Holy Water

The Holy Water, also known as Fire Bomb or Sacred Water, is a recurring sub-weapon featured in the Castlevania series. It is a flask containing blessed water purified at a church. It bursts and spreads a sacred flame when it lands.
==Origins==
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from Christianity to Sikhism. The use of holy water as a sacramental for protection against evil is common among Lutherans, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Christians.
Holy water has also been believed to ward off or act as a weapon against mythical evil creatures, such as vampires. In eastern Europe, one might sprinkle holy water onto the corpse of a suspected vampire in order to destroy it or render it inert. Thereafter, the concept proliferated into fiction about such creatures.
==General information==
The Holy Water sub-weapon found in almost every Castlevania game is thrown at the floor. Early American versions of Castlevania games were often censored to remove references to religious materials and the Holy Water weapon was referred to as a Fire Bomb. The bottle breaks on impact and holy flames are released upward.
There are two general forms of Holy Water that behave differently depending on the game. The first classic form has the Holy Water release blue or green flames directly upward and remains on the same location for several moments. This will wear out a ground based hearty creature that doesn't move around much very quickly, but requires good aim. This form can usually be upgraded with Double and Triple Shots that allows the user to have two or more Holy Waters attacks on the screen at once, wearing down creatures even faster or covering more ground. The Holy Water is usually tossed in a small upward arc and usually can cause slight damage to creatures above and in front of the player before it hits the ground. Used in this fashion, it can mimic an Axe.
The second modern form unleashes a wave of holy water that travels across the floor that can potentially damage many enemies and requires less precision, but usually only damages them a little bit. This type of Holy Water is thrown with high speed directly to a point in front of the hero and is not useful against creatures above the hero, but creatures will still take damage if they are in its path before it strikes the ground. Sometimes, the Holy Water will burst open before hitting the ground if it strikes an enemy and will not travel in a wave.
Holy Water has appeared in every Castlevania game in some form, except for Castlevania: The Adventure (which had no sub-weapons), Haunted Castle and Castlevania: Order of Shadows (which had unusual sub-weapons). Many slight variations of Holy Water exist between games. It can sometimes be combined with other items to produce more fantastic attacks. The Holy Water's basic Item Crash is the Hydro Storm. The character has Holy Water rain from the heavens onto enemies, dealing massive damage, usually the most useful and powerful Item Crash in the games.
==Game specific information==
===Castlevania===
The original Castlevania featured Holy Water (called Fire Bomb due to religious censorship) as one of the five original sub-weapons that could be used in the game. The player could only equip a single sub-weapon at a time, each of which could be obtained from hitting a particular candle or as a drop item from an enemy. Holy water was first tossed in the air in a short arc, causing weak damage against any creature in its path. Once it hit the ground, the glass bottle was shattered and flames appear upward, damaging any creature it in its flames repeatedly for a few seconds. The weapon could be thrown two or three times in a row upon encountering a Double or Triple Shot.
===Vampire Killer===
The Holy Water in Vampire Killer is one of the only sub-weapons that consumes Hearts (the other is the Stopwatch). The weapon is similar to its Castlevania counterpart, except that the way it can be used is different. You can have Holy Water equipped at the same time as you have other sub-weapons equipped and you do not need to select it from a menu. In order to attack with it, you need to jump and then press right or left.
===Haunted Castle===
The Holy Water has been replaced with a Dynamite and a Torch in Haunted Castle. Both weapons are thrown upward in an arc and detonate when hitting the ground. The Dynamite is similar to Holy Water found in the original Castlevania in that it attacks straight upward in a pillar of flame, but its attack doesn't linger like Holy Water. The Torch is like the Holy Water that Richter Belmont uses in that when it strikes the ground, it spreads across a wide area of ground and it lingers for a while.
