"Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard; their shadows searching in the
night.  Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in
the night." ~ Midnight Train (Don't Stop Believin') - Journey
@
@@@
@@@@@
@@@
.@@@.
.@@@@@@@@@.
@@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@     @@@@
@@@@       @@@@                                                     .@.
@@@@       @@@@           @    @@                                   @@@
@@@@        @@@          @@   @@@                                   *@*
@@@@                     @@   @@@
@@@@    .@@@@@. .@@@@. @@@@@@ @@@  .@@@.  @@.   .@@ .@@@@@. @@ .@@. @@@ .@@@@@.
@@@@    @@   @@ @@  @@ @@@@@@ @@@ @@   @@ *@@   @@* @@   @@ @@@**@@ @@@ @@   @@
@@@@     *   @@ @@       @@   @@@ @@   @@  @@. .@@   *   @@ @@   @@ @@@  *   @@
@@@@     .@@@@@  @@@.    @@   @@@ @@@@@@@  *@@ @@*   .@@@@@ @@   @@ @@@  .@@@@@
@@@@    @@   @@   @@@@   @@   @@@ @@        @@.@@   @@   @@ @@   @@ @@@ @@   @@
@@@@    @@   @@    .@@@  @@   @@@ @@   .    *@@@*   @@   @@ @@   @@ @@@ @@   @@
@@@@    @@ .@@@ @@   @@  @@.. @@@ @@   @@    @@@    @@ .@@@ @@   @@ @@@ @@ .@@@
@@@@    *@@@*@@ *@@@@@*  @@@@ @@@  @@@@@     *@*    *@@@*@@ @@   @@ @@@ *@@@*@@
@@@@
@@@@        @@@
@@@@       @@@@                D A W N   O F   S O R R O W
@@@@       @@@@
@@@@     @@@@
@@@@@@@@@@@
*@@@@@@@@@*
*@@@*
@@@
@@@@@
@@@
@
ASCII thanks to Atom Edge, with my incredible modifications of changing the
name.
+----------------------------------+
|                                  |
| Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow      |
| For the Nintendo DS              |
| FAQ/Walkthrough                  |
| By T. Jackson                    |
| Started     : 7/18/06            |
| Finished    : N/A                |
| Last Updated: 11/23/06           |
| Version 0.4                      |
|                                  |
+----------------------------------+
This guide was composed in Metapad.  It's best viewed with 1024x768 resolution,
Courier New font, and your browser's small text setting.  Yarr.
Table of Contents:
I. Introduction
1.01: Table of Contents
1.02: Introduction
II. Soma Basics
2.01: Story
2.02: Characters
2.03: Controls
2.04: Souls
2.05: Status Effects
III. Walkthrough - Soma Cruz
IV. Appendices
4.01: Bosses
4.02: Bestiary/Souls
4.03: Weapons
4.04: Armor
4.05: Accesories
4.06: Items
4.07: Shop List/Soul Synthesis
4.08: Boss Rush Mode
4.09: FAQ
4.10: Secrets
4.11: Endings
V. Last Words
5.01: Copyright Information
5.02: Revision History
5.03: Contact Information
5.04: Credits
5.05: Boo!
If you need to find anything, press CTRL + F and type in the numerical code of
the section in question (e.g., if you're looking for the story, type 2.01).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I. Introduction
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0
| 1.01: Table of Contents |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0
Look up.
Ugh.  People.
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
| 1.02: Introduction |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
Hey hey, and welcome to this guide for the latest (as of this writing)
installment of Castlevania.  I don't get to say that much, being the sweet old
school writer that I am.  This is my first game for the DS, the first full
fledged guide I've written in awhile, and the first game since this game's
sequel for which I've written a guide without doing a few important things
first (e.g., writing the introduction, playing the game, etc.).
So this'll be entertaining.  And I hope this guide entertains you - there are a
few attempts at humor and song references in here, just because that's my
style.  Good luck with the game, though.
Also, there be spoilers ahead for all Castlevania games, so read at your own
risk!
Especially if you're playing the sequel here without first playing the prequel!
--Trace
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
II. Soma Basics
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0
| 2.01: Story |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0
This is the first game in forever where it has an instruction manual sans a
story.  While there is a pretty good summation of the story at the beginning of
the game, take this as a remedy for your nescience - a summary by me.  Hah,
there's none better.
Count Dracula.  We all pretty much have a good idea of who he is (or at least
his fictional version), if only because of our dad's terrible impersonations,
which we're subjected to every Halloween, shortly before the low-flying witches
crack.  Or maybe that's just me.  Anyway, he's a persistant one, haunting the
Belmont family for generations - from the Middle Ages to 1999 (Chrono Triggers
era, what what!).  The premise is that, as a supernatural being, he can't
really die.  Instead, he ressurects himself every century, or some other being
(e.g., Shaft) ressurects him.  He has had a number of foes over the aeons - the
Belmonts, other random families, and even Alucard, his own son.  Why does he
revive?  Because otherwise the franchise would end.
