_____           _   _                       _       
/  __ \         | | | |                     (_)      
| /  \/ __ _ ___| |_| | _____   ____ _ _ __  _  __ _ 
| |    / _` / __| __| |/ _ \ \ / / _` | '_ \| |/ _` |
| \__/\ (_| \__ \ |_| |  __/\ V / (_| | | | | | (_| |
 \____/\__,_|___/\__|_|\___| \_/ \__,_|_| |_|_|\__,_|
                                                     
                                                     
   ___           _                            _   
  |_  |         | |                          | |  
    | |_   _  __| | __ _ _ __ ___   ___ _ __ | |_ 
    | | | | |/ _` |/ _` | '_ ` _ \ / _ \ '_ \| __|
/\__/ / |_| | (_| | (_| | | | | | |  __/ | | | |_ 
\____/ \__,_|\__,_|\__, |_| |_| |_|\___|_| |_|\__|
                    __/ |                         
                   |___/                          
 

========================================
1. Introduction...(I1T)
========================================

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction........(I1T)
2. Controls............(C2T)
3. Modes...............(M3S)
4. Characters..........(C4T)
   Simon Belmont.......(SZB)
   Alucard.............(AZD)
   Sypha Belnades......(YZB)
   Grant DaNasty.......(GZD)
   Maria Renard........(MZR)
   Golem...............(GZM)
   Eric LaCarde........(EZL)
   Carmilla............(CZM)
   Cornell.............(CZL)
   Trevor Belmont......(TZB)
   Shanoa..............(SZN)
   Death...............(DZH)
   Dracula.............(DZC)
   Aeon................(AZN_
5. Closing.............(C5L)

==========
Introduction
==========
Hello, and welcome to my guide for Casltevania: Judgment. This guide is 
intended a movelist/strategy guide for the game's characters. As such, 
this guide's purpose is not to tell you how to complete each level in 
castle mode or beat arcade mode with a fast time. The intent of this 
guide is to give you a better understanding of the game's characters 
and how they play, in addition to telling you how to unlock them. 
movelists for the characters are provided along with strategies that I 
have found useful when playing as them. If you have any questions, 
contact me at [email protected]

========================================
2. Controls...(C2T)
========================================

Classic controller:

Left analog stick: Move Character
Right Trigger: Jump. Press again to double jump with certain characters
B Button: Normal Attack. 
B+ Other Buttons: Special Attacks.
Y Button: Sub-weapon. Hold to charge
Left Trigger: Guard
X Button: Hyper Attack
Right Analog Stick: Evade

Wii Remote and Nunchuck: 

Left analog stick: Move Character
C Button: Jump. Press again to double jump with certain characters
Swing Remote: Normal Attack.
Swing+Other Buttons: Special Attacks
A Button: Sub-weapon. Hold to charge
Z Button: Guard
D-pad Down: Hyper Attack
Flick Nunchuck: Evade

========================================
3. Modes...(M3S)
========================================
This section covers what the different modes of play are, and how each 
is played differently from the others and what it contains.

==========
A. Story Mode
==========
Story mode is the main single player mode of the game. In it you will 
choose a character at the beginning and play through the events of the 
game from their perspective. There are a total of ten battles, and the 
flow is always the same: You will first fight Aeon, then you will fight 
two random opponents before fighting a storyline battle against a 
specific opponent. You will then fight another random opponent, then a 
fight against weaker enemies with a boss like monster at the end. After 
that you will fight another storyline battle, then two more random 
battles and the final storyline fight that ends the game. After you've 
beaten the game with everybody but Aeon, you'll unlock True story mode. 
True story mode adds two additional fights onto the end of the: one 
against Aeon again and a final one against a new boss character.

Characters for Story mode need to be unlocked separately from other 
modes. To unlock everyone, you'll eventually have to beat Story mode 
with all the characters. Here are the unlock conditions for the various 
characters:

Alucard: Unlocked from the start.
Simon Belmont: Unlocked from the start.
Sypha Belnades: Complete Simon's Story.
Grant DaNasty: Complete Sypha's Story
Golem: Complete Grant's Story
Maria Renard: Complete Alucar's Story
Eric LeCarde: Complete Maria's Story
Carmilla: Complete Eric's Story
Cornerll: Complete Carmilla's Story
Trevor: Complete Story mode with all of the above characters.
Shanoa: Complete Trevor's Story. Alternately, connect with the DS game.
Death: Complete Trevor's Story.
Dracula: Complete Story mode with all of the above characters.
Aeon: Complete Dracula's Story in True story mode.

==========
B. Arcade Mode
==========
Arcade mode is a simple, quick mode in which you attempt to defeat 
computer opponents. There are eight total fights against random 
enemies. This mode is good for quick battles or training, but the main 
story mode is more interesting and unlocks more things for the main 
game. Arcade mode will unlock some sound test files and accessories 
though, so it's worth a run or two.