===Castlevania II: Simon's Quest===
The Holy Water in Simon's Quest is similar to that from the original Castlevania, except that it only damages enemies it hits on its way to the ground and does not burn the floor or cause damage to enemies standing where it landed. It has the same strength as the Leather Whip. It can be purchased from a gypsy for 50 Hearts in the very first town of the game, Jova, and doesn't consume any Hearts, so it can be used as many times as desired. It is efficient against nearby enemies slightly below Simon or weak enemies slightly above or in front of him. However, the main use this weapon has is that it can break certain bricks, revealing hidden items or areas.
The Sacred Flame can be considered to be an upgraded version of the Holy Water, which releases a lingering pillar of flames upward upon hitting the ground in a somewhat similar fashion to the Holy Water from the original Castlevania, although it does consume Hearts.
The only other original sub-weapon that appears in Simon's Quest is the Dagger.
===Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse===
The Sacred Water found in Dracula's Curse is identical to the Fire Bomb found in the original Castlevania. It can also be powered up with double and triple shots. Only Trevor Belmont is able to use this weapon.
Candles that would normally give Trevor Sacred Water instead give Grant a Dagger, Sypha the Frozen Crystals spell, and Alucard a Small Heart.
===Super Castlevania IV===
The Fire Bomb in Super Castlevania IV is similar to that found in the original Castlevania. Its smaller size relative to Simon makes it less effective as a projectile. It is still tossed in an upward arc, although it does not go above Simon's head. It can also be powered up with a double or triple shot.
Holy Water is one of the selectable items used to form a password at the beginning and ending of the game.
===Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge===
After being unable to use any sub-weapons in Castlevania: The Adventure, Christopher Belmont was now given the option of using either the Holy Water or one other sub-weapon (Cross in Japan and the Europe-only Game Boy Color version, Axe in the US and Europe). It plays pretty much the same as in Castlevania, although there are no double or triple shots in this game. It can also melt Big Eyes and lighting up the dark areas in Rock Castle.
===Castlevania Chronicles===
The Holy Water that appears in Castlevania Chronicles is similar to the one that appeared in Super Castlevania IV. It can also be powered up with double or triple shot.
===Castlevania: Rondo of Blood===
Rondo of Blood was the first Castlevania game to use the wave-style Holy Water. Instead of tossing the holy water up and forward and then letting gravity take it straight down and spew forth holy flames on the area it was hit, Richter smashes the vial straight into the ground at a point some ways in front of him. When the vial bursts, it erupts in green flames, but then additional flame pillars erupt in front of ground zero, forming a wave of flame. Richter also is not able to have more than one holy water on the screen at the same time as he does not have the ability to upgrade it with double or triple shots. Instead, he is able to use a 20 Heart-consuming item crash at any time he wants. This is the famous Hydro Storm, which features holy water raining from the sky and striking everything on the screen several times from 5 to 10 seconds.
===Castlevania: Bloodlines===
Sacred Water is one of the three sub-weapons that John Morris or Eric Lecarde are able to use in Bloodlines (the other two are the Crystal Blade Boomerang and Battle Axe), but it's the weakest sub-weapon in the game. The vial of holy water is tossed in a relatively high-reaching upward arc and after the vial smashes against the ground, a wave of fire is generated in the direction in which is was thrown. Like in Super Castlevania IV, the sub-weapon is activated by pressing a specific button instead of pressing up and attack at the same time (this allows for upward primary weapon attacks).
By pressing up and the sub-weapon button at the same time, a special attack is unleashed which consumes more jewels. When the holy water shatters on the ground during a special attack, the path of the flames "bounces" in an arc in one or the other direction. When it hits the ground again, it bounces again and this repeats a few times. Sometimes the flames will split and bounce in both directions at the same time, causing a wide area to be affected. This attack will cost 4 Jewels.
===Castlevania: Dracula X===
Holy water behaves in this game pretty much the same way it does in Rondo of Blood. It uses a ground wave attack style and can item crash into a Hydro Storm. It uses an unusually large amount of Hearts in this game (3), while the Heart consumption of all the other sub-weapons is at their traditional values. The Hydro Storm still consumes 20 Hearts, about a fifth of your maximum allowed Hearts.
