SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV WALKTHROUGH/FAQ

Date: Monday, October 22, 2001
Version 1.0
By TheKnightOfNee
E-mail: [email protected]

Contents
--------

  I. History
  II. Story
  III. Controls
  IV. Items
  V. Useful techniques
  VI. Walkthrough
  VII. FAQ's
  VIII. Special Thanks
  IX. Legal stuff

----------
I. History
----------

Why did I write this walkthrough?
After beating this game a couple times, I felt it was my favorite Castlevania
game, apart from Symphony of the Night. I decided it would be a good game to
try my hand at a walkthrough with, since I played through the whole game on my
own, and I was pretty good at it.

This walkthrough is only to be used by www.gamefaqs.com. If you wish to put it
on your site, e-mail me first.

Revision history
================

Monday, October 22, 2001-Version 1.0 is complete. History, Story, Controls,
Items, Useful Techniques, Walkthrough, FAQ's, and Legal Info are all up. All
stages and bosses in walkthrough are complete.

---------
II. Story
---------

Some people say that this game stars Richter Belmont as he goes to defeat
Dracula, while others say it stars Simon Belmont. Out of those who say it
stars Simon, some say it is just a remake of the first Castlevania, while
others say Dracula was ressurected very early, causing Simon to fight against
him a third time. I am not sure which of these are true, but I do believe that
it involves Simon and not Richter. Basically, you start on the outskirts of
the town, and you have to work your way across the country side to reach the
entrance to Dracula's castle. Then you have to meet up with the evil vampire,
Dracula, and kill him with your whip, which has been the Belmont's tool for
defeating Dracula for ages.

-------------
III. Controls
-------------

This section will obviously discuss the controls used for the game. I do not
know how to create any fancy text art, such as a controller, so you'll just
have to use the controller you use to play the game to see where the buttons
are.

Control pad- Use it to move Simon around. Use to aim the whip when firing in
an odd direction. Use it flail his whip around when holding down Y. Also use
it to select choices on the menu screen.

Start- Pause the game. Select choices on the menu screen.

Y button- Use the whip. Hold it to let your whip hang limp, and from this
position it can be flailed around.

B button- Jump

R button- Use special weapon. Weapons cannot be used if enough hearts are not
present.

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IV. Items
---------

Here I will describe the various items you can find in candles, walls, and
dropped form dead enemies.

Small heart- This will slowly drift down to the ground. It restores one heart.

Large heart- This heart will restore five hearts.

Money bag- These bags will give you a certain number of points, which varies
from bag to bag.

Rosary- This looks like a small cross with a necklace attached to it. When you
pick it up, all enemies will disappear.

Thorns- When you pick this up, your whip will become stronger. You can only
get two of these in a stage. The first will make your whip more powerful, and
the second will improve its reach.

Meat- There are two sizes of meat, a leg, and whole piece. The leg restores a
little bit of life, while the whole piece restores around half.

Stop watch- This is a special weapon you can use. It will stop all enemies in
their tracks for a few seconds when you use it. Doesn't affect bosses. My
least favorite weapon.

Knife- The simplest of all special weapons. It shoots a knife striaght out,
and hits an enemy in its path.

Axe- Another special weapon. It will be lobbed at a 45 degree angle into the
air, and fall back down. Good for hitting enemies in the air and across the
screen.

Boomerang- This special weapon looks like a cross, but acts as a boomerang.
When thrown, it will travel all the way across the screen to the other side,
then come straight back, hitting any enemies in its way.

Holy water- My personal favorite special weapon. When thrown, it will travel a
short ways, then land about a whip length away. It then erupts into blue flames
for a few seconds, taking out enemies who walk close enough to it.

1up- The rarest of all items to find. It will give you an extra life, allowing
you to die one more time before you get a continue.

Double strike- It looks like the roman numeral 2, or II. It allows you to
throw two of your special weapon at once.

Triple strike- It is a roman III, and works just like the double strike, only
allowing three weapons at once, as opposed to two.

-------------------
V. Useful Tehniques
-------------------

-Always look above and below you. Many enemies can be killed that cannot hurt
you at the moment, but you can hurt them with an angled whip. If you can kill
an enemy like that to avoid a confrontation, do so.

-Flailing your whip may not be strong, but it can kill weak things. If an
enemy like a bat, a fireball, or another small object is coming close, and you
either won't be able to whip them all in time, or they are in a spot your whip
cannot reach, let your whip dangle, and get in as many hits as you can on the
objects. It can save you in tight situations.

-Always try whipping walls. Some may contain hidden secrets within them, and
will benefit you greatly.

- --------------
VI. Walkthrough
---------------

Here I give a detailed description on how to get through the game. I will use
the strategies that best worked for me, so some things you may need to try
differently. If there's an error in my descriptions of stages or bosses,
e-mail me.

Level 1: Entrance and Stables
=============================

In the first part, whip all the candles for a fully powered whip, some hearts,
and the knife. If this is your first time through, take a couple seconds to
become accquainted with the controls. Continue right in the next area until
you reach a large hole. Press up to go through the gate and into the
background. Continue right until you see another gate. Press up again to move
into the foreground. Get all the candles here, then go into the background
again in the third gate. Continue to the next area, where you meet a skull
dragon. Take him outith a few whips, and get the boomerang. You then have a
choice to go high or low. Take the low way, and break the wall at the end for
some meat. Go back to the top part, and continue right. When you get a choice
between high or low again, go low, and get all the candles, then go back and
take the high way. There are rings placed throughout the next room. You can
grab onto them with your whip and swing. Learn how to do this on the first
ring, and move on. Be careful of the guys who try to attack you from behind
walls. After this, go down the stairs. In the next room, grab the
invincibility potion, and take out the skeletons quickly. Go back to the
raised platform to your left and break the three blocks on the edge for a
double strike. Continue right to enter stage 1-3.

