Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989 Video Game) User Reviews

Learn the Belmont's first encounter with Dracula

[Aaron1375 · 8/10 · 25 June 2013]

This game is the final Castlevania game released on the NES and it is the most polished and best looking of the bunch. It is also ungodly difficult to play and if you can win this one you are a true gamer. The Castlevania trilogy is one of the hardest trilogies for the NES, probably only coming in second to Ninja Gaiden, but it is close. If not for the way too easy Castlevania II, I would probably give this one an edge, but then I have never played the third Ninja Gaiden so for all I know it makes that series the definitive winner. This Castlevania adds a couple of new wrinkles while staying truer to the first game than the second one did. All the RPG elements introduced in Simon's Quest are gone for the most part and in are paths to choose and characters to select to assist the main character on his mission. That mission is, of course, to destroy Dracula!

The story is a prequel to the first and second games and if you have the right character in your party, you witness the beginnings of Simon Belmont. Here we follow Trevor Belmont as he must endure the Transylvania countryside and Dracula's fiendish castle in order to restore peace to the land. He will not be alone, however, as a sorceress who hunts vampires, an acrobatic thief and even the son of the unholy Dracula will aid you on your quest. Granted it is a matter of what path you take that decides who will be your partner in monster killing. I ended up with Alucard, Dracula's son. The game play is side scrolling and pretty much follows the controls of the first game. The main difference is the use of the select button which now changes out Trevor with one of three comrades.

So this is the best of the three NES Castlevania games in my eyes, however, it is not as good as either Super Castlevania IV or Castlevania Dracula X for the SNES or even Bloodlines for the Genesis. It is a bit too hard as well. During the final stage you have not one, not two, but three forms of Dracula to kill and this is a bit overkill as the first two forms are incredibly tough. The third form is not to bad, but by the time you reach it, you are going to be extremely low on health. It is so amazing how hard the first game and this one is in the original trilogy, I think they should have toned down the difficulty in these two games and added it to the second game. That one is a walk in the park by comparison.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse!

[Movie Nuttball · 2 November 2004]

The Castlevania series is one of the most different adventure video games! The characters, the action, and the sure thrill of adventure makes this game a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially for the first Nintendo system! The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse! If you like excellent adventure games that has Dracula, Werewolves, Ghosts, and more then I strongly recommend you play this game!

The Best Of The NES Castlevania Games

[jeremycrimsonfox · 10/10 · 22 March 2020]

Out of the three NES Castlevania games, this one is the best. Set before the events of the first Castlevania, Dracula has started to ravage Europe, and the church has called the once-exiled Belmont clan to stop them. Now, taking on the role of Trevor Belmont, the wielder of the Vampire Killer whip in this story, you must save Wallachia.

Unlike the last game, SImon's Quest, which played like Metroid, Dracula's Curse goes back to the side-scrolling gameplay of the first Castlevania, which is a good thing. However, this game would improve upon it by adding three additional characters that you can switch Trevor out with during gameplay. However, you can only bring one ally, and each one has his or her own special abilities (Grant can climb walls and cielings, Alucard can turn into a bat, which consumes hearts, and Sypha uses elemental magic). Also, some parts of the game have branching paths, which will lead to different levels, making each playthrough different depending on choices made.

However, the game is hard as usual. Thankfully, the game does offer infinite continues, and if you get tired and need a break, also offers a password system, which is an improvement from Simon's Quest, as it now requires a name to be entered and a grid with certain items from the game filled in a certain way to continue where you left off. This is one game that must be played, and has been re-released multiple times (the recent one being the Castlevania Anniversary Collection).

Awesome

[valvedotboy · 10/10 · 6 August 2017]

I previously reviewed Battletoads, and I really love it. But combine that with the first Castlevania, and you get this masterpiece.

This is the second best NES sequel/prequel, right behind Super Mario Bros. 3.

This is also the second best Konami game on NES, right behind Contra.

Music: The music is outstanding, and from what I understand the Famicom version is even better. So I'd really love to see how that plays out, too bad I don't own one. It's spooky, upbeat, and appropriate. 10/10

Graphics: Either this or Battletoads gets the title for best graphics on NES. 10/10

Sound Effects: The sound effects are just perfect, and pleasant to listen to. 10/10

Difficulty: I love the challenge I get from this game. 10/10

Concept: The concept is original, and executed perfectly. 10/10

Overall Game: This is my 6th favorite NES game of all time...right behind Contra, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Bros. 3.

