Topic: Zombies, Skeletons and Mummies..

[MeSako]

..whats the difference?? (Only talking Castlevania mythos here)

A Zombie, is as we all know a corpse being reanimated, via magic, and they are stupid as rocks, as they mindlessly walk towards you to try to get a bite of you.
A Skeleton is a reanimated corpse, just as a Zombie, but without any tissue! So what is the difference, a skeleton is smarter for some reason, since they wield weapons, throw stuff, dodge you attacks and so on.
A Zombie can use weapons too.. but the just swing it around mindlessly as you come close.
Does the tissue on a Zombie make the living dead stupid?
And what about the Mummies, they are Zombies too, just much older, well preserved reanimated Zombies. But for some reason the can shoot lethal bandages at you.

So all these three are the same, with more or less tissue on the bones, how come they are so different??
Don't say: "It's a game, thets why" or somthing like that.
Instead try to look at it as if Castlevania was real, and try put a real explanation to it..

 

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Well, a Zombie is the most classic monster.  They are dumb because they have no brain functions, only motor functions.  In most zombie lore, a zombie has lost all of the things that make them 'human' due to a rotting brain and/or whatever method brought them back, but they retain human motor functions as long as their flesh holds out.

A skeleton has pretty much been reanimated by magic.  Thus, they are given whatever skill set their creator (I'm assuming Dracula or some Devil Forgemaster) has imbued upon them.  Because of this, they can be pretty smart.  Also, since they are animated by magic, they do not have limitations like "I don't have tendons/ligaments, I should not be able to move at all without falling apart".  Some kind of magic force keeps the bones together.  Of course, if they are attacked and break apart far enough, Skeletons lose their power.
What is cool is that you can reinforce them with armor and give them a more powerful skill set.  That's when you get Blade Masters and Mace Skeletons.

A mummy has an odd mythos.  They have that whole "I used to be a powerful pharaoh in Egypt" thing going for them.  They may very well have ancient magic going for them.  Unfortunately, mummified corpses can barely move, so they, in turn, end up moving very slowly like a Zombie.  However, because they were mummified with anointed bandaging and special oils, whatever magic they wield, I think, can be used to manipulate the bandages and harden them.  When they throw their bandages at you, they're using magic to harden it as it flies past you... like knives.
Sucks that they cannot move much.  I would bet they would be pretty powerful if they can move.  Some have been known to teleport by unwrapping themselves and rearranging elsewhere (Akmodan the First, the boss of CV4's ClockTower).

Anyway, that's the way I see it.

[Aridale]

I still say that instead of a skeleton bein one of the weakest enemies you encounter in games they should be one of the strongest. And I mean any game not just CV. Like you both touched on they are animated solely and held together by magic from the will of their creator. A skeleton would be one hell of an enemy and could move faster than any other undead thats still corporeal. Yet in pretty much every game the skeleton is the weakest or one of the weakest enemies.

As for zombies theyre the low man on the totem pole of undead. The easiest to make and the easiest to find the components for. Makin zombies would be one of the first things an aspiring necromancer learned to do. Of course theyre basically worthless unless in very close quarters or swarms but thats the way of it... Because its just simple magic bringin back to life whatever they have left of a body they cant do much and of course are driven by base instincts to feed... and dance on occasion...

As for mummies theyre basically just egyptian zombies but because of who they were in life they were prepared in such a ritualistic fashion they became imbued in some ancient magic. I dont think that mummies are so much made or awakened to serve Drac or anyone else but that all the evil or dark magic surrounding whatever area a mummy is in awakens them. I dont think they serve Drac I think theyve just woke up cause of CV and everythin else there and they happen to be in their own lil area of the castle and thats where they stay. Drac might not even know there were mummies in his castle... I very seriously doubt he tours the grounds all that often

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Yeah you never see a Zombie boss... unless it's a Zombie Dragon (and they are FIERCE).  You can 'zombify' any animal, it seems.  However, humans are the easiest to find, like Aridale said.  You may even get lucky and find zombies that had purpose when they were alive, then you get things like "Zombie Butcher", "Zombie Soldier" and "Zombie Executioner".

But with Skeletons... you get crazy!  You can make a Bone Golem with many parts of skeletons.  They don't even have to be human!  If you get an old ancient skeleton you can make a Paranthropus, a Skeleton Ape, or even a Skeleton Tyrannosaurus.  With Dragons (mythical) and snakes, you can get bone dragon guardians.  A heavily armored skeleton made from a warrior can make a Skull Knight, which I think is the fiercest of human skeletons.

[darkwzrd4]

I think the reason that skeletons seem to be smarter and more skilled is because it may be easier to manipulate a pile of bones than a fresh corpse with all its flesh.  Think about it, zombies still have organs, skin, and muscles, also of which have to be controlled simultaneously.  Thus, likely takes more magic, concentration, and skill.  Skeletons have no such things that require the extra effort.  Thus, they can be controlled with little effort.

As for mummies, the bandages make it harder for them to move.  As for the thing with the bandages, they could have been imbued with some special power during the ritual while the mummification was happening.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I think the ultimate human zombie would be a Jian-Shi.  And even they have to hop instead of walk.  Damn tendons and ligaments get all hardened up like tree branches.

[uzo]

Hes a Chinese reanimated corpse though. There maybe a slightly different set of mythos limitations on him. I noticed they all seem to hop, and have a seal of some sort on their forehead.

[Abnormal Freak]

A question of my own: Why don't vampires seem more fierce? (Not just in Castlevania but in just about all stories with vampires.) Why do they suck blood through two little holes in the neck? If they truly crave blood and need it to survive, why do they not...rip a head off and drink from a bigger opening? That's one thing I really dig about Hellsing. The vampires are fierce, insanely violent, drink as if they intend to get drunk on the blood, that kind of thing.

[darkwzrd4]

A question of my own: Why don't vampires seem more fierce? (Not just in Castlevania but in just about all stories with vampires.) Why do they suck blood through two little holes in the neck? If they truly crave blood and need it to survive, why do they not...rip a head off and drink from a bigger opening? That's one thing I really dig about Hellsing. The vampires are fierce, insanely violent, drink as if they intend to get drunk on the blood, that kind of thing.

Well, there are two sides to everything with various nuances in between.  At one end of the spectrum, you have the fierce, violent, murderous vampires (like what you see in Hellsing).  And, at the other end of the spectrum you have the sparkly vampires from the Twilight movies.  For some reason, most vampire media seems to fall somewhere in between.  There is also the idea that most vampires are somewhat aristocratic and have a strong sense of pride.  And, there is nothing more disgraceful than savagely slaughtering humans like a savage beast.  Such beings would rather use a weapon like a sword or some sort of magic.  It's just more graceful and shows a degree of restraint.

[MeSako]

Those chinese vampires are kinda lame (my thoughts only), but there is one in order of Ecclesia, so they are in the CV mythos too.
About the "ordinarey" vampires I like the aristocratic the most. I did enkoy Hellsing, but didnt like that kind of Vampires, but HATE Twilight.
I do like the vampires in "Interview with the Vampire", and they are kinda like the vampires in CV, even thou there are some less aristocratic ones in CV.

About the other undeads, I like the skeletons most, and as reply to the poster who would like them to be harder. There are some harder skeletons, they are generally bigger, or equipped with weapons of various sorts. And that's why I like them.. If you face a skeleton, You generally wont know what it will be like, even if you faced a ton of them before.