É um jogo estupidamente velho, e ainda assim de algum jeito ainda é bom até hoje. Não sou saudosista de jogos antigos não, esse é inclusive o único jogo do NES que eu joguei e sei lá eu acho ele bom até hoje, envelheceu bem.
I still don't know what they were cooking with the western version changes like "yeah dude let's add randomly spawning enemies to precise platforming sections and increase the amount of damage you take and gimp character abilities and overall just make it play worse". This is the definitive version, no ifs or buts - it just sounds and plays better.
When I first played this version, I was so burnt out by the American one that I just used save-states, so I couldn’t notice any of the difficulty changes. On replay, I beat this game legit and GODDAMN is it better.
The American Castlevania 3 was so hard that it became a slog to play, while this game is a lot more fair. It’s still the hardest of the trilogy, but it’s never really hard (except stage 9). It’s an absolute delight to go through. The final boss is a bit too easy though.
Man, I hate localisation changes.
The American Castlevania 3 was so hard that it became a slog to play, while this game is a lot more fair. It’s still the hardest of the trilogy, but it’s never really hard (except stage 9). It’s an absolute delight to go through. The final boss is a bit too easy though.
Man, I hate localisation changes.
So I instead decided to play the Japanese version of Castlevania 3 instead of the original for this marathon and yeah man this ost is fucking baller. Definitely recommend playing this version for that alone, but it also just balances the difficulty to that it's not as frustrating as the North American release. The partner system is the main gimmick of this game and it's great, I love the characters we have (except Alucard) on display here, Grant is a great projectile based fighter, and Sypha nukes enemies with magic, and Alucard is... well he doesn't do much until Symphony of the Night. Just give him a few years to get his beauty sleep and he'll be peak.
(My review seems like it got duplicated for some reason, no idea what happened...)
Castlevania 3 and this version of it feels like a modern game when you don't play on normal, you have the boring easy mode and the frustrating hard mode squeezed into the game for the sake of existing and with very little effort. I expected this to be a more balanced version of Castle 3, but they made this way too easy, your whip is faster and you take less damage, some enemies seem to have less HP too I guess, anything else is a small change or something I didn't notice.
I just quickly breezed through the game feeling like a TAS, which isn't exactly what these games are about, I didn't plan any of my attacks like you do in other games, I just saw an enemy, killed it, and moved on, sometimes I just damage boost myself because it didn't matter, the whip being faster and your defense being higher just made this game too easy, I died very few times and only one of them wasn't from pits, I was so used to killing everything with ease that I didn't put much effort into a few of my jumps. Would've been better if either the whip was faster or if you took less damage, but not both at once, or maybe it's just impossible to make this game good. I just quit out of boredom, at least the original made me put some effort into the game to progress, rather than:
walking forward
attacking
walking forward
spam attack at a boss with even more ease than the original
yawn
a million stairs
yawn
repeat
Castlevania 3 and this version of it feels like a modern game when you don't play on normal, you have the boring easy mode and the frustrating hard mode squeezed into the game for the sake of existing and with very little effort. I expected this to be a more balanced version of Castle 3, but they made this way too easy, your whip is faster and you take less damage, some enemies seem to have less HP too I guess, anything else is a small change or something I didn't notice.
I just quickly breezed through the game feeling like a TAS, which isn't exactly what these games are about, I didn't plan any of my attacks like you do in other games, I just saw an enemy, killed it, and moved on, sometimes I just damage boost myself because it didn't matter, the whip being faster and your defense being higher just made this game too easy, I died very few times and only one of them wasn't from pits, I was so used to killing everything with ease that I didn't put much effort into a few of my jumps. Would've been better if either the whip was faster or if you took less damage, but not both at once, or maybe it's just impossible to make this game good. I just quit out of boredom, at least the original made me put some effort into the game to progress, rather than:
walking forward
attacking
walking forward
spam attack at a boss with even more ease than the original
yawn
a million stairs
yawn
repeat
Massive improvement from the first Castlevania: better controls, the game runs better, incredible soundtrack, difficult but fair and the addition of new playable characters is genius.
In terms of visuals and performance, it's really impressive for the FAMICOM considering how bad the first game runs most of the time.
All-in-all, great game.
In terms of visuals and performance, it's really impressive for the FAMICOM considering how bad the first game runs most of the time.
All-in-all, great game.
idk if i hate classicvania or not
Legend of Demon Castle is at its heart a memorization game, and at times it can feel cheap due to the game often expecting you to plan your moves beforehand over reaction to whatever it throws at you throughout its levels, and to that extent I think it pulls it off masterfully.
This is definitely one of the best NES games, and I was honestly taken aback with how many modern design elements were implemented in it. The game has amazing replayability in multiple routes and different recruitable partner characters who are all pretty competent at their respective roles (usually covering Trevor/Ralph's shortcomings in mobility or attack range, while letting him be the main damage dealer).