In 1999, during the apocalypse (COME ON PEOPLE), a man named Julius Belmont
fought the Count and defeated him; however, to completely eradicate the Prince
of Wallachia, Julius sealed Dracula's castle - Castlevania - in the solar
eclipse that occurred in 1999.  This truly did defeat the Count - no convenient
plot devices.  The deux ex machina to save him, however, was that someone had
to inherit his power.  It's a religious theory that's expounded upon in this
game - for God to be the ultimate good, there must be an ultimate evil, and
since you've fought the Devil himself as one of Drac's underlings, Dracula must
be said evil.  There were three candidates who could inherit his powers, two of
whom are introduced in this game.  They could do so because they were born at
the moment of Dracula's demise.  What luck!
The third is Soma Cruz, the Scientologist (hah!) whom you play in this game.
You played as him in the prequel to this game (while Castlevania is a series,
few games are direct sequels.  There are three true sets of sequels -
Castlevania I and II, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of
the Night, and this set: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of
Sorrow), when you found out that Soma inherited Dracula's powers.  Well now you
have to fight to keep those powers.  Woohoo!
And that's the premise of this game: there are two people, Dario and Dmitrii,
who at the behest of the priestess of a cult, Celia Fortner, want to become
Dracula by killing off Soma.  You've gotta take those two out and meet up with
Celia at the top of the cult's base - right where Dracula would be.
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
| 2.02: Characters |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
These will be listed in order of appearance.
Allies
======
Soma Cruz
---------
He who inherited Dracula's power in 2035, the last time you played.  He's a
headstrong youth who wants to save his friends.  The typical RPG hero.
Mina Hakuba
-----------
She is one of Soma's best friends, his raizon d'etre, and just the normal
damsel in distress and chief motivator of Soma.  The typical RPG supporting
lady.
Genya Arikado
-------------
He's a really mysterious fellow who seems to know a lot about stuff he probably
shouldn't know about.  He may be the secret identity of someone!  Uh oh!
Enigmatic, helpful, and always there when you need him (and only when you need
him).  The typical RPG supporting enigma.
Hammer
------
Can't touch this!  This former army soldier decided, in the last game, that
killing people needed to take a backseat to the American Dream, so now he has a
shop.  He's got a major crush on Yoko.
Yoko Belnades
-------------
The descendent of Sypha Belnades, who fought alongside Trevor Belmont in
Castlevania III, she offers information and weapon synthesis.  She's a witch
who works for the church.  As opposed to a witch who gets burned by the church.
Julius Belmont
--------------
The guy who sealed Dracula away in 2035, he's a strong vampire hunter who seems
to really want to kill Soma, despite being his friend, as seen by Julius'
greeting at the beginning of the game.  Not the nicest guy.  He lost his memory
in the last game, but he was nicer then.
Not So Much Allies
==================
Celia Fortner
-------------
She's a priestess of a religious cult.  Yeah, that was pretty obvious.  She
wants to revive the Dark Lord because according to her, for God to be truly
good, there must be an ultimate evil.  Of course, you'd think that the ultimate
evil would have to manifest itself.  Additionally, if she thinks we need an
ultimate evil, she clearly has not met Brittany Spears.
Dmitrii Blinov
--------------
One of the potential successor to the Count, he's a reserved Russian who's not
drunk.  He can absorb souls and abilities like Soma.  He's cool.
Dario Bossi
-----------
Unlike Dario, who's a fiery (hence his control of fire) jerk.  He's the other
successor to Dracula.
Other
=====
Konami Man
----------
!!
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
| 2.03: Controls |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
Basic Controls
==============
o--------o-----------------------------------------o
| Button |                Function                 |
|--------o-----------------------------------------o
| A      | Special attack*, confirm (menu)         |
| B      | Jump, cancel (menu)                     |
| Y      | Attack                                  |
| X      | Switch equipment**                      |
| L      | Dash backwards                          |
| R      | Use Guardian soul                       |
| Up     | Activate warp, epitomize You're So Vain | - Seriously.  Look at him
| Down   | Duck                                    |
| Left   | Move left                               |
| Right  | Move right                              |
| Start  | Go to menu                              |
| Select | Change screens***                       |
o--------o-----------------------------------------o
*This varies from weapon to weapon and costs MP.  See the weapons section for
more.
**You need to acquire the Doppleganger soul from the Garden of Madness first.
I got into more explanation there (CTRL + F Doppleganger if that's what
you're here for)
***For an explanation of the screens, check the Menu section (2.05).  This
changes the displayed screen on the top screen of the DS.
Complex Controls
================
B + B    -> Double jump (note: you need the Malphas soul)
Down + B -> Slide.  You can damage enemies with the slide too.
You can also drop through narrow floors with this.
If you do this after you've gotten the Malphas soul, you can jump
kick (though obviously you must be in mid-air to do so)
Up + Y   -> Use Bullet Soul
Touch Screen Controls
---------------------
-After you get the Balore soul, touch ice to break it.
-You can order a familiar to attack an enemy with the touch screen (simply
touch the enemy).
-You draw the Magic Seals by connecting the dots in the given order.
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0
| 2.04: Souls |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0
For a full listing of the souls, see 5.02; this section is designed to give you
a primer on how to use souls, hence its inclusion in the Basics section.  See,
this works.
There are four types of souls:
1.) Bullet Soul   - These are the equivalent of subweapons, only more
-----------     permanent. Up + Y activates these.  For the most part,
they're the Use kind (read on for more information).  These
are primarily for attacking.  These are red souls.
