Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Defeat the Monsters and Uncover All Secrets

It was the year 1792 — the powerful vampire hunter Richter Belmont of the Belmont Clan had struck Count Dracula down using his whip, the Vampire Killer. For a time, peace was restored to all of Europe, but 5 years passed and all isn’t as it seems.

It is now 1797 and Lord Dracula’s castle, Castlevania, still remains intact as though he were still alive. Richter Belmont has gone missing but a new savior has been called to this dark castle where many have perished: a man named Alucard, the vampire lord’s very son. The castle beckons for Alucard’s return as he attempts to uncover why his ancestral home remains intact despite the Belmont Clan’s efforts to do away with the curse. Welcome to Castlevania. Come one, come all, and lend your senses to the Symphony of the Night.

Konami’s classic, genre-defining masterpiece, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, is now a mobile game available for purchase on both Google Play and the App Store. Relive the nostalgia of traversing the haunted, accursed halls of Dracula’s castle in Alucard’s quest for his father’s peace. While it has had its run on the original PlayStation (PSX) and the PlayStation Portable (PSP), Symphony of the Night welcomes a new generation of gamers to explore its features, find all its secrets, and enjoy one of the best games to ever come from the franchise itself.

Not much has changed in its difficulty, but if you happen to be among this new generation of gamers do not fret; we are aware that the game can be quite the challenge. Are you curious enough to figure out how you want to get through the castle and uncover all its secrets? Look no further than our comprehensive Castlevania: Symphony of the Night beginner’s guide below!

What is this Game?! A Miserable Little Pile of Secrets!

Despite the header above referencing the original, cheesy dialogue that was present in the PSX version, this port has the audio and dialogue from the PSP version instead. References aside, we’re pretty sure you’re wondering what Castlevania is exactly. Don’t worry, we’ll give you a quick history lesson.

Castlevania is a series of mostly side-scrolling games about the efforts of the Belmont Clan, a powerful clan of vampire hunters, to keep Count Dracula Vlad Tepes dead. If it isn’t Dracula they’re trying to keep from bringing ruination upon the world, it’s Dracula’s crazy cultist followers who clamor for his resurrection at least every century (talk about a real fanclub). Occasionally, the Belmont Clan aren’t the ones doing the fighting, it could be others who seek to free the land from Dracula’s grasp.

Some notable examples of these would be Hector; a human who worked under Dracula as a Devil Forgemaster in charge of creating Dracula’s army of fiends, Shanoa; a mysterious woman from an organization called the Order of Ecclesia, Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin; a pair of vampire hunters who have blood ties with the Belmont Clan and the Belnades Clan (a clan of spell casters who allied with the Belmonts), Cornell; a young werewolf who goes on a quest to rescue his adoptive sister Ada from being a sacrifice to resurrect Dracula, and in this title, Alucard; Dracula’s half-human, half-vampire son who promised his own mother to put his father to rest should he start harming humans again.

Related: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Walkthrough Part 1

Symphony of the Night deserves a special mention since it has created the “metroidvania” genre. This genre’s etymology stems from the portmanteau of “Metroid” and “Castlevania”. The game is indeed a Castlevania title, but it shares the exploration and backtracking features that the game series Metroid has. There are certain power-ups and items that are required to get to farther parts into the game, and most of the time, there are a ton of hidden secrets here and there — some of the secrets could be bosses, or game-breaking equipment (yes, we’re talking about the Crissaegrim).

With all this said in the last paragraph, Symphony of the Night is a long game. You may pick it up and put it down whenever you please, but it takes a lot of patience and skill if you want to get its golden ending. There are at least four endings in this game, but we will leave you to explore most of it yourself. This guide will expose only a few secrets that will be useful to you, but nothing to spoil the plot of the story.

As soon as you jump into the game, you will not play as Alucard yet — you will play as Richter, re-enacting his victory over Dracula in the game’s previous installment, Dracula X from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

Name Entry

Since this game has been ported into mobile devices, more features have been added to it: buttons for spells and transformations, an easier way to navigate through your inventory, and many others. A feature in this port compared to its predecessors is the ability to immediately play as Richter Belmont or Maria Renard by entering RICHTER or MARIA in the Name Entry screen.

These two characters, while powerful in their own right, are not recommended for beginners since they can instantly breeze through the castle without need of any leveling up. Why they aren’t recommended is that there are some parts of the castle that require skill to navigate; some of them being bosses.

That said, we instead recommend new players to play the game as Alucard since you will learn the ins and outs of the castle better as well as uncover the game’s story. Playing as Alucard will require you to enter your name as anything. Here are some other interesting names you can use but just like RICHTER and MARIA, they are not recommended for beginners:

• X-X!V’’Q — Luck Mode. Alucard starts with his LCK stat at 99 but has greatly decreased numbers for everything else (for perspective, Alucard would normally start with 70 HP, here it’s 20 HP). He also starts with a Lapis Lazuli equipped which grants him even more LCK.
  
• AXEARMOR — Alucard starts with the Axe Armor in his inventory. Equipping this will turn him into the enemy called Axe Armor. It has its own moves but he cannot jump as high as he usually does. You will need to finish the game with any ending otherwise this name will not work.

Speaking of story, how about that final battle in the intro?

Richter’s Final Battle

You’re immediately greeted by the howling winds atop Dracula’s eyrie. A long stairway with a blood-red carpet is before you, and you, Richter Belmont, are on your way to finish the job once and for all. Will you fail or will you succeed?

Given that this is a Castlevania game, lots of things can be destroyed: candles, urns, vases, lamps, anything that you attempt to swing your weapon at. These things drop Hearts. Do not be confused with these healing you, however, they only replenish your Sub-Weapon ammo. Otherwise, some of these candles will drop Sub-Weapons themselves.

For instance, the very first candelabra you encounter at the top of the staircase will drop a Cross (more on Sub-Weapons in a bit). Some bits of wall can also be destroyed, like the entrance to the hall before Dracula’s throne room. Whipping the corner of the ceiling of the entrance will present you a switch that opens a secret staircase that leads to a room as pictured below.

