Section I: Version History

V1.0 (First Release...contained Sections I-V, VII, and VIII)

V1.01 (SMALL rephrasings; also "Unified" the passwords into
one style)

V1.1 (9/6/99) (Added Section VI; Removed the notice about
the different password styles [Which I should've done in 1.01]; Added 2 new
urls; removed entirely my 1.0 wordings that got changed in 1.01; Changed the
Version History some [Besides the obvious]; Fixed some typos; VERY slightly
modified the Dracula Strategy; Modified the Legal Stuff a bit.)

V1.11 (10/10/99) (Look! Another URL! That makes 6!)

1.2 (11/25/99) (Added an alternate strategy for Death; finally decided to
put an update policy in for this guide only; check the Legal Stuff)

Section II: Absolute Game Basics
For those who lack the instruction manual to the game, I've included some
basic instruction about the game. Note that I don't use button names
because those can be customized in the options screen. Also note that this
only applies to the actual SNES game...emulator users will have to go
somewhere else for their directions. Sorry.

You have your basic jump, whip & special item buttons, which can be combined
(E.G. Jump & Whip), besides the control pad which moves you. In addition, if
you hold the whip button for an extended period of time, the whip will go
limp and you can swing it around with the control pad. You can also grab
ahold of gold rings in the background with your whip, and swing using the
control pad (Release the whip button to let go). You can snap the whip in
any one of 8 directions by pressing that direction and whipping. You can
jump onto stairs by hold up as you would be about to fall through them.
Finally, you jump the same height by just TAPPING the jump button as you do
by holding it. Holding the jump button after you land will cause you to
stick to the floor like glue until you decide to let go of the jump button.

Section III: Power-ups....Costs and Functions
This sections highlights the Power-Ups and their costs and functions. Syntax
is: Power-Up (Cost; Appearence)- Description of item. (NOTE: Most of the
descriptions were taken from the Super Castlevania IV instruction manual,
with some add-ons by me. These quoted sections are in quotation marks,
complying with copyright law [And my MLA documentation guide]..it's tedious,
but i'm not taking any chances.)

Stopwatch (5 hearts; looks like a stopwatch)- "Stops most enemy action" for
approximately 5 game seconds (Slightly slower than real seconds).

Dagger (1 heart; looks like a dagger)- Flies in a straight line until it
hits something. Quick but not powerful.

Axe (1 heart; looks like an axe)- "Slow but powerful, it attacks in an arc."

Fire Bomb (Holy Water) (1 heart; looks like a bottle of blue liquid)- Short
range, but leaves a flame that destroys anything it touches.

Boomerang (1 heart; looks like an x)- "Goes across screen and returns to your
hand". Best weapon in the game in my opinion.

Small Heart (-; looks like a small heart)- Adds one to your heart total.

Large Heart (-; looks like a large heart)- Adds five to your heart total.

Nameless (I call it a rosary because that's essentially what it looks like)
(-; looks like a rosary)- "Destroys all enemies on screen"

Invisibility Potion (-; looks like an orange jar)- "Renders you safe from
harm for a few seconds"- 6 game seconds to be exact.

Morning Star (-; looks like a metal snake wrapped around a dagger)-
"Increases the power of the Whip in 2 levels: short chain for 1st level boost,
longer chain for second level boost"

Money Bag (-; looks like a money bag)- Awards either 100, 300, 500, or 700
points.

Double Shot (-; looks like a II on a silver background)- "Allows use of
throwing weapon twice in a row"

Triple Shot (-; looks like a III on a bronze background)- "Allows use of
throwing weapon three times in a row"

Small Pork Chop (-; looks like a small piece of meat)- Restores 5 units of
your energy bar

Large Pork Chop (-; looks like a large piece of meat)- Restores 10 units of
your energy bar..usually found in walls

Magic Crystal (-; Looks like a red ball)- You grab this after beating a boss
(Except Medusa, Puweyxil, and the 3 Bosses before Dracula) to end a level

1up (-; Looks like the letters and number "1up")- "Adds a bonus life"...
usually found in walls

Section IV: Boss Strategies
This section details the best strategies to use in defeating each boss (Or
at least the ones I use :P ). The best weapon to use is listed in parantheses
next to the bosses name.

