.

Tips: 5
Codes: 6
Passwords: N/A
.

 

Quick Tips

Castle Map

This is the completed castle map of the game. To attain 100% castle completion, you must fill the in-game map exactly as seen. Look for cracks in walls, floors and ceilings if these rooms look out-of-place. And remember that the Battle Arena is worth over 7%, a rather large chunk of area considering its unimportance to completing the game.

Nathan's Secret Crash: When Nathan combines the DSS cards Pluto and Salamander, it offers him the ability to item crash his weapons as Richter Belmont once could. Richter could do one other thing: He could harness his crash power to work without a mystic weapon for a fire-whip onslaught. Nathan can also harness this power for other means. For this to work, you must have the Pluto and Salamander cards, at least one hundred hearts, and no sub-weapon in your possession. Activate the card combo, make a 360-degree motion on the d-pad, starting from the Up position, and hit B after the motion is complete--Nathan will unleash his most powerful crash, a long-lasting magical effect that will wipe out enemies of all shapes and sizes. (Contributed by Wereryu64@msn.com.)

Become A Bear: First, collect the "Bear Ring" from the Skeleton Medalist in the two-room secret path connected to the Ceremonial Room (where the game started) pit; to defeat the Medalist, either use the Earth Whip or get a good left-moving super jump in to initially enter its room, to chase it down quickly. If you're lucky, the Medalist will drop the Bear Ring. After you receive this ring, equip it while you have the DSS cards Pluto and Black Dog selected. You will now become Beartank, who was a character in the obscure Konami fighting game Rakuga Kids. As Beartank, use the attack button regularly and while by pushing up or down to pull of its special moves; you can move fast and jump high, and your offense will devastate enemies. Be aware, though, that a single hit will now do you in, so tread carefully.
"They're crazy," you say
Push B for arcing missiles
Down plus B throws bombs
Up plus B squirts 'em out

Nathan's Sensitive Touch: I've cited that Circle of the Moon has to it much depth despite its more compact nature compared to its like-genred counterparts, and here's another example: Enemies have natural weaknesses to certain weapons, we're told--but did you know that they're prone to take more or less damage than normal depending upon which point of a weapon actually strikes them? It's true. Take, for example, the Holy Sword, whose separate parts will inflict varying amounts of pain (shown in the image depicted below, as sent in by Amar Youkai).

Fighting the System: The conditions for taking on the Battle Arena's challenges include temporarily relinquishing your magic power, which in practice means that Nathan's magic meter will drain down to nothing. However--perhaps as a design oversight--the values haven't been fixed to where Nathan's MP remains locked at zero; rather, you can still use Mind potions to replenish his magic meter, though with the caveat that it'll begin draining immediately. In the short span before it empties, though, you'll be able to access the DSS system and pull off a quick spell or two. (Thanks to Dusk Raven for this information.)

The Codes

Name-Entry Codes: Several modes are available for play as a reward for finishing the game. After each subsequent game completion, more modes will become unlocked. They are as follows:

  1. All Cards Collected: After completing the game regularly, start a new mission and enter "Fireball" as your name to play in Magician Mode. You receive this password after defeating Dracula. This will let you start with all ten attribute cards and all action collected--if you failed to collect them during your last quest and wanted to try them out. Also, you'll be able to gain possession of a new sub-weapon: A homing dagger. Beware, though: Your magic power is low when you start a mission, so some of these will drain your meter considerably.
  2. Fighter Mode: After completing the game regularly, start a new mission and enter "Gradius" as your name. Normally, you'd receive this password by defeating Dracula in the Magician Mode. In this mode, Nathan's defense and strength will be increasing, allowing him to inflict more damage and take many hits. He can also gain levels more quickly.
  3. Shooter Mode: After completing the game regularly, start a new mission and enter "Crossbow" as your name. Normally, you'd receive this code after defeating Dracula in both the Magician and Fighter mode. With this, Nathan will be tougher, stronger (as will his sub-weapons) and have more hearts from the start.
  4. Thief Mode: After completing the game in the three modes above, start a new mission and enter "Dagger" as your name. Normally, you'd receive this password for defeating Dracula in all three of the above modes. This code is a mixed bag: You begin a mission with unusually low stats--except that your luck will be unusually high. It's a trade in of power for enemy drop-frequency.

Free DSS Powers: In this case, with this trick, it's not even necessary to complete the game to be able to use all of the DSS powers. First, select any two cards that you have collected. When you return to the game, hit the "L" button to activate the selected power--but right before it finishes activating, hit the "start" button. At this point, select any two cards, whether you've collected them or not, and return to the game. You'll now be able to use combos you otherwise couldn't before, and they'll last until you deactivate them by hitting the "L" button again.

Memory Wipe: While Circle of the Moon has a "Data Delete" option that serves to clear away mission files, it won't set the game back to its default state. That is, the initiation of any new mission file will still present the player the option of playing in advanced modes (i.e. "Fighter Mode") as unlocked by clearing a mission normally. To revert all settings back to factory standard, hold at the title screen L, R, A and B and then press Select; you will now be given the option to clear any and all saved data.

Back to Codes List | Back to Game Page
Codes Available Tips Available