Daily Dracula X - Stage 5': Wandering

The alternate Stage 5’ is a final treat for players who have already defeated Dracula and are perhaps backtracking through the rest of the game to reach 100% completion by taking all the paths through the game, fighting all the bosses, and rescuing all the hostages.

Any continuity to our journey here kind of falls apart, as we seem to walk through a dock, into a castle, into a cave, and back out through the castle again.

This is a completely optional— you’ve already “beaten the game”, after all— but cruelly difficult challenge for players who found the rest of the game too simple.1 In today’s modern gaming marketer-speak we would call this “post-game content”.

The stage is cruelly designed, populated with all the most powerful enemies in the game, and at every turn it punishes players who try to move through too quickly. At least half of this level takes place over instant-death pits.

Stage 5’ is particularly mean on Richter. It was tempting to go with Maria— after all, I had to run this grueling level multiple times— but I said I could handle it, and it’s time to put up or shut up.

Music - Op. 13

The meanest level in the game also features what is unquestionably the funkiest background music in the game. You’re going to hear a lot of this one, and it’s going to be even catchier for it.

Scene 1

The stage opens with its hardest segment. Crossing the docks once more, we have to cross some treacherous platforms while dealing with all of the most annoying enemies in the game. Every single platform and enemy placement in this area is designed to knock you into the water while you try to cross.

To make matters worse, mermen burst forth from the sea at random. If you’re really unlucky, one will pop up and knock you into the water at exactly the wrong time.

To this effect, try not to jump until you’re absolutely sure the path is clear. There are several points in this area where the path looks clear, but a bat shows up at the exact moment you decide to jump. Play it slow and patient.

The meanest moment— arguably the meanest trick in the entire game— is when you have to cross under these platforms while crouching. Maria can double-jump to bypass this entire segment, but Richter has to suffer.

Bats come by at set intervals as you float by, and you only have the slightest moment to jump from this platform to the next. If you jump too late, a bat is set up to appear just as you’re falling. If you jump early, the bat will appear when you’re at the peak of your jump, passing harmlessly over your head as you land. So be brave; jump early.

Scene 2

Once you’re through with Scene 1, there’s this feeling of tension. In short, I better get through this stage, because if I don’t, I have to play Scene 1 again.

This two-tiered hallway is the fork in the road for this level. The top path is relatively easy: just make some jumps and deal with some spear knights. However, the bottom path is a lot harder to traverse, with a constant flow of Medusa heads as well as the spear knights on the top floor attacking you from above.

As you might imagine, the top leads to a tougher alternate path than the bottom. This time we’ll be taking the top path.

Scene 3

No tricky jumping in this long, empty hall; just a succession of fights against the strongest enemies the game has to offer. The usual patterns apply against the axe knights. The red axe knight will only charge, so you have to not only avoid his attacks, but defeat him before he pushes you into the wall.

At the very end you’ll be surrounded by two Armor Lords who you must defeat in order to proceed. In my experience, these guys will not attack at the same time, so you want to get close to one to stay out of the range of the other.

Scene 4

A break in the action. You might remember this bridge from Stage 2’, and this segment is pretty similar. The only thing to really watch out for here is the floating eyeball. As always, don’t get impatient.

Scene 5

The break was setting you up for something mean, in this case another absolutely cruel anti-Richter design. Here you need to cross a bridge without jumping, while Medusa heads attack you from the sides and spear knights stab at you from above.

See the circular platforms in the floor here? If you jump directly onto one of these it will spin, immediately dropping you off the stage. So just don’t jump at all; trust me here.

When you get to the aforementioned gauntlet, you have to walk slowly between the spear knights while immediately whipping any Medusa heads who show up, all without ever jumping on the flipping platforms. It’s tense stuff, but if you survived everything else you should be able to push through this final struggle.

Boss: None

There is no boss in Stage 5’, because that would be cruel after the kind of things that Stage 5’ puts you through. Be thankful and proceed directly to Stage 6… or just stop playing the game, as the case may be, because you may finally be done, vampire killer.