Castlevania (NES) [60FPS]: Stage 5 (Whip Only, No Damage)

A playthrough of the 5th stage from Castlevania (NES) using only the whip and without taking damage. Aside from Sub-weapons, Invisibility Potions and Rosaries are also avoided.
-- More info below --
This stage is actually one of the easier ones to do a perfect run on. The only part that consistently ruined runs, was the very beginning of the stage, mainly the Skeleton on the upper part of the screen. If he ends up jumping to the right of the screen (in this run, he stayed on the left side), then you have to dodge the bones he throws while you’re climbing the stairs. How high he throws the bones and how many of them is completely random. If you’re really unlucky, he can throw four bones at once. If you’re on the stairs when that happens, you’re pretty much screwed. So if the Skeleton goes to the right side of the screen during a run, just hope you don’t get really bad RNG. Thankfully, since this happens at the very beginning of the stage, it’s not a big deal if you mess up and have to try again.
Outside of this situation, the rest of the stage is not a problem once you know the layout and how to beat certain enemy formations. One particular enemy that gives most people trouble is the Axe Knight, which you only encounter in this stage. Even with a fully upgraded whip, these enemies take nine hits to defeat, which gives them plenty of time to counterattack. They attack you by throwing their axes either high or low, with the axes returning to them like a boomerang after a short while. This attack, however, is actually not as intimidating as it might look. Not only can you destroy the axes in one hit, but you can destroy them at both altitudes with your whip while standing. The Axe Knights also have a tendency to walk away from you when you’re attacking them, but you can easily catch up to them by jumping. When you destroy one of their axes just after they throw it, you can get about four to five hits on them with your whip before they throw another axe. Just destroy the axe again and repeat this strategy until you take them out.
The main reason this level is often considered difficult by a lot of people, is the infamous ‘Hallway’, the section with Axe Knights and Medusa Heads right before the boss. In actuality, the hallway is really not as hard as it may seem when you know how to properly deal with both enemies. Just remember these four things:
1: Take your time with the Medusa Heads. Observe their patterns and either dodge them or take them out.
2: Use the strategy I described to take out the Axe Knights with ease.
3: Don’t forget to jump in on the Axe Knights when you get the chance, preferably right after a Medusa Head has passed you/you destroyed a Medusa Head and the Axe Knight isn’t going to throw an axe. This can also cause the next Medusa Head to spawn higher up, making it much easier to take out.
4: Do NOT face the right side of the screen for too long. This can cause a Medusa Head to spawn from that side, which is not only harder to dodge, but if you face left again, a Medusa Head will spawn from that side too. This means you’ll have two Medusa Heads on screen at the same time, with both coming towards you from a different side. Coupled with the Axe Knights, this makes everything WAY more difficult, so try to avoid facing right too much at all cost.
The boss of this stage, encountered right after the hallway, is Death/the Grim Reaper, who is easily the hardest boss in the game. During the fight, Death will constantly spawn little sickles that will try to home in on you, while Death himself moves around the room (mostly in an effort to stay away from you). The small size of these sickles, coupled with the speed at which they move, can make it pretty hard to take them out. It’s also best to avoid jumping too much, since you might accidentally jump into one right when it’s spawning. On the flip side, you can use their homing property to your advantage. You can let them home in on you, after which you can walk away to a different spot and then simply destroy them from there. If you want to win this fight however, you’ll need to destroy Death himself, so try to follow him as much as possible. Just keep doing that while dodging/destroying the sickles and Death will go down eventually.
Hope you enjoy!

[@CelestialHunter-]

Oh my god you didn’t just nail Death’s fight but you passed that outrageous room before him no sweat! Hats off to you.
I usually use the holy water to make my life easier and cheese Death D= for me he is harder than Dracula.

[@Joki_]

Thanks! I spent a lot of time practicing against Death and it definitely paid off. And yeah, Holy Water is definitely the way to go when using Sub-weapons (that goes for pretty much the entire game, lol). Also, I agree that Dracula is way easier. He's honestly a cakewalk compared to Death.

[@ojama2508]

I've done this challenge against Death (whit only whip and no hit) but do this after the entire stage it's another thing, congratulations! The hardest boss of the game cuz the final form of Dracula is such an rng monster

[@Joki_]

Thanks! Also, are you referring to the RNG regarding Dracula's jump? Because as it turns out, there actually IS a strategy for it. If you crouch in front of Dracula right after he lands from his previous jump, then his next jump is 100% guaranteed to be a high jump. I found this out by pure accident when I was practicing that fight and I'm really glad I did, haha.

[@ojama2508]

@@Joki_ really? I didn't know this strategy but seeing also your video of the last level, it will be super helpful for me, thanks again for your advice!

[@Joki_]

@@ojama2508 No problem, glad I could help 👍

[@TheFredster32]

Death honestly isn't so bad once you figure out how the scythes spawn and how to get around them. Just takes some practice is all. I personally have more trouble with Phantom Bat and Dracula Form I.

[@PurpleRupees]

the scythes are random what do you mean? Also dracula 1 in this game is the easiest dracula in the series so I’m quite confused.

[@TheFredster32]

@@PurpleRupees There are actually some possibilities of where they can spawn, so it isn't completely random per se. Dracula Form I's spawning is completely random, and you have about 1/2 to 3/4 of a second to get out of the way if he spawns on top of you, which happens a good 40-50% of the time.

[@PurpleRupees]

@@TheFredster32 I guess I just haven't gotten a feel for the Death fight as much as Dracula since Death is much more easily cheesed in a standard playthrough with triple shot sub weapons.
I've not had Dracula spawn on me that much. I'd say it averages on hitting me once in phase 1. It's only really bad if he spawns in the exact middle of you. If he's partially on you, dodging isn't too hard if you just keep walking.