Maria Renard

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	This character or verse has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.

“	I don't know what you mean, but I know you hurt a lot of people. No matter what you say, that's wrong!	„
	~ Maria Renard to Count Dracula

Background

Maria Renard was a young woman born of the Renard Clan in the small town of Aljiba. Despite only being 12 years old, Maria was extremely talented in combat and was able to harness powerful animal spirits to help protect her. Her Clan was a legendary Clan that had once assisted the powerful Belmont family; granting Desmond Belmont doves to help him fight.

However, one day, Aljiba was raided by Dracula’s forces upon his resurrection, and she, along with several other female villagers, were kidnapped and locked away in Dracula’s Castle. Thankfully, rushing in as fast as he could, the prodigious Richter Belmont came to rescue everyone.

Upon rescuing Maria, Richter insisted that she head back to the safety of the town, but she refused. Knowing that she could be of incredible help to Richter, Maria pleaded that she come along until he finally gave in and allowed for her to. Becoming a pair, Maria and Richter tore their way through Dracula’s Castle even faster than before.

At last, the two made their way into Dracula’s Throne room, where Maria stood back while Richter faced off against the Dark Lord. She pitched in sometimes to help heal Richter and empower him, finally allowing for Dracula’s defeat.

With the Dark Lord finally being defeated, Richter and Maria fled the castle as it crumbled behind them. The fight was over, and everyone was saved. Three years would pass, and Maria would continue her training as a vampire hunter.

One day, however, Maria sensed unease among her animal companions, and ventured into a forest to get answers. Before she knew it, a time vortex appeared before her and she was sucked in. A mysterious man named Aeon appeared, telling Maria of a plot by Galamoth, who has summoned a creature called the Time Reaper to destroy the Castlevania Timeline.

Agreeing to stop anything that she viewed as evil and a threat to the existence of her friends, Maria fought her way through the Time Rift, and faced off against several legendary fighters; including the ancestors of her friend Richter, Simon and Trevor Belmont. At last, she was able to face off against the Time Reaper itself, slaying it and concluding Galamoth’s evil plot.

Maria was sucked back through the Time Rift and returned to her own time, only to find that Richter Belmont had mysteriously vanished. Nearly two years passed since Richter’s disappearance, and the 17 year old Maria was quick to notice that Dracula’s Castle had risen once again.

Feeling that this may be linked to Richter’s disappearance, Maria ventured into the Castle, and ran into a man named Alucard. Maria found Alucard extremely mysterious and intriguing, thankful for his help but also developing some feelings for him. Before anything could be done, however, Alucard found Richter, and discovered that he had been placed under the possession of the dark priest Shaft, who made Richter become the Dark Lord of Dracula’s Castle.

Alucard fought Richter in an intense battle, managing to defeat him and free him from his possession. While Alucard went ahead to face off against Count Dracula, Maria took the shaken Richter and brought him outside of the Castle.

Once Alucard killed Dracula and the Castle started to crumble away, he appeared to Maria and Richter to say his parting words. However, Maria had developed feelings for Alucard, and chased after him after encouragement from Richter.

Maria’s future is completely unknown, although it is likely that her feelings for Alucard were unrequited. She would nonetheless go down in history as a powerful vampire hunter, on the same caliber as a member of the Belmont Clan.

General Information

Name: Maria Renard

Origin: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

First Appearance: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Latest Appearance: Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls

Company: Konami

Creator: Hitoshi Akamatsu, Koji Igarashi

Actor

• Japanese Voice Actor: Yoko Teppouzuka (Rondor of Blood), Hekiru Shiina (Young Maria, Symphony of the Night), Chisa Yokoyama (Adult Maria, Symphony of the Night), Sawa Ishige (The Dracula X Chronicles), Miyu Matsuki (Judgment), Chiwa Saito (Harmony of Despair)
• English Voice Actor: Kimberly Forsythe (Symphony of the Night), Michelle Ruff (Symphony of the Night & The Dracula X Chronicles), Philece Sampler (Judgment & Harmon of Despair)

Sex: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 12 years old in Rondo of Blood (Listed as 12 years old in the Dracula X Chonicles game manual), 15 years old in Judgment (Listed as 15 years old during the events of Castlevania: Judgment), 17 years old in Symphony of the Night (Takes place 5 years after the events of Rondo of Blood/The Dracula X Chronicles), 18 years old in Nocturne of Recollection (A year has passed since the events of Symphony of the Night)

