After the success of the original Castlevania title on the NES system, Konami decided to change things up quite a bit for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Gone was the straight-ahead platforming action of the original, replaced with a much more rpg-flavored approach that placed more emphasis on item collection and exploration. While Simon's Quest was a great game in and of itself, many fans felt betrayed by the direction Konami took the popular series in. Thankfully, Konami decided to abandon their experiment and return the Castlevania series to its roots. Not only did they bring back the magic of the original game, but they also managed to add in a wealth of new game play twists, not to mention a much lengthier quest to form what many diehard fans of the series consider the best Castlevania title of them all.
Dracula's Curse brings back the standard action-platforming of the original, only this time there are a few new twists. While you still control your main character, you'll also encounter allies along the way that you can take on as your partner. There are three additional characters, each with their own unique powers. Grant the pirate is extremely effective at climbing, Syfa the Magician is adept at casting powerful magic spells, and Alucard, Dracula's son, can turn into a bat and fly around freely until your supply of hearts run out. The trick is you can only have one of these additional characters in your party at once, so it's up to you to decide which character will be most effective as your partner given your current situation.
Another new twist is the multiple paths you'll encounter. There's no longer only one way to Dracula's Castle. At the end of certain levels you'll be given a choice of two different paths to take, each featuring a different level. This means you don't have to play through every single level in the game in order to reach the finale, but it also means you can go back and play through the game again taking different paths which adds quite a bit of replay value to the overall experience.
All the traditional Castlevania game play is all still intact. Your character still uses his trusty whip which can be powered up several times in both length and power. He can also pick up the standard Castlevania special items such as the Holy Cross and the Magic Potion. Even the level designs and platforming action will feel immediately familiar to fans of the original Castlevania game. One thing fans might notice is that the levels are quite a bit longer than in previous games, so you'll be happy to have your new partner to help you make it through them alive. The boss fights are also a bit more challenging this time around as you can't rely so much of your special items anymore. There's also a lot more diversity in the many areas of the game; you'll travel through a haunted forest, a ghost ship, and even a fully functioning clock tower in your efforts to reach the Prince of Darkness.
As impressive as the visuals in the first two Castlevania titles were, Konami was somehow able to eclipse even them in this third release. You'll see the NES execute visuals that are absolutely mind-blowing at times. Dracula's Curse might only be an 8-bit title, but you certainly wouldn't know it from looking at it. The enemies and bosses might resemble those of old, but the backgrounds in the many areas are quite a ways above those found in the previous NES releases, some by a very significant margin.
The music is pretty much a mix of old and new. The old tracks will sound familiar to fans of the series and the new titles are every bit as good, if not better. There's not a bad musical track in the entire game and some of the newer music found during the last few levels of the game are absolutely amazing by 8-bit standards. It's clear that Konami wanted to push the envelope of what the NES sound hardware was capable of and the end result is easily one of the best sounding NES titles ever crafted.
If you're a Castlevania fan, there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't own this game. It's everything the original title was and so much more. While some Simon's Quest fans might be a bit disappointed with the return to the standard Castlevania platforming experience, there's no denying how amazing Dracula's Curse truly is and just how well it carries on the tradition set by the original title. It's easy to see why so many Castlevania fans consider this to be the pinnacle of the series as Dracula's Curse is truly an amazing game from start to finish and a worthy addition to the Virtual Console service.
1. CENGOMANIA
11 Sep 2008, 11:14 GMT
Hell yeah, nice game!!!
Looking forward to this one, love Castlevania series
2. lordbowser
11 Sep 2008, 13:04 GMT
Hands down, this is my favorite Castlevania out of the ones I played (and yes I've played Symphony of the Night).
3. slangman
11 Sep 2008, 14:10 GMT
Looks great definitely downloading since i enjoyed Portrait Of Ruin and Super Castlevenia IV.
4. chunky_droid
11 Sep 2008, 15:21 GMT
Been waiting for this for a while, I'm ridiculously picky when it comes to playing games out of chronological order :/, HURRY UP BREATH OF FIRE!
5. Link79
11 Sep 2008, 15:58 GMT
I wonder what the hold up was? Oh well at least it's finally coming.
Now my only question is... Where the hell is Rondo? Bloodlines wasn't bad either and am I the only one who thought the SNES Dracula X wasn't half bad? Sure it was nothing compared to the turbo CD version but it was still a good game.
6. Marvel_Maniac
11 Sep 2008, 16:00 GMT
I've never been able to play through this game "officially". Emulator's have crappy control schemes anyway- I'd much rather own this and beat this as it was meant to be played. Can't wait to see this along with the other three on my VC window.
