Castlevania II: Simon's Quest/Dracula's Castle

With all five of Dracula's parts in hand, it is time to return them to Castlevania in an effort to remove the curse from Simon. Make sure you have collected the Flame Whip from Uta Lower Road and the Magic Cross, Dracula's Ring, and Laurels from Laruba Mansion.

It's a long road to Doina from Laruba Mansion. It is possible to head west from the mansion to get back to where you once were by traveling from the Aljiba Cemetery to Debora Cliffs. While this path is (relatively) safer, it is significantly more time consuming. It is far faster to walk back to Bodley Lake by traveling right.

Wicked Ditch
Climb out of Bodley Lake and you'll find yourself standing in front of Bodley Mansion. Proceed to the right to reach Wicked Ditch. You'll face Mummies, Harpies, and Medusa Heads. They aren't that difficult, but the Harpies and Medusa Heads can easily surround you if you try and run through without fighting. The Mummies are easy to fight, but they cause a lot of damage if you get hit. Cross to the right, and you'll arrive at the Town of Doina.

Town of Doina
Doina has one important feature: a church. This is your last opportunity to rest up and restore your health before you proceed to the last battle. You can also buy Laurels at door A, but you most likely won't need any more, unless you plan on backtracking.

Quotes

North Bridge
It's been a while since Simon set foot on a bridge. You won't find this bridge very different from the one outside of the Town of Jova, with the exception of the hovering blocks that fill in the gaps between platforms. Mermen will jump out of the water in an effort to ambush you, but you should have sufficient time to react to them and whip them as you cross.

Dora Woods
Dora Woods may be similar to Jova Woods in layout, but the enemies are much harder. Especially if you enter at night. Many Doubleheads occupy the first section. They move particularly fast and shoot often, so move in when you have an opening and duck when they fire.

The path branches when you reach the middle. Once again you must decide between staying on the upper path, or taking the low road. The fact of the matter is, there is nothing to find along the upper path, which dead ends in a poisonous marsh. Unless you feel like exploring it, you're best off taking the low route. This walkthrough will describe the two sections pertaining to the upper path just in case.

The final section of Dora Woods, prior to East Bridge, doesn't even have any enemies to fight.

East Bridge
East Bridge is incredibly easy, with no gaps to jump over, and a string of Mermen jumping out of the water right in front of you. You should have no difficulty crossing over to the opposite side as long as you remove each Merman that gets in your way.

Denis Marsh
Denis Marsh is a useless area of the world, containing a set of platforms strung up above a poisonous marsh occupied by Yuke Rolls. If you cross over to the right side of the marsh, you will find nothing but a dense wall blocking your progress any further. It may appear that you have no choice but to wade through the marsh to get back, but it just so happens that if you push up at location A on the map, you will discover an invisible staircase that will return you to the safety of the platforms above.

Town of Yomi
This town, the closest physically to Dracula's castle, is absolutely abandoned, with the single exception of an old lady who is either to feeble or too crazy to leave. With nothing else to learn or gain, Simon can simply walk through town on the way to his next destination.

Quotes

Vlad Graveyard
You will face Mummies, Hawks, and Ghosts as you pass through this graveyard. The Hawks can be troublesome, since they move erratically, but the Ghosts are slow and the Mummies can't get past the tombstones. You must leap over each large white tombstone in order to cross the grounds.

West Bridge
When you arrive, a wall will prevent you from accessing the bridge. However, if you possess all five parts of Dracula and the Magic Cross, then you will be able to break out the top two blocks on the left side of the wall, either with Holy Water, or by utilizing Dracula's Nail while using your whip. Then you can leap up and over the wall to cross the water. The bridge itself is deserted, so you have a clear path to Dracula from here on out.

Castlevania
This version of Castlevania is substantially smaller and quite different in layout from other instances of the castle. Like the bridge, there isn't a single moving creature in here, dead or alive, besides you so walk on in. When you reach the dead-end, break the blocks that separate you from the floor below (location A) with Holy Water, and climb down the stairs. Once you drop down the gap on the right you can never go back up. If you are missing anything or simply want to explore more, you have to turn around now. Otherwise, continue downward. At the bottom you'll reach the door to Dracula's chamber and the end of the game. When you go in, Simon will put Dracula's five parts on the altar at location B. After a flare of fire appears, the Count will be reborn.

Dracula

 * For more, see the Bosses page.

If you possess a full assortment of weapons, there are a couple of different strategies that you can employ against Dracula. For a fast and easy way, as soon as you can move, start throwing Sacred Flames at his feet. He'll be immobilized by the fire, and you'll kill him before he can escape the altar to attack you. If you want to make things more challenging for yourself, wait until he starts to move. He'll start rapidly moving around the room throwing projectiles at you. Stay in the corner, jump up and throw Gold Knives at him, just as you may have done against Carmilla. Worst case scenario, you will simply have to jump up and whip him and time your shots carefully.

After you defeat him, you'll get one of three endings, depending on how long it took you to complete the game.