Part six of the Castlevania: Belmont's Curse walkthrough delves into the perilous Clock Tower, guiding players through its intricate puzzles, traps, and ultimately, a challenging boss encounter. This section is crucial for acquiring the 'Smash' ability, which allows Rose to break through previously impassable yellow barriers.
Navigating the Clock Tower's Perils
The Clock Tower, a signature difficult level in Castlevania titles, presents Rose with a gauntlet of massive cogs, deadly traps, and relentless enemies. The walkthrough details a step-by-step approach to navigating this gothic structure, emphasizing the importance of finding and activating Mirrors of Life, the game's save points, as they are scarce within the tower.
Players are advised to activate the Mirror of Life in the Mechanic's Ascent early on to establish a safe point. The guide also details how to utilize the various lifts within the Clock Tower to traverse its expansive and often confusing layout. Several areas, such as Architect's Gate, are noted as inaccessible without future abilities, prompting players to mark them for later exploration.
Unlocking the Smash Ability
A significant portion of this walkthrough focuses on reaching the boss room of Talos the Builder. This involves intricate platforming sequences, including navigating rooms filled with swinging pendulum blades, collapsing platforms, and the notorious fists that slam down from the ceiling. One particularly harrowing section involves carefully timing movements between massive saw blades.
The path to the Builder's boss room also includes solving a puzzle based on 'Blueprints for the Clock Tower Clue.' This puzzle requires players to manipulate platforms by strategically activating ceiling fists, aligning them into a vertical position to allow a powerful blow to break through a Destructible Block. Successfully solving this puzzle grants access to the Builder's boss chamber.
Defeating Talos the Builder
The confrontation with Talos the Builder is described as one of the most stressful fights in the game. The strategy involves destroying blue drones to lower Talos' shield and attacking its core, while avoiding yellow drones and fire attacks. The fight escalates into a platforming challenge twice: once when Talos is at half health, requiring players to navigate a hazardous area to reach him, and again in the final phase, where a strict 1 minute and 30-second timer is imposed to reach him after he teleports.
Upon defeating Talos, Rose gains the 'Fist of Talos' Arcana and the 'The Builder' card. Crucially, she also acquires the 'Smash' ability, a ground-pound attack that can shatter Destructible Blocks. This new ability opens up previously inaccessible areas and is vital for further progression.
Further Exploration and New Areas
With the Smash ability in hand, players can backtrack to explore areas in the Clock Tower that were previously out of reach. This includes accessing the Builder's Bureau to obtain 'A Sketch From Talos' and the 'Fists of Talos' gauntlets. The walkthrough also details a fast-travel method using the Hall of Mirrors to quickly reach other Mirrors of Life, enabling efficient backtracking and item collection.
After leaving the Clock Tower, the guide directs players to Brauner's Atelier in the Main Hall. Here, players must destroy Brauner's 'masterpiece' sculpture, leading to a fight with Brauner himself. This encounter yields the 'Masterpiece' Arcana and 'The Artist' card. Defeating Brauner unlocks the ability to enter the 'Gallery of Eternal Night' and traverse into the Notre-Dame painting, marking the next step in Rose's journey.