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.