- For other uses, see Nightmare (disambiguation).
Nightmare (悪夢 Akumu?) is a location from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, entered when Alucard uses a purple "fake" save room in the Underground Caverns. The area is host to a short cutscene and the boss battle with the Succubus, after which it cannot be re-entered. It is the only area of the Castle that has no equivalent area in the Reverse Castle. Instead, there is nothing in the fake save room but a helping of Peanuts. This is also the only main location inside the Castle to not possess a background theme track, being completely silent save for sound effects, voices, and the boss's theme music.
Defeating the Succubus will place the Gold Ring in the fake save room upon Alucard's return, an item vital to getting the game's good endings.
Dialogue[]
| Dialogue Data: Nightmare (edit) | ||
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| Image / Participants | Game / Location / Title Details Transcript(s) (click Expand to view when necessary) | |
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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night / Nightmare / Nightmare [edit] When: After entering dream coffin in Underground Caverns Summary: As Alucard sleeps in an unusual coffin, he has a nightmare. In it, he sees the events of his mother's death as she is being burned alive as a witch. He recalls her last words to him - but they aren't quite as he remembers them. He realizes that he is not speaking to his actual mother, who is revealed to be a succubus demon and they fight.  version (original) - [transcript][video]:Alucard: !! Mother!! Lisa: That voice! Alucard, it's you!  version (new) - [transcript][video]:(Alucard shocks as he saw a crucified woman who seems to his mother) Alucard: Mother!!!  version (Japanese text) - [transcript][video]:Alucard: ！！ 母上！  (dialogue at 0:20) version (fan translated) - [transcript][video]:(Alucard shocks as he saw a crucified woman who seems to his mother) Alucard: !! Mother!  (dialogue at 6:44) | ||
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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night / Nightmare / Defeating Succubus [edit] When: After defeating Succubus Summary: After being defeated, the Succubus realizes that Alucard is a vampire and also the son of Dracula, and then perishes. version (original) - [transcript][video]:Succubus: Darkling! I smell you're[sic] blood. You're a vampire... Could it be... Alucard: .......... version (new) - [transcript][video]:(Succubus is defeated by Alucard) Succubus: Darkling! I smell your blood, your hunger... version (Japanese text) - [transcript][video]:Succubus: こ、この血の匂い⋯。何故、夜の一族の血の匂いが⋯。まさか…。 Alucard: ⋯⋯⋯⋯。 (dialogue at 2:04) version (fan translated) - [transcript][video]:(Succubus is defeated by Alucard) Succubus: Th-The scent of your blood... Why does it smells like that of the children of the night...? Could it be...? (dialogue at 8:57) | ||
Enemy Data[]
| Enemy Data: Nightmare | |||||
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| Image | Name - Game Description |
Statistics | Items | Location | Notes |
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| Dream demon. She tried to trick Alucard by taking the form of his mother. (...) | Strong: Dark Level: 25 HP: 666 Exp: 2,000 |
Guard: Life Vessel, Gold Ring |
Nightmare (Alucard only) |
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Gallery[]
(via glitching)
Trivia[]
- If timed correctly upon entering the Nightmare, the Pause Menu can be accessed immediately before the controls get locked for the upcoming cutscene. By doing this, Alucard can equip the Axe Lord armor before the cutscenes play out (he cannot do so otherwise as the Axe Lord armor prevents entering Save Room coffins). If he does, the following cutscene will appear glitched for a second: just before the Succubus's guise is dispelled, Alucard will disappear and the screen will flash red. All this happens within one second, then the game will return to normal.
- The buildings in this village match those seen at the villa in Olrox's Quarters. There is no explanation for the resemblance, but this may have been to save time on development.
- The Nightmare realm's loading zone is to the right of the false save room, sealed behind a wall. If Alucard uses out of bounds, he can enter the Nightmare as he would any other area of the castle via transitioning between rooms. To exit the Nightmare via transitioning, Alucard merely has to fall through the floor out-of-bounds.
- After defeating the Succubus, it is possible to return to the Nightmare at any time using this sealed loading zone. If this is done, Alucard will have free movement around the Nightmare. The Nightmare's title card will no longer display as it behaves similar to any other area of the castle. Walking toward the right will have the Succubus standing and preparing for battle. This means Alucard can re-battle the Succubus at any time. No cutscenes will play out as the entire script is already finished prior to re-entering post-Gold Ring drop. Defeating the Succubus again will have her death animation play out as normal and then Alucard will be returned to the false save room as normal.
- The Succubus respawning in the Nightmare may surprisingly match Alucard's dialogue to her, where he states her soul will wander for eternity.
- Although there is no Nightmare in the Reverse Castle, data for the transition is still used. Due to the Nightmare's absence in the Reverse Castle, entering the Reverse transitioning loading zone will teleport Alucard to the Outer Wall's CD hall leading to the Outer Wall Warp Zone. Entering the Outer Wall from this hall will yield glitched results as the game still thinks Alucard is in the Reverse Castle.
- Using said loading zone during Richter Mode or Maria Mode will allow Richter or Maria, respectively, to enter the Nightmare, an act that is otherwise impossible for them to do normally. When entering, the screen won't be locked nor the player character, and "Lisa" is present on the cross, although the Succubus won't appear due to no dialogue being present. The player becomes stuck unless they use out-of-bounds to exit via falling to the bottom of the area where the loading zone is present.
- After defeating the Succubus, it is possible to return to the Nightmare at any time using this sealed loading zone. If this is done, Alucard will have free movement around the Nightmare. The Nightmare's title card will no longer display as it behaves similar to any other area of the castle. Walking toward the right will have the Succubus standing and preparing for battle. This means Alucard can re-battle the Succubus at any time. No cutscenes will play out as the entire script is already finished prior to re-entering post-Gold Ring drop. Defeating the Succubus again will have her death animation play out as normal and then Alucard will be returned to the false save room as normal.
See also[]
- Lost Fantasy - A realm inhabited by the Succubus in Castlevania: Moonlight Rhapsody.