Jump to content
IGNORED

NES High Score Club Week #8 - Castlevania


vdub_bobby

Recommended Posts

Get off the track and grab your whip and let's play: Castlevania!

 

Post a score and let's get this thing rolling! Special note: as mentioned in the rules, everyone who rolls the score will have a HSC score of 999,999. Feel free to try to outdo each other if you want to play beyond that point, though. :D And see below if you think you are really good...

 

Please post any tips you may have - best tip gets 1 bonus point!

 

Bonus Bounty: Anyone rolling the score twice will receive a 5-point bonus. :evil:

 

Also, if anyone has a link to the manual, please post it. mojofltr to the rescue again: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=1159244

 

Scores achieved after a "Continue" do not count, please - only games played from the beginning are acceptable for competition.

 

Special leeching note: Cybergoth discovered a nifty trick for big points in stage 1, involving using holy water to kill the endless zombies. After some discussion, I decided that this is not allowed.

 

We're going a little longer this time to take us through Halloween, so-

 

This week's competition ends next Wednesday (Nov 1) morning at approximately 9:00 am PST.

 

This week's standings:

 

999,999 rjchamp3 (+10 pts)

999,999 bust3dstr8 (+10 pts + 1 bonus pt for best tip)

160,030 vdub_bobby (+6 pts)

154,370 figgler (+4 pts)

129,080 8th lutz (+2 pts)

113,560 LarcenTyler (+1 pt)

110,690 gdement (+1 pt)

101,000 mojofltr (+1 pt)

89,660 nester (+1 pt)

69,420 Cybergoth (+1 pt)

64,520 MetalSlime23 (+1 pt)

 

 

Overall standings:

 

1. rjchamp3 (43 pts)

2. figgler (40 pts)

3. mojofltr (28 pts)

4. vdub_bobby (27 pts)

5. 8th lutz (19 pts)

6. nester (18 pts)

6. LarcenTyler (18 pts)

8. Malc74 (13 pts)

9. MetalSlime23 (12 pts)

10. Cybergoth (6 pts)

10. gdement (6 pts)

12. keilbaca (4 pts)

13. MCHufnagel (2 pts)

13. remowilliams (2 pts)

15. BrianC (1 pts)

 

 

Tips

 

bust3dstr8

Keep Holy water the entire game until the bridge into Dracs lair. Then get the timeclock. The eagles and fleamen in the next area are very hard without it.

(Lost a bunch of guys there cause I whipped a skeleton bone and a damn dagger fell on me)

 

Axe Armors drop a 5 heart if you kill them with holy water. Jump up and toss one, then run back. They will walk into it and die in 1 hit if done right.

 

Bats always spawn form the way you are facing, turning around in some areas can make jumps easier.

 

Get to the the Mummy twins with holy water, run to the center of the screen to get them to spawn. Then run up the blocks to the left and begin firebombing. Don't get the meat out from the block or you won't make it back up.

 

shadow460

Stage 1: Bat: Use the axe like normal. There's a double shot on the right side of the screen--just whip at the blocks over there til you find it.

 

Stage 2: Medusa: Boomerang or holy water if you've been killed. The stopwatch works here, too. Hold up and whip repeatedly. Using the boomerang will probably cause you to take some hits, but that's not a problem.

 

Stage 3: Mummies: All you need is the morningstar. Get out from between them, kneel down and whip like crazy.

 

Stage 4: Frankenstein and Igor: (here's where things get interesting)

I recommend you use the dagger. Igor only lands in certain spots, and once you leap over the small platform on the left, his fireballs are simple to dodge by walking left and right. In the meantime, keep throwing daggers at Frankenstein. He's smart enough to block them with his face. If you die, walk just to the right of the first candle, then turn around and hit it. It will drop a double shot. Turn and quickly hit the second candle, which drops the dagger. Grab the dagger, then grab the double shot. If you hit the ark dragons with your dagger enough, one of them will drop a triple shot, which is probably overkill.

