Castlevania: Belmont's Curse - How To Beat The Fallen (Boss Guide)

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a true Castlevania game, and that means it features some tough challenges. While the opening area isn't immediately tough, the first obstacle doesn't take long to arrive. When Rose reaches the fight with The Fallen, the opening boss of Belmont's Curse proves to be an intense skill check.

Trying the boss over and over will eventually make it easier, as Rose will level up a bit as she continues to fight enemies on the run back to the fight. It's possible to beat The Fallen much more quickly, however, as long as you have a good idea of how to dodge his attacks and keep up the pressure.

How To Beat The Fallen

Phase One

The Fallen features a variety of attacks, and you'll need to effectively dodge or counter them in order to avoid quickly losing all of Rose's health.

When The Fallen attacks Rose in melee, you'll want to dodge forward to slide under his legs to avoid the initial blows. Not only does sliding under his legs prove to be more reliable than dashing backward, it also allows Rose to get in some quick hits from behind The Fallen.

After two big slashes in the wrong direction, though, The Fallen will turn around, so get out of the way before the final blow. Following his last attack in this cycle, Rose can get in some extra strikes before The Fallen moves again.

When The Fallen tosses a spinning cross, hit the cross with Rose's sword to get rid of it. It's also possible to get out of its way, but choosing to attack the cross is more reliable and allows Rose to maintain her current position rather than losing control of the battlefield.

Phase Two

After The Fallen's health has been reduced by about 1/3 of his total bar, he'll roar and start employing some additional moves.

When The Fallen swings from the hook with his whip, head to the center of the arena and slide forward underneath the low point of the swing to dodge it. It's possible to avoid the attack without sliding by staying out of the center, but it leaves Rose in a worse position for his follow-up. Alternately, he can also be knocked out of the swing with a midair attack, which will give Rose an extra window of opportunity for attacks but requires more skill and timing.

After some swings, The Fallen will slam down on the left or right edge of the arena. Stay away from the slam while he's landing (paying off the advantage of being in the center), then move toward him to get in some attacks.

The final piece of The Fallen's move set is a whip attack. Whenever he swings the whip forward, slide forward to pass under its reach. Other methods of avoiding the whip are all significantly less reliable.

Rewards For Beating The Fallen

After beating The Fallen, Rose will unlock some of his abilities. A Tarot card grants access to his Holy Cross Attack as an Arcana that Rose can equip, and she also gains access to his whip swing that allows her to use hooks for traversal. Notably, this is separate from using a whip in Castlevania: Belmont's Curse as a general weapon, as that's ultimately acquired elsewhere.

Defeating the Fallen is also the first step toward unlocking the door in his arena, which is later required to progress out of the game's opening areas.

While The Fallen can seem overwhelming at first, mastering the correct dodges and counters turns an intimidating duel into a manageable encounter and proves that this is by no means an impossible video game boss. With this fight under your belt, you'll be well on your way toward triumphing over all of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse's challenges.