This is a low-down of the enemies encountered in the game, in relative order of appeareance. Enemies further down the page will be stronger than enemies closer to the top. Bosses will be listed last, also in relative order of encounter.

These rather pleasant-looking people to the left are the most common enemy in the Village stage of the game (the first stage). They are actually the villagers of the small town Leon has stumbled upon, and have been turned into hosts for the Plagas parasites. They are referred to as "ganados," the Spanish word for cattle, possibly because they are very numerous and incredibly disposable. So basically the evil overlord's typical cannon-fodder. Most of them are pretty easy to get rid of by themselves, but their power lies in their ability to join together and mob you. Beware, as some of these guys have weapons that they throw at you from a distance, like axes or dynamite. If you see anyone holding dynamite, SHOOT THEM. Not only will they not be able to throw it at you cause they've dropped it, but they end up blowing themselves to bits, along with anyone in their vincinity (so don't do it if they're next to you, of course). In the beginning of the game, it's easier to kill them by shooting in the head and hopefully decapitating them with one shot (hey man, don't lose your head over it *snerk*). Later on, however (i.e., at night in the game), doing this will cause the Plaga infecting the ganados to rear its ugly head, quite literally, I assure you. This is bad, as the plagas are a lot more difficult to kill because of their higher resistance to damage. They only come out at night because they hate light more than vampires do. So at night you'll want to avoid headshots. Plaga means "plague" in Spanish, although "annoying, deadly pests" might be more appropriate. Once these things sprout out of an enemy's head, it's pretty much an absolute waste of time to shoot the host body, so just aim for the Plaga. As previously mentioned, they hate light, so if for some reason you end up with multiple Plagas around you, toss a flash grenade at them to make em go pop. They look like rabid octopi, and most of their tentacles do absolutely nothing besides very minor damage, but watch out for the white, spiky tentacle. This is actually made of bone, and can do some decent damage to you.

Also, beware any ganado with a chainsaw, as they are, in my estimation, mini-bosses. They are much stronger, and more durable, than their farming-utensil-wielding counterparts. The plus side to the chainsaw maniacs are that they tend to drop a lot more gold (pesetas) and shinies. Just be sure you've got either a magnum or shotgun with you in order to give them a proper greeting.

Awwwwwww, PUPPY! No... no, BAD puppy, no eating my face... AUGH!!! ^x__x^;; Unlike the friendly wolf you saved on your way to the village, these guys do bite the hand that feeds them. Or that goes anywhere near them, for that matter. They (pictured right) are wolves, yes, but they've also been infected with Las Plagas, somehow. So heed the Do Not Pet sign, kids. Their name means "fangs" in Spanish, although their teeth aren't your only problem when you have to face them. Their tentacles can do some decent damage, apart from them biting your face off. Use a grenade to stun them, then put them out of their misery with a shotgun blast. Not exactly "humane euthanasia," but I'm sure even PETA wouldn't mind too much... The good news is that the Plagas seem to have reduced their natural wolfen good eyesight, so you can generally see them before they even notice you're there, and you can prepare accordingly. Please be forewarned that Colmillos, like regular wolves, enjoy taking down their prey by tackling them and then attempting to rip their throats out. Madly abusing your thumbstick can help you escape both of these attacks, but it's a lot better to avoid either of them completely.

Los Illuminados is the name of the cult that is behind the parasitic Plagas infestation. Their name means "The Enlightened Ones" and, like any self-respecting cult, they're all FREAKING INSANE. Not only have they used the villagers as hosts for the Plagas, but they've allowed themselves to be taken over by them as well! (see? Lunatics) The black-robed ones are a pain in the ass of their own accord, but the ones in red are not only harder to kill, but they have the nasty habit of sicc'ing their Plaga on you regardless of where you shoot them (most of the time, anyway). The Plagas inhabiting the Illuminados are also more evolved than the ones inside the villagers, and are therefore deadlier. As seen in the picture, cultists also have a variety of weapons, albeit more traditional ones than those used by the villagers. Scythes can be thrown at you, like the axes in the previous stage, and they can also shoot you with fiery arrows of burning DOOM. Obviously, being on fire is bad, so try to avoid these guys' shots, and make them priority targets. Some of these bloody bastards wear metal masks that prevent them from being shot in the head, but as previously mentioned you want to avoid doing this anyway in order to not deal with their Plagas. The Ganados section on this page gives some tips on how to deal with Plagas in general. The lv 2 evolution of Las Plagas that the cultists have look like some sort of... actually, I have no idea how to describe them. What they look like is irrelevant, anyway, as all you really need to know about the difference between lv 1 and lv 2 Plagas is that if they get ahold of Leon or Ashley, they get to show off their Headless Horseman impersonation. While this may sound amusing, it does mean game over for you, so avoid getting close to them (since they can only hurt you at close range). Illuminados in the later part of the Castle stage also play host to lv 3 Plagas, which you really do not want to deal with. Not only do they have the same off-with-their-heads move as their lv 2 evolution, but if you kill their host body, they will detach from the body and chase you. Once they do this, you can easily one-shot them, providing you can actually hit them. They don't exactly move at the speed of snail. They also have the ability to spray Leon or Ashley with a highly corrosive acid from a decent enough distance, so you can see why they're not a fun thing to deal with.

