Much like other Castlevania games, you can keep on playing with harder difficulties after the credits roll. Once 'The End' appears on the screen, press the A button to play through the game again with damage from creatures increased twofold. This will continue to increase with each subsequent loop through the four stages. - Stage 5 to 8: Enemy damage x2 - Stage 9 to 12: Enemy damage x4 - Stage 13 to 16: Enemy damage x8 - Stage 17 to 20: Enemy damage x16 (Instant Death) Clearing Stage 20 will not increase the difficulty any further. However, your score and the Stage number will still increase.