CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT AKUMAJO DRACULA X: GEKKA NO YASOUKYOKU DRACULA X: NOCTURNE IN THE MOONLIGHT 1-KILL/BEAT 200.6% GUIDE ALL VERSIONS =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Author: Gideon Nikos Tayag GAMEFAQS username: Arkane Denial World Beyond Walls username: SymboliC Contact: arkane_signal@yahoo.com Current version: 2.0, completed on March 14, 2007, 4:44 AM -added several insights and new solutions by arukAdo and Bug7139, fixed errors. Early versions: 1.0, completed on February 26, 2007, 5:13 AM 1-kill/beat video links: Bug7139 video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ei7ki-vtBQ arukAdo video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdSnO-SDXVc This guide was tested primarily on the Akumajo Dracula X: Gekka No Yasoukyoku PSOne Books version released on Nov 19, 2003, Catalog no. SLPM-87328, and should work on all Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight versions, including the Sega Saturn version. COPYRIGHT 2007 GIDEON NIKOS TAYAG Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Akumajo Dracula X: Gekka No Yasoukyoku and all other official versions are owned by Konami. This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any website other than GAMEFAQS and World Beyond Walls or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other website or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this guide are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. If you wish to comment, ask or contribute some information not on this guide, you can contact me by email (pls. include 1-beat in subject header) or at the WBW forums located at this address: http://worldbeyondwalls.free.fr/ Paledim's Glitching FAQ can also be found at this site, which has the glitch lingo legend used in this guide. I highly suggest you look at his FAQ first before attempting this challenge, though there's no percentage-obtaining involved. And I would recommend the crew there if you need some support. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== ~TABLE OF CONTENTS~ I. Introduction II. Requirements III. A. Rules of the Bloody Road B. Rules of the Bug7139 Road C. Rules of the Saturn Road IV. FAQ V. Credits =============================================================================== =============================================================================== =============================================================================== I. ~ INTRODUCTION ~ Welcome to the Castlevania: SOTN/Akumajo Dracula X: NITM One-kill/beat guide! You may be suprised why this guide sprung up from nowhere. Actually, for several months the WBW crew has thought and tested this challenge, which progressed from a 5-beat to a 3-beat challenge, and now we can finish the game with just 1 kill! This guide is intended only for real experts and veterans confident with their skills, and also requires these players to have at least some glitching experiences and knowledge. This challenge is very intimidating, hard, and will test your physical, mental and spiritual capacity. Please do not be discouraged, this particular challenge was only tested on the emulator because of its difficult stunts and tricks, but I have tested and played it to work on a console, so this guide will assume the player using a Playstation 1, 2, 3 or a Sega Saturn. Also, be warned that you will definitely load your game a lot of times since one mistake will mess up your current task, and loading your game consecutively and numerously opens the possibility to corrupt your memory card, though Saturn players can feel comfortable with their internal memory and back-ups. It may or may not happen, but it's better safe than sorry. Playing on the emulator is safe and easier because of save-states, but we are out here to prove that this challenge is possible on the console. Best of luck to you! Here are the key steps in 1-kill/beat challenge: Note: This steps also apply to the Saturn version, but will be detailed later for its specific differences. 1. AXEARMOR file 2. Revenge-tech Slogra and Gaibon 3. Revenge-tech Doppelganger10 4. Blademaster Level-up/Big-toss/Shift line 5. Revenge-tech/Wolf-glitch Lesser Demon 6. Halfblood-tech/Wolf-glitch Karasuman 7. Save Richter officially or non-official way 8. Halfblood-tech Medusa or Darkwing Bat 9. Get 2nd Heart Refresh in Death Wing's Lair 10. Guardian room Edge Travel 11. Outside your house, run naked and brag your success. ;) II. ~ REQUIREMENTS ~ Prerequisites: Clear file, and at least one back-up memory card Glitch techniques/tricks required: 1. Revenge-tech This is a technique (discard tech) wherein you kill a monster/boss but you don't gain experience, and killing the enemy won't count in your kill/beat record. Yeah, I know. Technically you "killed" the monster, but we're talking about statistics here. And besides, after successfully doing it you have just proven how skilled you are. It's a very hard technique, most of all to casual gamers but once you pop, you can't stop. You need: Clock, 20+ MP Basically it requires you to "stop" the enemy using the Clock so its sprite-pallete isn't moving or almost not moving. This is the only time you can activate the Revenge-tech. You must kill the enemy immediately just after getting hit. Current solutions say that bumping the enemy is the only way it'll work, and projectile hits from the enemy isn't still guaranteed to coincide with the trick, and besides, lunging at the enemy is the better way. The timing differs in some cases, but mostly it will work when hit just as the enemy is killed. Another recent discovery against Doppelganger10 states it can also work if you cast Clock, if the enemy is completely motionless and in a neutral stance you can "bump" him first before draining his HP down and finally killing him, thus making it easier. You can also do Double or even Triple revenge-techs, which means you can now discard multiple enemies simultaneously as long as they are lined up and killed at almost the same time, and the source of the damage to Alucard doesn't matter. This tech is used against Slogra, Gaibon, and Doppelganger10. 2. Level-up/Big-toss/Shift line technique If you read my advice and understood Paledim's FAQ, now you know how shift lines are created, via Edge Travel. In this technique you can create a similar result by killing an enemy (for real now) along with a hard prerequisite. You need: Something to kill an enemy easily and effectively (ex.Neutron Bomb) and Toadstool A "big toss" happens when Alucard gets half of his MAX HP depleted due to damage. Do you remember the Skip-Death-keep-equipment trick in Luck mode? Jumping or running into the Warg with little-to-no defense will lethally damage you and send you flying across the screens. THAT'S a big toss. What you need to do is to kill the enemy and level-up the moment you were big-tossed. This moment pauses the screen temporarily (via Level-up), but Alucard's alignment in the screen is shifted (not really obvious), and when the animation ends, the screen returns to Alucard to his rightful alignment. This is like doing Edge Travel, but the level-up animation and the big toss act like you've done 8-10 backdash-HR's. This tech is used to skip the boss battle Minotaurus and Werewolf. New info: It seems that you can link a Heart Refresh and the level-up animation and create a shift line just by doing that. Just do a backdash+HR (one only) just as the level-up animation appears, and it works. 3. Halfblood tech This is one of the most unique glitches in the game. It lets you get under the floor for no apparent reason if you're big-tossed while in bat form in a corner of a room. You need: Bat, Toadstool As I have described it, just get to any lower corner of the a room while in Bat form. If you get your MAX HP halved (or over) due to damage and got hit, you will be big-tossed, but the wall will stop you immediately and you'll just see Alucard temporarily sitting on the wall. When this happens Alucard will fall at the bottom of the floor! This tech is used for skipping the last 2 bosses you need to encounter. 