It's time for the inner sanctums of Dracula's castle...get ready!
Stage A
Welcome to the clock tower.
The gears don't push you around; they move you back and forth, and by standing on them, you can tell which direction they spin. There are other gear platforms that you can walk on the top of, and they will eventually carry you into a pit if you don't jump off.
On the vertical sections, pay attention to where you're going, and watch for where enemies are. If you can, take advantage of enemies ahead of time by fighting them from a distance, even if they're above you.
It is possible to swing back and forth on the hooks in the third section and de-spawn the sword skeleton.
In the second vertical section, stay to the left to take out the Ax Armor on the first moving hook section if you have the Cross, otherwise, stay to the right and get on the platform below the Ax Armor to take the Ax Armor out. From there, head to the right at the top for health. On the second moving hook section, stay to the left to take out the Bone Dragon. If you're forced to use your whip, be very careful.
The boss here is a mummy. Watch where it teleports, and use the "whip wiggle" and your sub-weapons to take out the wrapping it throws at you. Also, whatever you do, don't let this thing corner you and keep as far away as possible.
Stage B
Remember the trick you used to destroy the books and flying Minotaurs in Stage 7? Use it for the headless swordsmen at the beginning.
In the second section, go to the right and don't stop when you get on the bridge. Keep going and get on the stairs to avoid all the bats. If you jump and strike down and to the right while in mid-air, you can get all the hearts from all the candles while crossing the bridge. Just don't stand still or you're a goner.
After this, you'll have to climb up a ton of staircases that fall down as you cross while avoiding a gear that rises up the towers as it moves back and forth. If this gear hits you, it will kill you. If you need to climb up multiple staircases, keep holding Up while moving forwards.
After a certain point, there will be platforms rising up. Be careful as you use these things to go up; there are spiked ceilings that will instantly kill you, especially at the end.
After this, there is a boss rush. The first enemy you face is Slogra. When he comes down and stops flashing, hit him, then move away in the opposite direction immediately. Slogra's attacks are very hard to avoid, and it is not uncommon to lose a bunch of lives to this guy. The Cross is really useful if you have it, as it will allow you to strike Slogra twice as long as you duck down on the voyage back and it also allows you to concentrate more on keeping distance between you and Slogra. Also, for such a hard fight with this guy, it's kinda weird that he was never a boss again after this and became a weak boss/normal enemy starting from Symphony of the Night onward and never becomes such a major threat again until Curse of Darkness. Talk about a burial.
Once you beat Slogra, you'll be able to fully heal up with all the candles if you hit them all. You'll then take on Gaibon, who is known to team up with Slogra on the games. (Sadly, he usually gets the same treatment as Slogra.) Keep your distance, especially when he drops down, so you can avoid his three-way shot. At half health, Slogra turns from blue to red, and he can also shoot fireballs at you from mid-air. Once again, keep your distance at all times while fighting. Eventually, you'll take him down as well.
After that, you can get one more chicken leg and a few hearts before facing Death. Keep all the way to the left and strike him with the whip, so you can strike the scythes he throws at the same time. When he moves all the way to the right and falls down, get close to him for a few hits, then move away when he starts slowly dragging you towards him so you can get away and jump over the scythe when it flies away. If you can get enough distance for a hit or two (which you probably will), hit him, then start moving away before you take contact damage. Eventually, he'll stop dragging you towards him, and his attack will repeat. In this case, stand in the middle, hold Y, then move the D-Pad while holding Y to use the "whip wiggle" to take out all the scythes. From there, he does the "sucking you in" thing while throwing the scythe around in a circle...and you'll know what to do there.
After you beat Death, you'll be able to go up some stairs and face Dracula. Before you take the final stairs, move to the left and jump. You'll land on an invisible platform. Jump to the left again, and go all the way to the left. You'll completely refill your health, get 99 hearts, get the Cross, get the Double Shot and get the Triple Shot. Even if you have all these things, though, this battle can still be difficult. From here, hold Up as you go right to go up some stairs, and when you stop climbing up stairs, tap Right, then jump right to get back to the stairs. Go up, hit the candles for health and hearts (assuming you didn't get the secret stuff), then keep going left to face Dracula. Like past battles, Dracula's weak spot is his head. Also, since you have the Cross and the Triple Shot (assuming you found the secret item stash from earlier), make sure you always have three Crosses in the air at the same level as where Dracula's head will be.
Use the "whip wiggle" to destroy the fireballs at the beginning.
Sometimes, Dracula will spawn two pillars of fire on both sides of himself. Take care not to run into them, and take out the two fire spirits above them as soon as possible, as they will fly around and track you in an attempt to run into you.
When you bring Dracula down to six bars of health, stop hitting him. When that happens, he will start producing small purple energy balls that fly around all over the screen, if you hit them, they shoot bullets all over the screen before turning into chicken legs. Don't strike Dracula until you have full health again.
When Dracula is down to four bars, the room will glow red and purple energy will crackle everywhere. When the music starts again, you'll be on Dracula's second form. Keep throwing those Crosses at Dracula's head, and watch the top of the screen to see where the lighting will strike straight down from above. As long as you have Crosses flying around at the same level as Dracula's head, you'll be able to do some damage and sail to victory and beat one of the greatest Castlevania games in existence. You just beat Super Castlevania IV!
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