This is the worst Castlevania 3 on NES, is torture to play even as other characters.

[crosswalkx · 4/10 · 8 December 2019]

As you know I've played Castlevania and I hated playing this game, This game is like Castlevania 1 and 2 and like Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 and it is torture to play through.

Your character Trevor Belmont gets knocked back hard every time an enemy like those annoying medusa heads which can cause him to fall in a pit or on spikes, he can only whip left and right which I gripe about very much, seriously why didn't the programmers allow for Trevor to whip above him. Legend of Zelda 2: Adventure of Link at least allowed for Link to attack above and below him later on and so did Metroid and Kid Icarus. I don't like it that he can't get much pork chop meat to cure his health very much which I don't like since the player gets hit so often.

Fighting enemies is a pain in the back and the levels are hell to play through. I don't like the Holy water weapon unless your enemies are ground based. I also don't like the Stopwatch item since it's basically useless. The dagger is okay but it gets overshadowed by the best attack items the Throwing axe and Boomerang which I like except it can be thrown sideways.

This game has many paths and 4 different ending which I like but it still doesn't change the fact that multiple paths are hard to travel though in this 2D platform game.

The allies Trevor can have join your party are Grant which I like to use for climbing walls and ceilings except his attack is weaker than Trevor,

Sypha which I do not like using since she's weaker than Trevor and takes more damage and uses too much hearts to fight.

And finally Alucard who I like to use since he has long range fireball weapon and can turn into a bat and is good to fight against his father Dracula, my biggest gripe with him like Trevor can only fire left and right and not above him and his weapon is weaker than Trevors whip.

Yes, while this game has unlimited continues and password saves and save states for the Wii U version, it doesn't change the fact that this game is terrible and the controls are still clunky like the first Castlevania game. I would skip to the final boss level and fight Dracula and see 4 different endings with 4 different characters. after that, not replay this crummy NES platform game ever again.

I don't know why this game is considered the best by video game critics or Castlevania fans when it has bad gameplay design that's torture on the player and makes it too hard to play and I don't like it that you can't choose which special weapon to swap out which I find very annoying especially when you don't want the Stopwatch or Holy Water items which are horrible by the way.

I would suggest you video game players to get Castlevania 2: Simons Quest on NES or Super Castlevania 4 or Castlevania Dracula X on Super Nintendo or Wii U virtual console instead which are much more forgiving to play. Also I would suggest you play Ninja Gaiden 3 NES which is more forgiving to play. Meantime skip this game since it will cause you to be angry and even rage quit.

Some of the things that make this one of the best CV games ever.

[quinnmjohnson · 6 June 2005]

Having always been a fan of monsters and spooky things in general, as well as the action genre, this game holds a special place in my heart. It was the game that really made me an obsessive fan of the Castlevania series, which I believe to be one of the richest, coolest, and overall best quality game series out there. Some of the things that make this entry in the series stand out:

-it introduced Trevor Belmont, the famous Simon Belmont's ancestor. When the game was released and for many years afterward, Trevor was described as the first Belmont to ever fight Dracula. Eventually the canon introduced Sonia Belmont (in Castlevania Legends) and claimed she was the first, but most recently Leon Belmont became the end-all official first in the Belmont bloodline to fight Dracula (in Lament of Innocence).

-It introduced three other playable heroes, greatly increasing the game's re-playability. These included the wall-climbing pirate Grant DaNasty, the sorceress Sypha Belnades, and Dracula's own son, Alucard, who eventually became a very popular hero in his own right when he became the protagonist of Symphony of the Night.

-There were several points in the game where your path split, and you had to choose which way to go. This totally changed what levels and bosses you'd encounter on your way to fight the Count, as well as which of the other three heroes you would run into and could then take with you.

-Great music and graphics. Apparently there was a special chip added to the game cartridge to enable even better graphics than the NES was supposed to be capable of.

In short, this game is totally awesome. Even after all the years and all the advances in technology and the many fantastic games that have come out, this remains one of my favorite games ever. Great gameplay, great atmosphere, great action and monsters, etc. A shining moment in the already incredible Castlevania series.