 

Stage 5: Grim Reaper: Another interesting twist--use the boomerang. This is the second place where I usually leech. I'll leech until the score rolls, then I'll move on. Once the score rolls, you will no longer recieve extra lives. I'll also leech for the triple shot (this can be obtained by hitting the red skeletons) and I'll obtain 99 hearts.

 

When the battle begins, go to the upper left platform. It's a difficult jump and you don't have much time to make it. Same deal...hold up and keep whipping. The boomerangs will reach over to where Death floats, and the morningstar will help keep the scales in check. You've got to move horizontally sometimes, and you've got to hop around a bit to avoid the scales, but it can be done. If you're on a lower platform than Death, jump up as you throw the boomerang. With the triple shot in effect, you'll kill him in no time.

 

I have not played against Dracula in years. I used to use the boomerang here, too.

 

IMO, Holy Water is the most useless weapon in the game outside of Stage 1. I typically stick with the boomerang, the dagger, or the morningstar alone. The axe has its moments, and the stopwatch is for sissies.

 

I forgot to mention, the reason you get screwed when you lose the holy water is that it's just not in the final area before most of the bosses. That's why I learned to kill them with different weapons--you have got to be able to use what's at hand if you do die. It's not hard, either--it just takes practice. Once you get the hang of something hard like killing Death with the Boomerang, you won't understand why it was ever difficult at all.

 

LarcenTyler:

-When you encounter the hunchbacks, wait untill they're about to jump, then move back so they're off the screen. If done right, they will disappear.

 

-It sounds like common sense, but timing your jumps is critical, since there are many times an enemy can hit you, throwing your jump off balance, and possibly into a pit.

 

-When dealing with Medusa Heads, wait untill they swoop down, then move forward over them. Don't waste your time trying to whip them all, as more will come after you. The only exception is if you need to make a jump, in which case you should whip one and then jump.

 

-When taking on the bosses, these are my recommendations for which special weapon to use:

 

Giant Bat: Axe

 

Queen Medusa: Use the stopwatch then whip her repeatedly

 

Mummies: Dagger

 

Frankenstein and Igor: Holy Water/Fire Bomb (whatever you want to call it.)

 

Grim Reaper: Axe

 

The Count: Boomerang

 

rjchamp3

AXE FOR THE BAT- HOLY WATER FOR MEDUSA- HOLY WATER FOR MUMMY TWINS- HOLY WATER OR FRANKENSTEIN AND EGOR- AND HOLY WARTER FOR THE GRIM REAPER TOO, HE WONT EVEN HURT YA,

 

 

If you want to go the cheap way out with the mummy twins stand on the left edge after they activate and whip whip whip,

 

THE COUNT BOOMERANG OR HOLY WATER IF YOU CAN HOLD OFF TILL THE HIDDEN MONSTER APPEARS.

 

I PLAN TO SET A POINTS WORLD RECORD THIS WEEK THE SCORE ROLLS AT 999,999

 

If you can play that long

 

ALSO IF YOU DO IT RIGHT WITH THE BOOMERANG YOU CAN DEFEAT HIM WITH N HITS TOO

 

My tips:

My tip: every projectile can be destroyed with the whip. The fireballs spit at you by the stone statues (or whatever they are), the axes thrown by the axe throwers, the projectiles launched by all the bosses. You don't have to dodge everything.

 

My other tip: the axe throwers can be defeated easily with, ironically, the axe. The axe throwers like to keep their distance from you, which means to whip them you have to constantly chase them, which is dangerous. But the distance they like to keep from you happens to be exactly the distance that the axe goes. So stand still, whip the axes they throw at you, and throw axes at your leisure.

 

Cybergoth found hidden treasure and food.

 

I found some more treasure and I posted links to two speedruns, which are helpful in planning routes and learning techniques for fighting certain difficult monsters.