The level design is often pretty good (if you keep in mind what the game is going for), and the password system works wonders into making Densetsu a very easily accessible and digestible experience even to this day.
Overall, a MUST play if you're into NES games, no questions asked. This game is a masterpiece.
This is definitely one of the best NES games, and I was honestly taken aback with how many modern design elements were implemented in it. The game has amazing replayability in multiple routes and different recruitable partner characters who are all pretty competent at their respective roles (usually covering Trevor/Ralph's shortcomings in mobility or attack range, while letting him be the main damage dealer).
The level design is often pretty good (if you keep in mind what the game is going for), and the password system works wonders into making Densetsu a very easily accessible and digestible experience even to this day.
Overall, a MUST play if you're into NES games, no questions asked. This game is a masterpiece.
This one felt very hard and cheap in some stages that it felt unfun. However, it is still a solid entry. Having multiple paths and 4 playable characters are some pretty neat innovations. The music slaps and the sprites are very good looking. A pretty solid game overall!
Castlevania III unlike the second title is not as experimental, in fact, it is almost the same as the first Catlevania game, however, if you analyze it carefully you realize that it is not only the best of the NES trilogy, but it changed the Castlevania franchise forever by improving and defining the type of levels, the type of music and the artistic tone that the games would follow from this one.
This game is the prequel to the first games and tells the story of the time when the Belmont family first confronted Dracula and his dark forces. In general, the gameplay is exactly the same as the first game, as I mentioned before, however, the way in which this game expands the gameplay is by adding new playable characters, which you can recruit depending on which routes you take in the first half of the game, although only 1 will be able to accompany you at a time. Each character has their distinct advantages and disadvantages and it's great to experiment with each of them, as you have Sypha who has powerful magic attacks, but is extremely vulnerable, Alucard who doesn't have a great variety of attacks, but has an enviable mobility, and Grant who stands out for his versatility. If you play alone with Trevor this game can be even more difficult than the first Castlevania, but if you use the characters wisely you can overcome the challenges more easily and it's more fun that way I think. Still, the level design and enemy positioning are nothing to take lightly, so you'll need to have your skills at your best if you want to have a chance of getting to Dracula.
This game has an excellent setting thanks to its dark scenarios, although the graphical leap from the previous games to this one is not remarkable, what can be highlighted is how the art style has more identity and is much more refined, it is difficult to notice for an 8-bit game, but I am not exaggerating, being this game a turning point that would further define the kind of colors and places that a Castlevania game should have, almost all future games in the series include a reference or homage of some kind to this game.
The music is a great point to highlight, because in the NES era it was common for developers to include chips to expand the possibilities of the game, usually they were used to make the games have bigger levels or to have better graphics, Castevania 3 on the other hand uses a chip to improve the music. And god, the music is superb, the best soundtrack of the NES hands down.
Conclusion
Many say that the pinnacle of 2D Castlevania is Rondo of Blood, and while I agree with that, none of that game would have been possible without this one. If Super Mario Bros. 3 didn't exist, this would be my favorite NES game, its music and atmosphere are pervasive and although it's still not for everyone, if you're a fan of the classic Castlevania formula, be sure you'll have a great time with this game.
P.S: don't play the international version of the game, as it unbalances the difficulty making it harder than it should be and the quality of the music is considerably inferior, better play the Japanese version.
This game is the prequel to the first games and tells the story of the time when the Belmont family first confronted Dracula and his dark forces. In general, the gameplay is exactly the same as the first game, as I mentioned before, however, the way in which this game expands the gameplay is by adding new playable characters, which you can recruit depending on which routes you take in the first half of the game, although only 1 will be able to accompany you at a time. Each character has their distinct advantages and disadvantages and it's great to experiment with each of them, as you have Sypha who has powerful magic attacks, but is extremely vulnerable, Alucard who doesn't have a great variety of attacks, but has an enviable mobility, and Grant who stands out for his versatility. If you play alone with Trevor this game can be even more difficult than the first Castlevania, but if you use the characters wisely you can overcome the challenges more easily and it's more fun that way I think. Still, the level design and enemy positioning are nothing to take lightly, so you'll need to have your skills at your best if you want to have a chance of getting to Dracula.
This game has an excellent setting thanks to its dark scenarios, although the graphical leap from the previous games to this one is not remarkable, what can be highlighted is how the art style has more identity and is much more refined, it is difficult to notice for an 8-bit game, but I am not exaggerating, being this game a turning point that would further define the kind of colors and places that a Castlevania game should have, almost all future games in the series include a reference or homage of some kind to this game.
The music is a great point to highlight, because in the NES era it was common for developers to include chips to expand the possibilities of the game, usually they were used to make the games have bigger levels or to have better graphics, Castevania 3 on the other hand uses a chip to improve the music. And god, the music is superb, the best soundtrack of the NES hands down.
