GB/GBA Dracula saga: concluded

[Skykid]

It might be obvious with continual CV threads that I'm playing some of the back catalogue I missed out on - mostly handheld. Although the first GB game gets a bad rep, I actually find it quite fun - until the last stage. Jesus, what a total headfuck. I know we always crow on about how the old games used to be more challenging, but this is serious.

I'm not surprised the game only has four stages, because the last is where you get your moneys worth.
I've made it to Drac 3 times, and I'm starting to see his pattern - but with the fairly clumsy controls and slow response it's not easy. Does anyone know any tricks or spots for taking him down?

It's such a struggle getting there - you basically can't take a hit beyond a certain point or your whip isn't powerful enough to get through the last hallway of enemies, and that means precision jumping and spike dodging every time. Once you die and restart the (really long) level ten times it does get kind of trying.

[shinsage]

Yeah, this is one of those games you give up on as a kid and revisit as an adult thinking you've got the skills to beat it, but no, no it's just an insanely difficult game.


Two years ago this month I went and beat it on my day off. Took me about six hours. Four stages. Six hours.


Props on making it past the moving spiked walls bit, most people give up after that.


Advice on the Dracula battle...
First form is basic. I'm sure you must have figured out how the energy balls move by now.
For his second form, jump on the upper right ledge -- not the one at the very top, but in between the top right and middle, center of the screen brick platform. Just stay there and jump and whip whenever he passes by. Be sure to destroy the bats, like an all-in-one hit, hitting drac and the bats at the same time. That's all I got really.



Now the sequel, Belmont's Revenge, is easily one of my favorite handheld games...a game boy masterpiece. The Dracula fight in that took me about an hour or two, though, even though the rest of the game wasn't half as challenging as its prequel.

[Herr Schatten]

I admire that you sticked with the game. I got too frustrated by stage 3 to play any further. Doing precision jumping while being chased by spiked walls is not fun, especially because the controls are so sluggish.

[Zejiro]

It does look like a nasty game. I watched a friend play through the game earlier this year, and he was close to going insane when he got to the last level.

[Skykid]

Now the sequel, Belmont's Revenge, is easily one of my favorite handheld games...a game boy masterpiece. The Dracula fight in that took me about an hour or two, though, even though the rest of the game wasn't half as challenging as its prequel.

That one's next up once I get this one out of the way.
Thanks for the tips Shinsage, I am yet to actually get past Drac's 1st form yet, but then I only had three tries on him.

I will finish the game. I didn't find the first 3 stages were so bad. Hard yes, but really just memorisation and some very well placed jumps. The boss of stage three is thankfully a pushover, which is nice after fighting through such a devious level.

I just spotted a youtube vid where there's a hidden extra life toward the end of the 4th stage. Wtf! It's in the most impossible to figure out place!
Still that might (but probably won't ) come in handy.

[Ed Oscuro]

I believe beating Drac is just a matter of going back and forth between a couple platforms and ducking (if I remember - when he puts out the diagonal balls you don't want to be standing, but you can stand / jump up to attack when he puts out a different attack). You can't chase him all over the screen.

The actual stage isn't easy, but certainly doable.

[Skykid]

Finished it today. Took a few attempts to be sure, probably spent an hour doing the last stage alone, whereas it only took about 30 mins to get there.
Although its got its problems, I thought it was a fun little title despite all the shit it gets.

Onto Dracula Densetsu II now!

[Jon]

Onto Dracula Densetsu II now!

Sure to be a much more enjoyable experience.

[D]

Onto Dracula Densetsu II now!

Sure to be a much more enjoyable experience.

Agreed. And awesome tunes.

[lgb]

HEY WIKIPEDIA SAYS THAT NON COMPOSED FOR THIS GAME IS THAT IMPORTANT

[Skykid]

Finished Dracula Densetsu 2 on GB tonight, which completes my return to the handheld back catalogue I missed out on. It was a blast - far more polished than the original DD, and the tunes were great (although went a litte limp in the final stages.) The fight with the whip guy (A belmont?) was pretty rough, and Dracula made me laugh in this one. Some devious bastard really wanted to make you work to finish him off.

It's been fun though. I'm sticking Famicom Dracula 3 on my xmas wants list as I've heard its ace.

[ZOM]

It's been fun though. I'm sticking Famicom Dracula 3 on my xmas wants list as I've heard its ace.

Congrats and yeah, Akumajou Densetsu is my favourite of the Nintendo CVs; be sure to play the Japanese version, the VRC6 sound chip is just WOW!

[Skykid]

It's been fun though. I'm sticking Famicom Dracula 3 on my xmas wants list as I've heard its ace.