2.) Guardian Soul - These are usually helping souls, hence the name.  Hold R to
-------------   activate them.  They're usually familiars of the Time kind
who serve as backup, but the basic premise is that these
aren't used for direct attack, for the most part; if they
cause damage at all, it's either in the form of a familiar
(e.g., Great Armor) or in the the best defense is a good
offense way (e.g., Armor Knight).  These are blue souls.
3.) Enchant Soul  - The yellow soul doesn't attack.  These generally give you
------------    some sort of stat boost (e.g., increased strength) or some
other ability that's useful but not damaging (e.g., the
Ghoul soul lets you eat poisoned food).  These don't take
up any MP.
4.) Ability Soul  - The final kind of soul also doesn't take up MP.  The
------------    controls vary, but the game generally tells you what to do.
These are the only souls you need, for the most part, to
advance, as these let you do things like double jump.
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
| 2.05: Status Effects |
0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0
There are two:
Poison: You lose all of your attack bonus that's attributable to STR and all
of your INT bonus.  So basically, you do less damage with your attacks.
Curse : You lose all of your MP.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
III. Walkthrough - Soma Cruz
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
First off, a few notes:
1.) Soul equipping is really up to you because I don't know what souls you
have.  Play around with them.  There are some souls I'll really suggest you
get, in which case, you should probably get them.  You know.  Because I'm
not just wasting my breath- er, typing here.
2.) Unlike other games, you don't necessarily want to sell your old equipment
because it could be used in synthesis; that said, anytime you get any
equipment, equip it if it helps your stats (if you pick up something that
an enemy drops, obviously I can't remind you to equip it).
3.) Break every single candle/light source you see.
4.) Think like Doctor Who - "What do monsters have nightmares about?" "Me -
hah!"
5.) Due to the nature of weapon acquiring in this game (aside from the finds,
you have to synthesize to get good weapons), I can't really recommend what
to equip, as I don't know what souls you get.  I personally prefer the
Great Sword line of swords - they give you the best bang for your buck.
Others might prefer a different style.  All I can say is go for it!
Experiment!  The one thing that I caution you about is don't synthesize
with the souls of bosses until you have 100% soul collection rate and
acquire the Chaos Ring (once you've got that, at the end of the game, you
can forge your Valmanways and your Death's Scythes).  I do recommend,
however, for the purposes of this walkthrough, that no matter what weapon
branch you use, keep a good arcing weapon (something from the Great Sword
or Axe line).  I use the Great Sword stuff myself, but just having an
arcing weapon is very useful, even if it's not your primary weapon.
After the intro, you'll be plunged directly into a fight.  En medias res
indeed.  No bones about it, though (ha!), this is a very easy fight.  Genya
Arikado graces you with a Knife.  Smack the Skeleton twice with it to gain his
soul.  After a short explanation on how to use the soul, an Armor Knight
teleports in.  Use your newfound soul (Up + Y, if you're confused) twice to
take him out (should he launch his spear, simply jump over it).  You'll be
treated to a short explanation on hos to use Guardian souls.  Now a Golem will
appear!  As with the last foe, use your newfound soul to help - throw bones at
the Golem, and when he gets near, press and hold R to activate the Armor Knight
soul to help save your soul.  You'll then get the Golem soul (later on, you'll
wish the souls came this easily; for now, they've got the neighborhood tricycle
feel, if you know what I mean).  The explanation ensues, followed by a little
more exposition.  The end result is that Ms. Fortner has a very annoying laugh.
Some more story occurs (note the map on the top screen) - and just as a side
note, poor Hammer looks so dejected when you tell him Yoko's not coming!  Now
would be a good time to tell you what conditions you're in now.  Right now,
you've got no equipment aside from the Knife Arikado gave you, your clothes,
and the souls you just received.  You have three Potions, and there are some
pretty sweet terms in the Library in the menu.  Other than that?  Nothing.
Good luck!  Head right to get to...
The Lost Village
----------------
When you enter this screen, you'll see a Skeleton and possibly a Bat.  The Bats
spawn infinitely, so now might not be a bad time to get their soul (get three
to level it up completely, but you don't have to do this just yet).  It also
couldn't hurt to get more Skeleton souls either (or Skelesouls, as I like to
call them), but don't spend a ton of time on this, as it gets old fast.  Cross
the suspension bridge, and head to the next screen.
On this next screen, note the lamp to the right.  You can destroy this lamp for
an item.  Make sure you destroy all lamps, candles, enemies, etc. throughout
the game.  As you continue, there is a freaking HUGE Peeping Eye.  This
seriously scared me.  Take him out (don't worry about getting its soul - it's
rare; it can wait).  Head to the next room.
Pick up the Short Sword here, and make sure you equip it (as it does no good
otherwise).  Drop down and head right to grab a Potion and, in the next room,
save your game (these rooms, in addition to saving your game, could save your
life inasmuch as they heal you, so use these often, even if you don't wanna
save!).  Once saved, climb back up the platforms (ignore the door to the left;
we'll explore it later), and head out to the right.