Homeworld: Earth

Residence: Unknown

Story Role: Main Protagonist

Classification: Relative of the Belmont Clan

Species: Human

State of Being: Regular

Physiology: Humanoid Physiology

In-Universe Creator: God

Occupation: Vampire Hunter

Affiliations: Richter Belmont, Annette, Alucard

Enemies: Dracula, Death, Shaft, Magnus

Height: 155 cm during Castlevania: Judgment

Weight: Unknown

Status

• During her Time: Alive
• Modern Time: Deceased (As she existed back in 1700s, she is naturally dead from old age)

Date of Death: Unknown

Alignment: Neutral Good (Put her life on the line to defeat Dracula, even when she was a kid, and later did so again as an adult. Maria is noted by Shaft to have much purity. Dracula even notes even as the world decays innocence like Maria still exists. Maria does not regret her immense powers robbing her of a normal life as she can use it to protect her loved ones and would rather focus on using her powers to help those in need)

Protection Level: Global Protector (Leon started a legacy of the Belmont clan to hunting the night. Fought and defeated Dracula, where in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Dracula plans to take over all of Europe, proceeded to amass an army to kill hundreds of soldiers to take over Europe, plagued the beautiful land located in the Southern Part of Romania into darkness by having devils attack it, plnned to spread his evil grip to the rest of Europe)

Codex Statistics

Key: Dracula X Chronicles | Symphony of the Night

Key Information

• Dracula X Chronicles: This key covers Maria during the events of Dracula X/Rondo of Blood/Dracula X Chronicles.
• Symphony of the Night: This key covers Maria during Symphony of the Night.

Grade: S (Shaft noted that Maria holds much power. Eric Lecarde notes that Maria's power surpasses even that of a Belmont) | S

Tier: At least 7-C, Higher with Iris's Charm | At least 7-C

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: At least Town level (Potency) (Can fight and defeat 1700s Dracula, Dracula also serves as the absolute evil, the opposite to God, where for God to be perfectly good, there must be a being of perfect darkness, being the entity opposite to God, with such power making him far superior to Golem from Castlevania Judgment, as he died to a random unknown hunter after his return from the time rift. Golem with his ultimate can shoot out a mouth blast that vaporizes everything it touches as far as the eye can see getting these results), Higher with Iris's Charm (The power of Iris's chamr will let one destroy crystal walls), Far Higher with Sheer Will (Simon claims that the Belmonts and Morrises did not defeated Dracula because of the Vampire Killer, with the reason behind heroes' capacity to fight against evil lying not in their physical strength but the noble desire to drive away evil and usher in all that is good, the desire to protect the world for all of humanity, with the courage to fight to protect others being the true essence of a hero and a Belmonts strength, with this even applying for other heroes such as Shanoa, Maria, Charlotte, and even Arikado) | At least Town level (Potency), Far Higher with Sheer Will

Durability: At least Town level, Far Higher with Sheer Will | At least Town level, Far Higher with Sheer Will

Striking Strength: At least Town Class (Potency), Far Higher with Sheer Will | At least Town Class (Potency), Far Higher with Sheer Will

Lifting Strength: At least Class 10 (The Belmonts are known as the most powerful and renowned vampire hunters within the world of Castlevania, during and before Trevor's time, the Belmont's were feared because of their immense power, which should make them superior to Hector's Battle-Type innocent devils who can move entire tree logs that are blocking roads out of the way where logs can weigh around 15 to 5 tons and Hector's battle-type innocent devils can lift open large iron doors that "no man could force open"), Far Higher with Sheer Will | At least Class 10, Far Higher with Sheer Will

Travel Speed: Superhuman regularly (Comparable to Leon Belmont, who was able to escape Walter's Castle while running from the top floor to the entrance, before the entire structure collapsed). At most Faster Than Light through full Aura (Comparable to Juste Belmont where Juste travels so fast that a light projection of him is left behind, enveloping with a blue aura around him), Far Higher with Sheer Will | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light through full Aura, Far Higher with Sheer Will

Attack Speed: At most Faster Than Light (Can tag 1700s Dracula, who serves as the absolute evil, the opposite to God, where for God to be perfectly good, there must be a being of perfect darkness, being the entity opposite to God, making him faster then enemies such as the Sky Fish who moves so fast that it appears as a beam of light and is only slowed down when time is stopped and the White Demon, who can move at the speed of light at short distances), Far Higher with Sheer Will | At most Faster Than Light , Far Higher with Sheer Will

