Basilisk

Basilisk
Name data
Katakana	バシリスク
Rōmaji	Bashirisuku
Personal data
Species	Artificial Demon
Status	Production halted
Professional data
Affiliation	Order of the Sword
Real world data
Appearances	Devil May Cry 4

The Basilisk is a lesser demon encountered in Devil May Cry 4. It first appears in Mission 16: Inferno and its only faced by Dante on the lower difficulties, but it appears earlier in higher modes. Agnus is able to summon Basilisks during his boss fights, using them as projectiles or spawning them in the battlefield to attack Nero.

Description

Basilisks were created by Agnus by magically cross-breeding a gun and a dog. Their insides are made of flame, and are visible through their skeleton-like body. They can fight with teeth and claws, but their most dangerous attack is to fire their skulls from their bodies like a cannon. They possess the ability to generate a new head, so they can use this attack repeatedly.

Behavior

All of the Basilisks' attack are slight variations of one move:

First being skull launch: Basilisk launches its fiery skull at you. Explodes on impact.

Second being skull launch (while jumping): Basilisk starts to run at you, jumps and then fires its flaming skull at you.

Strategy

Basilisks appear for the first time

Basilisks are swift and agile opponents often able to attack you while in the middle of a combo. Their skulls are easily dodged, but the opposite can be said when they pounce at you. It is recommended to use firearms at them while continuing to dodge their attacks and focus your hits on one Basilisk while still paying attention to the others' attacks.

As Dante, use the Coyote-A or Ebony & Ivory, and evade their flame skulls with the Royalguard or Trickster Styles. Pandora is not the best choice since it is slow, but PF594: Argument can be effective, as its missiles are homing. As for melee weapons, stinger with Rebellion should be an effective move, since it will stab the Basilisk before it has time to dodge. Once the demon is on the ground, keeping on using Rebellion combos will probably finish it, or switch to Gilgamesh to deal greater damage with less hits. Since Dante cannot bring the enemies towards him like Nero, don't stay centered in just one Basilisk at a time. Keep an eye on the rest and be sure you are able to predict their bullet-skull attacks.

As Nero, you can charge up the Blue Rose to knock them down and then Buster them while being careful to dodge their attacks. Just as with the Gladii, Nero can use Basilisks as weapons when he performs a Buster over them: the effect is to force the Basilisk to involuntarily fire its skull. This can deal a minor damage to another Basilisk or enemy if hit, but the fact that the attack has to be perfectly aimed makes it not worth to try, unless you're looking for increase your Stylish rank. Air Hike and then Air Buster will trap a Basilisk and then fire it's skull down to the ground, increasing the possibilities to hit an enemy that was below. 

In Dante Must Die mode, using Nero's Buster or even Air Buster (to keep a safe distance) on Basilisks is not recommended, as they attack much faster and are even more unpredictable.

Background

The Basilisk is a mythical creature in Greek and European legends. Its physical appearance is unmistakably reptilian, though occaisionally sporting a chicken's head, and is often depicted with multiple legs, with sometimes even as much as eight or ten. It's unfathomably poisonous to the point where it leaves a snail-like poison trail when traveling, and also demonstrates the power to paralyze, petrify, or at worst, kill with a single glance. It was also said to smell like a weasel, and is often depicted in art and heraldry.

The design of the Basilisk enemy, however, is derived from the hellhound, which are often depicted as brutal, black dogs which may be covered in the flames of hell.

Gallery

Concept art from the Devil May Cry 4 Devil's Material Collection artbook.