Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Japanese: Akumajo Densetsu, or Legend of the Demon Castle) is the sixth installment in the Castlevania series, and third to be released on the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was published by Konami in Japan in 1989 and in North America in 1990. In Europe it was published by Palcom Software in 1992.

According to the game's instruction manual, it takes place in 1476, 215 years before the events in Castlevania and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Many characters and elements introduced for the first time in Castlevania III would become mainstays in the series.

Storyline
The year is 1476 and Count Dracula has begun ravaging Europe with an army of monsters. His sole purpose is to exterminate mankind, extracting his vengeance upon humanity after the death of his beloved wife, Lisa, mistakenly executed as a witch for preparing medicine to help the sick.

The Belmont family of vampire hunters, once exiled from Wallachia, is beseeched by the Church for help, as their own armies have met with defeat. The people feared the Belmonts' "super-human" power and drove them out of the land, but with Dracula about to swallow Europe in darkness, they are left with no choice but to call Trevor Belmont, the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip.

Joining Trevor Belmont in his mission to defeat Dracula are three other heroes - Sypha Belnades, a young priestess with powerful magic spells at her disposal; Grant DaNasty, a man cursed by Dracula for opposing him who has the ability to climb on walls; and Alucard, Dracula's son, a dhampir with the ability to shoot fireballs and transform into a bat.

Trevor and his companions cross the Transylvanian countryside, defeat Dracula's minions, and eventually defeat the Count himself. Once his father is defeated, Alucard goes into a self-induced slumber, unable to cope with having fought his father. Moreover, he realized that his own power could pose a potential threat to the world. Grant DaNasty oversees the reconstruction of Wallachia after the battle is finished. Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades marry once peace is restored in the region.

Heroes

 * Trevor C. Belmont (ラルフ・C・ベルモンド Ralph C. Belmondo) — The last of the legendary Belmont family and genuine Vampire Hunter. His Clan had been driven out of the land centuries ago because the people feared their strong supernatural powers.

In 1476, Count Dracula waged a severe war against humanity. The Eastern Orthodox Church had assembled their armies and marched to the remote area of Transylvania where the battles were centered. The soldiers met defeat and were never heard from again. The Pope, having no other options, searched far and wide for a Belmont descendant.

This was when Trevor appeared to fulfill the Pope's request and traveled to Dracula's Castle to finally earn the respect he and his family deserved.


 * Sypha Belnades (サイファ・ヴェルナンデス Cipher Fernandez) — Sypha is a priestess who disguised herself as an apprentice monk and uses the power of the elements. She had been dispatched on a secret mission to infiltrate Dracula's demon castle, but failed when captured by a Cyclops and turned to stone.

She was saved by two men named Trevor Belmont and Grant Danasty, who had been able to break the spell by defeating the monster. She was thankful for the help, and when she realized Trevor's mission was the same as hers, she offered to lend her abilities toward his cause.


 * Grant Danasty (グラント・ダナスティ Grant Dăneşti) — A carefree rebel and thief from the town of Warakiya. He had been plotting to overthrow Count Dracula, but he and his comrades were no match for his army. He was captured and turned into a demon by the Count's dark magic and ordered to guard the lone Clock Tower.

Trevor Belmont faced and defeated Grant while he was in this state. This freed Grant from the spell and returned him to his normal form. Grant was thankful to Trevor for the rescue, and offered to join the Vampire Hunter in his quest toward vanquishing Dracula.


 * Alucard (アルカード Alucard) — The seventeen-year old son of Count Dracula and once been on his side. Having already changed his name to Alucard as a sign that he opposed his father's way of life, he infiltrated the underground of Wallachia when Dracula dispatched his armies. He then began searching for a comrade who shared his ideals and slumbered inside a tomb where he would challenge anyone who had ventured in.

He battled a group of heroes led by Vampire Hunter Trevor Belmont and was defeated. He then joined them on their quest and set off towards the demon castle.

Villians

 * Dracula (ドラキュラ Dracula) — The Lord of the Vampires who became a Devil worshiper after the death of his second wife. He plotted and launched an attack against humanity by summoning Dark Gods from the netherworld and borrowed their power to unleash a total onslaught of destruction.

He sits at the top of his castle, squeezing his hand in a blood soaked fist as humanity desperately seeks a way out.

Gameplay
Castlevania III abandons the adventure game elements of its immediate predecessor and returns to the stage based action platform style of the first Castlevania game. Unlike Castlevania, however, Castlevania III is not strictly linear. After completing the first level, and at several other points throughout the game, the player is given a choice of paths to follow. The choices made by the player in these circumstances can have a profound impact on how the game unfolds. There are fifteen levels in total.

Another key feature is the option to choose other playable characters to use along with Trevor Belmont, who plays exactly as Simon Belmont does in the first game. These additional characters are found in stages after certain boss battles and have distinctive abilities that lend in giving Castlevania III much more variety than the original game. With Grant, players can move quicker than Trevor, climb walls, and change directions in mid-jump; Alucard has the ability to turn into a bat and fly at the cost of hearts; and Sypha has elemental spells that can home in on enemies, freeze them, or burn them with a short range flame attack. Only one additional character can be had at a time, and not all of them can be found on the same path, so it is impossible to encounter all of them in one play-through.