Edited by vdub_bobby
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No score yet, but here are my tips for the game:

 

-When you encounter the hunchbacks, wait untill they're about to jump, then move back so they're off the screen. If done right, they will disappear.

 

-It sounds like common sense, but timing your jumps is critical, since there are many times an enemy can hit you, throwing your jump off balance, and possibly into a pit.

 

-When dealing with Medusa Heads, wait untill they swoop down, then move forward over them. Don't waste your time trying to whip them all, as more will come after you. The only exception is if you need to make a jump, in which case you should whip one and then jump.

 

-When taking on the bosses, these are my recommendations for which special weapon to use:

 

Giant Bat: Axe

 

Queen Medusa: Use the stopwatch then whip her repeatedly

 

Mummies: Dagger

 

Frankenstein and Igor: Holy Water/Fire Bomb (whatever you want to call it.)

 

Grim Reaper: Axe

 

The Count: Boomerang

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get off the track and grab your whip and let's play: Castlevania!

 

Post a score and let's get this thing rolling!

 

Please post any tips you may have - best tip gets 1 bonus point!

 

Also, if anyone has a link to the manual, please post it.

 

Scores achieved after a "Continue" do not count, please - only games played from the beginning are acceptable for competition.

 

We're going a little longer this time to take us through Halloween, so-

 

This week's competition ends next Wednesday (Nov 1) morning at approximately 9:00 am PST.

 

This week's standings:

 

To come.

 

 

Overall standings:

 

1. rjchamp3 (43 pts)

2. figgler (40 pts)

3. mojofltr (28 pts)

4. vdub_bobby (27 pts)

5. 8th lutz (19 pts)

6. nester (18 pts)

6. LarcenTyler (18 pts)

8. Malc74 (13 pts)

9. MetalSlime23 (12 pts)

10. Cybergoth (6 pts)

10. gdement (6 pts)

12. keilbaca (4 pts)

13. MCHufnagel (2 pts)

13. remowilliams (2 pts)

15. BrianC (1 pts)

 

 

Tips

 

LarcenTyler:

-When you encounter the hunchbacks, wait untill they're about to jump, then move back so they're off the screen. If done right, they will disappear.

 

-It sounds like common sense, but timing your jumps is critical, since there are many times an enemy can hit you, throwing your jump off balance, and possibly into a pit.

 

-When dealing with Medusa Heads, wait untill they swoop down, then move forward over them. Don't waste your time trying to whip them all, as more will come after you. The only exception is if you need to make a jump, in which case you should whip one and then jump.

 

-When taking on the bosses, these are my recommendations for which special weapon to use:

 

Giant Bat: Axe

 

Queen Medusa: Use the stopwatch then whip her repeatedly

 

Mummies: Dagger

 

Frankenstein and Igor: Holy Water/Fire Bomb (whatever you want to call it.)

 

Grim Reaper: Axe

 

The Count: Boomerang

 

AXE FOR THE BAT- HOLY WATER FOR MEDUSA- HOLY WATER FOR MUMMY TWINS- HOLY WATER OR FRANKENSTEIN AND EGOR- AND HOLY WARTER FOR THE GRIM REAPER TOO, HE WONT EVEN HURT YA,

 

 

If you want to go the cheap way out with the mummy twins stand on the left edge after they activate and whip whip whip,

 

THE COUNT BOOMERANG OR HOLY WATER IF YOU CAN HOLD OFF TILL THE HIDDEN MONSTER APPEARS.

 

I PLAN TO SET A POINTS WORLD RECORD THIS WEEK THE SCORE ROLLS AT 999,999

 

If you can play that long

 

ALSO IF YOU DO IT RIGHT WITH THE BOOMERANG YOU CAN DEFEAT HIM WITH N HITS TOO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't get that far. I made it to the mummies tonight, but I've never been past the grim reaper in my life, so I am not going to be able to get too much further

 

Score; 66080

post-3765-1161650657_thumb.jpg

 

Some tips;

 

In the very first area, if you jump over the doorway, a treasure appears from the ground. Jump over the door again to grab it.