Holy Water is once again one of the items used to form passwords.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
The Holy Water is available in both of its basic forms in this game. For Alucard, it is played in its more traditional style, being thrown out and erupting in a vertical pillar of flame. It is already at its traditional fully powered version in this game, as Alucard can have several holy waters on the screen at the same time without the need to obtain double or triple shots. He doesn't throw it very far, so you have to be near enemies to hit them.
Holy Water for Richter works in the same way that it did for him in Rondo of Blood. A wave of flames is released when it hits the ground. Richter is also able to use the Hydro Storm item crash, featuring a rain of holy water that damages everything on the screen for about 6 seconds. The Heart consumption for the item crash was reduced from 20 in Rondo of Blood to 15 in this game.
Maria Renard can only use this weapon in the Sega Saturn version of the game. She cannot perform an item crash with it.
===Castlevania Legends===
One of the goals of Castlevania Legends is for Sonia to collect the weapons that would one day be used by her descendants in their struggle against Dracula. She has not been trained in these weapons, however, and is unable to use them. Sonia can collect the Holy Water weapon in Stage 4. It is located in a white candle at the very top of a tall tower near the end of the level. Once it is obtained, it can be viewed by pressing the Select button, but cannot used. At the end of the game, the number of scenes in the ending sequence increases by each collected item found (Dagger, Cross, Holy Water, Axe and Pocket Watch). Holy Water also is one of the symbols used to form passwords.
===Castlevania (N64)===
The Holy Water attack item can be used by either character in the game, Reinhardt Schneider or Carrie Fernandez. It can be found in pillars or as a drop item from enemies. Throwing it to the ground causes a large puddle of holy water to be released with flames bursting upward.
Holy Water is also one of the main weapons of the non-playable character Charlie Vincent, a vampire hunter. Charlie plays a key role in reaching the game's final boss; after the player defeats Dracula for the first time, he changes back into Malus. Malus looks around as if he is confused about what is going on. The player's character starts to approach Malus, but suddenly Charlie appears and douses him with holy water, causing the child to burst into blue flames. His deception exposed, Dracula warps the player to an alternate dimension for the final battle.
However, if the player takes too much time in reaching the Castle Keep, Charlie will arrive before them. He will fail in his attempt to subdue Dracula and will be turned into a vampire. The player will then be forced to fight and kill him. Charlie will still use his holy water during the battle without reservation, apparently not realizing that he is damaging himself in the process.
===Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness===
Holy Water is pretty much the same as it was in Castlevania 64, except for a few things. It can be powered-up up to two times when an additional holy water item is obtained, with each level having a different colored flame. The amount of Hearts consumed per use increases with the level of the difficulty setting chosen for the game. All playable characters are able to use holy water in the same manner.
===Castlevania: Circle of the Moon===
Holy Water in Circle of the Moon is thrown like in Rondo of Blood, that is, it is hurled at high velocity diagonally downward and forward. However, its flame effect is like in Castlevania, erupting into a pillar of flames around the area where it hit the ground and not causing a wave to form. If an enemy is struck while it is on its way down, it will explode on that enemy and drop to the floor where that enemy was.
The Pluto card can be used with three different Attribute Cards that affect the way Holy Water and other sub-weapons are used. Using it with a Salamander card allows Nathan to perform the Hydro Storm item crash for 20 Hearts. Using it with a Serpent card causes him to throw two holy water vials simultaneously at different distances from himself. Using the Pluto card with a Manticore card causes him to use 15 MP to throw a single vial of Holy Water instead of consuming 3 Hearts.
===Castlevania: Resurrection===
The canceled game, Castlevania: Resurrection, was to feature a Holy Water sub-weapon that had a normal and strong attack, as well as a Boomerang, Axe and Dagger sub-weapon. Nothing more is known about this weapon.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
The Holy Water in Harmony of Dissonance is thrown in a traveling ground wave like in Rondo of Blood (Cost 3 Hearts). Like other subweapons in this game, it can be combined with Spell Books using Spell Fusion to perform powerful magical spells.