4. Uncurse-evade This trick lets you get pass by enemies and holds you invulnerable to anything for approximately a second. You need: Common sense...lol just kidding. Try using Uncurse then walk past an enemy, you'll see. Previously it was thought that only Uncurse works effectively but High-potions work the same way as well too. (not an official name by the way) 5. Sword Brothers Money Trick If you don't know this trick, click the back button if you're in GAMEFAQS and click on the "codes" section. There's a description there on how to do it. Paledim's FAQ also has it. 6. Wolf glitch Honestly, if this trick is not familiar to you, please refrain from reading any further and check out Paledim's FAQ first. As of now it's quite proven that you don't need to be at maximum speed to activate the glitch, but nevertheless timing is difficult. A "love it or hate it" trick. 7. Edge Travel This is one of glitching history's highest discoveries. If you don't know this tech, check Paledim's FAQ first. There is now a new and quicker way to do an Edge Travel, it involves using a Divekick+HR, then 1-3 more HRs as Alucard touches the ground, but if you want it simple, you can stick to backdash-DHR'ing. 8. Faerie's Gift (optional) A very cool trick that maximizes some of your items in your inventory, but only applicable to items that both you and the Faerie familiar can use. It works like the SBG money trick. You need: Faerie, exactly at least one item you want (potions, resists, etc.) Let's take Uncurse as an example. You need to have only one Uncurse in your inventory. When all's set, summon the Faerie. Curse yourself, and once it happens the Faerie will try to use your only Uncurse. Before she can actually do it, press menu and equip your Uncurse. What happens is that she used something (Uncurse) that wasn't supposed to be in your inventory, so your Uncurse items will drop down to 255, just like the SBG trick. Use the Uncurse and High-potions for easy evasion! III. ~ A. RULES OF THE BLOODY ROAD ~ Now let's get started. Step 1: In order to start the challenge, you need to choose between having 75 HP or 80 HP. Having 75 HP will make it easier late in the game, but that extra 5 HP will definitely help in tight situations, it's your call. Alucard's staring stats should be: 75 or 80 HP, 30 MP, 50-60 Hearts Start a new game and input AXEARMOR, you'll need it anyway just in case, especially if you choose to have 80 HP. REMEMBER: These starting stats are almost your stats throughout the game, killing nobody, except for one, meaning no stat bonuses forever. Step 2: Now what does this all mean? Time for some Richter skills. You need to grab the Cross, get exactly 45 hearts, use 3 Hydrostorms to finish Dracula in under a minute, and have the Cross subweapon before it all ends. Sounds crazy? Only the Hydrostorm-have-Cross part actually. This is exactly what you must do: get to the top of the stairs immediately, get the cross and do Richter's uppercut immediately to the secret staircase area, you don't need to hit the switch to access that area. Grab 5 hearts from the candlestand jump down and destroy the Cross candlestand again to get 5 another 5 hearts, then destroy the vase in your path to Drac and get exactly 45 hearts. Press start to skip the dialogue, then, destroy the Holy Water candlestand. From here on you have to be on timing. When Drac is about to show up, grab the Holy Water then activate Hydrostorm (15 hearts spent). 95% of the time it will be enough to destroy his first form. Then grab the Cross again before it disappears, and the Holy Water should be on the ground again. Once Drac starts his 2nd form, get the Holy Water again and activate Hydrostorm for the 2nd time (15 hearts). After that, grab the Cross, then switch to Holy Water again. Activate Hydrostorm for the last time, then get the Cross for the last time before the screen finalizes. The goal is to simply keep the Cross to have an extra 5 MP in Alucard's stats. Why not just use the Cross item crash? It isn't gonna make it, believe me. And why the 45 hearts? You need 45 to have 3 Hydrostorms, and you must have zero hearts by the end of the battle, so you can start Alucard with a very important Heart Refresh, which has its use at the end of the challenge. If you don't get hit, you'll get 80 HP. If you get hit 1-2 times (should be minor hits), you'll get 75 HP. If you get more than 45 hearts accidentally, just empty it quickly by using the Cross or Holy Water normal attacks. Step 3: Okay, check your menu to see if you've nailed it right. You should have the ff: Neutron Bomb, Heart Refresh and Axelord Armor. If all's well, then get Alucard's butt moving. DON'T HIT THE WARG! I know, but every player's instinct is to slash the beast, right? This is my final warning, we are on a one-kill challenge, and that honor goes to one lucky enemy later in the game. Proceed to the Death encounter. Jump over Wargs when you see them about to strike, avoid Zombies, etc. When you encounter Death, let him take your equipment, then take the Heart Max-Up above, or later if you want. Get to the Short sword/Red rust room. This is your first actual opportunity to maximize Hellfire's teleporting capability. Use it to evade the skeletons, and just about any enemy later in the game until you get a better enemy-evasion tactic. Do not forget to hold down casting Hellfire, this should teleport you but cancel the fireballs. This should eliminate any unwanted kills. Note: When casting Hellfire, try using your "shield" hand. Sometimes you mess up casting the spell and end up slashing the enemy in front of you. Doing this on your "shield" hand will eliminate that kind of accident. Now save your game. Feeling better? You should be. We're doing this in a console, so you should kiss these save points. Walk into Alchemy Laboratory, then get back to the Castle Entrance immediately. Important Note: Do not, I repeat, do not get ANY LIFE MAX-UPS. You're only allowed to get Heart Max-Ups, and this isn't a stupid restriction. You NEED low HP as possible to enable the techs used later in the game. Technically you can have a maximum of 90 HP, but it can somehow disrupt the flow of the game. Get the Axe subweapon in the second Warg hallway (now a zombie room). Run back to the Merman cave room. See the candle with the Watch subweapon? Use your Axe to get it, but be careful! You might end up killing a Merman below because of the Axe. After getting the Watch, dash back to the lab. Get the Basilard by using the Watch to stop the Blood Skeleton on top of the switch below to raise the mini-elevator. Get the Cloth Cape if you want. After that, maximize your hearts. Save your game just before your first boss battle. Your Watch subweapon will stick with you for the rest of the game. WARNING: Extreme mission ahead! Step 4: This is your first painful and difficult challenge. You must kill both Slogra and Gaibon without increasing your Kill/Beat record, by using the "Revenge-tech". (see techs required above for explanation) This is my exact post in WBW after successfully doing it, and I'll explain it in a detailed view afterwards. "a.Gaibon needs 8 Basilard attacks to be a "red Gaibon". Then he needs another 8 to be finished, so 7 more attacks should bring him down to just a one-hit kill. I summon-spirited, and walked right into Gaibon while the clock subweapon is cast, and he's discarded just as the summon spirit hit him. I believe there's no timing, you just have to be hit before he's killed. I tried jumping onto him though, it doesn't work for me. I just ran into him. Difficulty: 3.75/5 b.Slogra is a retard. Arukado's advice in finishing him in the corner work very well, it works too in the left corner. When Slogra loses his weapon, you have exactly 3 basilard kills. Hit him, he jumps in pain. Then cast clock subweapon, hit him for the second time, he jumps very slowly now because of the clock. Before he lands down, get under him. Crouch, just as Arukado did, to recover faster from a hit (I believe), be hit by Slogra, then attack him immediately after getting hit. Success!! Difficulty: 2,25/5" Okay, now that you've read that, I assume you get it by now. You can use any means necessary of hitting them, but the Basilard works well, and besides, I already outlined how many Basilard attacks you need. First to discard-> Gaibon: Attacking just one of them is hard task, especially if you