The second candle has a holy water in it. You might want to grab it, even if
you have another weapon. The first enemies you see fall from the ceiling, so
run past them quickly, then turn and hit them. Next, try to take out the horse
heads before they begin to move forward. The last one will charge at you
before you can hit it. Continue all the way right, and break open the far wall
for a large heart. Go up the stairs and head back left, watching out for the
horse heads, which have reappeared. When you enter the next area, do not get
the candle to the left. It contains a stop watch, which will be useless
against the boss up ahead. go right from here, but make sure not to jump on
the thin platforms, because they flip over and drop you down if you do. There
are also Medusa heads here. They have a simple pattern, so concentrate first
on hitting them, then on getting the candles. Kill the ghosts that appear, and
make sure to take out the bushy enemy from above before dropping down. When
going to the lower level, be careful not to land on the thin platform.
Continue down the stairs to find the first boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Rowdain

Your best bet is to start on the platform to the left when he appears on his
horse. Hit him with your whip and whatever weapon you have, dodging his
fireballs. After a few hits, he hops off his horse, and tries to attack you on
foot. Whip the living daylights out of him here. When he jumps up, do not
stand under him, because he will drop straight down. With one hit left, he
will pretend to die, but then reappear. Whack him once more, and move on to
the next level.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level 2: Forest, Swamp, and River
=================================

When you start, purple hands are coming out of the ground. Don't let them grab
you, or you'll be stuck for a few seconds. Some monsters will form out of the
plants in the background occasionally, so watch out for them. A spider will
also drop down and shoot smaller spiders at you. Take it out as soon as
possible. Kill off another plant monster, then another spider, and the ground
will go downhill. Jump over the spikes, and take out the rolling creatures
before trying to get by. There is a small inset area to the right where you
can find 18 hearts. Head back left and up. There is a small piece of meat on
the far top left platform. Head to the right again across the top platforms,
and jump over some more spikes. The plant monsters will be back, but instead
of hands, zombies will climb out of the ground. Watch where you walk.

Now you enter the swamp. Hop over the moving platform, and kill the raven.
They can be tricky sometimes, because they fly in different patterns
everytime. Continue right until you reach another moving platform. Jump on it,
and then the next one to go up. Try and kill the pesky frog right away. After
a skeleton, a raven, and another frog, you find a rolling creature. Kill it
from the other side of the platform. Break the wall next to the boomerang for
a piece of meat. Jump onto another moving platform and head up. You'll cross a
couple bridges with ravens and bats. It's pretty simple. Continue right to
find Medusa.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Medusa

You should have the boomerang, hopefully, unless you grabbed the knife. Throw
it at her repeatedly, while whipping all the snakes she throws. You can get in
a few hits from the whip on her too. Stay ducking the whole time to avoid the
purple things she shoots at you, which turn you into stone. If you are stuck
with the knife... good luck. I've never been able to beat her with it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll now enter the river. The current carries you, and it can change
direction, so stay on your toes. An arm will come at you right away, but it
can be killed in one hit. The flying goblins can also be taken out with one
hit. Grab the invincibility potion and head downhill, careful not to touch the
red things. (I'm assuming they're spikes that will kill you, although I've
never tried touching them to verify it...) Head into the next room. A skull
dragon will be waiting for you. Kill it right away, then get the candles. Go
down the hill to reach the end of the level.

Level 3: Caves, Waterfall, and Ruins
====================================

There are lots of spots in this level where acid is dripping from the ceiling,
so always look out for it. Start by going over the bed of spikes, whipping the
bats that come your way. When you find a rock monster, whip him several times.
He'll break into smaller monsters, but after a few hits, each one goes down.
Stand on the low ground next to the skull dragon and kill it next. Kill
another, and continue to the right. Leap over the spikes, and kill another
skull dragon. You'll reach an open area. To the far top right, there is axe.
Slightly down, and to the left, there is a skull dragon. Kill it, and to the
left you can destroy an entire row of rocks leading to a hidden room. Grab the
goodies here and leave the room. At the bottom of this area is a skull dragon
guarding a large heart and holy water. You have to duck to get at that skull
dragon and those candles. Move right, killing more rock monsters and leaping
over another bed of spikes. Ahead of that, you will see some stones hanging
from the ceiling and quivering. Take one step near them, and back off, as they
fall down and break into pieces. Kill a couple more enemies, then move on to
the next area.

First, run across the bridge before it collapses behind you. Kill the plant,
then head up and left. Jump on the platform with the fuzz thing, but don't
touch it. Go left and kill the skull dragon, then the two plants, and get the
large heart. Work your way back to the right and up. Take out another skull
dragon, then whip the plant above you. Go up a couple platforms, then use the
ring to swing across the gap. Jump past the next fuzz thing, and head left,
killing the plant. Go right once again, and kill a skull dragon, followed by
another plant. Get the large heart in the candle that is sort of hidden at the
top right of the screen, and go back left. Swing across two more gaps, then
kill the plant and the skull dragon above you. Cross a gap to the right, and
dodge the fuzz thing. Go all the way left, and then right again, hitting the
plant above you on the far right. Jump past the next fuzzy thing. Don't swing
across the gap to the left, but instead go up and right to reach the end of
the area.