 

Similar treasure on the second level, right after the bat. If you bust the wall right at the top of the first starcase, and then walk in, a crown will appear at the bottom of the stairs you just climbed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never been very good at Castlevania. I finished Simon's Quest back in the day, but it is much easier than the others.

 

Stage 10 - 73,230 points

post-887-1161653379_thumb.jpg

 

Here is a manual scan for anyone interested. :!: This scan is horrible; The manual was torn and it looks to have had coffee dripped on it. If anyone has a good copy that they wouldn't mind scanning and uploading for the rest of us, that would be totally rad, man!

 

castlevania.zip

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi%20score.jpg

 

Those Merman in the caves 2nd loop fly right up your ass!!! Lost 6 guys there :x

 

Tips:

 

Keep Holy water the entire game until the bridge into Dracs lair. Then get the timeclock. The eagles and fleamen in the next area are very hard without it.

(Lost a bunch of guys there cause I whipped a skeleton bone and a damn dagger fell on me)

 

Axe Armors drop a 5 heart if you kill them with holy water. Jump up and toss one, then run back. They will walk into it and die in 1 hit if done right.

 

Bats always spawn form the way you are facing, turning around in some areas can make jumps easier.

 

Get to the the Mummy twins with holy water, run to the center of the screen to get them to spawn. Then run up the blocks to the left and begin firebombing. Don't get the meat out from the block or you won't make it back up.

Edited by bust3dstr8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I can't believe I dropped all the way down to 6th. I've just been too busy with my new job (and Dragon Warrior II) to participate. I'll try to get in some Castelvania time though. Of course once I get to the Grim Reaper it's all over.

 

same here, only for me it's been the Sims 2. I'm going to play this week. I'll post my first score tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This game and I have a troubled history.

It creates great atmosphere - I was reeled in by how cool this game was. But I soon realized that I should never buy this game, because every time I played it pissed me off. The gameplay mechanics suck. It's like ballet on a tightrope trying to do everything just the right way so you can get through a level without being knocked into a chasm by some floating medusa head. I don't know how anybody could play this game without putting their fist through the TV.

 

Ahem... so anyway, I was doing great until near the end of level 3. I made a minor error and one of the bats got behind me while I was fighting a fireball launching statue thing. I got hit several times while clearing out of that situation, and ended up without enough health to escape the mummies. Having died once, it was increasingly difficult to succeed without the upgraded whip and holy water. I lost all my guys on the mummies. I hope to reach level 4 next time - but I'll post this for now. Sorry for venting, I've never had such a strong love/hate attitude towards any other game. :) :lust: :| :x :x

 

65240

post-5182-1161874884_thumb.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for venting, I've never had such a strong love/hate attitude towards any other game. :) :lust: :| :x :x

I understand completely; I've always felt pretty much the same - I could get to Frankenstein fairly easily but I've always had the hardest time beating him; the few times I have I've always died shortly thereafter.

 

 

By the way, for folks looking for tips:

Here is a video of some guy beating it in 13 minutes - he doesn't maximize his score for sure, but if you can't beat a certain area you might be able to pick up some tips from him.

 

EDIT: A tool-assisted speedrun is on YouTube, if you want to see unattainable perfection. :D

Edited by vdub_bobby
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for venting, I've never had such a strong love/hate attitude towards any other game. :) :lust: :| :x :x

I understand completely; I've always felt pretty much the same - I could get to Frankenstein fairly easily but I've always had the hardest time beating him; the few times I have I've always died shortly thereafter.

 

 

By the way, for folks looking for tips:

Here is a video of some guy beating it in 13 minutes - he doesn't maximize his score for sure, but if you can't beat a certain area you might be able to pick up some tips from him.

 

EDIT: A tool-assisted speedrun is on YouTube, if you want to see unattainable perfection. :D

 

actually that time may be attainable maybe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...