My quest to beat Castlevania

[toptenmaterial]

I think that, in the Dracula fight, it helps if you can score an upgrade from one of his fireballs. The problem is that I usually get hit if I try to strike them directly.

[toptenmaterial]

I thought I'd mention this, here is a specifically Castlevania forum site. Now I have more than one resource for all of my Castlevania needs: http://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/

[Austin]

Castlevania Dungeon has been around forever... the '90s, specifically. Funny to see people stumble upon it for the first time today.

[StanJr]

Yeah, I stopped going there because I thought the site died years ago! It used to be a really good resource.

 

 

Update: Got to Drac last night and died with 3 hits left on the bastard!! I remembered my strategy of stand close, whip his head and immediate whip at his cloak to kill the fireballs. I have more success with that and am usually able to beat his first form untouched. That second form is just brutal if he refuses to high jump.

 

CV3: Made it to 8-01 (inside the castle!), but only had one life left and never made it to the boss. I love how 8-01 is a remake of the original entry hall. That blew me away as a kid.

[toptenmaterial]

Yeah, I stopped going there because I thought the site died years ago! It used to be a really good resource.

 

 

Update: Got to Drac last night and died with 3 hits left on the bastard!! I remembered my strategy of stand close, whip his head and immediate whip at his cloak to kill the fireballs. I have more success with that and am usually able to beat his first form untouched. That second form is just brutal if he refuses to high jump.

 

CV3: Made it to 8-01 (inside the castle!), but only had one life left and never made it to the boss. I love how 8-01 is a remake of the original entry hall. That blew me away as a kid.

I also got killed on Drac last night. That fuckin bird man!

[Austin]

I also got killed on Drac last night. That fuckin bird man!

 

Holy water to stun him, jump and attack. Rinse and repeat. I believe if you duck right in front of him, you bait him into jumping high, which lets you run under him safely.

[toptenmaterial]

 

Holy water to stun him, jump and attack. Rinse and repeat. I believe if you duck right in front of him, you bait him into jumping high, which lets you run under him safely.

I'll try. My man problem area is not staying in motion when he teleports on top of me in his first form. But that is easily remedied. The few times I've beaten him, the bird man has dropped a doubler and with the water that's that. You can keep him pinned with a single water?

[StanJr]

I did not know about the ducking trick to make him high jump. Giving that a try tonight! I love that there is always something to learn! Castlevania for the win!

[toptenmaterial]

I did not know about the ducking trick to make him high jump. Giving that a try tonight! I love that there is always something to learn! Castlevania for the win!

Stan you are an OG who's about to do some dirt after being off the street for a long stretch. You can do it!

[Eltigro]

When I beat dracula, I kept moving and when he appearred, stopped about 1 or 2 blocks in front of him and timed it right to jump over the fireballs and hit him with the whip. It is a lot of timing involved but when I got it down, I could get to the second form having been hit only once or twice and without using up hearts. The second form I usually killed with a lot of jumping and cross or holy water.

 

The same jumping over the fireballs technique is what I use in Symphony of the Night when you fight him at the beginning of the game. The only difference is that he sometimes throws the two big fireballs (and you know that's what coming because he opens his cape towards you instead of away from you). When he does that, I run away a little bit, then duck under the first one and jump over the second one. Other than those big fireballs, the fight is pretty similar except that Richter has some extra moves he can through out that Simon does not.

Edited March 5, 2017 by Eltigro

[toptenmaterial]

I thought I was going to have a no death run today! I cruised through the first five levels and then bit it twice in the beginning of 6 with the bats. The bird man killed me twice, then my daughter woke up so no more Castlevania til tonight! I did beat the birdman earlier today a few times so I guess it evens out!

 

I download Castlevania The Adventure on my 2DS, and I have to conclude that I do not like it. The jumps are nearly impossible and enemies respawn in the exact same places. Control is way too cludgy and slow- seems like I can never turn around and whip on time. This is in contrast to Castlevania NES where the control is super responsive.

[StanJr]

Yeah, Castlevania Adventure (GB) is really, really clunky. I still managed to beat it (don't ask me how or why), but I don't have a strong motivation to do it again. Belmont's Revenge is MUCH better and way more fun. I don't believe that I have played Legends (GB), but now I think I have to.

 

Congrats on the no death run! Are you getting all of the hidden treasures on the way? That, plus speed, plus high heart counts, can really help you get to Drac's level with at least 7 extra lives on a good no death run. (probably more if you point farm in the entry hall). I typically get there with 6-7 lives so I can give up a couple to the bats and flea men on the way to Drac and then have a couple left to get into my Drac slaying rhythm.

I checked my record book last night, Stage 37 is the farthest I have made it in a continuous run. Gotta get back into shape so I can smash that!

