BIO NOTICES!

A dagger embraced by a pair of whips symbolize the deadly, yet courageous essence of the Mystic Whip. Obtaining these icons will increase the attack powers of both Trevor and Alucard. Usually, you get your first upgrade from the first available candle, but if for some reason you're lacking Hearts and still whipping with yarn, you'll need to gather 4 Hearts of Stone for the first upgrade, then a total of 8 for the next.

As for Alucard, he will emit 2 Balls of Destruction at a 45 degree at his first power level, and finally 3 in a 90 degree angle in front of him for the most damage potential (but seeing as how those diamond things of his are each as effective as a yarn whip, that doesn't seem to matter...).

This applies to Trevor and Grant once again. To obtain Double Trouble's sequel, thus the ability to use weapons thrice, frequently use your Warakiya War Item to trash candles and enemies. After another 10 or so strikes, the Triple Threat token will reveal itself (hopefully not over water or an abyss) and while Trevor the Pyromaniac goes berserk with the Sacred Water, Grant can go Columbine with the Battle Axe-hurling.

Unfortunately, due to her ongoing anger-management courses, Sypha was disallowed from accessing either token, as she is relegated to one spell at a time.

Stowed away in random recesses and cracks in the walls is this rejuvenating food item, the Leg of Werewolf, which will restore 8 life bars. A tough-as-nails Vampire Hunter like Sypha wouldn't scarf down anything less, now would she? In any event, good luck finding these buried within wall blocks along the routes. Elsewhere, the Leg of Werewolf is also referred to as the "Pork Chop," "Mutton Chop," "Pot Roast," "Roast Beef," "Roast Chicken," and "Turkey". Never referred to as the "Holy Ham," but always known in my own sessions as "The Chicken."

All this talk of food is making me hungry...where's Juila Child when you need her?

Each of your allies have access to this Warakiya War Item, which, when used, will freeze all ENEMY activity in the area for 3 'tocks of the game clock. Be wary, however. While in CastleVania 1, Simon Belmont may be able to freeze the Phantom Bat and Medusa Queen with it, CastleVania III's aren't called Ultimate Evils for nothing; each failed attempt at stopping time during those battles will vainly break 5 Hearts of Stone.

P.S. Be glad the framers of Dracula's Curse disabled Double Trouble and Triple Threat options for this War Item. Not only would burning 50 hearts for the tokens prove illogical, but 15 hearts for a 6 second freeze spell is rather extreme, don't you think? Better to stick with something that can do damage rather than prevent it, if you get the deal.

Upon clearing a Level of Terror of its Ultimate Evil, the Poltergeist King sends this large, lucent crystal with the power to totally cleanse the Level of its evil influences. Taking the Orb of Light will fully restore your well-being and help rack up soul credits towards another chance at life...

...should you soon fail...

Trevor C. Belmont, the great, great grandfather of some Vampire Killer named Simon. According to our records in the Great Lore of Vampire Hunters, the Belmont family began in the middle to late 15th century with this man.

The Priests foretold of the Belmont generation inheritng great supernatural power, and upon learning this, the gullible citizens of Warakiya City exiled the early Belmonts, forcing them into seclusion in the gloomy mountains beyond the wilderness.

However, when Dracula's sorcery allowed him access to the Powers of Darkness, the townspeople soon learned they were in even more trouble. Evacuating the city, one civillian was able to find the last surviving member of the Belmonts, a young man named Trevor.

Learning of the incidents at Warakiya, Trevor soon realized his destiny...his Curse.

The town was in ruins. Holy places had been demolished by the fearsome hoardes. At what remained of a familar church, Trevor knelt at a crumbled pew...

After a moment spent in silent prayer, lightning split the air, thunder rolled through the evening skies, and Trevor rose to the occaision.

One of the greatest Legends ever told...was about to begin.

Armed with the Mystic Whip, bestowed unto him by the Poltergeist King and aptly known later on as the Vampire Killer, Trevor charged headlong into the enemy-infested darkness, tearing down Slasher Skeletons, crushing Dark Knights, and shattering Bone Dragons. Along the way he enlisted the help of a vengeful Pirate, a powerful Mage, and Dracula's own son.

