Super Castlevania IV: Hard Mode, No-Damage, Eternal Candle Challenge [Block B]

Channel:

MarkyJoe

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Published on October 31, 2012 9:39:09 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KB6An9M7cU

Game:

Super Castlevania IV (1991)

Duration: 10:41

2,758 views

40

It's been around 5 months since I've done anything with this challenge, and there's a good reason why. This level is retardedly difficult under the eternal candle conditions. There's numerous luck-based scenarios, and it's the longest level in the game, mainly due to the bosses, so it's an enormous endurance gauntlet.

It's because of all of these factors that I eventually caved after months of attempts, and decided to give myself 3 of the 5 "game over check points". What are those? Well basically, unlike every other level in this game, the final stage will bring you back to a specific part of the stage even if you get a game over. The five game over check points in this stage are the beginning of the stage, and one for every boss of the stage. In a way, each part of the stage counts as it's own mini-level. Don't get me wrong though, I don't feel that justifies what I did. The shear luck-based factor of the stage MORE than justifies it.

The first part is incredibly boring. Very little happens during it, and I really despise that pointless bridge section. It's interesting to look at for the first few goes, but it gets old quick. I never really saw the point of getting all the candles on that bridge anyway, you're rarely ever low on hearts, and your whip gets charged very quickly.

Anyways, there are a few key points in the stage that annoy me. Namely, there's one part where you're walking up a falling stairway onto a small platform, with a skeleton on a platform above you. Sometimes he'll immediately rush to the edge of his platform and jump down at you, and there's no way to avoid this since he takes too many hits, and by the time you reach the top of the stairway, he's already made his jump.

Aside from that, there's also the stairway section of the stage, which I really like, but it can be tedious when the skeletons are being... bone happy?

Then comes to bosses... oh. my. god. Slogra is the second worst boss in this game. TONS of luck-based factors come into play with him. Firstly, you have to be a very specific distance from him every time he lands from being hit. If you're too close, there's a chance he'll use his unavoidable lunge stab, which comes out instantly and without warning. If you're too far away from him, his shots have a chance of exploding and hitting you, even if you crouch.

After you break his weapon, things get even worse. You MUST be running away from him as he lands from being hit here, because he can open up with his insanely fast lunge, which is impossible to dodge if you're too close. Even IF you immediately run away from him, you will still have to time a jump PRECISELY when he begins the lunge or else you will get hit, no matter what. It's absurdly precise. I guess I should also mention that Slogra has very bullshit collision detection, but that's a minor detail past the incredibly precise jumping and maneuvering you have to do to best him without damage.

Next up in the bosses is the significantly easier Gaibon. His collision box is really biased; to damage him, you have to hit the UPPER half of his body, or else it doesn't count, yet if you're even SLIGHTLY close to his lower half, you'll take damage, even if it doesn't look like his lower half touched you. That said, he's not luck based. I managed to develop a tactic for everything he deals out, and have confirmed there's a way to avoid being walled into a corner and getting hit, so overall he's not THAT terrible, just annoying.

Then comes death, who is quite possibly the most... pathetic boss ever. If you stay in the bottom left corner and keep your whip brandished, NOTHING he does will ever hurt you except for his scythe toss, which is very easy to dodge. That said, his scythe toss is pretty much the only genuinely safe time to hit him. Three scythe toss cycles will give you enough hits to take him out no problem.

Last but not least is the hardest boss to beat under these conditions, Dracula. He's extremely luck based due to his orb toss, which requires not only the correct positioning, but precise and exact movements to avoid, AND IT ONLY DEALS ONE DAMAGE BY THE WAY AND LEAVES A HEALING ITEM SO THEY EXPECT YOU TO GET HIT BY THIS. The lightning shots in his final phase are very nerve racking because of their fastness. Everything else he has is merely tricky, but the orb phase is something you MUST prepare for, and memorizing when he goes into it is key to standing a chance. Don't take risks against Dracula and be patient unless it's the orb phase, which you MUST deactivate as quickly as possible before you end up in a situation that you can't recover from.

Now for the song replacements...
First part - Finale Toccata (Symphony of the Night)
Close Associates - Unchanged
Between Close Associates and Dracula - Theme of Simon 2007 Official Arrange (Portrait of Ruin)
Dracula - Order of the Demon & Black Banquet for final phase.
The rest - Unchanged

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