Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Boss Order and Unlocks, Compared by Guide
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Short answer Guides report anywhere from 12 to 18 bosses for Belmont's Curse, and their lists show different choices about repeat meetings, Dracula's forms and ending entries. This page lists 16 fights in route order with where each takes place, what it needs first, what it unlocks and which guides back the row, and it shows each disagreement next to its sources instead of choosing one.
A row-by-row comparison of where each fight is, what it needs and what it unlocks, checked October 28, 2026.
Contents: How to read · Main-path fights · Optional and ending fights · Rewards that open fights · Why boss counts differ · Where guides differ · Source dates
How to Read This Page
Each row is one fight, numbered in the route order of the route overview; its first column links to the matching route row there, and its last column links the guides behind the row. A prerequisite or reward appears only when at least two independent publishers give it. TheGamer, Game Rant and Polygon belong to one publisher group and count as one voice. Guides name fights by character (Joan, Medusa) or by tarot card (The Warrior, The Prophetess), so the first column gives both. KONAMI's official site says Rose seals the bosses she defeats inside tarot cards, and the opening of GameTrek's boss list describes the same mechanic. Where a guide words something differently, the row points to B1 to B3 below or to the numbered entries in Where Guides Disagree on the route overview. Weapons are listed only where two publishers name them.
Main-Path Fights: Rows 1 to 11
Guides place Joan and Medusa in different orders (see D2) and Carmilla and Talos in different orders (see D3). This page keeps the numbering of the route overview's boss table and does not rank those orders.
| Fight | Where | Needs first | Unlocks | Sources and agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Fallen Tarot card: The Fallen route row 1 | Paris Streets, inside the Path of the Rat (another district label appears in D7) | Get to the Path of the Rat; the lists put this boss first | The Fallen's Key, the Arcane Whip and the Holy Cross spell | Rewards agree Keengamer · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 2. Joan of Arc Tarot card: The Warrior route row 2 | Top of the Prison Tower, Paris Streets | Climb the Prison Tower. Guides disagree on whether this precedes Medusa (see D2) | The Burnt Sword of Fierbois weapon, Holy Light, the Infernal Pyre spell and The Warrior's Key | Rewards agree; order differs (see D2) Keengamer · IGN · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 3. Medusa Tarot card: The Prophetess route row 3 | Serpent's Lair, in the Holy Innocents' Cemetery area | Reach the Serpent's Lair; the way in is described two ways (see B2 below) | The Rusted Harpè and Aegis weapons, the Petrifying Gaze spell and The Prophetess's Key | Rewards agree; the route in differs Keengamer · IGN · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 4. Death, first meeting Tarot card: The Shadow route row 4 | Deep in the Catacombs of Paris | The keys from the first three bosses open the Catacombs gate | No reward is listed. The fight is scripted as a loss, and cutscenes follow in which the castle appears | Guides agree; RPS is more cautious about whether Death can be beaten here Polygon · Keengamer · IGN · MapGenie · RPS |
| 5. Isaac, first meeting Tarot card: The Zealot route row 5 | Castle entrance after Notre-Dame Bridge; most guides label the room Main Hall (see D7) | Cross Notre-Dame Bridge | No Arcana from this meeting | Location and rewards agree; how the fight ends is told differently (see B1 below) Keengamer · RPS · GameTrek · Game Rant |
