vampire Killer as his main weapon. He can only whip straight forward and can then brandish the whip. He can also perform a Flame Whip power-up as a Heart-consuming Item Crash if no sub-weapons are equipped. However, the Flame Whip is glitched in most versions of the game and has no effect whatsoever, except for the visuals. The only version where it seems to work properly is the Japanese "PlayStation the Best" re-release, where it changes the whip's primary element from Holy to Fire and doubles its power (ATT +64, Attrib: Fire/Hit). The effect lasts about 35 seconds and costs 15 Hearts. If Richter keeps using his Brandish Whip move while the Flame Whip is active, the effect won't wear off as long as he is holding the whip (he'll stop glowing after a while, but the whip will still be in flames). The Vampire Killer deals twice the damage in the Reverse Castle.
|-|Sub-weapons=
Richter is able to use the same sub-weapons that Alucard can. Most of them only take one Heart to utilize. He is also able to Item Crash each of these sub-weapons for a powerful attack that consumes a large amount of Hearts. Richter's sub-weapons and their Item Crashes deal twice the damage in the Reverse Castle. Richter cannot drop a sub-weapon without picking up another one. Once one has been acquired, it will be impossible to use the Flame Whip Item Crash again for the rest of that playthrough. He can hold a maximum of 99 Hearts.
|-|Items=
Richter is able to collect Small Hearts and Large Hearts. Most items that Alucard could collect are replaced with Small Hearts that can be repeatedly collected. Life Vessels restore all life and do increase life capacity, although the only way to tell that such has happened lies in the speed at which the life gauge refills or depletes. Richter starts with 50 HP (100 in the Saturn version) and gains 10 HP for every Life Vessel he picks up. He should end up with 540 HP (600 in the Saturn version). Heart Vessels increase Hearts by 30 but do not increase Heart capacity. Gold can be collected but has no effect, as the Master Librarian ignores Richter.
In the Saturn version, there is a glitch that causes the two Life Vessels and the Heart Vessel initially accessible in the Entrance to reappear once if Richter picks them up before visiting another area for the first time. If he then leaves for another area (either the Alchemy Laboratory or the Marble Gallery) and comes back, he can pick them up again. This grants Richter 20 extra points of maximum HP (see "Extra Life Max Ups" on External links).
However, they can be missed if Richter leaves the Entrance without collecting them first since they will reappear only once when the area changes after leaving for the first time (the Wargs are removed, the Bloody Zombies appear, the trapdoor to the Underground Garden opens, etc.).
Alucard can't get these extra Life Vessels because he can't reach the rooms where they are initially due to the lack of certain abilities that are acquired later. He can, however, get the Heart Vessel in the room above the Death area, leave for the Alchemy Laboratory and then come back to pick it up again.
|-|Map exploration=
There are many areas where Richter cannot go due to the lack of certain abilities that only Alucard has. 
He cannot pass through grates, which require Alucard's Mist Form. With one exception: he can access the room behind the grate in the Outer Wall by using the secret elevator in the room above it, behind the Armor Lord. However, this elevator is not available in the Reverse Outer Wall.
He cannot access the Castle Center rooms below the clock room in the Marble Gallery since he can't acquire the Silver and Gold Rings. He can access this area in the Reverse Castle to fight Shaft, but he can't keep the room where the battle takes place because he can't use a Library Card to escape. In the Saturn version, Richter can't keep the ceiling room above the room where he fights Shaft either because walking there instantly triggers the battle.
In the Underground Caverns, the lower right area has a gate that can only be opened by the Ferryman. Richter can't acquire (or use) the Merman Statue relic, so he can't summon the oarsman to open it. There are, however, glitches that can open this gate, but legitimately, it's not possible.
There are some underwater ceiling rooms in the Reverse Caverns that can't be obtained by Richter because they require the Wolf Form to open them on the map (Richter can get these rooms in the Saturn version, though).
There's a passage in the Abandoned Mine and in the Cave that requires the Devil Familiar (or Nose Demon) to trigger a switch to open. Richter can't trigger that switch, so he can't access these rooms.