Conclusion
Many say that the pinnacle of 2D Castlevania is Rondo of Blood, and while I agree with that, none of that game would have been possible without this one. If Super Mario Bros. 3 didn't exist, this would be my favorite NES game, its music and atmosphere are pervasive and although it's still not for everyone, if you're a fan of the classic Castlevania formula, be sure you'll have a great time with this game.
P.S: don't play the international version of the game, as it unbalances the difficulty making it harder than it should be and the quality of the music is considerably inferior, better play the Japanese version.
This of course being the Japanese version of Castlevania 3. If I had to choose I'd go with this instead of the US one as the music here is astounding, some chips were lost in the region change and the American version doesn't sound anywhere near as good.
The better version of Castlevania 3. I still find the difficulty to be frustrating if no save states are used since this uses an old-school life system and levels are fairly long.
The vertically-scrolling levels where you can die from falling down two pixels are incredibly annoying. It doesn't make sense that you just fall through the stairs, too. A lot of deaths can occur from enemy knockback, too. The difficulty doesn't always feel fair as a result.
The music is good. The branching path system is novel when considering how old this game is.
The vertically-scrolling levels where you can die from falling down two pixels are incredibly annoying. It doesn't make sense that you just fall through the stairs, too. A lot of deaths can occur from enemy knockback, too. The difficulty doesn't always feel fair as a result.
The music is good. The branching path system is novel when considering how old this game is.
I prefer Castlevania 2 to this one which I feel is an incredibly unpopular opinion, but this is definitely an improvement on the first game. This Japanese version specifically has great music but I’m not sure about the lower difficulty as it was still decently hard.
They did well with what they could on this system, I’m excited to see how the series progresses going forward.
They did well with what they could on this system, I’m excited to see how the series progresses going forward.
Adoro la banda sonora de esta versión gracias al chip incluido en el cartucho, aumentando la calidad de la música, sin llegar a la calidad de super nintendo desde luego, pero si logrando un nivel de calidad que para la nes era imposible.
Es una lástima que Grant destroce por completo el juego, pudiendo spamear proyectiles desde una distancia segura, y encima con enemigos que requieren acercarse para golpear su punto débil.
Es una lástima que Grant destroce por completo el juego, pudiendo spamear proyectiles desde una distancia segura, y encima con enemigos que requieren acercarse para golpear su punto débil.
Okay. This one seems to stand out among the games I've played and those who know what I've played may understand why I say that. For those unaware, this is the Japanese version of Castlevania III, and it is the version I played. One may find it strange that I played the Japanese version of this and the NTSC versions of the others, and via the Switch no less. Allow me to explain. The Castlevania Anniversary Collection has the Japanese versions of all of the games (with the exception of Simon's Quest) in addition to the North American releases. As I already stated, I played the Japanese version of Castlevania III. Please permit me to explain why. This is already getting pretty lengthy and I haven't even reviewed the game yet, but please bear with me.
The Famicom version has a chip in it that the NES does not have called the VRC6 chip. What this chip did was allow for better music and in some cases better graphics. One reason I played the Japanese version was so that I could listen to an even better version of the music which was already incredible to begin with. The other reason is that the game is not brutally unfair. What I speak of is the fact that the NTSC version of Castlevania III was intentionally made harder. Konami, and Nintendo sometimes as well, despise the American video game rental system. As a way to retaliate against it and discourage renting the games over buying them, they would unfairly ramp the difficulty.
Now to actually review it. After Simon's Quest, Konami returned to the original style. This time, you play as Trevor Belmont (or Ralph Belmond in my case with it being the Japanese version), a distant ancestor of Simon. In addition to Trevor, there are three other characters the player can play as depending on the path the player takes, 'cos that's a thing I forgot to mention. There are multiple paths you can take. You have Grant with his higher jump and ability to climb walls and ceilings, Sypha Belnades has attack magic, and Alucard can transform into a bat and fly at the cost of hearts. Though the difficulty on the Japanese version is noticeably easier than the NTSC version, it is by no means easy. Castlevania III is the most difficult of the Castlevania games regardless of the localisation one plays. Regardless of the difficulty, I had a lot of fun with the game and place Castlevania III as my 3rd favourite of the classic Castlevania games.
The Famicom version has a chip in it that the NES does not have called the VRC6 chip. What this chip did was allow for better music and in some cases better graphics. One reason I played the Japanese version was so that I could listen to an even better version of the music which was already incredible to begin with. The other reason is that the game is not brutally unfair. What I speak of is the fact that the NTSC version of Castlevania III was intentionally made harder. Konami, and Nintendo sometimes as well, despise the American video game rental system. As a way to retaliate against it and discourage renting the games over buying them, they would unfairly ramp the difficulty.