Congrats and yeah, Akumajou Densetsu is my favourite of the Nintendo CVs; be sure to play the Japanese version, the VRC6 sound chip is just WOW!

Yeah man, original format all the way.

[saucykobold]

Congrats and yeah, Akumajou Densetsu is my favourite of the Nintendo CVs; be sure to play the Japanese version, the VRC6 sound chip is just WOW!

I may be alone in this, but I prefer the US version. It's much harder, Grant is more fun to play, and some of the enemies get upgraded in the second loop.

[BIL]

I prefer the US one too. Feels like it was designed to really test anyone who'd mastered CV1. Some of the later stages are real marathons.

[BrianC]

Which version of Dracula Densetsu II do you prefer, the US/EU Belmont's Revenge b/w cart verison with the axe, or the JP version (or EU GB Collection version) with the cross?

[Skykid]

Which version of Dracula Densetsu II do you prefer, the US/EU Belmont's Revenge b/w cart verison with the axe, or the JP version (or EU GB Collection version) with the cross?

Well I only had the original JP GB version to play, so I've not been able to play (or even knew) that there was an axe in the other versions. The cross was far superior to the holy water though, I found myself trying to avoid those as much as possible. I've always considered it one of the series best sub-weapons.

[Mortificator]

The cross boomerang flies in a straight line.
The holy water flies in an arc.
The axe flies in an arc.

I think the versions with the cross & water have better balance. The cross is the superior weapon, but the water at least is useful in hitting enemies below or slightly above you. With the axe & water you have two weapons that fill the same role, only the axe is stronger, travels further, and passes through obstacles.

[Skykid]

The cross boomerang flies in a straight line.
The holy water flies in an arc.
The axe flies in an arc.

I think the versions with the cross & water have better balance. The cross is the superior weapon, but the water at least is useful in hitting enemies below or slightly above you. With the axe & water you have two weapons that fill the same role, only the axe is stronger, travels further, and passes through obstacles.

I found beating Soleiyu was incredibly difficult without the cross, you pretty much had to finish him on your first life or you were stuck with the Holy Water.
By that note I'd imagine the western release was pretty tough.

[ZOM]

I agree with Bill & saucykobold about the difficulty setting in the US version - it's the more challenging one and you'll feel more at home after playing the first one. But still... the music in Akumajou Densetsu is ace

[BrianC]

The cross boomerang flies in a straight line.
The holy water is thrown in slight arc barely above Christoper, then goes to the ground and explodes.
The axe flies in a wide arc and files much further upward before going down.

Fixed. The axe and water don't fill the same role. Water I found to be more for ground enemies and the axe is useful for enemies on platforms above you, airborne enemies, and the rope spiders. That said, it sounds like the cross boomerang makes some areas much easier, though there are a couple areas that I would imagine being harder due to the enemies above like bats.

[FRO]

Yeah, this is one of those games you give up on as a kid and revisit as an adult thinking you've got the skills to beat it, but no, no it's just an insanely difficult game.

QFT! I actually beat the original Castlevania Adventure as a teen, after MONTHS of hammering away at it. I was at my grandparents' house w/ my parents, just visiting one Friday evening, and I think I scared them all w/ my hearty "YES!" when I had finally bested Dracula. It was one of the crowning achievements of my gaming youth. Sadly, I sold the game a few months later to help fund my Sega Genesis. I re-acquired this title some months back, after having played it a handful of times in emulators over the last 10 years or so, and MAN did I get my butt handed to me big time. Definitely one of those games that if you aren't in the zone with it, you fail miserably. Perhaps not the grueling challenge that the original NES game is, but I'm guessing it's not too far off the mark. I can't imagine how much harder the game would be had the design team included the flying Medusa heads..... (shudder)

[Ed Oscuro]

I can't imagine how much harder [Adventure] would be had the design team included the flying Medusa heads..... (shudder)

Or slower...

Hadn't realized that the US/EU vs. JPN versions of Belmont's Revenge / Dracula Densetsu had a great difficulty difference (had forgotten about the different subweapons); more proof that the EU GBC Collection releases were just spiffed-up version from the Japanese originals.

[Skykid]

QFT! I actually beat the original Castlevania Adventure as a teen, after MONTHS of hammering away at it.

Not sure it was that hard!

Once the first three stages are learned (the 3rd taking some serious concentration) you can get through them fairly straightforwardly. Its the last that had me working. In the end it took about an hour and fifteen minutes to get the stage - however, the secret life on that stage helped no end as it acted like a much needed checkpoint. Lose on Dracula though and it's back to the beginning...