Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Trophy Guide & Road Map

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Trophy Guide

Overview:

Estimated trophy difficulty: 4/10 (Estimated Trophy Difficulty)
Offline trophies: 15 (10, 5)
Online trophies: 0
Approximate amount of time to 100%: 10-20 hours (Estimated Completion Time)
Minimum number of playthroughs: 7
Number of missable trophies: 0
Glitched trophies: 0
Does difficulty affect trophies?: No
Do trophies stack?: PS4 and Vita have separate lists
Do cheat codes disable trophies?: No
Additional peripherals required?: N/A

Introduction:

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a successful Kickstarter project by Koji Igarashi of Castlevania fame. Cure of the Moon is a Metroidvania 8-bit style throwback and a prequel of sorts to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night as well as one of the Kickstarter stretch goals of the project. The game plays like old-school 8 bit Castlevania games. It has (or suffers) from the same control limitations and general speed.

Modes:

There are four modes the game provides:

Normal – The default mode.
Nightmare – Beat normal mode while recruiting all the allies. Increased boss difficulty, without Zangetsu and a different final stage.
Ultimate – Beat normal mode while sacrificing all the allies. Increased boss difficulty and Soul Arts unlocked from the beginning.
Boss Rush Mode – Unlocked by beating Nightmare and Ultimate modes.

Styles:

There are two play styles in the game: Veteran and Casual. Veteran has lives and knockback when you're hit, whereas Casual has unlimited lives and no knockback damage. I recommend playing Casual for the purpose of earning trophies.

The Curse of the Moon:

By the game's own definition, if you feel you made a “Grievous Error,” the menu allows you to go back in time to a previous point in the game. This allows you to pick up equipment you might have missed in your current run and make changes in your allies. However, you cannot go back freely. If you reset to Stage 3 from Stage 8, for example, you have to replay Stage 4, 5, 6 and 7 to get back to 8.

Recruiting, Solo Play and Soul Arts:

When you get the chance to recruit a character, you have three options: Recruit the character by approaching them and pressing , ignore them and keep going by yourself, or kill them. If you kill (or sacrifice) them, you earn a Soul Art instead of an ally.

Characters and Controls:

Zangetsu
Sword attack
Jump
Secondary Weapon

Zangetsu’s Secondary Weapons

Chain – 45 degree upwards chain attack
Paper Talisman – Throws down a charm onto the ground at a 45 degree angle, creating a small ball of damage.
Oni Mask – Generate a purple aura that increases damage for a short amount of time.

Zangetsu’s Soul Arts

Hold - Charge Attack
in the air – Crescent Moon (Slash attack), Sacrifice Miriam
in the air - Blood Moon (Double jump), Sacrifice Alfred
Double-tap a direction or press and hold - New Moon (Increased speed), Sacrifice Gebel

Note: Soul Arts are unlocked by default in Ultimate Mode.

Miriam
Whip Smash (Whip attack)
High Jump
+ Slide
Secondary Weapon

Miriam’s Secondary Weapons

Throwing Dagger – Throws a horizontal dagger across the screen
Triple Daggers – Throws three daggers at a 45 degree angle upwards
Scythe – Throws a spinning scythe across the screen that boomerangs back
Axe – Stationary massive axe attack. Takes a moment to warm up.

Alfred
- Buster Rod (Rod attack)
- Jump
- Alchemy (Secondary Weapon)

Alfred’s Secondary Weapons

Fire Scroll – Encircle Alfred in a ring of fire that can protect Alfred and damage enemies.
Ice Scroll – Fire a large Ice dagger at enemies that will freeze them, creating platforms and allowing some enemies that can’t be otherwise damaged to be destroyed, such as the fire golem monsters.
Thunder Scroll – Fire a thunder ball that automatically seeks enemies and attacks several times.
Copy Scroll – Create a copy of Alfred that copies Alfred’s attacks about two character positions ahead of Alfred.

