Your journey into the upper reaches of Castlevania has just begin. Spikes, rolling insects and a host of enemies will beset you. The stage islonger than any before and the dangers are greater. You'll have to race against the clock while taking care with each step.
A: This area is a real headache, especially if the ceiling smashes into your head with its brutal spikes. Speed is your best weapon. Don't stop to get candles on the way until you destroy the giant screw that brings the roof down. It may be worth your while to double back and check the candles that you skipped while the floor and ceiling are separating.
B: Use the whip to break through the giant screws that bring the ceiling down. You won't have long so it's best to have the Morningstar.
C: The stretch between the first giant screw and the second is so long that you can't make it before the floor and the ceiling meet. Find the areas in the ceiling that allow Christopher to squat down and wait for the floor and ceiling to move apart again.
D: Once again, it's a long hike between giant screws two and three. Along the way, candles will tempt you, but don't give in or you will find yourself impaled by the ceiling spikes. Make it to the safety of the gap in the ceiling, and then proceed to remove the final screw.
Start from the bottom and read up
G: The last leg of your climb presents you with a set of very challenging jumps. With infinite time, these leaps wouldn't be so daunting, but you do not have infinite time. The floor spikes will continue to climb up after you, so the pressure to get it right is on. Like the jumps from block to block in the first stage, you must jump very late when leaping from one block to the next. The timing is less strict with the platforms that fall away when you land on them, but that doesn't mean you can slow down. Be prepare to jump to safety once you land on them, or they will simply carry you down to the spikes.
F: The tower climb is relentless and gives you few opportunities for breaks. When you reach this halfway point, cross over to the left side and resume your climb. Two worms await you on the ledges that you must climb to continue. If your whip is strong enough to remove them with one hit, do so quickly and move on. Otherwise, be prepared to get out of their way when they roll up into balls and try to bowl you over.
E: You no longer have to worry about the ceiling coming down on top of you and crushing you. Now your fear comes from the rising floor of spikes that will chase you non stop all the way up this tower. Start climbing and don't stop to admire the view. Several times you will have to leap from one rope to another. Make sure you climb high enough before you attempt to do this. Worms will occupy the platforms that you must land on and cross. If you have the Morningstar, they don't pose much threat. But if you only have a Leather Whip prepare for them to roll up and collide with you. Either jump over them or whip them a second time to remove them.
H: You survived the climb to the top of the tower, but the dangers are far from over. The floor spikes will recede, but they will be replaced by a wall of spikes that chase you down from the right. Start heading left and don't look back. The last leg of the Dungeon will test all of your leaping abilities. The Mud Men that you haven't seen since the first stage will reappear and join more worms in an effort to slow you down and allow the spike wall to catch up with you. Falling platforms will force you to make quick leaps to safety or plummet into the pits below.
I: Nearly halfway across, you will come to three ropes. You must climb them and cross over to get over the high wall to the left. To safely transfer from one rope to the next, you must climb fairly high. Climbing is a slow process that will eat away at any lead you had getting away from the spike wall. Do climb high enough to be safe, but don't climb any more than absolutely necessary to avoid getting impaled by the non-stop wall.
J: The last leg of this section is marked by fairly tricky jumps. Once again, the pressure is on because the spike wall does not allow you to take all day to make your jumps, but do take a breath and make sure that your timing is right because failure to jump at the right time means falling to your death. On top of that, you've got another three rope climb to deal with, and then some more tricky jumps on the other side. Once you clear these jumps, the danger is mostly over. The spikes can still get you if you're too slow, but you can no longer fall and die.
K: Once you make it through this nail biter of a stage, the only thing left to do is to climb the last rope up to the chamber at the top, and proceed to the right to take on the boss of the stage.
!: There is a secret nearby! Check the secrets page for more information.
Learning the attack pattern and safety zones in this chamber is the key. Stand below the boss when it is hovering in the air. Its attack will be toward the opposite side of the room. When it comes down, move quickly in the opposite direction, and whip it from behind. Then it will fly up again. Repeat this strategy until he is defeated. If you're lucky enough to have made it to this fight with fireball power still endowed to your whip, one easy strategy is to stand on top of the ledges to the right and pelt Death Bat with fireballs.