aim for Slogra first, so your best bet is to discard Gaibon first. Wait for him to come down, and be ready to crouch-attack him. Hit him exactly 8 times, and he should have his HP halved by then (transformed into red Gaibon). He should be spitting more fireballs than usual, but it shouldn't be a problem. You need to separate them both to nail Gaibon successfully, but there are a lot of ways to do it. My method is to wait for Gaibon to drop down in one of the upper mini-floors and wait for him in that same place. Doing so will just let Slogra wait down below, and never disturb you. Attack Gaibon 7 times, and he should be one hit away from your success. When ready, wait for him to drop down for the nth time, and when he opens his mouth to spit fireballs, cast the Clock subweapon. He should just stand there helpless and motionless. That's your chance. Cast Summon Spirit, wait for approximately a second, walk right into him and get hit before the Summon Spirit kills him. If nailed right, he should just plop down, and no Level-up animation will appear. Finished! Killed Gaibon and 0 Kill/beat on your status screen! Now on to Slogra: You should have 20 or more hearts by this time. The next one should be easier than the previous Revenge-tech attempt. Just attack Slogra normally, but not fast enough to miscalculate. Every hit should send him screeching in the air, so push him in the farthest corner in the room (doesn't matter if left or right). When he throws his spear away, that's your starting gauge. He's now 3 Basilard attacks away from death, so attack him once then let him stand on ground again. Cast Clock, then hit him again. While he's slowly leaping in the air, get under him and in the corner. When he drops down, he should still be in "screeching stance", and you'll get hit. At the same moment, slam the attack button. "You"-reeka! Be careful, do not attack him too quickly, or you'll never get hit, and you'll miss it. The Bug7139 way: If you read above on how we tackled these two monsters, wait 'til you hear how Bug7139 did it, and he did it easy. First, chip Slogra's life away. Let Gaibon pick him (or her?) up, it doesn't matter, when he throws his spear away he's 2-3 attacks away from death. On your second-to-the-last hit, let Gaibon pick him up. When he's about to drop Slogra down, cast Clock, get under Slogra, crouch, be hit, then kill him. It should work. As for Gaibon, it's also the same strategy as ours, only this time, he used Hellfire. When Gaibon's ready to die, let him spit his big fireball, then cast Clock as he drops down. Get hit, then cast Hellfire as you land on the ground from being hit, then teloport near Gaibon. By the time the Hellfire fireballs appear, Gaibon should be in his "Revenge-tech-vulnerable" stance (opening his mouth), and he should be discarded. Sweet! If you are having trouble aiming at Slogra first, you can deal with him later, and just use the corner-trick. Note: All said no. of attacks are normal hits, not counting critical hits. I guess it's impossible to see what kind of damage you're doing against an enemy at this point of the game, but you shouldn't worry about, seeing as your luck is low and the probability of getting critical hits is very dim. This is your Revenge-tech overture. If you can't do it, then I guess this challenge isn't for you. However, if you have just successfully discarded these first two bosses, the next boss fights will almost be a piece of cake, seeing as you're done understanding the basics of doing the Revenge-tech, and you now know the way on how to do it. Good luck on the next steps! Step 5: You should be proud, I assume only a handful would get to this next part. Take it easy. Grab some items. Your next goal is to kick Doppelganger Lv.10's ass in Outer Wall, so make your way to this boss. If you want, you could also get the Spirit Orb to make your damage calculations more convenient. Save often if you can. You now have the chance to demonstrate your evasion skills against the enemies scattered on your way. Whether to jump over or use Hellfire, it's all up to you. When you reach the Outer Wall, do whatever you like, then save in your second important save orb. Step 6: You will now discard Doppelganger Lv.10 using the Revenge-tech again. By far this is the easiest, and after your Slograibon experience, this battle should be at at infant's difficulty level, for pete's sake. Get ready as the fake Alucard shows up. When he stands normally, as in a normal standing position, cast the Clock. He should be completely motionless, then get near him to get hit. Then just obliterate him until he dies, and before the Clock runs out. It's really easy, and I bet you'll only take a few tries, if not one. Remember, if your level isn't Level 1, you might have *gulp* killed something. Just be cautious of what you do. There's such a thing as "mindless hacking" you know. Note: Saturn players, see chapter III-C. Step 7: Get the Wolf relic. This transformation is by far one of the deadliest forms in the world of tricks and glitches. For now, we will use its ability to activate a dive kick (not the Wolf, just the transformation). What's a dive kick? For some people it was thought that you could only do it when you have the Leap Stone. It's the downward thrusting kick after pressing down+attack in midair. Now try jumping, transform to Wolf while in midair, revert back and press down+attack. You should see Alucard do the dive kick. Neat, eh? By why do we need it, you ask? I'll explain it's real use in step 10, but you can now use the Wolf for another trick. Step 8: Get to the Librarian, say Hi, and buy the Jewel of Open. Buy some of the items just in case, like Library cards or attack items. Remember, you need all the help you can get. Now, head to the giant stairs in the Library. This is an optional, hard trick to do, but with great benefits. Your goal is to get the Faerie Familiar. How? Use the dive kick I just mentioned in step 7 against the Spellbooks near the 3rd floor to bounce and jump upwards the Faerie room. To make it easier, just set the Spellbooks right and evenly distributed, then cast Clock to stop them in your favor. You can do it. After getting the Faerie, you now use the Faerie's Gift trick. If you read the technique list above on how to it, then you're all set. Use the Ectoplasms to curse yourself, then get ready as soon as the Faerie is about to cure you. You can also do the same with Potions if you want, just lower your HP enough. Now you can use Uncurse-evade as many times as you want! Step 9: Get to the Underground Caverns (Ground Water Vein). Your goal here is to get a Toadstool, one is located just above the Nunchaku, and another one is located in the left side of the waterfall area. If you don't want to get the Toadstool on the waterfall, it's okay, you can easily get more Toadstools later in the game using Meal Tickets. If you did get the waterfall one, use a Library Card to get back, because you can't risk exiting to the Castle Entrance, there is an HP max-up you cannot take, unless you know a way not to get it. Step 10: Get back to the Maria clock room in Marble Gallery. Obviously it's not my decision to waltz around the castle if you want, so go ahead. When you're in the clock room, it's time to use the dive kick from the Wolf for real. Just do the same divekick-bounce you did earlier on the Spellbooks. There are two candles in this area, one on the Olrox side and one on the right. Jump above the left candle, then transform to Wolf while in the air. Revert back to Alucard, then dive-kick the candle to get up to the Olrox area. You can also do the same trick to the right candle below the right statue, and get the Alucart equipments if you want. Step 11: Your goal is to reach the Colosseum. Avoid the Skelerangs, and once you're in the Colosseum, save your game just below. Now it's your decision again if you want to explore the whole Colosseum first before engaging your real task, just remember not to kill anyone, okay? Step 12: We are about to skip the bosses here to get the Mist, but no Revenge-techs are going to be used. Problem is, you're gonna have to deal with a more difficult trick. WARNING: EXTREME MISSION AHEAD. I mean it! continuing Step 12: We are about to