Castlevania II is, in many ways, the quintessential NES game. There's a large
game world but a lot of it looks exactly the same. The hints you get are
beyond cryptic (not because it was meant that way but because Konami's
translators weren't very good), and the things you need to do seem to defy
logic. Despite all this, it's a great game, and few give you the feeling of
"being there" as this one does.
Simon Belmont, after his exploits in Castlevania, has had little free time on
his hands. As it turns out Dracula has lain upon him a most un-bodacious curse
(man, I've got my hands on the current lingo) and the only way to undo this
curse is to - get this - retrieve all of Dracula's body parts and go back to
his castle and whip the crap out of him again...
You go through five whips in the game. In order of power, they are the Leather
Whip, the Thorn Whip, the Chain Whip, the Morning Star, and the Flame Whip.
All except the Flame Whip are bought from townspeople in your travels.
The subscreen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"T" is the amount of time (in game time, not real time) this quest has
taken. The ending you get depends on how much time you take to complete the
game. "E" is your experience, and "L" is your experience level. More
experience gives you a longer life bar. You don't need to worry at all about
raising your experience in this game; you gain levels as a matter of course.
Hearts are used by special weapons, and as currency with the towns you run
into. Enemies leave hearts when you whip 'em.
Below these readings, the items you have are shown. Here are the items you
can have:
Dracula's body parts - You need to find the Rib, Heart, Eye, Nail, and Ring
of Dracula. When the Rib is selected, Simon has a shield to block fireballs
with..
Crystal - Simon uses these crystals in various parts of the game to discover
secret areas and so on. Comes in White, Blue and Red colors.
Dagger - Your typical throwing weapon.
Silver Knife - More powerful but costs a heart per throw.
Gold Knife - Way more powerful, but costs 2 hearts per throw.
Holy Water - Damages enemies, but most useful for breaking certain blocks.
Diamond - Flies around the screen, ripping right through enemies; costs a
heart.
Flame - Throw a column of flame up, killing anything that runs into it; costs
a heart.
Oak Stake - used to retrieve parts of Dracula's body in mansions.
Laurels - Gives you temporary invincibility, best for crossing swamps.
Garlic - Does weaken enemies, but mostly used in certain situations only.
Silk Bag - Lets you carry more stuff.
Magic Cross - Needed in order to access Dracula's castle at the end of the
game.
Before we start, a few things to note. In this game, day changes to night
and back to day (Simon is evidently so pumped up about his quest that he
doesn't sleep). In night, enemies become greater, and everyone in town is
replaced by evil zombies. You also can't go into shops at night.
In every town is a church where you can refill your life, and several shops.
With shops beyond Jova, you may find when you go through the door that there's
just an empty room waiting for you. Use your Holy Water to break blocks,
either on the middle of the floor or the far right wall, to access the shop-
keeper.
Anyway:
Part 1 - getting started
You begin the game alone in the town of Jova. The first thing to do is find
the hooded lady and buy the White Crystal from her for 50 hearts (your entire
opening heart balance). Through the door nearby the lady is the place to buy
Holy Water. That costs another 50 hearts, so let's leave town to the east and
get fighting...
After the beginning stages, you really don't need to worry much about money
(unless you use a lot of special weapons, which i don't). The best place to
make easy money is in towns at night, which are filled with easy-to-whip
zombies that you can make reappear again and again by walking left and right
nearby a place where zombies usually respawn (usually near the town church
for some reason). Since there's also the Thorn Whip available in Jova for
100 hearts, you might as well whip zombies until you attain 150 hearts (oddly
enough, the maximum number of hearts you can have is 255, even though there's
a thousands digit in the heart readout..)
Once you've gotten the Holy Water and Thorn Whip, head out of town to the
east (you might want to wait until daytime before venturing). Go over the
South Bridge, killing off fishmen. The next screen is the Veros Woods; take
the high road then on the screen after that, go down the stairway and keep
going east. You'll reach the town of Veros; here you can buy the Dagger (50
hearts) and the Chain Whip (150 hearts; head east of town to "whip up" the
necessary funds). Leave town to the West, go back up the stairs, and head
East for your first mansion.
Part 2 - Berkeley Mansion
When you first enter the mansion, you're faced with a seemingly impossible to
cross body of water. Select the White Crystal in your inventory to make a
secret moving platform appear.
