------------------------------------------------------
Sir "O" and "Daniel Jackson" Present…
The Castlevania 3 Solo FAQ
------------------------------------------------------
E-mail addresses:
-For questions and comments regarding the Trevor and Sypha Solo Walkthroughs or
the FAQ in general:
[email protected]
-For questions and comments regarding the Grant Solo Walkthrough:
[email protected]
Copyright information: Castlevania, Trevor Belmont, Grant Dynasty, Sypha,
Alucard and other related terms, names, and phrases are trademarks of Konami,
and I am not affiliated with them in any way. This work is written and owned by
Sir 0rion and "Daniel Jackson." It is posted at GameFAQs.com with our
permission. No one else may use this work, in whole or in part, without the
permission of Sir 0rion. This work may not be used to earn profit, including
but not limited to advertising directly on this FAQ, which I'll only permit if
I'm given a share of the advertiser's profits. (No, I'm not kidding – I didn't
do this work just to make you rich!) This work is copyright 2004 by Adam "Sir
0rion" Klinghammer and Ben "Daniel Jackson" Wallace.
Version history:
-March 1, 2004: V. 1.0: First version.
-May 11, 2004: V 1.5: Updated a few chapters, and posted the Japanese Grant
walkthrough, as penned by Daniel Jackson. Updated the information on the
Japanese version, thanks to some research performed by otomo4
(
[email protected]).
------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
SECTION 1 - Getting Started
1: Introduction
2: The Characters
-Trevor Belmont
-Sypha
-Grant (US Version)
-Grant (Japanese Version)
-Alucard
3: Basic Gameplay Mechanics
-Button Functions/Combinations
SECTION 2 - Solo Quest Walkthroughs
4: Solo Quest Rules
5: Trevor Solo Quest
6: Sypha Solo Quest *Under construction*
7: Grant Solo Quest (Japanese Version)
8: Alucard Solo Quest *Not written yet*
SECTION 3 - Other Stuff
9: Secrets & Tricks of the Trade
10: Contact
11: Credits and Special Thanks
************************************
SECTION 1 - Getting Started
************************************
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: Introduction
------------------------------------------------------
Hi, Sir 0rion here. You might remember me for my most recent work on my DDR
Level 10 FAQ (plug). After completing the FAQ, which was my first in quite some
time, I decided I wanted to do some more FAQs.
But enough of that. Let's get on with the FAQ itself. This FAQ is meant to
cover a new aspect in Castlevania - the solo quest. This is a concept that has
recently become quite popular in many RPGs (particularly in games like Final
Fantasy), and is a surprisingly welcome challenge in a game like Castlevania 3.
Instead of switching back and forth between two characters to get past
difficult parts of this game, this FAQ is meant to help you go through the
entire game with only ONE character. It is also an in-depth look at the
fighting styles of each character, which could lead to a newfound appreciation
for certain characters. You'd be surprised what gameplay strategies you learn
when you only get to use one character throughout a game.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 2: The Characters
------------------------------------------------------
Before we get into the actual walkthroughs, let's take an in-depth look at each
character; examining the pros and cons for them all. This section will include
all the information you might need to understand their attacks, heart weapons,
defense abilities, and special skills; as well as how to begin a game with each
of them instead of having to meet the characters mid-game. These codes,
however, don't work on the Japanese version of the game.
*****
Trevor Belmont
*****
-To start with him: N/A. You begin with Trevor by default.
-General Synopsis: As the resident Belmont on Castlevania 3, Trevor is
essentially the most balanced character in the game. He takes minimal damage
from attacks and has the strongest regular attack in general. He also has
access to the most heart weapons, which is a positive boon. If you've ever
played Castlevania 1, you know EXACTLY how to use Trevor.
-Weapon: Holy Ancestral Whip
-Upgrade stages: Level 1 - Leather Whip; Level 2 - Short Morning Star, Level 3
- Extended Morning Star
-Damage Level: Level 1 - 2 points, Level 2 and 3 - 3 points
-Weapon Description: Trevor has the only weapon that increases in strength as
you power it up. In its first stage, the weapon is a semi-short-range Leather
Whip that does two points of damage. When you upgrade it once, the range
increase is negligible, but the power increases to 3 (the most damage possible
from a normal weapon). A second upgrade will extend the whip significantly,
increasing it to a mid-range weapon.
The Whip has the second-longest start-up time of all the characters' normal
attacks, but it does the most damage and is the only middle-range normal attack
in the game.
Range – **/*
Rapid – **
Power – **/*
-Sub-weapons available to Trevor: Firebomb, Axe, Boomerang (a.k.a. Cross),
Dagger, Stopwatch
-Sub-weapon Descriptions:
Firebomb - Trevor throws a small bottle onto the ground, which produces a
flame. If an enemy comes in contact with either the bottle or the flame, they
will receive a point or two of damage. It comes out somewhat slow and has a low
attack range. However, this can be Trevor's most deadly weapon, because should
an enemy be hit by the flame, in addition to taking damage, they will be frozen
and take several subsequent points of damage from the multi-hitting attack.
This is best used against enemies and bosses that attack from the ground. This
weapon can be supplemented with the double- and the triple-shot upgrades.
Axe - Trevor throws an axe into the air, which will arc upwards, then begin to
fall. The axe does 3 points of damage. The axe is about as basic as a heart
weapon gets. It comes out pretty quick and is great for knocking things out of
the air, but doesn't have too many uses beyond that. In other words, having
this won't make or break your game in any way. This weapon can be supplemented
with the double- and triple-shot upgrades.
Boomerang - Trevor throws a blue X-shaped boomerang straight in front of him,
which will return after travelling for a distance (as boomerangs tend to do).
This weapon is pretty slow as heart weapons go, but does 3 points of damage and
can hit twice if the enemy is still within the path of the weapon when it's on
its return trip. The boomerang travels straight forward, then straight back. If
Trevor is in the path of the boomerang when it returns, he will catch it.
Otherwise, it will continue until it's left the screen. This weapon can be
supplemented with the double- and triple-shot upgrades, and probably benefits
the most from the upgrades.
Dagger - This is the fastest and weakest of the heart weapons. When thrown, it
flies straight forward until it leaves the screen or hits an enemy. If it hits
an enemy, it does two points of damage. This weapon can be supplemented with
the double- and triple-shot upgrades.
Stopwatch - This weapon is the only sub-weapon available to ALL characters. It
also costs 5 hearts to use instead of just one. When used, the stopwatch will
freeze most of the smaller enemies you'll find as well as their projectiles.
However, this weapon's effectiveness has been reduced significantly since
Castlevania 1, and will no longer work on bosses. Personally, I'd say the only
person who can get any real use out of this weapon would be Alucard, and that's
only because it's the only sub-weapon available to him. This weapon can NOT be
supplemented with the double- or triple-shot upgrades.
-Special Skills: Other than having the most heart weapons, doing the most
damage with his regular attack, and taking the least damage in return, Trevor
has no unique abilities. Still, that's plenty, wouldn't you say? (^_^)
*****
Sypha
*****
-To start with her: Enter the name "Urata" at the beginning of a new game.
-General synopsis: Sypha is probably the most underrated character in the game.
To use her effectively, you really need to adjust your whole game plan. She
takes the most damage and has a short-range regular attack, so it's
understandable how people might be prejudiced against her. However, when you
take advantage of her extremely powerful heart weapons (read: spells), she
becomes quite formidable. Her Sacred Flame and Lightening Sphere attacks are
the single most powerful moves in the game; and using her Blizzard ability,
she's also the only one who can completely destroy those pesky Red (Blood)
Skeletons and Blue Sparks with ease.
-Weapon: Staff
-Upgrade Stages: None
-Damage Level: 2
-Weapon Description: Sypha's Staff is not the most reliable weapon. This is
arguably the lowest-range weapon. Fortunately, it's also the quickest regular
weapon, beating out (the US) Grant's Knife by a small margin. In addition, it
also does as much damage as Trevor's Leather Whip. Still, with so many powerful
heart weapons at Sypha's disposal, you shouldn't have to rely on this weapon
too much.
Range – *
Rapid – *****
Power – **
-Sub-weapons available to Sypha: Sacred Flame, Blizzard, Lightening Sphere,
Stopwatch*
-Sub-weapon Descriptions:
Sacred Flame - This is Sypha's "bread-and-butter" attack. It is also one of the
strongest single moves in the game, doing more damage than Trevor's Morning
Star, Boomerang, and Axe. Sypha launches a line of fire straight in front of
her, which arcs ever-so-slightly upwards toward the end. This attack has a
slightly farther range than Trevor's Extended Morning Star. It comes out very
fast and is useful against both regular enemies and bosses. If you hit as
powerful enemy such as a boss at close range, the Sacred Flame occasionally
hits more than once.
Blizzard - Sypha sends up an arc of frozen air above her. While this attack
does no direct damage, it will freeze (literally) any enemy that comes in
contact with it. These enemies can now be used as a temporary platform and/or
can be shattered by a single strike from Sypha's Staff. Using this attack in
combination with her Staff, Sypha can even defeat Red Skeletons and those Blue
Sparks that travel along the edge of some platforms in a single strike. The one
drawback to this weapon is that, doing no direct damage, it has no effect on
bosses. Still, this is my personal favorite of her sub-weapons.
Lightening Sphere - Sypha launches three orbs into the air, which fly off into
different directions. This is the absolute slowest heart weapon in the game.
However, this weapon also homes in on enemies to a point. Like the Sacred
Flame, the most significant thing about this weapon is its power – each sphere
does an amazing 6 points of damage – TWICE the damage of Trevor's Morning Star!
Stopwatch: See description in Trevor's sub-weapon section. This weapon is not
recommended for Sypha. It wastes too many hearts that could be used more
effectively with other heart weapons.
Determining which weapon Sypha will get from a candle or an enemy is pretty
easy. To aid new Sypha players that wish to know what to expect from a candle,
I've compiled the following Trevor/Sypha sub-weapon conversion key:
When Trevor gets… Sypha gets…
-Dagger__________ Sacred Flame
-Axe____________ Sacred Flame
-Boomerang______ Lightening Sphere
-Firebomb_______ Blizzard
-Stopwatch_______ Stopwatch
As this guide indicates, The Sacred Flame is fairly common for Sypha, while the
Lightening Sphere, Blizzard, and Stopwatch only appear every once in awhile.
*None of Sypha's sub-weapons can be used with the double- or triple-shot.
-Special Skills: None, just some insanely powerful sub-weapons.
*****
Grant Dynasty (US Version)
*****
To start with him: Enter the name "Fujimoto" at the beginning of a new game.
-General synopsis: Grant is a very unique character. While not very powerful or
resilient, he is a fast character with a fast weapon, an incredibly high jump,
and the unique ability to climb walls - a skill which can yield several hidden
items and shortcuts. He's also a very short character, meaning he can avoid
many attacks if you're careful enough.
-Weapon: Knife
-Upgrade Stages: None
-Damage Level: 2
-Weapon Description: This weapon has been changed significantly from the
Japanese version, resulting in two completely different character descriptions
for Grant. In the US version, Grant has a short-range Knife with which he stabs
directly in front of him. This weapon does a mere two points of damage and has
very little range to speak of, but is incredibly fast.
Range – **
Rapid – *****
Power – **
-Sub-weapons available to Grant: Axe, Dagger, Stopwatch
Axe - See description in Trevor's section.
Dagger – See description in Trevor's section. Grant can use this weapon while
climbing. When used on a ceiling, Grant will throw the Dagger directly
downwards.
Stopwatch – See description in Trevor's section.
-Special Skills:
High Jump – Grant's jump range is higher and farther than the other characters'.
Controllable Jump - Unlike the other characters, Grant can control just how
high and far he can jump. By simply tapping the A button, Grant can execute a
small jump. By holding the A button down, Grant will jump higher. Grant can
also control how far forward he can jump. By simply tapping forward on the
controller, Grant will only jump forward a short distance. By holding forward
down throughout the jump, Grant will do an extended jump.
Climbing - This is what makes Grant who he is. By holding down the direction of
the ceiling or wall when Grant jumps next to it, Grant will grab onto the
ledge. Then, by pressing diagonally both towards the wall and in a direction,
Grant can climb up and down the wall (or side-to-side on a ceiling). Grant
can't attack with his Knife while climbing, but this is a useful technique for
escaping unnecessary battles as well as finding shortcuts and hidden items.
*****
Grant Dynasty (Japanese version)
*****
To start with him: I'm not sure if there IS a way, to be truthful. Still, two
levels isn't all THAT long to wait.
-General synopsis: This version of Grant is slightly different. While his
special skills are the same, his normal weapon is significantly different, thus
altering how you have to use him.
-Weapon: Dagger
-Upgrade Stages: None
-Damage Level: 2
-Weapon Description: Grant throws a Dagger straight at this enemy. You'll
notice that this Dagger is exactly like Trevor's heart weapon, with a few
notable differences. First, because this is his NORMAL weapon, the Dagger
doesn't require any hearts for Grant to use. Second, this weapon can't be
improved with the double shot. This is significant because if you miss your
intended target, you have to wait for the weapon to leave the screen before you
have the chance to attack again. This is a VERY significant thing to note,
particularly on bosses and faster enemies. Third, because he doesn't have to
hold Up when attacking with it, you can duck and simultaneously throw the
Dagger.
Range – *****+
Rapid – *
Power – **
-Sub-weapons available to Grant: Same as the US version, minus the Dagger, of
course.
-Special Skills:
High Jump - Same as US version.
Controllable Jump - Same as US version.
Climbing - Same as US version.
*****
Alucard
*****
To start with him: Enter the name "Okuda" at the beginning of a new game.
-General Synopsis: While Alucard is in my opinion the worst character in
general, I've really begun to enjoy using him. He's not only slow, but he's
also the tallest character (making him easy to hit). He also has the weakest
normal attack in the game, as well as the slowest. In addition to that, he
can't fight while he's climbing stairs. As if that weren't enough, Alucard only
has ONE heart weapon - the Stopwatch.
Alucard is not without his advantages, though. He has the unique ability to
transform into a bat and fly around. His normal attack can also do as much as
Trevor's Morning Star if used correctly. He also takes as little damage from
attacks as Trevor. While he has trouble on some boss fights, he can get past
some areas with ease that might give all the other characters quite a bit of
trouble.
-Weapon: Magic Crystal
-Upgrade Stages: Level 1 - Alucard first a crystal straight forward; Level 2 -
Alucard fires one crystal straight forward and one crystal diagonally upwards;
Level 3 - Alucard fires a crystal forward, a crystal diagonally upwards, and a
crystal diagonally downwards
-Damage Level: Special - An individual crystal does 1 point of damage.
-Weapon Description: Alucard has the most unique normal attack in the game.
Alucard will open his cape, launching 1-3 crystals out. This is a long range
move, travelling about 1/3 of the way across the screen. The damage level of
this weapon is interesting because of the way enemies are scripted in this
game. Although a single crystal does only 1 point of damage, Alucard can do as
much damage from a single attack as Trevor's Morning Star.
Because enemies have no frames of invincibility when they're hit in this game,
they will take damage from more than one thing if two or more attacks hit them
at the same time. What this means is that if Alucard is close enough to an
enemy to hit them with more than one of his crystals (when the weapon is
upgraded), each of the crystals will damage them, increasing the total damage
from the single attack (i.e. if two crystals hit, they take 2 points of damage
and if three hit, they'll take 3 points of damage). This sort of defeats the
purpose of having a long-range weapon, but it also makes Alucard versatile in
both up-close and long-range combat.
There are a few drawbacks to this weapon, however, that can make things tough
on Alucard. First, this weapon can't be used AT ALL when Alucard is climbing
stairs. Couple this with the fact that Alucard has no heart weapons that do
direct damage, and this means that Alucard is COMPLETELY VULNERABLE when he's
on stairs. Secondly, even when this weapon has been upgraded, it needs to be
"recharged" between each use. In other words, you have to wait for about half a
second before you shoot it again. If you fire it off again too quickly, you
might only shoot out only one or two crystals instead of three. Third, Alucard
can't fight at all while in bat form, and that includes his regular weapon. And
finally, although his weapon can be upgraded, weapon upgrades take longer for
Alucard to get than they do for Trevor.
Range – ****
Rapid – *
Power – * (Damage is cumulative for the upgraded versions.)
-Sub-weapons available to Alucard: Stopwatch
Stopwatch - See description in Trevor's section. You might as well grab this if
you see it, because it's either this or nothing when it comes to Alucard.
-Special skills:
Flight of the Bat - This ability alone is worth the price of admission for
Alucard. By holding down on the D-pad and pressing the A button, Alucard will
transform himself into a bat (press down and A again to change back). You can
then fly in any direction. Like Grant's climbing ability, this can yield some
great shortcuts and items. Not only that, but this is a great way to save
yourself if you missed a jump and are about to die from a fall. Just transform
into a bat before you fall all the way down, and fly to safety.
There are a few drawbacks to this obviously impressive skill. First, for every
second you're in bat form (as well as for the transformation itself) you'll
lose a heart. Run out of hearts, and you'll automatically change back, possibly
over a place where you'll take a fatal fall. Second, you can't fight in any way
while in bat form. This drawback speaks for itself. Third, if you take damage
while in bat form, you'll change back.
One thing to note about when Alucard changes back from bat form: if he's in
mid-air, he will fall straight down. This means you should always change back
only when you have a platform directly beneath you to land on.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3: Basic Gameplay mechanics and Tricks of the Trade
------------------------------------------------------
I'm not going into great detail on gameplay mechanics because this isn't
supposed to be a beginner's FAQ. If you haven't played before, you really have
no business trying a solo quest right from the start. That, and the
walkthroughs alone take a very (with a special emphasis on "very") long time to
write. However, in the interest of completion, I'm including this section.
***
Button functions/combinations
***
B Button: Normal Attack
A Button: Jump
Start Button: Pause
Select Button has no function on this game.
Up: Climbs stairs; climb ceilings (Grant only)
Down: Descend stairs; duck
Left/Right + A Button: Forward jump
Up + B Button: Use sub-weapon
Down + A Button: Transform (Alucard only)
***
Items
***
By striking candles or breaking certain walls with your weapon, you'll receive
an item. You also occasionally receive items by defeating enemies.
Heart: Required for the use of sub-weapons. This item will fall slowly and
drift from side to side on its way down.
Large Heart: Equivalent of 5 regular Hearts.
Sub-weapon: Picking this up will make this your new sub-weapon and will replace
your old sub-weapon if you have one.
Sword of Light: Only Alucard and Trevor will find these. Picking up this item
upgrades your weapon by one level.
Dollar Bag: This will add a number of points to your total score. The point
increase will be displayed onscreen when you pick this up.
