Enemies Encountered: Shaft.

Discover how to access the Shaft area in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, including navigating the Clock room and preparing for Dracula's lair.

Alright, so you've made it to the Clock room. Your first task here is to drop down into the middle section. You'll see a flash of light, and the clock hands will start spinning. Wait for them to both hit the six – they'll chime thirteen times – and then the ceiling will open up, giving you access to the next part of the castle.

Once you're up there, you'll notice three paths. The one on the left has a handy Heart Refresh for you. The path on the right leads to a save room, which is always a good idea to hit. The middle path is the way forward, leading you towards Dracula himself.

You'll find yourself back in that room with the spooky music. At the top, you've got paths to the left and right again. Now, this is important for getting that map completion percentage up: you'll need to explore both sides, but you can't just cross the gap at the top middle. You'll have to backtrack and find another way around to cover the other side.

Don't worry, we're not fighting Dracula just yet. The room where that epic battle happens isn't actually discovered until you're in it, and since you can't save after beating the game, you'd lose that map coverage. To get around this, when you eventually fight him, use a Library Card right away to warp out and save. Then you can come back and face him properly.