Fishmen will keep leaping out at you in this area, so watch out, and kill them
immediately. When you hop on the platform above three collapsable blocks, stay
there, and watch all sorts of debris falls from the air. After the last of it
drops, continue right. Kill the eye that comes towards you, then go kill the
bone dragon waiting for you under the stairs. Go up and kill another. Go
through this part quickly, watching out for the fishmen who rise up and squirt
water at you. Not much advice I can give for that somewhat nasty section, just
to keep moving. Go up the stairs after this. Kill the creature waiting behind
the wall for you, then go left and grab the rosary to kill the monsters
nearby. Swing across two gaps, then quickly jump up and over the collapsing
blocks. After climbing the stairs, immediately take out the bone dragon from
under it. Head up, then swing over to a solitary block. Jump past the fuzz
thing, then kill the bone dragon from behind it. Sure, you miss many hearts,
but it's much easier to kill that way. Climb the stairs slowly, watching for
the ravens who will fly at you. Kill the skeleton from under it, then proceed
upwards again. Grab some meat to the right on top of a pillar, then go up to
fight the boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Orphic Vipers

You'll want to stay on one of the two top right platforms while fighting this,
throwing whatever weapon you have at them as much as possible, and whipping it
when it comes close. They each have an attack they use, and they can be easily
dodged from these platforms. One shoots out three fireballs, which spread out,
and the other shoots a single flame, which will rarely, if ever, reach the
center top platform, let alone the far right ones. Just watch when you jump
that you don't fall in the water and you should be okay.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level 4: Rotating Dungeon
=========================

Kill the skeleton right away, then jump past the stairs to reach the lower
part. Kill the monster that comes out of the wall to your right, and break the
same wall for a large heart. Kill the monster hiding behind the wall above you
from down there. Climb back up the stairs at the beginning and head right.
Kill another skeleton and a monster that will come out the right wall at you.
Go down the stairs. You'll find two vertical moving platforms after a couple
enemies. Hop across these and go up. First take out the skeletons, then head
right and take out the monster that comes out of the wall. Go left and quickly
hop over the turning platforms by tapping the jump button on each jump. If you
hold it too long, you fall down to your death, but don't press jump too soon
afterwards, or it won't work. Kill more skeletons to your left, then carefully
hop to the lower part. Get the candles, then go to the top. Carefully jump up
over the turning platform. If you don't make it, try to move to your right so
you don't fall through the ones below. Go up the stairs, then kill the
skeleton from under it. hit the candle above the turning platform, and grab it
as you jump by. Take the next part slowly, killing enemies before they can
move close. To the right, you find a boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Puwexil

It will drop from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Stand to the left of
the left platform and whip away at it, and launch your weapons at it too.
When he is hit, bricks will fall form the ceiling. If you whip them, they
won't hit you, but some is bound to. He will also try to lick you. Just keep
whipping at him like mad and he won't stand a chance. Continue right to enter
the turning room.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This part will be tricky the first time through. Climb up the stairs, and
quickly grab the ring in the center with youir whip while facing left. The
room will turn, and you need to hang on this whole time. Once it stops
turning, jump onto the platform to your left. Kill all the medusa heads that
fly towards you. If one hits you, you fall into the spikes and die. The room
will start turning once more. Grab onto the ring again as it turns. When it
stops, you notice there is no platform beneath you. Wait a few seconds and one
will appear. Jump off and head left.

It may look like you need to hurry through this room, because the blocks
behind you keep falling, but each block only falls when you go a certan
distance away from it, just don't go backwards. Whip anything that gets in
your way, and don't get hit back. Keep moving and you'll reach the end. In the
next room, blocks keep rising out of the ground in a pattern. Watch the
pattern for every group of blocks, then cross. The first one is just a
repeating large block. Then you get a choice of either going up, or crossing
more blocks, and you should choose to go up. Run through in the opening, and
go right through the all the rest of the moving blocks. Dodge the spikes that
fall down past there, and you see some blocks which rise at a fast speed. Hold
right, and when the opening comes up, you'll run through. Keep holding right
until you get off. Climb the stairs and kill the skull dragons, and get ready
for another boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Koranot

Some blocks will drop from the ceiling right away. Stand between two of them
to avoid being hit. Whip the monster and throw your weapon at it as much as
possible. Blocks will keep falling from the ceiling, so keep dodging them. The
monster will also try throwing blocks at you. Just stay to the left and
you'll be fine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level 5: Castle Gates
=====================

Try to go very quickly in this level. It is very easy to run out of time, so
don't use up any more than you need to. At the beginning, watch out for the
Harpies that will fly by and drop Imps on you. Try to kill them both, or at
least the imp before it starts jumping. Climb up a hill and go attack the
skull dragon. Watch out for the goblin that will come swooping down at you.
Head left and kill another skull dragon. Go back up another hill and kill the
skull dragon. A goblin will come at you. Kill it, and you will see two skull
dragons. Try to kill the top one, but if you see either of them get ready to
fire, drop down and kill the bottom of the two. Kill the top one, jump back
up, then go right. After some more goblins, you reach the next area.

A skeleton with a whip jumps at you right away. Move back and kill it. Another
and one with a sword awaits you next, and bats start constantly flying out at
you. After a third skeleton with a whip, you just have to run up the stairs
and to the door as quick as possible, fending off the occasional bat. No boss
here.

