Cheap Castlevania III (Video Games) (Nintendo NES) Price

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Customer Reviews of Castlevania III

One of the finest games in the series
Over the years, Konami has become one of the best-known video gaming third party corporations out there - for a number of reasons. But, their most popular series of all would have to be the vampire-killing franchise, Castlevania. Konami released the first installment of the series on American consoles in 1987, and a sequel (which was radically different from the first game) just one year later. The next year thereafter, they released the first Game Boy installment, The Castlevania Adventure, but it ended up being the worst installment in the entire series! But, one year later, another new Castlevania came on the scene - which would be the final one released for the NES. Read on for my review of Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse.

PROS:
-IT'S THE ALL-IMPORTANT RETURN TO NORMALCY GAME. The radical shift of gaming styles featured in Castlevania II - Simon's Quest turned off a ton of fans of the series. Fortunately, this game will win those folks back instantly.
-FOR ITS DAY AND AGE, THESE WERE SOME OF THE BEST VIDEO GAME GRAPHICS OUT THERE. The on-screen graphics move along at a pretty decent pace, and slow-down is very minimal. As far as the NES in the eighties goes, the graphics didn't get a whole lot better than this.
-THE MUSIC IS GREAT FOR THIS KIND OF GAME. I've played a number of NES games with great music in them, but this title features some of the best. The music always suits the eerie atmosphere perfectly.
-PLAY CONTROL IS SIMPLE AND TO THE POINT. Basically you move, crouch, jump, attack, and attack with a secondary weapon. This series was one of the first to feature a secondary weapon - a video gaming feature which has since been copied countless times.
-YOU CHOOSE WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU GO (TO A POINT.) Through the course of the game, you'll encounter a number of "forks in the road", and you get to choose which route you wish to take. You'll even come across spiritual helpers, who are characters you can play as in addition to your main character, Trevor Belmont. You can get Sypha, the wizard, Grant, the pirate, or Alucard, the son of Dracula. Each one has his or her own strengths and weakenesses.
-YOU CAN SAVE YOUR PROGRESS WITH PASSWORDS. You've gotta love passwords - a lack of them is what ultimately destroyed the first installment in the series.

CONS:
-THE GAME IS DIFFICULT. Not as difficult as the first game, but difficult nonetheless. You'll come across a series of challenges in the game, and checkpoints are few and far between.
-PLAY CONTROL CAN SEEM VERY STIFF AT TIMES. Most characters have no midair jump control whatsoever, which can make life a living hell. Controlling the secondary characters can be challenging at first - Alucard is about as agile as a two-by-four with legs.

OVERALL:
Overall this is a very good game, and it stands the test of time as one of the finest entries in the series. If you have an eight-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, this game is a must purchase.

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The third try's a charm
Unlike the first two Castlevania games, the third is a prequel to the predecessors. Read on to see why this is one of the finest games the series has ever offered us.

Graphics: 3/5
About normal for the NES. Not bad, but I've certainly seen better on this system

Play Control: 2.75/5
Sluggish is a good way to describe the control. You have no midair control, which is very annoying. It takes some serious getting used to having to hold up and pushing B to use secondary weapons, too.

Challenge: 4.25/5
HARD! You've got unlimited continues and passwords, but that makes the game no easier. Extremely difficult stages and bosses sure don't make up for this. Don't expect a free ride through this game.

Theme/Fun: 4.25/5
The sluggish control and irritating difficulty plagued the first game, but Konami more than made up for it here. You can get a helper you can transform into, greatly adding to the fun (there is Grant Danasty, a pirate, Sypha Belnades, a wizard, and of course, Alucard, the son of Dracula.) Each character has strengths and weaknesses. For example, Grant has midair jump control, something no other character does.

Music/Sound: 3.5/5
Nothing stands out other than the first stage music, and the sound effect when you use Holy Water. However, all of the music is ultimately satisfying.

Storyline: 3.75/5
Go into the castle and kill the revived Dracula. However, there's a catch this time. You're an ancestor of the usual Castlevania hero, as this game is a prequel. But still, just about EVERY game in the series uses this story to death. That's overkill, Konami.

Overall: 4/5
It's got shortcomings, but this is one of the best games in this series, period. NES owners shouldn't be without this one.

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Beautiful.
Personally, Konami is my favorite group of publishers/developers. I always find myself becoming quite attached to their games, ever since I played Castlevania ][: Simon's Quest and the unbelievably superb Super Castlevania IV. So it's pretty needless to say that I like Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, with its multiple paths and multiple character gameplay (pretty unusual at the time and, obviously, well accepted since then). If you like the other Castlevanias (including Symphony of the Night, even though it's drastically different), I'm sure you'll like this'ne.