Graphics
The graphics adheres to the style of its two predecessors but makes noticeable leaps forward in environmental detail and new effects like towers that rises upward at a set pace, areas where water-level frantically rises, and transversing over across moving gears, swinging pendulums, weighted platforms, and rotting bricks.

Music
The music for Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was composed by H. Maezawa, Jun Funahashi and Yukie Morimoto. The original Japanese version contained a specialized music chip. This chip added an extra two square waves (each with eight pulse width settings instead of the standard four) and a sawtooth wave.

The music of the game has been commercially released several times while included with single disc albums of selected arranged tracks. They are titled Akumajō Dracula Best Vol. 1(March 20, 1990), Dracula Perfect Selection (1991), Dracula New Classic (1992), Dracula Battle Perfect Selection Vol. 1 (1994) Castlevania: 20th Anniversary Premium Music Collection (2006), and Castlevania Best Music Collections Box (2010).

A popular piece from the game is Beginning, which became a frequently recurring tune in the franchise. Some songs like Mad Forest, and Prelude were also remixed and used in later titles.

Inspiration and Lore
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is the first game in the series to lay an explicit connection with Dracula and the real life Vlad III the Impaler. The game draws inspiration from Bram Stoker's novel and states that Dracula is an evil sorcerer which was also brought forward in the novel. The only difference being that in the novel he became a vampire after his death whereas in the game he got his powers from an evil deity. This is further implied by the setting which is the 15th century, implying to take place in 1476, the year that the real Tepes died; this is also the offical date given in the series' timeline which was published later.

The character of Alucard is another movie reference which once again fits with the style of the game. His name is taken from the 1943 film Son of Dracula.

Grant's Japanese name is given as Grant Dăneşti, a reference to the historical House who rebelled against Vlad Tepes but were later persecuted. This fits well with Grant's role in the game, but he is never mentioned to be of a noble lineage.

Regional Variations and Re-releases
Besides just the different name in Japan, Akumajō Densetsu, the Japanese version has several other differences:

Castlevania and Contra: Konami Collector's Series, released in 2002 for the PC, is a collection of five Konami hits from the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System: Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Contra and Super Contra. Additionally, the CD contains a Dance Dance Revolution demo. This package was released in October of 2006 and re-released for the download service GameTap. All of the games are perfect emulations of their NES counterparts; the only changes of note are the text differences found in Simon's Quest and the option to perform a quick save.
 * Trevor Belmont is known as Ralph C. Belmondo in this game. Densetsu.gif
 * Instead of using a stabbing dagger, Grant throws daggers as his main attack.
 * In the American game, each enemy takes away the same amount of energy when the player is hit. But as the game progresses, damage taken from enemies increases. Instead, in the Japanese game, each enemy takes a different amount of energy away from the player. Many believe this factor makes the Japanese game easier.
 * On the final stage, after losing to Dracula, instead of starting back at the level's second section, the player begins right outside of Dracula's keep. This is another factor said to make the Japanese game much easier.
 * The word font is different between versions, with the Japanese version using the same font as Castlevania.
 * The female statues in stage 8 are partially nude in the Japanese game. Just like Super Castlevania IV, statues were clothed for the American releases.
 * The hunchbacks in the Japanese game are hopping gremlin creatures like in Super Castlevania IV.
 * Several enemies are colored different, have altered sprites, or have slightly different attack patterns.
 * The original Japanese version contained a specialized music chip which was removed in the North American release due to lack of expansion-chip support on the American hardware. This chip added an extra two square waves (each with eight pulse width settings instead of the standard four) and a sawtooth wave.
 * Unbelievably, none of the religious content was removed in the North American release. NOA seems to have given the Castlevania series an exemption. The cross present during Trevor's prayer is slightly different, however.
 * The final form of Dracula is more challenging in the North American release. He fires the 'laser beams' more often, and they are both longer and launched in a greater variety of directions than in the Japanese version.

In 2006 Konami released a port of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for cell phones. The port is faithful to the orginal in terms of graphics, being almost identical. The only difference is that the game contains an easy mode.

Staff

 * Programmer: H. Akamatsu, M. Takemoto, Y. Okuda, S. Kitamoto
 * Composers: H. Maezawa, J. Funahasi, Y. Morimoto
 * Planner: I. Urata
 * Director: H. Akamatsu

Controversy
The orgins of Dracula and his son Alucard along with his reasoning for declaring war against humanity given in the manual are different then later explanations given by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, leaving some fans to believe this information has been retconned.