Double/Triple Shot: When applicable, this item will allow you to use a
sub-weapon two times (three times if you pick up a Triple Shot subsequently)
before the original attack has been finished. If you find one of these and you
don't have a weapon that works with them, they act the same way as Dollar Bags.
The quickest way to find one of these is to attack things (including candles)
using your sub-weapon.
1-Up: This is the most elusive item in the game, generally speaking. Picking
one of these up earns you an extra life.
*****
The Japanese Version
*****
In addition to having a different version of Grant, the US version of
Castlevania 3 is also host to a few other changes. This is how some aspects of
the game appear in the Japanese release:
-Several enemies have another HP rating. For instance, the Snake Pillar has 10
HP instead of 18.
-The AI for bosses is different. The Sy-clops in particular is less sinister in
the Japanese version.
-Monsters such as the Mummies (both the boss and regular ones), Zombies, and
Fleamen have different sprites. The Fleamen look the most different; appearing
as Red Goblins.
-The color palette for the "Nightmare" cave has more red in it, which actually
looks a lot more interesting. My guess is that the censors didn't like the
subtle "Hell" reference the red background proposed.
-Some candles don't appear. For instance, the candle you find in the US version
as you fight the fight boss.
-The quality of the music and sound effects in the game is much better.
According to otomo4 (
[email protected]) the reason for this is as follows:
"The famicom didn't have any additional sound hardware; some Konami games had
additional ICs on carts (a la SFX in star fox) that improved sound (and gfx I
believe, but I'm not entirely sure about it).
"Akumajou densetsu (CV3 in japan) had a chip called VRC6.
"As an additional note, CV3 for the NES had an additional chip too, MMC5 (from
Nintendo), you know that Nintnedo had to get their dirty hands on every game
released on the US back than..."
Thanks, otomo! It looks like you've really done your homework. (^_^)
-When you attack multiple enemies with a sub-weapon, in addition to getting the
bonus points, the sound effect for picking up a Dollar Bag will play.
-Trevor's name is… Ralph?
*****
Tricks of the Trade
*****
Here are a few strategies that, while subtle, could really overhaul your
gameplan.
***
Finding Double-Shots (Trevor and Grant)
***
The double-shot can be a valuable tool for Trevor and Grant. However, they can
be a bit of a rare find in breakaway walls. So how do you find more of these
sub-weapon enhancers? Simple – by using the sub-weapons! Yes, instead of
attacking candles and enemies with the Whip or Knife, use the sub-weapon do
perform these tasks and you'll find that double- and even triple-shots will
appear more often.
***
Stair physics (All characters)
***
The are two main advantages to fighting on the stairs. First, you won't get
sent flying if you take a hit on the stairs (unless you lose all of your life).
Second, your weapon automatically becomes a rapid-fire attack. When climbing
the stairs, simply hold down the B button and the character will attack
repeatedly instead of just once. This goes for sub-weapons as well.
***
Make-shift platforms (Sypha)
***
Aside from the one-hit kill factor, Sypha's Blizzard ability has one other
important ability: anything that is frozen can be walked on as long as it's
frozen. This means that Sypha can easily use enemies to her advantage by turn
them into stepping stones and climbing to a safe place. It can also yield a few
well-placed shortcuts if you look carefully enough.
***
Safe-fall and Long-jump (Alucard)
***
Alucard is able to make much hastier jumps and quicker decisions as a result
of his special skill. First, if you misjudge your jump, Alucard can simply
transform in mid-air and fly to safety.
More importantly, however, you'll probably want to conserve your hearts rather
than simply wasting them all in one flight. Therefore, rather than transforming
on the ground to fly to a destination that is obviously out-of-reach, you
should try jumping as close as you can in the direction of your target and
transforming in mid-air to save yourself several hearts. This amounts to using
you Bat abilities as more on an extended jump than a full-scale flight. You'll
thank yourself for the extra hearts you saved later.
***
Staying Low (Grant)
***
This one is an easy one to pick up. Grant can duck lower than other characters,
so he can therefore duck under more elevated projectiles such as the upper
Snake Pillar head's fireballs and the upper Axe Knight axes. While it's not a
complicated strategy, ducking can be a lot safer than jumping sometimes, even
for Grant.
***
The "Dodge" (Alucard)
***
Similar to Kara-canceling or the S-Groove "Dodge" on Capcom vs. SNK 2, Alucard
has the ability to avoid ALL damage for a quick second using his transformation
ability. It takes timing, but if you're about to be struck by an attack you
can't possibly avoid (if you're in mid-jump or standing on stairs, for
instance) perform Alucard's Transformation ability just an instant before the
attack hits you. Alucard is completely invulnerable during the animation in
which he changes into a Bat. (The actual invulnerability lasts from the time
Alucard opens his cape until the smoke completely clears away, which is about 1
second of game time.) If you master this, boss fights and "tower" segments in
particular become universes easier. The same thing applies when he changes
back, except that because it takes about half the time to change back, the
invulnerability will about last half as long as well. Therefore, the return
transformation should be limited to dodging fast projectiles.
************************************
SECTION 2 - Solo Quest Walkthroughs
************************************
So here's the part you've been waiting for. Now, I'm personally not in the
business of holding peoples' hands on every little detail of something. There
are a lot of ways to get past a given part of a game, and while I'll give you
some advice here and there, I'm not going to spell everything out to you or say
that any one way is the only way to go about getting past a certain enemy or
stage. Still, I went through a lot of work giving information on EVERY stage,
so you'll always be given an idea of what to do and when.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 4: Solo Quest Rules
------------------------------------------------------
First, you can only use one character throughout the entire game. For Trevor or
the Japanese version of Grant, you must refuse all alliance offers from any
other characters (if you start with any of the other characters, this option
isn't available).
If you're using anyone except Trevor and accidentally change characters, you
must instantly switch back without doing ANYTHING using Trevor. If you land an
attack or get hit, you must suicide and restart that section. It might be
harsh, but it'll help in keeping you from switching characters.
If you're using an emulator, you're only allowed to save state at the
"Continue" screen. If you save state at any other time, it's not a legitimate
solo quest. It is still being debated as to whether "Quick Saves" are
permissible – i.e. emergency save states that are used when you need to stop
playing all of a sudden and are only loaded once. As of right now, they are a
gray area until more conclusive discussion is taken regarding this.
You're allowed to utilize all of the character's abilities in a solo quest.
This means that if you can reach a 1-Up or bypass part of a level using a
character's abilities, such as Alucard's flight or Grant's climbing/jumping
abilities, it's perfectly alright to do so. They have those abilities for a
reason, after all. (^_^)
When using Trevor, you are absolutely NOT allowed to use the "Help Me" 10-life
code; period. You are, however, allowed to use the "Akama" Challenging Game
code if you wish.
For all other American version characters, you must use the code to start with
the character.
For the Japanese Grant, you may only use Trevor for the first stage and on the
way up the Clock Tower. After you receive Grant, you must use him from that
point on, starting with the return trip at the Clock Tower.
Alucard can't defeat Dracula's second form, so it is acceptable to use Trevor
at this point and this point only during his quest.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 5: Trevor Solo Quest
------------------------------------------------------
Trevor, being the most balanced character, is generally the best person to use
when trying your first solo quest. Since he has no particular weaknesses, he's
a great character to have in nearly any situation. Of all the characters, I'd
say Trevor is the easiest to use in a solo quest.
Level 1 (Beginning): No explanations for this stage for Trevor. If you can't
get through it, you shouldn't be trying a Solo Quest.
New Enemies:
-Skeleton - Just walks in a straight line. Has 1 Hit Point.
-Bat - Flies at you either from the end of the screen or from a hanging
position once you get close to it. Has 1 HP.
-Skeleton 2 (Bone-throwing Skeleton) - This Skeleton can jump back and forth
between platforms, and will throw bones at you in an arc. Has 1 HP.
-Snake Pillar - Stays in one place and attacks with fire. This enemy will
flash, then fire 3 fireballs at you. Has 18 HP (yes, that many).
-Medusa Head - Flies at you from the end of the screen, flying up and down
sinusoidally as it does. Has 2 HP.
-Zombie - See Skeleton.
-Fleaman - Makes small and large hops towards you at an alarming speed. Has 2
HP.
BOSS FIGHT - Skeleton Knight: The Firebomb is the weapon I recommend for this
fight, although any weapon (except the Stopwatch) should work just fine.
Quickly cross over to the other side of the Knight before he gets up. Hit the
candle to get a quick extra heart. Now jump up onto the right platform (by the
candle) and toss a Firebomb at him. Now crouch and hit him several times with
the Whip. Once he starts moving again, drop down to the right of the platform
and toss another Firebomb onto the platform. The Knight will jump onto the
platform and should land on the flame of the Firebomb. Now all you have to do
is strike him a few more times with the Whip and that should be it for him.
Pull this off just right and you should be able to take him out without him
ever getting a hit in on you.
CHOICE 1 - Clock Tower, Mad Forest: Because Trevor isn't going to be picking up
Grant and he can't reach the 1-Ups on the level, there's really no need to go
into the Clock Tower. Both paths end up going to the same place, and the lower
path will just get you there much quicker. Still…
Level 2a (Clock Tower): This level requires a lot of platforming to get
through. Before going up the first flight of stairs, jump across the platform
and you'll find a breakaway wall. Near the top of this area, you'll find
another breakaway wall. To get to this one, you'll have to jump onto the
rotating gear underneath the top stairs, then jump again to reach the platform.
There's not a whole lot to mention in the next area, so just get through here
and you'll come to a room with two giant pendulums, which you'll need to use in
order to get to the next area. Time your jumps for just an instant before the
pendulums reach their destination.
In the first area of this next block, you'll find another breakaway wall
underneath the first set of stairs. Now you'll have to use the giant rotating
gear to get across the bottom part of this area. Climb up to the top part, and
you'll find a new enemy - the Skeleton Soldier. Defeat this guy and climb up
the stairs.
Next is another ascending area. Other than the two sets of spikes, which can
kill you instantly but are easily avoided, there's nothing special about this
area.
There's a 1-Up in the next area that Trevor can't reach. Oh, well. The first
area of the next block has yet ANOTHER breakaway wall beyond the rotating gear.
This one, however, contains an elusive double-shot. Just be sure not to hit the
candle above you if you don't want to switch sub-weapons, because that candle
contains a Dagger. Climb up the stairs and you'll come to the challenging part
of this level.
There's nothing special in this area, but you'll want to be careful of those
Medusa Heads when you jump from platform to platform.
In the final area before the boss fight, there's one more breakaway wall near
the first set of stairs. This one contains a Turkey Leg. The only enemy here is
another Skeleton Soldier.
BOSS FIGHT - Evil Grant: Grant isn't much of a challenge, although he has a
myriad of attacks. This guy can climb walls and throws axes and daggers at you,
but he's pathetically slow. With the Axe, Dagger, or Boomerang you can knock
him off of walls and the ceiling, but with the Firebomb, you can wipe him out
before he gets the chance to climb them.
He'll offer to join you after that, but only because he's so scared of your
power. Send him on his way, and the Clock Tower will begin to collapse. No
sneaking into Dracula's castle for you, yet! Now you'll have to do the exact
same stage… only in reverse. All of the breakaway walls are still there, and
all of the candles hold the same items. On the second area, all you have to do
is land on the platform with three blocks and walk to the right until you drop
down the edge (don't jump, just drop). Do this again, and you'll land right by
the stairs. Simple enough.
There's nothing of interest in this next area – just the same breakaway wall.
Cross the gear and make your way down the stairs in the next room.
When making your way down this next area, make sure you don't drop onto those
spikes on the ground near the bottom of the area.
This next room is easy. Just kill the Skeleton Soldier and drop down the gap
between the orange rotating gear and the adjacent platform, then climb up the
stairs (and knock out the breakaway wall again if you like).
You only need to use one of the pendulums this time. After that, you can drop
down from the wall and jump across to the stairs.
Just like last time, there's nothing to mention about this next area on the
return trip.
Remember that on the return trip you can drop down on this final room instead
of using the stairs. Just be careful not to drop onto an enemy. There's really
no practical way for Trevor to get the first/final breakaway wall this time
since he automatically walks to the door when he reaches the bottom of the last
staircase. It's possible to get to it, but it's not really worth the effort, in
my opinion.
Although there's no crystal at the end of this stage, you'll still recover all
of your HP. This is the only advantage of taking the long route, and even that
is allayed somewhat by the fact that you'll start the next stage with only 5
hearts.
New Enemies:
-Sentry – Walks side to side, manning his post. Has 6 HP.
-Skeleton Soldier – Armored skeleton with a sword. Can walk quickly back and
forth and attacks with his blade. Has 4 HP.
-Ghost – Appears out of thin air and slowly descends upon you at a diagonal
angle. Has 6 HP.
*Skip to Level 2c*
Level 2b (Mad Forest): So you chose the quick and easy route for Trevor. That's
grand. Right from the start you'll see three mean-looking descending spike
traps. Despite their appearances, these are actually easier to cross than the
ones on Castlevania 1. That's because this time you can land on top of them and
use them as platforms. If you're confident enough, you can grab the candles
(that is, the items within them) between each of them. One of them is a
Firebomb, but the rest of them aren't anything special, and the Firebomb's past
the spike traps anyway, so there's really no need to risk an instant death
unless you just want to get all the items (or maybe you have something against
candles ^_^). Other than a Ghost that appears fairly high up on the screen,
there's nothing else of note here.
Climb up the stars and you'll come across a Bone-throwing Skeleton and a
Whip-brandishing Skeleton. Other than that it's practically a walk in the park.
Literally. You just walk in a straight line until you come to a flight of
stairs. Climb the stairs and that's it. Seriously, that's the end of the level.
Makes going through the Clock Tower with only Trevor seem rather silly, doesn't
it?
New Enemies:
-Ghost – See Level 2a
-Skeleton 3 (Whip-brandishing Skeleton) – Moves similarly to Skeleton 2, but
uses a whip made out of bones (I imagine) to strike at you from a medium
distance. Has 1 HP.
Level 2c (Mad Forest, Part 2): At this point paths 2a and 2b converge. This
area is host to a new enemy exclusive to these parts: the Owl. One of the
ground lanterns contains a Boomerang, but that's about all that's really worth
mentioning in this area.
Go through the door and you'll run into another new enemy: the Blood Skeleton.
There's also a Flea Man at ground level. Take out the Flea Man and climb most
of the way up the stairs (so you're head's just under the landing). Wait until
the Blood Skeleton is a fair distance away, then climb the rest of the way up.
To play it safe, KO the Red Skeleton before climbing up to the next area. You
can also grab the nearby candle if you wish.
Next you'll find yourself in a misty landscape. There's nothing of note here;
just some Snake Pillars and Flea Men. Climb down the stairs once you reach them.
Now, BEFORE YOU DROP DOWN in this next area, go to the slightly lower part of
the landing, then hit the rightmost block on the upper part. This is a
breakaway panel that will reveal some meat.
Now, the first major decision in the game takes place. This decision will
affect most of the remainder of the levels you take part in.
New Enemies:
-Owl – Emerges from trees and swoops down upon you. After flying some distance,
they'll turn around and swoop down again. Their eyes give away their position
before they appear. Has 1 HP.
-Blood Skeleton – Acts the same way as Skeleton 1, but can't be defeated by
conventional means. After being hit, they collapse, then revive after a few
seconds. It takes 1 HP to make them collapse.
CHOICE 2 – Mad Forest Clearing, Swamplands: It's a little tough to say which
route you should take. If you're more confident with your platforming ability,
I'd say take the upper path. If going head-to-head with lots of enemies and
traps is more your style, take the bottom route. I'll cover the top route first
for simplicity's sake.
*For the bottom route, skip to Level 3b*
Level 3a (Mad Forest Clearing): This level starts off simply enough. A Raven
will greet you in the very first section. Simply wait until it dives to land an
attack. One of the ground lanterns contains an Axe here.
Climb down the stairs and you'll enter another mist segment. This time, instead
of Snake Pillars and Flea Men, you'll find Floating and Grounded Spore Pods.
When you attack these, they will usually come apart and four smaller Spore Pods
will fly upwards, then downwards. These are no big threat, so continue on your
way. Climb down the stairs and take down the Whip-brandishing Skeleton, then
head through the door.
There's another Whip-brandishing Skeleton at the beginning of the next area,
followed by Spiders and one more Whip-brandishing Skeleton. Get through these,
then climb down the stairs, and you'll come face-to-face with the Sy-clops.
BOSS FIGHT – Sy-Clops: Sypha's evil captor is fairly easy if you're careful.
You can break the single block near the left side for a Turkey Leg, but I
recommend against it, because that platform will also allow you to climb out of
Sy-Clops' reach.
To attack Sy-Clops, you need to strike him in the head. If you have the Axe or
the Firebomb, you can hit him from the aforementioned platform. Otherwise,
you'll have to play run-away with him.
He has three primary attacks, charge, short charge, and hammer strike. Apart
from that he just walks one way or another. His charge and short charge start
the same way. Sy-Clops will pause for a moment while running in place, then
he'll rush you. If he's short charging, he'll rush for a moment, then quickly
reverse direction. Otherwise, he'll chase you until he either catches up with
you, or until you can reach a platform and get out of the way.
Finish him off, and Sypha will offer join you, but only because she wants to
show off her ability to jump out of statues. Tell her that you're going solo,
and be on your way. You've got a Ghost Ship to take on.
New Enemies:
-Raven – Will fly around until it finds a good angle, then swoops down on you.
Has 1 HP.
-Spore Pod (Flying) – Flies in the air. Once it takes damage, it releases four
Mini Spore Pods. It takes 1 HP of damage for this to occur.
-Spore Pod (Ground) – Similar to the Flying Spore Pods, except it's on the
ground and is stationary. Also, it will release Mini Spore Pods if jumped over.
Releases Mini Spore Pods after taking 1 HP damage or if it's jumped over.
-Mini Spore Pod – Will fly up a small distance, then drop down. Has 1 HP.
-Spider – Descends on a string of web for some distance, then launches a
smaller Spider at you. The "adult" Spider has 2 HP, while the smaller Spider
has 1.
Level 4a (Ghost Ship): The candles are now lanterns in this ship. That's about
the most significant thing about the first section of this level. There is an
Axe; but really, is that worth mentioning? Oh, and don't bother trying to get
the far right candle. Only Alucard can reach the candle. Interesting, because
he's not normally available on this route.
After climbing down the stairs, you'll encounter a few Headless Duelists. They
have some decent range, so be careful when they attack. There's also a
Stopwatch in this area. This might be one of the few times when it's a
sub-weapon worth considering, as most of the enemies on this level are
susceptible to it.
Climb down the next set of stairs and you'll encounter two more Headless
Duelists. The first one can be a bit tricky, as he likes to hang out right at
the foot of the stairs. Enter the next section, and a few Ghosts will greet you
at various points. There will also be a few collapsing platforms. You can tell
these from their colors. If you stand on these platforms for too long, they
will break in four places, then drop down. As long as you're careful, this
should be no problem. There are three Blood Skeletons towards the end of this
section, as well as a breakaway wall.