This next room introduces some more baddies.  First up is the Warg, which you
SotN veterans will recognize.  Deliver three quick sword swipes to him to
finish him off.  There are also an unlimited number of Zombies spawning, who
take a minimal amount of effort to kill.  Finally, there's the Axe Armor, who
is a large piece of armor that throws axes.  He'll throw them in two ways:
either at a higher elevation or at a lower.  If it's the higher elevation, duck
under the axe, smack him a few times, and duck under it again.  If it's a lower
axe, leap over said axe, attack him, and jump over the axe again (the Armor
Knight soul is very useful here).  I _really_ recommend getting the Axe Armor's
soul, as it's the equivalent of previous games' Axe subweapon (and it's very
useful on the upcoming boss), though the Warg soul, if properly used, is very
useful.  Once you've cleaned out this screen satisfactorily, head to the next
room.
You meet up with Yoko (yay for Hammer!  You can't touch this, but she sure
can!) and Julius.  The latter delivers the best ally-to-ally greeting in video
game history.  After another little exchange (Yoko's facial expression rocks,
you get the Magic Seal 1.  After practicing it, you have to escort Yoko
somewhere.  Backtrack the way you came (killing a few Zombies just for the
sadistic pleasure of watching their heads fall off).  When you reach the screen
where you got the Short Sword, drop down to the funky door from earlier.  Yoko
will explain that you'll need a Magic Seal to finish off the upcoming monster.
Oh snap!
You'll enter the door automatically; however, if Yoko's incredibly subtle hint
didn't tell you this, you've got a boss coming up.  It's smart to have the
stylus ready, as when you defeat the boss, you have to draw the magic seal
relatively quickly, and you don't want to struggle with getting the stylus out,
risking having to fight the big guy again.
BOSS: FLYING ARMOR
First real boss fight time!  Flying Armor is a floating creature with two
hovering swords.  These swords act as a sort of barrier, such that it's
difficult for you to get close to him.  Watch for the tips of the sword - when
they flash, the swords are about to attack you.  They do this in one of two
ways - if the swords are both facing you (they're normally facing down), then
when they flash, their positions will be locked in, and they'll fire straight
in the direction they're pointed in, meaning don't be in their way.  If the
swords are pointed diagonally up in either direction, they'll circle around and
try to squish you; jump over them to avoid the piercing blow.  This is the
easier of the two to dodge.  Now, if you don't have the Axe Armor soul, this is
the time to attack, as he's defenseless for the moment.  Beat up on him until
the swords come back, rinse, and repeat.  His only other attack is floating
around, which isn't so much an attack, per se, as much as a horrible video game
cliche (i.e., the "touch of death") at its finest.
If you have it, though, now's the time to use the Axe Armor soul.  It makes the
fight loads easier - you can just make a slight hop, regardless of where the
swords are (unless the swords are, you know, inside of you), toss an axe, cause
damage (as each axe will not only hit for a fair amount of damage, but it'll
also hit multiple times), and repeat.  Just make sure to watch out for the
sword attacks, and resort to the earlier strategy when your MP runs low.
If your HP falls below a certain level (i.e., how much HP each of the Flying
Armor's attacks take away from you), remember that you do have three Potions,
so feel free to use one.
For your troubles, you get the Flying Armor soul, which "reduces the speed of
falling."  This is the same thing it did in Aria of Sorrow, only you have to
fight for it (I'm glad we didn't last time!).  After the exchange with Yoko,
grab the oversized orb to replenish your HP/MP.  Before you do anything else,
go two rooms to the right and save!  Return to the boss room, and then head
through the left door.
Hah, there seems to be potential for another Flying Armor in here.  Check out
the mantel.  Anyway, drop down one step, and jump for the platform on the left
side of the room, using the Flying Armor soul to get you over there.  Grab the
Claymore, and head to the next room.
Hop to the left to grab the aptly named Spear, though statistically and
practically speaking, I find the Claymore to be better.  Drop to the platform
to your right, and fall through that platform.  Take out the Armor Knight to
your left, and enter the room he was guarding.
In here, take out the Ouija Table (its soul is useful if you get it - you can
recover HP by sitting in chairs.  Don't bother equipping it unless there's a
chair nearby, though).  Grab the Mace to the left of the deceased dinnertable,
and continue left.  Drop through the platforms.  To your left is a save point;
to the right, $1000.  Make use of both, and head through the right door.  Drop
down to the bottom of this room, and go through the left door to reunite with
Yoko.  She'll explain the art of synthesis to you.  See the weapons guide later
in the FAQ for more information on this.  You can synthesize weapons here
depending on what souls you have.  I advise that if you want to perform a
synthesis, make sure you have multiple copies of the soul you're using so that
you don't permanently lose it.
You're welcome to make these if you want; however, it's not required by any
stretch.  Just make sure to have multiple copies of the soul you're using.  If
you need a reminder as to where to find enemies, either check the bestiary, or
I'll tell you now - you can find Armor Knights in the previous room.  The Wargs
and Axe Armors are a few rooms back.  While the Cutlass isn't too great now, if
you can get another Warg soul and make a Falchion, that would rock.
There's one thing about this I can't stress enough, though - Whatever you do,
until you have 100% of all souls, never ever _EVER_ use a boss soul.  You can't
get them back.  I don't care how useless it is.  I don't care if it hurts you.
Don't use it until you have 100% soul collection.
When you're done, trot across the way to Hammer's shop.  I recommend buying the
Castle Map 1 and whatever else you can afford.  Look in the Items section to
see what the UMA News says, so don't worry about buying that.  I also bought
the Gym Clothes, and the Scarf.  Equip it all.  Now, if you're low on money,
there's a cheap way of fixing that.  Credit for this goes to FairEmma.  Buy
some Brass Knuckles, and go find some Zombies (this is not a hard task,
unfortunately).  Synthesize the Brass Knuckles and the Zombie Soul to get a
Cestus.  Sell the Cestus to make a serious profit.
