In the first Castlevania Adventure, the fearless vampire hunter Christopher Belmont fought toe-to-toe and whip-to-wing against the vampire king, Count Dracula. Belmont defeated the Count and destroyed his castle, but unfortunatley Dracula used what remained of his magical powers to transform his body into mist, thereby making good his escape. However, his powers were so depleted that he was left unable to tranform into "human" form. The count decided to wait and rebuild his dark forces. Deep inside his black heart he swore revenge on Christopher Belmont and his family. Fifteen years later, a ceremony was held in the town of Transylvania. The son of Christopher Belmont, Soleiyu Belmont, had come of age, and it was time for the title of vampire hunter to be passed down to him. The ceremony was used to commemorate this occasion. All the citizens of Transylvania rejoiced, hoping that the father-son team of vampire hunters would bring peace to the region forever. But on the morning after the ceremony, it was discovered that Soleiyu Belmont had vanished into thin air. The ceremony was the chance Dracula had waited for. Soleiyu received great sacred power in the ceremony to mark his adulthood, and Dracula used his last bit of magic to turn Soleiyu's powers against him, tranforming him into a terrible demon. Then, aided by the Soleiyu-demon, Dracula was able to assume human form once again. That evening, to the northeast of the village, the earth shook with a thunderous roar and four ominous castles appeared. And, hidden in a lake at the center of these castles, was another castle---the new lair of Count Dracula! Horrified to learn that his son had been altered by the forces of evil, Christopher Belmont determined to save Soleiyu and break the ambitions of the Count. He journeyed to the new castles, each ruled by a different power of darkness placed there by the Soleiyu-demon to stop anyone who would tamper with the mystic spell Dracula had cast upon him. Nevertheless, in order to save the village of Transylvania and free his son, Christopher had no choice but to go and fight once again ...

Christopher Belmont
The fourth Belmont slayer according to the timeline fought against Dracula sometime during the 1600s. He is supposedly the great-grandson of the legendary Belmont, Simon. According to many timelines including the Castlevania Dungeon, Christopher embarked on his first journey against Dracula in approximately 1692. He entered Castlevania, whipped up Dracula and his goons, and left the castle to crumble, thinking the Count would once again be forced to endure is 100 year hibernation (The Castlevania Adventure). Dracula, however, was beaten, but not gone. Fifteen years later, in 1707, Dracula returned and possessed Christopher's son, Soleiyu. Christopher was forced to return to the battlefield, rescue his son, and defeat Dracula once and for all (Belmont's Revenge). He did so with a raging fury.

Soleiyu Belmont
Son of Christopher, at the age of most likely around 18 or 20, was possessed by Dracula and helped him almost rise to power (Belmont's Revenge). He was, however, rescued by his father and went on to help his father defeat Dracula and his evil minions. Soleiyu went on to become the great grandfather of the infamous Belmont Slayer, Richter.

Count Dracula
The embodiment of pure evil and carnage, Dracula is the ultimate enemy of the Belmont Family. He rises once every 100 years to wreak havoc on the Transylvanian countryside, although on some occasions, he is brought back to the land of the living by humans. He was a great soldier in life, but in death became one of the undead. He is the most consistent character of the Castlevania series - appearing at least once in all of the games.

Dark Side
Dark Side is the Boss of Crystal Castle. He appears as a crystal, then transforms into a sinister human figure equipped with a staff. He has the ability to call upon lightning clouds to help him with his sinister work.

Kumulo And Nimbler
This duo form the twin bosses of Plant Castle. With the ability to breathe fire, they tried to burn Christopher alive as well as impale him with their trident spears. They were unsuccessful as Christopher defeated them and destroyed Plant Castle.

Angel Mummy
Angel Mummy, a two headed monster, is the Boss of Plant Castle. He attacked Christopher by throwing the bones from its two necks at our hero, from one head to the other. It also tried to fry Christopher with its fireballs, but proved unsuccessful in its attempts.

Iron Doll
Primary Evil of Rock Castle, Iron Doll was very slow at first in his attacks against Christopher. Iron Doll proved to be more dangerous, however, when he stripped himself of his armor and attacked Christopher even more viciously. Christopher defeated him and barely escaped with his life.