Unfortunately, the items inside cannot be carried over into Alucard’s part of the game. What this hinges on now is how you defeat Dracula. We’re certain that you’ve figured out how to move Richter around, but below is a diagram of what each button does for him:

a. Jump — A quintessential ability. This button makes Richter jump over obstacles. You may tap it twice for him to perform a backflip.

b. Whip — Pressing this will make Richter lash his Vampire Killer at whatever’s in front of him. If you hold down this button, Richter will make it drop to the ground. While in this mode, you may use the directional pad to flail or twirl it around.

c. Tackle — Richter will muster his strength and dash forward and through anything before him. This causes damage.

d. Slide — This button makes Richter perform a very swift slide. Pressing it twice will cause Richter to vault into the air, acting as a long jump.

Apart from all these, you can double tap left or right on the d-pad to make Richter run. You can also make Richter perform a Super Jump by quickly pressing: [ICN: Down]  [ICN: Up] + Jump. The Super Jump will instantly propel Richter toward the ceiling of the level. This is useful for jumping over tall things (or bosses, *wink wink*).

Holding [ICN: Up] and pressing the Whip button will cause Richter to use his Sub-Weapon (this can also be done in midair), but holding [ICN: Up] and pressing the Tackle button will cause Richter to perform his Item Crash. The Item Crash is a powerful spell that is only exclusive to Richter and it consumes a hefty amount of Hearts. Here’s what Richter’s Sub-Weapons do in detail:

Sub-Weapon
None	None	Flame Whip — Temporarily imbues Richter’s whip with extra damage. (15❤)
Cross	Richter throws the Cross forward and it spins briefly before returning to him like a boomerang. (1❤)	Grand Cross — Richter summons the powers of holiness and causes two massive crucifixes to swirl around him, purifying the entire area with holy light. (20❤)
Holy Water	Richter throws the Holy Water bottle on the ground, shattering it. It purifies the unholy area by bursting into a wave of blue flames. (1❤)	Hydro Storm — Richter calls down holy rain from the skies, damaging everything around him for a brief amount of time. (15❤)

Richter has access to all other Sub-Weapons if you play as him. But since we’ll be focusing on Alucard for this guide, we’ll let you discover these for yourself. With these all cleared out, let’s now proceed to the fight with Dracula. This is the part where you bring Richter all the way to the left.

(NOTE: You can only carry one Sub-Weapon at a time. After picking one up when you currently have the other, you will drop the previous one you had on the floor. Pick wisely.)

After Richter and Dracula’s exchange, the real battle begins. There are a few things you need to know about Dracula before we get into the nitty-gritty:

• Only Dracula’s head is vulnerable to damage. After depleting his first lifebar, he will reveal his true form. This form can be attacked anywhere.

• In Dracula’s first form, he will teleport and fan his cape outward, shooting a trio of fireballs at you. This trio can be destroyed using the Vampire Killer, most effectively by twirling it with the long press and directional buttons. Dracula will occasionally shoot a pair of large fireballs that cannot be destroyed, however. You can avoid these by ducking under the first one and jumping over the other, by performing a Super Jump, or by Tackling through his head.

• During Dracula’s second form, he has three attacks: he can spew a few fireballs at you from his mouth, try to crush you by jumping on you, or fly upward and rain down some unholy bolts upon you. The fireballs from his mouth cannot be destroyed, but the bolts can.

After inflicting enough damage to Dracula, you will have successfully defeated him. Hooray! But wait, did Richter sustain enough damage to kill him that a young Maria Renard showed up to save his life? Did you defeat him without any subweapons at all? These all affect the stats of Alucard right after. Here are all the possible scenarios:

Condition	Effect on Alucard
Defeat Dracula without taking any damage.	Alucard starts with +5 to his HP max.
Defeat Dracula without any Sub-Weapons picked up and without using the Flame Whip.	Alucard starts with +5 to his HP max, +1 to his STR, CON, INT, and +5 to his LCK.
Complete the entire Prologue within 1 minute.	Alucard gains +5 to his HP, Hearts max, STR, CON, INT, and LCK.
Defeat Dracula with the Holy Water equipped.	Alucard starts with +5 to his MP max and Heart max.
Defeat Dracula with the Cross equipped.	Alucard starts with +10 to his MP max and +5 to his Heart max.
Collect more than 40 Hearts in the Prologue.	Alucard will start with a Neutron Bomb in his inventory.
Consume all of Richter’s Hearts.	Alucard starts with a Heart Refresh in his inventory.
Richter loses all his HP and Maria arrives to revive him.	Alucard starts with a Potion in his inventory.

The first three can be achieved (the expository dialogue between Richter and Dracula can be skipped by tapping the screen) and in achieving them, you’ll start with a very powerful Alucard. He should have 85 HP, 25 MP, 55 Hearts, 14 STR, 13 INT, 13 CON, 17 LCK. If you cannot achieve such a feat, that is perfectly fine as you may continuously practice as much as you like by quitting the game and making a new save. Either way, the game will still remain quite challenging.

Onto Alucard’s part of the game!

Alucard in Detail

It’s a rush through the forest — lightning pierces the night sky, strong winds billow through the trees, and a lone, cloaked man makes haste to meet his destiny. After jumping the bridge, Alucard realizes that he has reached the point of no return.

The moment players take control of Alucard, they notice that there’s something about him that feels different from when they were using Richter: Alucard is a powerful being. Grace in his step, fury in his strike, death in his wake — Alucard is indeed Lord Dracula’s son, and he is a force to be reckoned with.

