Castlevania (NES) - Whip Only Challenge

Game: Castlevania
Platform: NES
Completed: October 2, 2019
Rules: Beat the game only using the whip. In fact, don't even pick up any subweapons. Dracula put them there to ruin your life.
Simon forgot to read pages 10 and 11 of the instruction manual and therefore never knew what the subweapons were for. He also probably assumed that hearts were used for something other than ammunition. Whatever the reason, Simon decided to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil Dracula, or whatever it was he doing there, only by using his trusty whip.
This is a pretty tough challenge, and it doesn't help that the challenge is failed if you just so much as pick up a subweapon...because this game really wants you to pick up a subweapon. Look at all those game ending drops! Probably best just to avoid breaking candles when you can since hearts are useless in this run and subweapon drops are frequent. I mean, unless you want those money bags or something, but what is Simon going to buy anyways? Laurels? An oak stake?
After re-watching this one, I remembered how unfamiliar I was with the part in Stage 16 with all the bats. My performance there was pretty miserable but I eventually made it. Could have definitely done better after doing my "no whip" challenge, which you should also totally watch.
"Castlevania - Whip Only 100219"

[@paulw858]

This is an awesome video! Nice job. :) I've been playing the game a ton, only recently first got into it. But some of the bosses and enemies were making me think you needed sub weapons to beat them. This proves that to be false! Thank you for the inspiration. Surprised this video doesn't have more views.
I was able to get to stage 10 last night with dying and only getting hit a couple times, and that was a nice feeling. Hoping I can master the upcoming stages as well, but playing through them already I know that they will be much more difficult to do so. Still haven't beaten Death. I actually didn't know you could whip his sickles!

[@subledger.]

Thanks for watching! This is a tough game for sure and I feel like Stage 10 is where the game really starts picking up in difficulty. You certainly don't have to have any subweapons to beat the game, but they definitely help. I tend to prefer using the Holy Water (called the "Fire Bomb" in the manual) for the Frankenstein & Igor boss since it stuns Frankenstein's monster in place, and the same subweapon absolutely destroys Death if you use it at the right time when he first descends into the screen. It can stun Dracula's second form in place as well but I think the Boomerang/Cross is more fun to use there. I do have a playthrough that is kind of the opposite of this one where I only use the Holy Water/Fire Bomb to beat the game without ever swinging the whip. That video can give you some good ideas of how to use that subweapon against the bosses. The only issue is that if you die it can sometimes be tough to find it again. If you're interested, here's a link to that video, the "no whip" challenge:
th-cam.com/video/sh-Upqh2KtQ/w-d-xo.html
Good luck with the rest of the game. If you've made it to Stage 10 and haven't given up then I'm sure you can eventually make it through the rest of it. It's quite rewarding when you do!

[@AlienNiNo]

Very cool 👍

[@subledger.]

Thanks for watching! You can also do it without ever swinging the whip, which was quite a fun challenge. Here's the video if you're interested.
th-cam.com/video/sh-Upqh2KtQ/w-d-xo.html (Castlevania - No Whip Challenge)