This is the area in which you'll begin your adventure following the event where Dracula surprises you by blowing open a hole in the Ceremonial Room's floor and sends you falling down a long abyss. Since there's not way back up (at this time), you'll instead have to work your way down and around the caves, labyrinths, gold mines and tunnels and ultimately reach the fiery courtyard that serves as the domain for Cerberus, the game's first boss. Before leaving this area, you will have collected the double-jump boots. The enemies here are relatively weak--save for the Earth demons, who will put a hurtin' on you if you recklessly attempt to engage them--but when you return here later in the game, this will change; most of them will have been replaced by grizzlies, arachnes and other tougher enemies.

Cave Track: Nightmare
Stage Track: Awake
Boss Track: Shudder

Area Boss: Cerberus

Skeleton | Skeleton Bomber | Bone Head | Bat | Slime | Skeleton Spear | Poison Worm | Zombie | Fleaman | Earth Demon | Mudman | Brain Float | Mummy | Coffin | Archdemon | Bone Tower | Fox Hunter | Hopper | Stone Armor | Trick Candle | Zombie Thief | Spirit | Grizzly | Arachne

The abyss stairway is hardly a conventional area. Each of the platforms in this section comprise one step in a spiral staircase that can be seen in the background; the only purpose this area serves is to connect three or more areas of the castle to each other. Crumbling bricks and narrow passages packed with enemies will be the challenge here. If you return here later, a siren or other new foe may get in your way in the initially dormant areas.

Stage Track: Sinking Old Sanctuary

Area Boss: None

Skeleton | Gremlin | Bone Head | Axe Armor | Siren | Skeleton Soldier | Slime | Devil Towers | Clinking Man | Electric Skeleton | Will-o'-Wisp

The audience room is the heart of the castle, and it's particularly large; if anything, it could be directly compared to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's Marble Gallery, which likewise was a central hub whose sprawling halls branched into many other castle sections. As you traverse this area, you'll look upon all manner of paintings (some dilapidated), statues and other impressive works; you'll platform about large pillared corridors and zigzag all around the area's surrounding vertical rooms.

A huge portion of the enemy cast is hanging out here, and they can be seen all around clogging up narrow passages and generally patrolling. And it gets worse later on because most of the weaker enemies will have been replaced by more-formidable enemy types (wind demons, imps and forest armor). On your first pass-through, you should leave here with tackle boots.

Stage Track: Sinking Old Sanctuary
Boss Track: Shudder

Area Boss: (1) Necromancer, (2) Necromancer 2

Axe Armor | Skeleton Soldier | Skeleton Knight | Devil Tower | Skeleton | Brain Float | Gargoyle | Fleaman | Frozen Shade | Heat Shade | Hyena | Mimic Candle | Poison Armor | Skeleton Athlete | Thunder Armor | Were-Jaguar | Werewolf | Will-o'-Wisp | Witch | Zombie Thief | Slime | Were-Panther | Were-Horse | Ectoplasm | Electric Skeleton | Clinking Man | Wind Demon | Imp | Succubus | Forest Armor

The machine tower is just your average Castlevania clock tower. It's mainly upward via the moving platforms and spiraling spokes. If you haven't figured this series out by now, you'll be shocked when you're repeatedly haunted by Medusa heads the whole way--the type that can stone you. Electrical currents from loose wiring and well-hidden enemies will also be a danger. Later on, you'll have to crash your way through big cracked blocks using your tackle boots to solve a puzzle that blocks the latter areas. If you progress in the right direction, you'll find a boss in a gear-filled room, with kick boots close by.

Stage Track: Clockwork
Boss Track: Shudder

Area Boss: Iron Golem

Fox Archer | Medusa Head | Thunder Demon | Bone Tower | Earth Armor | Lilim | Scary Candle | Skeleton, Skeleton Boomerang | Skeleton Knight | Heat Shade | Slime | Stone Armor

The eternal corridor, like the abyss stairway, is another connector area--only this one is all forward with a short looping area that leads to a warp room. Through these similar-looking corridors, you'll run into some of the more powerful enemies to this point; it'll be well worth the experience to hang around and fight them, since the Chapel's enemies are pretty advanced for what will otherwise be your low level. Later on, you may find Frankens, killer bees and archdemons in place of the usual enemies. The corridors themselves lead to the Chapel Tower and to the Underground Gallery.