kill the only creature deserving to have an honorable death in this challenge. Well, theoretically there are three monsters that deserve the credit, but we're gonna aim for the "technically right and easier" option. Behold, the Blademaster, Yes, that crazy green freak jumping around the Colosseum top floors, he's your target. Save your game in the right side of the Colosseum, and be ready for it mentally. Go to the Blademaster room. There are 3 Blademasters in this area, and 2 other enemies (Bladesoldiers). The only thing that will bother you is the Bladesoldier near the right doorway, and the right doorway is your key. You must erase him from the screen completely. Lure the Bladesoldier into attacking you, then backdash away. He should be pushing himself towards the right doorway so lure him again. When he lunges at you for the second time, jump over him and backdash away from him to remove him from the screen. If you did it right he won't show up anymore. No you have attracted the Blademaster near you. I suggest you study his moves first carefully. SPECIAL NOTE: 75 HP or 80 HP deciding factor This is the point of the game where you choose your path. If you did get 75 HP, this one will be easier than having 80 HP, but I'll go into detail into both. A. If you have 75 HP: If you know how to use Edge Travel by heart (and I really suppose you do), you'd know where to center/place your screen at the time of the activated glitch. The doorway must be approximately an inch away from the screen. You are now about to do the Level-up/Big-toss/Shift line technique. If you read the description above on how to do it, then get started. The Blademaster deals 19 normal damage when you get near him, so poisoning yourself with the Toadstool makes that damage 38. And you've got only 75 HP, right? 38 damage is enough for Alucard to get big-tossed, because it exceeds half of your max HP. Cool eh? So your goal is to bump Blademaster, get hit and at the same time kill him, and Level-up to create a shift line. First things first: lower his HP first. It takes 4 normal Broadswords to kill him, so 3 strikes should be enough. Now equip your one and only Neutron Bomb you got from the beginning. You're gonna use it to kill the Blademaster. As far as records say it's possible to use any kind of attack but using the Neutron bomb is more effective. Be sure to poison yourself using the Toadstool after lowering the Blademaster's HP. Do not use the second Toadstool, you'll need it later. And before I forget, unequip all defense-boosting equipment. You need your defense to be very low. You must position the Blademaster at the right spot. You must be hit while your screen is an inch from the doorway. Align Blademaster at the bottom of the slope/stairs. If you and him are ready on spot, jump over him, be hit, and just immediately after getting hit use the Neutron Bomb before you're sent flying away. If you did it correctly, you have just leveled-up, and after the animation it will look like you've done 8 BD-DHRs and the screen will be centered again. But beware! You're flying across the screen, and it will send you to the next room, making your progress in vain. Before you're sent to the next room, quickly press menu, and equip the Axelord armor. This should stop you from being big-tossed. Then just unequip it, then backdash to the doorway, and just be careful not to enter the doorway accidentally. When you see (or feel) Alucard dropping down the shift line, transform to Wolf. Not doing so will send you up again! The reason for that is, Alucard temporarily gets below the Blademaster's initial position while the bounce happens, and that enemy will hit you on that spot and will possibly kill you. There is another way besides transforming to Wolf in order to avoid getting sent up, like using Uncurse-evade, but this is what I did. There's also another way if you don't want to risk flying to the doorway. You need to align Blademaster at the same spot (just above the third picture frame in the background or somewhere near it) I described, but he needs to be in midair. Make him jump (I assume you already know how to make him jump, if not, study his pattern), jump onto him while he's in midair to be hit, then use the Neutron Bomb as soon as you get big-tossed. After the level-up animation, the wall above the doorway should stop you from being big-tossed. Doing all of these successfully will load the Minotaurus and Werewolf boss battle, but you'll start at the right doorway, not on the left! This means you can just exit the room without even fighting them, and be able to get the Mist form. "You"-reeka! You've done well! Save the game, take a break, have a Kit-Kat. Proceed to Step 13 afterwards. Note: If you have trouble creating a shiftline even with a successful Level-up/Big-toss, realign the Blademaster's position and see where it works best to place him. Try placing him just to the left of the cement floor block beside the bottom of the slope, just between the 2nd and 3rd frame on the background. (there are 6 picture frames on the background) B. If you have 80 HP: Please read the 75 HP guidelines first. After reading it, you may have realized the only problem you have. 38 damage means: Not enough for a big toss. You need at least 40 damage to be sent flying across the screen. You now have only one option: Use the Blademaster's blue attack. You need to make him use this kind of attack, stop him at the exact place using the Clock while he's in striking stance, and jump over his Shotel sword. His blue attack will cause over 40 damage, enough to send you in a big toss! However, casting the Clock requires timing. You need to stop him during the full version of his blue attack, or else his sword will be transparent. You'll know if you have done it when his sword is in full blue and the stars look pretty...well, er, that's that. If you have done it, remember to press menu and equip Axelord armor before you get past the doorway. Oh, and let me make it clear. You can't just equip the armor then unequip it, you have to see Alucard wearing it. Shimata! And recently, we have just found out that the top of the slope can also be the key to stop the big toss, so this also reveals its possibility on a normal file. (must be a clear file though) Wait a minute: "You said cast Clock and stop him. Wouldn't that be doing a Revenge-tech? That means no Level-up!!" No, he's killed normally and you get experience. I don't know why exactly he isn't being discarded, maybe he's not on a "Revenge-vulnerable" stance while doing the blue-attack. (also, maybe something to do with the Neutron Bomb) arukAdo's notes: It seems that from his experiences, casting Clock is not a good idea, as this will result into Revenge-tech. It's a good precaution, but you can still trust the Clock-Neutron Bomb, because from my experiences I haven't got a Revenge-tech result yet from using the Clock and Neutron Bomb. "Ahh, so it's come down to it, has it? You're a strong man." Step 13: I bet it took a long break before continuing this, right? Your goal now is to get the Bat form. Get to the library, and buy a Magic Missile. It's an optional item, but nevertheless effective if done right on your next step. After shopping, head to the save room above. How? Just use the dive kick from a Wolf, just like what you did on the giant clock room. You also the Mist to aid you just in case, and keep in mind that you could also dive-kick from a Mist. Lure the Spellbooks just below to the right spot, then dive-kick them to bounce to the 2nd floor. Save your game. Step 14: Yup, it's time to show your Revenge-tech skills again, and this time, Lesser Demon is the target. You may have difficulty against the Fleamen with axes, so use the Clock to help you. If you run out of hearts, if you got the Blood Cloak from the Colosseum just bump into some enemies. When you enter the Lesser Demon area and see him coming close, immediately cast Clock to slow him down and poke his life away until he's down to a one-hit. When I used the Basilard, he needed 37 attacks to be killed, and using the Broadsword he needed 20 attacks. It's your strategy. The Lesser Demon has an unpredictable behavior too, he may fly as early as possible, sometimes he won't until