REVIEW: Castlevania III 1990 NES
	By: Konami Type: Platform Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard

Castlevania has always been a series known for it's sheer quality. The first Castlevania game showed the world that the NES could in fact produce a chilling platforming game with top notch graphics. The second game was a mix of adventure and side-scrolling action, which also came out as a winning combination (although it's seemingly impossible not to use a guide to beat it, thanks to the poor translation.) Does the third game in the series live up to its prodecessors? You better believe it! In fact, there are very few platformers on the NES (or any other system) that can match the undeniable fun of this game IMO. This game takes place in the 15th century, as Dracula once again terroizes Europe. The people know that when it comes to vampires, there's only one clan they can count on: the Belmonts. A new member of the Belmont clan named Trevor grabs the legendary whip of his family and goes to free Europe from fear.

To start off, the graphics are just as you'd expect: great. The detail on the scenery is very lush, giving the game a dark and murky feel. The haunting feel adds to the enjoyment of the game, as not many other games at the time were this spooky looking (even though the Genesis was already released.) The enemies and bosses in this game aren't a letdown when it comes to detail. The enemies look perfect for a game that's set in Transylvania, and the animation is better than before. The cream of the crop when it comes to the NES.

The music is easily the best out of the 3 Castlevania games. Just about every stage has it's own tune, each one as frightening and awesome as the next. The music is not only frightening, but it's also very catchy. You have to hear it to believe it! Level 8 has a remix of the "Vampire Killer" theme from the first Castlevania game, with added beats, making an old classic tune even more significant than before! The sound effects a lot like the ones used in the original, and they're just as cool as before. One sound effect that wasn't in any of the previous games are the haunting moans and laughs from the Grim Reaper. You'll wonder if you're actually playing the NES!

Even more significant than the sound and graphics is the gameplay. The gameplay goes back to the good old Castlevania action of the first game, with more levels and even more difficulty! The level designs are spectacular, and each level is pretty long in length. You'll need to continue a few times until you beat most of the levels in this game. However, what really makes this game stands out are the incredible new features. At the end of some stages, you can find another person that is also out to kill Dracula, and they can help you on your quest. Recruits include Grant the hunchback acrobat, Syfa the mysterious vampire killer, and Alucard, the son of Dracula that's much kinder than his father. The other new feature that makes this game so great are the multiple routes. At some stages, you will come to a fork in your path, and you must choose which way you want to go. The way you choose will lead to different levels, and can even change the ending of the game (there are 4 different endings!) The different endings and different routes will keep you playing the game again and again, and the challenge will stop you from beating fully beating the game in a week or so. In fact, even after you've beaten the game once, you are given an even harder mode so you can go back and play the game yet another time! As far as platformers go, I've seen very few with this much replay value. In fact, the incredible replay value makes me tempted to claim this as my favorite platformer ever!

In short, Castlevania 3 takes all the goods from the first game, adds in more challenge, and gives you even more features. If you have an NES, than you absolutely must have Castlevania 3. I've played many games in my time, but very few (and I mean FEW) have ever impressed me as much as this game has. If you're a gamer, make sure you don't miss out. - John Muller 98%

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