==========
C. Castle Mode
==========
Castle Mode is a sort of Pseudo-adventure in the style of the Soul 
Calibur series' weapon master mode. In caste mode you'll choose one 
character to go through Dracula's Castle room by room and fight special 
battles with altered stats in the various rooms. There are 30 rooms 
total, and each has different conditions you have to fight under. To 
unlock all of the game's accessories, you will need to play through 
Castle mode as each character at least once. Depending on how good you 
are with the character you're using, this could take anywhere from 30 
minutes to a couple of hours.

==========
D. Versus
==========
Versus mode, obviously, allows you to fight against other people using 
the same console and copy of the game. You can also fight Computer 
controlled opponents as well, which can be good for practicing combos 
or training outside of the training mode.

==========
E. Survival
==========
Survival mode pits you against an endless stream of enemies in an 
effort to see how many you can kill before you die. After each fight 
you'll gain some health and quickly move on to the next one. Survival 
mode can be fun, but there are relatively few unlockable items from 
completing it. To get everything, you'll need to beat 100 enemies in a 
row.

==========
F. Wi-Fi
==========
Allows you to fight online either against random opponents or those who 
you have friend codes from. There are multiple types of battles allowed 
on Wi-Fi and it can be quite fun with the right people, but the 
community is largely dead at this point in time and it's doubtful how 
long the servers will remain up for the game. Despite this, head over 
to the boards if you're looking for a match. You can also check your 
rankings in the overall leader boards, which is good for all you 
aspiring EVO players out there.

==========
G. Training
==========
Training allows you to jump into a battle with another character and 
control all aspects of that battle. You can change your enemy's stance 
or style, how many hearts you each have, or fight an opponent. Training 
is really useful for experimenting with characters and figuring out how 
they work, as well as figuring out combos to use in battle.

==========
H. Tutorials
==========
The Tutorials section has three short lessons that will run you through 
the basics of combat in the game: controls, canceling, combos, items, 
etc. If you have any questions about the game, this is the place to 
come to learn the answers. I would recommend checking this out when you 
first pop in the game, as certain aspects of the combat aren't really 
told to you in any other way than here, like canceling or chaining.

==========
I. Accessories
==========
The Accessories menu allows you to view the accessories you've 
collected and put them on the game's characters to change their 
appearance. Accessories are items that you can collect in various modes 
of the game that change your characters physical appearance. A lot of 
them are humorous, but there are a few that can make a character look 
badass. You assign your customs to the third or fourth costume slot so 
you can choose them for other modes. If you've ever wanted to see what 
Dracula would look like with rabbit ears and a cat's tail, this is the 
place. There are 96 accessories total in the game, here's how to unlock 
them:

1. Beat true story mode on the hardest difficulty with all characters.
2. Beat the castle mode with all characters.
3. Survive 100 rounds in survival mode.
4. Get the record time on arcade mode. (There might be a certain speed, 
but just getting the record time got them for me so I can't be sure.)
5. Connect with the DS game Catlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
6. Play ten hours or more.

==========
J. Gallery 
==========
The gallery allows you to view artwork, music, and voice files that 
you've unlocked. Pretty simple really.

==========
K. Options
==========
Allows you to change various settings in the game. You can change how 
many rounds each match will last, how long each round is, etc. These 
changes won't always effect every mode in the game, as some have their 
own special settings that can't be altered. This is also the place to 
change any of the game's other settings, like video display or sound. 

==========
L. Connect to DS
==========
This option is pretty specific. It allows you to connect to 
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on the DS. In Judgment, this will unlock 
two accessories, as well as unlock Shanoa and Aeon as playable 
characters much easier then the methods you have to follow in regular 
play. In the DS game it will unlock two items, one of which is very 
good head garment that resembles the one worn by Shanoa in Judgment.

========================================
4. Characters...(C4T)
========================================
The purpose of this section is to list the moves of each character in 
the game, along with strategies and general playing tips for how to 
play as them. Characters are split up into four sections: A bio, their 
stats, their moves, and how to play as them. The Bio section is just a 
short history of each character so you know who you're playing as, but 
I will explain each other section in detail below.

I. Stats
The stats section is a way to get a general idea about how a character 
stacks up in comparison to the rest of the cast. Each character is 
rated in four categories (range, power, speed, and combo), each of 
which is rated from one to five stars. This section is not intended as 
a way to find which character is better than another: whoever has the 
most stars isn't necessarily the "best" character, just that they're 
good in those areas when compared to other characters each section. 
Here's how each section is calculated:

Range: How a character functions at various ranges in the game, both 
long and short. A character with great range will be able to attack 
from a long distance away with little difficulty, but will also be able 
to attack at close range without any problems. Characters with bad 
range might not have any projectiles, or they might be longer ranged 
characters that can't fight in close range that well.

Power: How much damage a character deals with each individual hit. A 
character with high power will be able to deal a lot of damage with 
each hit and defeat opponents quickly, while w weaker character will 
have to hit a lot more. There's usually a tradeoff between power and 
combos: weaker characters will be able to hit multiple times in 
succession, while stronger ones will have powerful individual attacks.

