Speed run of Castlevania for NES done on December 12 2005.
Level 1(stages 1-3): Jumping into action, I sit through the prologue and quickly power up the vampire killer before heading into the castle. Every opportunity for saving time is taken, and my first encounter with the bats provides a boost that ensures I won't see a fish man until stage 10! Right after that, I borrow Drac's axe and slice my way to a 1 1/2 minute finish time for the level.
Level 2(stages 4-6): Early on, I stumbled across a weird trick that lets me kill the knight in the first room with one hit when it normally takes 2-3. Making the cross hit it just as the bat flies through it somehow triggers another hit that finishes off the knight. It's things like that and two more enemy boosts that cut a lot of time out of the level. As the sprinting stalker of the castle, I make quick work of the Queen Medusa, finishing another level in under 100 seconds.
Level 3(stages 7-9): Here's where I get the holy water that helps me through the majority of the game. This 3rd level took the longest to develop a dependable strategy, especially because of one enemy: the raven. This wicked child needs taken out as quickly as it's seen to keep its random patterns from messing up a good run. Somehow I still finish the level in under two minutes. It's not seen in this run, but try getting the hidden money bag before the mummies - I think it's impossible!
Level 4(stages 10-12): If there's one good thing that came from endless practice on this level, it was finding a pattern for the first 4 or 5 fleamen in the second area. They'll occasionally drop an axe right in front of you, which doesn't help for getting a quick kill on Frankenstein's monster. You can actually walk above stage 12's ceiling with a well-timed boost from a skele-dragon's fireball. Anyway, walking on the edge of the platform in front of the boss and spamming him with holy water keeps the poor guy from ever moving.
Level 5(stages 13-15): I love the amount of corner-cutting that can be done in this level. My only real flaw in the whole game was with the skeletons near the start of the area; however, the "bone boosting" is intentional. It takes a heart of fire to flawlessly plow through this level, but the Grim Reaper is a cinch with holy water and a multiplier.
Level 6/Dracula(stages 16-18): Anyone wonder why there's an unreachable candle hanging way out above a pit in this level? There ought to be some unique item in that thing! Stages 16 & 17 are cleared within a minute thanks to a well-practiced hustle and one last enemy boost. I'm able to smack Drac FOUR times before he even does his first disappearance. A few other double hits speed things along and Vlad's second form is a piece of cake. Dracula's reign is out of time and the game is finished in record time.
It's a tragedy the credits don't reveal the real names of the collective soul behind this masterwork.
