The intent of this page is to list and explain all known Tricks for Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse.
TODO: Add images explaining various tricks.
Game version
When making a run, TASers have the choice between the U version and the J version of the game. There are a few notable differences between the versions:
- The J Rom uses the VRC6, a mapper by Konami that includes a special sound chip, giving the game richer music.
- In the U version, Grant uses a dagger with tiny range. The J version gives him a throwing dagger that reaches across the entire screen and does not use hearts.
- Damage is calculated differently. In the U version, most enemies do the same amount of damage, which goes up with the later stages. The J version has enemies do different amounts of damage that remain consistent throughout stages. This led to the J version of the game being regarded as slightly easier.
- Different placement for various candles, items and enemies.
- More bat spawns in the U version.
- The stair glitch produces different results in the U version. This makes the route used in glitched warp movie only possible on the U version.
Cancelling Attack Animations
All thrown weapons and Sypha's spells can be used without triggering the attack animation. This allows you to keep moving and throw weapons considerably faster. You can skip the animation by pressing B or Up+B...
- ...immediately after crouching (Grant's Throwing Dagger and Alucard's fireballs only)
- ...on the frame you land from a fall or jump (sometimes, it is also possible to do it while dismounting from the top of a staircase)
- ...on the frame you walk off a ledge
- ...on the correct frame you jump into a ceiling (Grant only)
It is also possible for Grant to get out of his attack animation by touching a wall or a ceiling.
Character-specific Tricks
Grant
- By letting go of the direction you're walking in on the frame you're walking off an edge, Grant immediately hits maximum falling speed. Doing this on one-block high drops is faster than walking off normally or jumping. On drops that are two blocks or higher, Grant is forced into his crouching state when he lands.
- Grant can enter walls if they are placed in a certain way. There needs to be a ceiling above the wall, from which Grant can jump into from below. Hitting a ceiling adds 32 Subpixels to Grant's position, even if he's already right next to a wall. Doing this often enough will add a full pixel, allowing Grant to enter the wall at the corner between the ceiling and the wall. Depending on the position of him and the blocks around him, jumping immediately zips Grant upwards a block. Alternatively, Grant will be able to crawl around in the walls. Subpixels have to be aligned carefully when approaching the wall, as to minimize the amount of jumps this trick will need.
- If two blocks are arranged in a way there's an inner corner on both sides, approaching the corner from below the right way allows Grant to pull himself through. TODO: Add an image demonstrating this
- Pulling himself up or down the corners of blocks adds to Grant's X Position without adjusting the camera scroll. If a horizontal room is long enough and has enough blocks for Grant to climb up or down, it is possible to reach the very edge of the screen. It's possible to make Grant's X position roll over, allowing him to reach the other side of the screen.
- U version only: By using the dagger and letting go of Right on the exact frame where Grant touches a wall, he is warped vertically and launched upwards with a high amount of speed. If you are low on the screen, Grant will warp up, when high on the screen, Grant will move to the bottom of the screen. This allows for a number of shortcuts and drastically cutting down some vertical levels. This only works with right walls.
Sypha
- The freeze spell can be used to freeze enemies and projectiles and stand on them. You can use this to jump up any ledge up to four tiles high. Even higher ledges can be cleared by freezing multiple enemies in the right positions or using a damage boost. Frozen enemy hitboxes may be wonky, however. Additionally, freezing an enemy so that it blocks the entrance to a set of stairs can be used to disalign yourself from them (See below.)
Alucard
- Alucard can turn into a bat and fly around, at the cost of hearts. It is possible to dismount from stairs that way. If Alucard is close to a ceiling, takes damage, and turns into a bat at the peak of his jump, he may end up above the ceiling.
The glitched Worlds
It is possible to disalign yourself from the stairs to enter rooms you were never supposed to. These rooms often have glitched tiles, and, if you get very far into the glitched worlds, can cause odd effects, such as random level data, the sound not working properly and the game freezing. Those glitched worlds can usually only be exited using death, but some effects can persist even afterwards.
Character Switching
Switching between characters causes a long, unskippable sequence. Yet it still can be utilized to perform a few tricks.
- If Alucard turns into a bat, flies to the ground, and you switch characters, Trevor may end up in the floor.
- If Grant jumps a certain height and you switch characters at the correct frame, Trevor will end up in the floor.
- If you switch characters while Grant pulls himself up or down a block, Trevor will end up in the floor.
- Switching from Trevor to Grant while on a stair allows Grant to disalign himself from the stairs. (See below)
- If a character attacks while he's on a stair, and you switch characters, you'll dismount yourself from the stairs. This has been fixed in the U version. Also, taking damage and then switching characters lets you drop from the stairs.
Disaligning from Stairs
In the Glitched Worlds
The glitched worlds vary a lot depending on where you enter them. The deeper you go, the less stable the game becomes, culminating in freezing or odd glitches that persist after character death.
For example, it is possible to confuse the game as to what characters you are playing with. The full extent of these glitches is yet to be documented.
If you find and defeat a boss in the glitched worlds, you get sent back to Stage 1.
Other tricks
By keeping moving platforms off-screen, it is possible to change their timing to your advantage.
Skipping Forced Crouch
Higher jumps and falls force your character into a crouch mode when he or she lands. You can avoid this by attacking on the correct frame in midair.
Optimizing jumps
Jumping as Trevor (probably also applies to Sypha and Alucard) wastes 4 frames normally. It is possible to save a frame or two by jumping at the first frame it is possible to (for example after climbing stairs) or by walking to the very edge of a platform before jumping from it. The former usually saves more frames, though this is not always the case.
This behaviour is not true for Grant. It is usually quicker by a frame to start moving forward before jumping.
Drowning Glitch
In Block 6-5, you have to kill a boss while water below you is rising. If you touch the boss orb on the very last frame before you would drown, you will proceed into the next level, but the game will assume you are dead.
Because of this, no enemies will spawn, you can't use your weapons and screen scrolling is deactivated. It is impossible to die in this state, not even through bottomless pits or the timer running out.
Unfortunately, this glitch has no use, as it can only be performed in one place. You will be stuck in the first screen of Block 7-2, due to the deactivated scrolling.
Ram Addresses