Strategy Booklet

WARNING: READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USING YOUR IGAVANIA SYSTEM AND

BLOODSTAINED RITUAL OF THE NIGHT™ VIDEO GAME
A small number of fanged individuals have a condition where they may experience pain
and smouldering in the presence of sunlight. Continued exposure may lead to permanent Contents
damage and death, even to those who have no previous history of sun exposure. If you
experience any of the following symptoms—thirst for blood, shapeshifting, pyrokinesis,
castle ownership—you may be at risk and should consult your physician before going into
the morning sun, lest ye be vanquished like the horrible night.
HANDLING YOUR BLOODSTAINED: RITUAL OF THE NIGHT™ GAME
• Do not bite, lick, or eat your game
• Do not submerge your game in any kind of blood
• Do not challenge your game to a duel
• Do not attempt to use your game in an Alchemical ritual, as it will unleash the
dark magic inside Section Page
CRT TELEVISION WARNING Game Controls......................................... 3
For those with Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) televisions, your screen may experience permanent Characters................................................ 5
damage when exposed to a stationary image for extended periods of time. Please consult Story.......................................................... 9
the user manual or contact the manufacturer for your television before connecting your
Igavania System.
Game Screen............................................11
Pause Screen............................................12
Weapons....................................................13
Equipment & Shards..............................15
Alchemy & Cooking............................... 16
Tips & Secrets..........................................17
Map........................................................... 19
Notes.........................................................21

The Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Retro Strategy Booklet

was designed, published, and distributed by Fangamer LLC:
Layout & Asset Editing: Yesica Furrow 2
Copyrighting & Editing: Adil Mohyuddin
Production Management: Christopher Warriner
 Game Controls Nintendo Switch
ZL Button ZR Button
PlayStation 4 L Button R Button
- Button + Button
L2 Button Touch Pad/ R2 Button Left Stick A/B/X/Y Buttons
Touch Pad Button
L1 Button R1 Button Directional
Buttons Right Stick
OPTIONS Button
Capture Button Home Button
Button
Directional Buttons Button
Button
Left Stick/L3 Button Button Console/ Nintendo Keyboard &
PlayStation 4 Xbox One Switch Mouse
Game Action

Attack Right Click

Left Stick/L3 Button
Jump Space

Q
Xbox One Backstep

Conjure Shard F
Left Trigger Right Trigger
Directional Middle Click
Left Bumper Right Bumper Shard
View Button Manipulative
Y Button E
Shard
Left Stick B Button
Pause Menu R
A Button
Directional Pad X Button
(D-Pad)
View map T
Right Stick
Shortcut Menu Tab
Menu Button

3 4
Characters
Miriam
Age: Lived for 18 years,
then frozen in time for 10
One of two remaining Shardbinders,
Miriam was fortunate enough
to be spared from the
Alchemists’ ritual, but
at the cost of falling
into a deep sleep.
Ten years after the calam-
ity she’s awakened, just
as Gebel has summoned
a monstrous castle. He has
been like a brother to her,
so she is determined to know
why he is causing such destruction.
Not only does she wield immense
magical power, Miriam is also adept
at a variety of weapons. Her shards are
slowly consuming her body and will
eventually destroy her.
5
Dominique
Age: 25
An exorcist from the Church who sees great strength
in Miriam and her Shardbinder abilities. Dominique
knows that Miriam is the only person capable of
stopping Gebel, but has also asked for Zangetsu’s
help in defending against this demonic attack.
She awaits Johannes and Miriam’s arrival in
Arvantville.
Johannes
Age: 33
An Alchemist who separated
from the Guild and now assists
the church. He has learned
much about Shards in the
last ten years, enabling
him to halt Miriam’s
corruption, at least
temporarily. Now, he
takes to the seas with
Miriam to assist her in
any way he can.
 Alfred
Age: 57
Ten years ago, Alfred performed
dark Alchemy and forced open
the gates of Hell. Now Gebel
wields this power and
Alfred desires nothing
more than to reobtain
what he once had. He
enters the castle to
seek out Gebel and
will not let anyone
stop him.
Zangetsu
Age: 35
A Nipponese man who wields a katana
capable of rending the moon itself.
He fought against the demons
ten years ago but lost nearly
everything in doing so, includ-
ing his arm and eye. Refusing to
let demons infest the land again, he
enters the castle to stop any Shardbinder in
his way. Zangetsu’s courage is solid, but he
may be a snake in the grass.
Gebel
Age: 30
The only other remain-
ing Shardbinder. Gebel
murdered the Alchemists
after the calamity for
their human experiments
and black magic. He now
inexplicably seeks to use
that same dark power
to reopen Hell’s passage
into England. Atop the
throne of his demonic
castle with the mysteri-
ous demon Gremory, he
awaits those who would
intend to obstruct his
plans.