Level 6: Marble Gallery and Dining Hall
=======================================

Immediately start by ducking and whipping the cat that runs towards you. He'll
only stay dead for a few seconds, so you may have to turn around and whip it
again after walking past him. Zombies will constantly be coming after you
here, along with many bats swooping down from the ceiling. Keeping moving
forward and the bats will miss you. Go up the stairs, then stay on top of the
platforms until you reach the candle that holds a holy water. When you jump to
get it, a bat will try and hit you, so whip right before you land on the holy
water's platform. Drop down and kill the axe knight. You'll find a few more
axe knights, and a couple more zombies, then you can proceed up the stairs.

Do not press anything once you reach the top of the stairs. The computer
automatically walks you to the very edge of a patform, so if you hold left,
you'll die before you even have a chance to see where you are. In here, giant
chandeliers are swinging back and forth. Grab the candle, then carefully hop
on the nearest gray platform of the chandelier from the far left red platform.
Jump across the rest of the chandelier, and try to do it when it slows down at
the peak of the swinging. Cross over the next few chandeliers the same way.
Once you learn to cross one, the rest should be easy.

In this next section, the chandeliers you see will fall down when you get
close, so back away when they drop. After two chandeliers, you will fight an
axe knight. Kill it, then whip the ground near where he was. You should find a
hidden stairway. It'll take you to a room filled with candles. Kill the cat
and the old man quickly, and get all the goodies. When you come back out,
you'll have to rekill the axe knight, then continue left. Quickly kill the
three women that float up, then take out the flashing thing with a few whips.
After another flashing thing, get ready to whip the ghost of a butler that
will run at you. You'll find an axe knight on a platform next. Kill it from
below, then whip the left side of the wall holding up the platform for some
meat. Watch out for the flashing things and more butlers as you go left. When
you see some stairs on the far left, bats swoop down at you. Go up, and head
back right, killing the enemies that reappeared. Quickly jump across the
spiked platforms. If you fall, just go back to the far left, and up again, and
they will be straightened out. Head up the stairs to the next room. Cross over
the first spike bed. The second one is trickier, as there are narrow platforms
that collapse. After crossing, a skeleton will be waiting for you. Make sure
you don't get hit, then continue. A coffin will chase after you when pass it,
so run beyond the gap and watch it fall in, then backtrack to get the candles
you missed. Go up the short flight of stairs to the next section.

Kill the skeletons that go after you first. You will then see blood skeletons,
which get back up after a few seconds, and skeletons that carry whips. Just
keep walking and whipping. Take the last two out right in front of the stairs
and go up before they recover. In the next room, go to the right wall and
break it open for some meat. When you see the hands to the left with the
blinking skeletons next them, don't walk through them or the skeletons will
hit you. Duck and walk under them instead. Kill the moving skeletons as you go
on, and don't miss the large heart next to the stairs.

Climb up the stairs and find a circle of coffins, spinning around. Just stand
near the circle and whip away at them all. When you see tables, whip them
from as far away as you can to kill them, because once you get close, they run
at you. Some dancers will appear throughout this area too. Get out of their
way and whip them. When you finally reach the end, break open the upper part
of the right wall for a one up. Climb up the stairs to meet the boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Dancing Ghosts

The scrolling background looks really nice here, but if want to do good
against this boss, pay little attention to it. When the couple appears, whip
them a few times, then head all the way to the upper left, and wait for them
to get near you. Jump down and to the right, whip them a couple times, then go
right and up. Repeat the figure eight throught the battle. At some moments,
the couple stops dancing around and will either shoots some arrows at you,
or pull out swords and run at you with them. These are very hard to dodge, so
expect to lose some life. Whip them like crazy while they do this if you can't
dodge it to take some advantage of the situation. This battle is just a matter
of who can hit the other enough times first.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level 7: Library and Castle Basement
===================================

Kill the spear knight and the axe knights when you first enter. Climb up the
stairs and kill the ghost that will appear above you. Go back down and defeat
the spear knight. Kill the next axe knight quickly so you can take out the
ghost below you. After you drop down, if you go left to get the candles, the
axe knight to your right should have disappeared, saving you some trouble.
Kill some more ghosts and axe knights, then go down the stairs. This next room
can be tricky, so if you're having trouble, feel free tokeep dropping down
past the stairs to get to the bottom quicker. That strategy worked a lot for
me when I was having trouble. Gargoyles will keep flying at you throughout
this, so either kill them or move out of their way. You see some floating
books too. If you can't kill them in a few seconds, get moving, because they
will fly right at you. It is easier to dodge the enemies rather than kill them
here. You'll see two axe knights to your left when you get down the stairs.
Kill the top one first, then kill the second from the platform to the right.
Study the pattern of the moving books, then hop across when they get near. Be
quick when crossing the platforms with blood skeletons.

You are now in the castle basement. There are pictures throughout here. Some
of them will reach out of the frame and try to grab you, so watch for movement
and hit where their hand is. Many bats will fly at you right after a few
steps, so go slow and be on guard. To your right is a statue that will
collapse when you get near it. Wait for it to fall, then stand where it was
and whip up at the cat above you, who will try to knock down the candles. Whip
open the wall to your right for some meat, then go up the stairs. Go down the
next stairs. Where you see some spikes in the ceiling, you can walk under them
with no problem, but you will see part of the carpet rise and head towards
you. Duck when it gets near so you aren't pushed into the spikes. Watch out
for more bats, then grab the rosary to the far right. Go up the stairs, and
watch out for creatures who will try to hit you from behind holes in the wall.
Whip the wall that is to your right where you come up, then whip the cat above
you. Go up, and head right. I'm not sure what this red thing is flying around
the room, but it's best to avoid it. Don't go to the lower level yet. After a
while, the red thing disappears. Go down the stairs to the right after it
dies/runs away. Grab all the hearts to the left, then go under a long row of
spikes.The carpet will probably rise under you a couple times, so get ready to
duck. Wait for the statues ahead to collapse, then move on. Kill the axe
knights in the next room, and the creature hiding behind the wall. Some bats
will swoop at you, then you find the boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Sir Grakul