late in the battle. The only time you could activate the Revenge-tech is by the time he's flying. Of course, the Clock has to be cast by that time. If you have the Magic Missile, equip it. Cast the Magic Missile in alignment to Lesser demon, then jump onto him as the arrow hits him. If done correctly, he'll be discarded, no experience, no kill/beat. And you're one bad-ass warrior for doing it. Congratulations! If you are having trouble using the Magic Missile, I suggest using the Summon Spirit, but you really need to drain his life near the brink, or else it will take two hits before he's killed. At this point of the game you're weak, and the Summon Spirit will just do little damage. Just be sure to be hit on or before the Summon Spirit kills Lesser Demon. The timing still varies a bit depending on location and time, but you don't have to worry about this things, just do it. Get the Bat form, and save your game. If you really don't want to do another Revenge-tech, you can Wolf-Glitch the slope under the hanging 100$ lamp, just above the Lesser Demon room, the farthest slope to the left. You have to start from the right and jump exactly at the slope, and it won't be easy, I tell you. Be careful not to kill the Fleamen while Wolf-charging. Help: If you want to be exact, do 19 Broadsword attacks and 2 Basilard attacks. Step 15: Your goal now is to collect some items. Get the other two Wolf relics, Power and Skill of Wolf. Then get the Sword Familiar relic in Olrox area. All you need are these three items, it's up to you if you want to collect some more items. Step 16: Get back to the Library, and use the Sword Brothers Money Trick to buy the Duplicator. Get two, three, doesn't matter. Buy some High-potions too just to be sure if you want to use them as a substitute for Uncurse-evade. Hell, just buy everything. Step 17: Now head to Clock Tower. Be sure to save your game at the top of the Outer Wall, it's your only saving grace in this mission. The only hard part at this point of the game is navigating through the whole Clock Tower area without killing anything, so equip the Duplicator and use Uncurse-evades for getting past enemies, especially in the Medusa Head rooms. Reach for the boss room. Your goal now is to do a Halfblood tech to skip Karasuman. If you read above on how to do it, it's simple. Just get to the lower corner while in Bat form, let Karasuman hit you with his projectile or anything, be big-tossed, and automatically you'll get under the floor. That's it. Obviously you don't see Alucard flying across the screen, mainly because the corner wall stopped him from even moving a millimeter. Go to the CDLR room and to the Castle Keep. Another job well done. Trust me, you don't even know you've done it, it's an easy trick. Be sure to poison yourself first with a Toadstool, if you don't have anymore of it, use Meal Tickets to get one (you have a Duplicator so you can't run out of it, feels good eh?). Note: It doesn't matter where the Bat faces, as long as you're in a corner. Step 18: Ah, the summit. Save your game. You can now explore the whole Castle Keep if you want, open the teleporter, get the items and Leap Stone. It feels funny reaching the upper Castle Keep without the Leap Stone and double jump, doesn't it? The Power of Mist is optional, but what the heck, get it just in case. After doing all these, get ready to save your game. You now have diff. paths to choose, pick one you like, depending on what version you have. a. Library Card escape to save Richter (first japanese edition only) b. Wolf-glitch Castle Keep, above secret staircase c. Wolf-glitch Marble Gallery, Ouija Table slope d. Wingsmash-skip trick (Saturn version only, will be detailed in III-C.) Step 19-a: This path is only available in the first japanese edition, and it won't work on any other versions. Your goal here is to kill Richter, and use a Library card to skip the death scene. Sounds simple, ain't it? Lucky japanese players and importers have it easy, this is the easiest way to skip Richter. Equip a Library card and be ready for the final hit. As soon as Richter's final words show up, press start to skip it and slam the Library card to teleport back to the library. You must be standing on the floor as you kill Richter, otherwise the Library card may be too late and the CG scenes will appear first, ending the game. When you get back to the Richter boss battle area, the game will automatically skip like you have just save Richter and will run the game to the next castle. Save your game in the Inverted Keep. Step 19-b: This path is available in any version. Your goal here is to Wolf-glitch the second left slope above the secret staircase. Doing so will get you under the floor, make it down below, and the game will automatically load Richter's battle like you have just saved him. Weird? You bet. Stand near the window in the middle of the lower slope. You must Wolf-charge to the left, and press jump-revert before hitting the bottom of the second slope. Some people have different ways to do this, like reverting while in the bottom of the slope, or while in the middle, but it all boils down to one thing: This is a very hard trick to do. I haven't done it yet successfully, and it took me literally more than a thousand attempts. Maybe my version had patched slopes? Nah. But this glitch will work, as many other seasoned veterans have done it. (and they even said it's a bit easy to do) Step 19-c: This path is open to any version, and this is the route I took which is slightly more easier than Wolf-glitching the Castle Keep slope. Your goal here is to get the Holy Glasses from Maria and save Richter for real. You don't need the Gold or Silver Rings, you just need to Wolf-glitch one slope, and fortunately it's a big one. Get to the giant clock room again in Marble Gallery. The room to the right has a single Fleaman, the next room is empty, and the next one has two Ouija Table enemies. This part of the room is your target. There are two slopes here, one near the left doorway and one on the right. You need to Wolf-glitch the bigger, right slope but there's a problem. There are Ouija Tables you need to take care of. Use Revenge-tech on the poor monsters, and you're set. It's easy, cast Clock, bump the Ouija Table, then simply kill it afterwards. If all else fails, cast Summon Spirit, and bump into the monster just before the Summon Spirit kills it. It even takes two hits before it dies, but as long as you're hit before it dies, you'll never gain experience by killing them. It's easy. Once they're taken care of, get to the left doorway (don't enter it by accident), and start Wolf-charging to the right. It takes a lot of tries, but less compared to Wolf-glitching the Castle Keep, and because it's a bigger slope with more room to run. Do not be fooled by the facade in the slope/stairs though, you need to be exactly near the bottom of the slope, not the facade, to activate the glitch. If you did it right you should see Alucard disappear. He's now under the floor, but you can't see him, so change to Bat, then fly through the left empty room while still under the floor. Keep on going to the left, until you fall to the Life Max-up/Heart Max-up room below the Fleaman room. If you fall you'll still be under the floor of the bottom room you just went under. Keep going left, and the Holy Glasses area will automatically load. Get the Holy Glasses, then run back to the Castle Keep. (Use a Library card to escape) Save Richter, and the second castle is yours! Step 19-d: Please see chapter III-C below. Step 20: Saved your game? Good. You have just done the hardest parts of the game, and you're just a few steps away from reaching the end. You could explore the Inverted Keep if you want. Again, you have two paths to choose from: a. Darkwing bat b. Medusa Both of them have the same strategy to be used: Use Halfblood tech to skip them. I chose Medusa, simply because she's near the next goal, but Darkwing Bat's easier to skip as others have said, it's your choice. Step 20-a: If you chose Darkwing Bat, simply get into the corner of its room, transform to Bat, then just wait for it to hit you with its wind attack, then you'll be under the floor. Us Wingsmash to the left, but don't forget