Now to actually review it. After Simon's Quest, Konami returned to the original style. This time, you play as Trevor Belmont (or Ralph Belmond in my case with it being the Japanese version), a distant ancestor of Simon. In addition to Trevor, there are three other characters the player can play as depending on the path the player takes, 'cos that's a thing I forgot to mention. There are multiple paths you can take. You have Grant with his higher jump and ability to climb walls and ceilings, Sypha Belnades has attack magic, and Alucard can transform into a bat and fly at the cost of hearts. Though the difficulty on the Japanese version is noticeably easier than the NTSC version, it is by no means easy. Castlevania III is the most difficult of the Castlevania games regardless of the localisation one plays. Regardless of the difficulty, I had a lot of fun with the game and place Castlevania III as my 3rd favourite of the classic Castlevania games.
foda pra caralho
Difícil pra caralho. Recomendo a todos!!!!
It's been a few years since I've last played this game.
I would play it again for this review, but... considering how difficult this game can get... yeah, I'm working with my memory for this one, folks.
So, when I played Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse back in 2019, via the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, I specifically remember playing the Japanese version, because it's easier.
There's no bullshit enemy damage outputs in later stages, Grant has a better default weapon and while the HELP ME code doesn't work anymore, the checkpoints in the final stages compensate for it.
In spite of that, Castlevania III (or Akumajou Densetsu, as it's known in Japan) is still a really hard game. So hard that I remember just not having much fun by the end of it, even with the difficulty being easier in the Japanese version.
There are a good amount of things I do like about this game though.
One of which is that you get multiple playable characters that you recruit as you go along. While it's unfortunate that I can only select one partner at a time, all three rock in their own ways.
Grant (in the Japanese version, at least) has a throwing dagger as his default weapon, and that's awesome for taking down threats at a distance! He also can cling onto walls, even upside down! And he has fluid mid-air control, unlike Trevor. I don't understand why they'd limit that to just him, but I digress.
I only played as Grant in my playthrough, but from what I've seen, Sypha and Alucard looked to be fun in their own right, especially since Sypha has a lot of magic at her disposal and Alucard can temporarily fly in his bat form.
There's multiple pathways you can choose after you beat a stage, as you can go to either one stage or another, giving the game more replay value.
And the stages are just very varied in general, with great background and an awesome soundtrack, especially in the Japanese Version, with the VRC6 sound chip that it had, adding more instruments to the mix!
But even with all of that stuff going for it, Castlevania III just became too hard by the end, and in a way that Castlevania I, I don't think ever reached.
Approach with caution.
I would play it again for this review, but... considering how difficult this game can get... yeah, I'm working with my memory for this one, folks.
So, when I played Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse back in 2019, via the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, I specifically remember playing the Japanese version, because it's easier.
There's no bullshit enemy damage outputs in later stages, Grant has a better default weapon and while the HELP ME code doesn't work anymore, the checkpoints in the final stages compensate for it.
In spite of that, Castlevania III (or Akumajou Densetsu, as it's known in Japan) is still a really hard game. So hard that I remember just not having much fun by the end of it, even with the difficulty being easier in the Japanese version.
There are a good amount of things I do like about this game though.
One of which is that you get multiple playable characters that you recruit as you go along. While it's unfortunate that I can only select one partner at a time, all three rock in their own ways.
Grant (in the Japanese version, at least) has a throwing dagger as his default weapon, and that's awesome for taking down threats at a distance! He also can cling onto walls, even upside down! And he has fluid mid-air control, unlike Trevor. I don't understand why they'd limit that to just him, but I digress.
I only played as Grant in my playthrough, but from what I've seen, Sypha and Alucard looked to be fun in their own right, especially since Sypha has a lot of magic at her disposal and Alucard can temporarily fly in his bat form.
There's multiple pathways you can choose after you beat a stage, as you can go to either one stage or another, giving the game more replay value.
And the stages are just very varied in general, with great background and an awesome soundtrack, especially in the Japanese Version, with the VRC6 sound chip that it had, adding more instruments to the mix!
But even with all of that stuff going for it, Castlevania III just became too hard by the end, and in a way that Castlevania I, I don't think ever reached.
Approach with caution.
Melhor jogo de nes
Castlevania 3 and this version of it feels like a modern game when you don't play on normal, you have the boring easy mode and the frustrating hard mode squeezed into the game for the sake of existing and with very little effort. I expected this to be a more balanced version of Castle 3, but they made this way too easy, your whip is faster and you take less damage, some enemies seem to have less HP too I guess, anything else is a small change or something I didn't notice.
