Getting Started

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was the first Castlevania on the GBA. The hero, Nathan Graves, explores Dracula’s castle, defeats each area’s boss to gain new abilities, and goes back to open paths he could not pass before. This article covers what to know before setting out. For detailed routes through each area, see the Walkthrough (starting with Catacomb); for game mechanics, see Game Systems.

Things to Know First

Controls, stats, status ailments, DSS, saving and warping are all covered in Game Systems. Here are only the things new players most often get burned by:

Use the whip flail: hold B to keep the whip extended, then swing it with the D-pad. It knocks down many projectiles such as fireballs, arrows and bones, and is a very useful defense in this game.
Collect max-ups: besides leveling up, max HP, MP and hearts can be raised with HP Max, MP Max and Hearts Max found on the map. Many need a new ability first; the walkthrough marks which ability each area needs.
Hidden rooms: some walls, floors and ceilings in the game can be destroyed, usually hiding a max-up item.
The Crucifix is the best: picking up a new sub-weapon replaces the old one. Crucifix is the most-used sub-weapon in the whole game; you can detour to Triumph Hallway for it before defeating Necromancer, and it carries you through nearly every boss after that.
Watch out for freeze and petrify: getting hit in either state deals 4 times the normal damage; see Status Ailments.
Find save points first: save points also restore HP and MP, but the number per area varies a lot; Outer Wall and Eternal Corridor have none at all, and Observation Tower has only one. Before heading deep into an unfamiliar area, check the Map for the next save point; after warping, open the map to check where you are.
Card farming depends on LCK: DSS cards are almost all enemy drops, mostly with low drop rates. Higher LCK makes them drop more often; when farming cards, equip LCK-boosting gear, e.g. a Luck Ring farmed from Zombie Thief. Late in the game, with high level and high LCK, farming gets easier.

Useful DSS Combos

How DSS combos work: see Game Systems; full list: see the DSS page.

Combo	Use
Fire Whip	The whip becomes fire-element with a small STR boost. Both cards are in Catacomb with a 20% drop rate each, so you can set it up right away
Earth Whip	Very long reach; good for slowly dealing with some enemies from afar
Fire Sword	Switches to a flame sword with an STR boost; it reaches above your head, handy against flying enemies, and can even hit enemies on the floor above
Regeneration	Continuously restores HP after standing still for a while; recover slowly in a safe spot
Ice Ball Circle	Ice blocks orbit you, blocking many small projectiles and freezing enemies; before you have the Serpent card, Poison Cloud works as a substitute
LCK Boost	LCK × 1.25; turn it on when farming cards or equipment
Guided Shell	Fires light orbs that home in on enemies; useful against some enemies that are hard to hit in the air
Summon Thunderbird	Summons a Thunderbird that attacks the whole screen; you are invincible while casting, and its attack power is very high. Summon Cockatrice works as a substitute
Speed Boost	Doubles ground movement speed; great for getting around the map
Neptune + attribute card	Attacks of the same element as the attribute card cost MP and restore HP instead, and inflict no ailment. E.g. Ice Healing prevents freeze (a must for Underground Waterway), Darkness Healing prevents curse; see Status Ailments

Walkthrough Overview

Order	Area	Boss	Ability gained
1	Catacomb	Cerberus	Dash Boots, Double
2	Abyss Stairway	—	—
3	Audience Room (via Outer Wall)	Necromancer	Tackle
4	Machine Tower	Iron Golem	Kick Boots
5	Eternal Corridor → Chapel Tower	Adramelech	Opens the passages blocked by iron maidens
6	Underground Gallery	Dragon Zombie	Heavy Ring
7	Triumph Hallway → Underground Warehouse	Death	Cleansing
8	Underground Waterway	Camilla	Roc Wing
9	Observation Tower	Hugh	Last Key
10	Ceremonial Room	Dracula	—

Underground Gallery, Underground Warehouse and Battle Arena are not required by the story, but the special items in the first two make the rest much easier, so on a first playthrough follow the order above.