Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse
System: NES
Release Date: September 1990
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Action
Get back to whipping and jumping, this time as Trevor Belmont in Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Trevor is the forefather of the protagonist of the past titles, Simon. It’s up to Trevor to be the first Belmont to defeat Dracula and bring a semblance of peace and stability to the land. In order to do this, there are many legs of stages that must be completed.
Controls are back to that of the original. Trevor is armed with the Vampire Killer whip and can pick up all of the sub-weapons you’ve come to know and love. I found the holy water to once again be my favorite. Trevor can recruit three different comrades throughout his travels, though only one can be part of the team at any time. Switching back and forth between them takes a press of the Select Button. Between some levels, you have a choice of direction you take. You may not come across each character in a playthrough, necessitating multiple plays to try them all.
The instruction manual purposely misgenders Sypha as male, but the ending with her present makes it clearer that she is indeed a female and through further research I found that she becomes Trevor’s wife. I found her to be really weak and not fun to play as, so I didn’t experience all of her spells. “Ghost Pirate” Grant DaNasty is fast, but doesn’t hit very hard. His special power is the ability to climb walls and ceilings like his name is Ryu Hayabusa. Alucard is the son of Dracula and the protagonist of the best Castlevania game, Symphony of the Night. He shoots magic balls and doesn’t look nearly as cool as he will in the future. His special power is to turn into a bat and fly around the screen. This allows you to skip certain platforming sections and avoid falling deaths. Bat!
Levels are all straightforward and you can’t get lost. There are times where you may get confused by the backgrounds, wondering if they are part of the level or not, leading to your death. There’s a lot more verticality, especially in the clock tower. Enemies are more of a pain in the butt this time around, especially the mummies. Everyone’s least favorite constantly spawning Madusa Heads return, as well. You’ll get hit a lot and begin to pray you find a pot roast hidden in the wall.
Bosses might get you the first time you face them, but most can be overcome with the holy water and the double or triple shot powerup. When you finally face off against Dracula, he has three forms. The first requires timing your jumps to avoid walls of flame. The second requires simple hit and run tactics. The third requires riding moving floor blocks to get a shot at Drac’s head, all while avoiding laser beams. Once you finally defeat Dracula, you and your companion watch Castlevania crumble to pieces and get an epilogue.
Graphics: 3.0
There’s a lot of orange and green. Characters aren’t particularly detailed, but they look good.
Sound: 3.5
The music is really good and takes cues from past games and sets the tone for some future games, as well.
Gameplay: 3.5
Multiple characters with their own strengths, weaknesses, and powers is welcome. They aren’t all created equal, but they have their roles.
Difficulty: 3.0
I’ll say things are mostly fair once you know the patterns, but there are some spots that are cheaper than you’d like, such as the owls in the forest.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I enjoyed my time enough to play through a few adventures to try out all the companions.
Overall Rating: 3.2
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse earns a B+. A solid game is in store for you here. I don’t remember ever playing it as a kid, so it was enjoyable for me to finally get to.