7. Will
11 Sep 2008, 16:47 GMT
So the townspeople asked the Belmonts to leave the country of Europe then? Ok so, all your countrys belong to us!!!one!
8. Angelic Lapras King
11 Sep 2008, 17:00 GMT
Will we win a trip to Dracula's Hometown like the boxart says? XD XD XD
9. i_am_error
11 Sep 2008, 17:18 GMT
How hard is this one compared to the 1st?
10. morphballer
11 Sep 2008, 17:56 GMT
Hurray!! I will finally be able to download one of my all time favorite Castlevania (and NES) games! I never did win that trip to Dracula's hometown however...
11. Mike
11 Sep 2008, 18:34 GMT
The first one was much harder.
12. Fuun Saiki
11 Sep 2008, 19:12 GMT
I'm eager to play this. I found the original to be positively orgasmic, so I'm desperate to get in on this one too. The sooner the better.
13. lordbowser
11 Sep 2008, 19:28 GMT
@ Angelic Lapras King
The first thing I said when I saw that box a couple of years back was "Who would want to go their anyways? With my luck Medusa Heads would probably knock me out of the castle".
14. Tony
11 Sep 2008, 20:04 GMT
I won the trip to Dracula's hometown. I searched for roasted turkey all around his castle. Do you believe Konami made me sit in coach on the way to Romania!!
Anyway I am completely not serious
15. Mr. Cheez
11 Sep 2008, 20:48 GMT
Thank you Mike. I wondered the same thing. In that case, I won't be cowering away from this one!
Awesome! This one introduces Dreams of Triumph!
16. Tweek
11 Sep 2008, 22:59 GMT
IMHO, i think this game is much harder than the original. There are a lot more levels, and the bosses are a lot harder as well.
17. slangman
12 Sep 2008, 10:34 GMT
@ Angelic Lapras King you know i never spoted that. I hope the VC version lets us win a trip to draculas town XD.
18. comefrutas
16 Sep 2008, 01:47 GMT
the different paths and finales are great. is like a more complete castlevania.
19. juice
17 Sep 2008, 06:01 GMT
still waiting for castlevania bloodlines...............in my opinion, IT was the BEST castlevania.......better graphics then the snes version, better levels, with 2 characters to choose from, and darker orientation
20. Corbie
17 Sep 2008, 10:34 GMT
While Simon's Quest is still my favorite of the NES Castlevania titles, Dracula's Curse is pretty darn good also. In fact, if I remember correctly, Dracula's Cruse is Iga's favorite Castlevania title and the one he said he'd most like to remake on a modern console.
21. Tony
30 Sep 2008, 20:39 GMT
"Dracula's Curse is Iga's favorite Castlevania title and the one he said he'd most like to remake on a modern console."
Get to it Iga, we don't want to wait to much longer!
22. Mickeymac
01 Oct 2008, 03:25 GMT
Definitely the Castlevania I'm waiting for.
23. PuppetMasterKuruku
07 Oct 2008, 23:32 GMT
You remember correctly, Corbie. It's just a matter of time before we get another Castlevania Chronicles with Castlevania III. I have no doubt that the next one will be that game.
I mean, Dawn of Sorrow's extra mode was a tribute to the game, right down to character switching, having descendants of Belmont and Belnades, as well as Alucard (no analog of Grant, however), and of course the first theme you hear, "Beginning". Then, Portrait of Ruin kept the character switching. Lets not forget Trevor Belmont and friends show up as the Zombie Trio in Symphony of the Night, and once more elsewhere...
It's very, very obvious that the dude loves CVIII. But will it appear on Virtual Console soon? Well, it's certainly been a long time since I, II, and IV were released (Notice how III was skipped... >_>). Wow, we still don't even have Rondo of Blood here yet.
24. hansolo350
16 Oct 2008, 11:18 GMT
I'd like to point out CV4 was releast first on the VC. CV3 will probably come out just in time for Halloween.
25. morphballer
17 Oct 2008, 18:36 GMT
That makes sense and I really hope it does. I'd be happy with any new Castlevania game by Halloween at this point.
26. Mendez
19 Oct 2008, 23:46 GMT
I hope we get this on Halloween (next VC week)
I've heard some great things about this and over the past few months I've gotten really into the series for the first time.
27. JoshZTP
24 Oct 2008, 07:11 GMT
My prediction all along has been that I seriously hope Castlevania 3 comes out on October 27... in time for Halloween; which I'm extremely excited for!!!!
28. Most-Excellent!
31 Oct 2008, 06:51 GMT
Talk about BOGUS that Castlevania 3 didn't come out on Oct 27... and that Europe got it first... and on Halloween!!! Dude, this is a totally deep hole... to be in that is!!!