I just quickly breezed through the game feeling like a TAS, which isn't exactly what these games are about, I didn't plan any of my attacks like you do in other games, I just saw an enemy, killed it, and moved on, sometimes I just damage boost myself because it didn't matter, the whip being faster and your defense being higher just made this game too easy, I died very few times and only one of them wasn't from pits, I was so used to killing everything with ease that I didn't put much effort into a few of my jumps. Would've been better if either the whip was faster or if you took less damage, but not both at once, or maybe it's just impossible to make this game good. I just quit out of boredom, at least the original made me put some effort into the game to progress, rather than:
walking forward
attacking
walking forward
spam attack at a boss with even more ease than the original
yawn
a million stairs
yawn
repeat
I just quickly breezed through the game feeling like a TAS, which isn't exactly what these games are about, I didn't plan any of my attacks like you do in other games, I just saw an enemy, killed it, and moved on, sometimes I just damage boost myself because it didn't matter, the whip being faster and your defense being higher just made this game too easy, I died very few times and only one of them wasn't from pits, I was so used to killing everything with ease that I didn't put much effort into a few of my jumps. Would've been better if either the whip was faster or if you took less damage, but not both at once, or maybe it's just impossible to make this game good. I just quit out of boredom, at least the original made me put some effort into the game to progress, rather than:
walking forward
attacking
walking forward
spam attack at a boss with even more ease than the original
yawn
a million stairs
yawn
repeat
Really fun and decently challenging, with great music. Dunno about the western version
Some would say that all this ''vanishing you'' thing is getting tiring, Dracula, but I must say... I like to think I’m just getting the hang of it.
I didn't know what the hell to expect from Castlevania III. As a stranger to the monster-whipping saga till now, it's by far the game I've heard the least about regarding the original Famicon/NES trilogy, tho that may have been a given since the debate around Simon's Quest and praise for the original Castlevania have been pretty loud on online discourse, especially some years back.
But when I saw that III was going to completely backpaddle on everything II did, I would lie if I said I didn’t feel disappointed; I may not think highly of Simon’s Quest’s as a complete package, but that game did some incredibly genius stuff with its tone and design, and even if I don’t have anything against continuist entries in a franchise, returning to the closed walls of Dracula’s castle once again and play the same dance around from the first time felt like throwing out an insurmountable potential, to throw out the window a more aggressive a wild look into Transylvania for the sake of the jumping and falling that worked on the first go.
So yeah, you could say I was pretty cautious going in, I never expected to hate it or even dislike it, in fact the little I heard was pretty positive, but I was still scared that I’d end up not getti- Oh who am I kidding, you know where I’m going with this and it’s exact same rant I said for Hi Fi Rush, let’s cut the shit, time to gush!
Also, as you may have noticed but I failed to acknowledge till now, I ended up playing the original Japanese version of the game, since I was told that the NES version went absolutely batshit insane with its difficulty, even more than the usual I mean, so this is not Castlevania gaming, this is Akumajou Densetsu gaming and, I’m sorry, but that name actually goes pretty hard and is what I’m gonna call it from now till the end of times.
Now, where was I?... Oh yeah, I was about to START JAMMING!
I… is it too exaggerated to say that Akumajou Densetsu is one of my favorite, if not my absolute preferred, Famicon game? I cannot thing of other 8 Bit adventures with a similar structure that compare, it is so impressive both a sequel and even a stand-alone game that I’m still SHOCKED at the technical and design prowess it shows, and not because I didn’t think the team behind these games wasn’t capable of something like this, but because it goes further beyond what the series stablished, a series already accustomed with perfectioning and exploring new visual and gameplay ideas.
We may have returned to the 2D linear platforming roots, but that just means we have another way to explore Transylvania; Simon’s Quest managed to create a fairly grounded, sad world, full of villages and cycles, secrets and dungeons, that Transylvania had seen and suffered the effects of the first game and it showed and perfectly worked for what it was. But now we go back 100 years to the past, to the rise of the Belmont name and the adventure of Trevor, and this Transylvania is very different from last time, but so hauntingly familiar at the same time. We return to the vibrant, outstandingly looking visuals from the first adventure, scenarios beautiful as a painting and designed to each fit a different part that conforms this damned land, from overtaken resting grounds to ever rising mechanical towers. Long are the days of being confined to a singular building, or rather, it’ll be long before that fate catches up to Simon, and right now openness is the name of the game. Paths that branch with each level beaten feel exciting, like a constant plunge into the unknown that rewards you with new faces or progress; this goes beyond just being replayability candy, this is an honest to god odyssey that gives you the lead, and can go one way or another depending which way you decide to go.
