Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Secrets Guide version 1.12
Created: 10/28/03
Last Updated: 12/25/03
Copyright 2003 by James Spairana
jparagons AT hotmail DOT com

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I.                             Table of Contents
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I.     Table of Contents (!!! really?)
II.    Introduction--What is here and what isn't here?
III.   Looking for something specific?
IV.    Still want help with something that's required by the game?
V.     House of Sacred Remains
VI.    Dark Palace of Waterfalls
VII.   Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab
VIII.  Garden Forgotten by Time
IX.    Ghostly Theatre
X.     Pagoda of the Misty Moon
XI.    Castle Entrance
XII.   Extra Credit
XIII.  Legal

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II.             Introduction--What is here and what isn't here?
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This guide is meant to give the methods to reaching secret areas and items.
This means that, to qualify, something must be both optional and tricky.
(Tricky meaning that it can't just be a simple matter of going through normal
doors and hallways or beating enemies normally.)
So if you have to do it to beat the game (i.e. if the puzzle is something you
need to do to reach a boss), it's not in here.

Why haven't I included optional rooms/items that aren't tricky to find?
Simple.  They're not tricky to find.  Just check your map and you'll see where
the doors are.
Why haven't I included mandatory stuff?  I figured I'd leave that for a
regular walkthrough.

The first edition (the current one) of this guide is being written on a game
that's already complete, so I may miss a few things.  If something about the
environment changes after you unlock the secret (example: the ice door in the
Dark Palace of Waterfalls), I might have forgotten about it and
left it out.  I also probably won't remember exactly what solving each
secret-puzzle gets you.  The best examples of this are the various colored
keys; I can figure out where in each level to get a key, but I don't
necessarily remember which key you get nor which level you use it in.
Likewise, some information may have slipped in that shouldn't have.

I will be doing a second play-through, however, which should make the guide
not just complete, but completely thorough, as well was identify and remove
any mistakes.

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III.                    Looking for something specific?
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Whips:

The ICE WHIP is in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls: Basement Floor One.
The FLAME WHIP is in the Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab: Floor Two.
The THUNDER WHIP is in the Garden Forgotten by Time.

Keys:
(Thanks to Sylvan Reich on the GameFAQs boards for the list of where to get
and where to use each key!)

The WHITE TIGER KEY is in the House of Sacred Remains: Basement Floor One.
       You use it in the Ghostly Theatre.
The BLUE DRAGON KEY is in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls: Basement Floor Two.
       You use it in the Garden Forgotten by Time.
The YELLOW DRAGON KEY is in the Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab: Floor Three.
       You use it in the House of Sacred Remains.
The RED PHOENIX KEY is in the Garden Forgotten by Time.
       You use it in the Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab.
The BLACK TURTLE KEY is in the Ghostly Theatre.
       You use it in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls.

Other:

The DRAUPNIR relic is in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls: Basement Floor Two.
The WOLF'S FOOT relic is in the Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab: Floor Two.
       You need the RED PHOENIX KEY to get it.
The LUCIFER'S SWORD relic is in the Ghostly Theatre: Floor Two.
The BRISINGAMEN relic is in the Ghostly Theatre: Floor Two.
The BLACK ORB is in the Castle Entrance.
       You need the UNLOCK JEWEL.
The UNLOCK JEWEL is in the Pagoda of the Misty Moon.
The INVINCIBILITY JAR is in the Pagoda of the Misty Moon.

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IV.        Still want help with something that's required by the game?
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I'm not going to list each and every situation where you'll need to solve a
puzzle or anything like that, but here are some general hints:

- Try defeating all the enemies in a room.
- Use the Select button to bring up your map; most of the doors are shown on
 the map, even if they're not easy to see on the regular game screen.
 (Note that I said MOST, there are doors that won't show until you've gone
 through them. . .though most of those are for secrets.)
- Does something look weird?  Try whipping it or going up to it and "using" it
 like you would a door.
- Likewise, if something responds somehow when you whip it, that means you're
 probably supposed to whip it.
- Remember, you might have to backtrack.  This is especially true in the House
 of Sacred Remains if you miss a switch.
- Try checking the section of the guide dedicated to the area you're in.  Many
 types of puzzles are repeated, and I may have listed into for a 'secret'
 puzzle that is relevant for a mandatory puzzle.