Gebel
- Summon Darkness (Bat attack)
- Metamorphosis (Turn into a bat)
during Metamorphosis – Syphon Blood (dashing attack)
+ during Metamorphosis – Quick Ascend (climb upwards)
during Metamorphosis – Cancel Metamorphosis

Gebel has no secondary weapons.

Walkthrough:

Step 1: Beat the game for the first time, recruiting all allies.

On this playthrough, focus on learning how the game plays and enjoy it. When you’re given the option of recruiting characters, make sure to collect them. Try to pick up as many of the upgrades hidden in each stage as you can, just to make the experience better. Also, unless you really want a challenge, select Casual as your play style, so that you have unlimited lives.

On this run you should earn:

Moonlight Temptation
Frigid Hell
The Brilliant Void
Blasphemy unto Heaven
Sunder the Night
Tragedy of Slaughter
Defiler of Taboos
Cleave the Moon
Those Left Behind

Step 2: Create a new game, playing Nightmare mode on Casual

After beating the game once, Nightmare mode is unlocked. This mode is a tiny bit harder. The bosses are tougher, and there is an alternative final stage. It also stars Miriam, Gebel and Alfred only, with Zangetsu unplayable. Again, select Casual for an easier time.

On this run you should earn:

Fallen Moon's Requiem

Step 3: Create a new Normal game on Casual, recruiting Miriam but Sacrificing Alfred and Gebel

Recruit Miriam, the hero of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and kill Alfred and Gebel when you encounter them in Stages 2 and 3. Once you beat the game, you will unlock the “normal” ending, even though the method of unlocking it is not really intuitive gameplay-wise.

On this run you should earn:

Blade Gleaming at Sunrise

Step 4: Create a new Normal game on Casual, Sacrificing Miriam and Alfred but ignoring Gebel

Kill/Sacrifice Miriam and Alfred, then ignore Gebel on Stage 3. Once you beat the game, you will unlock the “normal” ending with Zangetsu alone. In this run you will have access to 2 Soul Arts and you can collect the Gauntlet and Armor upgrades.

On this run you should earn:

That Man, Zangetsu

Step 5: Create a new Normal game on Casual, sacrificing Miriam, Alfred and Gebel

Sacrifice every ally when you reach them in stages 1, 2 and 3. You will earn all of the Soul Arts for Zangetsu in return. Then beat the game.

On this run you should earn:

Emperor of Darkness

Step 6: Create a new game, in Ultimate mode, and ignore Miriam, Alfred and Gebel

Do not kill or recruit any of your allies in stage 1, 2 and 3. Instead, proceed to beat the game with Zangetsu only. In Ultimate mode, the bosses are tougher but you have the Soul Arts. You can likely do this in Normal mode, too, but you won’t have the Soul Arts. Whichever method is preferred is appropriate so long as you ignore all 3 allies.

On this run you should earn:

Nightmare's End

Step 7: Beat the Boss Rush

From the title screen, Select the Boss Rush. Beat the Boss Rush to finish off the game.

On this run you should earn:

Big Game Hunting!

[PST would like to thank shrapx for this Roadmap]

Moonlight Temptation

Finish Stage 1 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must beat the first stage, Moonlight Temptation. You have only Zangetsu to use in this stage when starting the game or playing Ultimate. There are no upgrades in this stage.

In Nightmare mode, there is a bonus life upgrade by climbing the stairs at the beginning.

To defeat the first boss, Glutton Train, wait until its hand grabs the rear platform and drags it towards the main body. Climb on the platform and hit him in the gold mask. Climb on the rear platform to avoid his blast attack, and use a weapon to destroy falling fire balls when they hit the ground so you’ll have a place to stand.

Most bosses in the game have a desperation move. Once they are defeated, they will attack you with a big attack you must survive before the battle truly ends. The desperation move on this boss is to fire a massive beam, but there is a safe zone to avoid any damage.

Upon beating the Glutton Train, you have the option to recruit Miriam, the star of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night into your team. To recruit her, press to talk to her when close by.

