Castlevania/Gameplay

Controls

 * : Use the direction pad to control Simon Belmont. Press left or right to make Simon walk in either direction.  Press up or down while standing in front of, or on stairs to make him climb up or down the steps.  Press down while standing on the ground to crouch.  Press up while standing to instruct Simon to use his special weapon when you press B.
 * : Press the A button to make Simon jump. Simon can jump straight up, or he can jump to the left or right by holding the direction pad in either direction when you press A.
 * : Press the B button to direct Simon to attack. Normally, Simon attacks with his whip.  He can whip high while standing, or whip low while crouching.  If you hold up on the direction pad when you press B, Simon will use whatever special weapon is in his possession, assuming he has enough hearts to power the weapon's use.
 * : Press Start to begin a new game, or press it in the middle of the game to pause the action.
 * : Not used.

Simon Belmont
During the life of Simon Belmont, the Belmont name was well known and quite famous, making Simon famous as well. When the Count Dracula once again awoke in 1691 and started terrorizing the people of Transylvania, they sought out Simon, who was promptly on the case. It is up to you to help Simon fulfill the Belmont legacy once again and defeat Dracula.

As a Belmont, Simon has trained long and hard in the use of the whip as his primary method of attack. The Belmont family whip, known as Vampire Killer, is blessed with several holy properties, and charmed with additional unholy magic. As a result, it's strength can change to reflect the heart of its wielder. For example, it can grow in length, change from leather to chain, and become adorned with a morning star. Whatever form it takes, Simon strikes enemies with the Vampire Killer with deadly precision, and enough strength to dispatch zombies and disenchant skeletons. Simon is also quite athletic, and can jump over small gaps with ease. Dracula's castle is full of pits and traps that must be avoided in order for Simon to survive. The ability to jump over dangers at any moment's notice will serve him well. Simon can even use his weapon while in the middle of a jump.

Lastly, Simon has the ability to wield an assortment of secondary weapons, although he can only hold on to the ability to wield one weapon at a time. These secondary weapons include daggers, axes, vials of holy water, cross-shaped boomerangs, and stopwatches. In order to utilize these secondary weapons, Simon must collect hearts that provide him with power. For most weapons, small hearts that appear from candles and other flames provide him with one use, while large hearts gift him with five uses. Only the stopwatch requires five hearts per use. Simon is ordinarily limited to throwing one of these weapons at a time, but if he collects the double shot or triple shot, he will be granted the ability to throw more.

In order to succeed in his mission, Simon must make it all the way through each portion of Castlevania, defeating the five sub-bosses, including Death itself, before reaching the final chamber of Count Dracula. Throughout his mission, Simon's health will be visible at the top of the screen through the vitality meter. Simon will lose a life if this meter is ever reduced to nothing, if the stage timer runs out, or if he falls in a pit, water, or on spikes. Simon will gain extra lives when your score reaches 30,000 and again at 80,000 and every 50,000 points thereafter. If Simon loses all of his lives, you will be permitted to continue, but it will be back at the start of the stage that he died in, no matter how far along he was.

Damage
You have sixteen bars of health, and how many bars are lost per hit depends on the stage you're in. As you progress, enemies do more and more damage. However, ever attack in a stage, whether it's from a common enemy, boss, or projectile, will do the same amount of damage. Falling in a pit/water or hitting spikes will instantly kill you on any level.

Points

 * For points gained from defeating enemies and bosses, see the appropriate page.

Points are for more than trying to get a high score - you earn a bonus life at 30,000 points and then another for every 50,000 points.

Status
Simon's current status is displayed along the top of the screen at all times.
 * A: Current score
 * B: Time remaining; you lose a life if the timer reaches zero
 * C: Current stage
 * D: Simon's life
 * E: Boss's life
 * F: Secondary weapon
 * G: Hearts that can be used for secondary weapons
 * H: Lives remaining
 * I: Shot multiplier