Rowdain (None)- A skeleton on a skeletal horse, this boss walks back and
forth, occasionally shooting fireballs. Just whip him from the platform on
the left. After you take out 7 points of his energy, The rider dismounts from
his horse and jumps up, trying to stab you from above. Get off the platform
and just whip him to death. Careful, however- he fakes his death with 1
energy point left.

Medusa (Boomerang)- She, too, goes back and forth, but she has several
attacks. Her beams from her eyes can turn you to stone, and she also tosses
snakes that land behind you and run toward you. Crouch, throw a boomerang at
her and whip her, turning to whip any snakes that get behind you (while still
crouched). Throw another boomerang when the first one returns, and continue
whipping her and the snakes until victory is yours.

Orphic Vipers (Axe)- The Orphic Vipers stay on the left of the screen, bodies
out of view. They slither around the left half of the screen. Periodically
they stop to attack- one spits 3 fireballs which slowly spread out, the other
shoots a stream of flame. Axes from either of the top 2 platforms--the top
one is safer, but the middle will give more hits--will yield the best results
here, especially when coupled with whipping.

Puweyxil (Skull) (None)- He sticks his tongue out, breathes poison gas, and
(rarely) tries to land on you. In addition, when you hit him, chunks from the
ceiling fall on you. Just get behind the bottom left platform, whip him, and
then whip the parts of the ceiling which are about to fall on you. Also whip
whatever poison clouds he spits at you. You'll take some hits, but you'll
outlast him.

Koranot (Axe)- A giant rock monster that gets gradually smaller as you hit
him. His attacks include throwing rocks at you, and making rocks fall from
the ceiling (Which CANNOT be destroyed, unlike those in the Puweyxil battle).
Stay on the left edge of the screen and whip and axe him when he comes near.
Also throw axes when he jumps in the air (When you whip him). He gets quicker
as he gets smaller but he rarely (I think never) goes to the extreme edges
of the screen. Just dodge the rocks he throws at you and those that fall from
the ceiling and continue attacking and you'll beat him
(Again, you'll probably take some hits..it's okay).

The Dancing Spectres: Paula Abghoul and Fred Askare (None)- The Dancing
Spectres enter from the right side of the screen and follow you around,
periodically stopping to A. Throw 3 javelins, and B. Try to stab you. The
best strategy to use is a sideways-figure-8. As they enter, whip them a few
times, and climb the left platforms, jumping down when you get to the top.
As they follow, whip them when you can, then climb up the RIGHT platforms,
jump down, and whip them. Whip them when they stop to use the aforementioned
attacks as well. Repeat until they die.

Sir Grakul (None)- Sir Grakul lumbers around the floor, carrying an axe.
He either A.Throws the axe, or B.Slams it on the ground, causing fire to
crawl across the floor. Stay on the left elevation and duck and whip him from
there, jumping to avold the flames from the Axe-Slam (Your timing has to be
PERFECT)...it's very unlikely you'll be able to avoid when he throws the axe
at you, but he only does that very rarely. When you get him down to 4 points
of energy, he loses the axe and begins trying to hack at you with a sword.
As long as you're crouched on the left elevation he shouldn't be able to hit
you. Just whip the last few energy points out of him, and move on.

The Monster (Dagger)- He takes a step, then throws a bottle of Holy Water.
The Water will do one of 3 things depending on its color.
If the Water is white, a clone of the Monster will appear after it hits the
ground. This clone is semi-transparent and can be defeated in a few hits.
If the Water is red, it will shoot flames along the ground upon landing.
If the Water is green, it will break into 5 fireballs in mid-air. These
fireballs will spread out as they come closer to the floor.
Once again, stand on the left platform and whip him. If he's too far away,
throw daggers at him until he's within whipping range. When he gets close,
jump over him and climb onto the right platform. Do the same thing that you
did while on the left platform. Repeat as necessary.

