Walkthrough:Symphony of the Night/Entrance

==Alucard's stats==
Alucard's initial stats and items are determined by Richter Belmont's battle performance during the introductory stage:
*If the entirety of the prologue is finished in exactly 1 minute or less, Alucard earns +5 to all stats. It should be noted, however, that such a feat is legitimately impossible until the player beats the game and starts a new playthrough with a clear file on the memory card, as the "Die, monster" dialogue is unskippable otherwise.
*If the fight is finished within 1-2 minutes, Alucard earns +2 LCK.
*If the fight is finished within 2-3 minutes, Alucard earns +1 LCK.
*If the fight is finished in more than 10 minutes, Alucard earns +1 CON.
*If Richter manages to kill Dracula without taking any damage, Alucard earns +5 HP and +1 to STR, CON, INT, and LCK.
*If Richter finishes the prologue with half or more of his HP remaining, Alucard earns +1 STR. Otherwise, he earns +1 CON.
*If Richter loses all of his HP, Maria Renard will make him invincible for the rest of the battle. Alucard then starts with a Potion in his inventory. This condition overrides all other conditions, except for the Neutron Bomb (INT or STR point) condition and the time-based conditions: +5 to all stats (1 minute or less), LCK +2 (1-2 minutes), LCK +1 (2-3 minutes), and CON +1 (10 minutes).
*If Richter finishes the prologue with the Cross sub-weapon equipped and without Maria's help, Alucard earns +5 MP and +5 Max Hearts.
*If Richter finishes the prologue with the Holy Water sub-weapon equipped and with half or more of his HP remaining, Alucard earns +5 Max Hearts and +1 INT.
*If Richter defeats Dracula without having a sub-weapon equipped and without taking any damage, Alucard gains +5 to HP and LCK and +1 to STR, CON, and INT. (The Flame Whip can be used and won't affect these bonuses, but it's also useless in most versions of the game. This applies to all "no sub-weapon" conditions.)
*If Richter finishes the prologue without having a sub-weapon equipped and with half or more of his HP remaining, Alucard earns +5 HP and +1 STR.
*If Richter finishes the prologue without having a sub-weapon equipped and with less than half of his HP remaining, Alucard earns +1 STR.
*If Richter is carrying 41 or more Hearts when the dialogue with Dracula begins, Alucard starts the game with +1 INT and a Neutron Bomb in his inventory. Otherwise, he gains +1 STR.
*If Richter finishes the prologue with no Hearts and without Maria's help, Alucard starts the game with a Heart Refresh.
*If Luck Mode is enabled, all stat bonuses are lost, only item bonuses will be kept.
*In the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night, Alucard will always start the game with a Monster Vial 1 in his inventory.
Combining the best of these bonuses (by finishing the prologue within exactly 1 minute or less and without taking damage), Alucard can start the game with 85 HP, 25 MP, 55 Max Hearts, 14 STR, 13 CON, 13 INT, and 17 LCK (if carrying no sub-weapon at the end of the battle); or 80 HP, 30 MP, 60 Max Hearts, 13 STR, 12 CON, 12 INT, and 12 LCK (if carrying the Cross); or 80 HP, 25 MP, 60 Max Hearts, 13 STR, 12 CON, 13 INT, and 12 LCK (if carrying the Holy Water). Note that if Richter had 41 or more Hearts when the dialogue with Dracula started, Alucard will have 1 more INT point and 1 less STR point. Alucard's default stats without the bonuses are 70 HP, 20 MP, 50 Max Hearts, 6 STR, 6 CON, 6 INT, and 6 LCK, but because an extra STR or INT point is always awarded, the default STR or INT is actually 7, depending on the amount of Hearts Richter was carrying when talking to Dracula.
==The Entrance==
After running a long distance, Alucard will jump over a drawbridge and get into the castle, then the main gate will be shut behind. In the Saturn version, if you are playing as Richter or Maria, they will ride horses until reaching the drawbridge, and jump off the horse and cross over the drawbridge.
Right below you is a hatch shut, just ignore that now. It will only open later if you are playing Sega Saturn version. Slash the Warg blocking the path and proceed. At first, the lighting in the hallway is off, but you can see the lurking Wargs. At the center of hallway, the lighting will be turned on, along with the music. Zombies will start emerging out from the floor everywhere. Proceed to the right.