His blade cuts through the fiends before him like a hot knife through butter, his shield protects him from any projectile that’s sent at him, and he has a couple of tricks up his sleeve which we will discuss quite soon. But some of you might be confused as to how he works exactly. Never fear, the control scheme is here:

a. Jump — Much like Richter, Alucard’s jump button is found in the same direction. The difference here is that Alucard can jump much higher and farther than Richter can when the Jump Button is pressed down longer. On thin ledges, Alucard can jump down by pressing Down and the Jump button at the same time. He can also change the direction of his jump midair. When you get the Leap Stone, Alucard will be able to Double Jump and when you get the Gravity Boots, he can Super Jump. More on these in the Relics and Where to Find Them section.

b. Right Hand — This button will let Alucard use whatever is currently equipped in his right hand. Holding [ICN: Up]and then pressing this will cause Alucard to use his Sub-Weapon.

c. Left Hand — This button makes Alucard use the item held in his left hand. Much like the Right Hand, holding [ICN: Up]and pressing this button will make Alucard use his Sub-Weapon.

d. Backdash — Alucard deftly evades an attack by swiftly dashing backwards. This can be used as a means of getting around quicker, but watch out for enemies!

e. Spells — Tapping this button once will make Alucard perform the spell currently highlighted in this slot. Long-pressing this button will allow you to cycle through all of Alucard’s available spells if they’ve already been performed the first time.

f. Transformation — Tapping this button once will cause Alucard to transform into the currently chosen form. Holding down your thumb on this button will allow you to choose from whatever forms you have through the Relics you have collected.

g. Status Bar — This shows our dhampir* hero’s current status. The numbers on the leftmost part of the bar represent his current HP which are a bright white in color if he is at full health. If these hit 0, he dies. The blue, glowing bar is his MP. When he consumes MP by casting spells or performing certain weapon skills, the bar will stop glowing. He recovers MP over time.

Below the MP bar is his Heart count. If his Heart count reaches 0, he cannot use any Sub-Weapon unless he collects more. The receptacle on the rightmost part of the Status Bar will hold Alucard’s currently equipped Sub-Weapon. We’ll talk about these in the Sub-Weapons section.

h. Pause Menu — This button pauses the game and allows you to access Alucard’s inventory, the spells that he has learned, the Relics he has collected, his Familiars, and the game’s options. We’ll discuss its contents at length later on.

i. Map — Pressing this will allow you to read the castle map. We’ll discuss this in the How to Read the Map section.

Anything can be equipped in Alucard’s left or right hands. What matters to you is that you’re comfortable using either or. For instance, the game defaults his weapons to be equipped in his right hand while his shields go on the left. If you’d prefer him to use it the other way around, you may go do so. He may also wield two different weapons as pictured in the above GIF. Speaking of the shield, you’ll notice that he can use his shield if you long press whichever hand you happen to have it equipped in.

The shield covers Alucard’s body. He can also run forward while holding it up. What the shield can actually do is protect him from any oncoming projectile: bones, axes, fireballs — you name it. Most projectiles can be blocked by having Alucard hold his shield up. What he cannot block, however, are melee attacks, streams or plumes of fire, lightning bolts, and anything that doesn’t appear as a separate projectile.

As you fight your way through the castle’s entrance, you will eventually encounter a place where Mermen endlessly spawn. At the top of the stairway, there is a massive rock you can jump over and at the bottom, the Mermen thrive in their little pond. The rock can be destroyed, so swing your sword at it and you’ll be given a Pot Roast. Moving through this secret tunnel will allow you to destroy its other end as well. This is a feature in almost all Castlevania games: certain walls and floors (or ceilings) can be destroyed.

Just try swinging your weapon at any wall that might look funny and it might surprise you when Alucard’s attacks cut right through it. Many of these even drop special items or even uncover secret rooms. As for the Mermen, you will also notice that the water in Dracula’s castle is hostile to Alucard. Do not submerge him in the water or he will take damage, at least until you find the Holy Symbol.

Getting past the Mermen will have Alucard encounter Death, his nanny (no kidding, Death really looked after him since he was a child). Death tries to dissuade Alucard from attacking the castle on his own, but the latter persists. The former decides to punish the cranky rascal by taking all of his equipment away.  You will be able to find these later. Alucard’s missing equipment are as follows:

(NOTE: For the purpose of this guide, we will use an icon of Alucard’s sword to represent the Attack function.)

ITEM	TYPE	EFFECT	SPECIAL SKILL
Alucard Sword	Sword	ATT +42, deals Cutting damage	From Behind Strike: consumes 5 MP
Alucard Shield	Shield	DEF +5	Shield Rod Spell: Damages the enemy by 255, recovers 8HP and 1❤, grants 3 seconds of invulnerability. Drains MP continuously while the shield is held up.
Alucard Mail	Body	DEF +20, resists fire, thunder, and ice damage	n/a
Dragon Helm	Headgear	STR +4, DEF +3, cuts enemy’s defense down by half	n/a
Twilight Cloak	Cloak	CON +10	n/a
Necklace of J	Accessory	DEF +5	n/a

There are lots of more interesting items out there in the castle that we will discuss at length in the Interesting Items section. We will give out their locations, but we’ll keep the location of the Alucard equipment a surprise.

At this point in the game, you’ll find out that Alucard is now without any items on him! This is where the real game begins. The game will give you two skeletons now that wield swords. Upon killing them, one will drop the Short Sword while the other will drop the Red Rust.

The Short Sword is the better sword out of the two as the Red Rust is one of the worst swords in Symphony. While we aren’t exaggerating, the Red Rust actually has a use wherein you can stop the Doppelganger (a boss) from drawing his sword. The Red Rust is a cursed sword that occasionally gets stuck in its sheath, so wield it at your own risk.

All this said, you’ll be able to find more intriguing items anywhere around the castle. What it takes is some resourcefulness. From time to time, we will point out some interesting ways to get special items that will carry your progress forward and faster. You might even be able to obtain items that are otherwise stuck behind areas that require Relics. Watch out!

Items, items, items. There’s a lot to unpack here, huh? How about we take a look at the Pause Menu?

*Dhampir — (n.) The formal term for a person who is half-human, half-vampire.