It wouldn’t be a Castlevania game without some bullshit which, charming as it may be, it’s still bullshit, and Akumajou Densetsu, even in its not as completely deranged original version, it still provides some challenge that walks dangerously close into the ‘’unfair barrage of crap’’ zone, but for every moment like that that it has, it doesn’t take too long for me to be swept away by the artful platforming. This may just be my favorite collection of hazards and challenges I’ve seen a platforming sequel in my entire life, things like the giant spinning gears, the acid tears that melt blocks or the no-jump platforms are, too put it lightly, unbelievable amazing. More than ever before, every platform, every enemy, every giant swinging pendulum, it has a tangible real place in this world, it fits, and it’s so much fun to jump across and whip through. I still cannot believe the scrolling sections, which tend to be parts I do not enjoy in any game, were something I loved to see and beat each and every time, and the rewarding feeling I got from beating them was the same as beating Dracula in the first game, which is getting me in a boss fighting mood…
I never really cared for most of the bosses of the series so far, the original Castlevania had a pretty great roster with some foes that made the overall quality sour, and you could argue Simon’s Quest doesn’t even have bosses, just really big, really slow big targets that damaged you more by contact than through their actual attacks… And now I’m struggling to think about one boss I disliked even a bit! All new big bads are aggressive as hell, and that makes the challenge come to one thing; either be patient a find a spot that helps you to take your chances, or never. Stop. MOVING. They are all some memorable I could praise them all in different ways, like how much I love Frankenstein and its slow movement but hardhitting throwing blocks, the gauntlet of already seen faces and an amazing callback to the final boss of the original game that the Fire Spirit poses, the sheer terror Death produces with a rerise of its original fight a brand new phase, Fake Dracula being a super cool callback and a fun fight of its own that’s amplified by the platforms… I could go on and on, hell, even fights like the albeit simple Monster Grant stuck out in my mind as really exciting encounters! …oh wait, that reminds me… hi Grant!
Trevor is not alone is its voyage, even if I wouldn’t have bat an eye if he was; he controls exactly the same as Simon (or at least so similarly I didn’t noticed any differences) which might as well mean that he controls smooth as butter, he walks with the same calculated heaviness and jumps with requiting the same commitment as ever, he even still has the same tools as seen in the first game, which I kind of like, I’m probably thinking about it too much but I like how these items go so back in the timeline and how they still fit so well to the design. And still… there’s space for surprises. New faces show up as playable companions, always available to change into once you meat them, even if you can only have one at a time: they fit perfectly into the world, saving each in a different way and meeting them in completely different places, which is yet another way the game shows just how much freedom it lends you and the routes you can take, and no matter if you only come across to one in your entire playthrough, it always feels like you gain something. Grant is a fun slippery bastard, being able to cling into walls and roofs, he can go through places boring Trevor never could and go past enemies with so much ease it sometimes feels like another puzzle in itself; Sypha has a lot of potions available to obtain, and there’s a reason many players beat the game when being accompanied by her, the potions and special abilities make her eat through entire hordes of enemies and even bosses with the right the chance… but I’m sorry, my favorite has to be Alucard. As I said, all helpers are useful on their own ways and all are super fun, but there’s something so satisfying about going ‘’you know what, fuck this room in particular!’’, turning into a bat and skipping the entire challenge, and also his fully upgraded attack is like, the absolute best, my favorite just behind Trevor’s own whip.
Akumajou Densetsu is so far above being just a sequel that even when I was nearing the ending I was expecting it to surprise me yet again. The continuous levels and special challenges that go far above the usual 3 sections of the past, having to go back in a few stages which SHOULD feel tiring and boring, but instead is just another way the way poses a challenge in a different way, with even some surprises along the way. New enemies, new phases that make the original Dracula fight look archaic, with is easily the best evolution regarding boss fights the game could have ever hoped for, the path system, the different characters and item holding…
If Castlevania made me feel determination and Simon’s Quest a profound feeling of curiosity and sadness, Akumajou Densetsu combines all those emotions and adds pure excitement into the mix, excitement for the unknown, yes, but also to see this adventure of the past come true, to see things that shouldn’t surprise me completely awe me, the opening cinematic, as if a movie was beginning and the beautiful music enveloped my ears, perfectly encapsulates everything this series strived for and then some, being an epic as much as a sad tale, but once I reached Dracula’s castle, the emotions I should have felt like terror and caution weren’t there, instead, only a thought crossed my mind as I smiled…: ‘’I’m home’’
I didn't know what the hell to expect from Castlevania III. As a stranger to the monster-whipping saga till now, it's by far the game I've heard the least about regarding the original Famicon/NES trilogy, tho that may have been a given since the debate around Simon's Quest and praise for the original Castlevania have been pretty loud on online discourse, especially some years back.
But when I saw that III was going to completely backpaddle on everything II did, I would lie if I said I didn’t feel disappointed; I may not think highly of Simon’s Quest’s as a complete package, but that game did some incredibly genius stuff with its tone and design, and even if I don’t have anything against continuist entries in a franchise, returning to the closed walls of Dracula’s castle once again and play the same dance around from the first time felt like throwing out an insurmountable potential, to throw out the window a more aggressive a wild look into Transylvania for the sake of the jumping and falling that worked on the first go.
So yeah, you could say I was pretty cautious going in, I never expected to hate it or even dislike it, in fact the little I heard was pretty positive, but I was still scared that I’d end up not getti- Oh who am I kidding, you know where I’m going with this and it’s exact same rant I said for Hi Fi Rush, let’s cut the shit, time to gush!
Also, as you may have noticed but I failed to acknowledge till now, I ended up playing the original Japanese version of the game, since I was told that the NES version went absolutely batshit insane with its difficulty, even more than the usual I mean, so this is not Castlevania gaming, this is Akumajou Densetsu gaming and, I’m sorry, but that name actually goes pretty hard and is what I’m gonna call it from now till the end of times.