Zapf Bat (Boomerang)- The Zapf Bat is made out of coins. He drops scrap as he
flies around (Which doesn't hurt you), as well as when you hit him (Which
DOES hurt you). He also swoops down at you occasionally. Stay underneath him,
whipping straight up. Run away when he stops moving, as he will try to swoop
down on you. When he's down to 7 points of energy, he will split into 3
smaller bats. These bats drop coins, which hurt you, besides still dropping
scrap. The Boomerang comes in handy here, as the bats follow you around, and
if you can out-run them, you can throw a Boomerang and hit multiple bats at
once. Keep this up and you'll win.

Akmodan II (The Mummy) (None)- Akmodan II will materialize, start walking,
and shoot either mummy wrappings or fireballs. Either way, stand on the lower
left platform and whip diagonally up and right at him. What if he materializes
on that platform, you ask? Stand right on the left edge of the center
platform, crouch, and let the whip go limp. Then repeatedly hit left on the
control pad so the whip swings out at him. It should hit enough times to take
out another point or 2 of his energy. Repeat until you win.

Slogra (None)- Slogra uses a spear which he tries to impale you with. This
spear shoots fireballs which explode after travelling a short distance, and
this explosion hurts you if you happen to be under it. When Slogra first
drops down, crouch just to the right of the left platform, and whip him. He
will fly up into the air and try to land on you. Get as far to the right
without actually jumping up onto the right platform, and crouch just as
Slogra is about to hit the ground. Turn and face him (Still crouching), and
once he begins flashing (He can't be hurt while he's green), whip him again.
Then go back to near the left platform, and repeat the process (Make sure to
duck!). After you take out half his energy, he loses the spear. He then tries
to jab you with his nose. Repeat the strategy outlined above, except don't
crouch, and you may have to jump over the platforms in order to avoid his
jabs.

Gaibon (None)- Gaibon enters from the left side of the screen (Don't be
fooled by his first fly-through) and flies around. He will either A. Shoot
streams of fire, or B. Drop to the floor, sending spikes from the ceiling
with him, and shoot 3 fireballs. In either case, pursue him mercilessly,
jumping and whipping him when you can. When he pauses in mid-air, get away,
as he will attempt attack B. When you take out half his energy, he fakes his
death, then turns red. This time, when he stops, he'll shoot out 3 sets of 3
spreading fireballs. Just stay on the left platform and whip him when he gets
close. He shouldn't be able to hit you from there.

Death (None)- After his rather cool entrance, he swoops around the top of the
screen, throwing little sickles at you. At times, when he's near the right
side of the screen, he will A. Swoop down on you, or B. Drop to the floor,
start attempting to suck you in, and throw out his scythe, having it go
across the screen twice before returning to him. It's best to take a
defensive strategy with the Reaper, as he throws his sickles at a set,
rhythmic time. To start, go to the left of the left platform and whip in his
general direction (The purpose being to deflect any sickles that may be
coming your way). He will eventually fly straight over you, at which point
you should whip him for all you're worth. Soon, he'll start flying around the
screen. Stay at a 45 degree diagonal angle from him, and when he's about to
throw a sickle, jump up and whip at him, deflecting the sickle and hitting
Death at the same time. Also whip him when he tries to swoop down on you
(Stay near the middle of the screen), and when he tries to suck you in
(Remember to keep trying to get away and to jump over the scythe though).

(UPDATE: Charizard80@webtv.net sent me this alternate strategy for Death:
AND I QUOTE...
  "As Death is appearing, go to the far right corner of the room. Then
face left and twirl your whip by holding Y. This should cancel out his
scythes. When he stops above you, move away. If he dives, smack him one,
or two, maybe three. If he sucks you toward him and throws his scythe,
run from him and jump over the scythe. As he flies back up, crouch, and
smack him and the scythe he throws. Before he begins to suck, or if you
get far enough from him, turn around and hit him once. Then move back to
the corner, that is, after he flies away, and twirl your whip again.
With luck and skill, you'll outlast him."
Thanks!)