Garras is the Spanish word for "claws," and Garrador, appropriately, is the name of these claw-wielding Wolverine impersonators. And like Wolverine, the claws are retractible, so don't think that just cause you don't see the claws at first that he's forgotten them at home. For some reason, they're almost completely blind, but if you know anything about real-world blind people, with one sense gone, others become sharpened to compensate. So they have incredibly good hearing. Therefore, if you RUN, they will HEAR you, and they will FIND you, and they will KILL you. Unless you're a big meanie and mess with their heads. See, if you walk instead of run, they have a lot less chance of hearing you. Also, most of the areas these guys are found in have large bells on display. I guess these guys get loose rather often, otherwise why would they be there? OK, I'll explain. If you shoot at the bell with a handgun, the stupid guy runs over to the bell and attacks it. If you position yourself some distance away from, but still facing, the bell, the Garrador will now have his weak spot exposed to you: the Plaga on his back. You only have time for one shot each time you do this, though, so make it count. A shotgun or rifle is the best idea for this. As soon as you shoot, the Garrador has locked onto your location from the sound of the shot. If you hit the Plaga, you have a couple of seconds in which he's staggering about in pain to MOVE YOUR ASS to another location, cause after those few seconds, he'll rush the spot where you fired and attack. If you missed, well, you don't have those few seconds. ^>__o^;; From here, lather, rinse, repeat until the thing is dead. Alternatively, you can just walk (DON'T RUN) out of the area and just leave him to his own devices. Of course, if you end up having to go back through there again later, I hope you remember that you left him alive! Grenades are also a decent idea, if your aim is good (you have to throw them where they'll explode behind him), but flash grenades are about the worst idea you could ever have. Remember how I said they were almost completely blind? The operative word there is "almost." Flash grenades allow them to see you perfectly, in which case you'll be turning into a kabob in short order.

"No tener vista" means to not have sight, but unlike the Garradores, where they were whom the prefix applied to, Novistadores can see you perfectly fine. You, however, can't see them most of the time. They kinda blink in and out of your visible spectrum. Since their camoflauge doesn't make them intangible, they prefer to live in dark places where there's no light to make them cast shadows that would give away their location. Therefore, they are mostly found in caves and sewers in the Castle stage of the game. You can, however, spot them from their telltale breath-clouds and drool. Then again, once you step into their domain, they probably already know you're there. The best thing to do is to stop outside any place that would seem like a good home to them, and look through your rifle's scope for their breath or drool. Once you get the infrared scope, however, it all becomes so much easier, as they can't erase their heat signatures. Be warned that these are, in fact, insects (albeit giant ones), and therefore can appear on walls and ceilings as well as floors. By the way, their eyes glow, so although they usually keep their eyes closed, they need to see in order to move or attack their prey, so at least that gives you a slight warning if you couldn't spot them through the rifle scope. They do like to jump on people and are not the easiest things in the world to kill, so make sure to keep your distance at all times, and relocate often if you lose sight of them so you can find them again by spotting their glowing eyes. They also spray acid like lv 3 Plagas, which is loads of fun. *sarcasm* Oh, and they can fly, too, providing they have enough space to do so. Yay! They are, however, incredibly vulnerable when flying, so take advantage when you can. Try not to shoot them where they will fall into an inaccessible place, however, as sometimes they drop rather valuable items, which become even more valuable when combined with a certain other item (see the Special Items section linked at the top of this page).

Armadura means armour in Spanish, in this case, living suits of armour. To be more specific, they're regular suits of armour that are on display in the Castle that some incredibly stupid Plagas seem to have mistaken for real hosts, and taken over. So be careful when you spot any in a hallway or whatnot, as they will attack without warning, and you'll have to be quick with those dodge buttons. They might also follow you instead, so keep an eye out. Since they're not a living host, they move and begin their attacks rather slowly, but that doesn't mean they're weak. After all, suits of armour are rather heavy, and so are the weapons they're wielding. The best way to kill them is to knock off the helmet to expose the Plaga with either a shotgun or grenade, and then kill the Plaga like you usually would.

... yeah yeah, bad joke. I won't quit my day job, I promise. Anyway. These fashion-challenged dudes show up in the Island stage of the game, and actually carry guns. Which they shoot. At you. Yay? They also have rocket launchers. ^.__.^;; Several of them have taken up the tacky headgear motif in the form of helmets. You can still decapitate these guys by shooting them in the face like a psychopath (sometimes), but lv 3 Plagas are not my idea of A Good Time. The ones that carry around huge unwieldly guns or are wearing armour are a lot harder to kill. This is where grenades come in handy, so make with the boom boom already!

Not to be confused with Sabado Gigante, as he is not nearly as amusing. Gigante, appropriately enough, means "giant." As you can tell, these people are incredibly creative. I wonder where they got shorts big enough to fit him... let alone how they managed to take his measurements. "So, you look like a 5,783 inch waist, is that right?" "ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR" "mhm, and what about inseam?" "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR" "That's nice. Now, hold still while I put these pins in..." ^<__<^;; Anyway. Flash grenades momentarily stun him, so take this time to turn his flesh into something not completely unlike swiss cheese. Keep as far away from him as you can, cause anything that big is bound to hit hard, whether with hands or feet. After a certain amount of damage, his Plaga sprouts out of his back, possibly in an attempt to escape the wounded host. Clamber up onto the Gigante's back and stab the Plaga until Mr. Not-So-Friendly Giant knocks you off. After doing this a couple of times, he falls over dead. Just hope he doesn't land on you when he does, cause that would suck...