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IGN’s Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse walkthrough tracks the Sage, mirror clues, collectibles, saves, the Succubus fight, and the route to the Cemetery.
IGN’s Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse walkthrough follows the pursuit of The Sage into the Hall of Mirrors, then moves through a boss encounter and back toward The Cemetery. The video is presented as part of a larger attempt to reach the game’s “true” ending while collecting relics, weapons, heart fragments, clues, Arcana, and every ending.
This is an analysis of IGN’s review-style walkthrough material, not an OnlineGamesVIP hands-on guide or independently tested route. Its most useful warning arrives early: in the Hall of Mirrors, the correct reflection is shown as a light-outlined figure rather than a red-outlined figure. That distinction is central to following the Sage without treating every mirror image as the same kind of clue.
IGN begins in the Main Hall with a Brave Heart Fragment associated with the Torture Chambers. The route then enters the Hall of Mirrors in pursuit of The Sage. Early landmarks include two XP statues, a save point, and the mirror-reflection explanation. IGN also marks a further XP statue before identifying a clue that reads, “The Temptress Guards the Hall of Mirrors.”
From there, the walkthrough moves through several connected areas and records more optional progress. IGN lists a Crystallized Blood relic in the Dead-End Tower, a Wise Heart Fragment in the Chamber of Secrecy, an XP statue in the Passage of Perplexity, another save point, and an additional XP statue. The route continues through the Ballroom of Terror, where IGN marks a Wise Heart Fragment and an ATK Up pickup, before reaching the Steps of Misdirection.
The Steps of Misdirection contain another Brave Heart Fragment, an XP statue, and a clue titled “The Reflection Deceives, The Sage.” IGN then marks fast travel, a Haunting Relic in the same area, another XP statue in Level Deviled, and a later save point. The sequence culminates in a boss segment labeled “Succubus fight” at 30:15 in the video.
After that encounter, IGN marks the map as unfogged and identifies a further clue, “Eleanor Flees to the Cemetary,” in the Heart of the Maze. The walkthrough then returns to The Cemetery. IGN’s introduction says this return is used to obtain The Sage’s Arcana, while the video description also frames the Temptress encounter around acquiring her Arcana.
The Hall of Mirrors is the section where visual identification matters most. IGN specifically tells viewers to look for a reflection with a light outline, not a red outline. That is a practical filter for the route: do not assume that a conspicuous reflection is automatically the one tied to The Sage.
Analysis: The safest way to use this part of the video is to pause at the mirror sequence and compare the outline before moving on. The source does not provide a broader rule for every mirror puzzle, so it would be misleading to turn this single visual instruction into a universal solution for the entire area. What is confirmed is that the light-versus-red distinction is the clue IGN wants players to notice.
The nearby clue names also give the section a useful progression. IGN first records “The Temptress Guards the Hall of Mirrors,” then later records “The Reflection Deceives, The Sage” in the Steps of Misdirection. These entries identify the story and exploration themes of the route, but the source does not explain every puzzle trigger or state whether collecting one clue is required to unlock the next area.
One common mistake, based on IGN’s timestamped route, would be to treat the Hall of Mirrors as a short story corridor and ignore the side rooms. The video includes XP statues, a relic, heart fragments, a stat increase, save points, and clues before the boss. If your goal is a completion-focused run, those markers matter as much as the pursuit itself.
IGN tracks collectibles using numbers in parentheses after many timestamps. According to the publisher, those numbers show how many of a particular item have been found in each specific map up to that point. They continue across the walkthrough videos, making the notation useful for comparing your own collection with the video’s running record.
That system is especially helpful in this section because the route crosses multiple maps rather than staying in one room. The listed pickups include XP statues, Brave Heart Fragments, Wise Heart Fragments, the Crystallized Blood relic, the Haunting Relic, an ATK Up pickup, and clues. IGN also marks several save points, which separate the mirror investigation, the later maze route, and the boss approach.
Analysis: Players pursuing completion should treat the video’s map names as checkpoints rather than trying to memorize one uninterrupted path. The sequence moves through the Hall of Mirrors, Glass Gallery, Dead-End Tower, Chamber of Secrecy, Passage of Perplexity, Ballroom of Terror, Steps of Misdirection, Level Deviled, and the Heart of the Maze before returning to The Cemetery. The names help you identify where a missed item may belong when reviewing the footage.
There is also a limitation that should be kept in view. IGN says this run is not technically a 100% run because two XP statues are not shown in any of the videos. The supplied source cuts off before explaining where those two statues can be found. As a result, this walkthrough can support broad collectible tracking, but it cannot by itself confirm a complete XP-statue checklist.
IGN marks saves at several points: shortly after entering the mirror route, again during the route through the connected areas, and once more before the boss sequence. The timestamps place these saves at 03:35, 06:05, 14:30, and 27:00. A further save is marked after the boss at 34:55.
Analysis: Those markers divide the section into sensible review points. If you are using the video to recover a missed collectible, checking the footage between save markers should make it easier to locate the relevant room without replaying the whole chapter. The source does not say that these are the only save locations, nor does it report the consequences of skipping them, so the practical value here is route organization rather than a confirmed difficulty recommendation.
IGN also marks fast travel at 22:20, after the clue in the Steps of Misdirection and before the Haunting Relic and later XP statue. The placement suggests a transition in the walkthrough’s route, but the source does not explain whether fast travel is mandatory, which destination is selected, or whether using it changes item availability. Those details should be checked directly in the video rather than assumed.
The boss section begins at 30:15 under the label “Succubus fight.” IGN then records the map as unfogged at 34:25, a save at 34:55, and the clue about Eleanor fleeing to The Cemetery at 35:10. These timestamps establish the order of events: the boss encounter comes before the map update, the post-fight save, and the Cemetery-related clue.
The source’s opening description connects the larger objective to the Temptress and her Arcana, then says the route returns to The Cemetery for The Sage’s Arcana. Because the detailed text ends partway through the Cemetery section, it does not give the full follow-up route, the exact pickup location, or the steps needed to obtain it. Players should therefore use the supplied video for the transition, but should not treat this article as a complete Cemetery walkthrough.
Analysis: The most important preparation before the boss is not a claimed build or combat trick, since IGN’s supplied text does not provide one. It is making sure you have noted the nearby collectibles and saved at the marked checkpoint. The video presents the fight as the payoff for the mirror and maze sequence, while the later Cemetery return continues the Arcana-focused progression.
What remains unconfirmed
- The supplied IGN text does not identify every attack pattern, weakness, or recommended weapon for the Succubus fight.
- It does not provide the complete Cemetery route or the exact location of The Sage’s Arcana.
- The source says two XP statues are absent from the videos, but the provided text ends before naming their locations.
- It does not confirm whether every listed collectible is required for a specific ending.
- It does not explain the full mechanics behind the light-outlined and red-outlined reflections beyond identifying which visual type to seek.
For that reason, the most reliable use of IGN’s video is as a visual route reference for the Hall of Mirrors sequence, its nearby collectibles, the save points, and the transition into The Cemetery. It is not evidence of an independently verified 100% run, and the missing Cemetery details prevent it from serving as a complete guide to every Arcana objective.
If you want another entry from the same series while following this guide, the catalog includes Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. The catalog also lists Castlevania. These are related Castlevania games, not confirmed versions of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, so they should be treated as separate options rather than substitutes for the walkthrough covered here.