Climb the stairs and you'll come to another basic room. Grant or Alucard could
simply climb or fly up respectively and get to the door with no trouble.
Trevor, however, must take the long route. This room is actually no real
trouble for Trevor. There are a couple of Bone-throwing Skeletons and a Ghost,
but that's about as far as the danger goes. Work your way to the right, climb
the stairs, then work your way back left to get to the door.
The next room requires little bit of patience and some good timing. There will
be two descending platforms just ahead of you. Do NOT take the first ones you
see, as they start off too low to be of any use. Instead, wait until they reach
the bottom of the screen, then wait for another two platforms to drop. Wait
until they're at eye level with Trevor, then jump across. Learn how to use
these; it'll come in handy later. Work your way left again and you'll come
across some more descending platforms. Follow the same general idea – wait for
the first one to be at eye level with Trevor before you jump. One of these
platforms is actually an ascending one, but it will still be lined up with the
other platforms as you jump across. On the next landing there will be another
candle you can't get to as well as a Ghost. If you absolutely MUST have what's
in that candle, you can time a jump so that the Ghost will hit you and you fly
back onto the platform, but it's tough and really not worth the trouble; as it
merely contains 5 hearts. Now, climb the stairs.
Don't bother jumping after that candle on the left. Only Alucard and Grant can
get to that candle, and even Grant takes some skill to get back once he does.
Instead, head to the right, to take on Medusa.
SUB-BOSS FIGHT – Medusa: Medusa is one of those enemies that you'll probably
just want to rush and take a few necessary hits for. With Trevor (and Sypha –
but she's not involved with this quest ^_^), his attacks are strong enough to
take down Medusa before the monster can gain momentum. If you choose to rush
Medusa, the Firebomb is your sub-weapon of choice.
If you want to play it carefully, you'll want to either stay low or keep your
distance from Medusa, depending on what it's doing. It has two primary attacks
– Snake Arrow and Petrify. The Snake Arrow can be ducked under, while her
Petrify attack (which does no direct damage, but will hold you in place for a
few seconds or until Medusa lands another attack) can generally only be ducked
under when you're up close. If possible, I'd get as far back as you can if
Medusa attempts to use this attack. Other than that, this should be a fairly
easy fight no matter how you go about it. If you choose to fight Medusa
carefully, the Boomerang is your sub-weapon of choice.
Defeat Medusa, and you'll head to the door. But wait! You're not done with this
level yet!
Don't sweat it if you took a lot of damage in the fight against Medusa. There's
a breakaway wall with a Turkey Leg in this room. To get to it, you'll simply
need to take on a few Headless Duelists and collapsing platforms. Work your way
right (again, this is another section that Alucard and Grant can skip – lucky
them!), then climb the stairs. Continue working your way right and break the
upper right wall for the aforementioned Turkey Leg. Now work your way left
(more of those headless duelists) and climb the stairs. By the way, there's a
Boomerang in the first candle in this room, and Axe towards the right side of
the same room.
This next area is for you platform fans. Climb up the stairs and head to the
right. You'll need to use two balancing platforms to get through this. The
balancing platforms are self-explanatory, but I figure I'll explain them
anyway. By standing on the left side of the platform, the left side will lower
and right side will rise. By standing on the right side, the right side will
lower and the left side will rise. Bearing this in mind, land on the left side
of this platform and stay there until the right side is at its apex. Now jump
to the other side of the platform (walking there will tilt the platform
faster), then jump across to the next balancing platform. Stay on the left side
of this platform until, again, the right side reaches its apex. Now, you'll
want to be careful, here. Jump across the platform, but DON'T try to jump to
the landing until you're all the way to the right side of the platform. Trevor
can jump up to reach the landing if he needs to, but only Grant can jump far
enough to reach the landing if he's not all the way to the end of the platform.
The Ravens in the next room can be dangerous for the simple fact that they can
send you flying into a ravine if they hit you. The Axe is actually pretty
helpful at this point if you have it, as it can take care of them before they
even start to move. One way or another, get to the stairs and take them.
Here you'll see another Raven – which isn't nearly as dangerous in this room –
and a Headless Duelist. Take the stairs in the middle of this section of the
level.
In this next room, take care of the Ghost and the Bone-Throwing Skeleton.
There's an Axe in the leftmost candle and a Double-shot in a breakaway wall on
the lower-left side. Now, climb up the stairs, and the real boss fight awaits
you.
BOSS FIGHT – Egyptian Mummies and The Return of Sy-Clops: That's right. This
boss fight is actually two boss fights in a row. A spirit is waiting in the
middle of the screen. When you approach it, the boss fight theme will play, and
it will fly around for awhile, then enter the left grave. As it's flying
around, make your way to the right if you have anything except the Firebomb.
The Boomerang or Dagger would be very helpful in this fight if you have them.
If you have the Firebomb, rush the Egyptian Mummies by dropping the Firebomb on
them and striking them repeatedly with the Whip. This can make short work of
them. Otherwise, you'll need to play somewhat cautiously. These monsters are
particularly difficult in the US version, as the bandages they attack you with
rise and drop at regular intervals (while on the Japanese version, they throw
upper and lower bandages).
If you can get the timing of the bandages down, you can destroy them by
attacking them. If possible, attack both of the Egyptian Mummies at once.
Because they share the same lifebar, this will be more effective than attacking
them individually. Once they are both defeated, the flying spirit will appear
again, and after another aerial display, will enter the right coffin, which
will open to reveal… Sy-Clops! Yes, he's back with a vengeance, and this time
you're taking him on immediately after one boss fight and with no guaranteed
safe spot or Turkey Leg.
Sy-Clops is the same as he was the last time, only this time around he loves to
charge you. If you're playing cautiously, you want to keep running as he
charges you until you're far enough away to hit him. If possible, you can try
to hit him more than once. Once attacked in this fashion, he'll either attempt
a hammer strike or simply charge you some more. If he tries a hammer strike,
you can get a few extra attacks in on him. Usually, he'll just charge you some
more. If that's the case, just repeat the same procedure. Finish him off and
the flying spirit turns into fireworks, signaling your success in completing
this lengthy level.
New Enemies:
-Headless Duelist – Dodges back and forth and strikes with his Rapier. His
sword covers a respectable distance, so fight him with caution.
-Ghost – See level 2a.
Level 5a (Crimson Tower): There's not too much to mention in the first room.
The Snake Pillars make their return, and there are some rotating platforms with
spikes on one side, but no other real dangers. One of the candles in this room
carries a Dagger.
Climb up the stairs and you'll take on a "Tower" section, in which you make
your way upward. If you went through the Clock Tower earlier, this is more of
the same. The only enemies here are Gargoyles, which can do some damage, but
are otherwise no trouble. Just make sure to take the time to attack them as
they approach so you don't take any unnecessary damage. There's another Dagger
in a candle in this section, but nothing else that's really noteworthy.
In the next section you'll find an Axe Knight and a Boomerang. Enter the door,
and you'll find a couple of Blue Sparks. Don't bother fighting them. Just make
your way to the stairs.
This next room is a slightly different tower section. Here's the stage will act
of its own accord, and the level will drop down at (basically) regular
intervals.
The most important thing to bear in mind here is not to be too close to the top
of the screen, as enemies tend to appear suddenly. The enemies aren't actually
all that difficult here – just some Sentries, but it's still worth mentioning.
The next room is much easier than it looks. At first it appears to be another
section where you have to go all the way to one side before backtracking.
Instead, all you have to do is climb a set of stairs to the top section, both
of which are in plain sight. However, if you choose to follow the bottom
section, there is a 1-Up available at a breakaway wall on the far left side.
It's a bit tricky getting there, because there are spikes above you on the last
jump, but it's well worth it, especially since this is one of the few 1-Ups
Trevor can reach on his own.
The next room is nothing special. Just an Axe Knight and a Dagger. However, the
next section is the most challenging part to get through. This is another tower
section, only with Tower Snake Pillars on both sides and you in the middle of a
potentially dangerous crossfire. The thing to keep in mind here is to watch
which head on each Snake Pillar is facing you, because that's the one that will
fire at you. Don't try to rush pass them; instead, wait for them to attack,
then start climbing after the danger has subsided.
There are two Ravens and an Axe sub-weapon at the top of the Crimson Tower. At
the end, you fight Frankenstein's monster.
BOSS FIGHT: Frankenstein – This fight isn't that tough at all. Frankenstein
will stomp, which will cause rocks to drop. As long as you're paying attention,
these are easily avoidable. Afterwards, he'll throw some rocks at you, then
he'll repeat the process. With the Dagger, Axe, or Boomerang, you can just
attack him repeatedly from a distance while dodging the rocks he throws.
Otherwise, you can just rush him; particularly if you have the Firebomb (which
is once again the weapon of choice here).
New Enemies:
-Tower Snake Pillar: Same as the regular Snake Pillars, except they only fire
two fireballs, and occasionally form a "tower" of two Snake Pillars. Still has
18 HP.
-Gargoyle: Similar to Medusa Heads, they will fly up and down sinusoidally.
However, they will begin to fly higher and swoop down lower as they progress
across the screen. Has 2 HP.
-Blue Spark: Glides along each side of a ledge and has extremely high defense.
Has virtually innumerable HP – just avoid them instead of trying to fight them.
Level 6a (High Tide): There's no worries about this level getting interesting
fast. Almost instantly, two Fleamen will begin their assault on you, so get
ready to fight right away. If you had the Firebomb from the last level, it'll
come in handy, as there is an Axe Knight directly behind the two Fleamen.
There's nothing particularly interesting in any of the candles here; just a
Dagger underneath the staircase on the right side of the platform where you
find the Axe Knight. Just before the doorway, you'll find one more Fleaman.
Upon entering this room, you'll find – lucky you – another element of
Castlevania to get used to; the whitewater rapids. Okay, the Mississippi it
ain't, but the waist-high waters are still enough to push you slowly in one
direction. The main enemies in the section are Fishmen, which swim up to you
instead of flying up from the bottom of the screen, and Ravens. The third
candle contains a Firebomb, which could be useful to Trevor. Not as useful in
this level as what Sypha would receive, but again, this is TREVOR'S solo quest,
not Sypha's. Around the halfway point of this section, you'll find a waterfall.
After passing under it, you'll find that the water is now propelling you to the
right instead of the left. Just make sure to keep your footing and you'll be
fine. Now, head for the door.
If you're offed at any point for the next three rooms, I should warn you that
in this area you'll find it a bit more difficult to find both Whip upgrades.
Occasionally you can luck out and grab one in the first one or two rooms, but
generally you might have to wait awhile. If at all possible, try not to die.
(Good advice, huh? ^_^)
The first enemy you'll find is another Axe Knight, with a Fleaman on the upper
ledge behind him. Take out the Fleaman first, as its sudden moves could prove
to be more dangerous than anything the Axe Knight can do. After that you'll
fight a Snake Pillar. No biggie, right? So, stop dwelling on it and head down
the stairs.
Your main concern here is keeping an eye out for the occasional Bat that could
complicate an important jump or battle. The only other enemies here are a
couple of Snake Pillars and an Axe Knight. If you feel confident in your
ability to dodge its fireballs, you don't have to bother fighting the Snake
Pillar on the upper platform. On the lower left-hand side of the area, you can
pick up a Firebomb.
After climbing back up to the previous room via the second set of stairs,
you'll find another Axe Knight. Above it is a candle with the Stopwatch. Make
your way to the right (past yet another Axe Knight), and enter the door.
Now, you might want to take a moment to take out the two Ravens that are at the
beginning of the next area before you jump to the next ledge, particularly if
you have a sub-weapon with some range to it. Speaking of which, the first
candle on the next ledge contains a Dagger. This is important, because once you
start making your way across the next ledge, the blocks will begin falling
behind you, so you'll want to get across as fast as possible. However, do take
the time to attack any of the Ravens you see as quickly as possible. After all,
taking a hit from one of them and getting sent flying into a ravine isn't the
best course of action on this stage, is it? Once you jump across to the next
ledge, you won't have any more dropping platforms or Raven to worry about. You
will, however, have to take on some Fishmen, which will leap out of the abyss
to take you on.
After heading down the stairs, you can pick up an Axe, which might actually be
a good idea at this point. Make your way to the right, and you'll take on the
boss of this level.
BOSS FIGHT – Twin Dragons: This is another "multiple monsters that share the
same lifebar" fight; and is actually easier for a change than its Japanese
counterpart. Here's the idea: there are three platforms, and two Dragon heads
that will rise straight up from the water next to the platforms, the blast a
stream of fire breath straight ahead (as opposed to the Japanese version, in
which they could also send the blast diagonally downward). They appear at three
heights relative to Trevor and the platform. The first is just above the
platform. They can be attacked here if you duck and attack, but you'll want to
stay just outside of the range of its fiery blast. The second is at eye level
with Trevor. They can be attacked with just straightforward whipping, but
again, you'll want to stay out of the blast's range. Finally, it can appear
overhead.
Okay. First, get to the middle platform and stay there. This is easily the
smartest place to be, as it offers the most maneuverability. Generally, at
least one of the heads will come to you anyway, so you only need the middle
platform. The Axe is actually the best weapon to have here, as it can attack
the Dragon heads at any height and has just the right distance coverage. The
Boomerang and (of course) the Stopwatch are to be avoided in this battle,
although the Dagger and Firebomb are acceptable.
One thing to bear in mind is that Trevor's Level 3 Whip has just a little bit
more range than their breath, so you can learn to position yourself just
outside of their reach while using this advantage to attack them from this
point. You should specifically try to time your attacks, however, for when the
heads are going to and from the water below. Other than that, the only thing
you'll want top bear in mind is that when both heads attack the middle platform
at once, you're probably just better off ducking between the two flames and not
pressing your luck by fighting unnecessarily.
Fighting the Dragon Twins using the Firebomb is a bit of a challenge and should
probably only be attempted if you know how to use the weapon well. You main
strategy is to let a Dragon Head rise up and attack, then Firebomb the ledge
just underneath him. If your aim was true, his head will come down onto the
flame and he'll take significant damage. In fact, if you have the Double- or
Triple- Shot, this tactic almost guarantees the twin will die instantly. Just
keep tossing the Firebombs down until it's dead.
Take them out, head to the middle platform (if you're not there already), and
grab the crystal for the victory.
Level 7a (Dreamscape): Well, this is the last defining level of the northern
plot path. After this, all of the courses come together. Not surprisingly,
there's a lot of platforming to be done in this level.
A Skeleton Soldier is at the bottom of a set of steps at the beginning of the
stage, and you can grab a Firebomb from a nearby candle. Head to the right, and
you get to relive a little bit of the Ghost Ship by way of some descending
platforms. The same rules apply here as they did then: wait until the first
platform is at eye level before making your way across. There is a ledge
between the two sets of descending platforms. You'll want to make sure that the
Blue Spark on this ledge isn't in your way when you're about to jump. After at
the second set of platforms, you fight a Snake Pillar and a Fleaman. Alright,
so it's not the most original duo on the game, but it's a reasonable fight, I
suppose. Beyond them and to the right of the stairs is a breakaway wall
containing an elusive Double-shot, which is always a welcome sight.
Head up the stairs and, heading left now, fight the second Snake Pillar. Now
climb up the next set of stairs. In the next section you'll find Fleamen, who
are conveyed to the area by Harpies. You'll have to climb another set of stairs
in order to make it to the landing. With the Axe or Firebomb, you can attack
the Fleamen directly above you so you have time to climb up the stairs.
Otherwise, you'll just have to be careful. Now, after fighting your way through
the Harpies and Fleamen, head to the right and enter the door.
Heading to the right, you'll fight a few more Snake Pillars. You'll want to
attack downward when fighting them, as the lower heads will be facing you this
time. Climb up the stairs and you'll fight some Axe Knights as you make your
way left. There's also a Dagger in a candle here. Now, when you reach the
staircase, head past it and you'll find a Turkey Leg in a breakaway wall to the
left of the stairs. Now, as if you needed prompting, head up the stairs.
As if the descending platforms weren't enough, you're given another reminder of
the course you've chosen when you enter this next section. The balancing
platforms have returned with a vengeance. Once again, the key here is to make
sure the right of the platforms is as high up as possible when you jump off of
it onto the next landing. When jumping to the final balancing platform (which
is about the toughest single jump in the game for the likes of Trevor), don't
jump until you're at the absolute end of the ledge. Now walk to the door.
There's nothing significant in this next area: just some Blood Skeletons and
Ravens. Head down the stairs.
This area is a bit of a challenge, but you should be prepared enough to handle
it by now. The level steady ascends beneath you, forcing you to make your way
downward at an equally steady pace. Move too slowly, and you'll get trapped
between the ceiling and wherever you're standing. Move too quickly, and you'll
drop to your death. What's more, many of the blocks here are collapsing
platforms. You best bet on these is to keep jumping in place to buy yourself
more time until you have a chance to jump down to another platform.
Fortunately, there are no enemies here and the section itself doesn't last
long. So head down the stairs when you get to them.
There's a Blood Skeleton down on the landing. Go to the left and you'll find a
breakaway wall with 5 hearts in it. But that's not all! About one full screen
away from that wall is another breakaway wall with another 5 hearts, just
before the three graves. THREE graves? Looks like another boss fight to me.
BOSS FIGHT – Egyptian Mummies, Sy-Clops III, and The Demon: So, you think
you've heard the last of the Sy-Clops and those Egyptian Mummies? Well, they're
back, and they've got even MORE company. Believe it or not, though, you've got
the long end of the stick fighting these guys here. Those taking the bottom two
routes will also have to take these guys on, and after an EXTREMELY lengthy
stage that they'll have to do all over again if they get beaten. So count your
lucky stars you chose this route during this fight.
The Egyptian Mummies are basically the same as when you fought them before. The
Firebomb and Boomerang are both handy in this fight, and the idea is to attack
them both at the same time to do twice as much damage.
The Sy-Clops is also much the same this time around. Fortunately, you once
again have a safe spot for this fight just like the first time around.
The third and final boss fight is against a tough-looking Demon. I say
tough-LOOKING, because in actually, he's a cinch to fight. He'll jump three
times, then he'll shoot some fireballs. You can walk under him when he jumps,
and you can destroy and/or dodge the fireballs he shoots. If you got past the
other two bosses, this one should be no problem.
After defeating the Demon, the Spirit is exorcised again – this time for good.
New Enemy:
-Harpy: Conveys a Fleaman into the battle, then continues to fly in the same
direction it started. Has 2 HP.