Reaction Speed: At most Faster Than Light, Far Higher with Sheer Will | At most Faster Than Light, Far Higher with Sheer Will

Stamina: Superhuman+ (Just like Richter, Maria fought through Dracula’s Castle before defeating Dracula himself. She was then able to fight through Dracula’s Castle a second time in order to find Richter’s whereabouts)

Range: Standard Melee, Extended Melee with Staff, Tens of Meters with animal spirits

Intelligence: Genius Intelligence (Able to utilize sub-weapons that possess great attack and power which in Castlevania requires one to have a high intelligence to be able to do)

Knowledge: Grandmaster level (Can fight and defeat Dracula, where he was a genius tactician as Mathias, who they called "Cronqvist the Wise".)

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Powers and Techniques

Maria is a member of the Belmont Clan, making her apart of the Belmont Bloodline, which includes:

Superhuman Physical Characteristics (The Belmonts are known as the most powerful and renowned vampire hunters within the world of Castlevania. During and before Trevor's time, the Belmont's were feared because of their immense power), Acrobatics (Due to Belmonts superhuman nature, they possess very atheltic and acrobatic bodies, examples include Richter easily flipping over Death's scythe attack while also jumping around and fighting Death while on a moving horse carriage. Ricther also showcases this with his boss fight in Dracula X where he must jump across platforms while also fighting against Dracula. Julius showcasing extreme acrobatic leaps to reach the top of a castle drawbridge), Genius Intelligence (Belmonts are trained and some of the best users of various sub-weapons, which in Castlevania requires one to have a high intelligence to be able to do), Martial Arts (Trevor left behind all of his fighting techniques to each new Belmont clan member and Morris clan member), Weapon Mastery (No matter the Belmont, they have all showcase a natural gift in using weapons, with Christopher showcasing the tools of his family's destiny are always the axe, dagger, cross, & stop watch. Many of the famous Belmont weapons were left behind by Trevor), Sheer Will (The Belmonts are all ones with strong courage and willpower, where having a strong constitution dictates and influences how fast one can recover from status effects such as poison or curse. Belmonts are pillars of strength, willing to keep fighting even when weakened greatly and having their existence slowly erased from history. Simon claims that the Belmonts and Morrises did not defeated Dracula because of the Vampire Killer, with the reason behind heroes' capcity to fight against evil lying not in their physical strength but the noble desire to drive away evil and usher in all that is good, the desire to protect the world for all of humanity, with the courage to fight to protect others being the true essence of a hero and a Belmonts strength, with this even applying for other heroes such as Shanoa, Maria, Charlotte, and even Arikado), Aura (Belmonts release a glow of aura around them, that envelops their body), Extrasensory Perception (Belmonts can feel others being in an area, such as Simon Belmont being able to feel Trevor Belmont is in the time rift. Leon could sense and feel that Joachim Armster was a vampire. Leon could sense the rage from a Vampire Killer. Trevor could sense a bad omen approaching. Christopher Belmont felt a "chill" upon Dracula's return. Belmonts such as Juste could sense Death's overwhelming power. Belmonts such as Juste could sense the aura of the two different layers of the castles. Belmonts can see beings like the Bitterfly, a mutated insect, visible only to magicians. Julius could sense the dark powers within Soma Cruz. Julius could sense Dracula's powers at work within Graham, though could tell from sensing Graham that he very likely was not Dracula. Julius when fighting Soma could feel the evil spirit within Soma but also Soma's good spirit), Precognition (Premonitions; Belmonts can have future premonitions through their dreams, such as Christopher dreaming about Dracula stealing his son and turning him evil, far before he even had one), Magic (Due to coming into contact with Rinalod and gaining the whip, Rinaldo granted him a magic amulet. where Leon gained magical energy that would naturally be passed down to all of his descendants. Belmonts such as Julius naturally has magical powers due to this, along with Juste hainv magical powers deriving from the Fernandez (Belnandes) family), Principle Manipulation (Magic comes from alchemy, a field that experiments with the principles of God's creation of the world), Afterimage Creation (Belmonts can envelop themselves in an aura of light that allows them to move so fast, their light projections cannot keep up), Glyph Creation & Portal Creation (The Belmont blood acts as a key to the infinite corridor), Empowerment & Holy Manipulation (Belmonts can amplify weapons, Leon holding The Whip of Alchemy had it become more powerful then before, with Rinaldo stating that the whip fits Leon better then it fits him, despite him being the one to make the Whip of Alchemy. Medusa even noted that it wasn't so powerful before believing the whip gained its complete form. Belmonts can call upon the power of the light and use it to amplify their strength to be stronger and faster, this is also shown with Trevor Belmont's ultimate in Castlevania Judgment. The Belmonts can use their stored energy (hearts) and transfer it into subweapons to make regular weapons as strong as they are along with magically enhancing them), Invulnerability (Belmonts have an inborn self-defense ability known as "Burning Mode" which makes them invincible and raises their status to twice the normal level), Statistics Boost (Belmonts get stronger from hearing of someone's grief, wanting to help them), Reactive Power Level (As Dracula grows stronger each time he revives, the Belmonts have had to keep up, evolving to be powerful even without the strength of the Vampire Killer), Sealing (Metaphysical Sealing; Belmonts can capture the spirits of enemies equal or greater to an area boss and use their abilities from their soul), Nullification (Sealing Nullification; Belmonts such as Julius can compltely destroy barriers, however depending on how strong the barrier is, they may have no more energy to fight)