Return to the center room.  Hop on the hippie van, and hop up a few levels
until you can go right.  Go right when you can.  Make sure you collet the $1000
bag as you move through this next room (side note: you can destroy the chairs
in a variety of ways.  This looks cool), and head out through the door at the
bottom.
You're greeted with a funky sight in this next area: a skull in a cyclone (a
Spin Devil).  Wizard of Oz jokes aside, use a Bullet Soul to take him out.
Kill off the Skeleton, and grab the Potion on the right side of this platform.
Drop to the bottom of the room, and head right through the next two rooms to
find a Cape, which isn't as good as the Scarf from Hammer's place, but
whatever.  Backtrack to the larger room.  Once back in here, climb up to thje
top left corner.  Use the Flying Armor soul to cross the gap, look at Celia
Fortner's ugly mug + cleavage, and head through the door.
Kill off the Student Witch (such an adorable kitty!), and make your way through
the rest of the room, killing the other two Student Witches.  Exit through the
top right corner.  Make your way through the small hallway, and in the next
room, you'll find a gate impeding your progress.  Such inconvenient things,
gates.  If you attack the switch next to it, the water behind the gate will
drain, and the gate will open.
This actually drains the moat of the castle, which is where you are now.  Take
care of the Spin Devil, and head straight across the way to finally enter a new
area!
Wizardry Lab
------------
In your first room, you're greeted with a neverending spawning of Ghosts.
Woohoo!  Deal with them as best as you can as you drop down through the
entrance room.  You'll reach a small landing after a little while.  Grab the
Mind Up from the left side (the room behind the Mind Up is a save point), and
then head through the right door.
You'll now confront a Bomber Armor.  Take care of it (when it lobs a bomb, just
make sure you're out of the way of the explosion!), and continue on.  When you
see the Slime, just kill it before it slowly crawls at you.  Hop across the gap
to get a Blunt Sword (just what I always wanted!), and continue down through
the room.  At the bottom right corner, you'll see a treasure chest.  Smack it
open with your weapon, and then backtrack to the previous room.  Continue your
descent downwards to the door at the bottom, and then make use of said door.
I find it useful to slide (down + B) through this row of Skeletons and the
Skull Archer.  The rest of this room is nothing you've never seen before
(although if you hit the Student Witch when she tries to fly, she falls, and it
looks so sad), so continue through the room.  In the next room, drop down a few
levels, and take the first right that you can (though it may be advisable,
before you take this right, to go to the bottom of the shaft, take a left, and
grab the Scarf, if you don't have one).  There be Manticores in this room - the
head of a lion, the tail of a scorpion.  Watch out for the tail as you destroy
them.  Also, note the eyes in the painting!  Ahh!  Go all the way right, and in
the next room, take your first right to find a warp room.  The game will
explain the concept.  Warp up to the Lost Village real fast (press up, and then
press left to get there).
The Lost Village
----------------
If you were paying attention to the map earlier, you noticed you couldn't get
to the room you're at now.  But now you can, so it's all good.  Anyway, it puts
you out by a save point, Yoko, and Hammer.  Make use of them if you want, and
then teleport back to the Wizardry Lab.
Wizardry Lab
------------
Once back in the Wizardry Lab, return to the room before the warp chamber, drop
to the bottom, and head right.  Go through this next room (your goal is the
bottom left corner), which has two new enemies: a Slaughterer and The Creature.
The Slaughterer is by far the easier of thw two.  It's a giant pig thing that
hops around and shoots fireballs in an arc.  Dodge the fireballs as you attack
him, and he'll die quickly.  The Creature - Frankenstein's Monster - is
substantially harder.  He'll be energized with lightning, stumble over to you,
and smack you really really hard.  If he's energized, when he sees you, he'll
stumble really fast, making it difficult to get out of the way.  You want to
attack him from afar - in here, you can lure him to the right side of his
level, hop up to the level above him, and get him with the Axe Armor soul.  His
soul is useful (you restore one HP/second) but difficult to obtain, so do so at
your own risk.  Anyway, once you've cleaned out this room, head out through the
bottom left corner.
Drop down through this room and take the bottom right door.  After a nice
little cutscene, you can continue through the room.  In the next room, go
through the bottom right door to find a save point.  Uh oh!  Go left to
encounter...
BOSS: BALORE
A beam suddenly cuts through the ice!  Go through the ice to find Balore
himself.  Balore has two basic attacks, and the safest place to evade both of
them is right in between his hands.  His most obvious attack is a GIANT laser
beam that comes out of his eye.  There'll be a dead giveaway when he's about to
use this attack - you'll see him charge it.  When you see it, immediately duck
to avoid the beam.  His other attack is to punch with one of his fists.  You
can avoid all of these if you're positioned where I told you to be.  When he
brings his fist close to him, though, jump on it (and then jump off when the
coast is clear) to avoid being hit by it.
The easiest way to take him out is with a weapon with a sweeping motion, like
the Axe.  Simply jump, use it, and repeat until Balore is no more!
