Yoko Belnades

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Yoko Belnades (ヨーコ・ヴェルナンデス, Yōko Verunandesu^?, Yoko Fernandez) is a character in the Castlevania video game series made by Konami. She's a descendant of the Belnades clan, and is a powerful witch, similar to her ancestor Sypha Belnades. She is very close to Mina Hakuba, the daughter of the owner of the Hakuba Shrine, and is like an older sister to her. She performs tasks for the Roman Catholic Church in their search for Dracula and the remainder of his powers.

[edit] Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

She first appears in the game Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, where she provides some information to the game's protagonist Soma Cruz when he encounters her. She is 24 years old in this game, which means that unlike some people think, she had nothing to do with the 1999 events. She is present in the castle when Soma arrives, giving him occasional aid and assistance when Soma finds her. Eventually, Soma reveals that Graham Jones has revealed to him that he will receive Dracula's power and that Soma will not rule the castle. Yoko accepts the information and pursues Graham. When Soma next finds her, she has just been stabbed by a furious Graham, who flees at the sight of Soma. Yoko is carried away by Soma and treated by Genya Arikado.

[edit] Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow

Yoko is also present in the sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and her role there is much larger. Soma first meets her along with Julius Belmont, the famed vampire hunter, over a bridge in The Lost Village. After Julius performs a jump across the chasm to the other side, Yoko is forced to turn back with Soma. Soma escorts her to a safe place in the Lost Village, where she creates a shop of sorts where Soma can change his weapons into more powerful forms by using the souls of the monsters he gains dominance over. Furthermore, she can release those same souls from Soma's dominance, allowing Soma to change their effects, decrease their power, and allow him to gather new ones. At the end of the game, she laughs at him and Mina along with the rest of the characters.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Julius Mode is unlocked, Yoko is a playable character in the game, found in the very same shop that she is during a normal game with Soma. She wields a small staff that has slow attack, but the ability to regenerate health after every attack. Like most of the characters, she can jump, double jump, and has an impressive backflip that serves as her backslide. Furthermore, she can use three spells: a fire spell that fires in front of her, an ice spell that sends five long spears of ice out in all directions, and a lightning assault that fires three charged balls of lightning at opponents.

Spoilers end here.

Towards the end of the game, when Soma enters the Pinnacle, many of the succubi in the area disguise themselves as Yoko who will knee Soma if he comes too close, only assuming their real form once Soma attacks them.