| 6. Carmilla Tarot card: The Occultist route row 7 | Observatory above the Library | Finish the Planetarium puzzles. Order against Talos differs (see D3) | The Blood Spikes spell, Aerial Rush and Brauner's Paintbrush | Rewards agree; order differs; the Paintbrush requirement differs (see D4) Keengamer · TheGamer · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 7. Talos Tarot card: The Builder route row 8 | Throne of the Builder, in the lower Clock Tower (other labels in B3 below) | Reach the arena: Keengamer's movement page and TheGamer both describe moving platforms in the Eastern Access Shaft so a giant fist breaks a yellow floor block, then riding an elevator down | Smash, plus the Fist of Talos spell | Rewards agree; order differs (see D3) Keengamer · TheGamer · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 8. Brauner Tarot card: The Artist route row 9 | Brauner's Atelier, Main Hall | Use Smash on the sculpture in the Atelier | The Masterpiece spell and The Artist card | Smash and location agree; guides dispute whether Brauner is a fight (see D9) Keengamer · GameTrek · MapGenie · RPS |
| 9. Death, second meeting Tarot card: The Shadow route row 10 | Notre-Dame | Equip The Artist at the painting to enter, then clear the corrupted organ with the Melody Sheets (Keengamer, RPS). Whether Brauner's Paintbrush is also needed differs (see D4) | The Vampire Killer weapon, Double Jump and the Soul Harvest spell | Rewards agree; where Double Jump triggers differs (see D5) Keengamer · RPS · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 10. Isaac, second meeting Tarot card: The Zealot route row 11 | Clock Tower (Keengamer names the Heart of the Clock) | Keengamer says to equip the Soul Harvest spell from row 9 and interact with the clock; MapGenie lists a requirement to deactivate a spell | Chronomantic Dive as a spell, and Chauve-Souris as a weapon | Rewards and location agree; the entry requirement is worded differently Keengamer · MapGenie · GameTrek |
| 11. Dracula Tarot card: None route row 11 | Master's Quarters (Clock Tower route) | Reach the Master's Quarters. Guides warn that heading there too early can end in a scripted bad ending; the route overview sets out each guide's wording | Normal ending | Location and ending agree; the forms are counted differently (see the counts table) Keengamer · RPS · MapGenie · GameTrek |
Optional and Ending Fights: Rows 12 to 16
Mammon, Arthur, the Succubus, Joan's second fight and The Self sit together in route row 12 of the route overview. Their requirements are items or trials, such as three Eye relics or four Virtues, rather than one fixed spot on the route.
| Fight | Where | Needs first | Unlocks | Sources and agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. Mammon Tarot card: The Miser route row 12 | Catacombs of Paris, in Mammon's Lair past the Gate of Flesh | Equip three Eye relics at the Gate of Flesh: Thrilling Eye (Hospital), Trembling Eye (Pillaged Tombs) and Oozing Eye (Circle of Greed) | The Wheel of Chaos spell and the Ferryman's Obol, which the Ferryman later turns into The Whisperer card | Requirements and rewards agree; one arena label differs (see B3 below) Keengamer · GameTrek · MapGenie · Game Rant |
| 13. Arthur Tarot card: The Brittle King route row 12 | Notre-Dame chapel (Game Rant: the north-eastern boss room) | Complete the Feat of Strength in Notre-Dame | Excalibur and the Stained-Glass Shield spell | Location and rewards agree Keengamer · GameTrek · MapGenie · Game Rant |
| 14. Succubus Tarot card: The Temptress route row 12 | Bottom of the Hall of Mirrors | Reach the end of the Hall of Mirrors | The Life Drain spell | Guides agree GameTrek · MapGenie · Game Rant |
| 15. Joan, second meeting Tarot card: None listed route row 12 | Notre-Dame | Reach Notre-Dame | Blessing of the Virtue of Courage | Guides agree RPS · Game Rant · MapGenie |
| 16. The Self (Doppelganger) Tarot card: The Self route row 12 | Notre-Dame (other labels in B3 below) | Earn all four Virtues in the stained-glass challenges | The Absolution spell, which opens the true ending when used on a defeated Dracula | Requirements and rewards agree; the fight is named differently (see D7) Game Rant · GameTrek · MapGenie · RPS |
Rewards That Open the Next Fight
Several rewards are the key to a later fight. The table follows each one from where it is earned to what it opens, and each link in it is reported by at least two publishers, whose pages are linked in the numbered rows above.
