Revision (current)
Last Updated by adelikat on 9/2/2023 3:03 PM
This page lists known tricks and glitches in Super Castlevania IV.
[TODO]: Add images and .gifs demonstrating various tricks.
!!!General Movement and Attacking Tricks
* You can cancel out your whip shortly after using it. This allows to use the whip multiple times within a single jump.
* It is possible to jump while using a subweapon. If you land while throwing one, you can jump immediately without losing any time.
* When you jump down from a ledge that's at least 2 blocks high, you are forced into a crouching state. You can avoid this by jumping continously. Each jump reduces the forced crouch timer by one frame. Usually, many successive jumps are needed to avoid losing any time.
* Stairs slow you down, therefore, as little time as possible should be spent on them. You can jump down stairs a few frames before you hit the end and jump immediately when you land on the ground to cut down a few frames.
* Using a Subweapon one frame after using the whip allows you to use both at a time. If you cancel your whip early, you can still see the subweapon throw animation for a couple of frames.
!!!Ring Tricks
* By grabbing a ring from above, Simon can suspend himself above the ring. Letting go in that position will give him a huge vertical boost. Oddly enough, this boost is higher when his sprite points to the right. This can be used for a couple of shortcuts in various levels. Holding Left or Right will make Simon enter the regular swinging motion.
* If you can't jump high enough to grab a ring like that, this is what you can do:
**Jump as high as you can towards the ring.
**Hit it with a limp whip.
**Immediately let go after grabbing the ring.
**If you're close and high enough, Simon will gain a bit of extra height.
**Use that extra height to hit the ring a second time. Every time, Simon should get a bit of extra height, until he eventually is perfectly above the ring.
* If Simon hits the ring while really close to it, the game may instantly completely extend him in a certain direction, depending on Simon's exact position. This can be used for a quick boost in any direction. Because he needs to get so close to the ring, this is usually done with a limp whip.
!!!Dealing with Lag
Super Castlevania IV is quite susceptible to lag. In general, the most common causes of lag are:
* Vertical Scrolling Rooms
* Highly Animated Backgrounds
* A large amount of enemies
In those cases, using your limp whip may cause lag, in more extreme cases, using your whip at all. Some enemies have highly elaborate death animations that tend to lag the screen, killing them should be avoided then. In other cases, killing enemies is the best way to cut lag, since fewer enemies are onscreen then. Ultimately, some lag is unavoidable.
Do note that when the game is laggy, the collision detection of your weapons is reduced. This can lead to not being able to grab a ring when you should be able to, just because the game is too busy.
!!!Zipping Tricks
It is possible for Simon to enter solid walls using a couple of different tricks. Depending on his position in relation to the edges of the wall, he will either be ejected before he has a chance to enter properly, be killed, or be zipped around at a high speed in the direction opposite to the one he is facing.
!!Ways to enter a wall
! Using rings
Simon can use his whip as a grappling hook to swing on rings. While he's doing that, all collision with level geometry is disabled. This is the easiest way to get Simon into the wall and can be done in a lot of places. It however does not work on ledges that are only one block tall, since the game will just place Simon either above or below said ledge, depending on your position and vertical momentum. Letting go off the ring while Simon is completely surrounded by the wall will generally kill him.
! Using moving blocks
A series of moving blocks in Stage 4-4 can also be used to enter solid walls. Usually, getting between such a block and the ceiling will just crush Simon. If he receives damage immediately beforehand, he'll be invincible and able to enter a wall. To do this, you must hold Down while taking damage, otherwise, Simon won't change position while hit and be crushed anyway. Also important is the direction you face, which can determine whether you die or enter the wall properly.
Additionally, the game does not treat offscreen blocks as solid, which allows Simon to enter the wall by continuously jumping upwards on the series of rising platforms until he is embedded in the wall. At that point, when Simon stops jumping, he will be stuck in the wall and start zipping.
! Using rising platforms
Stage B-2 contains a series of diagonally rising platforms. Like moving blocks, they can crush Simon if he gets caught between them and the ceiling. If you walk off however at just the right moment, Simon's head will be in the ceiling, allowing him to zip.
! Through corners
If Simon stands on a falling platform that is right next to a solid block, he can walk off the platform into the block as it falls. In some places, it is possible to get far enough into the wall that you can start zipping by holding the direction opposite to the one you were walking.
!!Zipping Mechanics
Simon zips at a high speed in the opposite direction he is facing. To stay in one position, Left and Right need to be alternated on each frame. It is impossible to crouch while zipping, unless Simon already entered the wall crouched. Jumping is only possible if there's empty space above Simon. Jumping then exits the wall. Simon can attack while in the wall, though his high movement speed may make enemies hard to hit. If Simon takes damage while completely surrounded by the wall, the game will send him straight downwards. If Simon is still completely in the wall while his damage invulnerability ends, he will be killed.
If Simon zips offscreen, he may arbitrarily change height or die. The effects can mainly be obsereved in Stage 4-4, as it is the only one that offers enough room for this to happen.
!!!Other Tricks
! Enemy duplication
Some enemies can be duplicated over and over agian by continuously alternating between Left and Right on alternating frames at the right place.
! Landing on a Stair whipping
A small visual trick. If you whip diagonally downwards and land on a stair while you do so, it messes up Simon's sprite for a moment.
! Early Vertical Camera Scroll
In various vertical levels, you want the camera to scroll up early. Examples include Block 3-2, where doing so allows you to reach a ring earlier and A-2, where the big gears only begin moving once they come onscreen. This can usually be done by taking damage, moving the camera upwards.
! Corrupting Breakable Blocks
This is a glitch that works with the breakable blocks you can find in the levels. First approach a set of blocks and scroll them into the screen, then turn around and move about one screen far away. Under the right circumstances, these blocks will become glitched out and create a set of glitched tiles that will eat through solid walls. This works either straight up and/or diagonally upwards.
Whether or not this works and what type of glitched blocks will be created is mostly random and depends on precise timing and positioning. The number of enemies around you also factor into this.
Unfortunately, no concrete use has yet been found for this glitch.
%%%[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UCqxYQbHOs|Video Demonstration]
!! Ram Addresses
BizHawk .wch file: [UserFiles/Info/637936906489274046]