This boss is rather easy. Just stay on the far left ledge. Whip him when he
comes close, but get ready to jump when he draws back his axe. He will either
throw it at you, which is hard to dodge, or more commonly, he will slam it to
the ground, creating flames which go towards you. After most of his life is
gone, he will lose the axe, and pull out a sword. Just do the same thing as
before, and jump when he pulls back his sword if he's close, because he will
try to slash you with it. After he dies, the floor opens up, leading to the
next level.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level 8: Catacombs
==================

You drop right down into this level, and a spider immediately drops down next
to you. Kill it, and get the candles. This level will be full of instant death
traps from here on out, so be very careful. Walk under the dropping spikes,
then kill another spider. Watch out for dripping acid throughout the level
also, which you first see on the next block. Kill the skull dragon, while
watching out for the eye above you, then kill the eye. Kill the skull dragon
to the left, then go up the stairs. Be careful near the swinging spikes, and
duck when it get over you. kill the axe knight to the right, then drop to the
lower level. You can find the axe here, then go back. Kill the axe knight if
he reappeared, then go to the left side of the falling spikes. Jump on top of
them when they drop down, then go to your right on top of the ledges. The next
part can be hard. Don't fall in the acid; it is poinsonous. Watch out for the
dripping acid too. Kill the eye above you when it first appears, then whip the
flames the skull draogn shoots at you. Use the axe you got to kill the skull
dragon from the other platform. Hop to where it stood, then kill the two more
from under them. Climb up the stairs, then watch out for another swinging
spike mechanism. Go under it, then hop on top of the falling spikes. The next
swinging spikes you will have to jump onto, and let it swing you across. You
should then jump on top of the next sets of spikes to cross. You will see many
spears hanging form the ceiling here. Don't go under any yet. Kill the eye
that appears, then whip the candles under the spears. Make a run for it,
grabbing the things that were in the candles as the spears drop behind you.
Kill the bone dragon ahead of you, or grab the rosary right in front of it.
Kill another, watching out for the dripping acid, and keep jumping across the
platforms. If you fall, keep jumping and moving to the right. You'll then see
a skull dragon. Kill it, and break the wall behind it to get some meat. You'll
see a long bridge. Run across this quickly, because the entire bridge will
start collapsing form behind you. Bats swoop at you too, so try and kill or
dodge them right away. If you fall in, and you probably will, just hurry on to
the right.

If you thought the last part was hard, this part can be even trickier. Start
the second part by killing the plant above you and getting the candles. Start
heading down the stairs. Medusa heads will be flying at you for the rest of
this room, so always watch for them. Do not put your whip near the part of the
stairs that is rusted, because that will break it and hurt you in the process.
When you see the moving spikes near the bottom, you have one of two choices.
Either jump over the left one when it is all the way down, then crawl under it
when it is up, or jump under the right one when it is all the way up and
dropping down. Both are hard moves. Do whichever looks safer to you. Go down
the stairs into the next area. Watch the pattern of the two moving spikes and
cross when they are both up. Go to the right, and you will swing spikes. Jump
to the platform when it is all the way to the right, and drop down to the
right. There are more falling spears here, just run across quickly, and if you
need to stop, do so between where they will fall. Kill the eye that comes out,
and you will see a moving spike. Wait until it is all the way up, and hold
right without jumping. You will safely land on the edge of the ground. Wait
between the first and second spikes, and get the knife above you if you want
it. Go across when the second one is up. The next part is tricky, just like
everything else in this level. You have to duck and walk under these spears
which go in and out of the ceiling. All it really takes is patience. Go up the
stairs and grab the candles that were above you. The next section requires a
lot of luck, because it is unpredictable. Platforms are appearing and
disappearing. If one you are standing on disappears, you fall and die. The
easiest thing to do is find one platform that is a jump away, and jump on it
as it appears. While jumping, and after landing, look for another platform to
your right that just appeared and move to that. Do that again until you reach
the other side. It can be difficult at many times, and it can be very easy at
other times. After crossing, you find a boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: The Monster

He will appear on the right side of the screen and start walking towards you.
Whip him until he throws a bottle at you. Immediately whip the bottle before
it hits the ground, then go back to whipping him. If you keep destroying the
bottles before they reach the ground, this battle will be a cinch. If you miss
one, one of three things can happen. Pink bottles will cause the ground to be
covered in flames, meaning you should hop onto one of the side platforms.
White ones form a clone of the Monster, which can be killed in about two hits.
Green ones split into several flames that fall to the ground. That one is hard
to dodge, but everything else about this battle should be easy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level 9: Treasure Hoard
=======================

This level does not have as many instant death traps as the catacombs, but it
will wear away at your life very easily if you aren't careful. At the start,
some bats wil fly past you, and you should be able to take care of them. Some
skeletons will also appear, throwing bones at you. The second will leap to its
own death if you don't try to run at it. In the next room to find two
skeletons. Kill them both quickly. You will also notice how the jeweled
platform disintegrates right away. More bats will fly at you, and you will see
a path of those disintegrating platforms leading upward. Don't go on them yet.
Walk under, and to the left of them and kill the skeleton and bat, then go
back to the right and jump up them. Continue left and down the stairs. There
are a series of disintegrating jeweled platforms here. Just keep moving, and
don't worry about the candles. After landing on the treasure chest at the end
of the gap, drop to the lower level immediately and kill the skeleton, then
kill the one above you. Hop back up and go right. You will see some rings to
swing across near the ceiling. Try for them when the skelton isn't under you.
It is hard to cross them, but if you do, it is worth it. If you miss, you just
drop to where you'd end up anyways, so at least take a try at it. Kill the
skull dragon and another skeleton, then jump across another series of jeweled
platforms again. After the last one, stay on the left edge of the first solid
platform to kill the skeleton. Don't get hit or you will fall down. You should
then do the same on each platform from then on, because more skeletons will
come out and try to hit you.