Ride the platform up to the landing and jump off to the right. Kill the
knight with daggers or whatever and continue right. Keep in mind that you'll
need 50 hearts to buy an Oak Stake for the end of the level.
After the first stairs, go all the way to the left and jump up the platforms,
then head right. Stop at the end of the landing; the 2 blocks on the ledge
above yours are fake, so jump across them. When you can't go any farther
right, go down 2 floors and head left. Take the next staircase down, head
left and break the wall at the end with Holy Water, revealing a clue book.
Go back left, up 2 flights and to the left. Jump the spikes and buy the Oak
Stake from the lady.
Go left again, down 3 stairs. Head right at the bottom (note that the blocks
on the 2nd pillar are fake; jump over 'em!). Up one more stair, you'll come
to the end. Break the crystal ball thingy with the Oak Stake to receive
Dracula's Rib. Equip it if you like to use it as a shield. Now, to get out of
the mansion, the fastest way is to go back to the last fake blocks and fall
through 'em, then go left to the first stairs.
Part 3 - The east lands
Leave and head right, through the Denis Woods to Dabi's Path. Continue right,
staying on the top. On the next screen go to the bottom path, then break the
two blocks on the left-hand wall to get the Sacred Flame. Get that and keep on
going right, to the Ajiba Woods and spiders! One more screen to the right is
the town of Ajiba.
In Ajiba is a lady selling laurels; I'd recommend buying them twice (giving
your four of them). Down another door is a lady selling Garlic; buy one of
those.
Leave to the right, entering the graveyard. Throw some Garlic (select it, then
press Up+B) and a mysterious lady will appear. Talk to her to get the Silver
Knife. Back in town, find the soldier-looking dude (he looks different from
everyone else). Talk to him and he'll exchange your White Crystal for a Blue
one.
To get to the next mansion. head left and when you get to the long stairway
leading down, use it. Head right at the bottom, past the moving platforms,
until you hit a large body of water. Select the Blue Crystal and kneel for
about five seconds; the path to Lauber Mansion will be revealed for you.
Part 4 - Lauber Mansion
Head right along the bottom path. You'll reach a point where you think you're
blocked by a one-block-wide wall, but the wall is completely fake; jump right
into it. Keep going right, watching out for the moving blocks that can knock
you off the platform. Keep on going until you get to the Oak Stake lady.
Head back left and go up 3 floors. Go right and up one more stairway. Now go
back left and jump up the L-shaped blocks, then once you reach the top, head
right and down the stairs. Go left and down, and finally go right, to the
crystal ball type room. You'll get Dracula's Heart.
Part 5 - The west lands
Leave the mansion and go left, retracing your path through Jova and beyond.
You'll enter Belasco Marsh on the west side of Jova; use one of your Laurels
to get through, equipping the Rib to shield against fireballs. Keep going
until you reach the rather strange boatman, and right him across the Dead
River. Keep on going left, pass through the town of Aldora (where you can get
Laurels and Garlic and get healed) and go to the stairways leading down.
There are a few fake floors down here; use your Holy Water to test the blocks.
If the Water goes right through some blocks, then they're fake. When you get
to the cemetary, go left until you hit a dead end. Use Garlic again and
another lady will appear; this time she'll give you the Silk Bag.
Retrace your steps, using a Laurel to get through the lava. Head up the
stairs and left to get to the town of Andole. Here you can get the Morning
Star for 200 hearts (if you need money, go left out of town and kill mummies
which can give you a full heart). Also, there's another knight dude in Andole
who will exchange your Blue Crystal for a Red one.
Head back to the right, to the Dead River. Cross via the boatman again, then
select Dracula's Heart in your inventory. Talk to the boatman again, and
he'll take you to a mansion!
Part 6 - Brahm's Mansion
Jump the spikes and head for the stairs to the right. Climb 3 flights and
head left where you need to climb two more flights. Head right again, and
make your way down at the ledge and down the next set of stairs. Jump the
spikes, use Holy Water to break the blocks at the end and get another book.
Head right and get an Oak Stake. After that, go straight down until you hit
bottom, then head right. To the right is the Grim Reaper (not so animated
these days, is he) - if you want, you can just not fight him and go to the
right to get Dracula's Eyeball, but.. To kill the Reaper, walk just inside
the room and start jumping and whipping him. Avoid the scythes and keep on
whipping; he'll die before you do. He leaves the Gold Knife upon dying.