Juste Belmont had the blood of a Belmont in him, allowing him to use sub-weapons. He was able to combine those weapons' powers with magic gained from spell books, which he was also able to use as he was also a descendant of the Belnades Clan.
Combining the Holy Water with a Fire Book produces a spinning ball of flame across the floor that will bounce off of walls. Using an Ice Book causes nearby enemies to be enveloped in icy holy water, which then explodes, causing damage to the creatures enveloped and those hit by the icicles (ice will form around Juste if no enemy is nearby). Using a Bolt Book results in a large bolt of electricity to come down on top of a nearby foe and then oscillate back and forth a few times. A Wind Book causes a classic Hydro Storm, where it rains holy water for a few seconds, damaging everything on the screen. Using a Summoning Tome will call forth an angel which will fly back and forth at the top of the screen, pouring sparkling holy water down below, damaging any creature it touches.
Other items can also affect the way Holy Water is used. Equipping the Chaos Ring will alter the way the Holy Water sub-weapon is used so that it skip bounces off the ground, increasing its range, but also causing some gaps in coverage. This increases the amount of Hearts consumed.
The original Simon Belmont is playable in Boss Rush mode and plays and looks exactly as he did in the original Castlevania game. He is able to use Holy Water in the same manner as he did in that game (tosses it in an arc, pillar erupts exactly from where it lands).
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
The unlockable playable Julius Belmont has Holy Water in his arsenal, along with a Cross, Axe and Grand Cross. He possesses each of these weapons at the beginning of the game and can cycle through them whenever he wants by pressing the "R" button. His Holy Water is similar to its Rondo of Blood counterpart and a wave of flames is formed when it hits the ground. This game does not track Hearts, but rather only has a single Mind Point meter. Unlike Soma, Julius doesn't regenerate his MP. His MP can only be restored by collecting Hearts or in the Save Room. It costs Julius 10 MP to throw a single vial of holy water. There can only be one holy water vial on the screen at the same time. The weapon has the Holy attribute, so some enemies are strong against it, while others are weak.
While Soma Cruz is unable to use Holy Water, he does have Bullet Souls that somewhat mimic the function of holy water. The Curry weapon obtained from a Waiter Skeleton's soul is thrown in an arc much like Holy Water was thrown in the original Castlevania. It then lands on the ground and any creature that happens to touch it will get repeatedly damaged while it is still there. The fire wave ability that he gains from using a Werewolf's soul is similar to the Dracula X style holy water. Fire springs up from the ground in front of Soma and travels in a small wave (considerably shorter than Julius's Holy Water). A similar fire wave ability gained with a Biphron's soul travels a much further distance. However, it cannot be used while Soma is in the air, as Julius's Holy Water can.
===Castlevania: Lament of Innocence===
Holy Water in Lament of Innocence is used in a different manner than it was in the previous 3D game, Legacy of Darkness. Instead of being smashed to the ground like in most games, Leon normally takes the "cork" off of the Holy Water vial and pours it in a 180° arc in front of him. The Holy Water then erupts in a pillar of flames above where it was poured.
Much like in Harmony of Dissonance, it can be combined with 7 different colored Orbs that can be obtained by defeating bosses for more fantastic attacks. They can also be switch between the different styles of attacks without the need to access a text-based menu screen. However, these new attacks also consume Hearts, the Magic Meter is only used by Relics.
The holy water represents also a type of damage, whose effectiveness depends on enemies.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
Julius's Holy Water in Dawn of Sorrow is pretty much the same as it was in Aria of Sorrow. It consumes 4 MP, travels across the ground, and can be switched whenever desired with his other three sub-weapons. It cant be used if there's already one onscreen; however, if the player throws a flask right before it's about to land after a jump, a glitch occurs where another flash can be thrown afterward; this can be used to deal more damage to some enemies or bosses.
