Across the Castlevania franchise, there are hundreds of bosses, some of whom reappear in later games. No boss does this more than the franchise's primary antagonist, Dracula himself. As the final boss in nearly all Castlevania games, he's seen well over a dozen iterations. With so many fights, each trying to make the fight unique, there are fights ranging from plain boring and easy to memorable and challenging. No fight fits the latter better than the final battle of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
Portrait of Ruin initially released for the DS in Nov. 2006 in Japan, coming to North America the following month. It's among the latest main series Castlevania games, and it features Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin, who players can switch between to use each of their respective abilities. The final fight of the game pits the characters up against another tag team: Dracula and Death.
One of the biggest contributors to how well received this Dracula fight was is the spectacle of fighting Dracula and Death at the same time. They are the two biggest antagonists and bosses of the entire series, showing up in nearly every game. This puts weight behind their appearance together as master and servant, bringing a whole new level of magnitude at the climax of the story. To finally see them work side-by-side is a fresh experience, especially as it mimics how the player fights with both Jonathan and Charlotte -- all the while playing a chaotic melody in the background that continues to build as players fight for their lives.
Their fight together also adds a new level of challenge to two otherwise simplistic fights. While neither have particularly surprising move sets, they complement one another, with Dracula having horizontal fireballs while Death comes in with vertical slashes at the player. They even have two combination attacks, one of which turns Death's flying sickles into balls of darkness, while the other summon a giant scythe to slam the ground near Dracula in a huge explosion.
Once the player depletes one of their two health bars, Dracula absorbs Death and becomes True Dracula. In this form, Dracula gets up close and personal, slamming the ground near the player or even ramming into them. With the power taken from Death, Dracula can shoot fireballs at the player and throw dark scythes to tear them up. Finally, when he moves to the background, he tries to crush the characters with his giant wings, forcing the player to attack back the wings to push them back and prevent taking massive damage.
Every step of this Dracula fight takes everything the player learned and puts it to the test, rewarding those with skill and persistence for learning the game. It does this all without adding in a lot of unfair or unfun attacks that take away from the majesty of the fight. Even with all the iterations before and after this point, the fight with both Dracula and Death from Portrait of Ruin has not been outdone. It surpasses all expectations and cements itself as one of, if not the, best boss in the Castlevania franchise.