Resistances to Extreme Colds (Belmonts can walk in ice cold rooms without much worry), Extreme Heats (Belmonts can travel in boiling hot rooms without much affect. They can also fight enemies such as the Flame Elemental who emerges from the lavas of the room with the whole room being so hot it's colored red. Ricther showcases this where he moves around in a burning city without much affect or limitation to his movements), Absorption (Belmonts can fight and take hits from the mist, a creature that swallows up the living), Life-Force Absorption (Belmonts can take hits from the Spirit, which is an evil spirit that sucks up people's life energy), Corruption (Belmonts can be bitten by vampires without instantly turning), Helfire Attacks (Belmonts can take hits from the Flame Demon, a demon that wields the fires of Hell), Status Effect Inducement, Poison Manipulation, & Curse Manipulation (The Belmonts are all ones with strong courage and willpower, where having a strong constitution dictates and influences how fast one can recover from status effects such as poison or curse), Paralysis Inducement (Belmonts can be paralyzed, and slowly recover from the effects of it), Attack Reflection (Belmonts can hit Dracula with different projectile attacks, this extends to even Morrises', where Dracula's mere rib bone reflects all projectiles back), Petrification (Belmonts can take hits, from Medusa heads who can turn one into stone upon contacting them. Belmonts can can break out of, being petrified), Erasure (Metaphysical Erasure; The blood of the Belmont Clan can keep one's spirit from being erased from Dracula's magic), Time Stop (Belmonts are unaffected by time being stopped. With time in Castlevania being so potent that not even eternity can withstand time, along with even artificial life being subject to the laws of time), Poison Manipulation (Belmonts can take hits from the poison zombie, which spews a deadly poison that can rot flesh on contact), Fear Manipulation (Belmonts can be within Dracula's presence along with holding and using Dracula's rib bone where Dracula's mere rib bone is enough to make an oridnary hero feel like a spineless coward), Light Manipulation & Holy Manipulation (Belmonts have a natural resistance to holy elemental attacks), Absolute Zero (Belmonts can take ice from the frost demon, a demon that wields absolute cold and a total command of cold, making it superior to the likes of Cyril who can wield absolute zero and is seen as a standard ability from a creature of the night), Essence Manipulation (Belmonts can take hits from Succubus, who can suck up a person's essence), Sleep Manipulation (Belmonts are able to resist sleep based abilities, such as Leon resisting Walter's attempt to put him to sleep), Death Manipulation & Fate Manipulation (Belmonts cannot be killed by the likes of Death and his scythes, who is noted to govern the fate of death, being noted to have the power to govern the end of all living things, and can use his scythes to kill abstractions such as distance and sound), Law Manipulation (Belmonts are unaffected by contracts, where Renon had Reinhardt unknowningly agree to a contract with Satan where if he spends over 30 thousand gold pieces, his soul is forfeit, with Reinhardt being able to kill Renon and negate the contract altogether, where contracts are made to be absolute and bind one to it's agreements)