Before I get to the Dracula Strategy, I'm not sure there's anyone who DOESN'T
know about this trick, but I'll print it here anyway, just in case.
Before climbing the stairs to face Dracula, jump off the edge to the left.
Invisible platform! Jump off to the left again. Another invisible platform!
Go to the left edge of the screen, You will get (If you don't have them
already): Second level Chain Whip, Boomerang, 99 Hearts, Triple Shot, and
full health (Not in that order). Now climb some invisible stairs (Hold up and
right until you get to the top) back to the first invisible platform, and
from there jump back to the visible platform. Now climb the stairs to face....

Dracula (Boomerang)- Many attacks to deal with here. For the first combat
phase, Dracula appears and disappears randomly around the screen. Each
time he appears, he throws a fireball that does one of 3 things: Turns into
2 smaller fireballs (If you whip it), turns into 3 smaller fireballs that fly
upward (If you try to jump over it without doing anything), or turns into 4
smaller fireballs (I'm honestly not sure what causes this, it may be
Boomeranging the fireball. If anyone has any info on this, please E-Mail me
and I'll give you credit for whatever you say). Get near Dracula, whip the
fireball, then jump over the fireball and whip Dracula's head (Did I mention
you can only take off his energy with head shots?). I'm aware that many
guides will say Boomerang his head, but the whip works fine. In addition, if
you're good enough, you can sometimes jump & whip his head BEFORE he throws
the fireball. You have to whip him just about when he comes into view though.
After you take off 4 Energy Points, he will stop throwing fireballs and throw
an orb that flies around the screen. If you whip the orb, it will shoot small
fireballs around the screen before leaving a Small Pork Chop. In any event,
once Dracula gets to this stage, whip him mercilessly by diagonally whipping
at his head. After losing another Energy Point, we enter the second combat
phase. He still appears and disappears, but this time, when he appears, he
sends up 2 columns of flame, which disappear after a short time. Above them,
2 flames that follow you around will appear. He will recall these flames
every time you destroy them, but do it anyway. The Boomerang comes in handy
for destroying these flames. Keep them away from you, whether by destroying
them or whatever, and continue diagonally whipping at Drac's head. When you
get him down to 6 energy points, he'll repeat the orb attack. Knock off 1
more point, and enter the third (And final) phase of combat. After those
little lightning bolts (Which can't hurt you, by the way) shoot around the
screen, Dracula will continue the appearing/disappearing act, but this time
you'll see 4 lightning orbs each time he appears (Also notice that his face
looks a little different too. It doesn't affect the game any, but I'll
mention it before anyone else does). These will rain columns of lightning
down on you. Just stay between the orbs, make sure Drac didn't appear on top
of you, and jump and Boomerang him until he dies. Look! The ending! :)

Section V: Passwords
Can't get past a certain area of the game? Try these passwords! For all
passwords, leave the name space blank
W= Holy Water, H=Heart, and A=Axe. Blank Space=just that :)
Level 6          Level 8         Level B          Dracula
---------       ---------        ---------        ---------
| | | | |       | | | | |        | | | |A|        | | | |W|
---------       ---------        ---------        ---------
|W|W| | |       |W|W| | |        |W| | | |        |W|W| | |
---------       ---------        ---------        ---------
| |W| |A|       | |W| |W|        | | | |H|        | |W| | |
---------       ---------        ---------        ---------
|W|A| | |       |W|W| | |        |H|H| | |        | |H|A| |
---------       ---------        ---------        ---------

In addition, here are the complete set of Second Quest passwords. Again,
leave the name space blank. Thanks to Ken Gagne for providing me these.
(NOTE: Boss Strategies don't change in the Second Quest :P )

Stage 1       Stage 2      Stage 3      Stage 4
---------     ---------    ---------    ---------
|H|A| |W|     | |A| | |    | |A| |A|    | |A| |W|
---------     ---------    ---------    ---------
|A| | |H|     |W| | | |    |W| | | |    |W|W| | |
---------     ---------    ---------    ---------
| |A| | |     | |A| | |    | |A| | |    | |H| |A|
---------     ---------    ---------    ---------
| |H| | |     |W| | | |    |H| | | |    | | | | |
---------     ---------    ---------    ---------
 
