Castlevania: The Adventure/Gameplay

Controls

 * : Use the direction pad to control Christopher Belmont. Press left or right to make Chris walk in either direction.  Press up or down while clinging to a rope to make him climb up or down.  Press down while standing on the ground to crouch.
 * : Press the A button to make Chris jump. Chris 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 Chris to attack with his whip. He can whip high while standing, or whip low while crouching.
 * : Press Start to begin a new game, or press it in the middle of the game to pause the action.
 * : No use.

Christopher Belmont
Christopher Belmont's time as a Vampire Slayer came 100 years before Simon Belmont took up his whip in Castlevania (or Super Castlevania IV), and 100 years after Trevor Belmont's mission to defeat Dracula in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. It is up to you to help Chris fulfill the Belmont legacy once again and defeat Dracula.

As a Belmont, Chris 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 change from a standard leather whip to a morning star, and even launch fireballs. Whatever form it takes, Chris strikes enemies with the Vampire Killer with deadly precision, and enough strength to dispatch mud men and disenchant evil armor. Chris is also quite athletic, and can jump over small gaps. The land surrounding Dracula's castle is full of pits and traps that must be avoided in order for Chris to survive. The ability to jump over dangers at any moment's notice will serve him well. Chris can even use his weapon while in the middle of a jump. Unlike other Belmonts, Chris cannot wield and special weapons in the first installment of Castlevania: The Adventure but he gains to ability to do so in the next game.

In order to succeed in his mission, Chris must make it all the way from the outskirts town to the grounds of Castlevania, defeating the three sub-bosses, before breaching the castle and reaching the final chamber of Count Dracula. Throughout his mission, Chris' health will be visible at the bottom of the screen through the vitality meter. Chris 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 or on spikes. Chris will gain extra lives every time your score reaches a multiple of 10,000 points. If Chris 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, and your score will be reduced to zero.

Damage
You have ten bars of health, and how many bars are lost per hit depends on the attack that you're hit with. As you progress, enemies do more and more damage. However, every 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 or hitting spikes will instantly kill you on any level.

When Chris takes damage, his weapon degrades by one level of power. Morning Stars that can shoot fireballs will lose the ability to shoot them. Ordinary Morning Stars will revert to a regular Leather Whip. Avoiding getting hit is just as much about keeping your offensive power as it is about avoiding death.