Master Richter Belmont's fight against Dracula in the Castlevania prologue! Learn Dracula's forms, weaknesses, and the best sub-weapons to use for victory.
Alright, so you've finished up with the save file and watched the intro cinematic. Now, you're finally in control of Richter Belmont! This whole section is actually the climax of a different Castlevania game, Rondo of Blood, serving as a prologue to Symphony of the Night.
First off, take a look at the left side of your screen. That's where all Richter's vital info is. The light red bar is his health, and the number next to it? That's your heart count. In Symphony of the Night, hearts are super important because they're the currency for using your secondary weapons, which we call sub-weapons. You'll find these by smashing candles and other objects. Common ones include the Axe, Knife, and Holy Water.
For this prologue, the only way to go is left. If you want Richter to really move, just double-tap and hold the left or right button on the D-pad to get him running. You'll see a candle up the stairs – smash it to get a Cross sub-weapon. It's pretty strong, but for Dracula himself, we'll want the Holy Water you can find a bit later. Keep smashing the next few candles and that vase; they'll give you more hearts. Up ahead, there are four more candles. The fourth one holds the Holy Water, so grab it right after the awesome dialogue Richter has with Dracula.
Okay, Richter's really ticked Dracula off now! Make sure you've got that Holy Water. Now, check out the right side of the screen – opposite Richter's health bar, you'll see Dracula's. He's got two forms in this fight.
Dracula's First Form: When you first meet him, he'll be teleporting all over the place. You've got a small window to hit him each time he appears, and his head is the weak spot. If you're quick, you can jump in, hit him twice, then jump again to dodge the fireballs he shoots. He might shoot three small fireballs or two big ones. For the big ones, you'll need to duck (hold down on the D-pad) to avoid the top fireball, then let go and jump over the bottom one. If you're fast enough, you can sneak in a hit. Keep this up, and you'll drain his first health bar and beat his first form.
Dracula's Second Form: This form is tougher. He transforms into a bat-demon. He needs more effort to take down, but now he's a bigger target. You can use your whip, but the Holy Water (Up on the D-pad plus Square or Circle) will deal extra damage. Richter also has a special move called 'Item Crash'. Unlike Alucard, Richter can use an ultimate version of each sub-weapon. With Holy Water, this calls down a screen-wide rainstorm that's super effective, though it chews through a lot of hearts.
When this second form starts, Dracula will jump back and forth. You'll need to slide (hold down and press X; you can chain these by holding down and mashing X) to the opposite side of the screen. This opens up a chance to hit him with a whip and Holy Water combo. After these jumps, he might just stand there or shoot large fireballs. You'll need to judge whether to jump or not, as they don't always come straight at you.
Keep up these tactics, and Dracula will eventually burn up and be defeated. Nice job! Oh, and one last thing: you can't actually die in the Prologue. If Richter's health runs out, Maria will show up to pray for him, restoring his health and making him invincible for a bit. After this epic battle, you'll see a summary of Richter's victory, setting the stage for Alucard's story in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
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