Through the use of glitches, Soma may obtain Holy Water, but its name will be listed as "dummy" in menus, identifiable only by its cost of 4 MP.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
Trevor Belmont starts the game with Holy Water and all his other classic sub-weapons. He normally throws Holy Water some distance in front of him. When it breaks, it travels in a ring toward where he stood when he threw it, engulfing the area directly in front of him. For its alternate attack (guarding while attacking), it forms a wave traveling in straight line.
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
Holy Water is just one of the many items that, once found, is selectable in Jonathan Morris' inventory. It is obtained by completing "The Statue's Tear" quest. In this quest, you are instructed to "Find the "Statue's Tear" buried under the rubble and bring it here." To complete this quest, travel to the Nation of Fools and find the statue at the lower left area, then press "up". Then return to Wind and receive the Holy Water sub-weapon.
Richter Belmont starts out with the weapon and it can be selected at any time.
Holy Water moves in the standard wave form for both Jonathan and Richter.
For Jonathan, the strength of Holy Water can be increased by earning skill points. 2,000 skill points are required to master it. Mastering Holy Water is one of the conditions necessary to receive the Grand Cruz dual crush ability via the "Master the Holy Power" quest, which requires you to master Holy Water, Bible and Cross.
Unfortunately, it has been found that the Holy Water sub-weapon sometimes crashes the game.
===Castlevania Judgment===
Holy Water, along with several other traditional sub-weapons, can be used by various characters in the 3-D Wii fighting game, Castlevania Judgment.
===Castlevania: Lords of Shadow===
Gabriel obtains the Holy Water Flasks sub-weapon during the Abbey Tower level of Chapter Five. Throwing a flask causes a small explosion, with a circular shock wave of holy fire damaging any enemy it touches. The blessed fire instantly stuns any vampire that it hits, allowing Gabriel to grapple them for a finisher.
===Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls===
There is an entire class of Holy Water sub-weapons that can be obtained in Grimoire of Souls, which are divided between Type A or Type B.
==Other appearances==
===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===
Holy Water appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being the Down Special move of both Simon and Richter Belmont. Holy Water works in a similar way to how it does in the regular Castlevania games: the player character will throw it a short distance in front of themselves and into the ground, creating a pillar of flames. If it landed correctly, it can be easily used to start combos, since the opponent will stay put receiving damage for some time. Something the player controlling the Belmont should be careful with is that, unlike the Axe or the Cross, the Holy Water projectile actually counts as an item, meaning that the opponent can actually grab it if they press the A button in time or hit it while they are doing an evasion in midair. The Holy Water is the only special that varies between which Belmont the player is using: if the player is controlling Simon, then the pillar of flames will have a reddish color and deal fire-type damage, but if Richter is the one using it instead, the pillar will be blue and it will deal aura-type damage (the same Lucario does).
===Castlevania (animated series)===
The concept of holy water is used in several instances of the series. Trevor Belmont mentions that water properly made for aspersion by an ordained priest could be used against night creatures, but further details of what conditions are required for it to be effective are not explained. At a later point, a dead Bishop –turned into a zombie by Hector– is commanded to make holy water from a river, which is shown to be effective against vampires (it's not explained how this can work and also be consistent with what Blue Fangs said about God having abandoned the Bishop for his evil, implying that he has no holy power anymore, though).
Holy water makes another relevant appearance during the final season. In "The Great Work", Sypha Belnades argues with Zamfir that they should be drinking the flowing water in the sewers, to which Zamfir replies that it's holy water, and that although all the priests in Targoviste are dead, she took them from the vaults of holy areas because they used to sell it for a profit. Later on, in "The Endings", Trevor throws a wineskin bag containing holy water from the aforementioned source and immediately throws his Cross Haladie at it, hitting the bag in midair and soaking the weapon with its contents; and with the resulting empowered weapon, he destroys the Rebis containing Dracula and Lisa's souls.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
==External links==
*Holy water at Wikipedia
Category:Christian Lore
Category:Damage Types
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