Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Glitches and Tricks
astlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is host to several interesting tricks and glitches. This section features fun and exciting ways to push the boundaries of the game, and will tell you how to do so, as well. You won't need a Game Shark or any other kind of outside tool to do any of these.
The Ice Fist
The Ice Book and Sacred Fist Spell Fusion combination is a lot more than it seems. In some instances, using this can allow you access to areas in the game that you aren't yet intended to be in, which leads to some very interesting results. There are different locales in which this maneuver can be exploited.
You can collect Vlad's Ring, Count Dracula's worldly possession, early on by utilizing the Ice Fist. Jump from the ledge to the far left of the screenshot, and then cast the enchantment once you reach a comfortable distance from the outcrop where the ring rests.
In the Wailing Way, there is a level that Juste cannot quite reach with his regular jump. However, if you equip the Sacred Fist and Ice Book, you can make it to the top if you cast the spell at the peak of Juste's leap if you're pressed right against the wall.
You can reach this height by the time you acquire the Sylph Feather relic. You must double jump at just the right time to be high enough for the Ice Fist spell to propel Juste to the ledge. If successful, you'll be rewarded with the Platinum Tip.
Door Glitch
Upon going through a door that links two different areas of Castlevania, if timed just right, you can back dash and return to the area you came from, or be warped to a different place entirely. The effects are different depending on where you do this. This glitch isn't easy to do at first, so don't give up if it isn't working. To perform this glitch, either rapidly press the back dash button as Juste goes through a door, or wait for the precise time just before the screen comes in from being blackened to press the button. Unfortunately, this glitch will not work on the Castlevania Double Pack.
If you perform the back dash through the door that connects the Entrance with the Shrine of the Apostates then Juste will pop up past the barrier that initially blocks the path. This allows you to collect the Lizard Tale relic much earlier than usual.
In Castle B, if you dash through the door that unites the Castle Treasury with Skeleton Cave, you will instantly be brought to this location shown in the screenshot. This isn't really handy aside from being a small shortcut. But hey, it's fun to try, so give it a go.
Would you like to save some time? Well, back dash through the door that merges Sky Walkway and Aqueduct of Dragons and you'll be warped to the Giant Merman's cavity within the castle.
Exploit the glitch at the Sky Walkway/Clock Tower door while coming from the Clock Tower in Castle A, and you will be teleported to the Chapel of Dissonance in Castle B. This can entirely alter the course of the game if you use it before meeting Death in the Clock Tower.
Go to the Sky Walkway/Clock Tower door in Castle B and back dash through it to be brought to the Clock Tower in Castle A. Unless you've opened the path to the rest of the Clock Tower, you will be stuck in the lower recesses of the
By dashing through the connecting door of the Luminous Cavern and Aqueduct of Dragons in Castle A, you are brought to an area of Luminous Cavern that isn't usually available until very late in the game.
In Castle B, if you back dash through the door that connects Luminous Cavern with Castle Treasury on the Cavern's side, you'll crash the game. There's really no advantage in doing this, but I thought I'd tell you anyway.
Do the above glitch, but in Castle A, and you will be taken to the Merchant's shop in the Castle B Treasury.
Failed Entry
This can also be a bit difficult to do at first. The goal with this glitch is to fall through that pit that Talos plummets down in the beginning of the game. Just like his grandfather, Juste gets sent back sometimes when he's hit. Get near the drawbridge and duck to prevent Talos from knocking you around. Once the screen scrolls to the point where the drawbridge is in the center part of the screen, leap and whip at Talos so that Juste falls back. If timed correctly, that will thwart Juste from running and jumping on the viaduct before it closes.
GOOD!
When you defeat a boss, an orb will usually appear in mid air. If you leap up and collect it at the peak of Juste's jump, you will be rewarded with a "GOOD!" caption. I don't know what this does, if anything. There are still some things in Harmony of Dissonance that are a mystery, and I'm very interested in uncovering as much as possible. I've never completed the game with all GOOD!'s, so perhaps something will change if I do. I'm not sure. If you do know, drop me a line. I'll test it to see if it's valid before I put it up on my website, so please don't send me on a wild goose chase. If it proves true, you'll get full credit for discovering the purpose of this.
An easy way to do this trick is to start counting when the orb first starts to form, and when you reach 4 or 3.5, jump. It may take some practice for you to get the timing just right.
If you collect an orb with the dive kick, you'll earn yourself a "COOL!!" caption. Both of these tricks can be done in both the regular game and the Boss Rush mode.
Another way to get COOL!! is to collect the orb while near the end of Juste's whipping animation.
If you grab the orb while on the last sprite of Juste's whipping animation, you'll recieve the revered "EXCELLENT!!!" text.
Cut Scene Tricks
Here are a few amusing tricks and glitches to use to alter certain cut scenes.
In the beginning, if you use the door glitch at the Entrance and Shrine door, you can access the other side of the blockade that encumbers your progress at the Shrine. Continue and you'll come upon Maxim; only you'll enter the room from the other side.
Do everything that is mentioned above and continue through the Shrine, and then into the Marble Corridor. Work towards the Entrance and you will happen upon Death, but you will be entering the room from the side that you're not supposed to.
If you acquire at least one of Dracula's remains by the time you meet up with Maxim in Sky Walkway, some of the dialogue will be different. Should you have any, Maxim's tale will solidify in Juste's mind that what he found earlier is authentic.
After you defeat Pazuzu in the Throne Room, get close to the path that leads to Lydie's bedchamber, turn Juste around and perform a back dash into the room. If done correctly, Juste will have his back turned to Lydie during the conversation.
Right before you meet Death in the confrontation in Luminous Cavern, execute a diagonal dive kick to get Juste closer to him. If you manage to get close enough, the dialogue box will malfunction.
Prior to the talk with Death in Luminous Cavern, if you back dash before Juste involuntarily runs to take his position before Death, Juste will have his back to him. You must get close enough for this to work, but if you get too close, Juste will automatically run face first.
If you use a summon spell under the orb that appears after you slay Count Dracula, Juste will materialize way up in the air when the final cut scene initiates.
You can see many of these glitches performed in this video by DarkmaneTheWerewolf.