Big Eye
This enemy rolled around the castles in Belmont's Revenge trying to injure Christopher Belmont. Aided by his Holy Water, Christopher was able to purify these evil beings to a crisp.

Large Bat
The unusual bats flew among Dracula's Castles searching for blood. Many times they swooped down from their resting places, to try and catch a snack on Christopher. With the help of the mighty ax, Christopher was able to cut these bats down to size.

Punaguchi
Perhaps the most formidable foe to Christopher, the Punaguchi could emit powerful orbs with the power to reduce Christopher's whip back down. Many times when Christopher was equipped with the almighty Flame Whip, he lost it time and time again, to the Punaguchi's evil orbs.

Merman
The Merman rose from the bottomless pits of water deep inside the castles. Christopher had no problem wasting these creatures, as they were extremely vulnerable, rising up out of the water with no protection.

Evil Knight
The Evil Knight has no body and is nothing more than floating armor. Christopher had to be careful of this villain because once he snuck up behind this spirit, it would immediately turn around and attack him.

Zeldo
This power of evil holds boomerangs that he threw at Christopher. Not only could these boomerangs cover a long distance, but they also retracted and flew back at Christopher. The ax was a big help to Christopher when encountering the evil known as Zeldo.

Candle
These candles are found throughout the many castles of Dracula. Christopher extinguished these with the mighty whip and revealed hidden power-up symbols as well as the much needed hearts.

Coin
These coins could also be found by extinguishing the candles found throughout the castle. They helped to increase Christopher's point wealth.

Small Heart
These small hearts gave Christopher one more use of his currently selected weapon.

Large Heart
These large hearts acted in much the same manner of the small hearts, giving Christopher five more uses of his currently selected weapon.

Crystal Ball
This item increases the power of the Mystic Whip. The first increase gives you a stronger, longer whip. The second increase gives you the strongest whip - and you can release deadly balls of fire when you crack it.

Vampire Killer Whip
This is the weakest of the three whips to choose from. It is your beginning weapon and inflicts very little damage. The good news is, this whip can be upgraded.

Chain Whip
This is the second upgraded whip. It inflicts more damage than the Vampire Killer Whip and is also longer so Christopher can attack enemies from a farther away distance. This whip is usually not hard to find, and will be with Christopher most of the game (unless lost from one of Punaguchi's orbs).

Flame Whip
The most powerful whip in the game, it has the ability to emit fireballs at enemies. True, the fireballs are not very powerful, but they sure help to kill off a few annoying bats and jellyfish.

Battle Axe
Christopher threw these mighty weapons in an arc, destroying all enemies and foes in his path. This weapon is good when attacking enemies from a safe distance.

Holy Water
Christopher threw these vials at creatures of the night and watched them burn! This weapon is good when attacking big eyes and other close range enemies.

When you arrive at the halfway point of Rock Castle, which is highlighted by the sudden appearance of stalactites, light becomes scarce, and the separate rooms will be illuminated only by the candelabras contained within. If you whip away all of the candelabras on screen, the immediate area will go dark, and you'll be vulnerable to all surrounding dangers (like the bottomless pits and mollusks). However, you can make this mechanic for naught if you're carrying holy water - simply chuck a vial onto the ground and its fiery glow will provide light to the immediate area, allowing you to collect all of the candelabra-held goodies without worrying about a blackout.

Belmont's Revenge was somewhat revolutionary with its "Stage Options". Instead of starting out in front of the castle (or in it) like practically every other Castlevania, Belmont's Revenge allowed the player to choose from one of four castles - Crystal, Cloud, Plant, or Rock Castle. Each castle can be chosen in any order the player wishes. Until this game, this option was not available. Each stage has its own "Primary Evil" which you had to defeat in order to destroy the castle and move one step closer to meeting up with the prince of darkness, himself, Dracula. Every stage/castle has its own theme such as "Crystal". Inside Crystal Castle, you meet up with sharpened crystals that close in on Christopher on his trips down ropes. If you don't hurry and get Chris out of there, then he is impaled by these sharpened crystals. Also, the "Primary of Evil", known as Dark Side (one cool name), turns into a crystal and then teleports throughout the room. He is only vulnerable in his crystal form. Another example is Cloud Castle, in which, you must perfect using floating "cloud" platforms to complete each part of the stage. After defeating these four castles in any order you choose, a new castle appears in the center of the screen from the bottom of a lake. This castle follows more of the "classic" Castlevanias as you now see a map before each stage you must travel through. Altogether, Belmont's Revenge helped to promote this new style of "Choosing Your Stage".