The Pause Menu and How to Navigate It

Symphony of the Night’s Pause Menu is where you’ll be able to view Alucard’s stats, how to customize Alucard’s current set of equipment, browse what spells you’ve learned or which Relics you’ve collected so far, or change his Familiars. The most complex part of this happens to be his Equipment section.

For many first-time players, we can assume how this might be a bit confusing for them. Oftentimes, they might acquire a new item but not know how to equip it. Don’t worry, here’s a little breakdown of what you will see, and we will first start with the Status screen.

The status screen displays a lot of terms and numbers somewhat familiar to the average RPG gamer. But to those who just hopped in on Symphony, not understanding what these are, here’s a quick glossary of what each and every item in it means:

• Level — This displays Alucard’s current level. Whenever he kills something, he will gain experience points or EXP. Each monster in the castle varies in EXP and usually, the harder they are to kill, the more EXP they give.
  
• Status — Alucard’s default status should be GOOD. If he has been poisoned (POISON), petrified (STONE), or cursed (CURSE), it will change into these. Poison reduces his overall damage by half and can be cured with an Antivenom, petrification completely freezes Alucard in place and doubles his damage received, and curse prevents him from attacking which can be cured by using Uncurse.
  
  We singled out petrification here because it can only be cured by rubbing the d-pad repeatedly in various directions or if you have the Faerie Familiar, she can use a Hammer from your inventory.
  
• EXP — This represents how much experience points Alucard has earned in total.
  
• NEXT — The numbers here are how much EXP Alucard requires before he levels up. It counts down to 0. Once it hits 0, Alucard levels up and the EXP required for the next level is increased.
  
• GOLD — This is how much money Alucard currently has with him.
  
• ROOMS — This is the total number of rooms that Alucard has explored. A room is any area in the castle that is separated by a fading transition. A doorway separates the castle’s different areas.
  
• KILLS — These numbers represent the total number of enemies that Alucard has slain.
  
• TIME — This is the total time you have spent playing the game. The timer does not move when you’re in the Pause Menu.
  
• HP — See the Status Bar under the Alucard in Detail section, stands for Health Points. This can be increased by leveling up or collecting an HP Max Potion dropped by bosses and hidden in some rooms.
  
• MP — See the Status Bar under the Alucard in Detail section, stands for Magic Points. This can be increased by leveling up.
  
• HEART — See the Status Bar under the Alucard in Detail section. This can be increased by collecting a Heart Max Potion hidden in some rooms.
  
• STR — This is Alucard’s Strength. More STR will make him hit harder with what weapon he is currently holding in his hands. It stacks with his ATT stat. This increases with every level up.
  
• CON — This represents Alucard’s Constitution or his “natural” defense. For every 10 points in his CON, he will increase his DEF by 1 point. This also happens every 2.5 points or so. CON also determines the length at which he remains poisoned or cursed. Higher CON means lesser time for these statuses to remain. This increases with every level up.
  
• INT — The numbers here are Alucard’s overall Intelligence. Having greater numbers in INT will increase the damage he deals using anything other than his weapons. These include his Spells or his Sub-Weapons. Generally speaking, if the attack requires the use of Alucard’s MP or Hearts, the damage he deals will be derived from this stat. This increases with every level up.
  
• LCK — This is Alucard’s Luck stat. Higher LCK means a higher chance to score a critical hit or for items to drop. This stat is necessary if you’re grinding for equipment. The Talisman accessory also relies on this stat.
  
• ATT R — This is the overall damage that Alucard deals with the weapon currently in his Right Hand. The damage in both hands will be the same if he currently has a two-handed weapon equipped.
  
• ATT L — This is the overall damage that Alucard deals with the weapon currently in his Left Hand. The damage in both hands will be the same if he currently has a two-handed weapon equipped.
  
• DEF — This is the amount of damage mitigated from enemy attacks by Alucard’s armor.

In the tab next to it, you should see what he is capable of equipping. This is the Equip screen. Here, he has a total of 7 slots in which you can equip him with certain items:

• Head — Helmets, headgear, and anything that might fit on Alucard’s head.
  
• Body — Armor to protect our hero.
  
• Cloak — This is where you can fit Alucard with the incredibly stylish cloaks you can find all throughout the castle.
  
• Right Hand — Weapons, items, shields.
  
• Left Hand — Just like the Right Hand, but on the Left.
  
• Other 1 & 2 — These are accessory slots. Rings, necklaces, anything that doesn’t seem to fit elsewhere. They’re interchangeable and you can mix and match whichever accessories you seem to like together.

Selecting any of these slots will allow you to browse the Equipment available. By tapping the Filter button that appears on the upper-right portion of the screen, you’ll be able to sift through what you’ll be able to put in the slot but this only applies to what you can use in his Right Hand or Left Hand.

One thing we’d like to point out is how Alucard would restore his HP or MP by drinking potions or eating food. Unlike modern RPGs where you can simply choose the item and then hit a “Use” button, you will have to give Alucard your desired item.

Let’s say that you’d like for him to drink a Potion to recover his HP. You will have to equip the Potion first in either hand, and unpause the game. When you’re in play, tap the Hand which you’ve equipped the Potion in and he will drink it. For food, it’s basically the same thing, except Alucard will prefer to toss the food down on the floor first. Walking over the food he dropped will make him eat it. He’s quite sophisticated, you see.

This section displays any and every spell Alucard has already cast. It will display a sequence of buttons to cast first, and then they will be available for selection using the Spell button. Because the game’s button sequences aren’t that reliable, we will outline every single spell and what they do in the Spellbook section.

This is where all the Familiars you have found can be summoned and dismissed. Simply tapping any of their names will call them to Alucard’s side. To view them in detail, please see the Get Familiar with Your Familiars section.

This is a part of the Pause Menu where you can browse the Relics that you’ve collected thus far. They also each have a brief description of what they do. If you’re up for a challenge, you may also disable some Relics, but be warned, you will need some of these. To see an in-depth guide to each of them, they are found in the Relics and Where to Find Them section of this guide.

