The alternate path through Stage 5 of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is called Wandering or Shudder. The stage is very different between the original Castlevania: Rondo of Blood game and Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.
Overview[]
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood[]
This stage can be unlocked once the player has defeated Dracula. The areas in this stage contain design themes from other levels, but the platforms and enemy placement are altered to make the stage more difficult.
Once the player reaches the second area, there will be two paths to choose from. The upper path is a hall filled with Axe Armors, and two Great Armors will appear at the end of the path, blocking the player from both sides. Defeating them both is required to advance.
The lower path is filled with bats and small moving platforms above a pit filled with water. The player needs to avoid getting knocked into the pit while carefully timing jumps between platforms. Once the player makes it to the end, the next area will be the same as the upper path's.
Unlike most other stages, this stage does not have a boss.
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles[]
This stage can be unlocked once the player has defeated Death. Getting the orb which Carmilla drops in Stage 4' before defeating Death will result in the darker orb being transformed into a regular red orb, with Death laughing in the background.
The stage itself appears to be a hybrid of the Stage 5'-s from both the PC Engine Rondo of Blood and the Super Nintendo Dracula X. The stage overall is a daytime setting on Castlevania and Dracula's estate, where instead the player character is forced to go underground by the piers to reach Shaft's Lair and eventually Dracula's Keep. While not stated, the underground passage our heroes must go through is an advanced series of maritime caves beholding Ancient Grecian ruins near the coast, which contains an ancient and reawakened evil more powerful than possibly anything encountered before. Because of the difficult layouts of the caves, it is believed the caverns and said ancient evil is Shaft's domain, where he is performing secretly guarded magic experiments and plans to unleash the unsealed Hydra as a monstrous superweapon from its captivity to terrorize the world.
The stage itself is possibly among the hardest Classic Castlevania stages ever made, with tenaciously tough enemies and strategic enemy placement, pitfalls that demand near perfect precision to cross, platforming sections with difficult timing, and a divergent pathway that leads to either a more manageable part of the stage or an even harder path that demands expert item management skills. Like the normal Stage 5, there is no divergent path to a different boss. The boss of Stage 5' is the Hydra. If the player has beaten Stage 7, the upper path will behold a descending stairway that can lead to a mini-boss fight with the Lesser Vampire.
Enemy Data[]
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood[]
| Enemy Data: Rondo of Blood Stage 5' | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Description |
Statistics | Items | Location | Notes |
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 120 |
2. Castle Entrance, 2'. Lake Bridge, 4'. Mountains, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
(Strategy) | ||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 80 |
1. Abandoned Village, 2. Castle Entrance, 3'. Cemetery, 4'. Mountains, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 3 (Stage2') 6 (Stage5') Exp: 200 |
2'. Lake Bridge, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 2 Exp: 120 |
2. Castle Entrance, 2'. Lake Bridge, 4'. Mountains, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 8 Exp: 400 |
3. Chapel, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 80 |
3. Chapel, 5'. Wandering/Shudder, 7. Clock Tower |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 80 |
3. Chapel, 5'. Wandering/Shudder, 7. Clock Tower |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 14 Exp: 500 |
2. Castle Entrance, 4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
(Strategy)Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield | ||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 14 Exp: 500 |
4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
(Strategy)Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield | ||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 24 Exp: 1000 |
2'. Lake Bridge, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 4 Exp: 250 |
2. Castle Entrance, 4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles[]
| Enemy Data: Dracula X Chronicles Stage 5' | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Description |
Statistics | Items | Location | Notes |
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 3 (Stage2') 6 (Stage5') Exp: 200 |
2'. Lake Bridge, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 6 Exp: 200 |
5. Ghost Ship |
|||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 80 |
1. Abandoned Village, 2. Castle Entrance, 3'. Cemetery, 4'. Mountains, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 14 Exp: 500 |
2. Castle Entrance, 4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
(Strategy)Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield | ||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 14 Exp: 500 |
4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
(Strategy)Weapons: Axe, Axe Armor Shield | ||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 4 Exp: 250 |
2. Castle Entrance, 4. Inner Passage, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 8 Exp: 400 |
3. Chapel, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 2 Exp: 200 |
2. Castle Entrance, 3. Chapel, 3'. Cemetery, 4. Inner Passage, 4. Inner Passage, 4'. Mountains, 7. Clock Tower |
(Strategy)Abil: Bone Throw | ||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 80 |
3. Chapel, 5'. Wandering/Shudder, 7. Clock Tower |
|||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 80 |
3. Chapel, 5'. Wandering/Shudder, 7. Clock Tower |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 0 |
4. Inner Passage |
(Strategy) | ||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 1 Exp: 100 |
4. Inner Passage |
|||
(RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 24 Exp: 1000 |
2'. Lake Bridge, 5'. Wandering/Shudder |
|||
  (RoB/DXC) |
|||||
| ' | HP: 2 Exp: 350 |
7. Clock Tower |
|||
| Bosses | |||||
|
|||||
| ' | HP: 92 Exp: 1,000 × 5 |
5'. Piers |
|||
|
|||||
| ' | HP: 92 Exp: 1,000 |
5'. Piers (if Annette rescued), 7. Clock Tower (if Annette not rescued) |
|||
Item Data[]
| Item Data: Stage 5' | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
  (RoB/DXC) |
||||||||
| Refills the life gauge. | Find: 5'. Piers |
|||||||
| Dracula X Chronicles only | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| Find: 5'. Piers (...) |
Effect: Adds Red Dawn to the collection. | |||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Find: 7. Clocktower (...) |
Effect: Adds Moon Fight to the collection. | |||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Find: 8. Keep (...) |
Effect: Adds Dance of Illusions (DXC) to the collection. | |||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Find: 5'. Piers (...) |
Effect: Adds Requiem for the Gods to the collection. | |||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Find: 5'. Piers (...) |
Effect: Adds Crystal Teardrop to the collection. | |||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Find: 5'. Piers (...) |
Effect: Adds Abandoned Pit to the collection. | |||||||
|
|
||||||||
| Find: 5'. Piers (...) |
Effect: Adds Rainbow Cemetery to the collection. | |||||||
Gallery[]
_Japan.jpg "Dracula X PSP Stage 5' title (Maria) Japan.jpg (210 KB)")
.jpg "Dracula X PSP Stage 5' underground start (Maria).jpg (235 KB)")
(alternate boss)
Cutscene
.jpg "Dracula X PSP Stage 5' entrance scene 01 (Maria).jpg (141 KB)")
.jpg "Dracula X PSP Stage 5' entrance scene 04 (Maria).jpg (61 KB)")
External links[]
- Internet Archive - Tokuma Shoten Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo Guide Book Vol. 2 Pages 44-45.