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V.                    House of Sacred Remains: Floor One
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- In the easternmost room of the northern section, there is a high balcony
 which is fenced off on one side.  There is a ledge which you can jump to
 normally near it.  Jump off that ledge almost towards the center of the room,
 then double-jump back towards the fenced off ledge, and whip the railing
 to pull yourself over it.  Enter the door, go through the hallway into the
 item room, where you'll find an MP Max Up.  There is a door on the side of
 the item room; past another hallway, you'll find another library, with an HP
 Max Up against the wall.  On the wall opposite the door, you'll see a
 bookcase with an odd semicircle of scratches in front of it.  Push the
 bookcase, and it should (gradually) move out of your way.  There is a switch
 on the other side of the bookcase.

- On the far east side of the southern section, you need to use the Yellow
 Dragon Key to open a door.

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V-2.               House of Sacred Remains: Basement Floor One
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- On the western side of the map, there's a room with five statues.  Whipping
 them will turn them around; goats are displayed on one side, a human face
 on the other.  These statues control the doors.  To open the nothern door
 (item room with HP Max Up), arrange the statues (left to right):
 Goat, Girl, Goat, Girl, Girl.
 To open the western door (path to Accessory: Bloody Cape), arrange the
 statues:
 Girl, Goat, Goat, Girl, Goat.

WHITE TIGER KEY:
* There are switches which you have to stand on to depress scattered throughout
 the level.  Three of them are required to unlock the door which allows you
 to reach the boss; the other three unlock a second door which leads to the
 White Tiger Key.  The only "secret" switch is on the first floor, and the
 method to reaching it is described above.

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VI.              Dark Palace of Waterfalls: Basement Floor One
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ICE WHIP:
* Go east at the first fork, and east again at the second.  You'll come across
 a dead end with a door frame etched into the rock.  Run up to the door, and
 a Heavy Armor will appear a short ways behind you.  Stay in front of the
 door.  When he launches his mace at you, jump.  The mace should crash into
 the rock, smashing a doorway open.

* One room past there, you will find yourself in a cavernous area with several
 ledges.  A few simple double-jumps/whip boosts will bring you up to a ledge
 with a door leading to an item room with an HP Max Up.  Inside the item
 room is a skull doorway; don't enter it yet!  Go back outside.

* From there, you'll have to make a blind jump over the railing opposite the
 door.  It might take a few tries, but eventually you'll find yourself on a
 pillar.  More jumping (mostly with whip boosting) will lead you to a green
 boss door; inside is the Frost Elemental, who guards the Ice Whip.

- If you want, go back to that Item Room and go inside the skull.  You'll be
 dropped onto a platform which will speed you through a tunnel, and drop you
 out the other end.  Floating inside the tunnel are both coins and damaging
 spikes.  The first set of coins appears on the right side, the next set
 on the left, and they keep alternating.  Once you get them all, a tone
 plays and the Medicinal Essence appears in the middle.

- NOTE: Thank you very much to the countless people who e-mailed me about
 that!  :D

- Going south at that last fork will take you towards a room with pendulous
 blades.  In the middle of the room, on the right, double-jump up and grab
 onto the ledge; there's a Heart Max Up there.

- From that ledge, jump out in the opposite direction.  Whip the whip post
 to boost yourself up to another ledge, which will nab you the Racoon Charm,
 which boosts your luck.

- NOTE: Lots of people told me about that, too.

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VI-2.            Dark Palace of Waterfalls: Basement Floor Two
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NEED FLAME WHIP:
* Go west, then northwest.  You'll come across a door covered in ice; equip
 the Flame Whip and whip away.

DRAUPNIR (NEED BLACK TURTLE KEY):
* On the southeastern side of the map, there's a door in the corner of the
 fork-in-the-road.  This door requires the Black Turtle Key, and leads to
 the Draupnir relic.

BLUE DRAGON KEY:
* From the area where you find the Draupnir, go on the East path.  Whip the
 switch incessantly until it won't respond anymore, then go as far west
 and as far south as you can.

* On the southwestern most side, there's a room with small pillars.  They're
 lights; whip all three and make it to the door within the short time limit
 (measured from when you whip the first light).  In the last room beyond
 that is the Blue Dragon Key.