Recruit Miriam as part of Those Left Behind or Blade Gleaming at Sunrise
Kill her as part of Emperor of Darkness
Ignore her and move right as part of Nightmare's End

Nightmare's End

Finish the game without sacrificing or recruiting any adventurers.
When you unlock Ultimate mode, you can use Zangetsu’s Soul Arts without sacrificing any allies. So, when you encounter the allies, just ignore them and do not recruit anyone. Ultimate mode has higher difficulty enemies, but you have a move set that makes up for it with the Soul Arts.

Using the Soul Arts, it's possible to reach the Gauntlet in Stage 6 and the Armor in Stage 7.
Those Left Behind

Recruit every adventurer and finish the game.
Beat the game in the default mode while recruiting Miriam, Gebel and Alfred. When you beat Stage 1, 2 and 3, you will rescue an adventurer. Approach the adventurer and press to recruit them. From that point on, you can play as that character by pressing or to toggle through your lineup. All you have to do next is beat the game.
Fallen Moon's Requiem

Finish Nightmare Mode.
After you beat the game the first time, you unlock Nightmare mode.

You have the same casual vs veteran choice. But, this time around, you play without Zangetsu. But having access to Miriam, Gebel and Alfred will give you different paths to traverse and items you can collect. The bosses are slightly harder too. Finally, Stage 8 is replaced with Stage 9, with three branching paths that each character must face solo before ultimately bring you face to face against Zangetsu.

Miriam must then face Zangetsu, with Gebel and Alfred only able to provide support. Upon weakening Zangetsu, he begins his desperation move which is instant death if you fail. The game is not clear on what you have to do to win, but the trick is you have to protect Alfred from getting hit by any blue fire. If you succeed long enough, he will cast a spell and finish off Zangetsu.

Note that this mode does have an additional health upgrade in the alternate paths of Stage 1.
Emperor of Darkness

Sacrifice every adventurer and finish the game.
To unlock this ending, you must kill/sacrifice Mirim, Alfred and Gebel when you encounter them. Then beat the game with Zangetsu alone, with all his soul arts.

When you get to the end of the game, and defeat Gremory, you find that she charges her moon attack and Zangetsu just stands in the middle, looking up. Get to the center and hold to charge then release when fully charged to finish her off.

Beating this mode will unlock Ultimate mode and Boss Rush mode.

You can also do this on Normal Mode, if the bosses are too difficult in Ultimate. Note that you won't have any Soul Arts and cannot pick up any upgrades if you do that method.
Blade Gleaming at Sunrise

Adventure with your allies and see the Normal ending.
To unlock this ending, recruit Miriam and kill Alfred and Gebel when given the opportunity. Continue on and beat the game with Miriam and Zangetsu only. After beating Gremory in Stage 8, this trophy will pop.
That Man, Zangetsu

Go it alone and see the Normal ending.
This ending is best done by sacrificing Miriam and Alfred then ignoring Gebel, or some combination thereof, as long as you RECRUIT NO ALLIES. You need to leave at least one character alive, but you don’t want any allies recruited. Sacrificing the rest will give you access to some of the Soul Arts - the Blood Moon double jump and Crescent Moon attack might be easiest to make use of.

Remember that when you beat the last boss, get to the center and hold to charge then release when fully charged to finish her off.
Big Game Hunting!

Defeat every boss in Boss Rush mode.
One of the hardest trophies in the game, you must defeat a gauntlet of 9 bosses. IF you play it legit, anyway. From the title screen, select the Boss Rush mode. In this mode you have to defeat bosses from Stages 1 – 8, including both forms of Gremory.

You start off in a hub screen that you return to in between every boss. There are several items in here, but note that you can only use each item ONCE. If you collect secondary weapons, they will not re-spawn. Also note that no characters have a default secondary weapon, including Gebel's Metamorphosis.

You also have all four playable characters. If one dies, you return to the hub to continue. Boss Rush mode continues until all four player characters die or you return to the title screen. Your life does not refresh, so you must be cautious. There are two heart life drops in the hub, but they also do not respawn.