Resistance to Dracula's Castle's Abilities (Belmonts are able to travel in our around the castle without feeling any of the adverse effects from the castle)

The Castle Abilities Include:

Reality Warping (The Castle does not work on standard logic, where changing rooms can have one view a completely different background, such as room with a blue sky that is reflecting up and downwards and having the cloud srotate at a fast speed), Transmutation (Beings that come near are subject to the castle's influence, such as a local barnyard owl which was mutated just from flying near it), Possession (The castle possesses objects with its magic, such as a ouija table), Sealing (Dracula's magic captured Aguni, a primitive god of fire. The Castle has doors sealed off without solving puzzles. This can extend to walls being sealed off where explosions will not effect it until the seal is gone), Mind Manipulation (Everything that enters the castle is under the control by the power of Dracula's castle, the ghost of Eric Lecarde needed to cast a magic barrier to bind himself so he could be free from the control of the castle. The Castle corrupts the minds of those who enter it, such as making Maxim Kischine feel strange ever since coming to it. It also corrupted the mind of Hugh turning him against Nathan with Nathan noting he's being controlled by Dracula. The castle increases one's dark desires, allowing Dracula to easily control them. The magic of Dracula's power that empowers the owl enemy also spurs it to violence), Madness Manipulation (The Castle warped Gergoth, a once-gentle beast and drove it mad), Size Manipulation (Magically enlarged a toad through the use of demonic baptism), Fear Manipulation (Even while far away, Curtis and Michelle felt malicious intent from the castle where their bodies seemed to squeal "run away". Michelle even being at the entrance to the castle had her body telling her to not go in and her leg muscles being petrified like stone), Curse Manipulation (The Curse status that spirits inflict comes from them absorbing the magic power around the castle. The Castle cursed a human to turn into a lizard man), Life Manipulation (The castle can bring inanimate statues to life to attack. Can cause the glass murals to come to life and attack), Soul Manipulation (Those that die in the castle become one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle for eternity), Abstract Manipulation & Hell Manipulation (The castle can create a core of evil made from hatred, envy, anger and other dark emotions)

Martial Arts (Maria is abe to use hand to hand combat when combating foes and enemies), Acrobatics (Maria is able to do a super jump, allowing her to jump an immense distance into the air), Multiple Jumps (Maria is able to pull off a triple jump, allowing her to jump three times in the air without landing), Contact Damage (Item Crashes allow one to deal damage to an enemy on contact, even if the item they have they cannot do an item crash with), Energy Absorption (Maria can get hearts out of objects and enemies, where hearts are a measure of one's stored energy, thus one is absorbing energy when gaining hearts), Summoning (Maria is able to, summon familiars to fight for her. Summons a large dragon to attack with her), Healing (With Turtle Healing, uses one of her animal familiars to create a green light, restoring her health), Bestowal (Maria can bestow invulnerability to others such as when she grants it to Richter if he loses to Dracula), Invulnerability (Through summoning all of her animal familiars, Maria can make herself invulnerable, this invulnerability makes one immune to even the likes of 1700s Dracula. With Turtle, covers Maria in a turtle's shell, leaving her slow but invincible), Animal Manipulation (Can use her animal familiars to help her in battles. Her subweapons in The Dracula X Chronicles are just her summoning her animal familiars to help her fight. Can send out a cat to attack for her. Her item crash with the cat causes a massive tiger to appear across the screen, dealing massive damage to all enemies. Can send out a dragon to attack enemies. Her item crash with the dragon causes a massive dragon to appear, that deals damage to all enemies on screen. Her Item Crash with the turtle causes four turtles to all fuse together and spin into a blade attacking all enemies on screen. Sends out an egg with birds in them to attack. Her Item Crash with the egg causes more birds to appear out of it. Sends out two sparrows to attack for her), Curtain Fire (Multi-Directional) & Fire Manipulation (Her Item Crash with the sparrows causes a giant pheonix to appear and shoot out fireballs that damage all on screen. Maria can shoot out fireballs for attacks, she can also charge it for a stronger fireball attack, eventually turning into a laser beam. With Flameburst, shoots out a massive fire attack dealing a great amount of damage), Electricity Manipulation (With Guardian Knuckle, creates an orb of electricity from her fist that she punches with), Sound Manipulation (With Book of Music, Maria can use her singing voice as a weapon. Her Item Crash causes her to create music notes in the sky, once the song finishes, it greatly damages or kills all enemies on screen), Water Manipulation (With Seiryuu Call, Maria imbues the owl with the power of Seiryuu, allowing her to form a massive wave to attack opponents with).

