Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Bloody Tears (Kenichi Matsubara)

This sparked a core memory and I'm going to ask here for help. A game like this, same era (maybe SNES). The beginning of the game was desert or jungle. Sorry, I was like 5. I only remember it being impossible for me at the time and I never progressed. You had a whip or chain I think and it wasn't Castlevania, I don't think.