Speed: How fast a character moves, the usefulness of their dodge 
ability, and how fast they attack. This category covers a lot of 
ground: a character with good speed might have lightning fast attacks, 
a great running speed, or an amazing dodge move. Obviously, characters 
with bad speeds move at a crawl, though some have special evades that 
help make up for this. They might also have slow attacks that require 
luck or complicated set-ups to get off without getting hit.

Combo: How well a character can combo their moves and how many hits 
they can get in a combo. Characters with good combo scores will be able 
to easily get 10+hit combos with little to no difficulty, and many of 
their moves will naturally move into each other with little to no 
difficulty. Characters with lower combo scores might have the ability 
to combo, but either need complicated set-ups or sheer luck to get 
their combos off. They might also have moves that don't really sync 
well with each other, or just flat out lack combo potential.

II. Moves
The moves section is a list of the moves available to each character 
and how to perform them. The notations are listed with the Classic 
controller, as that is the most traditional fighting control scheme to 
use for the game. (You can find the Translations from the Classic 
Controller to Wiimote and Nunchick in the Controls section.) The move 
lists are notated in the following fashion:

Neutral combo, Directional combo, Jumping attack:
These moves are shared by each character in the game, are do not have 
specific names. They do vary in the amount of hits and by character, by 
they are the basic moves all the character's share.

Specials
Special moves are noted with an S in front of their names and a number, 
representing the special move. (I.E: S.1 means "special move number 
one".)

Expansions
Noted with an "X" after the Special marker, expansions are moves that 
can only be performed after using a specific special move. For example, 
Sypha's Triple Blaze can only be performed by pressing A+B after her 
S.1 special Fireball. Thus, the notation is S.1X, as in an expansion to 
the S.1 special move.

Unblockable
Each character has an unblockable attack that can be used to break 
another character's guard. A "U" designation for a special move denotes 
a the unblockable move for a character.

Hyper
Hyper moves are massive attacks that can deal huge amounts of damage, 
though your blue special meter needs to be filled to use them. A move 
with an "H" notation is a hyper move.

Charge
Some moves require you to charge them by holding a button for a certain 
amount of time before releasing it or pressing another. These are noted 
by the saying "Charge" in the command section.

III. Playstyle
The final section for each character is a short section of what I have 
found to be effective strategies for playing as them. This is both 
through unlocking all the game's content, as well as playing against 
human opponents. This strategy is a simple, brief explanation of how to 
effectively play as that character, and is not intended as a be-all 
end-all strategy. 

IV. General Character Overview
This short section is designed to give you a brief idea as to what 
character is good at what. If you're looking for a certain style of 
character, this is the place.

All around Characters
-----
Alucard
Simon Belmont
Trevor Belmont
Aeon

Fast/High Combo Characters
---
Grant DaNasty
Eric LaCarde
Cornell
Simon Belmont

High Damage Caracters
---
Dracula
Golem
Aeon
Death

Long Range Characters
---
Sypha Belnades
Death
Maria Renard
Shanoa


==============================
B. Characters
==============================

====================
Simon Belmont...(SZB)
====================
Simon Belmont is the most the most well known member of the Belmont 
clan, and is the protagonist of nine Castlevania games, though seven of 
the nine are remakes of the other two. Simon was the protagonist in the 
original NES "Castlevania" and its sequel "Castlevania: Simon's quest". 
Five generations removed from his ancestor Trevor Belmont, Simon fought 
and defeated Dracula after he was resurrected in 1691. However, he was 
cursed by Dracula and did not properly dispose of Dracula's remains. 
Before the curse killed him, Simon had to collect the remains of 
Dracula and burn them in his castle. He collected the remains and 
defeated Dracula once again, freeing himself from the Curse.
---
Stats:
Range:***
Power:***
Speed:****
Combo:***

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B+B+B
S.1 Binding Whip: A+B
S.1X Rising Whip: B 
S.1X Holy Ruin: A+B
S.2 Dancing Whip: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Twisting Arrow: R+A+B
S.4 Whip Tornado: Charge A, B (Aerial OK)
U. Sudden Impact: L+B 
H. Vampire Killer: X
---
Playstyle:
Simon is the game's "base" character, in that he doesn't really excel 
at any one aspect of combat but doesn't fail in any either. Simon's 
only outstanding attribute is his above average speed, which is needed 
for him to get in close and damage enemies. Simon doesn't have any true 
projectiles, but he does use a whip. Combined with his speed, that 
prevents this from being too much of a problem. All of Simon's move use 
his whip in some way, and they most combo together fairly well without 
much effort. His unblockable is fast to come out, but you need to 
practice with it to learn the awkward spacing required for it. Whip 
tornado is a great move as well, which works great when enemies are 
getting up off the ground. Simon isn't a complicated character, so use 
him if you need a good character with no real negatives.