*Skip to Level 8*
*****
Level 3b (Swamplands): So, you want to prove your abilities as a full-on
fighter; and that means you've chosen the lower route. Perfect. Upon entering
the Swamplands, you'll encounter some Monster Toads, which are easy enough to
beat as long as you're careful enough to spot them early. The sinking sands
aren't all THAT dangerous as long as you keep jumping out of them regularly. At
the end of this section in front of the staircase is an Dagger.
Down below, in the next section of the level, you'll find some Monster Toads
and Swamp Creatures both of which emerge from the sinking sand. It's not
necessary, but you can grab a Turkey Leg if you make it to the leftmost wall.
Now, head for the door.
If you're not a fan of the whole "sinking sand" aspect of this level, you get a
bit of a break here, as there is a moving platform available toward the
beginning of this section. You can avoid the Swamp Creatures by using this; but
you'll want to keep an eye out for the occasional Bat, which will fly toward
you from one side of the screen or another (or both). Soon you'll find another
moving platform, this one a rising-and-descending platform, which can bring you
to a ledge. The candle above this ledge contains an Axe. Keep heading to the
right and you'll find a candle containing a Firebomb at the next significant
landing. There's also a breakaway panel worth 5 hearts two blocks from the next
section of sinking sands.
The are a few Ghosts and a Whip-Brandishing Skeleton to take care of right away
in this next room. The third candle contains a Boomerang, which I recommend you
take for the upcoming boss fight. There are also a couple more Ghosts toward
the end of this section.
Head down the stairs, but DON'T grab the first candle, as it contains a
Stopwatch that's really not worth getting; particularly now. Instead, head down
the stairs, then head to the right. There are a few Swamp Creatures and Bats to
keep an eye on, but not much else. Now, head down the stairs.
BOSS FIGHT – Vampire Bat: This is an interesting fight for the simple fact that
weapon strength isn't a consideration here. Every hit, regardless of weapon
power, will cause one point of damage. More interesting, however, is the fact
that it will also cause the Bat to split into two smaller Vampire Bats every
time it's hit for four times. Now, with the Boomerang, you can get several hits
in at once as well as catch any Bats that fly off in another direction.
Rushing the Vampire Bat is actually the intelligent and thoughtful approach
this time around, as it's the best way to keep the Bats from separating from
each other and flying off in different directions. Just lynch him with the Whip
and the sub-weapon you have, and this battle should be over fairly quickly and
easily.
New Enemies:
-Monster Toad: Leaps out of the sinking sands and will try to pounce on you.
Will also lash out its tongue on occasion. Has 1 HP.
-Swamp Creature: Rises from the sinking sands and makes its way in one
direction before descending back into the sands. Has 2 HP.
-Ghost: See Level 3a.
Level 4b (Nightmare Cave): Originally imaged as a pseudo Hell trip, this cave's
background has been changed for the US version. Of more importance, the first
enemies you'll find are a couple of Floating Eyes, which will fly a distance
straight forward, then drop a tear or something. They're not particularly
dangerous, so just take them out. You'll find a tower of blocks, with what
looks like water droplets. But water droplets probably shouldn't melt blocks.
Make your way just past where the droplets fall (without letting them touch
you), then wait. If you look closely, you'll see that the droplets can open up
a path to a candle below. When they do so, grab the candle for the boomerang.
You might not be able to climb back to the upper platform, but you can take out
the breakaway wall so you can head to the stairs. You'll see that by taking
this path, you also avoided a battle against some Mummies. You'll find a
Flameman, however, which should be no trouble to beat.
Heading down the stairs and to the right, you'll find a clear path to a door
after another section of corrosive droplets. However, wait until the droplets
burn all the way down to the lower door, and you'll be rewarded for your
efforts with a 1-Up in the candle there!
Heading through the door, the first enemy you'll see is a Blue Spark. Don't
bother fighting it – although it's beatable, it takes an eternity to do so
(give or take ^_^). You'll find plenty of hearts in the candles here and later,
a second Blue Spark. If you think that you're missing something by not taking
the top door, all you need to do is take a look on the upper row to see what it
could have been like – Flamemen and spikes directly overhead.
In the next room, you can find a candle with a Dagger in it. If you chose the
bottom route, you'll have to wait for the corrosive droplets to make a path for
you.
It doesn't matter which door you take this time, as you can switch between the
top and bottom paths. Regardless of which path you chose, the first enemy you
come across is a Flameman. Following this is a floating platform on which you
can switch between the top and bottom routes.
Take the bottom route for now. In the next room you find some double-sided
spike traps. These ones don't kill you instantly, but they do cause a
significant amount of damage, so try not to get hit by them. For the first one,
wait until it's at its apex, then instantly jump across before it descends. The
second one should be no trouble. The third one rises all the way up and drops
all the way down the screen, and you need to climb stairs just under its path.
Start climbing up the stairs just as it rises above eye level for Trevor.
You'll find a couple of the original descending spike traps you found if you
weren't wasting time in the Clock Tower. Either way, you can jump across them.
There's nothing else of much significance here except a couple of Blue Sparks.
The last candle holds an Axe. Finally, to reach the stairs, you'll need to jump
onto the rising platform, then jump onto the landing.
In the next room you'll find another Floating Eye that you can attack if you
grabbed the Axe. Either way, head to the right to take on Drac- err… Alucard.
BOSS FIGHT – Evil Alucard: You should have no trouble fighting this guy. In the
middle of the corridor you'll find a grave, out of which fly a swarm of bats.
What you'll want to do is stand where you want Alucard to land, then move there
when the Bats begin to fly in that direction. Eventually they'll form together
in vampiric shape. Once they do so, attack his head as he's opening his cape,
then attack him in the chest a couple of times. This causes no damage, but will
destroy the fireballs he tries to launch at you. Repeat this process and you
should defeat him without taking a single point of damage.
After that, he'll offer to join you, but only because he has an intimate fear
of rejection borne from his relationship with his Father (it can be hard for a
kid that age to have such a famous dad). Tell him to bugger off, and although
he'll probably start crying again, continue on your way without looking back.
Level 4b-ii (Nightmare Cave continued): I suppose this technically counts as
another level, since you start here if you have to continue. Take out the
Slimes toward the beginning of the stage, then get set to jump across the
platforms. You'll have to do so quickly and carefully, however, as they are
collapsing blocks. Just before them you can pick up the Firebomb, which I
recommend if you have anything except maybe the Boomerang.
After a few of these, you'll come to a landing with regenerating Mummies, which
I recommend you simply rush past (although you should be careful of any
wrappings they might throw at you. After you leave this landing, you'll face
more collapsing platforms in the middle of which you'll probably get attacked
by a Floating Eye. Above the last platform is a Boomerang, and a Dagger in the
candle toward the beginning of the second landing.
You'll want to hurry to the stairs when you reach the next landing because just
before them are Mummies. Although they regenerate VERY quickly, you can buy
time using the multi-hitting Firebomb or Boomerang. If you've bought yourself
enough time, you can take out a breakaway wall for 5 Hearts. Now, head up the
stairs.
When you reach the top of the stairs, you'll encounter some more Mummies. Climb
up the next set of stairs. At the top of these stairs you'll fight a Blood
Skeleton. Jump across to the next landing. Whoa, another collapsing platform.
Now, just jump down to the next landing (while avoiding any stray bandages),
and head left to the door to end the stage.
CHOICE 3 – Nightmare Cave 2, Atlantis: Unlike the upper path on choice 2, you
now get yet another choice for choosing the bottom path. This decision is
special for a good reason: it can be reversed. If you choose the top path and
lose all your lives before the end of the level, you get sent back to the
previous level and will get another opportunity to choose when you get to the
door.
*If you chose the bottom path, skip to Level 5c.*
Level 5b (Nightmare Cave 2): There's one important thing you might want to keep
in mind toward the beginning of the level… DON'T JUMP. The overhead spikes are
deceptive enough at a safe distance overhead that you might consider jumping to
fight the Ghost that appears and get taken out instantly by them. Instead, just
drop down to the next landing and make your way to the left.
In an open area on the next main landing, you'll suddenly find blocks that drop
down in a pattern. These can hurt you if they drop on you, so just head left
and avoid them. Climb the stairs and you'll come across a Blood Skeleton, this
one a Whip-brandishing Blood Skeleton. Continue left, and you'll find a Dagger,
and another (original) Blood Skeleton; followed by more falling blocks.
Continue left yet again and you'll come across the… Skeleton Knight?
BOSS FIGHT – Skeleton Knight, 1st Class: The Skeleton Knight is back with a
vengeance, not to mention a couple new tricks up its sleeve. Not only that, but
he's now a lot more resilient, with about four times the HP as last time.
It's wise to keep your distance during this fight, because each hit now causes
a Bone to fly out of its body and start attacking you until you destroy it. The
Firebomb and Boomerang are both great choices in this fight. You can get a
Double-shot in a breakaway panel on the first platform overhead.
The Skeleton Knight attacks in much the same way as in the first battle: he
jumps and he swings his sword. You can avoid these attacks easily as long as
you destroy the Bones that appear as a result of the Skeleton Knight taking
damage. So, like the Snake Pillars, take out the projectiles first, the actual
enemy second.
Level 6b (Demon Cave): There's a Stopwatch and a breakaway wall worth 5 Hearts
at the beginning of this stage, then a "raft" platform that will carry you
halfway across a river, where another platform will appear that you can jump
for. Watch out for Fishmen that jump out of the river, as well as the
occasional Bat that flies out from one side of the screen or another. Now,
climb up the stairs, and take the other platform to head back to the right.
Now, head up the stairs.
The first candle available is the Axe. Head up the stairs and take out the
Skeleton Soldier, then continue to the left and fight the Slimes and Mummies to
get to the door.
You're instantly confronted in the next room by a Floating Eye and a
Whip-Brandishing Blood Skeleton. If you have the Axe you grabbed in the
previous room, you can take out the Floating Eye. Otherwise, you'll probably
just want to avoid it. You can also trade up for a Firebomb by using the Axe to
take out a candle toward the top of the screen if you wish. Toward the end of
this section, you'll find a Bone-throwing Skeleton.
In the next section, you'll find another floating platform for you to use. The
two candles suspended over the ravine contain 5 Hearts apiece if you can time
it right and grab their contents. On the first landing is a Sentry; and you'll
probably see a Bat or two flying after you. Now, jump onto the next floating
platform, THEN DUCK, or you'll get pushed off by a low stalactite.
When the floating platform meets with another floating platform, you have a
chance to take a somewhat risky shot at grabbing a nearby candle containing the
Boomerang. It should only be attempted, however, if you're a real fan of the
sub-weapon. Above the next platform at some more orange spikes, so when it
reaches the next landing, WALK off the platform; don't jump off of it. A Sentry
is there for you to take on, followed by another Sentry and an Axe Knight. If
you took the Firebomb or Boomerang (or, if you still have the Stopwatch, as
this is one of the few stages in which it's worth considering), these fights
should be no trouble at all for you to handle.
Climb up the stairs, and you'll find a Bone-throwing Skeleton and a Snake
Pillar. The Snake Pillar isn't tough to handle, but keep in mind two things:
first, the lower head is facing you; and second, you're near a set of stairs,
so make sure you don't climb down the steps instead of ducking when you take
out the fireballs. Head to the right and you get to fight Frankenstein's
monster.
BOSS FIGHT – Frankenstein: If you have the Boomerang or the Firebomb, this guy
is a joke. If you have a Double- or Triple-shot with said weapons, you should
feel ashamed for thinking that you needed to read this part of the walkthrough
for advice.
Even if you don't have the above preparations, this fight isn't difficult at
all. Franky will stomp, causing rocks to fall. There's always a place for you
to stand so you're not hit by the rocks as long as you're paying attention (if
you really need help finding the safe spot, pause the game just before the
rocks fall and look for it). After that, he'll throw a few rocks, then he'll
repeat the previous two actions. To avoid the rocks he throws, all you really
need to do is walk away from them.
***
Level 5c (Atlantis): Although those taking the upper route during the previous
choice have two levels to handle instead of one, this single level is long
enough to make up for it; if not surpass the length of the two levels combined.
Fortunately, the first half of this level is VERY straightforward and the music
on this stage is friggin' awesome. (^_^)
There's nothing much worth mentioning for Trevor for the first section: The
first ledge has a breakaway panel containing 5 hearts, and there are three
Skeleton Soldiers, but that's basically it. Head down the stairs when you get
to them.
There are several Fishmen in the next section, as well as a Dagger. Grab the
Dagger only if you REALLY need a weapon and anything will do. Once again, this
section of the level isn't complicated, just head left and climb up the stairs.
In the next section (which is actually just the second part of the first
section), you'll find another Skeleton Soldier, followed by a candle with a
Firebomb. As much as I love the Firebomb in general, you should probably bypass
the weapon this time around. Toward the end of this section is a Dragon
Skeleton – a fight you can avoid simply by walking under it and moving on.
Once again, there's nothing particularly deadly in this next area, just several
more Bats and Fishmen. At the end you can fight another Dragon Skeleton; which
you can take out as it's extending from the wall simply by ducking and whipping
it repeatedly.
The first candle in the next section contains an Axe, which actually isn't a
bad option at all on this level. I'd say go for it if you have anything except
possibly the Boomerang. The two-panel platform just before the second main
landing contains a Turkey Leg. Before getting it, however, take out the Dragon
Skeleton to your left. You'll want to position yourself just right to grab it
before it falls into the ocean. Soon you'll fight another Dragon Skeleton. The
second-last candle contains a Stopwatch. In other words, skip it.
The third candle in the next section contains a Dagger, so once again; don't
bother with it. Take out the next Dragon Skeleton, then head to the right for a
reasonably tough boss fight.
SUB-BOSS FIGHT – Leviathan Skeleton: The main trick in this fight is not so
much avoiding the damage he deals you if you get hit, but rather to avoid
getting knocked off of the platform you're on. The Leviathan Dragon has no
attacks, but it quite maneuverable in flight, so take the fight slowly and
carefully. As you attack him, he'll begin to fall apart, which makes him
faster. Reduce him to half of his HP or less and… he chickens out! Yes, the
mighty Leviathan Skeleton actually runs away. However, he starts a massive
waterfall, and you need to escape the ensuing flood – FAST!
Stage 5c-ii (Atlantis Underwater): Alright, first and foremost, don't waste you
time fighting anything that isn't directly in your way. This isn't a tough
level, but if you lose all of your lives, you get sent to Atlantis 1. Fishmen
and Bats will try to slow down your escape, but you need to get through this
section quickly, as the water level is rising steadily. Each of the two-panel
platforms are collapsing platforms; but you shouldn't be wasting your time
standing around on them anyway. Jump to the lower landing, then head right to
the first staircase. Climb up to the upper landing to take the stairs to the
next section of the level.
Once again, don't waste your time here. Just head up the stairs to the right,
then make your way to the left. Random blocks are collapsing platforms, so just
keep walking. When you reach the end, you'll have caught up with the Leviathan
Skeleton and it's time to finish what you started.
BOSS FIGHT – Leviathan Skeleton: Half your work is already done during this
fight, so merely continue the beatdown you started. There's actually a lot less
danger this time around, as there's less of a chance of getting knocked into a
ravine here. However, the water level is still rising, so you have to end this
fight quickly. I'd give you more advice than that, but there's really not
enough time or ground in which to execute a complex strategy. Just lynch him
with your Whip and whatever Sub-weapon you have as he appears.
Defeat him and the rest of his body falls into the ocean. The water is still
rising, however, so grab the crystal quickly, then get ready for the stage to
end all stages on Castlevania 3.
New Enemies:
-Skeleton Soldier: See level 2a.
***
Level 7b (Ascension): So you wanted a challenge, huh? Well, get ready for the
battle of your life, as this level just goes on and on! There are a lot of
sections in this level that require you to observe patterns in order to
proceed, so I've prepared some visual aids for this level.
In the first section, fight the first Headless Duelist while on the stairs some
you can avoid his sword. Then grab the Axe, as it could come in handy in the
next room. Defeat the next Headless Duelist before heading to the next landing
and taking the stairs.
In the next room, you can use the Axe to take out the two Fleamen with a single
attack. Then you can wait until the droplets have cause the path on this
screenshot:
Wrestlingsrumors.tripod.com/CV3-A-S2.jpg
Proceed to the next room, where you'll find platforms seemingly suspended by
ropes for effect. However, not only are these platforms not being held up, but
they're collapsing platforms. You might run into a Bat, so make sure to take it
out if it gets in your way. Above the third platform is a Firebomb (on the US
version).
The next room is another one in which Trevor will have to wait for a path to
clear for him. It should look like this:
Wrestlingsrumors.tripod.com/CV3-A-S4.jpg
In the next room, you'll encounter Gargoyles, so keep their flight patterns in
mind as you fight them. This is especially important because toward the end
you'll find some more falling blocks, similar to the ones that you found if you
took the upper route during the previous decision. This time, however, you
actually need to put them to use in order to reach the staircase to the next
section. The blocks fall in a pattern, which you can use to avoid being hit by
them while you're waiting and fighting the Gargoyles that pass by. Here's the
order in which they appear:
Wrestlingsrumors.tripod.com/CV3-A-S5.jpg
When you get within jumping distance, jump to the landing, then climb the
stairs to the next section.
In the next section you'll find a Skeleton Soldier and a Slime, which you can
once again defeat from below with the Axe or the Firebomb if you have them.
After you defeat them, you can grab a Turkey Leg from the breakaway wall to
your left. Now, head to the right, and you'll see a Skeleton Soldier waiting
for you at the end of the next staircase. What you want to do to avoid taking
damage is to slowly edge up on him, causing him to back away, then when you
reach the end of the stairs, you can walk away from him slightly, causing him
to give chase, at which point you can defeat him with ease. In the candle to
the left you can get an Axe, which you can use to get 5 hearts from another
candle to the right. Either way, head to your right for a second encounter with
a familiar boss.
SUB-BOSS FIGHT – Vampire Bat: This fight should be no trouble whatsoever. As a
matter of fact, because this stage is so lengthy, if you've lost a life at time
by this point, you should consider starting this level over with all 3 lives,
as you're not even halfway through the level, yet!
Here's the idea: hit it as it starts to move, then hit it just as it splits
apart each time. You should be able to take it out in four hits if you did it
right. If necessary, defeat any of the Bats that happened to fly away using an
appropriate sub-weapon or your Whip.
This next section can be VERY tricky. There are three platforms. On every space
of each platform, a rock will fall, so there's no guaranteed safe spot.
Furthermore, you need to use the rocks to climb an significant distance
straight upward to reach the stairs to the next section.
Alright. Throughout about 99% of the ordeal, you'll want to stay on the middle
platform. The rocks once again fall in a regular pattern. You can find the
pattern here:
Wrestlingsrumors.tripod.com/CV3-Aii-S1.jpg
It's actually not difficult to get through here. First, stand where you see the
number 4, then wait. Once rock #3 lands, jump onto it, then wait again. When
numbers 4 and 1 land (they appear one after the other), jump to panel 4 again.
