Re-release Information

(1) 2002: Re-released as part of Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania and Contra for the PC CD-ROM
(2) 2006: It's re-released in Japan, under its Japanese name, for play on cell phones
(3) 2006: The originally PC-only title Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania and Contra comes to GameTap, the multi-system game-download service, with included an individual re-release of Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse

Manual Story Description

   IT'S A CURSED WORLD WE LIVE IN
                                   (THANKS TO DRAC!)
The time is 100 years before Simon Belmont's birth. The moon burns red overhead and black clouds loom large on the horizon. All is still and quiet. Only the call of a distant crow stirs the cold night air. Suddenly, thunder roars out of the Morbid Mountains and into the village of Warakiya. Like the yell of an angry giant, the terrible sound shakes homes and shops as if they were sapling branches.
       But no one blinks an eye. The village is dead calm. For all the people have fled after receiving warnings from the Great Beyond that Count Dracula has assembled a mighty army of evil, and they're poised to march up from the Valley of Graveyards to bury mankind in a Tomb of Terror. Unfortunately, there's no corner on Earth that won't be gobbled up by this bloodthirsty legion of Swamp Dragons, Slasher Skeletons and Forces of the Undead.
       The last line of defense is you, Trevor Belmont--the forefather of Simon Belmont and the origin of the Belmont Warlord Chromosomes. But your chances are slimmer than Jim. In fact, the only real edge you have over this fang sharpened freak is your power to transform into three different partner spirits: Grant DaNasty, the ferocious Ghost Pirate. Sypha, the Mystic Warlord. And Alucard, Dracula's forgotten son. Each of these spirits will confront you as you fight through 17 possible levels of never-ending fright, including the Haunted Ship of Fools, the Clock Tower or Untimely Death and Curse Castle. You must also possess the strength to wield the might Battle Axe and Mystic Whip, which were given to you by the Poltergeist King.
       So go forth young Trevor into the cold black knight, where death lurks around every corner and evil lingers on every stone. And remember, if your courage and cunning are any less than magnificent or if you fail to choose the correct Paths of Fate, you'll be banished to the world of the undead, and zombies will rule until the end of time.

Objective/Overview

In Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, Konami marks the return of the series' classic formula after its short vacation in deference to Simon's Quest. That is, we're again presented the tried-and-true style of stage-by-stage action. Though, Dracula's Curse is anything but content and complacent, and the objective's description is hardly fitting: You must take take control of Trevor Belmont and guide him through a number of stages--each crammed with enemies, loaded with traps, and resided over by boss guardians--to infiltrate the ancient Castlevania, to arrive at the castle keep, and to destroy the confident Count Dracula.

The game's greatness is defined by how you accomplish this task: Available to Trevor are four possible routes, each with an unassigned but noticeable difficulty level, that take him across the countryside and eventually through Castlevania. On any path, you can meet up with at least one ally that has been assigned to it, a system that offers multiple replayability combinations in terms of paths and allies; though, you can only have one ally at a given time.

Once you clear the game, you can partake in a second, tougher quest with the assistance of the ally, if any, with whom you defeated Dracula (though, you can't swap allies the second time through). It's in this harder quest where you'll run across some enemies you hadn't seen the first time around.

Japanese/European Differences

There are plenty of differences in the Japanese version: (1) Some of the main characters have slight deviations on their names. Strangely, Trevor's name is "Ralph Belmondo" (in the manual mainly, as the "o" is missing here). (2) The zombie sprites are different--a bit drunkard-looking--as are those for the mad frogs and the mummy men; also, the mud men are a bit different and more animated. The boss named leviathan also sports a slightly different look plus it spits smaller fireballs. (3) Hunchbacks are replaced by gremlins (as you've seen in Super Castlevania 4). (4) Instead of using a stabbing dagger, Grant uses throwing daggers as his regular weapon. (5) The music is more instrumental (read: much better) because the cart utilizes a chip called VRC6 (created by Konami) that produces better digital sound in a Famicom game. (6) Because his main weapon is already a throwing dagger, Grant can only collect the axe and stopwatch sub-weapons. (7) There are timing differences in some of the enemies' patterns and attacks, and there's some different item placement for candleabras and breakable bricks. (8) There are a lot of color differences for most stages and some enemies, most prominently a green phantom bat, and there is significantly less detail in some stage areas. (9) Medusa has female characteristics. (10) Water dragons breathe flames downward, too, and hold the attack longer no matter the direction. (11) The boss mummies throw shards high and low instead of in wavy patterns. (12) There are no skull heads, armed knights or robed zombies in the second quest (or in the game, period). (13) Skeledragons and the Bone Dragon King can be damaged by weapon contact anywhere rather than just the head. (14) Ghostly eyeballs and bone-throwing skeletons have attached to their respective attacks sound effects. (15) For the Dracula battle, you begin outside the keep stairway if killed--instead of near the pendulums. (16) Disrobed statues and religious themes are not masked, as they are in the west, which you can see in this animation. More noticeably, the cross in the intro bears rays. (17) The text is a normal font rather than the gothic font used in our version. (18) The second-quest and starting-ally passwords do not work. (19) The "ally switch" sound differs. And (20) the Japanese version is generally easier than the western version; enemy projectiles seem to travel slower, for example, and Trevor can more quickly power up the whip.

