Zangetsu

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Zangetsu was a skilled sword fighter from (an indeterminate country in) the East. Years before the events of Curse of the Moon, he was attacked by demons one night and given a horrible curse. Swearing vengeance, he took off to find all the demons and kill them, riding the world of their evil and (hopefully) his own curse.

Leaving the East, his journey eventually took him to England and the outer ground of the castle of the demon Gremory. Taking a demoniacally possessed train deeper into the grounds (because why wouldn't you?), Zangetsu had to do battle with the evil train engine, eventually defeating the beast and rescuing the first of three heroes who joined his cause: Miriam, the demon huntress. As the two ventured further into the castle grounds they rescued the alchemist Alfred and the demon-hunter Gebel. Together, the ventured deep into the demon castle and confronted Gremory, defeating the foul demon king.

Unfortunately for Zangetsu, the dark magic unleashed from the demon's death proved too great a lure for his cursed soul, and the demon hunter took the magic into himself, turning him into the hellish Emperor of Darkness. His partners fled, leaving him to be consumed by the dark energy, allowing him to make his own, new, hell-like realm.

His fate was not sealed, though, for the rest of the party came back to the castle, ready to fight for Zangetsu's life. At the end of his hellish realm, the rest of the heroes confront Zangetsu as he sits upon his throne. He stuns two of them with his dark magic, leaving only Miriam to do battle. She fought hard (with the occasional assistance from the other two heroes when the magic holding them waned), until Zangetsu was weakened. Then, Alfred cast a sealing spell binding the dark magic away. This killed Zangetsu's body but freed his soul, sending it on to the afterlife.

• 1782 AD: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Although the official storyline for Zangetsu sees him join up with the other heroes only to then get overwhelmed by the demonic forces at the top of the castle, an alternate way to play the game sees Zangetsu kill all his team mates (instead of joining with them), stealing their powers for his own. In the end, after defeating the demons, he takes their dark power into himself and becomes the Emperor of Darkness. Understandably, since the rest of the team dies in this version but are all alive for the next game in the series, this version of events is not cannon.

In the official ending, after the credits roll, Zangetsu wakes up in a realm that looks not entirely unlike the opening sequel from Mega Man 2. This is likely a reference to Azure Strike Gunvolt, a very Mega Man-like series by Inti Creates, the production studio behind Curse of the Moon. While a fun Easter Egg, it's not assumed that this part of the ending is official cannon (at least, not until we see reference to it in a future game).

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

Zangetsu might have thought his quest was over, having saved the world and been committed to the afterlife. But that wasn't the end after all as a young sorceress, Dominique, had heard about Zangetsu's adventures, as well as his sacrifice, and decided to settle the score. She used her resurrection magic to revive Zangetsu so he could pick up his sword once more. And he would be needed because Gremory had returned and the world was in peril from the demons once more.

Zangetsu went ahead into the demon-infested lands, scouting out first while Dominique joined later. The both searched the outskirts of the castle before they ventured deeper into the lands. As they did so they met, and gained, two additional allies to aid them on their quest: Robert, a gun-toting sniper Zangetsu knew from previous wars, and Hachi, a very intelligent dog in an alchemical suit of armor. Together to fought their way past demons and devils alike, all to take on the final foul evil at the top of the castle, Gremory himself.

However, while the heroes fought valiantly, victory would not be in their grasp for Gremory had other plans. At what should have been the moment of defeat for the demon, the evil creature captured Dominique and stole her away, sealing her within its own foul body. It then ejected the heroes from the castle, gleeful in its newfound power it could derive from Dominique.

All was not lost for our devout demon hunter, though, as Zangetsu swore an oath to save his friend -- an oath he took very serious as he remembered all too well the time he was possessed by a demon -- so he banded with Robert and Hachi to venture across the lands once more and free Dominique from the hold Gremory had on her. They fought across the demon-infested grounds a second time, this time collecting three shards of a powerful sword, the Zanmato, the demon-slaying blade. With this sword in hand, Zangetsu confronted Gremory a second time in a new and more powerful form. The heroes once again fought bravely, and at the moment of defeat Zangetsu sliced the beast in twain, freeing Dominique and saving her from the demons.