====================
Alucard...(AZD)
====================
Alucard is Dracula's son, and made his first appearance in 
"Castlevania: Curse of Darkness". He was born of a human mother and 
Dracula, but after his mother was killed he was corrupted by Dracula 
and trained in the black arts to become a powerful warrior. Being 
defeated by Trevor Belmont freed him from the corruption, and he went 
on to help Trevor defeat Dracula along with Sypha Belnades and Grant 
DaNasty. He went into a deep sleep, and woke again hundreds of years 
later when Dracula was again resurrected. With the help of Maria 
Renard, Alucard defeated Dracula once again and left to wander the 
Earth, where he would continue to battle against evil forces and would 
eventually meet Soma Cruz. He would help to unravel the mystery of 
Soma's Heritage, which he had particular interest in.
---
Stats:
Range:****
Power:***
Speed:***
Combo:***

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Summon Spirit: A+B
S.2 Wing Smash: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Dark Lightning: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Tetra Spirit: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Summon Sword Familiar: L.Trigger+B
H. Million Edges: X
---
Playstyle:
Alucard is a fairly simple and easy to use character with no major 
drawbacks. However, his only real strength is his excellent range: 
Alucard can close distance very quickly and his sword is large, making 
wide arcs that can easily hit enemies. Combined with his long range 
special moves, this makes him a threat at just about any range. At 
close range, Alucard's normal combos work great. Sadly, he really 
doesn't have many moves that aren't situational. Tetra spirit takes too 
long and does too little damage to be that useful, and his unblockable 
attack is incredibly easy to dodge with little to no effort. Alucard's 
a great character to start playing with before you branch out into more 
specialized ones, but with practice he can be a formidable opponent 
that's dangerous just about anywhere.

====================
Sypha Belnades...(YZB)
====================
Originally coming from "Castlevania: Dracula's Curse", Sypha is a Witch 
capable of using elemental magic. She was called into action after 
Dracula summoned an army of demons in order to avenge his wife's death, 
but was soon captured by the demon army and turned to stone. She was 
eventually rescued by Trevor Belmont and Grant Danasty, whom she helped 
to defeat Dracula. She would eventually go on to become Trevor's wife 
much to the chagrin of a love stricken Grant DaNasty, and help to carry 
on the Belmont clan.
---
Stats:
Range:***
Power:****
Speed:**
Combo:**

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Fireball: A+B
S.1X Triple Blaze: A+B 
S.2 Frost Wall: L.Stick+A+B
S.2X Icicle Blades: A+B 
S.3 Ice Storm: R+A+B
S.4 Lightning Strike: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Hammer of Thor: L+B 
H. Disintegrate: X
---
Playstyle:
Your main concern when playing as Sypha is spacing. Sypha has great 
attacks at both short and long range, but she's an easy target at 
middle range. Her spells, the best of which is the controllable 
"Lightning Strike", take time to start up and get out, so only use them 
at long range to avoid being hit before you get them off.  Frostwall is 
good at close range along with her standard combo, will moves nicely 
into her unblockable attack. Sypha is a powerful character, but don't 
count on winning matches with her combos. Most of them are fairly slow, 
but if the first hit connects they deal a lot of damage. To win as 
Sypha play keep away until your opponents mess up, which you can help 
by tossing spells at them to bait them into screwing up. This can open 
them up for any number of your better moves, but avoid mid-range combat 
whenever possible.

====================
Grant DaNasty...(GZD)
====================
Grant made his first appearance alongside many of the cast in 
"Castlevania: Dracula's Curse". Grant was a pirate who went searching 
for Dracula after Dracula killed his family. He couldn't defeat 
Dracula, and was cursed. He was transformed into a hideous beast and 
forced to guard a clock tower, until Trevor Belmont came along and 
saved him. He swore to help Trevor defeat Dracula, and the group 
eventually gained the help of Sypha Belnades and Alucard and managed to 
defeat Dracula. Grant would leave the group after Sypha and Trevor 
married, as he had feelings for Sypha himself.
---
Stats:
Range:****
Power:*
Speed:****
Combo:*****

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 It Slices: A+B
S.1X It Dices: A+B
S.X1X Flea Flicker Finish: A+B
S.2 Dagger Toss: L.Stick+A+B
S.SS Dagger Storm: B (Need to be in special stance after S.2)
S.SS Aerial Venus: A+B (Need to be in special stance afer S.2)
S.3 Throwing Venus: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Dagger Wave: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
S.4X Thousand Edges: (Charge Dagger Wave for four seconds or more)
U. Blinding Speed: L.Trigger+B
H. Million Edges: X
---
Playstyle:
Grant is probably one of the game's best characters. His attacks come 
out fast and he has absolutely crazy combo potential. "It Slices" is a 
great special that can be naturally chained into a 10 hit combo, and 
it's probably Grant's best move. Grant's directional combo is also 
noteworthy: he'll slide along the ground very quickly, avoiding most 
attacks. The only real things Grant lacks are individually powerful 
attacks. Grant has three ranged attacks, one of which that needs to be 
performed in the air, another that needs to be charged, and a third 
that's actually really good. Dagger Toss will put Grant into a special 
stance where you can perform dagger storm, which tosses a dagger at 
fairly long range and can be repeated multiple times in a row. Grant 
also has access to what are essentially two hyper attacks-one of which 
is long range. His regular hyper comes out fast and is one of the 
game's better Hyper moves, but "Thousand Edges" will cause Grant to 
throw daggers until his special bar depletes, which will be all but 
guaranteed to do a 2/3 of a life bar in damage if you get the move off. 
Grant is really a fantastic character with few drawbacks. Just spend 
some time in training to work out a few combos that work for you and 
it'll be worth it.