There's a room in the Entrance and Reverse Entrance that requires Alucard to go through a large rock in Bat and Wolf forms to become accessible. Richter can't shapeshift, so he can't access these two rooms.
Richter can get past the spikes in the Catacombs and Floating Catacombs by using invincibility frames from Item Crashes. The Rebound Stone's Item Crash generally provides the longest invincibility frames while also lighting the dark rooms in the normal castle's Catacombs, but it sometimes freezes the game in the DXC version (see "Rebound Stone Glitch" on External links) (the Agunea's Item Crash may be a better option in this version, for the non-dark spike rooms). In the Saturn version, the Rebound Stone's Item Crash is not able to illuminate the dark spike rooms because the rooms are opaque black, probably due to the Sega Saturn's limitations with transparency.
The maximum percentage Richter can achieve is 194.6% (194.7% in the DXC version (see "Richter Max Percentage" on External links) and 205.6% in the Saturn version). There are glitches that allow Richter to obtain a higher percentage. One of said glitches allows Richter to access the unused rooms and save point under the trapdoor in the Entrance, by dashing toward the gate as soon as he enters the castle. This allows him to reach a percentage of 195% (this glitch doesn't work in the DXC version because Richter is forced to pause for a second after he enters). These are the rooms that lead to the Underground Garden in the Saturn version, which Richter can access normally in said version.
</tabber>
==Boss battle==
As a boss, Richter has access to the same move set that his playable version has, albeit with slightly different stats:
*He has 10 DEF and deals contact damage (25 ATT, Hit); he is also immune to Holy and Stone damage and to all status effects.
*He will start the battle with his Grand Cross (40 ATT, Holy (the crosses); 30 ATT, Holy (the beam of light)). The former portion of the attack covers virtually the entirety of the left side of the screen, while the latter portion covers the whole screen. Only by using a Gold Circlet, the Form of Mist, or entering invincibility frames can Alucard avoid being damaged in some way.
*He will attack using the Vampire Killer (35 ATT, Holy). During the second half of battle, the whip is enveloped in flames (60 ATT, Holy + Fire).
*He will throw the Cross (35 ATT, Holy) and the Holy Water (30 ATT, Holy (the first hit of the flame); 35 ATT, Holy + Fire (subsequent hits of the flame)) at Alucard.
*He will slide toward Alucard (35 ATT, Hit). This usually happens if Alucard crouches.
*He will use Dash Attack (55 ATT, Hit) if he is cornered in the first half of the battle.
*Sometimes he will do a Slide Jump (35 ATT, Hit) followed by a Dash Attack if Alucard crouches in a corner.
*When he is attacked, sometimes he will try to evade the attack with a Backflip. In the second half of the battle, he will also counter with the Holy Book's Item Crash (70 ATT, Holy) after evading an attack with a Backflip.
*He will throw his Axe (40 ATT, Holy/Cut) at Alucard. This happens if Alucard jumps or flies over him.
*He will use Axe Crash (40 ATT, Holy/Cut). This will happen if Alucard uses any spell, with the exception of Wing Smash and Wolf Charge. The Sword Brothers spell is also able to hit him due to its long animation. After he loses half of his HP, he will begin the second half of the battle activating the Flame Whip and immediately attacking with the Holy Water's Item Crash (35 ATT, Holy + Fire). This attack covers the whole screen. Only by using a Gold Circlet, the Form of Mist, or entering invincibility frames can Alucard surely avoid damage. 
*He will use Agunea Crash (40 ATT, Holy). This happens if he is cornered in the second half.
A shield can block most of his projectile-based sub-weapons. His second phase can be skipped entirely if Alucard is able to deplete all of his HP at once. This is possible by attacking him with a very strong weapon, such as a high level Muramasa.