Their quest was not over, though. As our heroes celebrated, the party was interrupted by the arrival of three allies from Zangetsu's past: Alfred, Gebel, Miriam. These three heroes, who had helped Zangetsu defeat Gremory previously, were gladdened to see their ally alive once more, but they had dire news to report: the demons that had been infesting Earth were coming from the Moon, so everyone would have to work together to find a way to get to this demonic land and rid it of evil as well.

The heroes banded together and ventured, once more, across the land, collecting the pieces of alchemical equipment Alfred would need to build a space machine. Then, when ready, the heroes launched the ship, flying it to the moon to take on the evils there. Once on the surface of this world, the heroes had one more demon infested dungeon to explore, all to take on the source of the demonic evil. And, again, when the demon was beaten to the brink of death, Zangetsu unleashed the power of Zanmato and sliced the evil in twain, destroying it and saving the Moon, and Earth, from the demonic powers. The heroes celebrated for, finally, they had saved the day once and for all.

• 1783 AD: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

Like its predecessor, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 has multiple episodes to unlock and play through. In the case of Curse of the Moon 2, the game takes it one step further but having to alternate stories to unlock based on whether you collect the three parts of the Zanmato or not. Get the sword and you save Dominique outright, skipping over an extra episode, "Episode EX", where Zangetsu has to team up with his allies from the first game to try, again, to save Dominique. Both storylines meet up, though, in the last section, "Final Episode", where the heroes fly off into space.

Traditionally, games use the best endings for their continuity. For Curse of the Moon 2, the best ending is the one where the heroes skip over Episode EX, so for our timeline we're using that as the guidepost.

It's worth noting that we assume Dominique revived Zangetsu before this game started since she's teamed up with him once the game begins, and he was dead at the end of the previous title. Someone had to bring him back, so Dominique is our best stand in until the developers say otherwise.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

After dying at the end of Curse, Zangetsu eventually somehow returned to the realm of man (maybe after fighting his way through Mega Man 2. When he returned he found a land once more plunged into darkness. Somehow he ended up working with the church, using their knowledge and power to get him into places he couldn't easily venture into alone. He was assigned a handler, Dominique Baldwin, who aided him on his journey. And, with the return of Gremory (who, at the time, was possessing Zangetsu's one-time ally, Gebel), the demon hunter knew exactly where he needed to go.

Venturing deep into the demon castle, Zangetsu was in search of some way to gain access to the final sections of the castle and take on the foul demon Gremory. However, he soon realized that his power alone wasn't enough to take out the demon; another was needed. Encountering the shard-infused demon huntress Miriam, Zangetsu saw a power within her that could potentially take on the demons. However, as she was infused with the shards, Zangetsu wasn't initially able to trust her, assuming she was just a pawn for the demons and would quickly fall to evil. He did test her though and, over time, assumed she'd reveal her true self.

Thus it was, much later into his own journey, having explored every other section of the castle he could access, Zangetsu teamed up with Miriam to take on a demonic train. He needed her abilities to access some sections of the train and, together, they had the power to take out the demon at the head of the vehicle. Seeing her in action, Zangetsu began to get a better feel for her Miriam really was and, despite his misgivings, he realized he could actually trust her.

It was during their final encounter that Zangetsu truly found a equal he could trust with his power. He tested her one last time, throwing everything he had at her, to make sure that Miriam was up to the challenge of defeating Gremory. When he knew she was ready, he ceased the fight and gave her his powerful sword. With the blade in hand, Miriam would be able to defeat Gremory once and for all. Sadly, passing off the blade weakened Zangetsu and, immediately after, Gremory arrived and sucked Zangetsu into a demonic realm where, presumably, he died once more.

• 1793 AD: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Although Zangetsu and Miriam fought together in Curse of the Moon, and then again in Curse of the Moon 2, neither of them recognize the other. It's possible that he journey through the demon realm wiped many of his memories but that doesn't really explain why Miriam doesn't recognize him. Curse of the Moon 2 kinda-sorta explains how Zangetsu got out of the demon realm (Dominique) but it doesn't entirely smooth over this little bump here. Maybe there will be a Curse of the Moon 3 at some point to further clear up the continuity (that is if the developers even care about the timeline).