Resistance to Petrification (Maria has an immunity to the stone status effect)

Healing (With food, refills Maria's health and with magic jewel, completely restores Maria's health), One Hit KO (With Rosary, destroys all enemies on screen instantly), Invisibility & Invulnerability (With Invisibility Potion, renders Maria temporarily invicible), Resistance Bypassing (With Terra's Necklace, the power of Terra's necklace allows one to destroy red skeletons, who endlessly regenerates, from any kind of damage due to it absorbing blood)

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Equipment

Equipment

• Staff: A large metallic pole staff with a cage on top, in which Osca the owl resides. Maria uses this to whack enemies.
• Book of Music: Though relatively weak, Maria can use her singing voice as a weapon.

Summons

• Osca: A snow white owl that can channel Maria’s animal spirits, and resides in her pole staff.
• Dove: Maria summons a pure white dove that attacks the enemies in a short range.
• Cat: A small white cat that jumps off of Maria and runs forwards, harming anything in its path.
• Tortoise: Maria crouches down and a large turtle shell falls on top of her, acting as a protective barrier. She can crawl along the floor while the tortoise shell protects her.
• Dragon: Maria summons a small human-sized dragon that flies around and attacks anything in its vicinity. It can also summon large waves to attack.
• Red Bird: This summon has Maria unleash two cardinals above her, which fly around in an arc and attack anything in their path. It can also unleash pillars of flame.
• Egg: Releases a chick when dropped that flies away through the enemy.

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Notable Techniques

Normal Attacks

Neutral Combo (B + B + B)

Directional Combo (Left Stick + B + B + B)

Jumping Attack (Jump + B)

Suzaku Call (A + B)

Maria can call Suzaku's name and it imbues her owl with flames. The owl perched inside Maria's cage staff flies and spins Maria around, leaving a large trail of flames in its path.

Genbu Call (Left Stick + A + B)

Calls forth a giant turtle shell which falls on her opponent. It is the only attack that does not involve a direct attack by her owl Osca, who instead covers his eyes with his feathers during the whole ordeal.

Byakko Call (A + B)

Summons the spirit of the Cat into her owl, Osca, after Maria has jumped. The cat then compels the Owl to dive down to the ground, smashing Maria into the ground in the process.

Hold on a Minute (Right Trigger + A + B)

The follow-up to Byakko Call, in which the owl is compelled to fly low to the ground straight forward like a cat running on the ground, running into her opponent.

Seiryuu Call (Charge A + B - also aerial)

Maria imbues the owl with the power of Seiryuu, allowing her to form a massive wave to attack opponents with.

Guardian Knuckle (Left Trigger + B)

Maria summons a guardian spirit that delivers multiple punches on the opponent. </gallery>

Everybody, All Together Now!

In Castlevania Judgment, Maria Renard’s Super Finisher, "Everybody, All Together Now," sees her channeling the power of the Four Sacred Beasts. As she calls, “Come on everybody, give me your strength,” her owl absorbs their combined might. Maria charges her enemy with the owl in its cage, but the surge of power overwhelms her, causing her to stumble and release it. The owl escapes, rockets through the air, and launches a powerful dive attack on her opponent before landing humorously on her head.

Summon Four Holy Beasts

In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Maria Renard can summon the Four Holy Beasts—Suzaku, the fire bird; Genbu, the turtle; Seiryuu, the dragon; and Byakko, the white tiger—to grant temporary invincibility to herself or an ally. During the "Final Stage: Bloodlines" prelude, she casts this spell if Richter loses all his health while facing Dracula. Maria continues her prayer throughout the fight, sustaining the spell’s effect, which prevents Richter from taking damage until he defeats Dracula. In the Sega Saturn version, the playable Maria can activate this spell on herself by executing a complex input sequence (↑↗→↘↓↙←↖↑ [hold] ↓ + [ATTACK]). For around 34 seconds, she becomes invincible, inflicting damage simply by making contact with enemies. During this time, her Drop Kick, High Jump, Slide, and sub-weapons deal twice their usual damage.