- One room north of the Blue Dragon Key is another skull-ride.  Once again,
 the coins appear right at first, then alternate left-right-left-right-etc.
 Your reward is a Mana Prism, which will float in the middle of the path.

- NOTE: Thank you very much to the countless people who e-mailed me about
 that one too!  :P

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VII.                 Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab: Floor One
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- In the easternmost room of the map, there's a statue blocking a door.  You
 need both the Flame Whip and the Ice Whip for this.
 Whip it like crazy with the flame whip, until it's glowing red.  Switch the
 the Ice Whip as fast as possible, and start whipping it.  Keep switching
 back and forth until it crumbles.

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VII-2.               Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab: Floor Two
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FLAME WHIP:
* In the long eastern room, you'll see a platform suspended above the main
 floor which moves.  Jump onto this platform, and jump to the first platform
 you see on the right.  Down on the right side, there's a whip post nearly
 out of view.  Jump and use this (and the next one) to whip yourself up to
 the platform with the green boss door.  Inside is the Flame Elemental, who
 will give you the Flame Whip when you defeat him.

- Further down the path, there's another platform on the right side which you
 can jump to that's somewhat hard to see.  This leads you to an item room.

YELLOW DRAGON KEY:
* In front of the staircase to the third floor, there's an odd yellow tile.
 Stand still on that tile, and it will take you down to a hidden room on the
 first floor, which contains a key.

WOLF'S FOOT (need the Red Phoenix Key):

* "Right as you exit the starting room of the second floor, head west, past
 the save room, then north. This will take you to the area where you'll
 need to have the Red Phenoix Key to get past, and further will be the Wolf
 Foot relic." -alex cross

- NOTE: Thanks to Conundrum and Alex Cross for pointing out the error that was
 in this FAQ previously and correcting it, respectively.

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VII-3.               Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab: Floor Three
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- In the long hallway immediately south of the stair room, go to the east end
 and jump through the wall (specifically, the tapestry hanging on the wall)
 to reach an item room.

- On the nothern side of the map, there's a long room with a bridge that begins
 to crumble when you try to cross it.  Use the Wolf's Foot relic to become
 fast enough to make it across.  On the other side is an item room.

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VIII.                 Garden Forgotten by Time: Floor One
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- Close to the start of the area, there's a room with several whip posts that
 raise and lower.  For the first one, do a double-jump timed so that the post
 will be near the top of its path.  For the second one, do a single jump just
 as the post begins to raise, whip it, then whip the next one (which should be
 at the right height), then while still in the air, whip the lever on the
 wall, which will make a platform appear beneath you.  The door leads you to
 a switch.

- On the eastern side of the map (just after the second save room), you'll find
 a room with a Mist, a Man-Eating Plant, and a balcony that's too high to
 jump to.  Stand near the balcony until the plant comes near you (if it isn't
 there already), then attack it until it opens up.  Jump onto its petals, and
 use them as a stepping stone to reach the balcony.  On the other side of the
 door is a switch.

THUNDER WHIP:
* After that room, go north and you'll come across another room with a
 Man-Eating Plant; same situation as above, except the balcony is over on the
 right side of the room this time.

* Through there, you'll find a room with two statues of women holding swords.
 There are levers on the wall behind them; jump up and whip one, run to the
 other ASAP and jump up to whip that.  Then run to the middle of the room and
 double-jump up to the ledge.  Go through the door.  Go directly across this
 next room, which will require some jumping and whip-boosting.  Ascend the
 staircase and enter a switch room.  On the right side of the switch room is
 a door; enter it, go down the hallway, and meet the Thunder Elemental.  He'll
 give you the Thunder Whip once you beat him.
 (Note: Said staircase takes you to the second floor, and is the only thing
 in the second floor, so there is no Floor Two entry for the Garden.)

- Back in that room with the crumbled bridge, get to the high point in the
 center of the room, activate the Wolf's Foot, and double-jump to the left
 to reach the balcony, which will lead you to an item room.  To get back out
 to the rest of the Garden (which can be a bit tricky), stand on the edge of
 the crumbled bridge near the door (yes, the low part), double-jump in place,
 and whip the lamppost.

- In the square of rooms that are filled with heavy vegetation, go to the
 upper-right (northeast) room.  The door south appears to be blocked by
 plants; to the right of it is the real door, which at first looks like part
 of the fence.  This leads you to a save room.