Lastly, you have the System menu. Here, you can change the lining of the Reverse Cloak, the colors of the Joseph’s Cloak, change the game’s languages, or even return to the main menu. Simple.

We’re getting to the juicier part of the guide. This is the best part of Castlevania as a whole: combat. Ready yourself!

Alucard’s Deadly Grace

One thing you are bound to notice immediately after taking control of Alucard is that he is quite fluid in every single move he makes.

His sword swings are swift and deadly, his jumps are far and high, and the way he runs through the castle halls is as though he were gliding on air. He is smooth, deft, and deadly. This is further exemplified by the way his controls work. As discussed earlier in this guide, he can carry one thing in each hand, backdash, perform Spells, and collect Relics to further improve the way he fights. But the spell-casting and Relic usage will be discussed in the Dirty Combat 101 section. Here, we will cover the basics of his actions.

By tapping the Right Hand button (assuming this is where you equipped a weapon), Alucard will swing at the enemy directly in front of him. He can also do this while ducking by holding [ICN: Down] on the d-pad, and even attack downward with most weapons by long-pressing [ICN: DgDownRight] or [ICN: DgDownLeft] depending on where you want him to face. The downward strikes are usually for smaller enemies like Fleamen and Frogs.

Apart from using his shield, Alucard can also attack certain projectiles to destroy them. He can also attack in midair, swing across from him or downward using the same controls. Most weapons each have varying swing speed with two-handed swords being slower than many.

If you fancy dual-wielding, you can equip two different weapons in each hand and use one or the other when the time arises. For instance, wielding a Firebrand in the Right Hand and an Icebrand in the Left allows you to tackle enemies with different elemental resistances.

When unsure of an enemy’s attack, ducking is a safe bet, but pressing the Backdash button is safer. What happens is that Alucard will swiftly glide backwards, away from the enemy’s attack. Jumping over enemy attacks also works as some of them can be perfectly evaded that way. Holding down the Jump button will result in higher and longer jumps.

But combat aside, doing long jumps can get you across wider gaps (at least until Alucard can turn into a Bat or after you find the Leap Stone or the Gravity Boots), and Backdashing makes you travel slightly faster than running through the castle’s halls (until you find the Power of Wolf Relic).

Just like Richter, Alucard can also equip Sub-Weapons and use them. The next section will discuss them in detail.

Sub-Weapons

Upon obtaining the Cube of Zoe, your first Relic, destroying candles, lamps, and any flame attached to a wall will drop hearts, money, and the occasional Sub-Weapon.

As explained earlier, Sub-Weapons are small but deadly items that can be utilized by holding  (ICN: Up) and then pressing any Hand Button (ICN: AlcSub). Each Sub-Weapon has its own consumption of Hearts and its own behavior. Naturally, more Hearts consumed means that the weapon is more powerful. Below is a table of any and every Sub-Weapon that Alucard can obtain in the castle as well as their Heart consumption and what they can do:

SUB-WEAPON	HEARTS REQUIRED	WHAT IT DOES
Knife	1❤	Flies straight at the enemy, can be thrown rapidly.
Axe	4❤	Hurled upwards in an arc, pierces through multiple enemies as it rises and falls.
Holy Water	3❤	Emits a brief, green flame that rapidly damages anything caught in it.
Rebound Stone	2❤	Bounces all over a room, damaging any enemy it passes through.
Bible	5❤	Violently flies around Alucard, damaging enemies hit by it and destroying projectiles.
Stopwatch	20❤	Stops time for a few seconds. Some enemies may be immune.
Vibhuti	3❤	Scatters holy ashes on the floor, damaging enemies that step on them. The ashes linger for a short while.
Agunea	5❤	Fires lightning bolts at the enemy, can be fired rapidly.
Cross	100❤	Grand Cross — Alucard summons the powers of holiness and causes two massive crucifixes to swirl around him, purifying the entire area with holy light.

Each of these Sub-Weapons have their own unique uses that suit the game’s different enemies and bosses. One example we can give is the Axe’s use on the game’s first boss, Slogra and Gaibon. This can be used to damage them when Gaibon lifts Slogra up into the air. When tossed, the Axe will slash through both of them, damaging them just enough for you to defeat them both. We’ll cover more of this in the Dirty Combat 101 section.

Sub-Weapons aside, there are still other ways Alucard can dispatch his enemies. This is where things are going to get tricky!

The Spellbook

Among Symphony of the Night’s many secrets is Alucard’s ability to perform Spells.

This is a secret because only those familiar with the inputs are able to cast them. Most people will not have tried performing these and would rather finish the game without them. This goes especially for the PSX and PSP versions of the game. Sure, they can be purchased from the Master Librarian in the Long Library, but many of them can be cast right off the bat if Alucard has enough MP to perform them.

Do know that the sequences of these inputs should be cast perfectly in order. If you miss a button or do not fit the requirements of the spell (not enough MP, missing Relic, etc.), you will not be able to cast it successfully.

Each and every Spell that Alucard casts varies in MP and has its own unique behavior and usage as well — some of these focus on healing the dhampir, while others are solely used to heavily damage enemies. Below is a table of any and all Spells that Alucard can cast. Be warned that some of them will require certain things to be effectively cast:

(NOTE: This is all assuming Alucard is facing the right. If he is facing the left, the spell has to be done the other way. Meaning, if you plan to cast Dark Metamorphosis while he is facing the left of the screen, you have to start with the [ICN: Right] button, Tetra Spirit’s arrows should descend to the left instead of the right, etc.)