Level 1 - Crystal Castle
Partially submerged in water, the Crystal Castle (no, not the old video game from the 80's with the bear!) is a sight to see. Most likely the easiest castle, Christopher must wade through the flood and jump from crumbling blocks while avoiding ravens and mermen. At the end of the level awaits the evil wizard, the Dark Side.

The whole castle is made of pure crystal. The first area has tide-changing water with ravens hovering all around and crystal platforms that break apart as you walk on them. Another watery area follows that has fishmen jumping all around. Next you'll have to slide down ropes, timing it so you can dodge the spike walls that move back and forth. A split path follows: The first has a room with a knife lizard, with more water with fishmen jumping about below; the other has more crystal platforms that break apart as you walk on them. Both lead to rooms with two Octos. The eerie music signals that the boss is near.

Level 2 - Cloud Castle
Suspended in the air by mysterious evil forces, the Air Castle relies mostly on spiked traps rather than enemies to do you in. You must climb on the ropes of spiked balls (which retract to the ceiling when you touch them) and navigate a system of ropes that flow in opposite directions. At the top of the castle is the bizarre Angel Mummy.

The long entrance into the castle has many ravens flying around. Inside, you'll have to maneuver across ropes attached to spiked balls, them raising as you climb. Other obstacles here are knights, bats and moving platforms. In the next area, you have to climb down and around a wall, dodging the up-and-down-moving spike-lined floor at the bottom. A single knife lizard lies before a room filled with pulleys that you must climb, all of which switch directions as you're doing so. The last danger is the punaguchis that ride the platforms on the path to the boss.

Level 3 - Plant Castle
Inhabited with various types of evil flora, the Plant Castle is creepy indeed. Certain kinds of vegetation will grasp onto your feet, slowing your walking pace, and the eyeballs and bridges from the previous Gameboy adventure also appear. The boss is the Iron Doll.

First you have to cross a bridge infested with undermoles. A couple of tricky, spike-lined caves lurk ahead. You'll then come to a bridge with rolling eyes atop, punaguchis below. Hitting the eyes makes them explode, leaving holes in the bridge. Next is another bridge, with rolling eyes again on top but with mad men in the grassy area below. Yet another bridge lurks beyond, rolling eyes atop, punaguchis below; you have to blow open a hole downward to proceed on. In the next room, you can destroy the spiders (you don't have to) and climb on their spindles. The boss chamber is ahead, and rolling eyes and punaguchis clutter it up.

Level 4 - Rock Castle
The Rock Castle is partially set in a gigantic mountain. The interior resembles an ancient Egyptian pyramid, with hieroglyphics abound. At times, the lights will go out, leaving Christopher to fight pillbugs and jump over pits without seeing anything. The final enemy in here is the statue duo of Kumulo and Nimbler.

The Rock Castle gets more dangerous as you get deeper. You'll find pulleys that descend as you climb on them--bowing to your weight--and more exploding eyeballs. As you do get deeper in, the candles are the only source for light, so hitting them will result in the screen going dark; letting the lights go out make you susceptible to falling in pits as well as being susceptible to enemies, such as the mollusks, who come alive when light is scarce. The boss is waiting for you after a long drop down.

Level 5 - Dracula's Castle: The Entrance
The adventure starts outside of the castle, where Zeldo's guard the opening gate. Much of this level is a vertical ascent through the castle's passages, and Dracula has relied on spiked traps more than vile demons to protect this keep. At the end you'll find that the Bone Dragon King is back for another round of fighting.

The long entrance into Castlevania is guarded by many ravens and zeldos. Once inside, there are a couple instances of rooms where you have climb upward on long spike-tipped platforms that shoot out from the walls, with assorted enemies guarding each. Next is a long climb down a vertical area with rope skeletons, knights and bats. Another room of shooting spike platforms rests before a split path: Going upward leads to several areas requiring tricky jumps, but it leads back to where you started; going down leads to similar-looking areas (a visual trap) that do lead to an exit. Thereafter, only mad men populate the boss' chamber.