====================
Maria Renard...(MZR)
====================
Maria Renard first appeared in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. She was 
captured along with many other women from her village in order to be 
slaves for Dracula. However, the dark priest Shaft realized she had a 
special power and attempted to awaken it. During the ceremony she was 
rescued by Richter Belmont, and would eventually help him defeat Shaft 
with her magic powers. Five years later, Richter disappeared and Maria 
set out to find him. She eventually met Alucard in Dracula's castle, as 
well as a mind-controlled Richter. After saving Richter, she fled the 
castle and awaited Alucard's success at defeating Dracula. She may have 
eventually gone on to marry Alucard and had children, but it is a 
slightly unclear as to what exactly happened.
---
Stats:
Range:*****
Power:***
Speed:***
Combo:***

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Suzaku Call: A+B
S.2 Genbu Call: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Byakko Call: R.Trigger+A+B
S.3X Hold on a Minute: A+B
S.4 Seiryuu Call: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Guardian Knuckle: L.Trigger+B
H. Everybody, All Together Now: X
---
Playstyle:
Maria's a very unique character that takes a bit of getting used to. 
Maria is a ranged character: she functions best when at long range or 
making quick hit and run attacks at close range. You can really use any 
of the calls to help close in on enemies-they all have huge arcs 
they'll hit enemies in- but Genbu is probably the best of the bunch. 
When close, constantly use your unblockable attack, which will spawn a 
clone of yourself that seeks out enemies. Attack with your directional 
combo, which can be finished off with Byakko. Maria's neutral combo is 
quite weak and slow, so avoid using it unless you need to. Finally, 
Maria has the ability to combo very easily into her Hyper attack using 
her unblockable move. Make use of this as much as you can to defeat 
enemies easily. Maria is odd at first, but she can become quite deadly 
once you get down her spacing and special moves.

====================
Golem...(GZM)
====================
A construct created by dark magic, a Golem has appeared in some form in 
just about every single Castlvania game in some form or another. Most 
often they're either very strong regular enemies or bosses that appear 
early on in the game. They've never really had any significance to the 
story until the Golem in Judgment.
---
Stats:
Range:***
Power:*****
Speed:*
Combo:*

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Shock Punch (Left): A+B
S.1X Shock Punch (Right): A+B
S.2 Shock Charge: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Shock Press: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Shock Wave: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Shock Slam: L.Trigger+B
H. Shock Beam: X
---
Playstyle:
It's an understatement to say that Golem is slow: he's downright tank-
like. Despite this, he isn't a bad character when played correctly. His 
moves do absolutely tons of damage and have great range, though he 
lacks genuine combos other than his base ones. To win as Golem, you 
need to close distance with your dodge (actually a roll move that can 
be performed indefinitely) and knock down an opponent with either your 
neutral combo or your directional combo. After that, never let up on 
the attacks. As your foe is rising, start another combo or special to 
force them to block then use your unblockable attack to get them back 
on the floor so you can hit them again. Golem's Hyper might appear 
terrible at first, but during it Golem needs to take a very large 
amount of damage to be knocked out of it. This can fool enemies if you 
mix it into a regular combo; as they'll try to hit you while you're 
open and you'll then hit them for 2/3 of the life bar. Golem needs to 
be played a very specific way to work, but he's great when used well.

====================
Eric Lacarde...(EZL)
====================
A possible descendant of Maria and Alucard, Eric inherited the mighty 
"Alucard Spear" early in his life. He made his first appearance in 
"Castlevania: Bloodlines", where he helped John Morris to defeat 
Dracula during World War I. He would later father two daughters, Stella 
and Loretta, who would inherit his powers. He was killed by the vampire 
Brauner after Brauner bound Eric's daughters to himself to replace his 
own lost children. Eric held on as a ghost and helped Johnathan Morris 
and Charlotte Aulin defeat Brauner and eventually Dracula, freeing his 
daughters. He saw his daughters one last time before fading away. The 
Eric Lacarde in Judgment is very young, coming from the time before 
even Castlevania: Bloodlines.
---
Stats:
Range:**
Power:***
Speed:***
Combo:*****