Stage 5       Stage 6        Stage 7        Stage 8
---------     ---------      ---------      ---------
| |A| | |     | |A| | |      | |A| |H|      | |A| | |
---------     ---------      ---------      ---------
|W| | | |     |W|W| | |      |W|H| | |      |W|W| | |
---------     ---------      ---------      ---------
| |A| |A|     | |H| |A|      | | | |W|      | |H| |W|
---------     ---------      ---------      ---------
|W|A| | |     |W|A| | |      | |A| | |      |W|W| | |
---------     ---------      ---------      ---------
 
Stage 9         Stage A        Stage B
---------       ---------      ---------
| |A| |A|       | |A| | |      | |A| |A|
---------       ---------      ---------
|W|W| | |       |W|H| | |      |W| | | |
---------       ---------      ---------
| |H| |W|       | | | |H|      | |A| |H|
---------       ---------      ---------
|H|W| | |       |A|H| | |      |H|H| | |
---------       ---------      ---------

Section VI: Other Difficult Areas
I got an E-Mail asking for help with Level 3-2. So here's a walkthrough of
the entire level. (NOTE: It is assumed that you grab all candles unless I say
otherwise. Also, it is assumed that any enemy not mentioned is killed with
your whip.
To start, go right across the bridge. Jump up to the next platforms,
including the one with the fuzzy thing on it (Jump onto the platform just
after it hits the top-right corner and is going left). From there, kill the
Dragon Heads with your boomerang. Continue to the left, kill the 2 plant
things, then go to the right. Kill the Dragon Heads and proceed. Whip the
plant thing and continue. Cross the gap by latching onto the ring with your
whip and swinging over, and jump onto the next platform like you did the one
with the earlier fuzz thing. Go left, kill the plant, get the candles, and
proceed right. Go until you can see the Dragon Heads and boomerang them to
death. Go to the right some more, and diagonally whip the plant. Swing across
the next 2 platforms using the method described earlier. Kill the 2 plants
and whip straight up to get the candles above them. Go right, again swinging
across by the ring. Jump onto the next platform just as the fuzzy thing goes
to the bottom, then jump right again (Ignore the candle you pass along the
way). Go left, and then to the right, watching out for the fuzzy thing on a
platform above you. Jump up and kill the snakes. Jump up onto the next few
platforms, watching out for the fuzzy thing one more time. Now go RIGHT.
IGNORE the ring on the left, just hop up the last few platforms on the right,
finally going onto the gold one and going right to finish the stage. (NOTE:
I messed this up somewhere, because the notes I took on the stage were crap.
Because of this, you may or may not see what i described here [It should only
happen in one place though, where I put the stuff about whipping the candles
above the plants. Sorry :) ])
 

Section VII: This Guide's Future
Well who knows really. If you have problems with a certain area of the game,
feel free to E-Mail me about it. If you have alternate boss-strategies
(Or just noticed a typo :P), E-Mail me for those too. Until next time...
-Marc

Section VIII: Legal Stuff
This guide is copyrighted by me, however,
you can do pretty much whatever you want with it except A.Say you wrote it,
B.Copy parts of it word for word without putting it (The quoted parts) in
quotation marks (Yes THAT IS PLAGIARISM!) and naming me as a source, and C.
Sell it for money (If I wanted to do that I'd be finding a publisher rather
than posting it to all these web sites :P). Also please ask for permission
before posting it to your web site or whatever. Lastly, I reserve the right
to ask that this document be removed from your website (But that won't happen
under ordinary circumstances). Thank you.
Also, I've decided that I will only send future updates to this guide to two
sites: www.gamefaqs.com and vgstrategies.about.com. It will be YOUR
responsibility to update from these sites, and to make sure you're reading
the Current Version of the guide before E-mailing me with a problem.

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