Some tips for clearing this mode:
- As you practice, try to master Miriam for her greater range.
- If you can, beat the first 3 or 4 bosses without getting hit, or at least as little as possible.
- Using Gebel against Bloodless is good. You can stand on the middle umbrella and hit her without getting hit, only avoiding her attacks.
- Using Alfred's Fire Scroll against Gremory's first form will really help reduce damage.
- On that note, you can swap characters with the Fire Scroll active, transferring the shield to other characters until it wears out.
If you're having difficulty there are some cheats you can implement and still earn the trophy.
(credit to ivory7777 and GameFAQs).

CHEATS

From the title screen, you can hold buttons on your controller when launching Boss Rush mode to implement a few changes.

The cheats are as follows:

Refreshed hub in between bosses, including health
Unlimited weapon energy
Zangetsu with all the Soul Arts
Nightmare difficulty bosses

So if you hold + + and press to enter Boss Rush, you will unlock Zangetsu with all his Soul Arts, unlimited weapon energy and a hub that refreshes every time you return to it.

The cheats do not disable the trophies.
Frigid Hell

Finish Stage 2 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must beat the second stage, Frigid Hell.

Near the end of the stage is the upgrade item, a Weapon upgrade.

The boss is some kind of monster/turtle hybrid named Focalor. It likes to shoot laser beams at you, drop icicles from the ceiling on you then fall through the ceiling to smash you, and surround itself with orbs.

The desperation move on this boss is that he disappears into the background and then after several seconds he smashes in from the left and hits the right wall. If you jump just before it charges, it will aim mid screen, allowing you to land and stay safe.

At the end of this stage, you have the option of recruiting, leaving or sacrificing Alfred.

Recruit Alfred as part of Those Left Behind
Kill him as part of Emperor of Darkness
Ignore him and move right as part of Nightmare's End
The Brilliant Void

Finish Stage 3 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must beat the third stage, The Brilliant Void.

Near the end of the stage you’ll find the upgrade item, which increases your overall health.

The boss of this stage is a floating money monster named Valefor. Its weakness is its head. The two hands will push mounds of gold from one side to the other you can attack and climb on so you can reach its head. It will also pound the ground when the two hands clasp each other and track you, followed by summoning monsters on either side.

The desperation move on this boss is a bunch of gold falling from the ceiling. There is an open area near the center that will gradually move right and left, so stay in the safe zone and you’ll be fine. When the screen goes all white, you’re good.

At the end of this stage, you have the option of recruiting, leaving or sacrificing Gebel.

Recruit Gebel as part of Those Left Behind
Kill him as part of Emperor of Darkness
Ignore him and move right as part of Nightmare's End
Blasphemy unto Heaven

Finish Stage 4 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must beat the fourth stage, Blasphemy Unto Heaven.

Near the end of the stage is the upgrade item, a Weapon upgrade.

The boss of this stage is a two headed dragon named Valac. Both heads shoot fireballs, the bottom one will like to try to chomp down on you while the top one shoots these explosive purple globs. Defeating both of them will launch a second phase of this battle.

In lieu of a desperation attack, this time around the boss changes form and attacks from the left. This time its two heads combine into one giant head that shoots fire, and the tail at the bottom becomes a spike trap. There’s no risk of instant death if you hit them. You will need to duck to avoid the giant fire blast it spits out by moving to the platform to the right, then quickly jump back to the center platform to get maybe two hits in before repeating. Keep at it and the monster will fall.
Sunder the Night

Finish Stage 5 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must complete the fifth stage, Sunder the Night. Bloodstained backers might recognize this stage as Circle of the Moon’s take on an early backer demo for Ritual of the Night.

Deep in the stage is the upgrade item, which increases your overall health.

The boss this time around is a weird peacock like lightning monster, Andrealphus. It’s hard to reach, and the rain constantly pushes your characters to the right, making combat very tricky on top of the fact that there are two pits on either side. The monster will dance near the top and then rain lightning rods down that can be destroyed. If you’re close enough to him to attack, try to get in a few hits. Otherwise, if you’re far away try to get to the center and duck before he fires a tornado that will push you to the outer pits.

