Taking a break from the Zelda marathon to play some Classicvania.
This is the Japanese version of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. For some reason, it’s easier than the western releases and has way better audio quality, so I chose to play this over the American version (thankfully, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection has both). I’m glad I did, because if this is the “easy” version of the game, then I shudder to think of how brutal the American version must be.
This game is hard, even by Castlevania standards. There are bottomless pits galore, loads of booby traps, enemies scattered across every screen, and Death. Death is very hard in this game. He really wants you to die… which is kinda his job, so I can’t really be mad at him for that.
Luckily, this game is saved by its many positive qualities. The graphics are some of the absolute best that the NES and Famicom could muster up; the backgrounds are colorful and detailed, every sprite pops out, and there are even some cool lightning and weather effects. You can tell that this was released towards the end of the NES’ lifespan, because holy shit does it milk the hardware for all its worth.
The level design, likewise, is pretty damn solid. Very challenging, but rarely unfair. That being said, everything in Block 7 is fucking awful, so it’s a good thing you can skip it altogether by picking Sypha over Alucard.
Oh yeah, there are also multiple playable characters for the first time in the series. Obviously, the main protagonist is another whip-wielding Belmont: Trevor, the ancestor of Simon from the first two (and fourth?) games. He controls just as well as Simon did, so nothing new there. However, newcomers Sypha and Grant offer some great variety, having useful long-range attacks that can decimate certain levels. Alucard kinda sucks, though, so ‘80s kids had to wait until Symphony of the Night for him to become an absolute badass and the best character in the franchise.
Also, the music. It’s amazing. Like, genuinely phenomenal. I don’t even know how to describe it because it’s just so fucking good and sounds so crisp, especially for the time. Go listen for yourself.
So yeah, Castlevania III is flawed, but pretty fucking based overall and definitely one of the NES/Famicom’s crowning achievements that successfully evolves the Classicvania formula.
This is the Japanese version of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. For some reason, it’s easier than the western releases and has way better audio quality, so I chose to play this over the American version (thankfully, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection has both). I’m glad I did, because if this is the “easy” version of the game, then I shudder to think of how brutal the American version must be.
This game is hard, even by Castlevania standards. There are bottomless pits galore, loads of booby traps, enemies scattered across every screen, and Death. Death is very hard in this game. He really wants you to die… which is kinda his job, so I can’t really be mad at him for that.
Luckily, this game is saved by its many positive qualities. The graphics are some of the absolute best that the NES and Famicom could muster up; the backgrounds are colorful and detailed, every sprite pops out, and there are even some cool lightning and weather effects. You can tell that this was released towards the end of the NES’ lifespan, because holy shit does it milk the hardware for all its worth.
The level design, likewise, is pretty damn solid. Very challenging, but rarely unfair. That being said, everything in Block 7 is fucking awful, so it’s a good thing you can skip it altogether by picking Sypha over Alucard.
Oh yeah, there are also multiple playable characters for the first time in the series. Obviously, the main protagonist is another whip-wielding Belmont: Trevor, the ancestor of Simon from the first two (and fourth?) games. He controls just as well as Simon did, so nothing new there. However, newcomers Sypha and Grant offer some great variety, having useful long-range attacks that can decimate certain levels. Alucard kinda sucks, though, so ‘80s kids had to wait until Symphony of the Night for him to become an absolute badass and the best character in the franchise.
Also, the music. It’s amazing. Like, genuinely phenomenal. I don’t even know how to describe it because it’s just so fucking good and sounds so crisp, especially for the time. Go listen for yourself.
So yeah, Castlevania III is flawed, but pretty fucking based overall and definitely one of the NES/Famicom’s crowning achievements that successfully evolves the Classicvania formula.
for the love of god play this version of the game
Este sí está más chido. Es desafiante, pero no llega a lo imbécil como la versión americana
Acá sí lo pude disfrutar más e incluso tiene el soundtrack mejorado, siuuu
Acá sí lo pude disfrutar más e incluso tiene el soundtrack mejorado, siuuu
Castlevania 3 (Akumajou Densetsu) is one of those games I kept seeing people talk about but never really tried. My extent of Castlevania knowledge was 1 & 4 (never beat either). I went with the Famicom version with an English Translation patch because HOLY FUCK the music in this game is so good. The VRC6 sound chip makes this soundtrack so legendary.
I really think the gameplay loop & level design is vastly superior than what I played of 1. However, unlike 1, this game is hard. Really fucking hard. Holy shit is this game hard. Some of that difficulty comes from the right place & the wrong place. I still don't like how your character gets knocked back after getting hit, and enemy respawns are still annoying, but I will say some of the enemy placement does add interest to the level design, and it kept me on my toes.
I didn't really get much out of the multiple characters, but that's because I only unlocked Alucard. I didn't use him much, but I feel like he'd be one of those characters I'd use more if i really knew his potential. I mostly just kept playing as Trevor (Ralph) Belmont.
I did like a lot of the levels, but the last few started to piss me off a little. The one with the blocks slowly dropping down was just fucking shit. That level sucks ass. The last level wasn't much easier but it didn't waste my damn time at least. I will admit I did cheat a little bit towards the end, but mostly because of how fucking ball bustingly hard this game gets by the last few levels & I didn't want to waste my time playing the same shit over and over again.
The fight with dracula drags on way too long too. The first phase is pretty fucking hard, the second phase is a joke and the third phase is....okay, i guess? I don't really think 3 phases was necessary.
Overall? Pretty good. Something I'd probably go back to in years time, and I'll def keep listening to the music. It def shows its age a little bit but I enjoyed my time with it quite a bit. Maybe next time I beat it I'll do it completely legit
I really think the gameplay loop & level design is vastly superior than what I played of 1. However, unlike 1, this game is hard. Really fucking hard. Holy shit is this game hard. Some of that difficulty comes from the right place & the wrong place. I still don't like how your character gets knocked back after getting hit, and enemy respawns are still annoying, but I will say some of the enemy placement does add interest to the level design, and it kept me on my toes.
I didn't really get much out of the multiple characters, but that's because I only unlocked Alucard. I didn't use him much, but I feel like he'd be one of those characters I'd use more if i really knew his potential. I mostly just kept playing as Trevor (Ralph) Belmont.
I did like a lot of the levels, but the last few started to piss me off a little. The one with the blocks slowly dropping down was just fucking shit. That level sucks ass. The last level wasn't much easier but it didn't waste my damn time at least. I will admit I did cheat a little bit towards the end, but mostly because of how fucking ball bustingly hard this game gets by the last few levels & I didn't want to waste my time playing the same shit over and over again.
The fight with dracula drags on way too long too. The first phase is pretty fucking hard, the second phase is a joke and the third phase is....okay, i guess? I don't really think 3 phases was necessary.
Overall? Pretty good. Something I'd probably go back to in years time, and I'll def keep listening to the music. It def shows its age a little bit but I enjoyed my time with it quite a bit. Maybe next time I beat it I'll do it completely legit