- For other uses of the term "Armor", see Armor (disambiguation).
- "Black Knight" redirects here. For other uses, see Black Knight (disambiguation).
- This page is a bout the armored enemy wielding a spear. For the humanoid-avian hybrid enemy sometimes referred to as "Spear Knight", see Slogra.
The Knight (also known as Armor Knight or Spear Guard, among many other names) is a recurring enemy in the Castlevania series. He is an armor-clad soldier equipped with a deadly spear.
Description
Knights patrol Dracula's castle, guarding it from any heroes that might try to slay the Dark Lord. They can be tricky sometimes, as their defensive armor can withstand a couple of hits. His nature differs between the many games he has appeared in; he has been described as either an armored knight, a zombie warrior, or a possessed suit of armor.
The basic type of knight is armed with a spear, poleaxe, or halberd. For a information on all types of armors, including those wielding other types of weapons, see Armors.
Attacks
Originally, Knights, while armed with spears, simply moved back and forth on platforms, making a hero's progress more difficult. In other games, they moved with the spears pointing forward. In Super Castlevania IV, the Knights that previously did not attack with their weapons showed off a new trick, where they extended and poked their spears upward to try and stab heroes from one level down. Later, in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, they also began extending their spears downward. In addition to that, they also dashed forward to try and stab heroes in their way, went into a guard position whenever heroes came near them, and even pulled their spear back to try and hit the hero with a lunging slash attack.
In the Nintendo DS games, which all three use the classic Rondo of Blood sprite, Knights acquired the ability to throw their spears from a distance like a javelin, which happens if they already are in their alerted stance and the player is far away; and, once unarmed, they then cower in fear and try to retreat slowly away from the player.
Appearances
Castlevania, Vampire Killer
Also known as Black Knights, these enemies are slow and simply walk back and forth along their platform. They are the first enemy that doesn't die in one hit to the upgraded whip thanks to their armor. In Castlevania, they only appear in Block 2. In Vampire Killer, their walk speed is much faster and more dangerous, so they are best dealt with using stronger weapons than the leather whip.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
The knight in Simon's Quest moves differently than the one in the original Castlevania. It moves with its spear extended forward.
Castlevania: The Adventure
In this game, the Evil Knight appears as an armor in the background, until the player gets close. It then moves toward the player with the spear extended outward.
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
While the Evil Armor in Belmont's Revenge moves similar to a classic armor from the original Castlevania, its nature is somewhat different. It has no head (similar to Dullahan) and in its place is a fiery aura, emphasizing that this is a ghost that is inhabiting the armor's shell.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Similar to many other enemy designs that were introduced in Rondo of Blood, this game marks the first time the Armor Knight was depicted with his now iconic purple suit of armor, as well as being able to perform his 'spinning spear' defensive move which has since become a staple of the character throughout the series.
The Armor Knight is initially found patrolling a determined area, but once he detects the player he'll adopt an offensive stance. If the knight hasn't yet detected the player and is marching the opposite way, it is possible to take him by surprise and score a couple of hits before he can fight back.
His normal form of attack is by stabbing forward with his spear when at medium distance from the player. If the player is on a level above or below the knight, he will use his spear to either poke upward or downward, respectively. However, if the player is at the same level as the knight and attacks, he will automatically spin his spear instead, regardless of how far he is from the player (even if he is offscreen), and start walking the opposite way every time (which can be exploited to make him move either left or right as the player requires it). Despite this, Richter's whip and Maria's doves can pass through the spinning spear and reach the Armor Knight. As such, the basic tactic for dealing with these enemies is to approach them at just the right distance and attack in a way that the tip of the player's weapon reaches the enemy, but also staying just out of the reach of the spinning spear. It takes five normal hits to fell an Armor Knight.
However, once the Armor Knight has performed his spear spin attack at least twice, the next time he is near the player he'll raise his weapon and perform a quick slashing downward lunging attack which will send the player flying back. Care must be taken, as the player can inadvertently make the Armor Knight to perform the necessary two spin attacks while he is either on another level than the player's or offscreen. If one suspects the Armor Knight is ready to perform his quick slash, then it is advisable to approach him with caution and lure him into performing the slash and then counterattack.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
One particular area in the Underground Caverns has four Spear Guards hiding in an alcove, continuously extend their spears upward to block the path. They will respawn soon if killed normally. The correct method to deal with them is to push a nearby crate to the left to block a small crack on the corner of the wall that's dripping water to stop its flow, such that their alcove will soon be permanently filled with water, resulting in them drowning.
Castlevania 64, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
In both games, they are initially encountered as decorative suits of armor in certain areas of the castle. When approached, however, they will suddenly come to life and start swinging their halberds at the hero. Even though they move slowly, they have a somewhat deceptive long reach, as each time they attack they perform a quick step forward, allowing them to corner the player if they're not cautious.
They are a bit resilient, so ranged combat is advised at least to wear them down, and then finish them off with normal attacks if there's no other option.
An invisible variant is encountered in Legacy of Darkness, where only the halberd is visible. Its attack patterns are easy recognizable from normal knights and should not pose a higher threat.
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
The Golden Knight is a unique enemy which can be defeated only once. Its only purpose is to be a practice enemy for blocking magical attacks for gathering MP. Even though the description tells that it can only be damaged by magical attacks (as Leon), Joachim Armster can damage it using physical attacks to compensate his lack of equipment and relics.
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
In this game, there are a lot of places where these enemies can be found. They'll start appearing in the Sandy Grave, and after this, they can be found all throughout the game.
If an alerted knight is far away from the player, he will throw his spear at them.