| Item or reward | What it opens | Fight it leads to | Backed by rows |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Fallen's, The Warrior's and The Prophetess's Keys | The Catacombs gate | Death, first meeting (row 4) | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Smash, from Talos | The sculpture in Brauner's Atelier | Brauner and The Artist card (row 8) | 7, 8 |
| The Artist card | The Notre-Dame painting | Notre-Dame and Death, second meeting (row 9) | 8, 9 |
| Three Eye relics | The Gate of Flesh | Mammon (row 12) | 12 |
| Ferryman's Obol, from Mammon | The Ferryman's exchange | The Whisperer card | 12 |
| The Feat of Strength in Notre-Dame | Arthur's chapel fight | Arthur (row 13) | 13 |
| Four Virtues | The fight against The Self, then Absolution | The true ending | 16 |
Why Boss Counts Differ
Four guides print a total, and each total can be rebuilt from the list the same guide prints. The baseline here is this page's 16 rows: one per fight, Brauner included, Dracula once. None of the guides states the arithmetic in the last column; it is read from their lists. The route overview records the same spread as D1.
| Guide | Published total | What its list contains | Against this page's 16 rows |
|---|---|---|---|
| RPS | 17 bosses | Joan, Death and Isaac each listed twice, plus a separate entry for Dracula (Beast Form) | 16 rows plus one entry for Dracula's second form |
| Game Rant | 13 unique bosses; 16 battles | 13 names, with Joan, Death and Isaac fought twice | 13 names plus 3 repeat fights gives 16, the same as this page |
| MapGenie | 18 entries | Three Dracula entries (bad ending, normal ending, true ending), a Courage Joan entry, and The Cursed where others write The Self | 16 rows with Dracula's single row replaced by three entries |
| GameTrek | 12 bosses | One entry each for Isaac and Death covering both meetings, one entry for Joan, and none for Brauner | 16 rows minus three repeat meetings and minus Brauner |
Cards are counted separately from bosses. Game Rant lists 16 tarot cards: 12 of its 13 bosses come with a card (Dracula has none), and a separate list names four cards that do not come from a boss, The Cursed, The Judge, The Sage and The Whisperer.
Where Guides Differ on Individual Fights
Entries B1 to B3 cover differences that belong to a single fight. Order, requirement, naming and fight-status differences that touch several pages are numbered D1 to D9 in the route overview; none of them is settled here.
| Ref | Subject | What the guides report |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | Isaac's first meeting | Keengamer says beating him leads to a cutscene showing that this Isaac was an illusion. RPS and IGN give tactics for the fight, and IGN calls it brief. Game Rant says he cannot be beaten until the Clock Tower. GameTrek lists no reward for this meeting. |
| B2 | The way into the Serpent's Lair | IGN, Game Rant and MapGenie describe dropping into the Fountain of the Lost in the cemetery. Keengamer and RPS describe a route through the Roman Baths and the Hot Springs. Neither version is ranked here. |
| B3 | Arena labels | Talos: Final Trap (Keengamer's walkthrough, GameTrek), Throne of the Builder (Keengamer's movement page, TheGamer), or the lower Clock Tower (Game Rant). Mammon: Mammon's Lair (MapGenie, GameTrek's Gate of Flesh page) or Treasury Area (GameTrek's boss list). The Self: Gallery of the Four Virtues (GameTrek) or Notre-Dame (Game Rant, MapGenie). Isaac's second meeting: Heart of the Clock (Keengamer) or Clock Tower (GameTrek, MapGenie, Game Rant). |
Related Pages on This Site
- Route overview with stage-by-stage boss order
- How the game plays
- Short answers on travel, secrets and resuming
- What happens after the credits
- Difficulty and length
- Starting out
- Movement abilities and what unlocks them
- Catacombs of Paris walkthrough
Update Log
Revised on October 28, 2026; every source was opened last on October 28, 2026 (Singapore time).