to hold up on the d-pad. Get to Inverted Outer Wall, and save your progress. Make your way to the Death Wing's Lair. Step 20-b: If you chose to skip Medusa, it's also an easy way but requires some more stuff to do. Equip a High-potion or Uncurse and a Duplicator if you want. Set your defense to the lowest possible by unequipping some items. Let Medusa corner herself (left or right doesn't matter), then transform to Mist (this is where you need the Power of Mist). Get into the corner and be sure you're absolutely in the corner. Change to Bat while in Mist, then you'll activate the Halfblood tech. As soon as you see Alucard in normal form, slam on the Uncurse or High-potion before he drops down, if you did not, he will be hit by Medusa again and die, so you need the Uncurse-evade to get past her. Now you're under the floor, go to the right and find a way inside. Get to Death Wing's Lair. Note: If you don't have the Power of Mist there is another way to get in the corner, just Divekick towards the corner then transform to Bat. Step 21: Your goal now is simplissimo: Get the Heart Refresh in the hidden room, the room that has the Sword card/Pixie Card in the normal castle. After dealing with it make your way to the reverse giant clock room in the Black Marble Gallery. Elude the enemies, then save your game above the Gorgon room. Step 22: At last, the challenge will be finally conquered! You have two choices: Use the Edge Travel on either the left Guardian room, or the right one. Personally I chose the left one, because the room above is clearer and you can somehow see Alucard between the room bounces, as opposed to the save room above the right Guardian room, which is darker and has a facade covering your sight. Either way, it's still a minor but hard task. Your goal is to use the Edge Travel to make a shift line in the doorway leading to the giant clock room, and fly up to the final save point. As of now even 8 HR's can do the trick instead of 10. When you've finished backdash-DHR'ing, drop down the shift line and transform to Bat because you'll drop to the room below. use Gravity Boots to skyrocket to the ceiling, if you did it right, the screen should suffer into a bounce between the room above and the Guardian room. There are several ways of escaping this, but basically you have to align Alucard in the middle of the room and jump to the room above, and use Wolf tranformations (isn't safe too), additional Gravity Boots and double jumps to jump over to the room. Do not transform to Bat because it will only mess it up. Getting to the final save point has random solutions but the key is to do whatever it takes to escape the bounce and jump above the room. As a final note, if you're in the left Guardian room, hold right while in the bounce to make Alucard walk to the right, and the same in the right Guardian room, only this time hold left. Note: If you chose the right Guardian room, you'll notice that if you make it to the shift line and used Gravity Boots to get above, even if you mess it up and return to the Guardian room your time attack will include the "Final Save Point". Why? You don't have to save the room just to get that phrase in your menu, you just have to enter the room. Please don't feel satisfied, the real finish is saving the game in the final save point for real. Final Step: Save the game in the final save point! CONRATULATIONS! CONGRATULATIONS! CONGRATULATIONS! You have just earned your 1-beat diploma and a masters degree in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight. However, don't get me wrong. I did say getting 200.6% but this guide was intended to PROVE that you can get 200.6% with just one kill throughout the game, not HOW to get 200.6%. After reaching the final save point you should by now know how to skip the other bosses, just do some of the earlier stuff you just did like Halfblood tech and you can get the rooms without killing them to escape the room. It's all up to you whether to continue or just to save your file as it is. Be sure to get the Shaft's room and the corridors above if you don't want to repeat ET'ing the Guardian room. What next? Well, to tell you the truth it ain't over yet for hardcore players. There's still tons of glitching to do, like the No-switch challenge, but the rules still vary and is currently not possible without hitting one switch and one wall, I think. ~ B. RULES OF THE BUG7139 ROAD ~ Bug7139 is a Taiwanese NITM player, and he never fails to show us new techs, tricks and new, challenge paths. The only drawback in following his steps is that his route is mainly mapped for an emulator play. As I said above, this guide is only for console purposes, and features involving TAS, script, etc. will not be handled, but Bug7139's 1-beat road will be covered, as this draws the fastest and cheapest way to reach the final save point. First of all, his route is basically the same, almost similar to our key steps, but he did manage to make things easier at the middle of the challenge. One thing involved in his route is Wolf-Raising (see FAQ below for details), a very hard tech for everyone to do in real time attempts. This is his outline: 1. Normal or AXEARMOR file, 80 HP, 30 MP,etc. 2. Revenge-tech on Slogra and Gaibon 3. Revenge-tech on Doppelganger10 4. Wolf-raise, get Gravity Boots 5. Get Sword Familiar and two Wolf Relics 6. SBG money trick, Duplicator 7. Axe Knight Level-up/Heart refresh combo, get Mist 8. Wolf-glitch Lesser Demon, get Bat 9. Wolf-glitch Karasuman 10. Skip Richter, secret staircase Wolf-glitch 11. Halfblood Medusa 12. Get second Heart Refresh in Death Wing's Lair 13. Edge Travel Guardian room There are numerous differences but all end up similar to our key goals. First, he got 2 Life Max-ups, from Slogra and Gaibon, and Doppelganger10. This is valid, because he doesn't need the Blademaster requirements, and he only needed to use Halfblood against Medusa. His time attack records are definitely shorter because he didn't fought Lesser Demon and Richter. Also, one major difference is his 1-beat target, and it's the Axe Knight below the Minotaurus and Werewolf boss room. He used a new version of Edge Travel that combined the stopping power of the Level-up animation and a single backdash+HR to create a shift line that easy. First, he entered from the right. He casted a Magic Missile pointed to the nearest Axe Knight, and jumped to the back of the Axe Knight. Just as he killed it with the Magic Missile and level-up, he used backdash+HR to add more effect to the screen-shifting. That worked like a normal Edge Travel, so he got in the shift line and Gravity Boots'd his butt up to victory. Note that he had a Duplicator by that time, so the Heart Refresh wasn't wasted. And one final exhibition he did was using another brand of Edge Travel at the Guardian room. It isn't an important gameplay difference, but here's how he did it: he used a Dive kick+HR near the floor/ground, and used 3 more HRs just as Alucard touched and slided on the floor. That resulted in a shift line. As a final notice, this route is already voted as the best route, but it's not really a recommended way. The only thing that prevents us from suggesting this way is the Wolf-raising part to get Gravity Boots. That tech alone is almost impossible to pull out in a console, because of the lack of fps manipulation to make it easy, and even with that, you could take hours to do it. News were reported that a couple of console players can do it though. If you really have the skills and the will to do it, then do it! Note: Please see the FAQ below about the Wolf-raise tech. ~ C. RULES OF THE SATURN ROAD ~ Thanks to Paulo1179, the missing link to complete the 1-beat challenge in the Saturn version was found just recently. All techniques, tricks and other PS requirements still work, except for Wolf-Glitch. (but it shows signs that it will work) The enemy stats are somehow different too, for instance, Gaibon only needed 14 attacks to be killed, as opposed to the PS1's 16 strikes, and Slogra needed 4 more attacks to be killed after he throws his spear away. Later in the game, you will also notice more differences, but it's not the fault of this version, but because of you are in Level 7 (see step 6 below), and