Now, repeat this process.
This is pretty easy, right? Well, once you get about halfway up the section,
the pattern abruptly changes. However, this shouldn't be a problem. Just keep
following the previous pattern – when panel 3 lands, stand on it. When panel 4
lands, stand on it. Finally, when the stairs get within jumping distance, get
to the platform. Make sure you don't get hit by the blocks that fall over the
ravine. If you want, you can risk jumping to the platform below the main
landing, on which you can find 5 hearts in a ground lantern innocently placed
in such a dangerous section of the level. By the staircase is another ground
lantern with an Axe.
The next section isn't difficult at all, but can be a bit of a trial if you
died in the previous section and still need to upgrade your Whip. Basically,
you're attacked by Spiders and a Whip-Brandishing Blood Skeleton as you proceed
to your right to the stairs as long as you take the time to fight anything of
immediate significance, you should be just fine.
Two Ravens await you in the next section. These are easily dealt with if you
have the Axe, but either way, defeat them BEFORE jumping to the moving platform
on the right. The last thing Trevor needs is a death here caused by getting
knocked into a ravine. Now, head to your left, where you'll find a moving
platform which you can take to the door. There's another seemingly unnecessary
platform here, but don't pass it up, as you can take it down to another ledge,
where you can grab a VERY welcome 1-Up from a breakaway wall. Now, head for the
door.
In this next room, you get to handle some very tough descending platforms. For
the first set, wait until they're slightly above Trevor's head before
proceeding. Get to the next landing, and you'll notice that every single panel
on it is a collapsing one! Yes, you have to wait for the descending platforms
to make another cycle downwards, and you have no solid ground on which to do
it! Meanwhile Bats will fly at you from one side of the screen or another; and
I'll remind you again that if you lose all of your lives you have to start ALL
OVER AGAIN. What you want to do is jump in place as much as possible and stay
toward the middle of the landing. This is in case a Bat manages to hit you; so
you have a better chance of not getting knocked into a ravine. Be careful but
fast when the platforms once again get within jumping range.
Make your way to the left, where you have to climb to the top landing and wait
for the platforms once again. Fortunately, these panels aren't collapsing ones,
so you can stand where you want. When they come within jumping range, quickly
use them to make your way to the right. This time around the task shouldn't be
anywhere near as arduous.
In the next room (yes, I realize that this level goes on and on), you'll find a
LOT of rotating platforms and Medusa Heads. There are several candles here, but
the safest way to get through this section is two words: DON'T JUMP. It's just
not worth it. Take it nice and easy, and defeat any Medusa Heads you come
across. Remember, getting hit by them and landing on a rotating platform counts
as jumping, so don't get hit.
When you make it to the next room, you'll fight a Headless Duelist and a
Spider. Now, head up the stairs.
Now, you get to go through a tower section of this level! Boy, it sure pays to
take the bottom route, doesn't it? The second candle contains an Axe. Although
Sentries and Skeleton Soldiers are all around in this section, there's not a
whole to say, here. Just keep moving at the pace set by the level, and make
your way up steadily. Toward the top you'll be set upon by Gargoyles again.
When you reach the top, take the left staircase. You'll have to fight an Axe
Knight, but you can also grab a Turkey Leg from the breakaway panel on the top
landing. Besides, you have to take on those regenerating Mummies if you take
the right staircase. Now, head to the right, where – appropriately for a level
this length – you fight not one, not two, but THREE bosses. And should I remind
you again that if you lose all your lives, you start FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF
THE LEVEL?
BOSS FIGHT – Egyptian Mummies, Sy-Clops, and the Demon: There's no point in
saying that you should have chosen the upper route during choice 2; as you have
to fight this battle no matter which route you take. If you've made it here,
the rest shouldn't be very tough.
If you still have the Firebomb or Boomerang, then you should be thanking your
lucky stars. The Egyptian Mummies are the toughest part of this fight. Using a
Firebomb or Boomerang, you can obliterate them by rushing them with the
weapons. Otherwise, you'll want to handle them carefully. They share the same
lifebar, so if you attack them both at the same time, you'll do about twice as
much damage to them. Therefore, you should try to do so as much as possible.
Now, then. The bandages these guys throw act exactly the same way as those of
the (regular) Mummies, so handle them accordingly. Fight them quickly, but
carefully, and feel free to back away when you need to get out of their reach.
Since the next two fights aren't nearly as tough, take all your lumps here, but
don't get careless. You'll want to have at LEAST 8 HP left after this fight
just in case.
Next up is the Sy-Clops. Since you didn't save Sypha, this guy gets to run
free. Now you must defeat him here instead. Only head shots effect the
Sy-Clops, so bear this in mind. Sy-Clops has two main attacks. First, he'll run
in place for a bit, then he'll charge after you. Second, he'll raise his hammer
and attempt to make a Trevor-sized imprint into it. The first attack is
reasonably tough to avoid, and he does this when you spend too much time on the
ground. The second attack actually helps you more than the Sy-Clops, as it
leaves him open for several shots to the head. What you want to do is run away
from him by jumping repeatedly. This will make it less likely that Sy-Clops
will charge you. Then, once you have enough space between the two of you, start
attacking. Repeat this process and you should be able to defeat him fairly
easily.
The final battle to end the lengthy boss fight in this marathon of a level is
the Demon. This fight is a bit anti-climactic, however, as the Demon is a
breeze. He'll jump three times (you can walk under him easily during these
jumps), and then he'll shoot three fireballs at you, which are easily avoided
or destroyed. Defeat the Demon, then when all the confetti falls and you're
done singing out of pure joy, get the crystal to finally put an end to this
level.
*****
Level 8 (Dracula's Castle – Entrance Hall): At this point, all of the plot
paths converge, and regardless of which decisions you've made through the
course of the game, you end up here; making your final descent towards your
goal: Dracula.
The theme music that plays for this level is called "Dejavu," and if you'd
played the first level of Castlevania 1, you can see why. The background is
very similar to that stage. The difficulty, however, is obviously another
story. Right away, I should tell you that now Trevor will take four points of
damage from attacks, so you have even more cause to be careful throughout the
remainder of the game. However, you've made it this far, and that's saying a
lot, particularly if the previous level you've played was Ascension.
In the entrance hall starts off pretty easily. All you have to do is make your
way to the right while fighting some Zombies and Bats. The third candle
contains a Dagger, but unless you're a fan of that weapon, I'd advise against
using it right now unless you don't have any other weapons. Toward the stairs
leading to the next section, you'll encounter a couple of Axe Knights.
Climb the stairs and you'll find a Headless Duelist and some Spiders. The key
point on this level is HP conservation – those who played the bottom route and
lived through Ascension know exactly what I'm talking about – so take your time
and don't rush into their attacks. The Axe is helpful for taking out the
Spiders, but it's not a necessity. Proceed to and through the door.
The main thing to think about at first is avoiding the projectiles launched by
the Bone-Throwing Skeleton above you when you enter the next area. On the
ground level there's a Slime and a Whip-Brandishing Skeleton. There's also a
Turkey Leg if you need one. The most dangerous part in this room is when you're
climbing the stairs. If you have the Axe (or to a lesser extent the Firebomb),
you can take out the Blood Skeleton and Whip-Throwing Skeleton as you make it
to the top. And if you happen to have the Stopwatch, you could always freeze
them. Otherwise, you'll need to play it defensively, and wait just under the
top of the stairs for a chance to climb the rest of the way up. Try walking
toward the Bone-throwing Skeleton before climbing the stairs to make him back
off. Take out the Slime and the other Bone-Throwing Skeleton (if there is
another one – sometimes it's not there), then take the next set of stairs.
Even if you have the Axe, don't bother taking out the Axe Knight and Slime
directly above you when you reach the top of this staircase, as they will
simply regenerate by the time you make it back on the top level. Nothing is
particularly noteworthy about the bottom section of the level – all you need to
do is make your way to the right and take out the Slimes that get in your way.
When you get to the far right, carefully jump up to the next landing while
making sure not to land on the nearby Axe Knight's projectiles. You'll probably
need to chase this guy unless you have the Firebomb, Axe, Stopwatch, or
Boomerang. Actually, that just about narrows it down, so maybe you WON'T have
to chase him. Proceed toward the far left and you'll fight that Axe Knight and
Slime that you saw when you first arrived on this section of the level. Now,
simply press "up" at the stairs, and Trevor will automatically climb them.
You're just about finished here. In the first candle to the right of the stairs
on the second landing is a Boomerang, which I strongly advise that you take.
After you decide which weapon you'd like proceed back down the stairs, and take
out the far left wall for a Double-Shot.
Now, after hopping over the platform just to the right of the stairs, make your
way left without stopping. This is because, after the third candle, the ground
begins to drop out from behind you. A Sentry will try to distract you, but
rather than fighting it, jump over it and keep heading right. Move the rest of
the way to the right and you'll come across… Death.
BOSS FIGHT – The Grim Reaper: You remember this guy from Castlevania? Well,
he's even tougher THIS time around. Grimmy-boy will appear at the top-center of
the screen, so get lined up and launch a couple of Boomerangs at him right
away. Now, comes the tricky part. As Death flies around the room and rebounds
against the walls, sickles will appear in mid-air and float toward you. Dodging
the sickles is more of an art than a science, so thank your lucky stars that
this is such a quick level if you have to Continue. The main idea is to use one
Boomerang to attack Death, then use you other Boomerang(s) and the Whip to take
out any sickles that you can. I won't kid you; this isn't easy to do, and I've
only done this without taking damage a couple of times. If you're a die-hard
Firebomb fan and are using a double-shot Firebomb instead, you can try to hit
Death with the Firebomb just as he reaches the ground or a platform, then you
can basically kill him off then and there. However, this is a challenge, and
only people with a lot of skill using the weapon should attempt it.
Yeah, but this time around the Tenacious G has a new trick up its sleeve.
Defeat the Grim Reaper, and the lights in the room shut off, revealing the Grim
Reaper's true form. The Golden Skull of the Grim Reaper isn't as difficult to
fight, but because it can move around the screen quickly and dis/appear without
a lot of warning (not to mention the fact that some of those blasted sickles
are still flying around) concentrate all your firepower on it right away. You
should be able to beat it fairly quickly if you rush him right of the bat.
Otherwise, you'll just have to play as evasively as you did with the first form.
Level 9 (Dracula's Riddle): You're on the home stretch, so make this
second-to-last level count. After proceeding up the stairs to the second room
(there's nothing significant in the first section), make your way to the right.
You'll be attacked by Harpies and Fleamen throughout this section of the level.
They're not difficult to fight, just remember to be patient and time your
attacks well.
You can only get the candles in the next room with the Axe. There's nothing
really special about them, but I felt I should mention that anyway. Proceed
through the door. If you haven't already picked up an Axe, you can do so in the
next room by using the descending spike trap as a platform and taking out the
first candle. Either way, make your way to the right and climb up the stairs.
No matte which route you took, you should be familiar with "tower" segments by
now. There's nothing REALLY dangerous here, but remember that if you MUST take
a hit, do so on the stairs so you don't go flying into a ravine. Gargoyles and
Tower Snake Pillars are the enemies here.
The next room features a lone Axe Knight, which should be no trouble at this
point. Just be careful when climbing the stairs. There are a couple of Sentries
in the next room, but nothing else that's really noteworthy. Climb the stairs
and you'll take on another Tower segment! Good thing you're probably
experienced at it by now.
This is another one where the Tower "Drops" at regular intervals, so you'll
have to move at a fairly quick pace. A word to the wise: the Tower doesn't
start moving until you make it to the same landing as the Skeleton Soldier
(which is directly above you when you enter), so make any preparations
necessary before climbing the stairs. Also, mind the Blue Spark. From there,
head to the right and climb the stairs there. Attack the next Skeleton Soldier
from across the ravine, then leap over and climb the stairs. When you come
across the next Blue Spark, don't immediately rush onto the platform. Instead
wait until you can see the next landing AND the Blue Spark is some distance
from you. This is because the low platform will prevent you from jumping over
it, meaning you'll get hit by it if you move too soon. The rest is pretty easy
as long as you keep a steady pace, although you'll have a bit of a tricky jump
toward the end; where you must land on a platform that's at eye level and has
another Blue Spark on it. Proceed up the stairs.
The next room might look familiar to those who've played the level "High Tide."
You'll be attacked by a Bat and you'll see an Axe Knight that is nowhere near
you. You'll also see a door in plain sight to the right, but don't immediately
go rushing after it. Instead jump onto the platform to the right and take out
the wall on the far right to find a Turkey Leg. Now, head to the left.
There's more "High Tide" stuff here. Before heading into the flooding river,
take out the Ravens above you by convincing them to dive, then hitting them.
There are some Fishmen, but they pose little threat. Proceed to the far left
and climb the stairs. At the top of the stairs is a Boomerang, which is a
pretty good choice here. Now, head to the right past the waterfall (the water
will change directions as you pass the falls) and make a jump for the next
landing. The candle by the stairs contains a Dagger, which isn't recommended.
In the next section you'll find several candles and many rotating platforms –
some with spikes. Don't even bother with the candles, as none of them contain
anything worth possibly dying for. There are also Medusa Heads here, which
shouldn't be any trouble as long as you stay on the ground. Make your way all
the way to the left and you'll come face-to-face with… Trevor!?
BOSS FIGHT – Doppelganger: Yes, as the final challenge before the main hall of
Dracula's castle, you must fight an evil clone of yourself. Which is easier
said than done. The Doppelganger materializes out of the ground and instantly
begins to attack Trevor.
Okay, so here's the Doppelganger stripped down to nuts and bolts: he has all of
Trevor's attacks and abilities. He also carries his equivalent of the Boomerang
sub-weapon (which is a neat-looking red color). You're at an extreme
disadvantage in this fight, as all of the Doppelganger's attacks do four points
of damage. This includes merely TOUCHING the doppelganger. Although the
Doppelganger uses the same whip Trevor has, it will do four points as damage,
so you might as well go in with the Morning Star so YOU can do the most damage.
The absolute BEST sub-weapon to have is the Firebomb, as the Doppelganger is
obviously as ground-based in his attacks as you are. The Boomerang is also a
good weapon.
Even if you don't have either of those weapons, you can try to lure the
Doppelganger into chasing you toward a platform, then jumping onto the platform
late and forcing him to drop down instead, then you can jump back onto the
middle section and hit him as he tries to jump back up toward you. Don't rely
on this tactic forever, though, as the Doppelganger CAN get wise to you.
Whatever sub-weapon you have, you'll have to take advantage of its properties
to give you the edge over this boss, because it's the only distinguishing
feature you can take advantage of. In a nutshell, about the only thing you can
do is run away, then stand your ground as he tries to catch up. Take advantage
of the fact that he rarely uses his Boomerang and generally tries to charge
straight into you instead. Take out the Doppelganger, and you're ready for the
final showdown in Dracula's Court.
Level 10 (Final Assault): All right; you've finally made it. This level proves
beyond question that a level doesn't have to be long in order to be tough as
hell to beat. The final level of Castlevania 3 is arguably the shortest one in
the game, yet is so incredibly tough (especially with one character instead of
two) that it can take several continues just to make it to Dracula.
In this first area, make damned sure you don't take damage from the two Ravens.
They might seem easy to beat (and they are), but believe me when I say that
you'll need every single hit point you have to get through this level. Snag the
hearts and Whip enhancements, then jump to the leftmost platform. Stun the
Blood Skeleton and grab the Axe and hearts.
Remember how I kept talking about the Axe being just another sub-weapon? Well,
for this stage only, that doesn't apply. The Axe finally has a chance to stand
out as the definitive weapon of choice for the final stage. Now head down the
stairs.
This part of the level isn't THAT tough, but again, this is the portion of the
stage where you want to be careful not to take any damage. As a matter of fact,
I'd even go as far as to say that if you've taken two or more hits by this
point, you should just kill yourself and start over. Upon entering this next
area, you'll notice a distinct similarity to the Clock Tower. Yes, Medusa Heads
and rotating gears abound in the final descending stage of the game. Right off
the bat I should and will warn you not to touch the top of the screen by
jumping too high, or you'll be instantly offed by an invisible descending spike
trap. When Medusa Heads start flying after you, chose whether to attack them or
dodge them, and make the decision quickly and carefully. You'll notice before
too long that even the slightest hesitation can cause you quite a bit of damage.
Most of this section is just nickel-and-dime stuff, but near the end there with
be some collapsing blocks all the way to the left. Even though they are
directly above the staircase, do NOT wait on them, as you'll either fall too
soon (before the stairs appear below you) or be crushed from above. Instead,
walk to the right, then jump onto a lower platform (also a collapsing-block
platform), then jump onto the rotating gear when it appears. Stay balanced on
the gear until the staircase appear, then jump to the left part of the gear and
quickly jump off onto the platform and take the stairs down to the next section.
Now, if you were careful, you should hopefully still be at full life. This
section of the level has bats and two Snake Pillars. Sounds easy, right? Yeah,
until you realize that there are spikes underneath the landing; and they're not
there for decoration. Yes, the bats are flying fast, the Snake Pillars are
shooting at you, and on top of it all, random panels of the only footing there
is are actually collapsing platforms. Fun, huh? Right off the bat – and forgive
the pun – a bat will come charging at you, so walk down the stairs without
hesitating.
Now, walk to just within the full range of the Whip to attack the Snake Pillar.
Be sure to take out the Fireballs and any Bats that attack you before attacking
the Snake Pillar, as they can do a lot more damage than it can. Finish it off
and head to the left. Using the Axe, take out the candle near the top of the
screen to get a very necessary 1-Up. Now, this next Snake Pillar can be a royal
pain. First of all, the lower head is the one pointed at you, so you'll have to
duck in order to take out the fireballs it shoots. Second, ALL of the panels
within your attack range are collapsing panels, so there's no place on which
you can stand still to fight the thing. And those damned Bats are STILL flying
at you. If you're at full life, my advice is just to take a hit from it, then
use your invulnerability to just walk past it.
Right away, there's a Spider that drops down in front of you in this next
section. Take it out, then drop down and take out the Whip-Brandishing
Skeleton. If you have the Axe still and are missing some life, go ahead and
grab the Turkey Leg in the breakaway wall just below where you were when you
first entered. Otherwise, head of the stairs and take out the Bone-throwing
Skeleton (which will probably get a free hit on you if you don't have an Axe),
grab the Axe, then go back and get the Turkey Leg. Now, head up the stairs.
