This guide contains potential spoilers: Some Screenshots show the game after some gameplay progress or reveal puzzle solutions.

Movement:
Arrow Keys left/right ˂ ˃

Stairs:
Arrow Keys up/down ˄ ˅

Jump: "A"
Jump forward: arrow keys + "A" [press arrow key before you press "A"]

Attack: "S"

Use item: "UP + S"

Open Menu: "1"
In menu:
"Z" = yes
"X" = no/cancel

Pause: "ENTER"

To close the game (in main menu)
- press "ALT+F4" if you're in fullscreen or
- click the "X" if you're in window mode.

To open the items menu press "ENTER"
Select items with the arrow keys ˂ ˃ ˄ ˅
To confirm your choices press "ENTER"

To pause the game press "TAB" (only in Castlevania 2)

To switch between characters press "TAB"

Changes in Castlevania 4:

Jump: "Z"

Attack: "A"
- Arrow keys + "A" to attack in different directions
- Let whip go limp: Hold "A" (then press arrow keys to move the whip)

Use item: "W"

Crouch: DOWN (arrow key) + LEFT or RIGHT (arrow keys)

Stairs are "sometimes" automatic now. Otherwise UP/DOWN (arrow keys)
- Crouch to walk past stairs.
- Drop down from stairs: DOWN (arrow key) + "Z"

Open doors: UP (arrow key)

Hooks:
- Lash at a hook and hold "A", then use arrow keys to swing
- length: UP/DOWN
- swing: LEFT/RIGHT


To make the game feel more like Castlevania 1 - 3 (you probably got used to the controls A=jump and S=attack now) you can change the controls in the main menu. Change the settings like shown in the screenshot:


JUMP Y BUTTON
WHIP X BUTTON
ITEM A BUTTON
[You have to start a new game to make the changes work]

This will change the controls to the following:
Jump = "A"
Attack = "S"
Use item = "X"

DOWN (arrow key) + "A" to qickly slide down a rope

"S" to fire the whip left or right while hanging on a rope (need fire whip)

In this game, the "jump" and "attack" buttons are swapped, compared to the first three games. If you got used to the controls being A=jump and S=attack, you can change the controls in the options menu:

Select CONTROL using the arrow keys UP and DOWN, then change the settings like shown in the screenshot, using the arrow keys LEFT and RIGHT:


A = JUMP
B = ATTACK
C = ITEM
[You have to start a new game to make the changes work]

This will change the keyboard controls to the following:
Jump = "A"
Attack = "S"
Use item = "X"

The two characters both have individual special skills:

John Morris:
- To swing at the ceiling (no hooks needed) hold UP then press JUMP and ATTACK.

Eric Lecarde:
- For a high jump hold DOWN + press JUMP

The screenshots show the stages, in which the special skills are first needed to progress through the level:

Eric Lecarde can also attack upward diagonal: hold UP + RIGHT then press ATTACK:

Jump: "A"
(Hold "A" to jump higher)

Attack: "S"
Charge Attack: Hold "S"

Change Skill: "TAB"

The screenshot shows the stage, in which changing skills is first needed to progress through the level:

For Players in Austria and Germany:
In the German keyboard layout (QWERTZ) -> "Y/Z" are switched, so press "Y" instead for the "Z" = yes option.