Stage Track: Fate to Despair

Area Boss: None

Ectoplasm | Gorgon | Beast Demon | Evil Hand | Skeleton Knight | Witch | Ghoul | Were-Bear | Skeleton | Skeleton Boomerang | Bone Tower | Franken | Killer Bee | Archdemon | Flame Demon

The chapel tower consists of a couple of similar-looking rooms whose common feature is that they're very large; it's here where your normal and double-jumping abilities will be put to the test. There are many hovering enemies here, which can make the aerial-based platforming aspect aspect a terror. When you begin nearing the bell towers, you're close to the boss. Outside of one particular tower, powerful legions and a fallen angel will attempt to obstruct your entry into the nearby battle arena. When you finish here, you'll find a room with a switch that lowers the pillars that were blocking certain entrances in some of the early areas.

Stage Track: Fate to Despair
Boss Track: Shudder

Area Boss: Adramelech

Flame Armor | Bloody Sword | Marionette | Thunder Armor | Beast Demon | Bone Tower | Were-Panther | Archdemon | Brain Float | Ghoul | Gorgon | Hippogryph | Succubus | Thunder Demon, | Were-Jaguar | Grizzly | Legion | Hyena | Fallen Angel

These ancient rocky ruins were probably created by mining slaves before they became part of the castle's foundation. The stone sculptures and statues, however, will be second nature to the poisonous killer bees and other equally dangerous insects. Needless to say, you'll have to tread slowly and depend on antidotes. To compound this, as you reach the lower portions of this area, deadly poison armor will become more numerous--this signals that a boss is nearby. Once you've defeated the boss, the heavy ring will be yours.

Stage Track: Aquarius
Boss Track: Big Battle

Area Boss: Dragon Zombies

Killer Bee | Imp | Man-Eater | Specter | Myconid | Brain Float | Evil Hand | Harpy | King Moth | Lizard Man | Thunder Armor | Wight | Poison Armor | Death Mantis

This area is a combination of a storage room, a production facility and an abandoned library. You'll have to utilize your heavy ring and dash boots to push your way through the maze of boxes and huge stones; there are many instances where rooms use these elements to act as puzzles. The action moves mostly downloading, with frequent zig-zagging platforming. Be sure to whip the walls to find some of the more important secret rooms. When you reach an area heavy with forest armor and poltergeists, the boss is near. The cleansing artifact you find will allow you to enter into another area.

Stage Track: Clockwork Mansion
Boss Track: Big Battle

Area Boss: (1) Death, (2) Death 2

King Moth | Bone Tower | Thunder Demon | Fox Hunter | Archdemon | Thunder Armor | Poltergeist | Golem | Dryad | Succubus | Hippogryph | Grizzly | Lilith | Wight | Holy Armor | Forest Armor

That area will be here, the drainage and tunnel system of the castle. Without the cleansing, the toxic water will kill you. The test here is to hit switches that lower and raise bridges to work your way around this maze of water pits. It's important to handle enemies like ice armor and ice demons by keeping your distance--if not, you'll be frozen, and they'll damage you heavily by striking you while you're in that that frozen state. The person responsible for Dracula's rising will be found here, and its defeat will land you the the roc wing.

Stage Track: Nightmare
Boss Track: Big Battle

Area Boss: Camilla

Frozen Shade | Heat Shade | Abiondarg | Brain Float | Wind Armor | Witch | Evil Hand | Merman | Spearfish | Ice Demon | Ice Armor | Lizard Man | Fishhead | Siren

This wide-open area is another connector, this time from the Audience Room into the Observation Tower. It's basically two large rooms, and the broken bridge present throughout both is your means for progression forward. In most instances, you'll have to drop down to ground-level and proceed through the bridge's damaged structures--bomb skeletons, will-o'-wisps, brain floats and electric skeletons will be stuffed high, low and in between the crevices to block you. The maze of pillars located high above the bridge holds some power-ups, and they're guarded by some were-beasts and wind armor.