Here, you'll find another Clock Tower-like segment, with the return of the
pendulums! Once again, however, a seemingly simple platforming task is made
more difficult by some creatively placed Bats. Hop onto the first pendulum,
then jump onto the second when it comes within jumping distance. You'll want to
wait, however, when the second one reaches as far left as it goes, because not
only does the third pendulum take a bit longer to come into jumping distance,
but one sneaky little Bat will also take this opportunity to attack you. Take
out the bat, then quickly jump to the third pendulum, then onto the platform in
front of the final door. Now, you've finally made it. Trevor automatically
walks to the door, and the overture begins.
If you've played Castlevania 1, this next area should look quite familiar.
There are no more enemies here (well… there's *one* more enemy… ^_^), so take
out the two candles and head up the stairs. Note however, that if you die,
you'll get sent all the way back to the room with the Whip-Brandishing
Skeletons. All of the candles here except the fourth one contain hearts. DON'T
get the fourth candle past the stairs, or you'll get stuck with the Dagger for
the battle. Yes, THE battle. At the end of the hallway, in the final corridor,
Trevor will find himself face-to-face with… him.
FINAL BATTLE – Vlad Tepes Dracula, Dracula Roulette, Pazuzu Dracula:
Dracula 1 – After a brief staredown, Dracula rises from his throne. Dracula's
first form will attack using Flame Pillars. First, he'll surround you with two
smaller pillars, then he'll attack you with a large flame pillar directly
underneath you. After that, he'll teleport away.
Okay, first of all, you can only damage him by attacking his head. Also, you
usually don't do any damage if you attack him while he's teleporting. Before he
sends out the first two spires, get within attacking distance, so you can
strike him several times through the flames. Don't attack him for too long,
because you'll need to watch for the third flame and get out of the way just
before it rises. If you dodged it successfully, you should be able to land a
few more hits on him before he teleports away. Repeat the process (preferably
without taking damage), and he should go down with little trouble.
Dracula 2 – Proving that Twinbee isn't the only Konami game with strange
bosses, the Dracula Roulette reveals itself as a mass of five heads that attack
by flying around and vomiting on you. Now, after you get over the fact that I'm
not kidding that's EXACTLY what this boss is, make some distance between the
two of you so that you can start assaulting it one head at a time with the Axe
and, when it gets within jumping range, the Whip. If you keep a close eye on
the heads, you should be able to tell when you can walk under it if necessary.
Dracula 3 – This is it. The final confrontation. The final battle theme changes
key, and the background fades out to reveal a statue. Soon after, two sets of
two blocks begin to rise from the ground. As if you couldn't guess, the target
to aim for is once again the head. If you still have plenty of hearts left for
your Axe, this task should be much easier to perform, as you can generally jump
and toss an Axe at Drac's head. Otherwise, use the floating platforms to get
within range and strike when you get the chance. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well,
the tough part about this fight are Dracula's hand and eye lasers. These small
glowing shots will travel straight forward from either Dracula's head or one of
his hands, generally in groups of three shots. They will continue until they
leave the screen, and unlike conventional fireballs, they cannot be destroyed
with the Whip. There isn't a whole lot you can do about these, so just be sure
to keep an eye out for them and plan ahead so they don't hit you unexpectedly.
If you look carefully, you can tell which direction they're going to move in
before they actually start moving.
Take out the final form, and you've done it! Congrats on completing the Trevor
solo quest.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 6: Sypha Solo Quest *UNDER CONSTRUCTION*
------------------------------------------------------
In a fight situation, Sypha can bring it like no other character. Not to be
confused with any purely defensive character, Sypha should never take any
damage if she can avoid it, because she takes significant damage from attacks.
Sypha's motto – hit 'em fast, hit 'em hard. Oh, and grab as many hearts as you
can find. Possibly more than anyone else, Sypha will get plenty of use out of
them.
Level 1 (Beginning): In the first area, Sypha can find a few things to prepare
her for her journey. In the candles, you'll find a Sacred Flame spellbook and a
few hearts.
In the next room, you'll encounter your first enemies – two Skeletons, as well
as a couple more candles. Climb up the stairs and you'll enter the chapel
tower. In here, there's only a few bats, which will become active when you get
close enough to them. At the top right of the tower, there's a Blizzard
spellbook, which I recommend you pick up for the next room.
In this next room you'll run into two Bone-throwing Skeletons and a candle that
appears to be out of Sypha's reach. Using the Blizzard ability, freeze either
one of the Skeletons, or a projectile within jumping distance, then use it to
climb up onto the platform just under the candle. Inside you'll find a Dollar
Bag, which doesn't seem like much at first, but is actually worth 7000 points –
and bear in mind that you receive an extra life when you get your first 20,000
points, so this puts you almost halfway there by itself. If you want to be
*really* mean, you can just keep leaving and re-entering this area and getting
that dollar bag until you have as many 1-Ups as you like. This is obviously
frowned upon by purists, however.
Down the stairs into the next room, you can use the Blizzard ability to reach
another shortcut. As a Medusa Head flies near the wall just to the right of
where you enter this room, you can jump onto it and climb the wall to reach the
other side. However, it's difficult to get Medusa Heads to attack you until
you've gotten to that point normally, so you might be better off just walking.
Now, as long as you make sure not to jump onto any of the rotating platforms,
(which will flip if you do so), and hit any Medusa Heads that get in your way,
you should be just fine. If you want, you can pick up a Stopwatch on the lower
section, but I really recommend against it, as the Stopwatch is really
basically useless for Sypha when she has so many other options available to her.
The next room is a cinch. There are just a bunch of Zombies which usually come
in groups of two or three and are easily beaten. In the candle just before the
ravine, there's another Sacred Flame spellbook. It's really your call whether
to pick it up, but keep in mind that you'll have other opportunities to pick it
up during this level, but NOT the Blizzard.
Head down the stairs, then head to the left wall, which is a breakaway wall
which reveals a Turkey Leg. Head to the right, and take care of the Fleamen
using your subweapon of choice before they get a chance to rush you. The Snake
Pillar only takes one Blizzard to freeze, then a single strike to kill
(normally it takes nine hits!), and the Sacred Flame takes scarcely longer than
that to defeat it.
Through the door, you'll come across a few more Zombies and Bats. You'll be
given a couple more chances here to pick up the Sacred Flame, and I suggest you
do so. Make your way to the end of this level, and you'll see a pile of bones
and armor, which come together and form your first boss fight – the Skeleton
Knight.
BOSS FIGHT – Skeleton Knight: With the Sacred Flame on hand, this guy is
unbelievably easy. Just head to the right of the rightmost platform and blast
him over and over until he dies. He shouldn't even get the chance to reach you.
Even without it, you should be able to rush him. Chances are you'll be able to
beat him whether you play cautiously or trade hits with him.
CHOICE 1 – Clock Tower, Mad Forest: Like Trevor, Sypha won't find anything of
note in the Clock Tower. I'll cover the path for the sake of completion, but do
yourself a favor and just take the bottom route.
Level 2a (Clock Tower): There's a breakaway wall on the platform across from
the entrance which can bring your hearts to 10 right off the bat. You'll want
to avoid the candle to the left of the first set of stairs, however, as it
contains a Stopwatch, and as I've said before, Stopwatches are of little use to
Sypha. There are a few Sentries and Medusa Heads in this first area, but
nothing really dangerous. Towards the top, there's another breakaway wall with
another Large Heart. To get to it, you'll have to jump across a couple of
rotating gears.
The next area also poses little threat. However, the candle just before the
first jump contains the Blizzard sub-weapon, and as usual, it can be quite
handy. Make your way to the left and climb the stairs.
Like Trevor, time your jumps in the pendulum room of the Clock Tower for just
before the pendulum reaches its destination. This should be no real trouble.
The next room has another breakaway wall worth five hearts. Simply drop down
(instead of taking the stairs), and break the wall to your left. Using the
rotating gear, make your way to the right. After climbing the stairs and making
your way back, take out the Skeleton Soldier. Because Sypha's Staff has so
little range, this is best accomplished with a sub-weapon.
The ascending area you'll find after climbing the next set of stairs is fairly
easy as long as you don't try to rush your way through. If you have the
Blizzard, feel free to use it to keep Medusa Heads at bay. However, I recommend
against wasting Sacred Flames on them.
Like Trevor, Sypha can't get to the 1-up in this next area, so just head for
the door. On the far wall of the next room, you'll find yet another breakaway
wall with a Large Heart. If you don't have one already, the candle above the
first set of stairs carries a Sacred Flame. I'd recommend keeping the Blizzard
if you still have it, although I do so keeping in mind that you won't get
another change to grab a Sacred Flame until after fighting Evil Grant.
Either way, make your way up and you'll find yourself in another ascending
area. Nothing of note is in this area; just be careful to time your jumps onto
and off of the rotating gears properly, and watch the paths of the Medusa Heads.
After getting through that area, you can find one more breakaway wall on the
far right section of the room. This one, however, contains a Turkey Leg. Once
again, you should probably use your sub-weapon to take out the Skeleton
Soldier. Head to the left and it's time to go head-to-head with the Pirate of
DOOM AND DESTRUCTION. Of course, they decided not to use him, so you'll just
fight Evil Grant instead.
BOSS FIGHT – Evil Grant: If my backhanded comment didn't already tell you, this
guy is a complete pushover. If you chose to use the Sacred Flame, this fight is
essentially over before it starts.
Either way, feel free to rush him. He doesn't make any sudden moves, so you
should have no problem whatsoever fighting him. Take him out and he'll go down
so hard the bridge beyond the Clock Tower collapses, and there's only one way
out – back the way you came.
Because you get a crystal for defeating Evil Grant, there should be no reason
for you to get the Turkey Leg on the return trip. Head down the stairs, and
you'll find that the ascending – now descending – area is much simpler this
time around. All you need to do is walk off of the platform to the right, then
walk off the platform you land on heading right again. You'll land right by the
staircase. Just remember to walk, not jump.
If you didn't grab the Sacred Flame in this next room before, you have even
less reason to do so now, as there are no bosses to fight for the next two
levels. Grab the Large Hearts at the wall and above the rotating gear, though,
and head through the next room and down the stairs.
This room isn't really all that much easier this time around, though your
strategy should probably be much the same. Be careful not to jump to the far
left or the right. Just when you think you might have found a shortcut, you
land on the spikes if you act too hastily.
The next room is also exceptionally easy. Just drop between the orange gear and
the platform – you don't even need to deal with the Skeleton Soldier unless you
want to. Go ahead and grab the Large Heart at the breakaway wall, then climb
the stairs.
Just like Trevor, Sypha only needs to use one of the pendulums this time
around. Afterwards, she can simply drop down, then jump across to the platform
where the stairs are.
As before, there is nothing of note in this room, although you can grab the
Blizzard again if you grabbed another sub-weapon since the first time around.
Once again, in the first/final area, Sypha can simply drop down. Be careful,
however, as there's a ravine under the first/final staircase of the Clock
Tower, and you don't want to fall into it. After climbing the stairs, Sypha
automatically walks toward the door. You get the credit for getting another
crystal when this happens, and your life will be replenished (not to mention
the fact that your hearts go back down to 5) for the next stage. That, and
you've probably killed enough time to microwave a box of Pizza Rolls. Other
than that, I'm still not sure why you'd want to take this route with Sypha.
*Skip to level 2c*
Level 2b (Mad Forest): Considering that this level consists of two rooms and
four enemies, I'd say that this would be the path to take with Sypha. The part
that you should be careful of here is at the very beginning of the stage. Watch
for the spike traps. They should be no trouble, especially because you can walk
on top of them, but it's best not to rush your way into an instant death. You
can grab the candles between the traps to get some hearts, and there's a
Blizzard just a couple of candles beyond the traps. Because it arcs upward, you
might want to grab it, as there is also a Ghost that appears somewhat high up
on the screen and descends upon you. There's a breakaway wall to the right if
you want another easy 5 hearts. Now, head up the stairs.
There's nothing particularly interesting in this area, so take out the
Bone-Throwing and Whip-Brandishing Skeletons using your sub-weapons and end
this stage that much quicker by climbing up the stairs.
Level 2c (Mad Forest, Part 2): At this point the two stages converge, and Sypha
finds herself in forest swamplands alongside some trees. You'll be at an
advantage if you grabbed the Blizzard sub-weapon in the previous stage, as the
Owls that will attack you here can fly at you from different angles. This place
is also significant for the fact that it's one of the few areas in which Sypha
can grab the elusive Lightning Sphere ability. It can be found in one of the
ground lanterns near the middle of the area. Is it worth it? Tough call. I'd go
with the Blizzard once again, but if you really like the Lightning Sphere (or
if you've never had the opportunity to use the sub-weapon before), by all means
grab it. I recommend it without hesitation if you have the Sacred Flame or the
Stopwatch. After all, Sacred Flames are a dime a dozen, while Sypha has no
business using the Stopwatch at all.
The next room is pretty easy. First, take out the Fleaman, then climb up the
stairs. With the Blizzard, Sypha can completely destroy the Blood Skeleton
(she's the only one with that ability), but even if you don't have the weapon,
she can use the Lightning Sphere or even her staff to collapse it, then she can
make her way up the next set of stairs.
This next area is very easy. Cloaked in mist, you'll face some Snake Pillars
and Fleamen. Blizzard and Sacred Flame take out the Snake Pillars with
absolutely no trouble. You might have a slightly tougher time with the
Lightning Sphere, as it takes awhile to leave the screen and doesn't instantly
take out the Snake Pillars the way Blizzard does. It does, however go through
the Snake Pillars and can take out the Fleamen behind them. Just don't be shy
with her Staff.
Climb down the stairs. Before you drop down to the ground and head for the
door, walk to the slightly lower platform, then take out the rightmost panel of
the upper platform for a Turkey Leg. It's not a crystal, but it should be
plenty. Now, head for the door and you'll have another choice to make.
CHOICE 2 – Mad Forest Clearing, Swamplands: Simply put, Sypha thrives in the
Swampland path, which features a lot of straight-on fighting. Somewhat ironic,
as it's normally not available to her. Unless you REALLY want to fight the
Sy-Clops using Sypha herself, I'd say pick the bottom path.
Level 3b (Swamplands): This first level is just plain easy. Avoid the
mud/sinking sand and don't rush your way through, lest you be taken by surprise
by a Monster Toad. Usually, the Staff works just fine taking them out, but feel
free to use a sub-weapon if multiple enemies attack you. Just before the
staircase to the next area, you can find a Sacred Flame. Once again I'm going
to recommend against taking it if you have the Blizzard sub-weapon, and there's
a good reason for it.
In the next area, you'll not only find more sinking sand, but Swamp Creatures
that emerge from it. Sypha can actually turn these monsters to her advantage,
however, by using the Blizzard sub-weapon to turn them into makeshift platforms
for her. After all, we wouldn't want to get mud all over a creature of such
delicate beauty and grace, would we? …Anyway, if you make your way to the left
you can find a Turkey Leg if you really think it's necessary.
The next room is pretty easy. First, wait for a floating platform to approach
you, which you can ride without having to take on any more Swamp Creatures. It
will take you to another floating platform (this one moving down and up instead
of side to side). The candle on the upper walkway contains a Sacred Flame. Keep
heading right. You'll eventually find another candle containing the Blizzard
ability. There's also a breakaway wall at the end of one of the longer walkways.
In the next room, you'll find a couple of Ghosts and a Whip-brandishing
Skeleton right in front of you. The second candle contains a Lightning Sphere.
I'd recommend the weapon this time around for certain. Head to the right and
you'll find a couple more Ghosts. Now, head down the stairs.
I should stress right now that you should NOT hit the first candle, as it
contains the Stopwatch. This room isn't all that spectacular – just some more
Swamp Creatures and a few Bats here and there. Now, make your way to the right
and head down the stairs.
BOSS FIGHT – Vampire Bat: This is an interesting fight, as attack power doesn't
enter into it at all. Attacking the bat will cause one point of damage to it –
regardless of the weapon's attack power – and will cause it to split into two
smaller Bats. Attacking them will also cause one point of damage, and will
cause them to split as well, and so on and so forth. The idea is to get as many
hits in as you can before they separate and start flying in several different
directions. In other words, rushing is encouraged in this fight. The Lightning
Sphere is great in this fight because it homes in and can take out any strays.
The slow rate of fire could give you pause, but as long as you stay in close
and can strike quickly with her Staff, this shouldn't be a problem at all.
Now, I do apologize for this, but I'm going to have to stop the walkthrough
here for now. I had actually intended to release this FAQ last year, but the
Trevor walkthrough alone took so much time and effort that I just HAVE to get
this posted as soon as possible. I WILL, however finish this walkthrough
sometime, so bear with me.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7: Japanese Grant Walkthrough
------------------------------------------------------
Now, it's my pleasure to turn this portion of the FAQ over to a good friend of
mine, who is also quite adept at Castlevania and has written the Jewel Sword
FAQ for Symphony of the Night. He will be handling the walkthrough for the
Japanese version of Grant.
Other than some grammatical and spelling edits, this walkthrough has been
completely written by Daniel Jackson, and thus any questions regarding this
walkthrough should be sent to his e-mail address, not mine. For the sake of
those with all-too-mortal computers and/or web browsers, I'll see to it that
his screenshots be converted to either .gif or .jpg file-interchange format.
So, without further ado, the Grant Solo Quest, as transcribed by Ben "Daniel
Jackson" Wallace!
***
Clock Tower (Down)
Track: Clockwork
2-04:
Simple enough, either jump up on the wall to the left and throw knives at the
Skeleton Knight, or go under him. Be sure to grab the axe. Go down the
stairs.
There's two ways to do this. The easy way, or the hard way. Let's start with
the easy way. The first Medusa Head should fly off the screen and be of no
concern. Jump over the second one, landing on the gear. Fall off to the left.
You should land on a platform, which you just fall off to the right. Voila,
you're at the bottom. Kill or avoid any Medusa Heads that may bother you, and
go down the stairs. Now for the hard way, if you so choose. First, drop off
the first ledge. You'll avoid the nasty gear-jump this way. Then either go
down the stairs or fall off to the left. Head down the stairs, then jump to
the left. There are a few sets of steps here, you can just go down them all
by holding down, but if you want the candles, you'll have to stop obviously.
You'll now be on a vertically spinning gear, either jump off to the right to
get the final stairs, or jump left to continue this pointless, more difficult
route. If you go left, then you can bust out a brick, or climb under it and
drop onto another gear. Jump off this one quickly, onto the one just below
and to the right. Do NOT jump for the platform, you'll either be hit by a
Medusa Head or miss the jump. Instead, do a small jump, tap A lightly, and
head right. Now, you should make this jump, Medusa Heads allowing. Go down
the stairs.
Again, there are two ways to do this scene, easy and easier. I'll get to that
later. Jump to the right, get the candle that would normally contain a dagger.
Since you're the Japanese Grant, it'll just have a small heart. Bust out
the wall on the right side for a Double Shot. Now, rather than dropping down
and jumping on the big gear, you'll want to jump back up to the ledge above
you to the left. Now, the easy way: Jump off of there onto the gear instead.