Leave the mansion.
Part 7 - More west lands
Go left and cross the river by jumping from block to block. Try to time your
jumps so that the block you're on is at the top of the cycle; that way you'll
do a super-long jump which is what's necessary for a few of the blocks. Once
past, head left for a little while. Eventually you'll come to another lady;
this one will give you the Diamond.
Now head right for a while, back to the boatman (don't forget to deselect the
Heart if you haven't) and cross the river. Head left, through Aldora and
Andole and into the Jam Wasteland (picking up some Laurels at Andole first).
Keep on going left until you hit a solid rock wall. Select your Crystal and
kneel for a few seconds; a tornado will come and take you across the rock
wall, right to Bodley Mansion. Don't enter the mansion yet; head left, to
another big body of water which you kneel before holding the Crystal to
reveal the path.
Now on Uta's Path, keep going left and up. You'll need to break some blocks
in your way; eventually you'll find a place where a lady is captive in a box
of blocks. The right wall in that box is breakable with Holy Water; talk to
her to get the Flame Whip. Now go back to the mansion.
Part 8 - Bodley Mansion
Head right and up the first stairs. Work your way upward, watching out for
some fake blocks before the fourth stairway. Once you reach the top, head
left, then right. There's a tricky jump that will land you in spikes if you
miss, but keep going right. Stay on the upper path, past what seems to be
a dead end (another fake wall).
Now drop down a few landings and use Holy Water to break the blocks at the
right-hand end. Continue to go down until you can't go any farther, then head
right and find the fake wall. Go and buy another Oak Stake.
After that, walk left and fall through the floor, then continue left and down
a floor. Go right to find Dracula's Nail, then go back west and up to get out
of the mansion. You'll come to a place where you can't seem to go any farther,
but if you walk through the edge of the screen, you'll be able to continue
left. Don't bother with the stairs, but take the low path left. You'll be in
a place with spiked ceilings and two sets of blocks. Break the upper set with
Holy Water, then jump and throw the water for the blocks on the other sides
of the gaps. At the end of the passage, there's a fake wall two blocks up.
Jump and continue, out of the mansion.
Part 9 - Even more of the western bit
From Bodley Mansion, go left and find Uta's Path again. This time pass the
Flame Whip location and keep on going left. Jump the moving blocks over the
water and keep on going left until you hit Joma Marsh. Use some Laurels to
go through and you'll reach the final mansion.
Part 10 - Laruba Mansion
Go right and up the first set of stairs, then left and up another stair. Make
your way right and walk through the screen at the end. Now go up to find the
Oak Stake lady, then head up the first stairs. Keep going down until you reach
the bottom. In the next room East you'll find the vampire mask thingie. She's
easy enough to beat; there's an easily-findable safe spot against the
fireballs, then just whip her a lot when she's flying in a circle. Killing her
yields the Magic Cross.
Go to the next room and get Dracula's Ring. Now go back left (ignoring the
mask) Keep going left and get some Laurels from the lady if you want, then
go back, up one floor, and left again. From there it's not too far out of the
mansion.
Part 11 - Near the end (already)
Now you need to go right for a while, all the way past Bodley Mansion and
through town. Go over another bridge (the North Bridge) and then through a
small swamp. Just past this, in the Dora Woods, you'll come to a stairway
leading down. Go through the town of the Other World, then through the
graveyeard. At the West Bridge, use Holy Water to break the blocks at the
beginning, then cross it to your final battle.
Part 12 - Castlevania
The castle is easy enough to go through (there's only one path). What's more,
Dracula is dead simple as well. When he's reformed he'll flash for a little
while; he's completely open to whipping during the period of time. Next, he'll
start tossing crap at you, then split into images and spin around the room.
Before he starts this, use a Laurel and duck down next to the altar; then just
keep the whip and/or Gold Knife going. Again, he'll die way before you do.
OFIT M5QX 1P5S QBQA - Rib, Chain Whip, Blue Crystal
SZMH QXE1 5PXW UESE - plus Heart
TIRH DYDZ 4O5V 81B1 - plus Nail, Flame Whip, Red Crystal
MLIE WUCW VNKU SCBC - plus Ring and Cross
RIG7 NVFX E45V 07BT - all items - go get Dracula
OYZY UQAU R12S SMIA - kill Dracula for second ending
C1DF O26D L1KN SWJK - kill Dracula for third ending
