Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Catacombs

Area Briefing

 * Save Room: (28,45) and (20,45)
 * Warp Room: none
 * Exit: (30,44) to
 * Powerups: Life Vial x1, Heart Container x2
 * Relics: none
 * Enemies: Bloody Skeleton, Bone Ark, Discus Lord, Grave Keeper, Gremlin, Hellfire Beast, Large Slime, Lossoth, Slime, Thornweed, Wereskeleton
 * Boss: Granfaloon (17,45)
 * Items: Ballroom Mask, Bloodstone, Cat-eye Circlet, Cross Shuriken, Icebrand, Karma Coin, Library Card, (SS) Lyric Card, Monster Vial 3, Mormegil, Pork Bun, Spike Breaker, Walk Armor

Exploring
To fight with Granfaloon, you only need to have Leap Stone, but to obtain Spike Breaker, you must have Echo of Bat.
 * (29,44):No enemies. Drop to below to find a save room on the left.  Move deeper and you will see a Blood Stone on a table, and there is a Cat-eye Circlet in the wall behind.  When it is done, move to the right.
 * (30,45):You may have met these Wereskeletons in previous games, and they act the same by attacking with extended neck or throwing lots of bones. However, time has gone and they become relatively weaker, unable to sustain much damage.  At the end of tunnel, two skeletons are carring a Bone Pillar, becoming a Bone Ark.  Instead of fire breath, this one can shoot an energy ball, causing a large explosion.  Continue to the right.
 * (33,45):Three Gremlins are setting fire in this large room. The lower right exit eventually leads to the Spike Breaker, and the lower left exit leads to the area boss.
 * (36,46):After an empty room, you can find two of the most annoying enemies in this game, the Slime and the Large Slime. They simply don't take any cut damage (unless your sword has other elements).  Dispatch them along with Bone Arks, and continue to upper right.
 * (39,45):This room is in pitch black. Switch to your Faerie or Sprite familiar and you can get the advice about animals living in the darkness.  Actually, Alucard can transform into one of them, the Bat.  Use the power of echo (press the button assigned to "Special move"), he is able to detect the spikes in the room.  For Richter, he must use the invulnerable time of item crushing the Rebound Stone to proceed.  Maria in Sega Saturn version can simply pop her invincibility and run through.  Move carefully through the spikes and to the other side, and land on the glimmering floor, and you will get the lighting of the room.  Proceed to the right.
 * (42,45):There are only Wereskeletons. At the right end you can find two Cross Shurikens and two Karma Coins from pots.
 * (46,46):There is a Pork Bun behind the Bone Ark on the right. To the left, there are more Wereskeletons.
 * (41,46):After all the spikes and enemies, this room is finally safe. At the end of room, the Spike Breaker is on a table, and the wall behind has a Library Card.
 * (41,45):On your way out, put on the shiny Spike Breaker and simply walk on the spikes, and they will be broken for good.
 * (32,46):In this room there are a few caskets. Some of them contain Monster Vial 3, while the others will release Bloody Skeletons.  The next room contains a Life Vial and a Heart Container.
 * (29,46):A Hellfire Beast stands between two Grave Keepers. Beware of his lightning bolt and fire spell.
 * (27,46):A few Lossoths are roaming in the cave, with glowing lava below.
 * (24,46):A lone Discus lord blocks the bridge to the other side. While his first drop, the Jewel Sword, can be obtained elsewhere, the Chakram, his second drop is a handy ranged weapon.  If you can fly, go to the upper floor and collect a Ballroom Mask and a Heart Container from pots, and break the wall on the left and go inside for an Icebrand.
 * (22,46):Like the previous cave, there are only Lossoths.
 * (19,46):Beware of Gremlins and Thornweeds. The lower left leads to an odd room, which contains the Lyric Card in Sega Saturn version, but is otherwise empty.  The upper right is a save room, and there is a Walk Armor in the room behind.  When you are ready, go to upper left, and after an empty room, you will find...

Boss: Granfaloon

 * Characteristics:This boss is consisted of the core and nine pieces of corpse shells. All shells will continuously drop dead bodies, which will walk to you after landing.  As the shells go off, the core will show its tentacles, which can fire lasers in the same direction.  If you happen to break all shells, it will fire some homing rays between tentacle lasers.
 * Strategy:Using Axe or Cross makes you easier to hit the boss. Clear the bodies if there are too many.  Remember to keep at least one piece of shell, since the homing rays are hard to dodge.
 * Afterwards:Leave from bottom left, go through two more rooms, and you can find the Mormegil, a sword with dark element, in the end. On your return, platforms will appear in the boss room, giving you a returning path.