SPELL	MP USAGE	INPUT & REQUIREMENTS	BEHAVIOR
Summon Spirit	5		A spirit flies out from the center of the screen and repeatedly attacks some enemies present before flying out.
Tetra Spirit	20	(The should be held for at least 2 seconds)	A salvo of four spirits fly out from the center of the screen, attacking multiple enemies repeatedly. Can focus on a single target for massive damage.
Dark Metamorphosis	10		Alucard awakens the darkness of his vampiric side and can heal by getting showered on by enemies that shed blood. He will need to use a weapon that cuts for them to bleed.
Hellfire	15		Alucard performs his father’s trademark Spell. He will teleport and then reappear before lifting his cape to shoot a trio of fireballs. Holding after he reappears will cause him to launch the bigger fireballs.
Soul Steal	50		Alucard draws out the life energies of all the enemies around him, restoring his health. Useful against bosses with a lot of HP or when Alucard needs healing in general.
Wing Smash	8	(Bat Form only)	Alucard flies at the enemy at a high speed. His flight can be controlled at an upward or downward angle.
Wolf Charge	10	(Wolf Form only, requires Skill of Wolf Relic)	Alucard lunges at his enemy with a vicious bite. He also tears through multiple enemies using this.
Sword Brothers	30	(Requires Sword Familiar summoned) (The key should be held for at least 2 seconds)	The Sword Familiar will damage all enemies on screen.

These can all be cast anytime, anywhere. That said, they can also be applied to bosses!

Dirty Combat 101 (AKA Fighting Smart)

Does a specific boss get you down? Is an enemy in particular blocking the way? Make them move not just with what weapons you wield, but the Spells and Sub-Weapons you currently have.

Each weapon class has its own attribute and effects. Naturally, most swords have the Cut attribute unless they are said to be elemental. These attributes can be used against specific enemies and bosses. Spells like Summon Spirit and Tetra Spirit will be the easiest to cast early on due to their low MP requirements and their high damage output.

The Hellfire Spell also qualifies, since it allows Alucard a brief moment of invulnerability while he casts it as well as the ability to teleport anywhere on a flat surface. To give you an example of how to fight smart, let’s cover how you can take down the first two bosses of the game rather easily:

BOSS	LOCATION	WHAT TO BRING
Slogra and Gaibon	Alchemy Laboratory	Axe (Sub-Weapon)
Doppelganger 10	Outer Wall	Red Rust, Holy Water (Sub-Weapon) or Stopwatch (Sub-Weapon)

Let’s first talk about Slogra and Gaibon. These two demons are Death’s trusted minions who have been sent to kill Alucard in the hopes that he doesn’t prevent Dracula’s resurrection. Hitting Slogra (the bird with the spear) will cause him to jump backwards, forcing Gaibon (the blue one that flies) to catch him midair. Slogra will then angle his spear downward and Gaibon will try to drop him on Alucard. While Slogra is getting picked up or while he is in midair with Gaibon, chuck some Axes on them.

You can also cast Summon Spirit or Tetra Spirit if you have them unlocked to further damage them. After hurting Slogra enough, he will lose his spear and resort to stabbing Alucard with his beak instead. When Slogra dies, Gaibon will try to spew fireballs at Alucard which are easily destroyed by blocking with his shield or by attacking them. His first attempt would be to fly upward and spit them from there.

After reaching a height, Gaibon will drop and shoot more fireballs at Alucard while standing upright. Alucard can duck under the stream of fireballs and cut Gaibon in the stomach repeatedly. When Gaibon hits a certain HP threshold, he will turn red and spew bigger fireballs at a rapid pace but the same tactic can be applied here. Killing Gaibon first will make the fight easy as Slogra will repeatedly leap backwards when hurt, having nobody to catch him, but this is harder to pull off since Gaibon often flies about.

The Doppelganger, on the other hand, is quite challenging if you aren’t prepared. Ensure first that you aren’t carrying a Knife Sub-Weapon since he will copy your every move. You can prevent him from advancing toward you by dropping Holy Water in front of him. The flames will stagger him. Additionally, equipping the Red Rust and landing a hit on him will Curse him, preventing him from drawing his sword.

Of course, you’ll have to re-equip whatever sword you had initially before this, because the Red Rust’s attack power is terrible. If you happen to have carried the Stopwatch from the Marble Gallery, you can freeze the Doppelganger in place and slash at him repeatedly, killing him effortlessly. This was captured in the GIF above.

These are but two bosses in the whole game. There are many more ways you can win, and to give you food for thought, we’ve prepared a list of items worth looking for.

Interesting Items

Much like every RPG out there, Symphony of the Night is chock full of surprises. Below is a list of a few items and their locations. Having any of these can help make your run smoother or more enjoyable:

ITEM	ITEM TYPE	LOCATION	USAGE	SPECIAL SKILL
Walk Armor	Body	Catacombs	Exploring the castle will increase its overall defense. This includes areas you have already discovered.	n/a
Holy Rod	Club	Long Library	A very useful weapon that can easily dispatch most enemies in the castle — many of which have a weakness to Holy damage.	Holy Explosion — Alucard delivers a mighty swing, increasing the radius of the Holy Rod’s power. It also deals more damage than a regular swing.
Holy Sword	Sword	Colosseum, also dropped by the Vandal Sword enemies from the Clock Tower	A powerful weapon that is considerably stronger than the Holy Rod. However, the Holy Rod’s speed might favor more players. Both can be wielded in each hand. Finding this in the Colosseum will require flight, however.	Holy Burst — Alucard causes a small explosion of holy energy in his immediate vicinity, finishing off the attack with a powerful swing.
Joseph's Cloak	Cloak	Sold by Master Librarian ($30,000)	This is the second best Cloak in the game. You can change the colors of this cloak in the System Menu under the Cloak option.	n/a
Crissaegrim	Sword	Forbidden Library, dropped by Schmoos	You have won the game.	n/a
Alucart Set	Sword, Body, Shield	Marble Gallery, requires the Leap Stone and the Stopwatch (Sub-Weapon)	This set dramatically boosts Alucard’s LCK stat, making it easy to farm for rare items. Be warned that the stats this set offers doesn’t add much. Also puts Alucard under the special status “ALUCART”.	n/a
Ring of Ares	Accessory	Abandoned Pit to the Catacomb	A ring that grants Alucard the strength of 24 men, but at the cost of 24 of his current Defense. High risk, high reward as it makes Alucard hit so much harder in the early game.	n/a
Shield Rod	Club	Colosseum, Final Stage: Bloodlines (Easter Egg only)	A special rod that is extremely powerful with a shield. It can be used simultaneously with a different shield to cast a different spell each time.	Shield Spell — Simultaneously pressing the Shield Rod and the Shield you are currently equipped with casts a spell based on the shield. Star Shield — Alucard generates a floating, energy shield that blocks projectiles where it’s cast.
Rune Sword	Sword	Dropped by the Dodo	Arguably the rarest sword of the game. It’s similar to the Heaven Sword but instead cleaves whatever’s in front of Alucard when thrown.	Extended Throw
Brilliant Mail	Body	Dropped by the Snipers of Goth	A suit of armor that greatly improves the power of Sub-Weapons.	n/a