Level 6 - Dracula's Castle: The Chapel
The second part of Dracula's castle consists mostly of the highest extends of the church. Many careful jumps must be made, especially avoiding the enemies that try to knock you off the perches. You must also make careful jumps when climbing the webs of spiders that dangle from the top of the chapel. At the end, you'll come face to face with the Solieyu-demon, your cursed son.

The initial hall has several moving platforms and knights blocking the way. Ahead, there are two rooms with huge, crushing spike beds; you have to destroy the device that connects them to the ceiling to walk atop them and move on. The next several rooms hold all sorts of other spike-lined traps. Moving on, you'll venture into a pulley room similar to the one in Cloud Castle, with knights present. The final hall has knights, ravens, zeldos, crystal platforms that break apart as you walk on them, and spiders whose spindles you must climb. Punaguchis are the final foes before the Marble Gallery-type chamber leading to the boss.

Level 7 - Dracula's Castle: The Master's Chamber
Inanimate skeletons guard the final descent into Dracula's chambers. Can you help Christopher defeat this monster again and reclaim peace?

This quick-breather of a stage definitely challenges for the title of "Shortest Ever"--with that said, there isn't much to this area besides the scary sickle-wielding skeletons that populate the background. The short stage, itself, is just the means to let you power up the whip and gain a sub-weapon before the ultimate battle that is to come. When you come to a gap, you'll drop down into a small shrine that holds a single candle; simply whip the candle and await the presence of the Prince of Darkness.

Hidden Rooms
Belmont's Revenge has multiple hidden rooms. If you see a rope hanging from a ceiling structure, try climbing the rope to its peak to see if you can go through the ceiling. There's one instance on each stage where you can go right through the ceiling and into a hidden room.

Breakable-Brick Treasures
Belmont's Revenge brought back a lot of the classic series' formulas that Adventure tried to ditch. One of those was the mechanic of breaking bricks to reveal hidden treasures. You can do this multiple times per stage. Most breakable bricks are contained within secret rooms.

Dark Side
This Boss of Crystal Castle appears as a crystal,then transforms into a sinister human figure that will send a cloud of lightning to strike you down. Attack it while in its crystal stage, and don't plant your feet in one spot for too long.

Iron Doll
This is the Primary Boss of Rock Castle. It is slow and heavily armored at first, but when you've caused enough damage, it will drop its armor and come after you faster and more ferociously than ever. Dodge him by jumping onto one of the platforms when he runs after you. Then turn around and whip once or twice. Get away as soon as possible because he will send some sort of fireball at you with his sword. Repeat the process and you should have him beat.

Angel Mummy
The Boss of Cloud Castle. It attacks by throwing the bones in its two necks from one to the other. As if that weren't bad enough, it also spits deadly projectiles (fireballs) from its mouths. This guy isn't as hard as he seems. Simply go to the lower head and begin hitting it with all you've got. When the top head throws the bones from its neck down to the lower one, just duck and the bones will miss you. Make sure you're close enough to the bottom head not to be hit by the top head's fireballs, but not too close that the lower head will hurt you. Keep hitting the lower head when it is shorter and you'll have him beat in no time.

Kumulo And Nimbler
As twin Bosses of Plant Castle, this duo will try to pierce you with their trident spears and fry you with their fiery missiles. These guys aren't too bad. Just stay on the platform in the middle and when one of them gets closer to you - whip away on him. When they spit fireballs out at you do your best to either manuever away from them while remaining on the platform or just whip them and they'll be destroyed. They only pierce downward onto the ground, so if you stay on the platform they can only hit you with their fireballs. Continue this process until you have them beat.

Snake Like Creature
This power of evil has a snakelike body with a large head and a deadly tail. You meet him in the final Castle, Stage 1. This creature is rather tough and challenging. You enter into a tunnel where certain spots let him pass through. He goes in a somewhat diagonal direction and he's so long that it makes it difficult to get past him. Try to stay in front of him at all costs because if you get behind him, you're either dead or in for a lot of damage. When you see his head whip away like crazy until it disappears into the ground. Then take off running away and try to stay in front of him. The area where he will pass through will shake before he comes through it. Try your best to get in front of those areas before he passes through. This boss will probably take a little more time but you will eventually beat him.

