The Berkeley Mansion (バークレイの館 Bākurei no Yakata?, lit. "House of Berkeley") is a location in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. It is the first mansion found in the game.
Overview[]
The mansion is located in the middle of the upper section of the Veros Woods. To the left is an area with a Skeleton and a lone Merman, while to the right is section inhabited by Spiders and other creatures, beyond which is Dabi's Path. "Underneath" it is the town of Veros, which can be reached by heading left or right and then down and then turning the other direction. If the player doesn't have a White Crystal activated, there will appear to be no way to get into the mansion. Activating the white crystal reveals an invisible block that moves up and down, allowing the player to enter the main section. The mansion is notorious for having fake blocks which the player can fall through. To avoid these traps, use Holy Water and note if it falls through the floor, or keep an eye on walking enemies to see if they turn around at an edge, indicating an invisible gap. The mansion is populated with enemies that do not appear in the forested areas that were encountered before, including Knights, Gargoyles, and Skeleton Soldiers that throw bones and equipped with a shield.
Three clues are hidden here. One is "A FLAME FLICKERS INSIDE THE RING OF FIRE". Another is "A SYMBOL OF EVIL WILL APPEAR WHEN YOU STRIKE THE STAKE". The "symbol of evil" refers to one of Dracula's Relics. If the player reaches the end of the mansion, they'll find an orb guarded only by a simple skeleton. In order to obtain what is inside of it, the player will need an Oak Stake for 50 Hearts. Lurking in the mansion is a merchant who will sell one. Equip the stake as one would a sub-weapon and destroy the orb. The player will earn Dracula's Rib, which, when equipped, serves as a shield that repels projectiles. Mansions found later in the game are much like this one, with similar but stronger enemy sets, a merchant who sells an oak stake, and one of Dracula's relics.
While it appears adjacent to the Denis Marsh near Dracula's Castle in maps, there is no actual way to travel to it from this location. That marsh may extend to the areas that are accessible from Berkeley Mansion, though, as the Veros Woods, Denis Woods, and Dabi's Path all have localized marsh pits.
Enemy Data[]
| Enemy Data: Berkeley Mansion | |||||
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| Image | Name - Game Description |
Statistics | Items | Location | Notes |
    
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| ' | HP: 2/4/8/16/32 |
Drop: Half Heart |
Berkeley Mansion / Rover Mansion / Brahm's Mansion / Bodley Mansion / Laruba Mansion |
Abil: some Throw Bones (arc, explode) | |
    
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| ' | HP: 2/4/8/16/32 |
Drop: Half Heart |
Berkeley Mansion / Rover Mansion / Brahm's Mansion / Bodley Mansion / Laruba Mansion |
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| ' | HP: 2/4/8 |
Drop: Small Heart |
Berkeley Mansion, Bodley Mansion |
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| ' | HP: 2/4/8 |
Drop: Big Heart |
Berkeley Mansion / Rover Mansion / Brahm's Mansion |
Abil: Fireball | |
Item Data[]
| Item Data: Berkeley Mansion | ||||||||
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| Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
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| The rib bone will make the ordinary hero feel like a spineless coward. | Find: Berkeley Mansion |
Effect: Grants a shield when standing still or jumping that repels most projectiles | ||||||
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| You'll need the Oak Stake to collect Dracula's corpse at the mansions. | Buy: 50 Hearts Find: Berkeley, Bodley, Brahm's, Laruba and Rover Mansions (...) |
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| A SYMBOL OF EVIL WILL APPEAR WHEN YOU STRIKE THE STAKE. JPNver: カシノキノクイヲ アルモノニ ウチコムトキ マオウノ ショウチョウハ アラワレル Translation: A symbol of Dark Lord will appear when you strike an Oak Stake. |
Find: Berkeley Mansion |
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| DESTROY THE CURSE AND YOU'LL RULE BRAHM'S MANSION. JPNver: ブラームノヤカタ カワノ ノロイヲ トクモノ ムカエイレル Translation: The road to Brahm's Mansion will be heralded by dispelling curse of the river. |
Find: Berkeley Mansion |
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| A FLAME FLICKERS INSIDE THE RING OF FIRE. JPNver: セイナルホノオノ ミナモトハ ヒニトザサレタ リョウイキニ イマモ ネムル Translation: Even today the Sacred Flame rests in a realm hidden from sunlight. |
Find: Berkeley Mansion |
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Gallery[]
Maps[]
- See also: Simon's Quest World Map
Trivia[]
- The name of the mansion could be a reference to the choreographer Busby Berkeley.
- It may also be a reference to Berkeley Castle, where King Edward II was murdered.
Other appearances[]
Worlds of Power 4 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest[]
Berkeley Mansion is an extremely haunted Mansion in the non-canon licensed Worlds of Power novelization of Simon's Quest. It was an evil place even before Dracula ever appeared in Castlevania. It was once the home of an evil baron who had slain his family, his servants, and guests and thus was beheaded by the local authorities. These spirits are said to haunt its halls. It's current dilapidated state was overseen by its caretaker, the witch-like seer Ezederada Perkins. After Dracula was first defeated by Simon Belmont, his forces invaded the mansion and moved his Rib to the Dungeon, where it is accompanied by Skeleton bones hanging from the ceiling and guarded by a Ghostly Eyeball. The caretaker was trapped behind a wall near a secret passage to the basement. A Troll not aligned with Dracula named Freddie was also resided in the dungeons.
Berkeley Mansion was the first Mansion visited by Timothy Bradley and Simon Belmont. It could be found from the Church in the town of Castlevania by following Bulgaria Road, then going though the Jova Woods, and was in the vicinity of the Veros Woods. After rummaging through the first floor of the mansion, they found the secret passageway to the dungeons, but it was blocked by a wall. Simon threw holy water at this evil wall and it exploded, where they encountered Ezererada, who was now free. She gave them a Stake and told them how to get Dracula's rib. They encountered Freddie and started to attack it, but stopped when it was clear he was not in league with Dracula. They then found the rib and defeated the Ghostly Eyeball. Dracula's spirit then possessed the bones, which were contorted to form a face (similar to a Bone Golem from later Castlevania games). He was about to attack them, but was warded off by some well delivered puns on Timothy's part. The caretaker then had a vision on where to find the next body part of Dracula, the Heart, found in Rover Mansion, and the heroes set off to find it.
Super Castlevania IV[]
- Main article: Super Castlevania IV Stage 4
The path taken to Dracula's Castle in Super Castlevania IV generally aligns with the optimal path that can be taken in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest to the castle. The Berkeley Mansion probably corresponds with the Lower Tower of the fourth stage, which is adjacent to a marsh similar to the Denis Marsh it was adjacent to in Simon's Quest. This tower has blocks that float upward, similar to the way the special block in Berkeley Mansion that requires the White Crystal moves up and down.
External links[]
- NES Game Atlas at Castlevania Dungeon
- NES Game Atlas hints: Scan of pages 152-153 and 154-155 hosted on the Castlevania Dungeon.
- YouTube - Gameplay video traveling through Veros Woods during day and night, then going to Veros, then back to the Veros Woods and on to the outside of Berkeley Mansion.