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Trident Strike: A+B
S.1X Roundhouse Bash: A+B
S.2 Flashing Spear: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Piercing Rain: R.Trigger+A+B
S.3X Ultimus: A+B
S.4 Lightning Slice: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Whirlwind: L.Trigger+B
H. Alucard Spear: X
---
Playstyle:
Eric is an absolute combo beast, and probably one of the game's best 
characters. Eric's Directional combo, Trident strike (and its follow-
up), Flashing spear, and unblockable attack can all be comboed in to 
one another. This is helped by his long spear, which makes getting the 
first hit of a combo easy to get in. Get up close to your opponents and 
Attack as quickly as you can with all of the above moves, comboing into 
others as you finish them. A full 10 hit combo can easily take off a 
third of an enemy's life, and they're fairly easy to get off. When you 
have it, you can even combo in to Eric's hyper if your timing's good. 
The only real drawback to Eric is his limited range: the spear is 
limited to mostly pokes directly in front of him, which can make it 
easy to dodge his attacks. He also only has a single projectile that 
does relatively little damage and needs to be charged, though that's 
not as big of an issue. Eric is a great close range character with 
balanced stats, but to use him effectively you need to know how to 
combo all of his best moves together.

====================
Carmilla...(CZM)
====================
A loyal vampire minion and servant of Dracula, Carmilla has appeared as 
a boss in many Castlevania games, though the first time she was 
significant to the story was in "Castlvania: Circle of the Moon". She 
resurrected Dracula in her castle, but not at full power. Her plan was 
to sacrifice Morris Baldwin during a lunar eclipse to restore him to 
full power, as Morris has previously helped defeat Dracula. Her plan 
was stopped by Nathan Graves, Morris' apprentice. Nathan defeated and 
presumably killed Carmilla in the castle's sewers before going on to 
stop the not-yet-fully-powered Dracula. She appeared as a boss in 
Castlvania: Simon's Quest and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood as well, 
though she has no plot importance in those games.
---
Stats:
Range:**
Power:**
Speed:***
Combo:**

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B+B+B
S.1 The Pleasure: A+B
S.1X The Pain: A+B
S.1XX Maiden Pull: A+B
S.2 Sacrifice: L.Stick+A+B
S.2X Follow-up: B
S.3 Bloody Hell: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Merciless Dance: Charge A+B 
S.5 Wicked Game: Charge R+A+B
U. Sweet Torture: L.Trigger+B
H. Maiden's Feast: X
---
Playstlye:
To be frank, Carmilla doesn't really have much going for her other than 
the stripperiffic outfit. She attacks primarily with punches and kicks, 
her only ranged move being Sacrifice which does very little damage (but 
does draw enemies closer). The only real power move she has is The 
Pleasure, but it has very limited range and is easily avoidable. She's 
not particularly fast either, and lacks any real combo potential 
outside of the moves already given to her. To top it all off, two of 
her most important moves- her Hyper and Unblockable- are incredibly 
easy to avoid due to lengthy start up times. Carmilla can be decent 
when played as a hit-and-run character, but her lack of any real 
positives really doesn't make it worth it with characters like Eric or 
even Alucard who do what she tries to do much better. 

====================
Cornell...(CZL)
====================
Cornell is a member of a legendary tribe of beast men, making his first 
appearance in "Castvania: Legacy of Darkness". He is a Werewolf, and is 
the only member of his tribe able to control his powers. His village is 
destroyed and he tracks the scent to Dracula's castle. He finds that 
his best friend has betrayed their village in order to get more power 
from Dracula. Cornell defeats him and attempts to rescue his sister 
Ada, but she is captured by Death. Cornell confronts Dracula and 
manages to save Ada, though he loses his beast power in the process.  
He does not defeat Dracula, but the two escape from the castle 
unharmed.
---
Stats:
Range:*
Power:**
Speed:***
Combo:****
(Add one star to each for Rampage mode, two for power and range)

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Wind Smash: A+B
S.2 Invisible Claw: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Assassin's Claw: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Rampage Mode: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Howl: L.Trigger+B
H. Blue Crescent Moon: X
Rampage Mode:
R.1 Neutral Combo: B+B+B
R.2 Rampage Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
R.3 Piercing Howl: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
---
Playstyle:
Cornell is a very unique character. He plays sort of like a slower, 
less combo reliant version of Grant. He has few ranged moves, and 
instead focuses solely on close range combat. Sadly his specials aren't 
that great: Wind smash has incredibly short range, Assassin's claw is 
easy to avoid and takes a long time to perform, his Hyper is easy to 
avoid, and his unblockable is incredibly slow and hits only if enemies 
are very close. This might make it sound like Coenell is absolutely 
terrible, but what makes Cornell Unique is Rampage mode. When 
activated, Rampage mode makes Cornell much faster and powerful than 
normal at the cost of draining his special meter. His attacks all 
become much more damaging and strike from longer range, and a good run 
of rampage mode can easily kill opponents at medium health. Once 
Cornell's special meter is drained, he will briefly collapse and leave 
himself open. Without rampage mode Cornell is a sub par character, but 
learn to use it properly and he can be very deadly.

