Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse/Stage 2

The ancient clock tower stands as a tantalizing shortcut to Dracula's Keep...if you can beat not just its haunted inhabitants but also the menacing machinations of the clock tower itself.

Block 2-01
Before climbing the stairs, be sure to jump the gap and break the blocks for a Large Heart. Ascend the first leg of the tower, dealing with the simple Skeletons and Armors (they're like Skeletons but twice as tough), and watch your step. Not only don't you want to fall off the bottom, but you must about landing on the deadly spikes that appear here and there.

After reaching the top, you will proceed to the left across similar obstacles.

A second ascent presents you with the challenge of riding some of the clock tower's pendulums. You can jump up to and safely stand on the round bottom part of the pendulums. Time your jumps to make your way across this initial challenge and be sure you get your timing down because you'll have to repeat the feat only with no floor underneath you. Enter the door to section 2.

Block 2-02
Drop down immediately after going through the door and hit the wall with your whip to find a large heart.

More clock machinations await you along with Skeleton knights who can attack you with swords. You will also discover that you can ride clock gears, with the teeth providing a footing to let you ride them around. Just before to jump off before they drop away. Climb the stairs to the next area.

Be on your guard as soon as you arrive, for more Medusa Heads await you on this ascent along with more spikes. The heads will come at you two at a time, so you can't waste a lot of time whipping them away. You are encouraged to keep climbing once it's safe to do so. Ride the gear and then complete the ascent to the next area.

From here it's a simple walk to the door to Section 3.

Block 2-03
Another east area to start. Cross another giant gear while you collect from the candles and jump to the platform on the right. Break the blocks there to earn a Multiplier. This lets you keep more than one of your sub-weapons on screen at once, but it disappears if you change weapons (like the Axe in the candle right above you) or die. It's also useless if you possess the Watch. Climb on up.

More Medusa Heads, and this time you have to proceed up with help from clock gears. Time your jumps and attacks carefully to dodge the Medusa heads. Be careful with that last gear. Only jump onto it when the gear tooth is at least horizontal or you'll fall off.

Negotiate the Skeleton Knight, collect the Hearts, then step into the chamber to face off against the Possessed Grant DaNasty. Once you defeat him and collect the crystal, however, he will revert to human form, and offer his assistance. Since you came all the way up here, you might as well recruit him.

'Just then, there is a rumble, and the bridge which would be the shortcut to Dracula's Keep crumbles and falls. The way is barred, which leaves only one way left for you: back down the way you came.'

Block 2-04
The remaining three blocks of this stage task you with making your way all the back to the entrance. Which is good news and bad news. Good news #1 is that you can't fall off the bottom of vertical sections since you want to go down, though spikes and the bottom of the area itself (as well as pits in horizontal areas) are still deadly. Good news #2 is that you now have Grant accompanying you, and he's well-suited to the walls scattered throughout the clock tower. The bad news is that since you just cleared a boss, your weapons and hearts are back to their defaults, so you'll have to work you'll have to build up your weapons from scratch. For now, build up your hearts, defeat the Skeleton Knight, and start climbing down.

You should be able to drop your way through most of the next area, dodging most of the Medusa Heads, though you must remember to break a block about 2/3 of the way down to drop further, and be sure to jump carefully once you get to the pair of gears since you want to jump across the gap to the stairs.

From there, collect the Axe, then the Multiplier, and the Hearts, and proceed through the door to Section 5.

Block 2-05
Before climbing down, put Grant to use. He can climb the ceiling and around to the floor above, where can break the blocks to reveal a 1-Up! Handy trick that. Be sure to wall climb back down so you can climb properly back down the stairs.

Once again, you can skip a lot of trouble by dropping down, but keep to the center to avoid the spikes about halfway.

Then deal with the Skeleton Knight and then just drop through the gap to easily reach the door to the final Section 6.

Block 2-06
Trevor is advised here since his jumps are more predictable. Negotiate the first pendulum and you can ignore the second one, jump the gap and climb down the stairs.

Ignore the first Knight by jumping the gap, but you'll have to deal with the Skeleton and the other two Knights since you want to jump to their platforms and from there to the stairs.

This is the final area. Drop on down as safely as you can unless you want to collect from all the candles. Don't try to take a shortcut down the right side; that's what the spikes are there to block. And watch out for another gap just to the left--no floor there, either. While it is possible to get Big Heart in the blocks near the entrance, getting it involves a tricky jump from the left: jump right from two blocks before the top of the stairs there and you should make it. You'll also be able to collect the small heart from there. Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, you will automatically walk to the entrance door. Reaching the door clears the stage and awards you as if you defeated a boss and collected a crystal.

You've escaped the Clock Tower. Proceed to the only way not open to you: the Mad Forest.

Items checklist

 * 1) 10 hearts (inside wall)
 * 2) Stopwatch
 * 3) Double-shot (inside wall)
 * 4) Holy water
 * 5) * DOOR 1
 * 6) 10 hearts (inside wall)
 * 7) Axe
 * 8) Extra life (inside wall)
 * 9) * DOOR 2
 * 10) Double-shot (inside wall)
 * 11) Dagger
 * 12) Food (inside wall)

On the way down, the same items are found, but obviously in reversed order.