Moai

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The Moai is a hidden item in the Castlevania series. They are ancient stone carvings. Very valuable to those who are interested.
They have also appeared as a playable character in several Konami mascot games that include Castlevania characters in their roster, as well as making cameos in several games in the series.
==Origins==
Moais are based on real monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500.
Moai statues have also made numerous appearances in video games, and Konami is well known for including them in their products, especially in the Gradius series of space shooter games, where Moai enemies have become a staple since its very first installment in 1985 (as well as the series many spinoffs, such as the Salamander and Parodius series). In these games, Moais generally appear either as enemy turrets or as flying enemies of all sizes (even of gigantic proportions), and sometimes even act as area bosses. It's also very common in these games to include a level where all enemies are exclusively Moais.
Despite their now iconic appearances in this series, Gradius actually wasn't the first Konami game to feature a Moai; this honor belongs to the arcade platformer Pandora's Palace from 1984, where Moais become the main enemies of the game from the third stage and onward.
According to an article on ZIMMERIT, the inclusion of Moais in the original Gradius was because the face of one of the members of the music team, Yoshinori Sasaki, resembled a Moai, and presumably, this went to the point of him being nicknamed "Moai Sasaki". Mr. Sasaki (who also worked on the music for TwinBee) eventually turned to programming. He is known to have worked on the X68000 port of Gradius II, and allegedly, the Moai enemies in that version of the game were modeled after him.
The Konami Moais have become very popular in gaming culture nowadays and have made numerous appearances in several of the company's franchises, regardless of genre or media, whether it is just as a cameo or as a full-fledged character. Moais have also appeared with Castlevania characters in several Konami mascot games, such as Hai no Majutsushi and DreamMix TV: World Fighters. Of note is Moai Alexandria, a characterization of a Moai statue that was introduced as one of the playable characters in Konami's crossover parody title, Konami Wai Wai World (Konami, 1988), and who eventually starred in his very own game, appropriately called Moai-kun (Konami, 1990). Alexandria kept making more appearances in other games of the Wai Wai series (such as Konami Krazy Racers).
==Game specific information==
===Castlevania===
These special hidden items can only be obtained after playing through the game at least once. They are the most valuable of all hidden items the player can find in the game, being worth 4,000 points (twice as many as a Crown). To obtain them, the player has to perform a specific action (such as jumping, walking or waiting) in a particular place to make them appear.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
One of the forms the Bat Company takes in Dawn of Sorrow is a giant Moai head. It spews laser rings throughout the entire room, much like they do in the Gradius series.
===Castlevania: Curse of Darkness===
If a save file of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is found in the memory card while playing Curse of Darkness, at the beginning of the game, Hector can walk all the way in the opposite direction of the Abandoned Castle and reach a dead end (near where an entrance to Aiolon Ruins appears much later in the game); there, he will find a Potion and a Moai head. This item can be used to restore his HP completely, or better yet, be sold at Julia's shop for $5,730 gold (the value is reminiscent to the 573 number often used by Konami).
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
One of the bosses in this game, Rusalka, will summon large stalactite totems from above in the shape of Moai heads, which will then get stuck into the floor. Shanoa can either destroy them or use them to protect herself from the waves of water sent by the boss.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
Code-level2b.gif|Moai from Castlevania.
Konami Wai Wai World - Konami Chara Cards - 01.jpg|Konami Wai Wai World Chara Card.
Moai - Chronicles - 01.png|A tree pruned as a Moai in Castlevania Chronicles.
Moai Statue Location.png|Moai from Curse of Darkness.
Giant Bat - 01.png|Bat Company assuming a Moai form in Dawn of Sorrow.
Order of Ecclesia - Somnus Reef - 03.png|Rusalka summoning Moai columns in Order of Ecclesia.
Moai - 03.jpg|Moai on the Wai Wai World cover artwork.
Moai - 01.jpg|Moai in the Salamander anime series.
Moai - 04.jpg|Moai on the Hai no Majutsushi cover artwork.
Moai - 08.jpg|Moai from the Hai no Majutsushi instruction booklet.
Moai - 09.png|Moai in the Ganbare Goemon: Jigen Jō no Akumu OVA.
Moai - 05.jpg|Moai on the Konami Krazy Racers cover artwork.
Moai - 06.jpg|Moai from the Konami Krazy Racers instruction booklet.
Kkr-image13.png|Dracula's ending in Konami Krazy Racers.
Moai - 07.png|Moai from DreamMix TV: World Fighters.
Moai Netflix.png|A Moai in "The Reparation of My Heart" from the Castlevania animated series.
==See also==
*Hidden Item
*Konami mascots
*Statue
*Ripple Laser
==External links==
*Moai at the Gradius Wiki
*Moai at Wikipedia
*Moai games - A website dedicated on documenting all appearances of Moai in video games.
Category:Cameo
Category:Gradius series
Category:Konami Mascots
Category:Latin American Lore
Category:Male Characters
Category:Playable Characters
Category:Power-ups
Category:Castlevania Items
Category:Chronicles Items
Category:Curse of Darkness Items
Category:Harmony of Despair Items
Category:Wai Wai World Characters