====================
Trevor Belmont...(TZB)
====================
A legendary member of the Belmont clan, Trevor made his first 
appearance in "Castlevania: Dracula's Curse". Trevor is called upon to 
stop Dracula's conquest, and defeats him along with Alucard, Grant 
DaNasty, and his future wife Sypha Belnades. He was the first person to 
ever defeat Dracula, and the first to wield the mighty "Vampire Killer" 
whip. Trevor again appeared in "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness" where 
he was searching for a former servant of Dracula's named Hector. Trevor 
eventually befriends Hector after realizing he is not evil, but is 
wounded by another man and leaves Hector to fight and defeat Dracula.
---
Stats:
Range:**
Power:****
Speed:***
Combo:**

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B+B
S.1 Whip Toss: A+B
S.2 Divine Striker: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Rolling Thunder: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Whip Tornado: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Sudden Impact: L.Trigger+B
H. Vampire killer: X
---
Playstyle:
Trevor is a simple character that would be suitable for a beginner, but 
that doesn't make him bad. Trevor plays like a stronger and slower 
version of Simon, they even have a few of the same moves. He doesn't 
really have any major negative points other than his relatively short 
range and a bad neutral Combo, but his directional combo more than 
makes up for it. To win as Trevor, focus on attacking in short bursts 
when your enemies are open instead of constant offense like with Simon. 
This is helped by the Divine Striker move to close distance with, as 
well as a very fast special move. Trevor is a good, solid character but 
he lacks any real flashiness or amazing moves.

====================
Shanoa...(SZN)
====================
Unlock condition: Beat true story mode with her or link to the DS game.
A witch who uses magical glyphs to attack, Shanoa made her first 
appearance in "Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia". Shanoa was part of a 
clan dedicated to the destruction of Dracula in the absence of the 
Belmonts, and was to use the powerful dominus magic in order to defeat 
him once and for all. After Dominus was stolen by her former friend 
Albus, Shanoa tracked him down. He revealed that she had been fooled, 
that Ecclesia's leader was attempting to resurrect Dracula using 
dominus, which would have killed her. She confronted the master of the 
order, only to have him sacrifice himself to summon Dracula's castle. 
Shanoa managed to defeat Dracula, but the power of dominus required a 
life to seal Dracula. Albus sacrificed his life in place of Shanoa, 
sealing the dark lord.
---
Stats:
Range:*****
Power:****
Speed:**
Combo:**

Neutral Combo: B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 De Custos: A+B
S.1X Sis Custos: A+B
S.2 Pneuma: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Ignis: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Dominus Odium: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Union Rapisto: L.Trigger+B
H. Glyph of Gales: X
---
Playstyle:
Shanoa is a great character with lots of useful moves for any range, 
making her a big threat when used properly. Shanoa's neutral combo is a 
very unique one, as it's actually a bow that can hit enemies from 
medium range. It's not good in close combat, but at range it's a great 
and fast projectile. Shanoa also has Pnuema and Dominus odium as other 
projectiles, both of which are great. At close range Shanoa is no 
slouch either, as she has a very wide sweeping directional combo. This 
combos directly into her unblockable move as well as De Custos, though 
it has a slow start up at first. Shanoa's only problem is that many of 
her moves take time to start up, which can lead to you getting hit 
before you get them off. If you're playing against a really offensive 
opponent it can be quite difficult to use anything other than close 
range moves. Knock them down and retreat to a safer range to assault 
them while they attempt to approach. Shanoa is great at any range, you 
just need to get around her slow start-ups to use her effectively.

====================
Death...(DZH)
====================
Unlcok condition: Beat True Story mode with him.
Death has appeared in pretty much every single Castlevania game dating 
all the way back to the NES. He is usually a boss fought later in the 
game, and uses similar moves in each incarnation. In recent games, 
starting with "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night", Death has started 
to take a more active role in the story as Dracula's Second in command 
and servant. He usually seeks to help resurrect Dracula in some way, by 
either hindering the player or finding magical means to do so. He is 
characterized as being fiercely loyal to Dracula, and will defend him 
to the death.
---
Stats:
Range:*****
Power:***
Speed:**
Combo:***

Neutral Combo: B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B+B+B
S.1 Spinning Scythe: A+B
S.1X The Reaping: A+B
S.2 Twin Sickles: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Corpse Hunt: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Orb of Gehenna: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Judgment: L.Trigger+B
H. The Gates of Hell: X
---
Playstyle:
Death is perhaps the best character in the game in terms of range. He 
has the ability to fight anywhere on the battlefield with multiple fast 
projectile attacks that seek out opponents. Add to this the fact that 
his Scythe gives him a huge horizontal arc to hit with, and he's 
dangerous at close range as well. He can suffer a bit at medium range 
as his projectiles take a moment to start up, but this is really a very 
minor issue. To win as Death, constantly shift between ranges and 
attack styles to confuse your opponent in to making mistake that you 
can punish them for. When you see an opportunity move in under the 
protection of a projectile and assault them at close range. Death's 
Hyper is slow, but mix it in with your projectiles and you can get it 
off on opponents without much problem. Constantly mix up your strategy 
to avoid being predictable, and you should win most of the time.

