Chernabog

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Template:Enemy Chernabog is the demonic denizen of Bald Mountain, and he appears as a boss at the End of the World in Kingdom Hearts. He originally appeared in Disney's Fantasia, in the segment set to "Night on Bald Mountain".

The Japanese version of the game uses "Squirming Evil", the track used for most Disney Villain battles. However, in the American version of Kingdom Hearts, as well as in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the background music for the battle with Chernabog is an arrangement of "Night on Bald Mountain".

Story

On their way to confront Ansem, while fighting his legions of Heartless, Sora, Donald, and Goofy encounter the demon Chernabog. He wakes up and promptly attacks the trio, but is defeated after a grueling battle.

Design

Chernabog is a gigantic, muscular, humanoid demon. His skin is entirely colored black, and he is so large that Sora is roughly the size of his head. His head sports two curved horns, he has four fangs in his mouth, and his eyes are a glowing yellow. He has enormous, black, bat-like wings, and his wingspan is larger than he is tall. Chernabog is always seen trapped from the knees-down in a volcano.

His name is taken from a Slavic deity, whose name means "black god". However, Disney designed him with Satan in mind. His Japanese name, "Demon of Fantasia", references his role in Fantasia, the Disney film he first appeared in.

Personality

Chernabog can easily be described as the most evil Disney villain in the series. Unlike other villains, Chernabog has no comical points. His very presence strikes fear in the hearts of others, and he'll attack without a moment's thought or warning. He is stoic and emotionless, who gets joy in watching his foes suffer. His intelligence, however, is questionable.

Abilities

Chernabog has many frightening powers to fight if needed. His main ability is to control fire, like Hades, and uses it in various ways such as breathing fire or shooting fireballs from his hands. He can also cause the volcano he's in to erupt with tremendous force. He can also flap his huge wings to create a gale to blow opponents away. And, when in desperate need, summon six orbs of light to attack the trio.

Strategy

In this battle, Sora and party can fly around the area, similar to the battle with the Phantom and the World of Chaos.

Although his attacks are few, they are very upscale and dangerous to the health bar. The most powerful attack is when he looks as though he is bent over, apparently hurt, but then rises triumphantly, causing the volcano to erupt violently. This attack gets more powerful later in the battle. Another attack would be when he consistently breathes fire, either from left to right, or right to left. When he begins to lose health, he will use variants of Aero to knock the party far away from him, at which point he will send out beams of light similar to the ones Ansem casts from his World of Chaos form.

A good way to avoid the first one is to quickly fly away, and press to signal to Donald and Goofy to follow Sora, so that they will not perish either. The second can be avoided by simply flying behind his head, and merely waiting for him to stop breathing fire. Also, now would be a good time to attack from the back of his skull. The third cannot be avoided, but the fourth can be difficultly maneuvered past.

As Chernabog is fought while in flight, summons are not available to the party, which can be a serious hindrance. However Sora can get around this by landing on his shoulder or the summit of the mountain. Summoning Tinker Bell can be a tide turning advantage. Also, using Aeroga can help a great deal, as it helps decrease the damage dealt.

Origin

Chernabog first appeared in Walt Disney's Fantasia, during the Night on Bald Mountain segment, in which he erupts from the mountain in the same way as in the game. Chernabog awakens on top of Bald Mountain on Walpurgis Night, and uses his dark powers to raise ghosts, skeletons, demons, witches, harpies, goblins, and zombies from a nearby town. He summons fire and lava, and makes the wretches in his control dance and fly around, before he destroys them. However, the Angelus bells suddenly begin ringing, heralding sunrise, driving Chernabog and his slaves back into hiding, as a line of monks proceeds through the forest and a ruined cathedral to the sounds of the "Ave Maria".

Trivia

• Chernabog is the only Disney villain with no explained reason for fighting Sora. He is also one of the two Disney villains to not exploit the Heartless or the Unversed, the other being The Queen of Hearts.
• Kingdom Hearts marks one of the first times Chernabog makes a sound, being completely silent in Fantasia.

Videos

Chernabog - Kingdom Hearts

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