There are still more items out there, but we’d rather you find them out yourself. Trust us, the surprises are all worth it!

Now how about some Familiars?

Get Familiar with Your Familiars

Familiars are little helpers that assist Alucard in battle. Each of them have their own unique abilities, but in the case of this port, there are at least two of these Familiars that share the same stats and moves as their regular counterparts (with minor differences).

Finding Familiars can help you explore the castle more safely as with each time they level up, they grow stronger in power. Just like Alucard, they gain EXP but this time, it’s based on the longer they are kept by his side. Below is a list of all the available Familiars in the game and where you can find them.

FAMILIAR	FEATURES	LOCATION
Faerie	Can automatically heal Alucard using Golden Apples or any Potions and dispel him of debuffs using items from his inventory. She can also buff him with potions of specific Resistance if Alucard is hit by a particular element.	Long Library (Faerie Card)
Devil	Fights by Alucard's side. Gains the ability to perform elemental spells with his trident as he levels up. Can press switches.	Abandoned Pit to the Catacombs (Demon Card)
Bat	Fights by Alucard's side. Swoops at enemies and becomes more aggressive every level. When Alucard is in Bat Form, it will mimic Alucard's fireball attack (Fire of Bat). At higher levels, it will have additional bats by its side that will also mimic Alucard's fireballs.	Alchemy Laboratory (Bat Card)
Ghost	Fights by Alucard's side. It latches onto enemies and causes small explosions dealing magic damage which increase in speed per level. At Lv70, its attacks heal Alucard for 8 HP each. If Alucard assumes the Bat form, it will leave. Turning back to his original form, his Wolf form, or his Mist form will call the Ghost back. It can be ordered to attack particular enemies by making Alucard pass an enemy of choice in his Mist form.	Castle Keep (Ghost Card)
Sword	Fights by Alucard's side. It will fly at an enemy's location and swing in a circular motion, causing rapid damage. As its level goes up, its aggression grows and at Lv50, it will disappear from the screen and appear in Alucard's inventory as a regular sword to wield. It can be re-summoned as a Familiar through this menu. It will change appearance at Lv60, becoming even more aggressive as a Familiar and more powerful as a sword. It also comes with the powerful Sword Brothers spell (see the Spellbook section).	Olrox's Quarters (Sword Card)
N Demon	Similar to the Devil Familiar. The only exception to it is that it has a large nose, glasses, and a funnier personality as opposed to the Devil's more formal one.	Colosseum (N Demon Card)
Fairy	Similar to the Faerie Familiar. Unlike the Faerie, however, this one will sing Alucard a lullaby and put him to sleep if you make him sit on a chair by pressing ↑ when in front of one.	Olrox's Quarters (Fairy Card)

Leveling up your familiars is hard work, but pick one that suits your needs and it’ll take great care of you. It’s always good to invest in one early, especially as soon as you get its card. Be warned that you can only summon one Familiar at a time.

Familiar Cards are Relics by themselves. The question is, which items are specifically classified as Relics, exactly? Let us tell you!

Relics and Where to Find Them

Relics are powerful items that are required for you to traverse the castle’s various obstacles.

Some of these involve places where you’d need to fit in like grills or small gaps, some of them require Alucard to jump a certain height, others have more essential abilities that you will eventually need since the game only gets harder as you progress. Below is the complete list of Relics, excluding the aforementioned Familiar Cards:

RELIC	LOCATION	USAGE
Cube of Zoe	Entrance	Your first Relic. Items now drop from candles and lamps.
Spirit Orb	Marble Gallery	Shows how much damage you deal.
Faerie Scroll	Long Library	Tells you the name of each enemy you attack.
Jewel of Open	Sold by Master Librarian ($500)	Opens Blue Doors.
Leap Stone	Castle Keep	Allows Alucard to Double Jump by pressing the Jump button again in midair.
Gravity Boots	Marble Gallery, requires Soul of Bat	Allows Alucard to Super Jump by pressing the below command: Can be done repeatedly in midair.
Merman Statue	Underground Caverns	Summons the mysterious oarsman at large bodies of water.
Holy Symbol	Underground Caverns, requires Merman Statue	Allows Alucard to go underwater without taking damage. (Also turns him into a Holy Diver.)
Soul of Wolf	Outer Wall	Grants Alucard the Wolf Form, can run as a wolf by double tapping or
Power of Wolf	Entrance, requires Soul of Bat or Gravity Boots	Alucard’s speed as he runs in Wolf Form increases overtime, a great way to travel long hallways.
Skill of Wolf	Alchemy Laboratory, requires Soul of Bat or Gravity Boots	Grants Alucard the ability to perform the Wolf Charge Spell, see the Spellbook section for its input command.
Form of Mist	Colosseum	Grants Alucard the Mist Form. Allows him to pass through grills.
Power of Mist	Castle Keep, requires Soul of Bat. Fire of Bat optional.	Prolongs the Mist Form.
Gas Cloud	Floating Catacombs, defeat Galamoth	Mist Form now damages enemies.
Soul of Bat	Long Library, requires Form of Mist	Grants Alucard the Bat Form, allows him to fly.
Fire of Bat	Clock Tower, requires Soul of Bat or Gravity Boots	Gives Alucard’s Bat Form the ability to spit fireballs.
Echo of Bat	Olrox’s Quarters, requires Soul of Bat or Gravity Boots, defeat Olrox	Allows Alucard’s Bat Form to use its echoes in dark places.
Force of Echo	Reverse Caverns	Alucard’s Bat Form can now use its echo to damage enemies.
Ring of Vlad	Defeat Darkwing Bat	INT +10, allows entry to the final boss room
Rib of Vlad	Defeat Akmodan II	CON +10, allows entry to the final boss room
Heart of Vlad	Defeat Medusa	Immunity to Curse, allows entry to the final boss room
Tooth of Vlad	Defeat The Creature	STR +10, allows entry to the final boss room
Eye of Vlad	Defeat Death	LCK +10, allows entry to the final boss room