====================
Dracula...(DZC)
====================
Unlock Condition: Beat True Story mode with him.
The Dark Lord of the Castlevania Universe, Dracula is the primary 
antagonist in the series and appears as the final boss in almost every 
game. Dracula was originally human, a servant to God along with Leon 
Belmont. After his Wife died, her declared war on god and used a 
magical stone to steal the life of a powerful Vampire. He was first 
defeated by Trevor Belmont, who had the help of Grant DaNasty, Sypha 
Belnades, and Dracula's son Alucard. He would rise again throughout the 
ages of time, called forth by both prophecy and those seeking power. He 
would eventually be defeated in 1999 by Julius Belmont and die, only to 
be resurrected years later in the body of Soma Cruz.
---
Stats:
Range:***
Power:*****
Speed:*
Combo:*

Neutral Combo: B+B (Press B to shoot, twice to stop them in place.)
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B
Jumping Attack: R+B+B+B
S.1 Dark Void: A+B
S.2 Dark Inferno: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Dark Inferno: R.Trigger+A+B
S.4 Demonic Cleansing: Charge A+B (Aerial OK)
U. Dark Blaze: L.Trigger+B
H. Demonic Meggido: X
---
Playstyle:
Dracula is a very odd character. Dracula moves at what can only be 
described as a crawl, making normal movement near pointless in favor of 
his teleportation. His moves focus on very strong, single hits as 
opposed to combos, which he really doesn't have. Playing as Dracula 
involves luring enemies close to attack and devastating them with your 
close range moves. Dracula's directional combo is the best of the 
bunch, along with his unblockable attack. You should constantly move 
from place to place with your teleport, spamming A+B as you go. Enemies 
will eventually get pissed off enough to close the distance on you, 
where you should easily be able to put some serious hurt on them with 
your moves (Dracula has ridiculous priority). It should also be noted 
that Dracula's Hyper move all but kills enemies, and that's it's very 
fast to start up and easy to hit with. Dracula doesn't play like any of 
the game's other characters, but once you adapt your playstyle he can 
be an absolute powerhouse. 

====================
Aeon...(AZN)
====================
Unlock condition: Beat True Story mode with him or link to DS game.
A member of a group that watches over time, Aeon launches into action 
to prevent a disturbance in the tome stream by an evil entity 
attempting to usurp Dracula's throne. He makes his first, and only, 
appearance in this game.
---
Stats:
Range:****
Power:*****
Speed:***
Combo:***

Moves:
Neutral Combo: B+B+B+B
Directional Combo: L.Stick+B+B+B
Jumping Attack: R+B
S.1 Nullifying Barrier: A+B
S.2 Nick of Time: L.Stick+A+B
S.3 Blade of Evil's Bane: R+A+B
S.4 Hour of Judgment: Charge A, B (Aerial OK. See below for details.)
S.4X Suffer the March of Time: (Situational, Blue)
S.4X The Clock Strikes Thrice: (Situational, Green)
S.4X Behold Absolute Power: (Situational, Yellow)
U. Rift Betwixt Twin Blades: L+B 
H. Requiem of the Thirteenth Hour: X
---
Playstyle:
Aeon is somewhat similar to Cornell. His style is largely focused on a 
single move that changes his actions in game, though to as much of an 
extent as Cornell. Aeon focuses on using short combos or single strikes 
to deal damage, but his moves largely focus around the move "Hour of 
Judgment". Hour of Judgment has four variations that depend on what 
color Aeon's clock is when he uses the move: No color releases a large 
vertical blade attack, blue uses a huge and highly damaging laser, 
green will acticate a blade that swings in circles around Aeon, and 
yellow will stop time for an extended period. All of the moves are 
great, but special attention must be paid to Blue and Yellow moves: 
blue is an unblockable attack that can easily take off half of an 
opponent's life bar, and Yellow is really the only way to  use Aeon's 
Hyper move due to it's incredibly long start up time. 

There are a few factors that go in to determining the color of Aeon's 
clock: it will gradually change over time, it will change as Aeon's 
health gets lower, and it will change every time Aeon successfully uses 
Nullifying barrier to block a foe's attack. Other than that move, Aeon 
still has access to a lot of great moves. His standard combos are good, 
if a bit slow, and they combo directly into his unblockable. His 
unblockable is a throw, so it only works at very close range, but it 
deals a lot of damage to make up for it. All in all, Aeon is a great 
character once you master his clock specials.

========================================
5. Closing...(C5L)
======================================== 
This guide is my property, and you are only being allowed to use it. As 
such, I must insist that you not use this guide for any personal gain 
or profit off of it in any way. You are free to use this guide as you 
see fit as long as it comes within those confines: you may print it, 
make a hat out of the pages, or create some pleasant origami. I don't 
care as long as I maintain ownership of this guide. Do not distribute 
it without my permission, but if you would like it on your website feel 
free to contact me at [email protected] and I will more than likely 
allow it. I hope this guide has been useful, and I thank you for 
reading it.

This guide, like all of my guides, is dedicated to cats. 

Copyright Woody Crobar, March 25 2009.