Trevor married the mystical Vampire Hunter, Sypha Belnades, and so continued the Belmont bloodlines. As a result of this battle, the Belmont name has long since been respected by all.

In 1797, Dracula's terrible magic had exumed a corpse in the likeness of Trevor Belmont to confuse Alucard. Armed with an extremely lengthy Sadistic Whip, Bloody Bone Boomerangs, Dark Daggers, and Sacreligious Water, this enemy was the Trevor Fake.

Basic, Poltergeist King standard issue, beast-blasting vampire hunter's whip with the ability to change its shape based on the spiritual influence of its owner.

It begins as a long leather whip, but at the first upgrade, the Mystic Whip becomes a short Morning Star, and at the second level, becomes an equally powerful, far-reaching Morning Star.

The Crissaegrim of Nintendo games, in any game I refer to this weapon as The Bomb, for reasons that should be obvious. One of your most effective War Items, Trevor tosses glass vials of the Warakiyan Cocktail to the floor, and upon shattering, will deliver numerous, repeated punishment to anything foolish enough to frolic amongst the blaze.

For best results, use Sacred Water on the Dragon Skull Cannon, Bone Dragon, Axe Man, Skull Knight, Nasty Grant, and many other land-huggers.

We open the new Bonus sections with one of the sparse glitches in this game. Crouching as Trevor (Grant and Sypha as well), if you draw your weapon and let it strike out, then immediately release the Down button, you'll see the standing strike sprite, too, yet only one hit will still be registered.

However, if you're bashing a wall for a Leg of Werewolf or a 1 UP, you can smash both bricks at the same time with one swipe! That'll show that SotN Player-Character where the REAL tough guys are!

"Shut the hell up, Eric Roman! You damned Slogromancer! Up yours, pal!"

Other Trevor tricks:
If you would like to begin a fresh, new, good old-fashioned Trevor game, with 10 lives, that is, input the name "HELP ME" at the Epitaph screen...you wuss. But to redeem yourself by beginning from the more tricky second quest, with its misplaced enemies, speedy Fire Ghosts, clap-jawed Flying Skulls, pokey Darker Knights and durable Cloaked Zombies, input "AKAMA".

To begin with Grant DaNasty at your side, key in "FUJIMOTO". To begin with Sypha Belnades, "URATA". Finally, to begin with the true Alucard in all his 8-bit, 3 color glory, inscribe "OKUDA" into the walls of your Final Resting Place...

Do bear in mind, however, that if you begin a new game with a Partner Spirit, you will be unable to exchange them for one you've presumedly rescued, just as in the hard modes. Furthermore, you will be unable to get/change a Partner Spirit in neither the "AKAMA" nor normally-accessible hard modes.

All seemed to be well for young pirate, Grant DaNasty, a member of the legendary DaNasty family, infamous rivals of Dracula's family. He learned many a technique while working his favorite seafaring vessel, which would soon become the Haunted Ship of Fools; he learned to scale walls and maneuver around precipices, how to get into and out of tight spots, and how leap high and move swiftly.

Indeed, all was well...

On that night in 1476, when he returned home to attend the annual reunion of his family, it was clear that Dracula's Curse had beat him to it. Addled Zombies and horrific Medusa Heads had populated the area, trailed behind by Mole Men and mysterious figures stacking piles of Dragon Skulls.

He fought through the local managerie of assorted horrors and arrived outside his humble home. The outside seemed to be almost entirely in ruin. From the inside, he heared sounds of struggle, and suddenly, a blood-freezing scream. Grant charged to the doorway and would be met with the most horrific sight of his life...

The large living room was in shambles. Furniture lay broken and strewn about...blood painted the walls. Ravaged bodies lay everywhere...this is what had become of his family. Uncles, aunts...relatives...very close friends...and his two very young sons.

From a dark corner of the room emerged a lone Skull Knight. On its sword, the limp body of Grant's own wife sank to its hilt. The Skull Knight slashed his sword, hurling the ripped body across the room and crashing through a window.

Grant's hatred seared within and he quickly unsheathed his dagger. With a hateful roar, he charged the Skull Knight, but there was no battle. The giant skeleton hit Grant with its shield, sending him crashing through the doorway.