Dracula is said to have received his powers from an evil deity while in Lament of Innonence he got his powers by absorbing the soul of a powerful vampire with the Crimson Stone. However, evidence in the game supports that the evil deity given in Akumajou Densetsu's manual and Death are supposed to be one and the same. The roles of the two beings are identical. When Dracula was still known by the name of Mathias Cronqvist, he found the Crimson Stone which allowed him to gain power over Death. Being an Angel of Death, he was bound to the stone and his role was to harvest souls and grant them to his master, thus allowing that individual to absorb them. After Walter's defeat, Death was able take his soul and granted it to Mathias, his exact words being:

''This power... I offer to the king who wields the Crimson Stone!''

Thus implying he and the evil deity are retconned to be the same individual.

Another supposed condradiction is that the game intro states that Dracula was able to revive Dark Gods from the underworld and borrowed their powers for his evil goals, supposedly overwriting the statement previously given in the manual. The Dark Gods and the evil deity were most likely never supposed to be same character however, a Castlevania manga that chronicled the timespan between Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness once again makes references to these Dark Gods (being refered to as "the evil lords") and states that Dracula merely used their power to get even stronger.

Dracula's second form in the game are most likely these individuals and the being (which possesses multiple heads) that is fought differs greatly from other forms throughout the series and bears no resemblence to Dracula at all.

Alucard's backstory also differs somewhat and rather then inheriting his powers from Dracula because he was his son, he is mentioned to once have a human heart but lost his soul due to a contract his father made with the Devil. This controversy has yet to be resolved.

Legacy
Dracula's Curse has contributed many things to the series that have been used extensively. Examples include recurring enemies like whip-toting skeletons named Gates of Death, Owls, and Dullahans. Dracula's Curse introduces the Belnades family, which has members that appear in other Castlevania titles, and Alucard, who is the starring character of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Trevor Belmont plays an important role in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness and is a playable character in the extra mode, and the story of Curse of Darkness continues shortly after the events of Dracula's Curse.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow's extra mode, Julius Mode, is a clear homage to Dracula's Curse, as it features a Belmont, Belnades, and Alucard teaming up to slay the Dark Lord. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance borrows bosses from Dracula's Curse, such as the Leviathan Gargoyle (named Pazuzu in Harmony), Skull Knight, and the Cyclops. Zombie versions of Trevor, Grant, and Sypha serve as a boss battle in Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. It is unclear if the ghost ships in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness are meant as an homage to Dracula's Curse, but Dracula's Curse is the first Castlevania title to feature a haunted ship stage.

Endings
There are four different endings to Dracula's Curse. Which one you receive depends on which additional character you beat the game with, if any. Each ending will start with the line "Trevor made many sacrifices. The long fight is over. Dracula is dead and all other spirits are asleep.

When the game is completed without getting any of the other playable characters the game will show only Trevor watching the castle crumbling. It mentioned that he will someday get the respect that is owed to him, and the Belmont name shall be honored by all.

With Grant as Trevor's partner it is said that they would become good friends, and Grant will start to rebuild the cities of Wallachia that were destroyed during the war.

Trevor and Sypha's ending hits a more romantic tone. Sypha removes her hoad and she reveals she is actually a woman. Trevor puts his arm around her. It is told that Sypha had a bad life, but since meeting Trevor, she started to feel more comfortable with herself.

After completing the game along with Alucard, his feelings of guilt are elaborated on as they stand on the mountain cliff. Trevor realises this as he thinks about his friend.

Trivia

 * The fan translation community, finding the Japanese version of the game superior (especially in the sound department), retranslated Castlevania III.
 * Fake zombie versions of Trevor, Sypha, and Grant would fight Alucard in the Inverted Castle of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and later, inexplicably, fight Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin's Nest of Evil, despite them not having anything to do with Trevor, Sypha, or Grant.
 * Dracula's final form in this game is of a statue intended to resemble Sumerian demon Pazuzu.
 * Project 51 Productions has gotten the rights from Konami to create movies based on Castlevania. Instead of starting with the original game, as is logical, their first project will be a direct-to-DVD feature covering the story of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Scriptwriting the movie will be comic genius Warren Ellis with art direction by James Jean who has also worked on comics among other things. More information can be found at their production blog: CastlevaniaDraculasCurse.com
 * First game in the Castlevania series to use the "items and grid" password system.

Related Products

 * Akumajo Dracula Best Vol. 1 - Contains the Dracula's Curse Original Soundtrack
 * Tokuma-syoten Akumajo Densetsu Guide Book - Japanese guide book, contains additional possibly official artwork
 * Nintendo Game Atlas - Contains stage maps for this game.
 * The Legend of Satanic Castle: The Vampire Hunters - An choose-your-own-adventure book featuring descendants of the four playable characters in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
 * Nintendo Power Dracula's Curse Guide - Magazine guide which contains original artwork for many of the characters and creatures
 * Dracula's Curse Animated Movie - Western animation in the works based on Dracula's Curse
 * Castlevania (film) - Film in the works that according to an early script is based on Dracula's Curse
 * Captain N: The Game Master - Has episodes featuring elements of this game (especially Return to Castlevania)
 * Castlevania: Curse of Darkness - PS2 Sequel to Dracula's Curse
 * Castlevania Best Music Collections BOX - Contains music from this game on Disk 2