If you try to jump on the gear from below, go back to the line "2-04:". You
MIGHT get lucky and not die, but it's not worth the risk. Jump left repeatedly
until you get to the candle, and hit it while you're right on it. Five hearts!
If you hit it too soon, it'll drop through the gear and be lost. Poor poor
heart... Anyway, the easier way, rather than jump on the gear, jump onto the
tiles above the gear, and climb across. If you want the hearts, drop down, hit
the candle, and jump back up. Exit left.
2-05:
Climb onto the ceiling, and go around to the left until you're on top of the
tiles. Bust out the wall to the right. 1-up! Carefully climb back down, and
go down the stairs. To climb down and around like this, on the far left tile,
crouch and hold left, you'll climb onto the side. Hold down and right now,
and you'll be fine.
You guessed it, two ways to do this area. First, the easy way. Jump then
climb over the wall to the right. Drop down. Get the candle for 100 points,
then drop off the left of this platform you're on. Go down the stairs, then
if you don't already have the axe, hit the candle on the right. Either jump
onto the platform to the left, or climb onto the ceiling. Either way, head left
and drop or jump to the small platform to the left. Go down the stairs. Hard
method: Jump and climb over the wall to the right, or go down the stairs.
Get the candle for 100 points. Jump onto the gear to the left, and either jump
over it, or climb onto the ceiling, and head left. Either go down the stairs or
run off the ledge to the right. Head either left and take the stairs, or drop
to the right. Go down the stairs, then if you don't already have the axe, hit
the candle on the right. Either jump onto the platform to the left, or climb
onto the ceiling. Either way, head left and drop or jump to the small
platform to the left. Go down the stairs.
Kill the Skeleton Knight and yet again, two methods of doing this. The quick
route, drop through the hole, head left. Break the wall at the bottom left
for five hearts. Exit left. The slower way, head right, jumping over a couple
gaps in the floor. Climb down both flights of stairs, and jump onto the gear.
Repeatedly jump across the gear, or climb over it on the ceiling. Climb into
the gaps in the ceiling, then simply press left to switch walls. Climb down
and continue left. When you're over the gear, head left. Bust the wall for
five hearts. Exit left.
2-06:
Jump onto the swinging pendulum when it's coming towards you and almost at
the peak of its swing. Jump off when it's the far left of it's swing. Drop
off and jump the gap, go down the stairs.
Jump to the right, over the gap and avoid the dude in armor (for lack of
knowing his real name). Jump up to the right, and kill the skeleton. Get both
candles for 200 points and five hearts. Either jump to the right and onto the
ceiling, or drop down in the small gap. Kill the dudes in armor from above,
then proceed left. Jump over the last hole, and go down the stairs.
Whack the candle to the left for 200 points and either drop down to bust the
wall for I believe a Double Shot (Triple if you already have). Otherwise it's
just five hearts. Jump down for a shortcut, or jump right, over the gear for
candles with moneybags. Head down the stairs if you went the candle route.
Kill the dude in armor, and climb down and around, and kill the skeleton from
above. Hit the upper left candle for a 200 money bag, hit the lower right
candle for a stop watch. Jump onto the ledge to the right, or take the stairs.
Either way, don't go down the second set of steps. Do a light jump left, then
right so you grab onto the wall. Drop down and break out the wall for five
hearts. Don't worry about the far left candle, you can't get it no matter
what. Head left of the stairs and you'll complete the level.
-----------------------------------------------------
Forest (Short)
Track: Mad Forest
3-01:
Whack the first two candles, then you should see some eyes appear in the trees.
Wait for an owl to show up where the eyes are, then jump and knife it. Repeat
for the second eyes that appear. Get the third candle for five hearts.
Remember that if you miss an owl and it flies left, seconds later, it'll dive
bomb you from the left, so be ready to dodge or kill it. Continue right,
hitting every candle. Another five hearts will drop from the candle just left
of the first watery pit. Jump over both pits, and head right, hitting all the
candles. Exit right.
3-02:
Immediately crouch and lob a knife at the Gremlin. Five hearts are in a candle
here. Climb the stairs slowly, and wait for the Blood Skeleton to get off of
your rear. Knife it and quickly go up the stairs.
Stop climbing the stairs when Grant's feet are on the second and third step
from the top. Knife the Bone Pillar safely from here. Head right. When the
ground lowers a tile, drop down slowly, duck and knife the Gremlin. Continue
right, until the ground raises. Jump up, then when you see the Bone Pillar,
crouch down and knife it safely, the fireballs'll go right over Grant's head.
Progress to the right, and a Gremlin'll show it's ugly face. Crouch-knife it.
Continue right, go down the stairs.
Head to the ledge on the right, but don't drop down. Duck and hit the tile to
the left for some meat if you need it. Exit right.
-----------------------------------------------------
Path Split
Reference number: 2
------------Forest (Long) (3-03)
\_____Swamp (4-01)
-----------------------------------------------------
Forest (Long)
Track: Mad Forest
3-03:
A raven awaits you here, just jump-knife it to take care of it. Get the
candles, and descend the stairs.
Here, as you head right Balloon Pods will assault you. Hitting them splits them
into four spores. It's probably best to ignore all of them, since Grant can
easily jump high enough to avoid them. Jumping over the grounded ones causes
them to burst into the spores, so move quickly. At the far right, go down the
steps.
The Whip Skeleton is easy enough to avoid, just lure him to the right, then
charge left and jump down. Knife him to kill him. Exit left.
3-04:
Quickly drop down and knife the Whip Skeleton coming after you. Proceed left.
Spiders will drop down and toss little spiders at you here, so kill them
quickly. When you get to the end, go down the first stairs, and get the candle
for a money bag. Go down the stairs.
Head right, and prepare to fight.
Boss Fight
Cyclops
This big fella is no problem. Stand on the tile that's one below the others,
crouch, and toss knives like there's no tomorrow. If needed, jump up to the
left to avoid his hammer. After the battle, Sypha busts out of a statue, and
asks for you to take her along, and yes Sypha is a girl. How else would you
explain Juste in the GBA Castlevania, whose name escapes me at the moment?
Anyway, tell her no, and move on.
------------------------------------------------------
Ghost Pirate Ship
Track: Anxiety
4-0A:
Simply get the candles, which are now lanterns, and go down the stairs. Do not
attempt to get to the platform on the right, only Alucard can get there.
Head right and jump down. A Dhuron will come after you, just knife it. If you
get the candle on the right side of this platform, it will give you a stopwatch
so be careful. When ready, go down the stairs on the right side.
A Dhuron is at the bottom of the stairs, and going down will most likely result
in you getting hit. Just axe it. Head further right, and another Dhuron will
show it's ugly head. Just crouch down and toss a dagger to take care of him.
Continue right, and climb up top after the pit for five hearts. Go back down
and exit right.
4-0B:
Some ghosts will enter the scene here, they each need 3 knives to die. They
float around so be careful about climbing the walls and ceilings. Move right.
You'll come to some platforms made out of bricks that break as you walk across
them, so move over them quickly. A third ghost awaits you after the third
crumbly platform. Further right some Blood Skeletons will show up. Whack them
and quickly move over them, they'll raise up a few seconds later. Bust out the
wall on the far right for some meat, then climb the stairs, and go back left.
Take care of the final Blood Skeleton and ascend the staircase.
Shortcut! Climb the left wall, onto the ceiling, then crawl over to the tile
that you can hang on to the right side of. Knife the Ghost and crawl up and
over the top, and exit left.
4-0C:
Wait for the platforms to wrap around to the top of the screen, then when in
jumping distance, jump across them quickly. Keep going left, and you'll come
across some more platforms. Jump across the first two, then wait on the third
one until the fourth wraps around to the top. Continue across. Further left,
you'll see a platform that has a lantern on it. Get the lantern for five
hearts, then continue left. Climb up the staircase.
At the top, you'll notice a candle off to the left in a seemingly inaccessible
area. Climb up onto the roof, and crawl across. Drop down and hit the candle.
Jump off to the left, and cling onto the wall. Climb up, and crawl across back
to safe ground. Head right.
Boss Fight
Medusa
Cling to the ceiling, and simply kill Medusa from above. Exit right
4-0D:
Axe the Dhuron above you, and knife the one in front of you.
Shortcut! Crawl onto the ceiling, then up and around. Head left, and go up
the steps.
Climb up the stairs and head to the right. You'll come across a big blue bar.
Jump onto it, and then jump to the right side. Quickly jump onto the next,
and wait for it, too, to tilt left. Jump onto the right side, and jump to
safety. Hit the next candle for a money bag. Exit right.
Two ravens will attack you here, wait until the first one swoops at you, then
jump and knife it. Jump over the first pit, and do the same thing to the
second raven. Go down the stairs on the right side.
A raven will attack you right away so either kill it or dodge it. A second one
awaits you shortly after, and a Dhuron is on the bottom. Just axe it.
Shortcut! Climb over the wall and prepare to fight.
Boss Fight:
Mummy Twins
A spirit appears and floats around the screen. It then enters the left coffin.
Just crouch down and knife them, jumping over any bandages that could hit you
if you're unable to kill them. The spirit exits the sarcophagus, and heads to
the other one. Out pops..
Boss Fight: Cyclops
Same strategy as before, crouch-knife it and it'll be dead quickly.
------------------------------------------------------
East Tower
Track: Rising
5-0A:
Jump onto the wall just above the door, and lob your knives at the Bone Pillar
from there. Go to the right. Another Bone Pillar awaits you towards the end
of the screen, just crouch hit it until it dies, being sure to kill any
fireballs it spits at you. Jump over the pit, and ascend the staircase.
Here, Gargoyles will attack you in a pattern similar, but not exactly, like the
Medusa Heads. Simply toss a knife as soon as you see them, and the dagger'll
hit its mark. At the top, two at a time will attack you, which is no big deal
either. When ready, up the stairs you go.
Jump up on the wall like so;
http://img59.photobucket.com/albums/v180/danieljackson1983/grant1.bmp
and knife the Axe Knight. Bust out the tile above the door for some meat if
you need it. When ready, exit right.
5-0B:
Climb up onto the top platform and ascend the stairs. Watch out for the
FuzzBalls obviously.
Jump-knife the Sentry from the platform you're currently on, then jump up to
the ground the Sentry was on. Prepare for fun. Ignore the Sentry and climb
up to the highest point. *THUMP*! The screen slowly rises. Keep climbing. I
suggest you keep right, as it's easier for Grant to climb the walls than take
stairs. At the top, ascend the staircase.
Climb up the stairs, there's nothing put pain and death on the lower level.
Go left. Before taking the door, jump on the last rotating platform of death,
and quickly jump off. Jump onto the one to the right, and fall down. Now the
tricky part. Jump onto the roof between the now inverted rotating platforms of
death, and crawl left until you start to crawl over. Stop on the side like so;
http://img59.photobucket.com/albums/v180/danieljackson1983/grant2.bmp
and when ready, let go of right, and immediately hold left. If all went well,
you'll land like this;
http://img59.photobucket.com/albums/v180/danieljackson1983/grant3.bmp
Simply crawl up and bust out the wall for a 1-up. Now to get out, do the same
thing to get in, just reversed. Go back to the right, climb the stairs again
and move all the way left. Don't worry, the rotating platforms of death got
reset to their original, safe, position. Exit left.
------------------------------------------------------
Swamp
Track: Dead Beat
4-01:
Things start to get a little difficult here. Head right, jumping over the
muck. Frogs will leap out of the mud at you, when you hear the splash,
lob a dagger. You'll hit your mark if you're fast enough. As you continue
right, you'll come to a 3-tile platform you must jump on to. I suggest
you drop into the muck here, as if a frog leaps out you'll take a hit.
Keep going right. Go down the stairs.
Drop to the ledge below you. Now, not only do you have those blasted frogs,
you also have to contend with Mudmen as well. If you choose to go left,
you can get a meat, but you'll likely take more damage than you'll get
healed so it's not worth it. Head right.
4-02:
Add bats to the sticky scene now, luckily take the frogs out of the
equation. Head right to the mud, and wait for a hovering platform to come
to you. Jump aboard, and hold on. Kill any bats that interfere. Ride it
to the end, then jump on a vertical moving platform. Head right, jumping
over the various gaps, until you come to an area where there's two ways to
jump. If you jump across to the longer one, you'll get a cross. If you go
down, you'll get five hearts. You can get both with ease. Either way, take
the top path out, unless you enjoy fighting mudmen and jumping out of
quicksand. When you come to solid ground, you can climb in the small hole
for a meat if you need it. Break the tile on the left for it. Head right.
Oh goody, more mud, this time with no platform to carry you above it. the
trick to avoid death is to keep jumping. You'll likely take a hit here.
Continue right, and you'll come to some solid ground. Be sure to hit the
candle in the second pit of muck for a cross. Exit right.
4-03:
A Whip Skeleton'll come charging at you immediately. Knife it, it'll die in
one shot. Two white flashy things are visible, they'll soon turn into
Ghosts. They take three hits with the dagger to kill, so be careful. Get
the candle on the right for five hearts. Move right, and you'll come across
another ghost, Kill it, and jump over the gap to the right. Another ghost
will show up in the far right upper corner, ignore it, it's too risky to fight
with that little room and that close to a pit. Go down the stairs.
Kill the Bat from the bottom of the stairs, it won't even fly at you. Hit the
candle on the left for a stopwatch. Hit the candle on the right for an easy
200 points. Don't try to climb over the pit of mud, you'll almost always fall
and take damage. Don't jump over the mudmen, instead kill them and slowly
keep moving right. Get on the solid ground. There are two bats that you can
kill with a jump attack, but it requires good timing to hit them. Keep moving
right. Kill one final sleeping bat, dodging or killing the bats coming from
behind. Jump over the pit, and go down the stairs.
Boss Fight:
Cloning Bat
This fight isn't too tough, really. The Cloning Bat flies around and when hit
will split, or clone, itself into two smaller bats. Each bat when hit clones
into yet smaller bats. Hit each of the bats until they all cease to exist.
The axe helps if you're below them, throw one and get out of there while
the bats are cloning themselves. Otherwise the dagger is the way to go here.
Before you know it, all the bats'll be gone, and the red orb'll be yours.
-----------------------------------------------------
Cave of Death
Track: Nightmare
5-01:
Immediately jump and attack the Bloody Eye. Get the candles, and head right.
A second Bloody Eye should enter the scene shortly, just jump knife it. Get
the candle if you wish, and continue right. Here, acid drops onto the blocks
eating them up. If the acid hits you, you take 4 hp of damage (ouch). Avoid
the acid, and continue right. If you wish, you can wait and take a lower
path, or stay on your current one on top. If you choose the upper path,
you'll be able to avoid the FireGuy for now, but you'll have to deal with the
Mini-Mummies. You can simply crawl along the ceiling to avoid them though.
Hitting the candle on the platform after the Mini-Mummies will give you a
stopwatch. Drop down, and kill the FireGuys. Go back left, and go down the
stairs. You can head left to the wall, and bust it out. Breaking the bottom
brick of the wall will reveal some meat. Head back right, and go down the
stairs.
Jump over the first gap, then jump and hit the candle above the second one.
Be careful on the platform in the middle of the gap, it'll slowly crumble
and break. To the right is more acid, and again, if you wait for the acid
to eat away the bricks, you can take a lower path. This time it's a more
important choice, as it'll effect you for most of the rest of the level.
Either path you choose, exit right.
5-02A (upper):
Head right, and crouch-knife the Jelly. Get all the candles, and do not jump
except to get the candle where there are no spikes. Kill all the Jellies here
with a crouch-attack. Exit right.
5-02B (Lower):
Climb on the ceiling, and knife the candles from above. Drop down to get
the hearts when the Fuzzball is below the platform. Exit right.
5-03A:
Avoid the acid and exit right.
5-03B:
Wait for the acid to eat the bricks away, and exit right.
5-04A:
Crouch down, and knife the FireGuy, get the candles and head right. Either
wait for the platform to rise and jump on and over it, or just climb along the
ceiling over the gap. Remember that you can NOT climb over the fires here,
they will still hurt you. Kill the next FireGuy immediately, or he can kill
you easily by hitting you into the pit. Continue right, and kill the third
FireGuy. Exit right.
5-04B:
Knife the FireGuy, and get the candles. Wait for the platform do lower, then
jump across. Crawl along the ceiling all the way right. Drop down, exit right.
5-05A: Head right, then jump over the pit with the moving spike trap when the
trap is at the bottom. Same for the second and third.
5-05B: Head right, then jump over the pit with the moving spike trap when the
trap is at the top. Same for the second. Climb the stairs when the third
trap is at the still moving up, but above the stairs.
Merge paths here.
Continue right, jumping on the masher traps when they're down. Ignore the
candle, it's just a small heart and you risk being mashed if you get it.
Head right, and climb the stairs, then crawl along the ceiling to avoid the
fuzzballs. Bust out the tile to the left, and get the meat you may need.
Drop down above the stairs and climb them, instead of crawling
along the top. Why risk death? Jump to the right, and either climb the
platform with the stairs, or take the moving platform up. Climb the stairs.
Ignore the Bloody Eye, but dodge its bloody tears (Why, oh why, didn't they
put that theme in this game?!). Head right, and meet Alucard. The eye will
vanish when you enter Alucard's room.
Boss Fight:
Alucard
Hit his head, kill or dodge his fireballs. After each volley of fireballs
he fires, he'll turn into a group of bats, then fly around the room for a few
seconds. He'll re-materialize and launch another volley of fireballs. Not a
tough fight, just keep hitting his head with the axe or knife and don't get
hit by his fireballs. Double shot axe makes this fight MUCH easier, as you
can often hit him twice, and kill his fireballs at the same time. After the
battle, refuse his help and go on.
5-06:
Immediately jump onto the elevated floor, and duck down. Fire off two knives
to take care of the Jellies. Simply climb up on the ceiling here, and crawl
all the way to the right. If you need to, drop off and kill a Bloody Eye,
then jump back on. If you hit the candles from above, you'll still get most
of them, the rest you can drop down and grab. At the end of the scene, you
encounter a Bloody Eye and some Mini-Mummies. Kill the eye immediately,
then kill any Mini-Mummies on the right of you, and break out the wall for
five hearts. Jump up, and ascend the staircase.
Jump over the Mini-Mummy on the right, then jump onto the ceiling, and crawl
left. When you come to the end of the tiles, climb up and jump over the gap
to the left. These bricks crumble, so be jump off as soon as you can. The
candle that was below the crumbling bricks contains a 1-up. Jump at it,
toss a knife, and mid jump, press left. If you were lucky and timed it right
the 1-up is yours. If you're not confident enough to try this, just proceed
left. What good is a 1-up if you die to get it? Exit left.