Take the orb and head right to find an ice wall.  Use your new soul and your
stylus to clear away the ice (just press an ice cube to make it go away.  This
would be inefficient, so run your stylus around the screen like a crazy man).
Make sure to save your game!
Now we've got some backtracking to do.  Use your map to help you with this -
you want to get to the first room of the Wizardry Lab (on the map, it's the
room touching the closest save point to your current location, excluding the
save point you just used).  You can either go through all those halls again (go
an alternate route to increase map percentage), or you can go to the warp room,
warp to The Lost Village, and make your way to the moat (where you saw Julius),
drop into where the water used to be, and take the door.  Either way, get to
the top of the first room, and head through the top right door.
In here, you'll see some ice.  Before you go and destroy it all, look at what's
behind the ice - a pillar.  You need to get over this pillar, so destroy the
ice like this:
o--------------o o----o------------------------o
|      xxxxxx  | |Key |                        |
|      xxxxxx  | |----o                        |
|      xxxxxx  | | - - Stairs                  |
|      xxxxxx  | | o - Don't destroy this ice  |
|      ooooooP | | x - Destroy this ice        |
| J    ooooooP | | P - Pillar                  |
|--    ooooooP | | J - Jump from here          |
|  --  ooooooP | o-----------------------------o
o--------------o
Jupm from the stairs, and invoke the use of the Flying Armor soul to land on
the ice.  This gives you an easy way of getting over the pillar.  With the next
bit of ice, destroy all the ice but the bottom level, and on the next set,
destroy only the top three layers of ice by giving it the cold (ha!) shoulder
with the stylus.  Continue with this pattern (of destroying all the ice except
those which are level with the pillar).  There's one tricky one, where the
pillar extends from the ceiling, so you have to go under it, but then there's
no apparent way to overcome the next pillar.  Do the easy thing, then, and make
a staircase out of the ice to get over the pillar.
In this next room, destroy all the ice to get to the bottom.  Head left to grab
a Combat Knife (woo hoo!), and then go back into the other room.  It seems hard
to get back up, but you essentially have to use the staircase strategy again.
Destroy the set of 16 ice blocks (4x4) closest to you except for the ice in the
bottom right corner in this fashion:
o----o-----------------o
o--------------o |Key |                 |
|XXXXoooooooooo| |----o                 |
|XXXXoooooooooo| | X - Destroy this ice |
|XXXXoooooooooo| | o - Don't            |
|XXXooooooooooo| | D - Door             |
|          oooo| | - Stairs             |
D              | o----------------------o
D              |
|--            |
|----          |
o--------------o
Jump to the lone remaining ice block, and create a staircase of ice to get back
to the top.  Now backtrack all the way back to the main room.  Drop down to the
bottom of this shaft (giving the Ghosts the shaft while you're at it), and take
the door there.  Make your way through this room, and when you come out at the
shaft (there are certainly quite a lot of these) on the other side, drop down
and take the first door on the right.  Once you've made your way through the
Manicore-infested room with the creepy painting, make your way up through the
shaft (note: this shaft has a warp room.  If you haven't already done so, it
may be a good time to return to The Lost Village and drop by the shop; I
_highly_ recommend getting the Castle Map 2), and head to the top-right door.
Head through the next room (it's nothing new; however, if you're using the Axe,
you can destroy enemies above you by jumping and swinging)) to emerge at a new
room at the top-right corner.
If you have an uncontrollable urge for an Armor Knight soul - which is
understandable, considering you got it at the beginning of the game - this is
the place.  Ignore the first set of ice, but as you go through the room,
destroy all the rest of the ice.  Run back to the start of the room, jump on
the ice block you spared, and use that to get to the platform.  Ride it - and
duck while you're riding it to evade a very inconvenient pillar, hop off and
head two rooms to the right to reach...
Garden of Madness
-----------------
This room has two new enemies: the Une and the Skelerang.  The Une is very
easy; just attack it without doing something funny like running over it.  As
for the Skelerang, it can, as the more astute among you may derive from its
name, throw a boomerang.  Dodge them as you destroy the Skelerangs.  That's
really all there is to this room.  There's a save point halfway up.  Save,
climb to the top, and head left.
This next room has the huge Treant enemy.  Aside from the obvious pun in its
name, it's got a nice mythology reference.  Anyway, dodge its kicks as you
attack.  Once it's destroyed, grab the Magic Seal 2.  Awesome!  Hop up to the
next room.  Take your first left to activate the warp room, and then continue
up through the previous room.  There's a new foe here, a Corpseweed, but it's
the same concept as an Une only bigger (because a head sprouts).
In the next room, head right, and grab the Breastplate from atop the ledge
(instead of jumping and getting it by using your video game magic to go through
the pillar, hop on the junk as a stepping stone to that ledge, as we're going
up).  Hop onto the next ledge, and go up one more time to find a Skeleton Ape.
This is a Skeleton wielding bad posture and a barrel (this is a Donkey Kong
reference, kids).  Take him out (jump over the barrel Mario style if you need
to), and head to the next room.
A Cateoblepas awaits you here.  They've got stone breath, so watch out!  Take
it out from the doorway (it helps if you use an Axe or something that attacks
in an arc), hop up to the top of the room, and go right.  In the next room,
dodge the barrel that the Skeleton Ape will throw at you almost immediately
upon your entrance, kill it, and hop over to the next ledge.  Break the lantern
to get the Doppelganger soul.
