The "Final Stage" battle in Symphony of the Night is a story refresher for those who missed its true prequel--Rondo of Blood. Taking control of Richter Belmont, you'll have yourself a deja vu showdown with a very familiar Dracula form. It would be redundant to repeat Dracula's attack cycle here, so retreat a few games back if you wish to catch up. The true significance of this redux is that Richter's performance against the Dark Lord determines Alucard's starting statistics whence the real quest begins. If you take too many hits, Alucard's potency won't be would it could have. Though, Richter can't die--if his energy is fully drained, the young Maria Renard will make an appearance and will with the assistance of her animal friends resuscitate and enchant Richter to the point of invincibility.

It might be that Dracula is bored with what his become routine. This, his one final form, doesn't even take to combat man-to-man; rather, he relaxes in his throne and lets his electrically-mutated cape (think Spawn) do all of the work. The mutation is that of three alien-looking heads with on either side a giant clawed hand; the three heads swirl and cycle about and suddenly stab themselves in Alucard's direction. Otherwise, they'll combine their chaotic propensity and fire toward him three-four triangle-shaped projectiles. All the while, the clawed hands will continue to unmercifully swipe at the centered hero; positioning Alucard at the screen's edges won't work because a hand can still catch him on the reset. To quickly change the pace, the entire abomination will retreat to distance, far back, and from there blast forward a large ball of energy, which if not dodged will devastate Alucard. For healing purposes, Dracula will conjure between its claws a powerful boss creature, like Slogra or the Succubus, and crush it to a bloody death, using its blood as a health restore. There's no real strategy here--just slug away with all you have in reserve.