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| October 28, 2026 | Page created with the boss table, the reward chain, the boss-count comparison and the list of differences. |
Source Dates
Every page below was opened on October 28, 2026 (Singapore time). Dates are copied as each page displays them, in the zone the page names; where a page shows a time with no zone, none is added here. The phrase "not shown on page" marks a date that the page does not display. Long page names are shortened, and each page is linked where it is cited.
| Publisher | Page | Dates as the page shows them | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| KONAMI | Official site, home page | Published: not shown on page; updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| IGN | The Prison Tower: Finding The Warrior | Published: not shown on page; Oct 19, 2026, 10:01 pm UTC (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| IGN | Holy Innocents' Cemetery: Finding The Prophetess | Published: not shown on page; Oct 21, 2026, 6:02 pm UTC (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| IGN | Catacombs of Paris | Published: not shown on page; Oct 23, 2026, 6:11 pm UTC (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| Keengamer | Complete Walkthrough | Oct 15, 2026 (published); updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| Keengamer | Double Jump and other movement skills | Oct 22, 2026 (published); updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| Rock Paper Shotgun | All bosses in order | Published: not shown on page; Oct 22, 2026, 10:30 a.m. (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| Rock Paper Shotgun | Walkthrough, Part 2 (Holy Innocents' Cemetery) | Published: not shown on page; Oct 22, 2026, 11:20 a.m. (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| Rock Paper Shotgun | How to Double Jump | Published: not shown on page; Oct 21, 2026, 2:27 p.m. (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| Game Rant | Complete Boss and Arcana List | Oct 16, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT (published); updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| TheGamer | How To Unlock Every Movement Ability | Oct 14, 2026, 7:10 PM EDT (published); updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| Polygon | How to unlock fast travel | Oct 15, 2026, 5:10 PM EDT (published); updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| MapGenie | All Bosses | Published: not shown on page; updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| MapGenie | 100% Checklist | Published: not shown on page; updated: not shown on page | 2026-10-28 |
| GameTrek | All Bosses in Order | Published: not shown on page; Oct 28, 2026, 8:14 AM (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| GameTrek | How to Get Double Jump | Published: not shown on page; Oct 26, 2026, 9:51 AM (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
| GameTrek | Unlocking the Gate Of Flesh | Published: not shown on page; Oct 23, 2026, 5:39 AM (updated) | 2026-10-28 |
Sources
- KONAMI: Official site, home page — KONAMI, accessed
- IGN: The Prison Tower: Finding The Warrior — IGN, accessed
- IGN: Holy Innocents' Cemetery: Finding The Prophetess — IGN, accessed
- IGN: Catacombs of Paris — IGN, accessed
- Keengamer: Complete Walkthrough — Keengamer, published October 15, 2026, accessed
- Keengamer: Double Jump and other movement skills — Keengamer, published October 22, 2026, accessed
- Rock Paper Shotgun: All bosses in order — Rock Paper Shotgun, accessed
- Rock Paper Shotgun: Walkthrough, Part 2 (Holy Innocents' Cemetery) — Rock Paper Shotgun, accessed
- Rock Paper Shotgun: How to Double Jump — Rock Paper Shotgun, accessed
- Game Rant: Complete Boss and Arcana List — Game Rant, published October 16, 2026, accessed
- TheGamer: How To Unlock Every Movement Ability — TheGamer, published October 14, 2026, accessed
- Polygon: How to unlock fast travel — Polygon, published October 15, 2026, accessed
- MapGenie: All Bosses — MapGenie, accessed
- MapGenie: 100% Checklist — MapGenie, accessed
- GameTrek: All Bosses in Order — GameTrek, accessed
- GameTrek: How to Get Double Jump — GameTrek, accessed
- GameTrek: Unlocking the Gate Of Flesh — GameTrek, accessed
Sources were read on October 28, 2026 (Singapore time). Where guides differ, both versions are shown. TheGamer, Game Rant and Polygon are counted as one publisher group; KONAMI is an official source.