In this entry, we make it into the castle. It's not gonna get any easier.
Stage 4
The green platforms are just like the wooden platforms in Stage 1; if you jump on them, they will spin around and send you downwards. If you have to deal with multiple green platforms at once, you'll have to keep jumping as soon as you land to ensure you don't get sent plummeting to your doom.
New enemies include enemies that come out of walls when you get too close as well as skeletons that hang upside down from walls and ceilings.
The mini-boss here is a giant skull that tries to jump on you and touch you with its tongue. When you hit it, debris falls from the ceiling. You want to get one hit in, then move, and keep doing that with each successful hit. If you have the Cross (especially with the triple shot), you can get some hits in and concentrate more on striking the debris away with your whip.
In the next section, strike upwards at the hook and hold on until the room slowly stops rotating. When you have floor to stand on again, stand there and strike at or avoid the flying medusa heads. If any manage to move past you, don't focus on them; instead, focus on the next one coming at you. When the room starts moving again, whip onto the hook and swing onto the floor that materializes when it is done appearing. Head to the left. You're done with this section.
In the next section, you have a cylindrical background that slowly rotates back and forth. Some of the doorways have pink blobs blocking them, and if those blobs are above you when you get close, they burst into pieces and skeletons will drop down to block your path. The floor does fall down as you progress, but it only falls after you move a certain distance forward, so you're not exactly racing against the clock here.
In the final section, you'll see moving walls that continuously move up. You'll eventually see the same ones over and over again, and you'll eventually see a pattern and a way to move past them all. It is possible to be crushed between the ceiling and the moving platforms, so you'll need to be fast as well as careful. Also, watch for the purple spikes; they're instant death, as always.
The stage also loops vertically, so if you keep going up, you'll eventually be back where you started. When you see the purple spiked ceilings that come down when you get close. If you do, stand near the columns as they drop down, then move forward as soon as they're out of your way; otherwise, you're going to die no matter what.
When you see the blocks that move upwards rather quickly, wait for them to be completely out of your way, then move to the right and keep going. Do not stop, otherwise, you will die.
The boss here is a giant golem. Keep your distance and strike with your whip. As you strike, blocks will fall from the top of the screen - which you'll want to avoid or strike at - and the boss gets smaller. The boss will also throw rocks at you, and you'll want to stay away from those, as well. Having a sub-weapon works here, since you can focus on everything else as it does a little bit of damage.
Stage 5
You'll start seeing harpies that drop flea men in this stage. Take out the harpies before they drop their flea men; otherwise, you'll have to deal with the flea men, which will jump around everywhere and make themselves harder to hit.
The biggest enemy here is the timer. You don't have a lot of time to get through this stage, so you'd better get a move on if you want to get through this place with one life.
When you make it to the second section, it won't be long until you reach the castle. You'll meet a new enemy here: a skeleton with a whip. Keep your distance, as these guys have as much range as you do.
At the castle, you'll mostly see bats as you make your way up the stairs. By the way, the statues of the women are bare-breasted in the Japanese version; they were covered up when the game came to the West.
Stage 6
The dog at the beginning will get back up and go after you after being struck if you leave it on-screen long enough.
The zombies in yellow will continue to approach you if you don't keep moving.
The Ax Armors will throw axes. They can throw their axes high or low, and they can return to the Ax Armor like boomerangs. They take four hits to kill, and you can also destroy their axes with your whip.
The second section has giant swinging chandeliers in all their Mode 7 glory. Get on the gray slabs at the top, as those act as platforms, and you want to jump from platform to platform when the chandeliers are swinging to the right. Don't forget that you can change the direction of your jump in mid-air unlike other Castlevania games.
The third section starts with much smaller, non-Mode 7 chandeliers that fall from the ceiling when you get too close. After the second one, strike at the floor tiles in mid-air with your whip. You'll find a hidden staircase that leads to a ton of hearts and money as well as a full health power-up and lets you choose every sub-weapon in the game except for the stopwatch. There is also an enemy here that isn't seen anywhere else: an old man and his dog. They don't hurt you, and you can strike both of them, but if one is hurt, the other one disappears with them. If you strike the dog, the old man cries before both of them disappear. You can return to the main level by going back up the stairs, but once you do, you won't be able to return.
The women in the orange dresses fly around you in a circle when you approach them; take them out with the whip as soon as possible.
The flashing balls bounce off the screen at 45-degree angles and stay on-screen until you destroy them.
The men in white will quickly advance towards you, but they can be destroyed with the whip rather easily. They also teleport back to where you are when they reach the end of the screen and come at you again, be ready to hit them when they teleport after running under you.
The gray platforms with the spikes at the bottom are like the green ones from Stage 4; however, there are instant-death spikes on one side which will kill you regardless of whether they are up or down. Better make your jumps count!
The next section has spike pits you'll have to cross over. There are some blocks that will crack and eventually break when you stand on them for long enough, so you'll want to be careful as you jump over the pits on instant death spikes.
The shaking coffins will chase you from behind when you walk past them, but if you jump clear over them, they won't sense you. If they do chase after you, turn around and hit them with your whip.
The red skeletons are called Blood Skeletons. Unlike other skeletons, they pull themselves together after you make them fall apart with your attacks. Don't stick around for too long.
You can avoid the hands that come out of the background by duck-walking under them. If they do nab you, the nearby flickering skeleton will become corporeal and try to strike you; thankfully, you can strike first with your whip.
To get past the roulette of coffins, just strike them all with your whip. The tables will chase after you when you pass by; if you have any sub-weapons, you can destroy the tables before then. The dancing couples will come out from the bottom of the screen and fly around as long as they are on the screen; take them out as soon as you see them before continuing on.
Strike the wall at the end of the sixth section to get a 1-Up.
The boss here is Fred Ascare and Paula Abghoul (Those are their official canon names; I'm not kidding.) Stay away from them as they move around the room and watch out for the swords that they send at you. Having the cross works wonders, as you can get a few hits on them and do a ton of damage. It won't be long before you complete this stage.
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