Playing as Zangetsu:

Although most of the characters in Curse of the Moon have clear Castlevania analogues (Belmont, Belnades, and Alucard), Zangetsu doesn't easily fit that same mold. Considering there are four characters in Curse, one would have assumed that Zangetsu would have filled the Grant role (if we're comparing to Castlevania III), yet Zangetsu is his own, very different character.

Really, as a sword-wielder with demonic powers (activated via scrolls), the best analogue for Zangetsu is Getsu Fuma, star of Getsu Fuma Den (a Castlevania-adjacent series by Konami), a demon-hunting sword-wielder who travels through Hell. Zangetsu has a name similar to Getsu, and his stage (as a villain) is even very Hell-like, much like the setting for Getsu Fuma's game.

Within the context of Curse of the Moon, Zangetsu is a very middle-of-the-road character. While he's as strong as Miriam, his sword doesn't have the length of her whip, nor are his sub-weapon scrolls as outwardly useful. He also doesn't have the overall power of, say, Alfred, nor is he as good at exploration as Miriam (with her extra jump height) or Gebel (with his ability to turn into a bat to fly around). He can, however, take more damage than Alfred or Gebel, and his base attack is more powerful. He's useful has a backup to Miriam if she takes too much damage and/or dies.

Zangetsu, for the most part, plays the same in Curse of the Moon 2 as he did in the first prequel. He does gain a slightly improved sword on his first play-through, though, that allows him to perform a powerful triple slash combo, greatly increasing his physical damage. Sadly, once he gets the plot-required Zanmato, that nifty combo ability is lost.

With the DLC "Zangetsu Mode" added to Ritual of the Night, the hero became a playable character in that title as well. Here he's a lot like any of the unlocked characters in the various Metroidvania Castlevania titles: namely, a stripped down hero with a few abilities but not much in the way of a true story mode. Zangetsu, of course, has his titular blade which he can use for slashing a combo attacks. He also can charge the blade with various elements -- fire, ice, and lightning -- and use this magic to enhance the damage he deals. Plus, he can throw a triple blade and these, too, can be enhanced with elemental magic. Finally, to aid his exploration of the castle (since he doesn't have all the abilities Miriam gets), he has a double jump, making him fairly maneuverable.

Still, playing as the hero is very hard and only really meant for players looking for a new challenge.

Fighting Zangetsu:

In a nice nod towards the Castlevania series, the lead up into Zangetsu's final chamber sees the player descend a long staircase, not unlike the long staircases players would traditionally climb upwards into Dracula's Keep.

As a villain, Zangetsu was less of a Dracula from Castlevania (although he does have a spiffy throne in his hell dimension, and he does get to throw his goblet to the ground like Lord Tepes) than the Grim Reaper. Once you initiate battle, Zangetsu's sword grows into a giant scythe and he starts flying around the room, slashing at you and throwing huge, magical blasts. He's a quick warrior, able to cause successive hits of damage to unsuspecting players. Taking him down will require quick wits and good memorization, but even then expect to take a ton of damage before it's all said and done.

Players will also have to battle Zangetsu twice in Ritual of the Night. Both battles operate largely the same with Zangetsu using similar moves against the player. His primary attack is his sword slash which he'll use if you get close. He'll also do a jumping slash as well as a dashing slash, both of which deal a lot of damage to Miriam. Plus, he can throw out a grappling hook to try and grab Miriam (so he can then slash her), and he has shurikens to throw at her as well. For the first foray, the player's best bet is to stay in close and jump behind Zangetsu each time he attacks -- he'll take a pause after his attacks, giving the player a window to strike.

As noted, his second battle is much like his first except for the fact that he deals a ton more damage (but, since it comes much later in the game, that makes sense). Although his attacks are nominally the same, he will also rotate through most of the primary elements of the game (fire, ice, lightning, and darkness) as he takes more and more damage. Many of the elements effects add a twist to his strikes, meaning you have to be prepared for what he throws and the kinds of residual damage it can incur. Still, stick behind him when you can and get your hits in to, eventually, bring the honorable swordsman down.