First, kill the bone dragon from behind in this area. Then, if possible, cross
the rings here. If you can't, you will drop down near some coffins and wind
holes that suck you in. The second coffin will chase after you, but I've never
had the first one give chase. Continue right, kill a bone dragon, and get some
much needed meat from the last candle. Proceed down the stairs. Kill this bone
dragon from behind, and drop down. You don't need to grab onto the first ring.
If you fall in the ground though, keep jumping, because you slowly fall
through it. Jump and grab the second ring, and cross to the high ledge. Go
down the stairs to the next room, where you will see blocks dropping from the
ceiling. Quickly dash across once the second set has fallen. Go to the wind
hole next to the coffin suck you in, and you will go to a secret room. Gather
the treasures, and exit. Continue right, killing the bone dragon and skull
dragon, then up the stairs. There are tons of points to get here, so try not
to miss any. Start by swinging across the gap. Go up past two skeletons, and
you have two choices. you can either go up and left or up and right. If you
jump on just the first platform on the left side, get that treasure, then take
the right way, you get the most points. Ahead of there, either carefully kill
the bone dragon from behind, or run under him and kill him from the front,
then gather the treasures he drops. Go up and across another gap, still
getting all the treasures. Kill a couple more skeletons and a bone draogn,
then swing across a third gap and head up. In the next area, kill the
skeletons that come out as soon as possible, then continue to meet the boss.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Zapf Bat

This boss is a bat formed entirely out of gold and jewels. He will drop little
jewels constantly, but they can be ignored. Just stand under him and whip
away. Jewels will fly to the sides of him, which can hurt you, so standing
under him is the best option. When he stops flying, he will swoop down at you.
Move out of his way, then go back to whipping. He has a lot of life, so this
won't be quick. After most of his life is gone, he will break into three
smaller bats. When hit, these also drop jewels to their sides, which hurt, and
they also drop jewels constantly, which can hurt, so your standing under the
bat strategy just went out the window. This battle will be helpful with the
boomerang, or if you don't have that, the axe. Run to the other side when the
three bats appear, and launch that weapon at the boss repeatedly. They will
come chasing after you, and when they get close, try running around them and
repeating that, or just whipping them and hoping they'll die before they reach
you, depending on how much life they have. This will take quite a few hits, so
you won't kill them before they reach you. After the bats die, stairs will
appear leading you up to the clock tower.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level A (10): Clock Tower
=========================

Start by jumping across the gears that you see. The horizontal ones will move
you back and forth, while the round ones will spin you in one direction, and
you can stand between the teeth until you near the edge. Head up the stairs to
find a skull dragon. Kill it from the platform you are on, and it won't be
able to hit you. Stand where it was, and look up. Another is way above you.
Kill that one too. Hop across the gear, and climb up the stairs. You will see
a skeleton above you. Kill him when he walks directly over you. Jump across
the falling blocks, go up the stairs, then kill another skeleton from
beneath.  Jump on the gear, and get the large heart to the left if you're
feeling daring. Go up some more stairs, and hop on a pair of gears. Reach up
and grab onto the ring with your whip. Swing across to the falling blocks,
then kill the skeleton above you. In the next room, medusa heads will be after
you for a short while. Kill the skeleton right above you, then go right and
kill the other. Drop onto the horizontal gear, and jump on the round gear near
the spikes. Duck and let it carry you under them. You will see some rings
rotationg on a chain. Grab one when it comes by, but don't swing until you see
the end. As soon as you land on the far platform, duck and whip the skeleton
to avoid being knocked back into the hole. Climb up the stairs to enter
another vertical climb. Kill the axe knight above you, then jump and whip the
one to the right. You will notice to the far right and above you a rusty gear.
Slowly climb the stairs, and when you see it fall, run back down the stairs to
let it pass over you. When you jump to where it was, another will come from
the left side. Just jump up one more platform to avoid being hit by that one.
After crossing the gear, the medusa heads will start up again. Swing across
the gap after one goes away from there, and kill the axe knight. Stand under
the bone dragon and attack it, but be careful not to grab any rings until it
is dead. When it dies, grab a ring and ride up. Extend your whip all the way,
and swing onto the second platform up on the left side. If you got the
boomerang before, use it to kill the axe knight. If not, wait until no axes
will hit you and ride up again. Swing over to the platform above where the axe
knight was on the right to get a holy water. Go up to the top, taking either
flight of stairs. Run over the collapsing blocks, and doge the medusa that
will chase you. Kill the axe knight from below, then ride up on the rings
again. Drop onto the first platform to your left and kill the bone dragon.
Avoid whipping the rings, because you can easily get hit while on those. After
it dies, grab on once more to go up. Swing to the right and go to the next
part.