Since the ultimate goal of the boss fight is not to kill Richter but to free him from Shaft's control, it may be worthwhile for Alucard to equip a weapon that has the Holy or Stone element, such as the Holy Sword, Holy Rod, or Medusa Shield. This is because Richter is completely immune to these attributes and, as a result, will not suffer any damage from those attacks. By the same token, Alucard may also find it wise to avoid equipping the Mormegil for this battle; any errant strikes made with this weapon can prove very deadly to Richter's health since he is weak to the Dark attribute, an element present on the sword in question.
Alucard will also need to equip the Holy Glasses to be able to see Shaft's orb, which will prevent him from equipping the Gold Circlet. In this case, it will be helpful to wear the Holy Mail instead, which, while not as effective, will at least halve the damage from most of Richter's attacks. Shaft's orb has very high DEF, so all of Alucard's attacks will deal only 1 point of damage to it, but since it has only 10 HP, it only needs to be hit 10 times to be destroyed.
If both Richter and Shaft are defeated at the same time, Alucard will keep going to the Reverse Castle. However, if the fight ends in this manner, the throne room of the normal castle will suffer from a glitch. Should Alucard ever return to the throne room in said castle, he will find himself fighting against Richter again. The battle proceeds as normal, save for the fact that once either Richter or Shaft are defeated, the scripted dialogue doesn't take place. Because of this, Alucard can never be free to leave the room by normal means. This essentially means that without a Library Card, he will be stuck in the throne room, unable to foil Shaft's plans.
If Richter is killed while this glitch is taking place and Alucard escapes with a Library Card, the battle will keep happening every time he returns to the throne room. If he keeps killing Richter, the game will be stuck in a loop. If Shaft is defeated instead and Alucard escapes and then returns, the glitch will no longer happen, and the throne room will have returned to its normal state.
==Dialogue==
==Quotes (The Dracula X Chronicles version)==
*Hydro Storm!
*Grand Cross!
==Gallery==
Character Select Screen from the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night Richter.png|"Player select" screen from the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter in the PSX version of SOTN.png|Richter in the PlayStation version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter in the Saturn version of SOTN.png|Richter in the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter riding a horse in the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.png|Richter riding a horse in the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter Full Map Normal Castle PSX.png|Richter's full map (Normal Castle) from the PlayStation version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter Full Map Reverse Castle PSX.png|Richter's full map (Reverse Castle) from the PlayStation version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter Full Map Normal Castle Saturn.png|Richter's full map (Normal Castle) from the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter Full Map Reverse Castle Saturn.png|Richter's full map (Reverse Castle) from the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter Max Percentage PSX.png|Richter's maximum percentage, as shown on a save file from the PlayStation version of Symphony of the Night.
Richter Max Percentage Saturn.png|Richter's maximum percentage, as shown on a save file from the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.
==Trivia==
*The conversation between Dracula and Richter from the original North American PlayStation version of the game has become a popular internet meme.
*During the boss battle against Richter, he will unleash Hydro Storm as soon as the dialogue finishes. On Japanese voice settings, he unleashes the attack immediately, giving Alucard only a split second to react. On English dialogue settings, Richter's dialogue is shorter, finishing before he even has a chance to charge up. This allows Alucard to readily prepare for the attack while Richter powers up. Although Richter is invincible while charging power, Shaft's orb can still be damaged at this time.
**In The Dracula X Chronicles version, quickly casting the Soul Steal spell right after the intro dialogue prevents Richter from using Grand Cross at the beginning of the battle, as it will force him to counter with Spiral Axe instead. Hydro Storm, which Richter will use to start the second half of the battle, can also be skipped in this way, but it requires frame-perfect timing.
*In the Saturn version, during the intro, Richter can be seen riding a horse in the forest until reaching the drawbridge to enter the castle, a possible reference to Stage 0 of Rondo of Blood, where Richter is seen driving a carriage pulled by two horses.
*Although Richter's artwork and his character portrait for Symphony of the Night give him a very different design, his in-game sprite is still taken from Rondo of Blood/Dracula X.
==See also==
*Richter Belmont
*Richter Mode
Category:Belmont
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Bosses
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Playable Characters
Category:Symphony of the Night Bosses
Category:Symphony of the Night Playable Characters