| The player is Trevor Belmont, Simon Belmont's forefather and, in the North American manual, the last line of defense against Count Dracula's army; the manual sets the game 100 years before Simon's birth. Konami's Japanese story names the hero Ralph C. Belmont, who goes alone to Lord Vlad's manor in 15th-century Europe, several hundred years before Simon. | printed p. 4 (PDF p. 3), It's a Cursed World We Live Inprinted p. 4 (PDF p. 3), It's a Cursed World We Live Inprinted p. 4 (PDF p. 3), It's a Cursed World We Live In | Manual |
| Like the first Castlevania, the game is played stage by stage, and at several points the road forks and the player chooses the route; the route decides which partners and enemies Trevor meets. A stage reached by another route can start from its far end. The North American manual counts 17 possible levels. | printed p. 5 (PDF p. 4), How to Play in the Graveyardprinted p. 5 (PDF p. 4), How to Play in the Graveyardprinted p. 4 (PDF p. 3), It's a Cursed World We Live In | Publisher |
| Trevor starts alone and can meet three partners, Grant DaNasty, Sypha, and Alucard, which ones depending on the route. He keeps one partner at a time and turns into that partner, and back, with Select. | printed p. 13, Adding to Your Teamprinted p. 13, Adding to Your Teamprinted p. 13, Adding to Your Teamprinted p. 4 (PDF p. 3), It's a Cursed World We Live In | Manual |
| Each character plays differently. Trevor fights with the whip and items, Sypha uses magic, Grant is a thief who can move along walls, and Alucard, Dracula's son, can fly as a bat, as far as the hearts collected allow; which character the player uses changes how a stage is best played. | printed p. 4 (PDF p. 3), It's a Cursed World We Live InGifts from the Poltergeist Masters, The Heart of Stone | Publisher |
| Using a subweapon spends hearts, and whipping torches and light fittings turns up more. | Gifts from the Poltergeist Masters | Web |