7 8
 Story
The Industrial Revolution descended upon England like a
cloud of steam, transforming the countryside as it dissipated.
Alchemy, once the pinnacle of power, began to lose its grip as
humanity embraced the secular.

The Alchemist’s Guild, desperate to wrest control away from

the factories and coal-hardened steel, turned to the dark arts
for survival. Crystals of demonic power were bound to human
subjects, creating Shardbinders. By sacrificing these subjects,
the Alchemists opened the gates of Hell.

Demons scourged the land and took countless lives. In time,

the Church was able to put a stop to the calamity, though it
was not without grievous losses.

It is now 1793—ten years after England was nearly destroyed by

the fires of Hell. Miriam, one of the last two Shardbinders, has
woken from her decade of slumber. She is drawn to a demonic
castle where Gebel, another Shardbinder, has taken the
throne. He intends to perform the same ritual from a decade
prior, but Miriam is determined to stop him.

Gebel’s castle beckons her...

And no one can say who shall emerge victorious.

9 10
 Game Screen Pause Screen

3 2 1
7
1
4
3
2
4
5
6
7

6 5 8

1 Miriam, the player character. 1 ATK: Total attack power from your weapon combined with STR.
2 Life Meter (HP): The game will end if the Life Meter reaches zero. 2 DEF: Total defensive power from your armor combined with CON.
A warning noise will play when it’s dangerously low. Time to 3 STR: Raw power for physical attacks.
heal up! 4 CON: Base defense stat. Also affects duration of status effects.
3 Magic Meter (MP): This will decrease as you use your Shards and (e.g. poison)
Techniques. It will slowly recover over time. You can refill the meter 5 INT: Affects the strength of your shards.
by collecting mana roses found inside candles.
6 MND: Determines magical defense.
Note: 7 LCK: Affects item drops, chance of absorbing shards,
If your MP is full, candles will drop money instead. Ka-ching! and critical hits.
8 Elemental Resistances.
4 Damage Dealt 6 Item Collected
5 Enemy Name 7 Minimap

11 12
 Weapons
There are a variety of weapon types available, such as swords,
daggers, boots, and whips. Try all of them out to see what works
best for you. Sometimes a weaker weapon will prove more useful
than one with higher attack power.
Don’t be stingy with your ammo! Firearms can be very useful in
certain situations, especially since they can strike foes from afar.
Technique Weapon Controls
Weapons Contd.
You can use special weapon techniques with the right button
combination. Scour the castle’s bookshelves to learn about the
inputs needed for each technique. Weapon skills can be used even
if you haven’t read its book as long as you have enough MP.
Some techniques will only be available on certain weapons at
first. Once you master a technique, you’ll be able to use it with any
weapon of that type.
Technique Weapon Controls