your minimum defense is 2. Your attacks should be lessened too before the final hit because of some added STR. Lesser Demon now requires only 18 attacks to be killed using a Broadsword by that time, so just try to keep up with the differences, you should handle it. Before I forget, the Halfblood here is more detailed, Alucard is actually under the floor after being big-tossed as a Bat. These are the only steps different for this version, all other steps are to be seen above. Step 6: Your goal here is to discard Doppelganger10 with the Revenge-tech. The pattern in the PS1 step 6 is applied here, but the results are very different. You actually Level-up to Level 7 even if you discard Doppelganger10! Your kill or beat record won't get higher though, you still have 0 kills/beats! About the HP boost, do not worry. Your 86 (or 81) HP is still enough for Step 12. Step 19-d: This is the most unique part of this version. You can now actually harness the power of the Saturn slowdowns and give you benefits! You can skip the Richter battle and save him just by using the Wingsmash, and we all know the Saturn Wingsmash owns. Start at the Castle Keep save point. Walk to the left doorway, enter it but do not move any further in the next area (broken stairs area). Transform to Bat then press up to hug the doorway arc/ceiling. Do a Wingsmash to the left, and hold up until you penetrate the mini-loading spot above the broken staircase. If you can't reach the loading spot, adjust the starting point of the Bat. When you enter the loading spot, press and hold down now. This will make the bat hug the ceiling at first, but lower the bat to the floor later on, and you will fly past the Richter boss battle!! The Bat will even grab the Godspeed Boots. The programmed dialogue when Richter is saved will start when you bump at the foot of the teleporter, and all will continue normally after that, except when Alucard turns to Maria, but the sequence will still be normal. ZOMG-LMAO-WTF! A theory by the founder of this trick says that the loading barrier between the Richter boss battle and the Castle Keep disappeared because the speed of the Wingsmash is too much for the Saturn to handle while it tries to load programs or gameplay features you just left by, and is unable to load the loading spot on time. As a final note, this is the only way to skip Richter in this version. Step 22: Everything in this step will also be done, but there's one very cool thing exclusive to this version. You must use Edge Travel on the right Guardian room. When you get to the shift line, transform to Bat, revert, then use the Gravity Boots. Instant Final Save Point! No flickers, no bounces, just straight doorway of the save point! And you say this version sucks... Your final level should be Level 8, Level 7 from the Doppelganger10, and Level 8 from the Blademaster. IV. ~ FAQ ~ 1. Why not just collect money bags and earn the Duplicator much early? Then do it. By the time you have over 250,000 bucks you might be saying that you should've taken the short, hard way. If you manage to collect them out of pity, you can somehow imitate the Bug7139 road (do the Level-up/HR combo). But then, you still have to do Wolf-raise. 2. Why not No-beat/kill? As of now, there's no way to achieve a No-beat/kill record. There were numerous theories though, but all ended up in failure. So far, if you can Wolf-glitch the slope in the Blademaster room then you could achieve a 0-kill record. Scholars have reported that the Wolf-glitch can only work on 45 degree angle slopes, but try it if you can prove them wrong. However, in the Saturn version, there is a unique result against Doppelganger10 that indicates no kill but you gain experience via Revenge-tech. If the same condition can be applied against the Blademaster, you may have just found the 0-beat missing ingredient! 3. Why the hell do you keep saying beat? What's that? The japanese versions indicates BEAT instead of KILL, I'm trying to be universal you know. 4. Why not just use Halfblood tech on Richter? Nice try. It won't work, there's no loading programmed at both sides of the room while you're fighting Richter, but it's also funny to see what Richter does while you're under the floor. 5. Well, what does he do? He just whips the open air at the side. It's the same as sticking close to the ceilings. 6. What the hell does "revenge" mean in Revenge-tech anyway? First of all, I did not name it, so we don't get the right to spread blasphemy about it. Secondly, it makes sense, seeing as you kill the enemy just after you get hit. Well, that's what I think anyway. arukAdo's notes: He named it after the "Revenge" cheat code, which damages enemies if you run into them. The name and concept was based on that. 7. What about Halfblood? I have no idea, except for the term "Half" that does make sense. 8. Is it possible to complete items and bestiary in this challenge? You can't go on killing enemies to make them drop items, so your menu won't be complete. However, you can make enemies drop items using the Revenge-tech, but the Clock won't work for enemies like the Guardians. And about relics, it's a definite NO, seeing as you can't kill bosses which give you Dracula's body relics. You can complete the bestiary however, all you have to do is touch an enemy (I don't mean "that" kind of touch), even enemies with 1 HP. You can even use the Tyrfing to deal no damage. 9. What if I want the Valhalla Knight way instead of the Blademaster way? I've heard that this is one of the monsters killed in some 1-beat challenges. Then you're in for a real man's challenge. First of all, it requires you to use Wolf-raise, a very simple trick when you look at it. Believe it or not, this is the hardest non-room obtaining trick because of its extreme requirements in timing. If you notice, when you transform, the Wolf rises a bit in midair. All you need to do is to transform, rise, then revert to Alucard, then transform again to move upwards consecutively using those small boosts. Sounds easy? NO. You have to try it personally to see why it takes god-like skills to do this. Before you could even manage to use the small boost from transforming, you end up dropping down before you could even transform to Wolf again. By holding the jump button you could slow down Alucard's drop but it still isn't enough. There are 3 kinds of Wolf-raise: A. Original Wolf-raise Just like the one depicted above. Costs absolutely nothing, but technically can't be done with a completely 0 MP. A true "just frame" move, but can be done on an emulator adjusted to hi-speed more easily with your sanity intact. Can be manipulated vertically and horizontally. Wolf--->small boost--->revert--->Wolf--->small boost--->revert,repeat. B. Wolf-thrust This is the best and effective way to move around in midair without any aid of flying. The use of the two-handed sword special attacks (back,forward+attack) helps you stay in the air and transform to Wolf again quickly before dropping down. Can be manipulated both vertically and horizontally. Wolf--->revert--->thrust--->Wolf--->revert--->thrust,repeat. Just to remind you, a thrust requires 4 MP, but if you have less than 4 MP you can still do it, it just empties your MP. C. Wolf-Mist This is the most versatile of the three, but pointless as a substitute for early air navigation, because it requires too much MP to be used for longer distances, and you're better off finding the bat than waste time raising your max MP. Other than that, you somehow need the Power of Mist if you want to control the direction of this Wolf-raise other than going up, which makes no sense since you have just flown to get it, though there are ways to get the Power of Mist even without the Gravity Boots or Bat, it still isn't worth it. When you do a Wingsmash, you could press Mist and back to Bat again quickly to improve recovery, great for speed runs. This kind of Wolf-raising applies the same concept, so use the small boost from the Wolf, cancel it to Mist then get to Wolf again. This one's for casual purposes only, but can be used alternately with other Wolf-raise techs. Wolf--->Mist--->Wolf--->Mist,repeat. (just press Wolf immediately after Mist) You can switch between any kind of Wolf-raises if you