You walk out onto a bridge. Whip the blood skeletons, and kill the skeletons
with swords as you make your way across. This section is very short and easy.
After a few enemies, you reach the clock itself, and you get to battle right
in front of it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Akmodan II

This boss is rather easy. You hopefully still have the holy water from before.
The mummy will appear somewhere on the clock, and either throw bandages at
you, or spew fireballs. If it appears on the far left or right platforms, stay
on the hands of the clock. If it appears on the hands, go to the far left
platform. You should never touch the far right one. No matter where it
appears, always throw a holy water where it will stand. When it appears on the
far right one, just stand a whip's reach away and feel free to attack, unless
it throws bandages, in which case you should run to the far left and just
avoid them. If it appears on the far left, stand on the left side of the hands
and launch holy waters at it. You can also duck and flail your whip at it.
When it appears in the middle, stay on the right side of the far left platform
if it throws bandages and flail your whip at it, but if it shoots fire, stay
to the far left side of the left platform, facing the Mummy. You can then jump
and whip it repeatedly. You'll get little trouble from him if you follow those
strategies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Level B (11): Lair of the Three Fiends and Dracula's Keep
=========================================================

On this downward climb, don't expect to be able to just walk up to the pirates
and whip them. To kill them without being hurt, you have to stand on the
stairs where they can't reach you and flail your whip downward at them.
Knowing this, it should be pretty easy. In the next area, you see a large
brige to your right. Standing near the bridge, hit the first couple candles.
Take a deep breath, then hold right. The bridge will be collapsing behind you,
and one sudden stop could cause death to you. Jump over the ledges in the
bridge. Keep running, and don't even bother to try for the candles, unless
you've done this several times before. Even then, all the candles just
conatain small hearts. After you are off the bridge, bats will keep chasing
you, and you should keep running until you reach the stairs. Let them fly past
you, then go back and get the candles you missed and can still reach, then go
to the next area.

This next area requires quick thinking and movement on your behalf, because a
giant saw is chasing you up the tower. Grab only the candles that are directly
in your way, and kill enemies as soon as they are in your reach, and as
quickly as possible. Hopefully you should be skilled with hopping on stairs
from midair, because many stairs have no bottoms to walk up. The stairs here
also fall behind you, so walk fast while going up them. With those few, easy,
simple (yeah right), precautions, I will now lead you up the tower. Start by
climbing the stairway to your right, then hop onto the stairway above it. Kill
the pirate immediately after climbing, then stand on the right edge of the
platform to make a long jump. Hop onto the stairs above you, then go up the
stairs above you and to the right. The jump to the next set of stairs to your
right is tricky, because if you miss it, you can't get back up. Next, kill the
rock monster, then climb up the three sets of stairs that are beside each
other. The saw will probably be closing in now, but you can speed away in the
next part. If you can, grab the axe next to the following stairway, and go up.
Don't bother to kill the next rock monster, just head all the way up. When you
see two rings, you are safe. The saw won't make it this high. Swing across,
then go up to the next section, which is colored differently. Platforms will
be floating from the bottom left to the upper right in several diagonal rows.
Jump on any platform in the second diagonal from the bottom. Wait until you
are between the far right set of spikes and the middle set. Hold left to move
to the next platform in your diagonal row until you are in distance to jump
onto the next row. Cross to the next row, then let it take you up for a few
seconds until you are between two sets of spikes, with the larger set to the
left, and stairs above it. Hop over to the left platform and go up the stairs.
One more row will appear here. Work your way up here, and go up the next
stairs. Kill the enemies from below to avoid losing life here. At the top of
this section, there are more diagonaly moving platforms. The jump over the
stairs looks tricky, but it really isn't. Get really close to the edge, and
jump to a platform when it is in your range. You should easily land on the
platform. If you are too close to the stairs, nothing bad will happen, you'll
just take a step onto the stairs. Go up and try again when you miss. Once on,
keep holding left and jumping up rows when no spikes are above you. When you
reach the door at the top, you are about to battle the three fiends. Step
through it and grab all the candles.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Slogra

The first of the three fiends can be very difficult if you aren't prepared for
his attacks. Start by standing just to the right of the left pillar, and
ducking. Slogra will drop down next to the right pillar, spear in hand. Whip
him as soon as he makes contact with the ground. He will fly back up in the
air, and in a few seconds, land right where you were standing. Get up, and
walk to the right while he's gone. As soon as he starts to drop, turn towards
him and duck. He will be green when falling this time. He cannot be hit until
he turns brown again, so just sit still and wait for him to change colors.
After whipping him, get up and walk back to the left, ducking as he falls.
Sometimes he will launch fireballs at you, which explode after a short way,
and can even hit you while ducking. If you stay between the pillars, odds are
neither he or the fireballs will reach you. Keep at this pattern until he
loses his spear. Now, instead of shooting fireballs, he'll be taking swipes at
you with his claws and beak, and he'll be doing it much more often. Follow the
same pattern, only jump over the pillars instead of ducking every time. You'll
get hit a couple times, but hopefully you will win in the end. If you die, you
restart right here again. After Slogra dies, grab the candles and go to meet
the next boss.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Gaibon

Stand in the middle upon entering the room. Gaibon will come swooping past
you, then stop right above you. Whip him a couple times, then move around
hitting him as he flies. Never stay under Gaibon for even a second, because
he'll throw fireballs down at you sometimes. Other times, he'll drop to the
ground, causing some ceiling to fall on you, then he'll throw fireballs at you
from the ground. If you can get on a platform while he drops down, you'll be
fine. If not, whip the fireballs he shoots at you. Halfway through the battle,
Gaibon will stop fighting and turn red. He will lose the dropping down move,
but from now on he'll stop in midair and shoot three sets of three fireballs
down at you. He should be easier than the previous boss, and after beating
him, move up to fight the next challenge.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Death