RED PHOENIX KEY:
* Also in the upper-right room is a locked orb-door like you saw in the House
 of Sacred Remains (on the left side of the room).  Once you hit all the
 switches (see above to find the locations of some of them), the orbs will
 turn green and the door will unlock.  Going through it will get you the Red
 Phoenix Key.

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IX.                       Ghostly Theatre: Floor One
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- In the dropping spike room (eastern side of the map), there's a balcony
 that's both hard to see and out of reach, near the far left corner of the
 room.  There's a whip post near there, if you look carefully.  Stand on the
 left edge of the safe area, turn towards the balcony, double-jump in place
 and whip the post to boost yourself up to the railing.  The door leads to an
 item room, which contains an HP Max Up.

WHITE TIGER KEY NEEDED:
* In the southeast side of the map, you need to use the White Tiger Key to
 enter an item room containing the Heart Brooch accessory.

- In the room with multiple skulls that fire beams from their mouths, there
 are two exits.  To reach the second, take the left path just before the
 first exit, then go down the slightly hard to notice ramp and follow the
 path to the wall, then jump up to the ledge above.
 (For those wondering how to pass the skulls, face them, hold your guard
 button which is R1 by default, and then walk past them.)

- In the second room which involves you being bombarded with cannonballs
 (western side of the map), you may notice that there are blue statues in
 addition to red ones this time.  They're mostly hidden on the edges and
 ledges of the room.  The upper-right one can be reached by going into the
 alcove in the middle of the upper wall, and double-jumping to the whip post.
 From there, a double-jump to the left will bring you to another whip post,
 then another ledge.  Back on the floor, head to the far left corner of the
 room.  Then hug the wall and jump up onto the ledges when they present
 themselves.  You reward for all this is a Heart Max Up from the item room
 to your right.

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IX-2.                      Ghostly Theatre: Floor Two
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LUCIFER'S SWORD:
* One of the first rooms you come across (if you went up the eastern stairs)
 is another falling spike room.  This time, the post is in the safe spot
 right on the left side of the entrance.  (Not counting the safe spot at the
 entrance.)  Whip yourself up to reach an MP Max Up, then do a little more
 jumping/whipping to reach an item room, where you'll find the Lucifer's
 Sword relic.

BRISINGAMEN:
* Further along the path is a room that's completely dark, except for a
 spotlight.  What the spotlight doesn't show you is the path to the second,
 hidden item room.

* To get there, jump to the first platform, then take a blind single-jump in
 the same direction.  You should at least see a platform that will help you
 on your next attempt.  From that platform, double-jump in the same direction
 again, and you'll hopefully land on a platform that's against a wall.  A
 final jump to the right will lead you to the door, and an item room with
 the Brisingamen relic.

BLACK TURTLE KEY:
* From the Western staircase, you'll come to another skull room.  This one is
 not very different from the last one, although you will have to do some
 jumping, which could get a bit tricky.  Just remember that the skull you're
 in the path of should be the one you're facing; the jumps are structured to
 make this simple enough.  (There's also a shortcut if you're willing to try
 some trickier jumping, but all it does is save you thirty seconds or so.)
 This brings you to the Black Turtle Key.

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X.                     Pagoda of the Misty Moon: Floor One
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INVINCIBILITY JAR:
* At the northernmost room, go west.  You'll come to a room with enemies
 called "Mirage Skeletons".  If you see one walking around at first before
 the rest assemble, attack that one!  Otherwise, attack the one that has a
 reflection in the floor.  The rest are just mirages (hence the name) that
 will soak up damage and never die.

* This room leads to two item rooms.  More importantly, this room is the only
 room which contains Mirage Skeletons, who have a very, very small chance of
 dropping the Invincibility Jar.  The name says it all.  Be warned, however,
 as some people have reported that it took hundereds of kills before the
 Invincibility Jar was dropped--that's several straight hours of playing.
 (Why is this listed here and not any other item drops?  Because it seemed
 to be such a rare occurrence that it was worth noting.)

* Note that Hanged Men drop an accessory called the "Happiness Coin".  This
 raises your luck by five; equipping two or three should make the hunt much
 easier.