I just hope it comes out for early November... like next Monday on the 3rd!!!
29. Big A2
31 Oct 2008, 06:55 GMT
Well, you did get Secret of Mana first.
30. Corbie
31 Oct 2008, 07:02 GMT
What a fantastic game to come out for Halloween.
31. Big A2
31 Oct 2008, 07:12 GMT
I've got 500 points left, should I download this, or wait untill I have more points and get Super Castlevania IV?
32. Corbie
31 Oct 2008, 07:15 GMT
Don't miss this game. As much as I love Super Castlevania IV, Dracula's Curse is even better, in my opinion.
33. Klaarover
31 Oct 2008, 08:54 GMT
Download all of them and maybe we'll get a Wiiware...
34. 2097
31 Oct 2008, 11:10 GMT
Wow, three games that I really want in one release! I'll especially get this one (since it's best in life), but looking forward to Devil's World and Ghosts 'n Goblin's too.
35. Jon
31 Oct 2008, 11:43 GMT
Very fun and less frustrating than number one.
36. Wiinze
31 Oct 2008, 14:47 GMT
I waited a lot for this release. I will get it when I finish Order of Ecclesia.
Ok, now we have to get only Rondo of Blood!
37. Tony
31 Oct 2008, 14:56 GMT
I hoping Nintendo of America will at least get it to us before Judgement
38. timewarpgamer
31 Oct 2008, 22:52 GMT
I'm probably being way too optimistic here, but what I'm wondering is if Nintendo kind enough to include the upgraded sound for this game that only the Japanese enjoyed with the original release thanks to a special chip in the cart? Can anyone confirm? For those who haven't heard the Japanese version of this game in action, it's truly amazing, sounds better than most of my Genesis games!
39. Outrunner
01 Nov 2008, 15:39 GMT
This game is pure class! I think I'm enjoying it even more than Castlevania 4. The music is just brilliant and the level design is spot on. Nice one Konami!
40. Fuun Saiki
01 Nov 2008, 20:15 GMT
I downloaded this in the very early hours of Friday, I'm on stage 7 at the moment and, shockingly, I think I'm enjoying it more than Caslevania IV. The different characters and alternate paths really add to it.
@ timewarpgamer: Since we here in PAL terrotorries still have to put up with slower games and squashed screens, I don't think they're that bothered about stuff like this, however it was Konami's magical sound chip, not Nintendo's, so I imagine that ultimately it'd be up to them. I wouldn't hold out, though...
41. AlphaNerd01
02 Nov 2008, 04:06 GMT
(waits patiently)
42. Kenryoku_Maxis
02 Nov 2008, 07:16 GMT
Glad it came out for Europe. And I hope it'll come out for America sometime soon too. From the truly epic Castlevania ideas/levels to one of the best OSTs to appear in a game still to date, the game is just one nearly everyone should play through, if not own. And with Virtual Console, you have that option for this long action/platformer with massive replay ability, but on the cheap.
Now I'm gonna have to go turn on my NES....
43. AgentSpalko
05 Nov 2008, 01:58 GMT
Castlevania IV is the best for me, don't think any Castlevnania game beats it. But this game is sure good fun!
44. Mr 64
05 Nov 2008, 12:58 GMT
I've got this on the NES and it's a good installment in the series. On the downside I think some of the graphics are a bit confusing at times and it can be hard to work out which parts of the screen you can walk on and which ones you can't. I also don't think the level design is as inspired as the original Castlevania. Still, there's some great levels, some great enemies and some truly brilliant graphical touches in places. Worth a flutter if you're a Castlevania fan but if you're after your first Castlevania experience, go for number 4 as that's just mind-blowingly good compared to the NES games.
45. Most-Excellent!
11 Nov 2008, 07:20 GMT
Well judging from this Monday's releases with on my Megaman 3 and WiiWare's Brain Challenge...
Looks like we/me personally the most though... AM GOING TO WAIT ANOTHER FREAKING WEEK!!!!!!
But no biggie... next week... IF CASTLEVANIA 3 comes out on NOVEMBER 17TH... then it'll be one of those AWESOMELY PERFECT days... and with CASTLEVANIA JUDGEMENT coming out the next day on NOVEMBER 18TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
46. Bass X0
11 Nov 2008, 15:54 GMT
I'm in two minds about this... they may be saving Castlevania III for release WITH Castlevania Judgment. Or they may NOT be releasing Castlevania III yet BECAUSE of Castlevania Judgment. Personally though, I hope you guys get it next Monday.
47. Kevin
15 Nov 2008, 21:00 GMT
Did they take the help me code out? That helped me a lot when I first starting playing it and I may need it to clear off all the rust when it comes out in the US.
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