Now for a word of explanation on this puppy.  You'd think a soul with that
title would be interesting, possibly allowing you to, you know, doppelgang
someone (that sounds nasty; it means to look like them, just to clarify).  No,
this gives you the ability to alternate between sets of equipment and souls.
Go to your Equipment menu.  You'll see an A and a B in the heading.  Press X to
switch between them.  The game recommends you have a travelling and a fighting
set, but you probably don't have good enough souls for that.  Keep this in mind
while equipping - just because you use it on one set doesn't preclude you from
using it in another.  For instance, if you have one Warg soul, and it's in your
A soul set, you can still use it in your B soul set.
Here's what I'd do: for now, have a short range and a long range set.  Have A
be your go-to equipment/souls; these are what you already use.  For B,
concentrate on defense - use your longer reaching bullet souls (e.g., the
summons), and for your equipment, beef up on defense and/or luck, or some other
stat.  When necessary, you can do a quick swap.  This soul will come in handy
later, or so I hope.  This is also good for soul combos (e.g., in this very
room, you can get a Skeleton Farmer soul at the bottom, which enhances the
power of plant souls, and a Mandragora soul, which is already a really strong
soul.  If you keep both of these together in a soul set, you can hit for
massive damage.
As I mentioned in the last paragraph, it'd be a good idea to drop to the bottom
of the screen and acquaint yourself with the Skeleton Farmer.  He throws out
five seeds: four Unes and one Mandragora.  The Unes are harmless, but if you're
in the Mandragora's range (it pops out of the ground and explodes), it'll hurt.
Oddly enough, the background influences his seed throws - he can't throw into
pillars.  You really want the Mandragora, and having the Skeleton Farmer is
nice too.
Once you're done, head back to the previous room.  If you want some money and a
new weapon (which you may not use), climb to the top of the shaft and head
left.  Make your way through this room (there is a new enemy - Rycuda - which
is a weak lightning shooting bird.  Make sure to get its soul).  Take them out,
drop through the floor, kill the Catoblepas, and go left to find a treasure
chest.  Destroy it for some money, grab the Fleuret from the ledge, and head
back to the shaft.  Go through the top right door, cross this room to the top
right door here, and head through there.
This shaft contains nothing new, so go through it and exit at the bottom.
Dodge the Skeleton Ape's barrel, and drop to the bottom of this room, go right,
and drop through the floor.  Descend through this room until you reach a gold
door marked 777.  These are the last three digits you need your money value to
be.  There's a light right outside of the door.  Break it, grab money, drop
through the floor, come back up, and repeat.  Do this until you reach 777 (to
help you out, blue = $1, brown = $10, grey = $50).  Enter the room and grab the
Three 7s armor.  I recommend equipping this to your alternate equipment setting
for soul harvesting.  Anyway, backtrack back to the big room, go all the way
right, and head to...
The Dark Chapel
---------------
Finally.  I just wanna give a tangent here real fast.  Most of the Metroid-
esque Castlevania (e.g., Symphony of the Night, Circle of the Moon, etc.) have
a chapel in them.  No one stops to consider the fact that this has no place in
an unholy castle.  That said, this is the base of a religious cult, so they
need a good chapel.  GET IT STRAIGHT, KONAMI!
Anyway, there are two Mini Devils.  They appear, fly around, and fire these
large crescent, Pharaoh Shot-esque projectiles at you.  Dodge them as you
destroy the Mini Devils (who bear, both in name and in visage, a resemblance to
my sisters).  Run to the right side of the room, save, and then start hopping
up the ledges.  There's one more Mini Devil in your path, but exit at the top
right corner of the room.
This next room is populated with Ghouls, which are upgraded Zombies, but
they're just as easy.  There's also a Witch, who will fly around spouting magic
spells, Space style.  Ghoul souls are easy to get and recommended - they let
you eat food that's normally "unpalatable" (e.g., Rotten Meat, which you can
get from these guys, etc.).
The next room is filled with Ghost Dancers, who are very easy to take care of
(you only have to destroy one of the pair to take them both out), and their
souls are the luck equivalent of the Golem soul (think about that one for a
second - the suave Ghost Dancers.  Luck.  UH OH PREGGERS).  There's also an
Amalaric Sniper in here.  This is the equivalent of the Sniper of Goth from
previous games, and his soul is pretty sweet too.  Anyway, hop up the nearest
set of ledges, jump to the right, and grab the Potion.  Now drop to about
midway down the room, enter a room on the left (it's a warp room), and now head
to the bottom of the room, working your way through the enemies as you go (in
addition to the Amalarics and the Dancers, The Creature awaits you at the
bottom).  Enter the bottom left door.
Now you enter the mainstay of any good church - the torture chamber.  Head left
to find a Hell Boar, the blue version of the Slaughterer (wait...a blue
pig...GANON!).  The difference between the two is that, in addition to
fireballs, the Hell Boar can attack with an uppercut, so watch out.  Ghouls
abound in here too, but they're no threat.  Head through the room.
You'll come out in a shaft which get get to explore.  Start with the top left
door.  In here, you'll encounter a Barbariccia, named for a demon from The
Divine Comedy as well as a certain fast food restaurant.  He flies around,
acting clever, wielding a spear.  He'll lunge at you occasionally, but he's no
threat.  Grab the $2000 and regress to the previous room.