There's only one piece of meat after Gaibon, so you could be at a serious
disadvantage in this fight. Start by standing where you started with Gaibon,
in the center, facing left. Death will make a flashy entrance, and as soon as
he fully appears, whip upawards to hit him. Let your whip dangle after that
hit, not moving. He will throw scythes at you as he flies left. Use the
control pad to flail your whip at them when they come near, being why you
needed to begin facing left at the start. He will start to fly back across you
after a couple seconds. Once he gets above you, turn around, then let your
whip dangle again while facing right. He will throw a couple more scythes at
you from this side, then will do one of two things. First, he will sometimes
slowly lower himself to the ground, allowing you to get in a couple cheap hits
on him. He will then throw his scythe across the room, and start pulling you
towards him. Keep walking to the left, and turn around for a hit if you get
really far away. Jump over the scythe as it comes near. He will then throw it
again. Do not turn around to hit him this time, just keep walking. When you
reach the other side, you are out of his reach. Wait there with your whip
dangling, and hit him along with a scythe once he comes back across. Move to
the middle and start the process over. The other thing he will do upon
reaching the right side is he will stop for a second, then dive downward. Whip
him, then let your whip dangle and hit the scythe. Turn around, and start
over. You should never move from where you start unless he stops in the
bottom right corner. After beating him, move on to fight Dracula himself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL BOSS: Dracula

When you first see the upward stairs that lead to Dracula, don't go up them.
Instead, jump past them to the left. You will land on an invisible platform.
Jump again to the left, and continue into the left corner. You will get 99
hearts, full life, a fully upgraded whip, the boomerang, and the triple
strike. After getting that, hold up and right. You will step on the stairs
when you reach them, and go up. When you reach the top of the stairs, take one
small step to the right, and jump back to the main platform. Climb up to go
fight Dracula. Dracula will be appearing and disappearing throughout the
entire fight. Move out of his way when he does, and launch as many boomerangs
as you can at his head level, because that is the only spot he can be hurt. He
will open his cape and shoot a fireball at you. If you try to jump over it, it
break into four fireballs that go upward and hit you. If you hit it, it will
break into three or four fireballs which can be taken out while flailing your
whip. I think how close you are to Dracula determines if it is three or four,
but I am not sure. After a couple hits, he will stop that pattern, and instead
throw out fireballs that circle the room. Hit them, and they will launch a
myriad of smaller fireballs, then turn into a piece of meat. Take this time to
refill your life on those, being careful not to hit Dracula until all your
health is restored. After a couple more hits, he will now appear, along with
two fire pillars. Large flames appear on top of those and chase you around the
room. Throw boomerangs or whip him when he appears, then dodge the flames. If
you whip them, they will first try to fall on you, then disappear. After a few
hits, he goes back to the fireballs that turn into meat. Restore your life
once more. After a couple more hits, lightining fills the room, then he will
start a new pattern. Launch boomerangs just prior to his appearances now,
still at his head level, then look up. Four lightining clouds will appear, and
in about two seconds, they'll all drop large bolts straight down, so move out
of their way. Repeat this pattern until Dracula is dead. You have just beat
the master of the castle, saved the people, restored peace, etc...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now you watch the castle fall down, then the credits as they go by. After they
finish up, you can press start and begin a new game, only on a harder
difficulty. There is a significant difference in the challenge of the first
few levels, but the later ones remain mostly the same, as they were already
hard enough. Good luck with it the next time through.

----------
VII. FAQ's
----------

Here I will respond to some questions that are asked quite a bit, or
that I just felt like answering for no apparent reason. If you have a
question, e-mail me.

==============================================================================
Q: How can I jump off stairs to avoid enemies?

A: You can't. You either have to move up or down ot get out of the way, or
kill them first. Once you're on the stairs, you have to reach either end or
die to get off, unless it is a falling staircase in the last level. You can
jump onto staircases from the gorund to avoid enemies though.
==============================================================================

Q: How can I jump onto stairs then?

A: When in the air, hold up. As you drop past the stairs, you will stop while
standing on them if you were still holding up. It's tricky at first, and needs
to be mastered before the game's end.
==============================================================================

Q: I've whipped all the candles around me, but I can't get a better whip. Why?

A: The thorns that improve your whip are only found in candles that normally
hold small hearts. Keep hitting more candles until you get one.
==============================================================================

Q: Is there an easier mode to the game?

A: No. If it's too hard, you just have to keep working at it. There is a
harder version though. You get it after beating the game.
==============================================================================

Q: What is the purpose of the score at the top of the screen?

A: You earn an extra live at 20,000 points, and every 50,000 more points from
then on earns you an extra live.
==============================================================================

--------------------
VIII. Special Thanks
--------------------

Thanks to The Castlevania Dungeon (www.classicgaming.com/castlevania) for the
boss names.

--------------
IX. Legal Info
--------------

This walkthrough was created and copyrighted by TheKnightOfNee. This work may
be used for personal purposes, but may not be distributed anywhere without
permission of the author. If you wish to use it somewhere, e-mail the author
at [email protected] for permission. No part of this this is to be
taken and used as your own work. Castlevania, Super Castlevania 4, and
all other related things are copyrighted by Konami, and are not affiliated
with the author.

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