want, that's the beauty of it. You'll also notice that your MP bar doesn't decrease just by transforming to Wolf and quickly reverting. You'd be wrong to assume it doesn't cost anything however, because having exactly 0 MP won't enable you to transform. Yup. Test this: Do Wolf-thrusting consecutively without stopping. As I said above, as long as you have MP you can still use thrust without a problem. There are two kind of 0 MP, "0 MP but recovering", and "0 MP totally empty". Even if the thrust reduces your MP to 0, you can still use the decimal point MP that you're recovering to transform to Wolf, because technically you still have Mp but it's in decimal points and in recovery, like a 0.2 MP. For some reason, if you abuse it, your MP won't recover even a 0.01 MP for a short while. I could pretty much tell my theory, but my head could explode anytime now. (oof) I understand that putting so much time and effort into studying these small details is a bit too much, especially since it has no practical use in our everyday SOTN gaming lives, but hey, we're hardcore sons of guns here, not sissy, ranting newbs. We need to know how stuff works exactly. Okay, let's get back to our Valhalla buddy. Your target is the one who runs until the right doorway. The deal here is this: Kill Valhalla Knight and create a shift line in the right doorway, then Wolf-raise (original) upwards to the boss room. Really crazy. This is why we don't recommend it done on this guide, it will take hours even with really expert skills. And the chances of jumping upwards the shift line is too risky, seeing as if you drop down below you could fall down the room below. If you want it possibly done as soon as possible, use the Wolf-thrust. If you remember in step 12, we practically don't have anything to navigate through the castle effectively. You need to get the Claymore in the Underground caverns/Ground Water Vein, in the area near and before the Succubus room, located in a vase. The Claymore has the thrust special attack you need. Things go like this. When you transform (any form) near a ceiling and revert to Alucard, you can maneuver Alucard freely, and can even enable you another double jump, if you have the Leap Stone that is. Well, currently you don't have it but you can still go forward in the air as long as you keep leaning on the ceiling under the floor of the 100$ candle. Do you remember that you can't access the Succubus area without a Bat (entrance is near the 400$ candle)? You need to Wolf-raise horizontally to the doorway, and keep sticking to the ceiling. So, you're gonna have to experience pain after all. It's really hard to do this without a double jump, because it's not a straight ceiling, and missing even even a centimeter to being close to the ceiling will send you plummeting down, and maybe your controller to pieces. Really. (not that I've done that or anything, hehe) If you nail it, then you can now go upwards the Valhalla Knight room more easier, and the only good thing about it is, once you reach the top of the shift line you'll automatically be loaded into the right doorway of the boss battle room. So go right, then claim your Mist. That's it. If the Blademaster way is hot enough, then this path would be hell. For the nth time, this is not recommended. The guide only says its possibility and how to achieve it. 10. This challenge sucks and will bore me to death!! Okay. Come back when you've finished drinking your dad's milk. 11. Can I try this challenge on the Xbox live/Dracula X Chronicles version? As of now, I don't see why not. The Xbox live version is just a port of the Greatest Hits version, and nothing changed except for the green cover. I can't speak for the upcoming PSP version, though. Let's hope. 12. Why not just use the original Wolf-raise to get stuff early? Then that defeats one of the purposes of this guide: to show you the easiest and less time-consuming way to finish this challenge. I don't want to underestimate some people though. If you can do it, then you're better than the rest of us. Do Bug7139's road, or beat his way if you can. 13. Your GAMEFAQS username just screams MTG. I did play MTG back then, and I was slaughtering pathetic decks with my Type-1 Necro deck (no power nine), until I traded it for some Playstation games. A good deal though, and ever since my hands got tied down to a controller. 14. Even if I unequip all my items, I still have 1 DEF! It would be better if I had 0 DEF! Where the hell did that 1 DEF came from?! Calm down. That 1 DEF came from your starting stats. 10 CON will means 1 DEF, and I assume you started out with the required stats so your CON is 11. If you had the worst stats your CON will be 7 only, not enough for 1 DEF. 15. Why not just get the Gold and Silver Rings to get the Holy Glasses officially? Not possible. You can easily get the Silver Ring in the Royal Chapel by using Uncurse-evades to get past the spikes without a Spike Breaker (though there's one guy in Youtube who did it with just Hellfires), but the Gold Ring is not a possibility, since it requires you to kill Succubus, and skipping her via Halfblood tech won't give you the ring when you get back. Another new testing indicates that the Succubus room is definitely unusual, EWG's and ET doesn't work, and under the floor is the only loading spot programmed. 16. What's the Ground Water Vein you keep babbling about? The japanese version of Underground Caverns. 17. I could just choose Hyppogriff instead of Karasuman. You phail. Hmm, very good. Doesn't change a thing. 18. What is the difference between the PSOne Books version and the others? Gameplay-wise it's the same as the earlier japanese versions, but some jap. exclusive glitches are fixed/patched/removed. You can do all glitches in the US or PAL SOTN in this version. Jewel-case is much more thinner too. 19. Why do we need to wait for a second after casting Summon Spirit before bumping into the enemy? Because when you cast a spell you're invulnerable for a moment, and you need to get hit, remember? 20. Where do I find that Broadsword? There's one located at the right of the Spectral Sword in the Olrox area, in the breakable room. 21. This challenge is a joke, those tricks aren't even possible. Screw you. Sucks to be you. 22. ORLY? RLY. 23. Hey, you said about Wolf-glitchin' Karasuman. Well, it is an alternative way to skip Karasuman, just Wolf-glitch the slope before the boss room. Having second thoughts? 24. Why can't I use the Library card escape on other versions? Because it was fixed, and when you return to Richter you'll still fight him. 25. 10 years have passed, and guys still have something new about this game?! Ebay price X 2 = Quality of game V. ~ CREDITS ~ Konami Computer Entertainment Japan - for making one of the best videogames ever. Now just see what we did to it! ;p GAMEFAQS - for being such an amazing information site arukAdo - the first one to complete the 1-kill/beat challenge. His route is basically the most newbie-friendly one, and this guide shows it. He's also the founder of the complete Revenge-tech, and this guide won't be possible without him. PaleDim - he the boss. Writer of the SOTN glitching FAQ and a legend in the genre. Bug7139 - an outstanding SOTN warmachine, with many discoveries such as the Halfblood tech, Edge Travel and the Level-up/Big-toss/Shift line tech. His skills are definitely above-average. Paulo1179 Ð founder of the Wingsmash trick to skip Richter in Saturn version, Faerie's Gift, and many other unique tricks. A nice guy online too. World Beyond Walls crew - Outofthegamer, Le Tarba Supreme, XiadowZero, corey, f1r3, and all the friendly people in this site! SOTN glitching community - Morgoth, verysmartguy, and to all who have contributed to the immense glitchin' legacy. Frank Sonata - for eating an Xbox720 and making "school girl Feng Wei". My family - for supporting me with all their love, even if my sister acts like an ass sometimes. And you - for having an interest in this guide, thank you for reading! Lastly, a very warm, special thanks to Kura-Kura, the special person in my life and for being my inspiration to live my life as positive as it should be. ~THE END~ ===============================================================================