''Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' is an
action-adventure platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
developed and published by
Konami
, is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...
for the
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
. It was released in Japan in 1989, and in North America in 1990, and in Europe by
Palcom
Ultra Software Corporation was a shell corporation and publishing label created in 1988 as a subsidiary of Konami of America, in an effort to get around Nintendo of America's strict licensing rules in place at the time for the North American m ...
in 1992. It was later released on the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...
for the
Wii,
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generati ...
, and
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
Th ...
.
''Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse'' is the third installment in the ''
Castlevania
''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...
'' video game series. It is a prequel to the original ''
Castlevania
''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...
'', set a few centuries before the events of the original game. The game's protagonist is
Trevor C. Belmont, an ancestor of the original hero
Simon Belmont
is a fictional character who serves as the first protagonist to appear in the ''Castlevania'' series. He appears in ''Castlevania (1986 video game), Castlevania'', ''Vampire Killer'', ''Haunted Castle (video game), Haunted Castle'', ''Castlevania ...
.
Gameplay
''Castlevania III'' abandons the
action-adventure and
role-playing
Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing as ...
elements of its immediate predecessor ''
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest'' and returns to the
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...
roots of the first ''
Castlevania
''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...
'' title. Unlike ''Castlevania'', however, ''Castlevania III'' is
non-linear
In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other ...
: Trevor, the main character, can be assisted by one of three possible companions, and after completing the first
level
Level or levels may refer to:
Engineering
*Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights
*Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical
* Canal pound or level
* Re ...
, and at several other points throughout the game, the player is given a choice of two
branching paths to follow. The player can obtain
multiple endings
A narrative typically ends in one set way, but certain kinds of narrative allow for multiple endings.
Comics
* '' The Death-Ray'' by Daniel Clowes.
* ''Cliff Hanger''.
Literature
* The ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' series.
* ''Fighting Fanta ...
depending on the choices they make throughout the game.
There are two main routes through the game's sixteen stages, which are referred to as blocks and are broken down into several sections. The second stage is an optional excursion for picking up one of the three partner characters, and the main branch occurs part way through the third stage. Each route contains a total of nine stages (ten if the player takes the optional second stage). The upper route takes the player across the lake to the main bridge, entering Dracula's castle through the front gate, while the lower route takes the player through a series of tunnels and caverns, leading to a climb up the cliff face below the castle. The lower route also features one short branching section of its own at stage 6. The two paths converge in the main hall of the castle.
Plot
The year is 1476, and
Count Dracula
Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some ...
has started to ravage Europe with an army of monsters. The Belmont family of vampire hunters, once exiled from
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, are called into action. They feared the Belmonts' "super-human" power, but with Dracula menacing to swallow Europe in darkness, they are left with no choice but to call
Trevor Belmont (Ralph C. Belmondo in the Japanese version), current wielder of the
Vampire Killer whip
''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early systems to modern consoles ...
.
Joining Trevor Belmont in his mission to defeat Dracula are three new playable characters:
Sypha Belnades
Listed below are characters from all of the ''Castlevania'' video games in the order of their introduction and the game's release.
''Castlevania'' and ''Simon's Quest''
Dracula
The main antagonist of the ''Castlevania'' series is , based on ...
, a young sorceress with poor physical attack power but powerful elemental magic spells at her disposal;
Grant Danasty
Listed below are characters from all of the ''Castlevania'' video games in the order of their introduction and the game's release.
''Castlevania'' and ''Simon's Quest''
Dracula
The main antagonist of the ''Castlevania'' series is , based on ...
, a pirate with the ability to climb on walls and change direction in mid-jump; and
Alucard, Dracula's son, a
dhampir
In Balkans folklore, dhampirs (sometimes spelled ''dhampyres'', ''dhamphirs'', or ''dhampyrs'') are creatures that are the result of a union between a vampire and a mortal human. This union was usually between male vampires and female mortal hum ...
with the ability to shoot fireballs and transform into a
bat. Trevor can be accompanied by only one companion at a time. If he chooses to take on another he must abandon his current companion. The player can "spiritually transform" between Trevor and his ally with the "select" button. Both Trevor and whoever is accompanying him share the same health meter and heart counter. The ending of the game differs depending on which companion Trevor has with him at the time, or if he does not take another character with him at all.
Development and release
Besides the different title, ''Akumajō Densetsu'', the Japanese version has several other differences. It contains a specialized VRC6
coprocessor chip. The game's audio programmer, Hidenori Maezawa, assisted in the chip's creation. This chip added two extra
pulse wave
A pulse wave or pulse train is a type of non-sinusoidal waveform that includes square waves (duty cycle of 50%) and similarly periodic but asymmetrical waves (duty cycles other than 50%). It is a term used in synthesizer programming, and is a ...
channels and a
saw wave
The sawtooth wave (or saw wave) is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform. It is so named based on its resemblance to the teeth of a plain-toothed saw with a zero rake angle. A single sawtooth, or an intermittently triggered sawtooth, is called a ...
channel to the system's initial set of five sound channels. The majority of the music combines the channels to imitate the sound of a
synthesized string section. Western versions of the NES did not have the ability to support external
sound chip
A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that proces ...
s, so the North American release replaced the VRC6 with Nintendo's Memory Management Controller 5 (MMC5). The MMC5 chip's sound channels cannot be used with the NES, and the game's music had to be changed by Yoshinori Sasaki to comply with the NES's standard five channels. ''Akumajō Dracula Famicom Best'' was a soundtrack album that included the Famicom version of the game's original music.
In the Japanese version, instead of using a stabbing dagger, Grant throws daggers as his main attack. Some enemies do less
damage in the Japanese version, and had their sprites changed for the Western releases. Some instances of nudity on the enemies were censored, and religious iconography was pared down. The Japanese version has slightly different backgrounds in many stages, and has special effects not seen in the North American and European releases.
The North American and
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
versions have several hidden features that can be accessed by entering a certain name for the player, which include starting the game with 10 lives (by entering the name "HELP ME"), the option to start the game with any of the three spirit partners, and to access the second, more difficult quest. These features are not present in the Japanese version.
''Castlevania III'' was the first game in the series to have different packaging artwork outside Japan, painted by Tom Dubois using
alkyd paints. It was inspired by
Ray Harryhausen
Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mig ...
. Dubois would go on to design the North American packaging for ''
Super Castlevania IV
''Super Castlevania IV'' is a 1991 platform game developed and published by Konami. Released originally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it has been re-released multiple times, including for the Super NES Classic Edition.
''Super Cast ...
'', ''
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge'' and ''
Castlevania: Bloodlines''.
It was released in Japan on December 22, 1989, in North America on September 1, 1990, and in Europe on December 10, 1992. The game also received a Windows release on November 16, 2002.
It was released on the
Wii Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Un ...
in the PAL regions on October 31, 2008, in N