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X-2.                   Pagoda of the Misty Moon: Floor Two
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UNLOCK JEWEL:
* Head west.  Follow the path until you make your way to the point where you
 can enter the center of the circle that you'll see developing on your map.
 Inside is a dark platform room.  The door to the left gives you the Unlock
 Jewel.  The door to the right is an item room.

* My path goes like this.  Follow the spotlight until you reach the right
 room.  Then, go back one platform.  Turn on the wolf's foot and make a short
 double-jump (jump, then double-jump before you reach the zenith of the jump)
 to the left to reach the hidden platform.  Inside is the Unlock Jewel.

- Note: Apparently, the Wolf's Foot isn't absolutely necessary to make this
 jump; Wraith and Larz D were the first to inform me of this.

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XI.                             Castle Entrance
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BLACK ORB (need Unlock Jewel):
* Before you do anything, go back to Rinaldo's shop.  Max out on every kind
 of potion you can, as well as Serums and Uncurse Potions.  Buy a Sacrifical
 Doll and make sure you have the best armor available.  Get as many Heart
 Repairs as you can; Fleamen drop them.  (I recommend about five.)

* Grab as many stat-boost items as you can find.  I had 300 HP and 140 hearts.

* Aside from the Sacrifical Doll, equip whatever you can of the following:
 Heart Brooch, Assassin Necklace, Draupnir, Qigong Belt, Megingjord
 (In order of preference.)

* Equip a sub-weapon/orb combo that deals a good amount of single-target
 damage from a distance, without wasting hearts.  The Cross, Knife, and Axe
 should all work fine; I used the Knife with the Purple Orb.  Now, on to the
 Forgotten One.

- NOTE: Larz D (lselmerl AT lhup DOT edu) says this:
 "The Forgotton One, once once you beat it and look in the Monster
 Encyclopedia says it is weak vs. Crystal.  I used it when beating it and
 it was much easier than the other times when i lost."

- NOTE 2: Many people have e-mailed me saying that his weakness is Ice, not
 Crystal.  I don't know if the Ice Whip would actually do more damage than
 the Vampire Killer, but it's worth a try.

* Go to the Hub Room (where you travel to the five main stages).  On the far
 left is a door.  Descend the loooong staircase.  You'll find a Save Room;
 for the love of Silence of Daylight, save!

* Go to the other door; use the Unlock Jewel.  Descend another loooooong
 staircase.  Enter the door at the bottom and prepare for one of the hardest
 fights in the game.

* This boss has three levels.  First, you'll fight his lower torso.  His
 attacks include dropping maggots on the platform which are autonomous and
 can inflict Curse on you, and bleeding on you, which poisons you.  Jump and
 attack with your whip; use the Sonic Edge (circle + heavy whip attack) when
 the maggots approach (if you have it).  Don't waste hearts.

* Once you've drained the lower torso's life bar, you'll fight the upper torso.
 Attacks are all done using the left arm; it can sweep across the platform
 in either direction (which is very difficult to avoid), it can try to squash
 you, or it can bleed on you (which poisons you).  Try to dodge the arm and
 then whip it like crazy when it's laying on the platform.  You can launch an
 attack at the main torso, but it might be a waste of hearts.

* After that, you fight the head.  The head has two attacks.  First, it roars,
 causing the ceiling to crumble; this will bring a small cascade of rocks
 upon you, including one or more large ones which will prove life-saving.
 The second attack is breathing fire.  This attack with almost completely
 kill you with one shot; fortunately, it can be avoided by hiding behind the
 large rocks.  If a rock is cracked, find another one to hide behind; the
 next attack will shatter the rock, and you'll take a hit!
 When The Forgotten One isn't breathing fire, come out from behind the rocks
 and use your subweapon repeatedly.  Heal and use Heart Repairs as needed.

* When (if?) you win, you'll receive the Black Orb.

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XII.                          Extra Credit
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is where I list the people who contributed to this FAQ.
If you are one of these people, and would either like your name removed or
your e-mail listed, let me know.

Alex Cross
Conundrum
Iggyj
Paul Schneeloch
Justin
David Trammell
Michael Kelehan
Jeremy R. Smith
Mark Edwards
wraith
LSL
Tons of other people. . .

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XIII.                          Legal Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2003 by James Spairana.

This guide may only be posted on GameFAQs.com.

This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.