It's worth mentioning that this is the only instance from all of this enemy's appearances along the Castlevania series whose description specifically refers to him as being a zombie.
Castlevania: Order of Shadows
In Order of Shadows, the Order Knight appears as one of the bosses in the game. He guards the Back Dash ability.
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Called Spear Guard in this game, this enemy once again uses its Rondo of Blood sprite. They are exclusively found in Minera Prison Island, being the main opposition force of that area. They are weak to the Strike damage type, so it's recommended to equip the Macir glyph while fighting them. When killed, they have a chance to drop the Hasta glyph, which allows Shanoa to use a spear-like attack with Slash properties.
As usual, they are initially found marching back and forth while patrolling their posts. If the player comes near one, it will enter an offensive stance and attack either by swinging or lunging forward with its spear. If an alerted guard is far away from the player, then it will throw its spear at them like a javelin. Guards that have thrown their spear will cower in fear and start to slowly retreat away from the player. These unarmed guards will no longer be able to drop the Hasta glyph.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2
During the Brotherhood of Light's assault on Dracula's castle, many troops of knights are sent to attack. They are easily defeated by Dracula.
Non-Castlevania appearances
Dead Cells
The Armor Knight is an enemy found in the Return to Castlevania expansion. It is also possible to make the playable Beheaded appear like an Armor Knight by equipping the Armor Knight Outfit. This may be a reference to equip or play as an Old Axe Armor in various Castlevania games.
Enemy Data
- Main article: Knight/Enemy Data
Item Data
| Item Data: Knight | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
|
||||||||
| Throwing spear [use] | Attrib: Cut |
ATT +50 |
Buy: $800 (later) Find: Anti-Chapel Drop: Bone Halberd, Scarecrow, Spectral Sword, Spear Guard, Winged Guard |
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|
||||||||
| Iron cuirass | DEF +4 |
Buy: $1,500 Drop: Flea Armor, Spear Guard |
||||||
|
||||||||
| Restores some HP. | HP +70 |
Buy: 80G Find: Throughout castle (all) Common Drop: Peeping Eye, Fishman, Merman, Armor Knight, Bone archer, Bone Soldier, Lizard Man, Man-eater, Mimic, Rock Armor, Skeleton Spider, White Dragon Lv2 Rare Drop: Skeleton Blaze |
||||||
|
||||||||
| Armor woven from long blades of grass. Surprisingly sturdy. | DEF +8 |
Rare Drop: Armor Knight |
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|
||||||||
| A sparkling, red-colored jewel. | Sell: $1,500 |
Buy: $3,000 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Armor Knight |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, causes damage to all enemies on the screen. | |||||
|
||||||||
| A standard spear | Attrib: Piercing Consume: 60 MP (Special Attack) |
ATK +24 Sell: $500 |
Buy: $1,000 Find: The Lost Village, Hammer's shop Drop: Armor Knight |
Effect: Pierce Special: Triple Pierce | ||||
|
||||||||
| Attack with a spinning spear. | Attrib: Slashing Consume: 30 MP/sec |
Rarity: ** Drop: Armor Knight |
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|
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| A very light metal used by some alchemists, but mostly unknown. Makes very light armor. | Sell: $30 |
Find: Abandoned Castle (B1) Common Drop: Orc Lv.7/14, Armor Knight Lv.7/15, Lesser Demon Lv.13/23 |
Evolve: Foil, Estoc, Dung, Punch Rings, Corinthian Helmet | |||||
|
||||||||
| A simple, one-handed axe comprising a triangular head on a pole. Easy to use, but not that effective. | ATK +15 Sell: $50 |
Buy: $100 Find: Julia's Shop Rare Drop: Armor Knight Lv.7/15 Create: Short Sword + Wild Memory |
Evolve: Ada, Club, Mace, Zaghnol, Bullova, Face Guard | |||||
|
||||||||
| Instantly transports the user to Julia's shop. | Sell: $5 |
Buy: $10 Find: Baljhet Mountains, Garibaldi Temple, Tower of Evermore Steal: Armor Knight Lv.7/15 |
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|
||||||||
| A spear with an especially long haft. | Attrib: Slash Consume: 50 MP (Critical Art) |
ATK +80 Sell: $2,500 |
Drop: Armor Knight |
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|
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| A throwing spear that sticks into the ground. | Attrib: Slash Consume: 25 MP |
ATK +7 (0 SP), ATK +21 (Mastered) |
Drop: Armor Knight |
Effect: Throws a javelin which curves downward and sticks to the ground. Special: Mastered - Increases in size. Evolve: 1,500 SP to master. | ||||
|
||||||||
| A chunk of copper ore. | Drop: Axe Knight, Spear Guard |
|||||||
|
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| A lance glyph. | Attrib: Slash Consume: 5 MP |
ATK +9 |
Drop: Spear Guard |
Special: Glyph Unions: + any Hasta = Union Hasta; + Elemental Glyph = Elemental Weapon Union; + Other = Pulsus | ||||
|
||||||||
| Spear tempered by witches. | Attrib: Pierce, Darkness #hands: 1 |
ATK +42, MP +10 Sell: $6,250 |
Rarity: *** |
Special: ↓↘→ + [Attack] for stronger hit (15 MP) | ||||
|
||||||||
| Throw spears. | Attrib: Pierce Consume: 12 MP |
ATK +8 |
Rarity: *** Steal: R. Black Knight (5.5%) First Obtained: Chapter 10 |
Effect: Javelin | ||||
Gallery
- Main article: Knight/Gallery
External links
- Konami of Europe's Devil Armor profile (archived: May 26, 2005)
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