Ignore the hole in the ceiling, but beware of the Bats around. There is a huge rock in front, and you can break the left end for a Pot Roast. Inside the rock is a tunnel and the right end can also be broken, making a shortcut. The lower area has Mermen popping out of water endlessly. While you can farm them for EXP and Zircon, avoid touching water, as it hurts. You can use Dark Metamorphosis to get HP recover from the Mermen.
Another long hallway, but you will only encounter Wargs. At the end of hallway, break the leftmost block of stairs for a Turkey. You will meet Death here, who will rob your starting gears (other than those obtained with special codes) and escape. Through glitches, it is possible to bypass this room and keeping Alucard's powerful equipment. Now you will have to proceed with bare hands. Just climb the platforms and move left.
Jump over the hole and proceed. You may want to start from the right and jump into the hole while holding left, if you do, you may land on a platform and collect a Heart Container early, then return to below and move on.
You will find two special Bone Scimitars here, who always drop a weapon. The white one below drops Short Sword, and the orange one above drops Red Rust. They will only respawn if you save the game, reset and load again, but it is not necessary. After that, move to find your first relic, the Cube of Zoe. Now you can find hearts and money bags from candles. Leave and move to Alchemy Laboratory.
==Alchemy Laboratory==
You will be greeted by a set of Skeletons, Bone Scimitar and Blood Skeletons. Step on the switch to lower the spikes on the left, in order to reveal a Hide Cuirass in a sphere behind. Take a note that most of the containers with an inventory item can only be claimed once. The Blood Skeleton may collapse after taking damage, but will soon stand up and roam again.
Another set of skeletons. The first switch you see cannot lower the spikes, but the switch on the left can. You can simply jump over the spikes, or return from above to find a Leather Shield. You can use (14,30) for a rest. In order to get Basilard early, you can return with an Axe, stand on the lift and kill the Blood Skeleton below so that he collapses right at the switch, or, you can first knock him at the switch, then stand below the lift and jump when he gets up. If you do, the Basilard has 1 less ATT than Short Sword, but with twice the attack speed. Take out the Axe Armor and proceed left, since right is blocked from the other side.
Change to Short Sword if you don't, then, there are two hidden rooms here. Break the left wall to find a Heart Container, and break the floor to find a Life Vial. Proceed upward with the Knife found in the same shaft. A Skeleton guards a container with Resist Thunder (though it has no use at the moment).
Beware of the drops from Spittle Bones, as they can poison you, causing -50% on ATT and DEF for a while. There are two sets of switches and spikes. Lower both spikes, then push the crate upon the right spikes, and make the spikes pop up, making a platform to move on. There's another long vertical shaft, this time with two Spitter Bones. Get rid of them and move to the bottom, and climb from the left. Save first, and continue up. Ignore the passage to the left as it is blocked. Rather, get to the top and find an Axe from the upmost candle, and jump into for your first boss fight.
==Slogra and Gaibon==
On their own, Slogra will try to stab or shoot a fireball with his spear, and Gaibon will try to shoot fireballs diagonally downward. Both fireballs can be blocked with shields. Occasionally, Gaibon will snatch Slogra and try to drop him from above, making a downward thrust. After taking enough damage, Slogra will drop his spear and change to attack with his sharp mouth, and Gaibon will turn red and shoot fireballs faster, just like in Super Castlevania IV.
From this battle you shall learn the basic tactics of fighting a dual boss - focus on either first. A Leather Shield is enough to block the fireballs, and the easier job is to get rid of Slogra. An Axe is effective when both are airborne, or if Gaibon is left alone.
Once you defeat the boss and gain the Life Max Up, you can move through the rest of this area. Exit to the right and move down the hall to battle some skeletons and Bloody Zombies. Then go through the door on the right before jumping up on the platforms. You will go through a horizontal room with just candles, then the next room will be vertical with an elevator in which you will descend. When you get to the first stop, get off and go to the room on the left. This room contains the Sunglasses that give you +1 defense and -1 to intelligence. Descend the elevator further and you'll come to a room with a large cannon, which can break the wall in front of you and both open up a shortcut and gain you the Basilard. Go back to the elevator and up to the top to progress toward a room with many platforms to traverse, Axe Lords and Spittle Bones. Scour the area for items, including a glass globe with a potion in it, before finally making it to the door on the right of the room and moving onto the next area: The Marble Gallery.
Category:Symphony of the Night Walkthroughs