Jeremy continued to play Castlevania, beginning with a thorough exploration of Jova Town. He spoke to multiple NPCs, many of whom provided cryptic hints that were difficult to decipher. He furrowed his brow, rereading so of the lines. "A hint? But why are there so many hints? And why do so of them make no sense?" He noticed that one character told him if he found a body of water in the woods, he should jump into it to reveal a hidden passage. That seed odd, but he made a ntal note of it, intrigued by the idea that the ga had hidden chanics waiting to be uncovered.
He spent so ti wandering through town, testing out the dialogue, and eventually used his starting 200 hearts to buy so much-needed items. The first thing he picked up was a white crystal, though he wasn't entirely sure of its purpose just yet. As he browsed through the town's shops, he noticed sothing new compared to the previous ga—Simon now had levels, and he could upgrade his whip. "Wait, what? I can actually upgrade my whip? That's aweso! Looks like getting stronger is going to be my main priority."
Feeling prepared, he made his way east of Jova Town, venturing into the eerie landscape beyond. The first enemies he encountered were zombies, then fishn, and other supernatural creatures lurking in the shadows. He quickly adjusted to the ga's slower, more thodical combat, keeping his movents deliberate and precise. Everything seed manageable at first, but then, suddenly, the screen darkened, and an ominous text box appeared: "What a horrible night to have a curse!"
Imdiately, Jeremy noticed a drastic shift in the difficulty. The enemies were suddenly faster and hit much harder than before. "What the hell?!" he exclaid as he struggled to fend them off. He had no idea the ga had a day-and-night system, let alone one that directly impacted enemy behavior. Every zombie he had casually wiped out before now took twice as many hits, and the fishn were far more aggressive, their attacks relentless.
Thinking he could retreat to town to regroup, he quickly ran back, but when he arrived, he was t with an even bigger shock. The friendly NPCs he had spoken to earlier had transford into grotesque green demons, attacking him on sight. Jeremy stared at the screen in disbelief. "Oh wow, so when it's night, the townspeople beco demons too? That's crazy!" With no choice but to fight his way through, he battled the cursed townspeople until the sun finally rose again, restoring them to their normal forms as if nothing had happened. It was both fascinating and unsettling.
He was thoroughly enjoying the ga despite its surprises. As he pressed forward, he eventually reached Ajiba Town, where he encountered a peculiar NPC dressed in a black coat and gray helt with glowing blue eyes. Jeremy tried to talk to him but The figure simply stated, "You are very cool!" before walking away.
"Huh? What was that about?" Jeremy scratched his head. He had no idea that this was Zabo-man, the weird character of ZEPS, making a cao appearance. Since this was his first ZEPS ga, he wasn't familiar with the character yet, but he found the encounter amusing. "Weird little dude, but alright, I'll take the complint."
Determined to progress, he continued his journey, facing tougher enemies, navigating cryptic puzzles, and uncovering Dracula's scattered remains. So of the ga's challenges were fair, but others felt deliberately misleading. Like one ti he tried to jump into the water in one of the stages, thinking he would uncover a secret passage, only for Simon to drown instantly. Jeremy stared at the screen in shock before realization dawned on him. "Ahh, so there are fake hints like that too! That's so devious, damn it!". He took notes of different mansions where Dracula's body parts were hidden, often relying on the cryptic hints he had gathered earlier. So clues were invaluable, while others seed purposefully deceptive, making the experience both rewarding and frustrating.
After hours of perseverance, he finally arrived at the ruins of Dracula's castle. The mont felt intense—he expected an epic showdown against the resurrected vampire lord. He gripped his controller tightly, bracing for the final battle. But sothing felt off. Dracula simply stood there, unmoving, offering no resistance. Jeremy hesitated, waiting for the first attack, but nothing happened. Confused, he cautiously approached and landed a hit. Still, Dracula did not react. Within monts, the fight was over.
Jeremy frowned. "Wait... that's it? The ga was so hard, and yet Dracula doesn't even fight back? That makes no sense!"
As soon as he defeated Dracula, the ending scene played. A simple 8-bit text box appeared on the screen, delivering a chilling ssage.
"Simon defeats Dracula, but he was too late."
The scene then changed to Dracula's grave, showing his hand erging from the ground. Another text box followed: "Simon's quest has failed. Dracula will resurrect."
Finally, one last ssage appeared: "Beat Dracula faster next ti."
Jeremy's jaw dropped. "What?! I got the bad ending? But I spent so much ti exploring! Damn... I didn't expect this."
He quickly grabbed the guidebook that ca with the ga and flipped through it. He discovered that in order to achieve the best ending, he needed to beat the ga within a strict ti fra—either within one hour and thirty minutes in real-ti or under eight in-ga days.
A competitive fire lit up inside him. "Alright, I'm definitely playing again! This ti, I'll beat it as fast as possible and get the best ending!"
Since he had already familiarized himself with the ga's layout, he felt confident that he could optimize his path, avoid unnecessary detours, and finish much faster on his second playthrough. He had spent a lot of ti grinding and deciphering hints on his first attempt, but now that he knew what to do, he was sure he could push forward with efficiency.
With renewed determination, he reset the console and started again, ready to take on Castlevania again with the goal of getting the best possible outco. His hands tightened around the controller as the ga booted up again, his mind already planning his moves.
The challenge had only just begun, and this ti, he was ready to claim victory.
To be continue
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