SkeleTONS: nearly every bony bastard in the gaming universe

Let’s take a step back for a spell – remember these guys, terrorizing Simon and Trevor Belmont? No? Then you must not be old like us. Oh, 1986...

Eight more bits somehow made the Castlevania IV skelleys less substantial, with hovering bones that don’t actually connect to joints.

Couple of years later we saw Dracula X and Castlevania: Bloodlines, both with their own assortment of deformed dog/hunchback/grabby sacks ‘o’ bones.

What would any stroll through Castlevania’s past be without a nod to the very special reaper of souls, Mr. Grim? We love ya buddy, even if you’re a stupidly difficult jerkass occasionally voiced by Norm MacDonald.

Anyone play or know how to say Astyanax? Didn’t think so. Probably should’ve included it in our list ofmispronounced game names, huh?

Final Fantasy is absolutely loaded with monsters, so choosing which skeletons to rip was like deciding which grain of sand is sandier than the rest. These boys hail from the first, third and fourth games in the series.

Capcom used to have its own RPG powerhouse back in the day, known as Breath of Fire. Looks like these are more adept than your typical skeleton though, all riding horses and stuff.

The second game is available on Wii’s Virtual Console, apparently filled with more shockingly capable undead minions. Not sure why they wear armor though... isn’t the point of it to protect your vital organs? Just go nuts dude, you can’t die twice.

Next page – Zelda, Lost Vikings and Dragon Quest!