Desperation is a kick attack from the right side of the screen with 45 degree full screen lasers that move leftward from where he lands. Then he moves to the background and throws vertical lightning bolts on both edges. Once the vertical lightning bolts appear, move as close as possible because a large bolt that attacks the center is the last attack. Weather the storm and it’s on to the next stage.
Tragedy of Slaughter

Finish Stage 6 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must beat the sixth stage, Tragedy of Slaughter.

Shortly after the beginning of the stage, you will find the stages upgrade item, a Gauntlet. Zengatsu can reach it if you have Soul Arts and no allies.

The boss of this stage is an early backer revealed boss, Bloodless. She summons umbrellas for you to use as platforms. She floats at the top and will snicker, wait a few seconds, and then drop an attack that falls to the floor and makes blood spikes along the entire floor. She will snicker again, wait a few seconds, then make it rain blood where you have to hide under the umbrella’s to avoid damage.

Her desperation move turns her into a tornado of blood that flows from left to right twice, avoided by moving to the very edge of the screen, then on the third pass her head appears inside the tornado which can be attacked creating an opening for you to jump through and avoid the damage.
Defiler of Taboos

Finish Stage 7 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must beat the seventh stage, Defiler of Taboos.

Partway through the stage you’ll find the Armor upgrade. Zengatsu can reach this with Soul Arts if you don't have allies.

The boss this round is a chimera-like creature named Bathin. It surrounds the entire stage in thorns, creates blocks that you can stand on to attack him before targeting them with red reticles and destroying them. Stand on the blue blocks when they appear, avoid the ones with the red reticles.

The desperation move is the same block reticle attack, only this time there is a block in the center. It will then spawn four of itself to attack the center in a suicide attack. It doesn’t do much damage if you happen to get hit in the end.
Cleave the Moon

Finish Stage 8 for the first time.
Story related and cannot be missed.

You must conquer the eighth stage, Cleave the Moon. The boss name is Gremory the Archdemon, and comes in two forms.

The first form attacks by surrounding itself with orbs and launching a trail of that purple barricade destroying "Bat Swarm" that hounded you the entire stage. She will advertise in a sense where the Bat Swarm will go if you follow her hand movements and learn the patterns.

Upon beating the first form, Gremory’s true form will await you at the top of the tower, surrounded by two pits so be careful not to fall in.

Gremory's attacks are advertised and follow a set pattern, more or less. The moon in her crown forewarns her attack. She starts off with either a Crescent or Waxing Gibbous Moon (the just over half moon, pictured). The Crescent Moon will send yellow Crescent Moon blades at you that can be destroyed. Standing in the center is the best way to avoid them, on Normal. In Ultimate they will hit you if you stay there.

The Waxing Gibbous Moon will send purple Crescent Moon Blades at you that attack in waves. Move to the left to avoid the first, destroy them, then go right, destroy, left, destroy and right, destroy. Both Crescent Moon Blades will drop Weapon potions.

The Full Moon attack will send these pitchfork like beasts at you, with eyes that once destroyed make platforms so you can reach its head. Crouch in the middle to avoid the first attack, destroy an eye and jump to the platform, destroy the next to the next platform and then use a long range weapon to attack her head. The third eye that can be destroyed leaves a Weapon Potion but can be ignored in most cases. Attack a few times and she will soon follow with a side to side flame attack. Keep attacking her until it gets close to you then jump over the flame to the other side and wait for her next attack.

About half way through, she will add one more attack that follows up the Full Moon, the New Moon. A bunch of energy beams are fired at you from both sides, with a temporary safe zone in the center. You will have to jump when the rays swipe upwards momentarily after about a 3 count. Once the beams stop, quickly move to the very edge of the platform to avoid the big crushing finale when she drops a giant "moon" in the center.

Normally, Gremory has no desperation move. Once the second form is defeated, that’s the end of the game. However, if you play as Zangetsu alone, Gremory must be defeated a different way. Hold until Zangetsu is fully charged and then release to finish her off.

Beating this stage (with all allies) for the first time will unlock the Nightmare mode.
Beating this stage (sacrificing all allies) for the first time will unlock the Ultimate mode.