Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon/Gameplay

Characters

Zangetsu

Zangetsu is the main character of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. His basic attack is a slash with his sword Zangetsuto, which deals 4 damage per hit. The sword has short range but attacks quickly. He has the most health out of any character. He has three available subweapons, and if the player chooses to kill the other characters, he can gain additional abilities.

Subweapons

• Ball-and-chain - The ball-and-chain extends at a 45 degree angle upwards, striking once for 7 damage. It consumes 3 units of magic per use.
• Magic Charm - The magic charm flies downward at a 45 degree angle until it hits the ground, where it creates a small portal that deals multiple hits of damage. The charm itself deals 2 damage, and the portal does 4 damage for each hit. It consumes 3 units of magic per use.
• Demon Essence - The demon essence temporarily surrounds Zangetsu with a purple flame. While the flame surrounds him, he deals one extra damage on every basic attack. If the player switches characters while the flame is active, the ability will carry over to that character. It consumes 4 units of magic per use.

Abilities

• Crescent Moon - If the player chooses to kill Miriam instead of allying with her, Zangetsu will gain the crescent moon ability, an enhanced aerial attack. This move replaces the regular jumping sword strike with a curved slash that covers more area.
• Blood Moon - If the player chooses to kill Alfred instead of allying with him, Zangetsu will gain the blood moon ability, a double jump. This allows him to jump in mid-air, and the trajectories of the two jumps can be different. This allows him to reach areas previously only accessible by Miriam.
• New Moon - If the player chooses to kill Gebel instead of allying with him, Zangetsu will gain the new moon ability, a dash. This allows Zangetsu to move quickly forward and perform longer horizontal jumps. It can be activated by double tapping left or right or by pressing its dedicated button.
• Charge Slash - This move is exclusive to Ultimate mode, and is unlocked right from the start. It allows Zangetsu to charge an extra-powerful slash by holding down the attack button for at least two seconds. The slash deals 12 damage and covers a huge area in front of Zangetsu.

Miriam

Miriam is the first ally to join your party, appearing after the first stage. She has a long range whip that deals 4 damage per hit. She also boasts the highest jump of any character, a large amount of health, and the ability to slide, allowing her to get to unique areas. She is feasibly the most useful character in the game. She has four available subweapons.

Subweapons

• Dagger - The dagger shoots straight forward until it hits an enemy, dealing 2 points of damage. It can be used multiple times in quick succession. It consumes 1 unit of magic per use.
• Rapier - Three knives are thrown at slightly different angles upward. The game likes to put enemies above you at an angle, so this weapon can be very useful. Furthermore, each dagger does separate damage - 3 damage for the first hit and 2 for each consecutive hit - so if all three hit a target, it will deal a significant 7 points of damage. This makes it powerful against large targets like bosses. It consumes 3 units of magic per use.
• Axe - Miriam holds a giant axe above her for a moment before swinging it down. It's slow but does a whopping 25 damage. If used in the air, she will swing the axe down as she descends. It consumes 6 units of magic per use.
• Sickle - Miriam throws a spinning sickle, which travels forward before stopping and coming back the way it came. If it hits Miriam, she will catch it, otherwise it will continue traveling backwards until it goes offscreen. It deals 3 damage each time it hits an enemy and it consumes 3 units of magic per use.

Alfred

Alfred is the second ally to join your party, appearing after the second stage. His basic attack uses a short, slow rod that only deals 3 damage per hit, and he has the lowest amount of health of any character. His true power lies in his subweapons, which are powerful and useful spells, affording him significant utility.

Subweapons

• Burning Sphere - Alfred temporarily surrounds himself with a ring of fire that acts as a shield. On contact, it destroys most projectiles and small flying enemies. If the character is switched, the shield carries over to the next character. It deals 1 damage per hit and can hit up to 22 times. It consumes 5 units of magic.
• Frostcalibur - Alfred fires a huge and slow moving ice projectile. This projectile deals no damage, but it freezes enemies in place, and frozen enemies will die in one hit from any other attack. It can also freeze projectiles and lanterns. It can freeze bosses as well - they don't die in one hit after being frozen, but the attack that breaks them out will deal double damage. Frozen enemies can be used as platforms. Frostcalibur consumes 4 units of magic per use.
• Soul Vision - Alfred creates a green clone that follows shortly in front of him. The clone takes no damage, but will attack if the original attacks, effectively increasing his range. If you switch characters, the clone will fade away. This one is not particularly useful and should be avoided. It consumes 3 points of magic per use.
• Voltaic Ray - Alfred fires an electric sphere that homes in on enemies. It lasts 5 seconds and usually hits the enemy multiple times, dealing 3 damage for each hit. Up to three spheres can be on screen at once. This can be very useful against bosses and tricky enemies, but the subweapon itself is quite rare, only found within glowing green lanterns. Each sphere costs 4 weapon energy to cast.

Gebel

Gebel is the final ally to join your party, appearing after the third stage. His basic attack, Summon Darkness, is a unique short-range projectile that sends three bats up at upward angles. The bats deal damage separately, three damage for the first bat and 1 extra for each consecutive hit. This means at very close ranges, he can deal 5 damage per attack, which is more than any other basic attack. The upward angle of the attack is very useful, as many stages in the game feature enemies that are positioned above you. However, Gebel can not use subweapons. He has one permanent ability, Immortal Metamorphosis. If Gebel destroys a blue lantern, a large magic pot will always fall out.

Immortal Metamorphosis

This ability allows Gebel to transform into a bat and fly freely around the stage. This is a powerful ability that allows him to get through tight spaces and avoid enemies and platforming challenges altogether. It drains magic quickly, though, at a rate of 2 points per second. If you run out of magic, he will immediately transform back. The player can end the transformation early by pressing the jump button. If the player takes damage as the bat, the transformation will end.

• Siphon Blood - Press the attack button while in bat form to use this dashing attack. It deals 5 damage on contact and consumes 2 magic points per use. It is not too useful on enemies, as it is not very efficient, but it can be used to destroy midair lanterns.
• Quick Ascend - Pressing up and the attack button as the bat will shoot you straight up, costing 2 magic points.