Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon Tips - Characters, Styles, and Shortcuts

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is the 2018 retro action game developed and published by Inti Creates, built around stage-based platforming, traps, bosses, and a party of switchable characters. It is not Ritual of the Night, and it is not Curse of the Moon 2; this guide is for the original 8-bit-style game starring Zangetsu, Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel.

Content note: the game carries Blood and Fantasy Violence descriptors. The advice below stays focused on movement, routing, character management, and boss preparation.

Essential Tips

1. Treat Your Party as Your Real Health Bar

When a character falls, the run does not have to end if another ally is still available. That makes party preservation more important than squeezing out one extra hit with your favorite fighter. If someone is low and the room ahead looks dangerous, switch before a mistake removes that character from the current push.

This matters most with movement specialists. Losing a character who can reach a shortcut can force you through a longer and tougher route. You are not only protecting health; you are protecting route options.

2. Start With Casual if Knockback Frustrates You

Curse of the Moon has two play styles: Casual and Veteran. Veteran is closer to old-school action platformers, with lives and damage knockback. Casual removes knockback and gives unlimited lives, which makes it a better first choice if pits, enemy bumps, or repeated boss attempts are blocking your learning.

Changing style is available at natural restart points, so do not treat the first choice as a permanent statement of skill. Learn enemy spacing and stage layouts in Casual, then move to Veteran when you want the stricter feel.

3. Switch Before the Problem, Not After It

Character switching is instant, so use it proactively. Zangetsu is dependable in close-range fights, Miriam is safer when reach and jumping matter, Alfred is fragile but valuable when magic is the right answer, and Gebel is excellent when flight or upward coverage solves the room.

Do not wait until the wrong character is already cornered. If you see high platforms, tight spaces, airborne enemies, or a suspicious route split, pause mentally and choose the character who best fits the next obstacle.

4. Spend Weapon Points With a Purpose

Sub-weapons and special abilities are powered by weapon points, and pickups come from stage objects and enemies. That makes careless spending expensive. Use sub-weapons to solve a real problem: a hard-to-reach enemy, a boss opening, a dangerous formation, or a shortcut that saves more health than it costs.

Gebel is the clearest example. His flight is powerful for travel and shortcuts, but it still spends weapon points. If you burn the meter casually, you may arrive at the room where flight matters with nothing left.

5. Respect Alfred’s Fragility

Alfred can be extremely useful, especially when magic is positioned well, but his life bar and basic attack make him risky in messy rooms. Bring him out when you have a plan, not when you are improvising under pressure.

If you want to use magic against a boss, protect Alfred on the way there. A strong tool does nothing if its user is already out of commission.

6. Take Shortcuts When Your Party Supports Them

The game is built so allies can open shortcuts, skip parts of stages, and reach new areas. The official guidance is unusually direct: there are no special items obtainable by taking the long way instead. When a shortcut is available and you can travel it cleanly, it is usually there to help.

The catch is that shortcuts depend on having the right ally alive and enough control to use their movement. If the shortcut character is nearly defeated, switch them out before the route demands them.

7. Let Bosses Teach You Before You Commit

Bosses sit at the end of stages, and the safest first goal is observation. Learn where you can stand, what range your current character has, whether a sub-weapon reaches safely, and how much room you need to recover after jumping or attacking.

Patience matters more than aggression once patterns get busier. You do not need exact route knowledge to improve; you need to stop trading a character’s life for a hit that was never safe.

8. Keep Ending Choices Separate From First-Clear Goals

Recruitment and route choices can affect difficulty and endings, but a first clear is easier when you focus on surviving, learning characters, and understanding stages. Avoid trying to force a specific outcome while you are still learning basic room flow.

Once the credits roll, make a separate run for alternate choices, unlocks, or completion goals. That keeps the first playthrough from becoming a checklist.

Choose the Right Style

Style	Best For	What to Expect
Casual	First clears, learning stages, reducing knockback frustration	Unlimited lives and no damage knockback
Veteran	Classic action-platformer tension	Lives, knockback, and harsher recovery from mistakes

Casual is not a throwaway mode. It lets you learn how characters move, how traps are placed, and when enemies are most dangerous without letting one knockback mistake dominate the whole session. Veteran is best when you specifically want the sharper old-school rhythm.

If you are switching from Casual to Veteran, slow down immediately. The same enemy hit that felt minor before can now reposition you into a pit, another enemy, or a failed jump. Veteran rewards earlier jumps, cleaner spacing, and fewer greedy attacks.

Use Each Character for a Job

Character	Best Use	Handle With Care
Zangetsu	Reliable close-range combat and general room clearing	His sword is quick but short
Miriam	Safer reach, higher jumps, tight spaces, and whip spacing	Her attack is slower than Zangetsu’s
Alfred	Magic solutions and planned boss pressure	He is fragile and weak up close
Gebel	Flight, shortcuts, upward attacks, and item access	His flight spends weapon points

Zangetsu is the stable baseline. If you are unsure what is ahead, he is a reasonable default because his health and quick slash are easy to understand. Miriam is often safer when you can hit from outside enemy range or need more vertical control. Alfred is a specialist, and specialists should enter rooms with a purpose. Gebel changes how you think about space; use him to bypass awkward platforming, reach items, and attack enemies above you.

The strongest play is not picking one main character. It is recognizing when the room is asking for a different tool.

Shortcuts and Route Choices

Shortcuts are part of the game’s character system, not a separate secret-hunting layer. When an ally’s ability opens a path, taking it can avoid tougher sections and preserve health. The long way may still be necessary if the right ally is unavailable, but it is not automatically more rewarding.

Before committing to a branch, check three things:

1. Who needs to be alive - If a route depends on a movement option, protect that character before you reach the branch.
2. How much weapon energy you have - If the route uses a special ability, make sure you can finish the movement, not just start it.
3. What the room is punishing - Some areas punish rushing, some punish low reach, and some punish weak air control.

When a stage goes badly, do not treat it as a failed run immediately. Ask whether the problem was route choice, character choice, or weapon-point spending. Fixing the right one is how the game starts to feel manageable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not leave a low-health shortcut character active - Switch them out before the stage asks for their movement.

2. Do not spend weapon points on harmless enemies - Save special tools for threats, shortcuts, and boss openings.

3. Do not force Alfred through crowded rooms - Bring him out when magic has a clear purpose.

4. Do not ignore Miriam’s reach - Use her whip to handle enemies that punish short-range attacks.

5. Do not fly with Gebel just because you can - Keep enough weapon points for the route that actually needs flight.

6. Do not play Veteran like Casual - Account for knockback before standing near pits, edges, or enemy chains.

7. Do not chase endings on your first learning run - Build a clean clear first, then return for alternate choices.

8. Do not keep attacking a boss after the safe window closes - Back off, reset spacing, and preserve the party.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
First Playthrough	Use Casual if knockback is stopping you from learning
Veteran Style	Give every enemy hit more space because knockback changes risk
Party Management	Switch before a character falls, especially movement specialists
Zangetsu	Use him as the reliable close-range baseline
Miriam	Use whip reach, higher jumps, and slides to control awkward rooms
Alfred	Save him for planned magic use and protect him between fights
Gebel	Treat flight as a route tool that costs weapon points
Shortcuts	Take ally routes when available; the long way is not automatically better
Bosses	Observe first, attack second, and avoid trading characters for unsafe hits