Item Crashes

Item Crashes are a technique utilized by Maria that allow her to use special attacks with her sub-weapons. Performing an item crash takes more hearts then normally taken from the subweapon however in return the attack is capable of killing most enemies and greatly reducing a boss' health.

The item crashes are as follow:

Summon Suzaku

“

Two light-hitting red birds fly upwards at an angle to attack foes.

„

The great bird Suzaku is summoned, picks up Maria and fires a shower of fireballs all over the screen in a similar way to Richter's Hydro Storm. In Symphony of the Night, an armored great bird appears behind Maria, firing 20 pairs of fireballs in arcs above and below her at enemies.

Summon Byakko

A white tiger appears to pick up Maria and runs over an enemy on his level, damaging it. In Symphony of the Night, a white tiger appears behind Maria for about 5 seconds. Every time she attacks with her owls while it's present, it will also swipe its claws in front of her, similar to the Vorpal Blade and Crissaegrim.

Summon Seriyuu

“

Sends a powerful dragon flying forward to attack enemies.

„

A big dragon covers about all the screen, dealing big damage to all enemies. However, its Heart cost is very high. In Symphony of the Night a big dragon circles around Maria and through enemies for 5 seconds before flying off the screen.

Summon Genbu

“

Covers the player in a turtle's shell, leaving them slow but invincible.

„

A big turtle will appear from the background, damaging all enemies on screen. In Symphony of the Night, a stone turtle appears in the middle of a large vortex for about 5 seconds. The vortex itself has a Soul Steal effect, with the turtle absorbing the life energy of enemies within it. After disappearing, the turtle's absorbed energy would transfer to Maria, healing her. Maria summons all of her animal friends to either herself or an ally, granting invulnerability and heightened power.

Guardian Knuckle

Maria summons a guardian who delivers a flurry of punches in front of her.

Songbook

Twelve musical notes will appear all over the screen and stay there for several seconds, dealing continuous damage to enemies that touch them before disappearing.

Egg

Maria will drop an egg, which breaks open and a circle of birds emerges from it, with a red bird in the center of them. They will then fly off to one side of the screen, damaging all enemies in their path.

Key

Maria will hold the key up in the air, but it does nothing, however, any enemies that touch her will be harmed by contact damage.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Maria will utilize her animal friends in combat, along with her own magic attacks and sub-weapons that best suit the situation.

Weaknesses: Maria has a weakness to the darkness element.

Note

• Contrary to popular belief, holy attacks and the whips in Castlevania can affect and harm people that aren't apart of the creatures of the night. Leon's doppleganger can use holy water and holy attacks against him in this fight along with the alchemy whip despite Leon being a pure and noble warrior. Simon's doppleganger can harm him with the vampire killer, despite Simon being a noble hero.

Trivia

• Maria's surname, renard, means "fox" in French.

Little Maria from Frankenstein.
(Universal Pictures, 1931)

• Maria's original design in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was possibly inspired by the minor character "Little Maria" (played by Marilyn Harris) from the 1931 horror film, Frankenstein. Maria is a little girl the creature befriends but who also accidentally kills. Maria Renard bears a striking resemblance to the film character: both are around the same age, have long hair styled in big curls, and wear a similar dress; and while the film is in black and white, it is believed Little Maria's dress was also pink (although apparently she had brown hair instead of blond). However, if Maria Renard is actually inspired by the film character is unconfirmed.
• Her alternate appearance in the Gekkan PC Engine magazine is apparently based on her sprite from Rondo of Blood. This design also appears on the Portrait of Ruin images and is used as the basis for her appearance in Harmony of Despair.

• 

  Maria from the Gekkan PC Engine strategy guide.

• 

  Maria from Portrait of Ruin.

• 

  Maria from Harmony of Despair.

• Her sprite in Dracula X is modified from her Rondo of Blood version with a different hairstyle. However, the dress color is different from the one in the instruction booklet.
• It seems Maria's sprite from the canceled game "Castlevania: The Bloodletting" may have been modified into Salome in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

• 

  Maria's sprite from the canceled game "Castlevania: The Bloodletting".

• 

  Salome's sprite from Symphony of the Night.

