5/5 ★ – fez219's review of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.

Oh my GOD my heart is pumping. I just finished it for the first time without save states and I gotta say it was EXHILARATING. Without a doubt the hardest game I've ever beaten. This game is a masterpiece. It has everything that made Castlevania 1 great: excellent atmosphere, tight gameplay, and heart-pumping boss battles. It's a great return to form after the wet flop of 2. And it's got even more! I can't imagine better graphics in an NES game; it's so vibrant and expressive, with so much little details packed in. And the music is (of course) fantastic. Only the final few levels are in Dracula's Castle, so you'll be adventuring through the Wallachia countryside. This lends to more environmental variety. There are branching paths and multiple characters that join you along your quest, each with unique strengths and weaknesses and a new playstyle to learn. There's Trevor, the Belmont (plays just like Simon from 1), Grant, a quick pirate who can climb any surface, Sypha, the Mage, and Alucard, the half-vampire. Yup, this game - not SOTN - is where Alucard is introduced. Each character can find different secrets as well in each level. The different characters and multiple levels (there's no way that I know of to see every level in one playthrough) lead to a monstrous amount of replay value in this relatively short adventure. The game is also brutally difficult. The last few levels are some of the craziest deathtraps I've seen and took a ton of practice to beat. But you really do get better as you repeat these gauntlets! Eventually, I was able to beat most of each level without even taking a single hit. Getting better at each level takes time, but is super rewarding. The level design is immaculate and beating it by learning it is totally worth it; parts that seem unfair at first really do run like clockwork once you get good. And like the first game, the continue system (infinite continues) is forgiving enough to not throw you back to the start of the game. There is some mercy in Dracula's Curse, at least. Like 2, the game features multiple endings; this time, it depends on which partner (or no partner) you have with you. Although there's not a ton of story here, the little tidbits inspire key elements of the Netflix anime's plot, which is a nice bonus. It indeed features Trever and his friends from Dracula's Curse (sadly no Grant yet though). Overall, this takes the amazing gameplay of 1 and marries it with some of the exploration prototyped in 2. The result is a true masterpiece and worthwhile for anyone who can stomach difficulty.