Now, where was I?... Oh yeah, I was about to START JAMMING!
I… is it too exaggerated to say that Akumajou Densetsu is one of my favorite, if not my absolute preferred, Famicon game? I cannot thing of other 8 Bit adventures with a similar structure that compare, it is so impressive both a sequel and even a stand-alone game that I’m still SHOCKED at the technical and design prowess it shows, and not because I didn’t think the team behind these games wasn’t capable of something like this, but because it goes further beyond what the series stablished, a series already accustomed with perfectioning and exploring new visual and gameplay ideas.
We may have returned to the 2D linear platforming roots, but that just means we have another way to explore Transylvania; Simon’s Quest managed to create a fairly grounded, sad world, full of villages and cycles, secrets and dungeons, that Transylvania had seen and suffered the effects of the first game and it showed and perfectly worked for what it was. But now we go back 100 years to the past, to the rise of the Belmont name and the adventure of Trevor, and this Transylvania is very different from last time, but so hauntingly familiar at the same time. We return to the vibrant, outstandingly looking visuals from the first adventure, scenarios beautiful as a painting and designed to each fit a different part that conforms this damned land, from overtaken resting grounds to ever rising mechanical towers. Long are the days of being confined to a singular building, or rather, it’ll be long before that fate catches up to Simon, and right now openness is the name of the game. Paths that branch with each level beaten feel exciting, like a constant plunge into the unknown that rewards you with new faces or progress; this goes beyond just being replayability candy, this is an honest to god odyssey that gives you the lead, and can go one way or another depending which way you decide to go.
It wouldn’t be a Castlevania game without some bullshit which, charming as it may be, it’s still bullshit, and Akumajou Densetsu, even in its not as completely deranged original version, it still provides some challenge that walks dangerously close into the ‘’unfair barrage of crap’’ zone, but for every moment like that that it has, it doesn’t take too long for me to be swept away by the artful platforming. This may just be my favorite collection of hazards and challenges I’ve seen a platforming sequel in my entire life, things like the giant spinning gears, the acid tears that melt blocks or the no-jump platforms are, too put it lightly, unbelievable amazing. More than ever before, every platform, every enemy, every giant swinging pendulum, it has a tangible real place in this world, it fits, and it’s so much fun to jump across and whip through. I still cannot believe the scrolling sections, which tend to be parts I do not enjoy in any game, were something I loved to see and beat each and every time, and the rewarding feeling I got from beating them was the same as beating Dracula in the first game, which is getting me in a boss fighting mood…
I never really cared for most of the bosses of the series so far, the original Castlevania had a pretty great roster with some foes that made the overall quality sour, and you could argue Simon’s Quest doesn’t even have bosses, just really big, really slow big targets that damaged you more by contact than through their actual attacks… And now I’m struggling to think about one boss I disliked even a bit! All new big bads are aggressive as hell, and that makes the challenge come to one thing; either be patient a find a spot that helps you to take your chances, or never. Stop. MOVING. They are all some memorable I could praise them all in different ways, like how much I love Frankenstein and its slow movement but hardhitting throwing blocks, the gauntlet of already seen faces and an amazing callback to the final boss of the original game that the Fire Spirit poses, the sheer terror Death produces with a rerise of its original fight a brand new phase, Fake Dracula being a super cool callback and a fun fight of its own that’s amplified by the platforms… I could go on and on, hell, even fights like the albeit simple Monster Grant stuck out in my mind as really exciting encounters! …oh wait, that reminds me… hi Grant!
Trevor is not alone is its voyage, even if I wouldn’t have bat an eye if he was; he controls exactly the same as Simon (or at least so similarly I didn’t noticed any differences) which might as well mean that he controls smooth as butter, he walks with the same calculated heaviness and jumps with requiting the same commitment as ever, he even still has the same tools as seen in the first game, which I kind of like, I’m probably thinking about it too much but I like how these items go so back in the timeline and how they still fit so well to the design. And still… there’s space for surprises. New faces show up as playable companions, always available to change into once you meat them, even if you can only have one at a time: they fit perfectly into the world, saving each in a different way and meeting them in completely different places, which is yet another way the game shows just how much freedom it lends you and the routes you can take, and no matter if you only come across to one in your entire playthrough, it always feels like you gain something. Grant is a fun slippery bastard, being able to cling into walls and roofs, he can go through places boring Trevor never could and go past enemies with so much ease it sometimes feels like another puzzle in itself; Sypha has a lot of potions available to obtain, and there’s a reason many players beat the game when being accompanied by her, the potions and special abilities make her eat through entire hordes of enemies and even bosses with the right the chance… but I’m sorry, my favorite has to be Alucard. As I said, all helpers are useful on their own ways and all are super fun, but there’s something so satisfying about going ‘’you know what, fuck this room in particular!’’, turning into a bat and skipping the entire challenge, and also his fully upgraded attack is like, the absolute best, my favorite just behind Trevor’s own whip.