[toptenmaterial]

Yeah, Castlevania Adventure (GB) is really, really clunky. I still managed to beat it (don't ask me how or why), but I don't have a strong motivation to do it again. Belmont's Revenge is MUCH better and way more fun. I don't believe that I have played Legends (GB), but now I think I have to.

 

Congrats on the no death run! Are you getting all of the hidden treasures on the way? That, plus speed, plus high heart counts, can really help you get to Drac's level with at least 7 extra lives on a good no death run. (probably more if you point farm in the entry hall). I typically get there with 6-7 lives so I can give up a couple to the bats and flea men on the way to Drac and then have a couple left to get into my Drac slaying rhythm.

I checked my record book last night, Stage 37 is the farthest I have made it in a continuous run. Gotta get back into shape so I can smash that!

Thanks! I've been trying to avoid using save states- I was using them room by room in the upper levels at first, but now I'm trying to do it the honest way. The one exception is the beginning of the Dracula fight, when I keep walking up and down the stairs to stack hearts. I do a save state when I'm all loaded up- since the continue drops me there anyhow I don't feel bad about that.

 

Where is stage 37?? Sounds intense! The farthest I made it was the second room of the second loop. A medusa head awaits to take a chunk out of Simon's ass.

 

Still having trouble with Drac's second form, though I have beaten him. Usually I need to get there with full health to make that happen. It helps when I accidentally whip the bird man's projectile and he drops a 2. Otherwise I try to be quick and hope for a little luck. I've seen videos where Drac's first form will drop upgrades but I've never gotten anything good, and after enough target practice Drac will eventually hit you.

 

I still cannot beat Frank, Death and Drac without the water.

[StanJr]

No, while I HAVE beaten Frank and Reaper without Holy Water, those battles are brutally difficult, so I see no reason not to spam on the water. I feel no shame. I never get any good drops from Drac either. He's holding out on me.

 

I believe Stage 37 is the entry hall on the third loop. (Drac's room is Stage 18, I believe, so 2 loops = 36 +1 level for the entry hall on loop 3).

 

Honestly, I get bored farming hearts before Drac's room and just go in with the 11 you get and hope for the best. Maybe that's why I'm having so much trouble. Lots to play with tonight!

[Austin]

Yeah, I always grind out hearts at the end at least a little bit (25 - 30 is safe enough). No sense in not doing it if you want to feel confident in defeating drac on your first try.

[toptenmaterial]

Answer me this guys, is the third loop harder than the second, so forth and so on?

[StanJr]

I'm not sure. I feel like the second loop just repeats, but I could very easily be wrong about that. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you soon...

[toptenmaterial]

I'm not sure. I feel like the second loop just repeats, but I could very easily be wrong about that. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you soon...

I am genuinely curious. I'm also wondering what the cavern level is like! I'm gonna check out Austin's vid again, I think he may have included the second and a bit of the third if I'm not mistaken.

[Austin]

No, it's just the second loop over again. I originally thought it got harder, but apparently it doesn't. Loop 2 is still pretty tough.

[toptenmaterial]

No, it's just the second loop over again. I originally thought it got harder, but apparently it doesn't. Loop 2 is still pretty tough.

Yeah I took a crack at it this morning and got slaughtered. I think it'll be a while.

[StanJr]

I am so annoyed with myself. The minute I tried the Holy Water on Drac's second form, I remembered doing it previously. I also remembered how easy this made it. Toss the water at his feet, whip his head a couple of times, repeat. Slash the occasional fire ball, duck to get him to jump over you if needed. Otherwise, water and whip. Took all of one try. I honestly have far more trouble with the first form.

 

And, yeah I had forgotten how brutally difficult the second loop is. You take full damage (4 blocks) for nearly every kind of hit and there are bats and medusas at every turn. I managed to get to the courtyard, just before the Mummy room, but man, I was flagging fast. Luckily now that I recall the easier way to defeat Drac, I expect to get more practice on the second loop. It doesn't need to get any harder. Not sure how it could, unless all the regular bats got replaced with the big bats and then added flea men to every level. That would suck.

 

Hooray for Castlevania! Now if I can just get to Drac on CV3!!

 

[mbd30]

 

 

 

[StanJr]

Stage 99+, very impressive. I imagine once you master the second loop you can play indefinitely. Fascinating to watch someone else play this game so differently than I do.

 

Is this your vid?

[toptenmaterial]

I tried for a no death run just now. I always bite it at the giants bats, usually twice. I'm curious, have you guys beaten Ninja Gaiden? That's a game I've never gotten far in. Seems tougher than CV, though I could be mistaken.

[StanJr]

Yeah, Ninja Gaiden is a great game, and brutally hard at later levels, but, just like getting to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice, and you can take it down. Luckily the levels are pretty short. Lots of memorizing where to jump and which secondary weapons are useful in a given scenario. I haven't beaten Ninja Gaiden III yet, but I get close.