RPGClassics.com - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

	The enemies right outside the town of Jova are a bunch of wimps. The Skeletons can only take one hit and just move back and forth, and the Werewolves do the same, except they jump at you if you get too close and come after you if you manage to get past them. Two strikes with your Leather Whip is enough to send them packing. Be sure to collect any hearts they leave behind to gain money and experience.
When you pass the forest, you'll end up at a bridge. Don't proceed too quickly here, or you could have a Fish Man jumping up from the water right beneath you. These guys can be defeated easily once they're on land, but watch out for the fireballs they spit at you. And don't forget that Simon never learned how to swim; falling in the water means instant death. Keep that in mind when you're in a town as well, as there's always water there, too.
	It's inevitable that night will eventually fall, which is always preceded by this message. Nightfall has both a good side, and a bad side. The good side of nighttime is that the rewards (hearts) you get from defeated enemies tend to be greater. If you normally get a small heart, you'd now get half a large heart. If you normally get half a large heart, you'd now get a full large heart.
The bad side is that during nighttime the enemies can take twice as much punishment as they normally could. It still shouldn't cost you too much effort to proceed, however. By the way, those purple parts in the lower section of this screenshot are poison marshes. You can cross them, but if you do your movement will be slowed and your energy will gradually decrease.
	Just keep proceeding straight on, not taking any stairways you come across, and you'll end up at Berkeley Mansion, where the first of Dracula's missing body parts can be found. It doesn't matter if you enter during night or day, the enemies within are always the same difficulty. Also, remember that time stops when you're inside a mansion, so when you leave it'll be still the same time as when you entered.
Welcome to Berkeley Mansion! In each mansion, you first have to find the merchant who sells Oak Stakes and buy one from him, then find the glowing orb, use the stake on it, and grab the bag inside to get one of Dracula's body parts. This is what the mansion looks like when you first enter... if you forgot to equip the White Crystal. But if you do have it equipped...
	A previously invisible platform will appear! Note that it's perfectly possible to jump on the platform without seeing it, but let's not make this any harder than it has to be. As for enemies in this area... you can see the Knight up there, who doesn't do much except charge you with his lance. The Skeletons here have swords and shields, but other than that, most of them are the same as regular Skeletons, though some can jump and throw their bones at you.
Other enemies include annoying little drops of slime that jump around on the ground and ceiling, and the swift Gargoyle, who'll jump around unleashing two fireballs at once. But the real annoyance in the mansion are fake floors, which usually span two blocks. If there are Skeletons around, watch their movements carefully. If they suddenly turn around when there's apparently still a floor for them to walk on in front of them, that floor is fake.
	First thing you should do in the mansion, is go up as far as you can, watching out for the fake floor in the previous screenshot. If you do fall through and keep going right, you'll end up here, where there's a Clue to Dracula's Riddle hidden in the wall. You can't get it without Holy Water, though. Not that it matters, as you can read all the clues in the Clues Section. Oh, and yes, those spikes hurt, of course. They don't cause instant death, but they hurt a lot.
When you make it all the way to the far top-right, walk off the screen for your first encounter with the Skeleton Warriors that jump around throwing bones at you. Bones that burst into flames for some reason when they touch the ground. Also, you can now see the Oak Stake merchant below you. Proceed on further and make your way towards him from the other side to buy one of them stakes. Oh, and make sure you have the 50 hearts to pay for it.
	After getting the stake, all you have to do is proceed downwards as far as you can, then keep going until you reach the orb. But wait! Trap floor alert! Check the screenshot. There's one right in front of you. You can tell by watching the Skeleton as it proceeds, it won't pass the pillar but turn back instead. So jump the two blocks beneath the pillar to avoid having to find way your way back here all over again from the start.
Now the orb is right in front of you! Select the Oak Stake from your inventory, hold up and press B, and... don't miss the dang orb! ;) You wouldn't want to have to shell out another 50 hearts for a replacement, after all. Now grab the bag that's left behind and you'll obtain Dracula's Rib!
	And you just gotta love their way with words. :) Anyway, you just did what you came here to do, so you can leave... but I highly recommend staying a while to at least get to level 1 if you haven't already. You won't be able to go beyond level 1 yet, but after that I still recommend you hang around for a while to get the maximum amount of money you can get, 256 hearts. It takes a while, but you'll be doing yourself a huge favor.
Oh, and if you select the Rib in your inventory, you will now have a shield when you stand still. It will protect you from the fireballs, the whole fireballs and nothing but the fireballs. How the heck holding a rib creates a shield is beyond me, but let's just be glad that it does, okay? Now then, time to get out of the mansion... go back the way you came or you can take a shortcut by letting yourself fall through that trap floor you passed earlier.