Hard Mode

Hard Mode first appeared in the very first Castlevania game made and most games have followed this tradition. It is usually playable after the game is beaten on Normal Mode. Often times, it features additional enemies in the area, enemies being replaced by more powerful enemies, enemies gaining extra characteristics, faster enemies, and reduced attack and defense ability for the player. This mode has had different names in some games, such as Crazy Mode. In Castlevania: Judgment, there is an even harder mode that is unlocked after the completion of Hard Mode: Brutal Mode.

Castlevania
In Castlevania, Hard Mode is an additional quest that takes place after Simon Belmont beats Dracula in Normal Mode. As there are no saves or passwords in the original NES version of this game, it is not possible to play Hard Mode without first playing through the entire Normal Mode during that session. It features additional enemies, such as bats or Medusa heads in awkward places. Some of the enemies, such as the zombies, move faster. Each enemy deals twice the damage they normally do, even in early levels. Additional hidden crowns, which are worth many points, can be found in this mode. Every time you beat Hard Mode, you can start another round of Hard Mode.

Castlevania: The Adventure
Hard Mode returns in Adventure. Upon beating the game in Normal Mode, you can play through it again on Hard Mode. The creatures are stronger in this mode. Every time you beat Hard Mode, you can play an even harder mode.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
In Dracula's Curse, Hard Mode can be played after beating Dracula in Normal Mode. Because of the password system, this is the first game where you can start a new session in Hard Mode, provided that you beat the game before. You start Hard Mode with the character you beat Normal Mode. The player takes more damage in this mode. Additional creatures have been added and others have been swapped with more powerful ones. There are some creatures that appear in this mode that do not appear in the normal game, such as floating skulls that move similar to Medusa heads, but with much more erratic and unpredictable up and down motions.

Starting a new game with the secret name "AKAMA" at the password screen, starts a new game with Trevor only, already in Hard Mode without the need of beating Normal Mode.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
In this game, hard difficulty can be played once the game has been beaten once. In this mode, enemies will receive 20% less damage. Their souls will be easier to get as long as Soma hasn't obtained them. Silver Gun, Tear of Blood, Death's Scythe, and Death's Robe can only be obtained in this mode.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
In Curse of Darkness, the player can unlock the Hard Mode (called Crazy Mode), as well as Trevor Mode, which allows the player to play as Trevor Belmont. It is unlocked by starting a new game with @CRAZY as the save name.

In this mode, all enemies are 10x the level compared to Hector, while retaining the same experience given in Normal Mode, making the game much more challenging, and making it harder to level up. The enemies AI is also slightly improved, as they can sometimes synchronize attacks in order to break Hector's guard. Similar to Lament of Innocence, finishing the game on this difficulty allows the player to purchase the Mobius Brooch, which reduces the cost of the Innocent Devils' skills to zero.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Hard Mode returns in Portrait of Ruin as an unlockable feature after beating the main game and receiving the good ending. Upon selection, the player is prompted with a choice of three level caps. Completing each difficulty level cap will reward the save file used with one of three items, depending on the level cap selected: Each of the rewards above may be obtained only once, but if the player feels up to the challenge, they can freely skip an easier level cap in favor of a more difficult one with little fear of missing that cap's reward.
 * Level 50 or lower: Vic Viper (LCK +50).
 * Level 25 or lower: Twin Bee (INT +50).
 * Level 1: Konami Man (STR +50).

The following are differences from Normal Mode:
 * All damage dealt by the player is reduced by 25%, compared to Normal.
 * All enemies have a bonus to their attack power that scales with the player's level. This starts at different points, depending on the cap chosen, but as a player levels up, enemies deal more and more damage. This caps out at 100+ per hit when the player reaches the cap chosen, and is not affected by a character's DEF or MND.
 * Some enemies receive additional traits and/or bonuses compared to Normal Mode. To name some examples: a zombie moves faster and inflicts Poison on a successful hit, whereas a tanjelly, in addition to its poison, now curses on a successful hit, and finally, all Medusa heads are golden, and thus, there will be no Medusa heads that are incapable of causing Stone on a hit.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Hard Mode returns in Order of Ecclesia, much in the same way as it did in Portrait of Ruin. After beating the game and receiving the good ending, the player can elect to choose Hard Mode upon starting a new game. Upon doing so, the player is prompted with a choice of level caps. Beating the game on these level caps for the first time will reward the save file used as follows: The reward for beating Hard Mode on the level cap of 1 is a one time reward only, but the rest of the level caps do offer their reward if it is the first time for the save file used.
 * Hard, level cap 255: Unlocked only after beating Hard level cap 1. While it allows full leveling, it otherwise functions like the level cap 50 variant.
 * Hard, level cap 50 or lower: Awards the Queen of Hearts upon beating Hard Mode for the save file used.
 * Hard, level cap 1: Once the player beats Hard Mode with this level cap, he/she unlocks the ability to level up to 255, as well as another level cap of choice upon selecting Hard Mode.

The following are differences from Normal Mode:
 * All damage dealt by the player is reduced by 10%, compared to Normal.
 * All damage dealt by enemies has a bonus that is different depending on the level cap chosen:
 * Hard level cap 255/50: Enemy ATK +30.
 * Hard level cap 1: Enemy ATK +60.
 * This bonus is not affected by a character's DEF and MND stats.
 * In addition, if more than 1 point of damage comes from the enemy's base ATK, that base ATK value gains a +50% bonus.
 * Some enemies receive additional bonuses and/or traits that make combat against them more difficult. Others may simply appear earlier in the game compared to Normal Mode. To name an example: Medusa heads can be seen as early as in Ruvas Forest, and will always be gold colored, signifying that Stone will be inflicted upon taking a hit.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
Hard Mode unlocks in Harmony of Despair after finishing Chapter 6. Subsequent chapters (DLCs in Xbox 360) have their Hard Mode already unlocked. Enemies have a higher degree of vitality and the player characters suffer more damage per hit. In addition, certain enemies receive different attacks compared to Normal Mode. To name an example: Dracula's final form sports fire pillars briefly before using Demonic Megiddo, and one of his normal attacks will have lightning cutting through the room, nullifying the possibility of jumping.

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