------------------------------------------------------
Path Split
Reference Number: 4
Cave of Death 2 (5-07) (Coming Soon)_______________
Aqueducts/Atlantis (6-01)_______/
------------------------------------------------------
Cave of Death 2 (5-07)
5-07:
Coming soon, taking Aqueducts/Atlantis path first
------------------------------------------------------
Aqueducts/Atlantis
Track: Aquarius
Reference Number: 5
6-01:
Move forward until the first drop, but not to the Knight Skeleton. Turn
to the right, and toss a knife to bust the tile there for five hearts.
Kill the Skeleton Knight with axes. Grab the money bag from the candle
right above the Skeleton Knight. Head left. You'll come across another
Skeleton Knight, kill him with axes, and continue left. You'll come
across one final one, kill him with, you guessed it, axes. Now then...
SHORTCUT!
Climb over the big wall on the left. Skip ahead to *
If you don't take the shortcut, go down the stairs. The candle to the
right contains a money bag worth 400 points. Mermen will jump up out of
the water, you can see them by their shadow while in the water. Just
poke them with a dagger to kill them. Keep moving left, and you'll come
to some stairs. Ascend them.
*A Skeleton Knight awaits you here. Just jump-knife him until he dies.
Climb up the stairs, and continue to the left. You'll come across a
Bone Dragon. Dodge it's fireballs and hit it's head with knives. Use
axes if you wish, but taking care of those first three Skeleton Knights
was plenty of hearts used, and you'll want as many as possible for the
boss ahead. After killing the Bone Dragon, exit left.
6-02:
A couple of bats will fly at you here, just knife them, and any Mermen
that try to harm you. Move left. This time the Mermen are a bit more
plentiful since this area is a bit larger. Continue left all the way,
until you encounter another Bone Dragon. Same strategy as before, use
axes sparingly, and hit it's head as much as you can. Dodging the
fireballs might be a bit more difficult here, but you should be fine.
After you defeat the Bone Dragon, get your spoils and head left.
6-03:
Head left until some tiles form a ceiling. Drop down onto the floor,
and immediately jump back up. Knife the Bone Dragon, or axe it if you
have more than say, 40 hearts. After killing the Dragon, get the drops.
There's some meat in the brick on your right, jump up and hit it. Be
sure you're half off of the edge of the far right tile, or the meat
will fall off the screen, and you probably need the meat now. Further
left is yet another Bone Dragon. Axe it if you have 35 or so hearts,
otherwise knife it. This one is a bit of a pain because of it's
high ground advantage. Jump up to the left, and keep moving left.
Hit this next candle for a stopwatch, and the one after that for $200.
Climb up the stairs.
Hit the candle above you for five hearts, and climb onto the ceiling.
Jumping is too dangerous with a low roof like that. Head left until
you can get up on the roof, and then head right. One final Bone
Dragon awaits you, knife this one, you'll want to save every heart you
can for this boss fight. Continue to the right.
Boss Fight
Bone Dragon King
Axe, axe, axe, dodge, axe. Dead. Or is he? When you get him
low on life, the coward retreats above. Crashing through the ceiling,
he causes water to pour in. You automatically head right.
------------------------------------------------------
Aqueducts/Atlantis 2
Track: Pressure
6-04:
Head right, and kill any Mermen that show up. Eventually, you'll come
to a platform above you with stairs. Climb up there, then ascend the
flight of stairs. If you want to take the long way, go ahead, but I'm
not doing it this time.
Jump up, and grab on to the wall to the left. Climb around to the top.
Again, if you want to take the long way, go ahead. I'm not doing it.
Continue left, careful to kill every Merman that jumps at you.
Bos Fight
Bone Dragon King Revisited
Axe. Dead.
------------------------------------------------------
Enter the Castle
Track: Anxiety
Reference Number: 5
7-01:
To kill the first Dhuron, climb onto the wall to the left and knife him from
there. The second one, just jump knife from where the first one was. Climb
the stairs.
Axe the Gremlins, you should be able to get both with one. Wait for the acid
to clear a path, exit left.
7-02:
Knife the bat that flies at you, and head to the left. Keep moving getting
only what candles you can, as the ground here crumbles. To make things worse,
if you mistime a jump, you'll land on a bat and be knocked into oblivion. If
you survive, exit left.
7-03:
Dodge the acid, jump up top, exit left.
7-04:
Knife the Gargoyle that comes at you immediately. If you fire as soon as you
see it, it should hit. Keep moving left, killing all the Gargoyles. You'll
come across an area where bricks fall down. The safe way is to wait until
they're stacked up to the top, climb over and go left. The fast way is dodge
them as they fall, and ascend the forming mountain that way. Either way,
Gargoyles make this part a royal pain, and this is nothing compared to what
awaits you. Climb the stairs when you get to them.
Kill the Skeleton Knight, which is now more difficult. Move off the stairs
and crouch-throw knives at the Jelly if it jumps down. Bust out the wall
to the left before heading up the stairs, for some meat you'll most
definitely need after the falling bricks. Head right along the top path, and
climb over the big wall when you come to it. You can go down the stairs if
you wish, but that'll almost guarantee you taking a hit from the Skeleton
Knight. Kill the jerk, and head right.
Boss Fight
Cloning Bat
You remember this guy, don't you? Same strategy as before.
Exit right after killing him
------------------------------------------------------
Up, up and away!
Track: Anxiety
7-05:
Hey, we're in the wrong game! Or are we? This place looks a lot like Tetris
and is rather annoying. Dodge the blocks as they fall, and don't hold your
breath. This will be a while. Learning the pattern is key, so I'll teach you.
Let's just use the 4 block platform you start on, the far left block being 1,
the far right being ... 4..of course. Anyway, the blocks drop like this.
3, 1, 4, 2. Therefore you'll want to move left to avoid being crushed by the
first one, then when that one drops, jump on top of it. Wait until 4 falls,
then move onto that. Wait for 3 to fall again, jump on that. Wait until 4
falls, then move onto that. Rinse and repeat. At around 418 seconds on the
clock, or when the blocks in column 4 block out all of the mountains in the
background, the pattern changes. This just requires a slight adjustment in
jump timing, but you still jump onto 3 when it lands, then walk onto 4 when
it falls. Eventually, some stairs will be within jumping distance, jump to
them and climb up. If you choose to get the candle, it contains one heart.
Here you'll encounter some spiders that drop down and toss their babies at
you. Just knife them or dodge them, and head right. You'll encounter a
Blood Skeleton with a whip, knife it and quickly move on. At the far right
side, ascend the stairs.
Two ravens will immediately attack you. If you hold still and toss an axe,
at the right time anyway, you'll just kill both of them. Climb up the left
side of the wall and get up top. Wait for a moving platform to come for you,
climb aboard and ride it across. Jump onto the other moving platform when
you get to it, then wait until it's at the bottom. Jump off and bust the
wall out. Easy 1-up. Either climb up or ride the platform up, then exit
left.
7-06:
Toss a knife at the bat that is flying at you, and jump onto the platform
below and to the left of you. Jump onto the ceiling, and crawl up top. Get
the money bag for a free 400 points, and then go up the stairs. If you
choose to take the long way, just jump across the moving platforms as
quickly as you can. Careful of the bats. When you get to the far left,
jump up on the blocks and go back to the right. Climb the stairs when you
get back.
This part may seem difficult at first, but all you have to do is time your
movement right so the Medusa Heads go above or below you. Or you can just
straight up kill them. If you jump, go back to the line below "7-06:". As
you progress to the left, you'll shortly get to a point where you must jump
up to go further left. Again, go left but do NOT jump. Keep moving left,
and exit left.
7-07:
Kill the Dhuron, and dodge or kill any baby spiders. Climb the stairs.
Kill the armor guard, but don't jump onto the floor he's on yet. When you
do jump up there, the screen will begin to move up, just keep going up as
fast as you can. To take care of the Skeleton Knights you'll soon
encounter just stand on the second and third step from the top on the
stairs, and knife them three times. Soon some Gargoyles will add to your
fun, just kill them. When done, I suggest taking the left stairs up.
Climb up to the third tier here, and jump-dagger the Axe Knight to death,
then break the top left tile for some meat. Head right, then prepare for
a tough fight.
Boss Fight
Mummy Twins
First the spirit enters the left sarcophagus, and out pops two Mummy Men.
Jump onto the lower left tiles, and crouch. Knife them to death. If you
see a bandage headed your way and you don't think you can kill it, jump
and cling to the ceiling above you. This fight is simple.
Boss Fight
Cyclops
The spirit leaves the first sarcophagus, and enters the one on the right.
Cyclops emerges. Same strategy as before, except cling onto the ceiling
to dodge his hammer smash. He probably won't even rush you, though.
This fight is even easier than the Mummies.
Boss Fight
Wing Demon
The spirit leaves the sarcophagus, and enters the middle one. The Wing
Demon emerges. This guy's pretty simple--if you know his pattern.
He'll start off by jumping at you. Axe him as much as you can, Double
Shot helps quite a bit. He'll jump at you again. Keep hitting him with
everything you've got. Now, he'll jump high and far, run under him.
When he lands, he shoots some fireballs, knife or dodge them. Axe the
Wing Demon. Before you know it, this fight'll be over. If he hits you
you take 5 damage, OUCH! After killing him, the spirit shatters.
------------------------------------------------------
Corridor
Track: Dejavu
8-01:
We're in the actual castle now. If you've played Castlevania, you no
doubt recognize this place and music. Knife the Bat and Zombies and
head right. Hit the second candle for a Cross. When you get to an
area with some stairs headed up from an elevated floor, head right to
the second set of stairs. Rather than climb them, crawl up onto the
floor, and crouch-knife the Axe Knight. Head left, and jump-knife
the second Axe Knight. Climb the stairs.
Quickly knife the Dhuron here and jump over the baby spiders that are
undoubtedly flying at you, and move right. When you come to the door,
bust out the tile above it for five hearts.
8-02:
Head right and toss an Axe to kill the Skeleton above you, unless you
enjoy dodging bones. Drop or go down the stairs, and duck-dagger the
Jelly. Continue right, until you see a couple blocks lowered above
you. You guessed it, climb up there. Turn left, and ascend the
staircase.
Turn right and ignore anything above you, killing them now does no good,
as they'll respawn when you return. Keep moving right, killing any
Jellies you encounter. At the far right end, climb the right wall and
knife the Axe Knight to death. Head left. Crouch-kill the next Axe
Knight, and Jelly, then go left and climb the stairs.
8-03:
Luckily, this is a new block so death restarts you here. Bust out the
wall to the left, then go up the stairs. If you're not worried about
hearts, then instead of climbing the stairs, simply crawl under the
bridge, and cling onto the wall at the end. The last bridge tile will
fall, but if you're on the wall it'll pass through you. If you took
the upper route, you'll get a bunch of hearts, and a stop watch. No
matter which route you took, after the bridge collapses, head right
and encounter...
Boss Fight
Death
This fight can be a pain, as you must not only dodge Death himself,
but he also (as always) has scythes floating around the screen and
flying at you which you must also dodge or attack. The axe goes a
long way in this fight, so use it often and use it well. I suggest
standing on the middle left block at first and tossing two axes as
soon as he fully phases in, then jump over the scythes that are
flying for you. Axe him as much as you can and keep dodging him and
his scythes.
Boss Fight
Death's Face
This fight is a pain, no doubt about it. Axe the head as much as
you can, then when the giant skull moves left, either jump over it
or run below it. Continue tossing axes as fast as you can. When
the skull gets to the left side of the screen, it'll warp around to
the right side. If necessary, jump over or run under it again and
repeat until dead.
------------------------------------------------------
Courtyard
Track: Riddle
9-01:
Climb the stairs up. (Ugh, this screen was so hard)
Grant can reach the candle at the top left, but it just has a
small heart. It may contain an axe if you don't have one, but I
kept my first axe through the whole game so far so I don't know.
Head to the right, and some Harpies'll drop a surprise for you, tossing
Gremlins.
If you time it just right, you can kill the Gremlins
before they even touch the ground. Keep moving right. Don't
ignore them under any circumstances, or they'll catch up to you and
put a real damper on your day. When you get to the far right room
you can bust out a tile in the bottom left for five hearts. Go up
the stairs.
The candles in this room are easy to get with Grant, just climb
the left wall and knife them. Two $1000 bags, and five hearts.
Exit left.
9-02:
Jump on top of the first masher to get the candles, the one on
the left has five hearts. Go left, and jump on top of the second
masher. Time your jump right so the spike trap doesn't get you.
Continue going left and past the third masher. Climb the stairs at
the far left.
This part just requires timing to take care of the Gargoyles.
Knife them as they fly at you, and you should know how to use the
stairs to deal with the Bone Pillars. Climb up to the top.
Rather than climbing up the stairs and dealing with the Axe Knight,
jump and toss a dagger at the peak of your jump. When he dies,
continue on.
9-03:
Take out the Sentries, and climb up the stairs.
Crawl along the ceiling to avoid the Fuzz Ball, and prepare for a
tough segment. The screen scrolls up here, but not at a constant
rate, rather every second or so, it jumps 2 tiles with a
distracting "BOOM" sound. Use Grant to his fullest to stay on top
of the matter, by climbing walls and ceilings and whatnot. Crawl
over FuzzBalls and take out Skeleton Knights with your superior
range. When you get to the top, ascend the stairs.
Bust out the wall in the lower right for some meat, and if you
want, take out the Axe Knight. The candle by him contains five
hearts, if you need or want them go for it. Also beware of bats.
Exit left when ready.
9-04:
If you don't see the shortcut here, you have no business playing
a Grant solo. Hit the first candle, then crawl along the ceiling
until the first Raven moves. Pull back, and kill the Merman's
projectile, then the Raven when it is in range. If you didn't
whack the candle, it might get in the way of you killing the
Raven, resulting in 5 HP of damage. Take the shortcut, and kill
the second Raven that is now attacking you. Climb the stairs.
Look familiar? Same as before, don't jump, and dodge the
Medusa Heads, or just kill them. Move left, and meet..
Boss Fight
Doppleganger
Using the switch-character cheat here to make the fight easy is
a big no-no. Luckily Dopplegrant is easy to handle. Lure him
to the far right, then climb on the ceiling. Dopplegrant'll
stand right under you, tossing daggers. You do the math.
------------------------------------------------------
Clock Tower 2
Track: Pressure
Kill the two Ravens immediately, if they hit you you might as
well suicide. You'll need every hitpoint you can have. Head
left, killing the Ravens as soon as you see them. At the far
left, you'll encounter a Blood Skeleton with a whip. Kill it
then get the two candles behind it, one contains five hearts.
Go back to the right, then drop down, and descend the stairs.
This screen may look to be as easy as the first Clock Tower's
descent, except for one fact. The screen paces you so you
jump off, you die. Kill any Medusa Heads that interfere with
your plans, and slowly descend the tower. Be on the look out
for crumbling bricks, staying on one obviously means death.
Cling to the ceiling whenever possible, as it'll make it much
easier to dodge the Medusa Heads that you can not kill. When
you get to the bottom, the Medusa Heads stop attacking. Just
go down the stairs.
Dodge the first bat, then get to the bottom of the staircase.
Crouch-kill the Bone Pillar, and you'll likely kill the next
bat that comes after you too. Get the candles for some hearts
then head left. Bricks'll crumble under your feet here, and
if you stay on too long, you're in for a painful spikey death.
Kill one final Bone Pillar when you're on a safe brick, then
exit left.
A-02:
Lure the Whip Skeleton to the right wall, and run to the left
and jump off, while killing or dodging the Spiders that drop
down. Knife the Whip Skeleton, and break the wall on the
right for some meat if you need it. Go left. A Blood
Skeleton with a whip'll attack you, knife it and quickly move
over it. Axe the Skeleton above you, and climb both flights
of stairs.
What clock is complete without a Pendulum? Or two, or three.
Swing across, and exit left.
------------------------------------------------------
Dracula's Chamber
Track: Overture
A-03:
Get the candles for some hearts, and climb the stairs.
Look familiar? If you're a fan of the Castlevania series, it
better. Get the candles for more hearts, and go left.
Boss Fight
Dracula Mark I
Dracula'll rise from his throne, and raise his arm. Two
little fires'll appear on the ground. If they're more than
four tiles apart, get in-between them, on the side that's closer
to Dracula. Axe him, and then when the third, larger, fire
appears, get away from it. This one appears at your feet.
Dracula will teleport to a new location at this time, be sure
it's not right on you. Grant can jump over the smaller pillars
of fire, so if you need to do so, go for it. Repeat this until
Dracula splits into pieces.
Boss Fight
Dracula Mark II
This form is rather easy. Axe it a bunch, and dodge the blood
it drools out. Good timing is required. Keep moving from
side to side and axing it until he again busts into pieces.
Boss Fight
Dracula Mark III
This form's not too difficult either. Just wait for the
platforms to rise, and knife his forehead. If you have hearts
left, axe it. Watch out for his lasers from his hands and
head, you can usually jump over them with no problem. Don't
worry about going through him, only his lasers hurt you.
He has high defense, but since his attack pattern is so weak,
this fight should go by fairly quick.
------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations, you won. Now enjoy the jazzed up victory
music, and ending.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR READING
***
No, thank you, Ben. Sir 0rion here again; and I'll be the one taking care of
the remainder of the FAQ.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7: Alucard Walkthrough
------------------------------------------------------
Sorry; nothing here, yet. I think we might have to draw straws to see who's
going to write this one.
************************************
SECTION 3: Other Stuff
************************************
These are the various odds and ends that I wanted to add for one reason or
another.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 9: Contact
------------------------------------------------------
I'm usually interested in hearing suggestions and advice for my FAQs, so please
feel free to drop me a line at the following e-mail address:
[email protected]
For any questions or comments regarding the Grant Solo Walkthrough, send the
e-mail to this address:
[email protected]
Any information I use in the FAQ will be credited to the person who sent it to
me, and you'll have my personal appreciation for any useful advice I'm given
regarding the game. When sending me an e-mail, make sure to make the topic
related to this FAQ and/or Castlevania 3 or I'll probably delete it.
------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 10: Credits and Special Thanks
------------------------------------------------------
I'd first like to give credit to otomo4 (
[email protected]) for pointing out
some information regarding the sound processor on the Japanese version of
Castlevania 3.
I'd also like to thank Ben, who has not only inspired the idea of the Solo
Quest on CV3 long ago, but convinced me to write this FAQ as well. He also
wrote the Japanese Grant Solo Walkthrough, making this essentially a joint
production. Thanks again, man. Oh, and by the way… *Opens a can of pop* Ahhhh…
---
-Sir "O"
"Blue streak speeds by… Sonic the Hedgehog! Too fast for the naked eye… Sonic
the Hedgehog!" –Theme to… oh, take a guess.