There are some minor European differences: First is that the game was in part published by "Palcom Software," a Konami team that used to handle PAL conversions; this is noted on the game's title screen. Also, as in the western version compared to the Japanese version, the rays have been removed from the cross in the intro. Finally, the stopwatch's duration seems to last longer than expected--an extra second than is usual. (Thanks to Danny, Enrico De Castro and Carl for some of this information.)

Soundtrack and Credits

Soundtrack
Opening and Ending Themes: 1 - Prelude | 2 - Epitaph | 3 - Prayer | 4 - Evergreen | 5 - Flash Back
Stage Themes: 1 - Beginning | 2 - Clockwork | 3 - Mad Forest | 4 - Dead Forest | 5 - Dead Beat | 6 - Anxiety | 7 - Nightmare | 8 - Rising | 9 - Aquarius | 10 - Stream | 11 - Demon Seed | 12 - Déjà vu | 13 - Riddle | 14 - Pressure
Battle Themes: 1 - Boss Fight | 2 - Overture | 3 - Big Battle
Miscellaneous Themes: 1 - Destiny | 2 - Encounter | 3 - Block Clear | 4 - All Clear | 5 - Death | 6 - Game Over

Links
Soundtrack Release: Akumajo Dracula Best and Dracula Battle Perfect Selection
Game Credits: Available

Other Characters

Lesser Enemies: Skeleton, Zombie, Vampire Bat, Fishman, Knight, Medusa Head, Hunchback, Skeledragon, Blood Skeleton, Ghost, Harpy Raven, Pillar of Bones, Axe Knight, Winged Guard, Slime, Spider, Ghostly Eyeball, Fireman, Mud Man, Mummy Man, Skullhead, Whip-Toting Skeleton, Balloon Pod, Whip-Toting Blood Skeleton, Bone Scimitar, Mad Frog, Owl, Dhuron, Ball of Destruction, Armed Knight and Robed Zombie
Japanese-Exclusive Lesser Enemies: Gremlin
Bosses: Skull Knight, Nasty Grant, Cyclops, Medusa, Mummies, Cyclops, Phantom Bat, Alucard, Frankenstein, Water Dragons, Skull Knight King, Bone Dragon King, Leviathan, The Grim Reaper and Doppelganger
Dracula Forms: Dracula, Dracula's Ghost I and Dracula's Ghost II
Supporting Cast: The Poltergeist King

Character Lists

Lesser Enemies | Bosses | Dracula Forms | Supporting Cast

Limitations: Sypha is similar to Trevor in both the way she treads and jumps. Sypha, though, as you'll discover when battling enemies, is the weakest of the bunch, and she takes the most damage for enemy contact. While her staff can be swung at a quick speed, but it, too, is weak, which dictates that Sypha must score multiple blows, speedily, if she hopes to clear away enemies. If you're going to take Sypha as your ally, it should be for one reason: Her powerful spells. That is, instead of the typical sub-weapons, Sypha can collect spell books that allow her to execute three magical attacks, each of which is masterful in its own way, almost unfair for minor enemies and bosses alike. With this kind of power, Sypha can tag along for the sole purpose spell usage against the more and more powerful bosses. In this sense, Sypha may very well be the most useful ally in what is a very difficult game; the other two have their strengths but are simply over their heads when up against the strongest bosses.

Limitations: Alucard, too, is average when it comes to speed and jumping. In fact, none of Alucard's physical abilities are all that impressive. Alucard, because of his height, is a large target, and that size works against him when encountering jumps within narrow passages; climbing stairways that rest near spiked platforms, too, will always be a problem. Alucard attacks with the very weak ball of destruction, but the attack can be powered up thrice for a three-directional assault, which itself is still fairly weak because all three fireballs must hit for there to be any real effect; additionally, he cannot use this attack while climbing stairs. The attack is useful on strictly airborne bosses, but there aren't too many of those. "Then why even bother taking him along, then?" you ask. Simple, really: His ability to turn into a bat. Though by transforming into a bat you drain hearts quickly, the power allows Alucard to skip over perhaps whole areas (some of the more annoying ones at that) and avoid enemy clusters even where Grant cannot.