Stage Track: Sinking Old Sanctuary

Area Boss: None

Skeleton | Skeleton Bomber | Brain Float | Electric Skeleton | Will-o'-Wisp | Were-Horse | Nightmare | Wind Armor | Were-Jaguar

Yet another connector area, the familiar castle halls will be found just beyond the Audience Room. Mainly, this is the only way to enter into the Underground Warehouse. But your short trip through this area won't be without nostalgia, as zombies and will-o-wisps will represent all enemies to ever travel through this area. You can go outside to the castle entrance, which is guarded by a lone flame knight, to collect a power-up--this is another Symphony-like element.

Stage Track: Sinking Old Sanctuary

Area Boss: None

Skeleton | Clinking Man | Fleaman | Zombie | Will-o'-Wisp | Flame Knight

The Battle Arena isn't a real "castle area," intrinsically, since it doesn't serve to further the game's narrative. It's instead a self-contained seventeen-room arena through which you can fight for the purpose of obtaining the ultimate of equipment: the shining armor. Each room is comprised of a group of lesser enemies--either sets of one particular enemy type or collections of disparate enemies whose skills complement each other's and generally spell trouble for you. To escape from a room, you have to defeat its every inhabitant; thereafter you advance to the next battle area room and repeat the process. In between each enemy-filled room is a safety area wherein you can acquire hearts necessary to fuel your sub-weapons; you'll need to rely on them because magic is off limits here. From any of these safety rooms, you can also escape the arena in lieu of fighting onward when your senses tell you that you stand no chance going forward. There are 17 rooms in all.

Stage Track: None

Area Boss: None

Werewolf | Were-Jaguar | Hippogryph | Catoblepas | Wind Demon | Witch, Stone Armor | Devil Tower | Skeleton | Skeleton Bomber | Skeleton Spear | Electric Skeleton | Fire Demon | Bone Tower | Fox Hunter | Poison Armor | Bloody Sword | Abiondarg | Legion | Marionette | Minotaur | Succubus | Arachne | Evil Pillar | Demon Lord | Alraune | Hyena | Dark Armor | White Armor | Devil

The very top of the castle is a combination of a lookout tower and an observatory; it also has its own omnitheater-like room for productions that entertain the castle's evil. And it's also the home of the castle keep, where the game's strongest enemies and Hugh Baldwin await. This area will be the greatest test of your jumping ability, narrow-passage-battling and patience. The epitome of this struggle is the game's strongest lesser enemy, the devil, who will block your way out of here after the boss battle. After defeating that boss, Hugh Baldwin, the Last Key will be yours; you can then find and fight Dracula.

Stage Track: Vampire Killer
Boss Track: Big Battle

Area Boss: Hugh Baldwin

Legion | Dark Armor | Catobeplas | Evil Pillar | Minotaur | Siren | Fallen Angel | Heat Shade | Frozen Shade | Dullahan | Wind Armor | Alraune | Demon Lord | Devil

Early on in the game, Camilla holds the Dracula-reviving ritual in the entryway to this tiny area. After you open the locked door and gain access to the Ceremonial Room, itself, it's a straight path to the end; all that rests beyond is a short vertical hall connected to the throne room, where Dracula has taken residence. It's here that you'll have to fight the Dark Prince's initial form; victory allows you to rescue your mentor, Morris Baldwin. Still, Dracula's true form remains; it awaits you in a chaotic realm that can be accessed via a portal the Count left behind. Though, you don't have to enter it right away. If you need to, you can exit the area--head out and save or otherwise continue searching for DSS cards and leveling up--and then return here when you're ready to fight. Good luck, man; you're going to need it.

Stage Track: Sinking Old Sanctuary
Dracula Phase 1: Dance of Illusions
Dracula Phase 2: Proof of Blood

Area Boss: (1) Dracula, (2) Dracula's Ghost

There are no minor enemies in the Ceremonial Room.