The last five Relics are quite important since they will allow you to find the room of your final battle. Once you have successfully obtained these as well as defeated the bosses that guard them, you may find it in the heart of the Black Marble Gallery. Do note that the Golden Ending requires you to have explored everything with a completion rate of at least 196% of castle exploration (200.6%, total).

Location, location, location — you’ve seen this repeated a couple of times in the guide now. Problem is, how does one read the map? It’s actually simpler than it looks.

How to Read the Map

Dracula’s castle is HUGE. If this game didn’t have a map system of some sort, we’d all be lost.

Thankfully, the developers thought ahead and gave everyone a map which you can buy from the Master Librarian in the Long Library. The item itself grants the player a basic outline of the castle, though, each player has the Map Button from the start, as seen in the Alucard in Detail section. Pressing this will reveal the rooms you have discovered and the rooms you are yet to discover.

Of course, any area that doesn’t seem highlighted hasn’t been discovered yet, but at the same time, there are hidden areas that only you can find out by breaking them with your weapon or having the Faerie Familiar summoned. There are a few other things that stand out in the map when you look at it.

The white, pulsating circle is your current location — it shows where you are in a room, hallway, or tower. There are also tiny rooms that are colored red and yellow. These rooms are quite important because they provide essential features that help you explore the castle and keep healthy. The red ones are Save Points.

A large, golden crystal that beats like a heart morphs into Alucard’s coffin when you choose to save. Making contact with this crystal by pressing the [ICN: Up] button will replenish all of Alucard’s HP and MP.

Conversely, the yellow rooms are Warp Rooms. These rooms allow Alucard to walk through their glowing portals by pressing the [ICN: Up] button. However, you will have to observe the animal head atop the portal, as each of them signify which room Alucard might currently be in:

• Scorpion — Outer Wall
• Horse — Entrance
• Lion — Castle Keep
• Goat — Olrox’s Quarters
• Snake — Abandoned Pit to the Catacomb

With the essentiality of Warp Rooms mentioned, this is where the charm of Castlevania comes from: exploration.

Exploration and Backtracking is Key

You will quickly notice that there are some places that are hard to reach. These require specific Relics or Familiars to uncover.

Symphony of the Night is not a linear game. This means that the stages you find are not particularly in an order you need to follow. The game can be played at your own pace, meaning you can use time between hunting down bosses to farm for equipment or gold to buy all sorts of neat things from the Master Librarian. You can utilize Warp Rooms to get around, or the Library Card to bring yourself to the Master Librarian’s shop if you need to.

As far as equipment and weapons are concerned, follow this rule of thumb: if it wields a weapon, it most certainly drops one. For gold, keep mental notes of which candles in specific areas drop them. Some of them can drop bags of gold that cost as much as $2000, but these are usually placed in hard-to-reach places. Look out!

Do not also be ashamed of dying. Dying on any of your attempts actually gives you ideas on how to tackle a problem better. Perhaps you might’ve been wearing the wrong equipment, or you haven’t thoroughly studied a boss’ attacks. It’s all a matter of understanding how to explore the game.

No enemy is unkillable (except for Stone Skulls; those are invulnerable), and each area has its own little secret to uncover. If anything, keep a stash of Library Cards ready just in case you need to escape the wrath of a boss or a particularly difficult area.

Summary and Conclusion

As a whole, Symphony of the Night is a very complex game. Unless you know entirely what you’re doing, the game cannot be completed in a single day. You will have to consistently visit Save Points, explore every nook and cranny of the castle in order to gain the Golden Ending. Essentially, just remember what you’ve learned from this guide:

• Defeating Dracula as Richter will directly affect Alucard’s stats. The best outcome would be to complete the entire Prologue under 60 seconds, have Richter not take a single hit of damage, and to defeat Dracula without the use of a Sub-Weapon or Richter’s Flame Whip. Achieving this isn’t easy, but it won’t hurt to try.
  
• Alucard’s full set is powerful, but there are more powerful items hidden in the castle. Good luck finding them!
  
• Sub-Weapons can be utilized when the situation or enemy arises. They all have their own form of efficacy and they can be made stronger when wearing the Brilliant Mail.
  
• Alucard can cast Spells without having to buy the command sheets from the Master Librarian. Casting them early on (like in the very beginning) permanently unlocks them for use.
  
• Use everything you have at your disposal when fighting a boss or a particularly hard enemy to get past. Spells and Sub-Weapons make boss fights easier if you use them correctly. Give any and every of them a try!
  
• Relics are used to get past various obstacles. Vlad’s treasures are also needed in order to fight the true final boss of the game.
  
• Read the map often just so you don’t get lost. Red rooms are Save Points which restore Alucard and yellow rooms are Warp Points which bring you around the castle.
  
• Explore every room thoroughly. You’ll find passages that require certain Relics that also hide little secrets. Dying should also help you figure out what you should do in order to prevent it from happening again.

And this concludes our beginner’s guide for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night! A long journey awaits you and only you can see it through until the end. Are you an experienced hunter of the night? Do you know other secrets about this game that we might have missed here? Leave your thoughts in the comment section down below!