Stay as far ahead of it as you can (keep heading right!) and try to get at least two hits in each time he appears by jumping up and hitting it when it's head is at the top of the tunnel, and hitting it again by just standing there and hitting it when it's head is low enough. You can even try to hit it a third time by ducking and hitting it after that! You may have to switch the order of the attacks depending on if it heads from bottom to top or vice versa.

Soleiyu, Son of Christopher
Christopher Belmont's demon possessed son is very powerful and uses many of the same techniques as Christopher. He has a powerful whip and has the ability to launch three daggers into the air which hang in the air for a while and then swoop back down and you. You meet him in the final Castle, Stage 2. This boss is extremely tough and I haven't figured out any strategy to use to beat him. Other than DODGE his daggers at all costs and when he goes down to the bottom, you jump up to the platform and drop down behind him and whip away or use any of your special weapons. If anyone knows a good strategy for beating Soleiyu, please e-mail me it. Most of the time I just pop in the Game Genie and cheat to beat him.

First of all, bring the Holy Water from the previous room with you into battle. It isn't neccesary to have, but it's good for taking a health bar or two out of Solieyu. When you start, you'll be on the right side of the room, and Solieyu will be on the left. Solieyu usually always starts by throwing out his daggers. Avoid those, and toss some Holy Water into the middle of the room. When he walks over to you, the Holy Water should hurt him. When Solieyu falls down to your level to attack you with his whip, jump to higher ground over to the right before he lands, then jump to the higher platform to the left. Then, he usually throws more daggers to the left. Once the daggers start leaving the screen, head to the left side of the room. He should follow you. Fall down to the lower level (where Solieyu first appeared) and wait for him to get close. Then, jump up to the higher platform above you. He should throw some more daggers, slowing him down. Here comes your point of attack. He'll then try to jump up to where you are. Fall off the platform on the opposite side of where he's heading (if he heads left to jump up there, fall off the right side, and vice versa). Head to ground level again and attack as he jumps to the platform and falls off of it. Then, head to the right and repeat until he's defeated. You see, the only time Solieyu can't attack is when he's in mid-air, so, circle around those suspended platforms, and attack him when he jumps up and falls down to follow you! And use the Holy Water on him when he crosses the room to attack you for extra damage.

Count Dracula, King of the Vampires
Count Dracula Vlad Tepes, the final boss. He is also extremely tough. He uses the spirits of the five castles against you. They're basically five balls that swirl around his head and then fly out in all directions to try and hit you. He teleports to different parts of the room, like he does in all Castlevania games,and then sends the balls out to do their deadly work. You meet him in the last stage of the final Castle, right after Soleiyu. I normally use the Game Genie to beat him too, but it seems if you run to where he teleports too and hit him then run away and dodge the spirits of the five castles, you can eventually beat him. If anyone knows a better strategy, like I said before with Soleiyu, please send it to me.

When you enter Dracula's chamber, you'll have to obtain the flashing crystal from the candle to make him appear, so you'll always start on the bottom-center platform. When Drac fully assembles and you can move again, quickly, head to the the leftmost platform on the screen. When you're on the platform, Dracula will attack with his crystals. One will sweep underneath you. Time your jump between the crystals. Duck down on the platform and face right. Dracula will appear in front of you. Whip away at him. You'll probably take damage, but, it's worth it. When Dracula disappears, head back down to the bottom-center platform. Kneel down on the left side, lining yourself up with the bricks. Dracula's attack should miss you completely. Dracula will then warp to the platform opposite to the one he was just on. Head to the leftmost platform again. Time your jump between the crystals. He then appears on the bottom-center platform. Stand on the platform right next to him, jump up and hit him once or twice (if you're brave). Go up to the leftmost platform again and time your jump between the crystals. He then appears across the room from you. Shoot fireballs at him. They might do some damage. Once again, avoid the crystals. Then, Dracula appears on the platform that he was on when he absorbed the power of the crystals at the beginning of the fight. You can either take a chance and quickly run up to Drac, attack him, then retreat back to the leftmost platform to avoid the crystals, or just stay on the leftmost platform and avoid the crystals. Drac will then appear on the platform just below the one he was just on. The strategy then simply said to get in, get a hit, and retreat back to that leftmost platform to avoid the crystals. Then, the pattern repeats. Follow the same strategy as mentioned before and repeat until you've finished him off!