Akumajou Densetsu is so far above being just a sequel that even when I was nearing the ending I was expecting it to surprise me yet again. The continuous levels and special challenges that go far above the usual 3 sections of the past, having to go back in a few stages which SHOULD feel tiring and boring, but instead is just another way the way poses a challenge in a different way, with even some surprises along the way. New enemies, new phases that make the original Dracula fight look archaic, with is easily the best evolution regarding boss fights the game could have ever hoped for, the path system, the different characters and item holding…
If Castlevania made me feel determination and Simon’s Quest a profound feeling of curiosity and sadness, Akumajou Densetsu combines all those emotions and adds pure excitement into the mix, excitement for the unknown, yes, but also to see this adventure of the past come true, to see things that shouldn’t surprise me completely awe me, the opening cinematic, as if a movie was beginning and the beautiful music enveloped my ears, perfectly encapsulates everything this series strived for and then some, being an epic as much as a sad tale, but once I reached Dracula’s castle, the emotions I should have felt like terror and caution weren’t there, instead, only a thought crossed my mind as I smiled…: ‘’I’m home’’
الصعوبة عالية اكثر من اللازم بكثير مرة. هذي مشكلتي الوحيدة معها غير هذا هي افضل من الأولى
without a doubt the best nes castlevania, can be super challenging at times especially if you take the alucard route.
the japanese version is better than the american one because you get higher quality music and the damage scaling is more fair
the japanese version is better than the american one because you get higher quality music and the damage scaling is more fair
infinitamente melhor que a versao americana
Tough as nails. I’ve never been less ashamed to use save states, and this is the easier version.
With how daring Simon’s Quest was, it’s a little disappointing this game just went back to Castlevania 1, but bigger and better. But with that being said, this is Castlevania 1 but bigger and better, and Castlevania 1 is a fine game. The visuals and audio are stunning for the time, it’s dripping with atmosphere, and the branching paths and multiple characters are a great touch. It’s difficult to recommend due to just how ball bustingly hard it can be, but if you have the time to master it, why not? It’s better than the Netflix show based on it anyhow.
With how daring Simon’s Quest was, it’s a little disappointing this game just went back to Castlevania 1, but bigger and better. But with that being said, this is Castlevania 1 but bigger and better, and Castlevania 1 is a fine game. The visuals and audio are stunning for the time, it’s dripping with atmosphere, and the branching paths and multiple characters are a great touch. It’s difficult to recommend due to just how ball bustingly hard it can be, but if you have the time to master it, why not? It’s better than the Netflix show based on it anyhow.
was recommended to play this version instead of the version of castlevania 3 released in the west... not sure if i like this or castlevania 1 more but damn the musical and graphical upgrades the famicom disk system adds are incredible for the time. both kicked my ass but gotta give 1 some brownie points for putting a checkpoint right at dracula. for this game's dracula fight i used my one and only save state bc a game over puts you right back at the beginning of the level instead and i wasnt about that shit. forgive me.... my goofy ass probably couldnt handle finishing the western version at all... i'm a fake gamer ahh....
EDIT: it was the VRC6 chip responsible for those upgrades not the famicom disk system..... i'm even more of a fake gamer now ahhhhhh.......
EDIT: it was the VRC6 chip responsible for those upgrades not the famicom disk system..... i'm even more of a fake gamer now ahhhhhh.......
Mt melhor que a versão americana
Masterpiece!
Playing this right after Castlevania 1 really made me appreciate how great this game is.
I haven't played 2 (and I don't plan to for now) but this feels like the perfect sequel to 1. They took what worked in 1, refined it perfectly, whether it's the challenging level-design, the OSTs or the graphics, and increased its scope to such an extent this might very well be an SNES game, with so much levels - their variety too! - and multiple playable characters per playthrough.
Though there are also much more bosses, some might be disappointed with how easy and lackluster they can be at time. Imo I'm fine with it as long as certain bosses are challening, and some really are, to the point where I had to think about how and when to switch characters depending on their patterns.
All in all, a true classic which I hope Curse of the Moon will take inspiration from when I get to play it.
I haven't played 2 (and I don't plan to for now) but this feels like the perfect sequel to 1. They took what worked in 1, refined it perfectly, whether it's the challenging level-design, the OSTs or the graphics, and increased its scope to such an extent this might very well be an SNES game, with so much levels - their variety too! - and multiple playable characters per playthrough.
Though there are also much more bosses, some might be disappointed with how easy and lackluster they can be at time. Imo I'm fine with it as long as certain bosses are challening, and some really are, to the point where I had to think about how and when to switch characters depending on their patterns.
All in all, a true classic which I hope Curse of the Moon will take inspiration from when I get to play it.