• In Symphony of the Night, Maria is referred as Richter Belmont's sister-in-law. After a newer version of the official timeline was released, it was stated that Maria is adopted by the Belmont family, explaining how she became Richter's adopted sister. Maria herself is naturally a Belmont as games such as Grimoire of Soul and in Rondo of Blood, Dracula calls Maria "the blood of Belmont".
  • Note that the Japanese term "義妹" (gimai) could refer to either "sister-in-law" and "adopted sister".
• Even though the US PlayStation version of Symphony of the Night profile indicates she had no relation to the Belmonts, the original Rondo of Blood instruction booklet does indicate she did have ties to them. This was reasserted in the North American instruction booklets of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and Castlevania Judgment.
• In The Dracula X Chronicles, young Maria is wearing what looks like a boy's outfit, when other designs of her have always featured more feminine dresses or skirts.
• Maria was originally mentioned to be prepared for a sacrificial ritual in the instruction booklet for Rondo of Blood. In the remake, this was changed to Shaft unlocking her latent abilities in an attempt to get her to serve Dracula. This revision is also apparent in Maria's Judgment appearance.
• Maria's voice actress in The Dracula X Chronicles and its portable games, Michelle Ruff, also provided the voice of Shanoa in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
• In Castlevania Judgment, Maria is said to have become orphaned since her parents were killed by Dracula. This comes from the remake of Rondo of Blood, in which she says her parents were killed but never reveals by who or when.
• The Judgment version of Maria Renard was not well received by fans, mostly due to her abuse in comic relief, as well as her fixation on other female characters' anatomy, which made her appear hollow and unpleasant compared to her good nature and brave personality presented in the rest of her appearances.
• Both of Maria's English and Japanese voice actresses in Castlevania Judgment, Philece Sampler and Miyu Matsuki, respectively, have already passed away.
• The ending for the first Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls trailer features Maria singing with several cartoonish penguins (including Penta) dancing along, referring to the MSX game Penguin Adventure, where after beating the Freezaurus, they execute a similar dance.
• When Simon Belmont and Genya Arikado first meet the younger version of Maria, Genya mentions that Maria and he (as Alucard) once fought each other, referencing the Sega Saturn and The Dracula X Chronicles versions of Symphony of the Night, which featured an additional boss battle against Maria just before fighting Richter Belmont.
• Maria does not appear in the Beta version of Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody, other than in artwork.

Battle Records

With Rondo of Blood
23-1-0

With The Dracula X Chronicles
25-1-0

Combined
48-1-0

• Wyvern - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Village Ruins

• Werewolf - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Entrance, Lake Bridge

• Water Dragon - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Village Ruin

• Bone Golem - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Entrance, Lake Bridge

• Minotaur - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: The Chapel, Cemetery

• Dogether - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: The Chapel, Cemetery

• Dullahan - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Inner Halls, Mountain Range

• Carmilla & Laura - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Inner Halls, Mountain Range

• Death - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Ghost Ship

• Shaft - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Hidden Docks, Marble Gallery

• Shaft's Ghost - Fight
  • Conditions: Match was a rematch.
  • Location: Clock Tower

• Dracula - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Castle

• Wyvern - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 1: Town Ruins

• Sea Serpent - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 1: Town Ruins

• Werewolf - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 2: Main Hall, Stage 2': Lake Bridge

• Bone Golem - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 2: Main Hall, Stage 2': Lake Bridge

• Minotaur - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 3: The Chapel, Stage 3': The Graveyard

• Dogether - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 3: The Chapel, Stage 3': The Graveyard

• Dullahan - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 4: The Dungeon, Stage 4': Mountain Range

• Carmilla & Laura - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 4: The Dungeon, Stage 4': Mountain Range

• Death - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 5: Ghost Ship

• Hydra - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 5': Hidden Docks

• Shaft - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 6: Marble Gallery

• Vampire Annette - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 7: Clock Tower
  • Note: This is only accessible in the bad ending route, which is not in the main timeline.

• Shaft's Ghost - Fight
  • Conditions: Match was a rematch.
  • Location: Stage 7: Clock Tower

• Dracula - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 8: Castle Keep

• Aeon - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift

• Golem - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Grant Danasty - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Shanoa - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Eric Lecarde - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Sypha Belnades - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Cornell - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Alucard - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Carmilla - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Aeon - Fight
  • Conditions: Match was a rematch.
  • Location: Time Rift

• Time Reaper - Fight
  • Conditions: Match was a rematch.
  • Location: Time Rift

• Alucard - Fight
  • Conditions: Maria was testing Alucard to see if he was willing to fight Richter.
  • Location: Marble Gallery

None