Glitches and Fun Facts
Feng Shui Fossils: Considering the many battles that have been waged within the halls of Castlevania, it raises an interesting question: Where does the Dark Lord store the corpses of his fallen demons? What happens to the monsters chosen to sit out a current cycle and ride the bench? It turns out that the recurring "Skeleton Cave" is more than just an interesting setting--it's also a tomb in which bony remains are stored until deemed useful. Seen in the area's background, in either castle, are the bony frames of Medusa, Slogra, Gaibon, the Behemoth, Carmilla's mask, Dracula's third form from Dracula's Curse (or a Leviathan/Pazuzu), and Rondo's Three-Eyed Skull. (Thanks to Aaron W. for this information.)
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The Behemoth
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Carmilla's
Mask
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Dracula Form?
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Slogra and
Gaibon (Castle A)
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With front
layers disabled
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Medusa (Castle
A)
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With front
layers disabled
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Three-Eyed
Skull (Castle B)
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With front
layers disabled
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Crystal Methodist: Even the most hardened vampire hunter and Church ally needs a little encouragement from time to time. There are boss battles that are epic, true, and very worthy of the reward procured in victory--a crystal that replenishes the hero's strength and purges the area of evil--but is it truly motivation enough to confront those bosses whose strategy is "just stand there," of which Harmony of Dissonance has no shortage? Of course not; a hero needs more--a little compliment or two. In this case, you, the player, will want to collect using one jump a crystal as it falls to the ground. If grabbed when said jump is at its peak, you'll receive a message that says "Good!" Grab it while swinging the whip to earn a "Cool!!" message. Bestow upon Juste the highest honor, "Excellent!!!," by collecting it with the whip already fully extended. This works in both the regular and Boss Rush modes for either Juste and Maxim. (Information and screenshots were provided by Amar Youkai and Lashen.)
The Color of Shadows: In Symphony of the Night, Alucard's cape-color could be altered by equipping different accoutrements. While Juste Belmont is not afforded such ensemble alteration (mostly because of issues of space-saving in the case of the more limited GBA), you can instead change the color of his shadowing transparency effect by equipping any of the seven different cloak items. (Contributed by Danny.)
The Rest Area: That Koji Igarashi sure his loves him some Dracula's Curse. While this is mild speculation, and not enough to qualify as "Castleography," it's worth noting that ol' IGA might have thrown in another reference to the NES classic. Neatly stashed away in the far-right section of the Shrine of the Apostates is a room housing a familiar-looking coffin--identified mainly by the tattered red cloak/cape draped over it. Could this be Alucard's resting place post-Dracula's Curse? Dracula is already in possession of his own cape, so this may very well belong to his troubled son. The room is even stylistically similar to the one seen in the earlier game, perhaps the half-breeds personal design choice. (Contributed by Danny.)
Ice Climber: This glitch was supplied by Amar Youkai. Like most of the modern-game heroes, Juste Belmont's abilities are at first limited to what we'll call "basic vampire-hunting." Still, there's no rule that says our friend can't pull a Samus Aran and cheat the system by using mechanic-abusing maneuvers to access areas he wasn't yet meant to reach. In this case, the hero, bereft of a double jump, can use the Ice Book plus the Sacred Fist (a Spell Fusion combination) to reach high-up platforms that should be out of reach; the extra lift provided by the spell can propel you upward a few extra pixels and as a result make a huge difference on your pace of exploration; you can by doing this obtain items early and using them break the natural flow of storyline sequences--like, for instance, meeting Death at the Clock Tower much earlier than the designers intended. Below are screenshots of the technique in action.
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The Root of the Problem: Being a Man-Eater is tough: You're born into a life of limited mobility, you spit out a few seeds, wiggle around, get smacked in the face, and die. Juste, not being sympathetic to its cause, can further exasberate his leafy adversary by striking it down before it has the chance to fully grow--its stem never stretching upward to its greatest height. Doing so will cause the Man-Eater greater fury as it wiggles around a few extra seconds before dying; even worse, its root for a short period will become "enflamed" (maybe by design but probably a glitch) before it perishes. (Contributed by Danny.)
Stat-Padding: Not content to deliver just its usual array of music tracks, Konami for some reason looks to boost the total via the game's sound test. That is, the three similarly named themes (Boss [Loop Pattern A], Boss [Loop Pattern B] and Boss [Loop Pattern C]) are in reality one song, the two former tracks merely prompting the theme from later verses. Pattern A is of course the real, all-encompassing theme. (Contributed by ReyVGM.)