Assassinate Daggers Jinrai Katanas

Surprise Gift Daggers Helmsplitter Katanas

Power Slash Swords Crimson Blizzard Katanas

Force Blast Swords Crescent Stroke Katanas

Parry Swords Eleventh Hour Katanas

Sickle Moon G Swords Sansetsuzan Katanas

Trucidating Gyre G Swords Orbital Wheel Spears

Thousand Blossoms Rapiers Penetrate Spears

Lasting Wound Rapiers Critical Swing Whips

Flashing Air Kick Shoes Back Steal* Bandit Blade

Hatchet Heel Shoes Lunging Serpent* Sanjiegun

Rapid Fire Firearms Brynhild’s Blessing* Ω Valkyrie Sword

13 *Can only be used with

specified weapon
14 Ω Unlocked after all other
techniques are mastered
 Equipment & Shards Alchemy & Cooking
You will find all kinds of items, materials, and equipment as you Alchemy is the art of transmuting matter into new substances of
venture through Gebel’s castle. Different areas will contain different greater value. Even if it was used for great evil in the past, it still
enemies and hazards, so dress for the occasion. has value in the right hands.

Johannes has studied Alchemical techniques for many years and

Headgear and accessories will
will help Miriam create useful items from materials she collects.
appear on Miriam, so you can
They can be transmuted into items, weapons, or even rarer
customize her appearance.
materials.
Though it would be especially
wonderful if there was a stylist Miriam can also cook in
or barber around to give her a Johannes’ Alchemy lab, provided
complete makeover... she has the ingredients. Eating
food items for the first time will
permanently increase your
stats. Make sure to prepare
If you find yourself fond of a meals often!
specific shard, make sure you
power it up! Collecting more of There are formulas and recipes in Gebel’s castle that will allow
the same shard will level up its Johannes to create new items and meals. A true Alchemist is
Grade to do more raw damage. always learning!
You can also use Alchemy to
increase its Rank, which will
Dominique Johannes
give it added effects.
Don’t be afraid The only
to use your difference
Yellow Shards will become permanent when they reach Rank 9. consumable items. between Alchemy
You can still equip them to increase their effect even more. You can always and cooking is
buy more from whether you can
my shop! eat the results!
15 16
 Tips & Secrets Tips & Secrets Contd.
Jump & Backdash Canceling Performing the Flashing Air Kick technique with
shoes equipped will let you move horizontally in the
If you do a jumping attack, you can quickly attack again upon
air. Un, deux, trois!
landing. Similarly, you can interrupt an attack with a backdash, then
quickly attack again. Use these in unison to strike your enemies Remember your equipment shortcuts!
faster than normal! Suggestions include Shards for traversing
Normally, there is a slight delay between performing backdashes. the castle, a gunslinger setup, and one for
You can cancel a backdash by crouching, then quickly backdashing maximizing defense when searching for
again. Repeating the pattern of backdash, crouch, backdash, a save room.
crouch… will let you move around faster.
Defeating a boss without getting
Combine these two skills into a jumping attack, landing attack, hit will give you a special medal.
backdash, crouch cancel, attack, backdash, and one more attack to Collecting these won’t do
maximize your damage. anything—they’re just for
personal accomplishment.
Divekick Movement
Once you gain the ability to divekick (hold down and press the jump O.D. does not hate humans
button while in the air), you can traverse the castle faster. First, and will do them no harm,
do a quick double jump, then perform a diagonal divekick in the for he believes theirs is
direction you want to go. already a hard lot. He
also strongly dislikes
Quickly repeat this move over and over, making sure to not be too garlic, especially
high off the ground. Getting the rhythm down will take practice, but when humans eat it.
you’ll be ready for speedruns in no time. Still, he is quite the
enigma. Perhaps he
You can also divekick enemies and bounce off of them. Use this to is hiding something?
ascend higher and reach areas you couldn’t before. You might even
be able to get to places you aren’t supposed to go to yet!
17
 Map Key

Starting Point Point of Interest

Save Rooms Blood Fountain

Map
Warp Rooms Boss Fight

Hairstylist Moon

19 20
Notes

21 22
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night © 2019 Published by 505 Games, S.p.A. Developed by ArtPlay, Inc. “505 Games”,
“ArtPlay, Inc.” logos are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of 505 Games S.p.A. and ArtPlay, Inc.
All rights reserved.