Video games have been graced by ancient Greek monsters for a while now. People like Medusa, harpies and minotaurs have been terrorizing players for decades. But no classic creature has left the same impression as Cerberus, the guard at the gate of Hades.
This three-headed dog that canonically has a snake for its tail has successfully bridged the gap between horrible and cute. Terrifying and blurry. Terrible and “I want to pet that.” So let’s take a look at the best versions of a god’s best friend.
10 Wild Cerberus (God Of War II)
The God of War series is easily the most recognized game series dealing with Greek mythology, and it shows three different cerberi appear in the first three games. But of these three, the best is easily the Wild Cerberus from God Of War II.
Unlike the standard and mole cerberus, the wild cerberus has white fur and horns on each of its heads. While this gives it a cool yeti feel, the Wild Cerberus is made less impressive by being just a little bit bigger than Kratos. Therefore, it is not as intimidating compared to other versions of this mythical dog.
9 Cerberus The Great Worm (Dante’s Inferno)
It seems that the look of Cerberus is so iconic that you can’t do much with it. It will be a dog, it will have three heads and maybe it will have a snake for its tail. But while Dante’s Inferno was rather bland, it manages to bring a unique view of Cerberus to life.
Cerberus The Great Worm is a series of mouths emanating from a singularly larger mouth, which is fitting because it represents the third circle of hell: gluttony. This creature is visually disruptive, constantly gnawing at you and spewing bile. This makes for an incredibly memorable creature, which is more than can be said for the rest of Dante’s Inferno.
8 Keruberosu (Castlevania: Vampire’s Kiss/Dracula X)
The Castlevania series is known for its wide variety of monsters from different sources. While this allows for many different cerberi in the different games, one of the most memorable is the Keruberosu from Castlevania: Dracula X (or Vampire’s Kiss if you’re European).
This boss fight starts to wander you down a long, empty path, as Keruberosu jumps across the screen and back again to confront you. This leads to a fun fight with fireballs and the flames of hell roasting behind you. It’s a really great way to start the game.
7 Rottweiler Cerberus (Dark Age of Camelot)
It seems like it should be easy to make a memorable version of Cerberus. I mean, it’s a dog! There are plenty of different breeds to draw inspiration from. The only game that goes out and actually does is Dark Age of Camelot.
Dark Age of Camelot, an MMO that has been running since 2001, envisions Cerberus as a stereotypical Rottweiler with a pointed, red collar and chains. It makes the beast equally scary and cute, because in real life Rottweilers and the most well-trained large dogs are love bugs. Watch out for the giant drool lakes that will be in the Labyrinth.
6 Cerberus Mountain (Final Fantasy XIV)
So far, there are many examples of different Cerberi that just want to hurt you. Isn’t there one you can just ride on? Well, Final Fantasy XIV does that for you, better because not only can you ride a Cerberus, but you can take your friends with you.
While there are still aggressive forms of Cerberus in the Final Fantasy series, the mount in Final Fantasy XIV has a special collar that is said to make it as tame as a puppy. However, it does take some effort to earn it. All you have to do is complete the Delubrum Reginae raid on Savage difficulty, which is not an easy task. Then talk to Jonathas and he will give you the horn needed to summon this monstrous mount.
5 Ice Guard Cerberus (Devil May Cry 3)
Finally being able to ride a Cerberus is pretty awesome. But you know what would be better? If it could turn into a sick bunch of nunchucks. Even if it uses ice power sources instead of fire. That would be pretty cool.
Puns aside, Cerberus from Devil May Cry 3 is a terrifying boss. Decked out in ice armor, he warns Dante not to enter the Temen-ni-gru tower and does not attack until Dante mocks him. After being defeated, Cerberus turns into a Devil Arm, a three-piece nunchaku, meaning he has three rods instead of two.
4 Pascal (Shin Megami Tensei)
This version of Cerberus lacks many of the traits normally associated with the myth. There is only one head and its appearance is more like a lion than a dog. However, this is the closest thing to a snake-like tail! But what sets Pascal apart from the rest is the backstory.
In the original Shin Megami Tensei, Pascal is your real-world dog who can join your company after witnessing your mother’s murder. If you allow this and Pascal merges with a demon, he becomes an incredibly powerful version of the Cerberus demon. So while the Cerberus version of Pascal may not look like a dog, he has the most important quality associated with it: loyalty.
3 Hound Of Hell Cerberus (Hades)
Hades gives you a lot of access to different characters from Greek mythology and while some of them have deeper backstories, none are as cute as Cerberus, Zagreus’ pet. Sorry, Dusa.
This Cerberus is still supposed to guard Hades’ entrance, but more often than not you’ll just see him relaxing in the main lobby next to Hades the god. You can go upstairs, talk to him and even pet him. He is an absolute sweetheart and one of the many highlights in a beautiful match.
2 Disney’s Cerberus (Kingdom Hearts)
Disney’s Hercules brought many memorable incarnations of some of the Greek favorites, such as the Titans, the Hydra, and Hades himself. But one of the coolest monsters was Cerberus, who was surprisingly scary for a Disney movie. And he gets even more intimidating in Kingdom Hearts.
While he still retains his Pitbull-esque aesthetic from the movie, you’re now trapped in an arena with the beast. He is strong and can deal a lot of damage if you attack him head on. That means it’s a lot smarter to attack him from the sides or on his back. For some reason, this three-dimensional quality of combat makes it a lot more nerve-wracking than even God of War.
1 Playable God Cerberus (Smite)
So far we’ve seen Cerberus represented with awesome boss fights, weapons, party members and even a mount. However, none of these games have given you the chance to control the ultimate hellhound. In fact, there are very few games that allow you to play as the satanic pupper. However, Smite is one of those games.
With dozens of gods and mythical figures from various mythos, Cerberus isn’t exactly one of the strongest characters out there. But Smite makes up for this with all the awesome skins given to Cerberus. Classic lava dog? Cute puppy? Giant mech? Dinosaur? All these and more are available for your choice. Most of these even get the snake tail right! Because of this, Smite easily has the best versions of Cerberus out there.
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