Drop through the shaft, watching out for the Bone Pillars (they be shootin'
fiuh!).  Take the first left to find a White Dragon.  Get under it (to dodge
its attacks), and use your souls/Axe to take it out.  Swipe the Traveler Cape
(you can equip it to your B set of equipment if you like), and then return to
the shaft.  Finish your descent, and head left.
Your first new foe in this room is a Guillotiner.  It splits apart into a head
and a...um...lower body, but you only need to destroy one part.  Once you've
taken care of it, head down the shaft to the bottom, and take the right door.
In this room, you'll find a Barbariccia, but before you go killing it, look at
the ceiling - spike traps.  Get close to them, let them fall and rise again,
and then run under them.  There are two in this room, so watch out!  In the
next room, grab the Red Scarf, and then head back to the shaft and take the
bottom left door.
In this room, take out the Bone Pillars (if you have it, the Mandragora soul
rocks for this), and do what you can to destroy the Hell Boar on the other side
of the partition.  Look at the pink wall - it's got a picture of a Skeleton on
it.  Equip the Skeleton soul, lob a bone at the wall, and watch the wall come
tumbling down.  Now watch out - there's a rogue White Dragon here who'll be
spitting fireballs.  Dodge them as best you can while you get under it.  Grab
the Halberd, kill the White Dragon, and then backtrack to the Ghost Dancer room
(if you don't remember where it is, check the map - it's the room touching the
nearest warp room).
Once in the dance hall, head up to the top left corner of the room, and go
through the door there.  This room has two Great Armors, who are great
pushovers, despite their size.  Get up close to them (in real life, this would
be a mistake), and hit them with your Bullet Souls and with whatever weapon you
have.  Make sure to back up if they get too close.  The Great Armor soul is
pretty sweet - it's a familiar, though.  At the end of the room, continue on
int he only direction you can.
The next room contains a Valkyrie, a winged warrior who flies around and tries
to spear you.  Kill her off (if you use the Great Sword as I do, you'll want to
get her soul so as to be able to upgrade the Great Sword), and exit the room
through the upper exit.  You'll be met with a Witch and a never ending supply
of Ghosts in this room.  Hop onto the platform, ride it up, and jump over to
the platforms on the right.  Continue on to exit the room on the right side.
Ascend this shaft to the top, and head right.  This takes you to a passage with
a Tombstone, which is a tombstone (as you may have inferred) with the ability
to throw a temper tantrum.  You may want its soul, as it stops petrification,
which is useful later on.  Kill it, and head to the next room, which is the
bell tower.  There are Mini Devils in here.  Destroy them all while you climb
to the top left corner.  Grab the Anti-Venom, and then backtrack to the last
shaft.  Use the top left room as a save point, and then drop to the bottom of
the shaft, and enter the door...
BOSS: DMITRII BLINOV
After a nice cutscene (imagine him saying that with a Russian accent; it's
funnier), you'll fight Dmitrii with cool music.  He'll lumber over to you and
use the Cthulu attack you just saw.  That attack's easy to dodge, but you want
an easier one.  I recommend using either an Une, a Student Witch, a Skeleton,
or a Zombie soul.  Regardless, Dmitrii is very easy to figure out.  He'll use
whatever soul you've used on him (and when you use a new one, he'll copy that
too), knife you if you get close, jump around, or dash backwards - he's
essentially Soma.
I recommend using whatever soul you're using to beat him.  Additionally, if you
have a long range weapon (e.g., an Axe), you can use that too.  Jump towards
him, smack him, and move away.  Rinse and repeat.  He's a very easy boss.  Note
that you don't need to use a Magic Seal at the end.
(note: When you beat him, Soma exclaims, "What?  Dead?  That can't be!"
Because dying is not normally what one does when one is whacked several
times by a large weapon and/or screaming plants.)
When you've beaten him, you'll gain his soul (though you won't be able to use
it).  Go back to the shaft, save, and then return to Dmitrii's room.  He's been
replaced by a Quetzalcoatl, a Fleaman on a dragon.  It bounces around, so look
for the spaces between the dragon bones, and then attack.  Once he's been
bested, head to the next room.  This room is very simple.  Head through it, and
at the top you'll find...
BOSS: MALPHAS
Malphas is exactly like Symphony of the Night's Karasuman.  He's just as easy
too.  Malphas has three basic attacks.  The first is an attack where he summons
black ravens to him and faces you.  When you see this, move so that you're
behind him (when he flies up) so you can dodge his onslaught of black feathers.
For his second attack, he flies and faces you, the player (not you Soma; i.e.,
he's facing forward).  When he does this, get under him to dodge the blue
feathers.  His final attack is to summon these orbs which will try to track you
down.  Jump over them.  The best plan is to stay under him while he's in the
air - if you see an orb forming, run away, and when they come near you, jump
back towards Malphas; if you see blue feathers, stay still.  When he lands, you
know he's about to break into the first attack.
In between attacks, smack him a few times.  This is really easy with the first
attack, as he's firing away from you, making him a sitting duck...er, raven.
Mutant raven.  You get it.  Make sure to have the stylus ready for the Magic
Seal.  Also, make sure you remember how to do the seal (start from the top
right, go to the bottom left, to the bottom right, to the top left).