Bruised and bleeding, Grant struggled to rise as the Skull Knight burst from the entrance behind. A tall, dark figure gravely chuckled, and before Grant could realize who it was, he found his soul replaced with curdling dreams of a terrible, gargantuan man-beast locked in combat with a man slinging fires of pain.

The dreams abruptly ended when, weak and weary, he found himself at the summit of the Clock Tower of Untimely Death. A man reached out for his hand and helped him up. This man was Trevor Belmont.

Explaining his case, he asked to go with Trevor. He was accepted, thus he was able to avenge his family, and put evil away once and for all!

After the fight, his family avenged, Grant DaNasty helped to rebuild the lives of others in Warakiya City. Dracula was gone...

Or so it seemed...in 1797, Dracula had indeed resurrected, and this time the Curse revived an acrobatic corpse in the likeness of Grant DaNasty, which fought Alucard with a short sword and an endless array of Dark Daggers. This zombie was known as the Grant Fake.

Grant DaNasty's presence here is apparently based on the historical Di Nesti family, who was a rival of the family of Vlad Tepes, Dracula.

You know that area in the Mad Forest of Darkness where you ascend the stairs up to the misty land bridge to battle Mole Men and Dragon Skull Cannons? If you have Grant with you, you can reveal his secret weapon, the Golden Dagger! Just punch your B button and you're off!

Just kidding. According to Lyndon Moore, Grant's Dagger matches his primary color palette (red, brown, orange-yellow) due to color mapping issues with the area, so don't think one stab of the 'Golden Knife' will register 4 seconds of damage.

This isn't Simon's Quest. ^_^

Hey, now that's odd...

Using the name code mentioned in the Trevor Bonus, I ran thru Warakiya City with Grant. Not only did I get 1-UPs frequently by hitting that unreachable candle at the summit of BLK 1-02, grabbing the rare 7000 point Bonus Bag, going downstairs and returning to the screen to restore the candle, and not only did I learn that Grant walks slightly slower when he traverses flipping platforms, but I discovered this glitch, as well!

Remember in Trevor's Bonus when I mentioned how he can whip crouching and then stand up while still in that pose? I tried it out with Grant, who clearly has the faster blade; if you have him stand immediately after he draws the dagger, you'll catch a quick glimpse of him climbing as he rises! Hmm! Some design judgment that was... For a split-sec there, it looks like he gets stuck between the blocks.

Also, if you're that quick on the Control Pad, press your attack button while crouching, then immediately release the down button, just before his stab frame appears; Grant will completely cancel the poke and just stand up, with the climb frame showing a bit longer in between.

Hey! Want to have even MORE glitchy fun with Grant?
Find out how in this SPECIAL DCTP bug report:
CastleVania III Dracula's Curse THE GLITCH!!!

"Or, Fun with Grant!"

"..........."

Encounter:
"Hy, my name is Syfa..."
"I will be your Personal Stalker."
Accept:
"I hope a Magic Spirit helps us do Magic Tricks."
Decline:
"Alas, I hope you'll be victorious *snicker!*"

Things weren't always Frozen Crystals and Warakiya Staffs for Sypha Belnades, the Mystic Warlord of Warakiya...

In her earlier days, Sypha Belnades spent her time as a shepherd's assistant. Those days...there were no evils...and everyone lived a pretty harmonious, yet uneventful life.

That, for Sypha, all changed one day in the late 1460s, when she encountered a group of nomadic gypsies, perhaps guided by the unseen hand of The Poltergeist King. Her staff was borrowed, and before the young lady, the mysterious group performed a strange ritual; she observed as an etheral glow began to emerge from her shepherd's staff. She was told that the staff had been endowed with powerful, supernatural properties, and that she would need this in the future to help save the country.

As the years progressed and she grew to maturity, Sypha Belnades became quite a powerful sorceress, learning how to manipulate the elements of fire, water, and lightning: musts for any wizard-in-training.

By the time she was able to perform her miracles with ease, evil had begun to seep into the land. Sypha bore witness to a menagerie of horrible events in a matter of days; she had been exposed to the nearly endless sights and sounds of horrible, inhuman, unearthly, cursed creatures, as well as the atrocities of Death they invited...

It was on that fateful eve in 1476 that Sypha Belnades vowed to become a Vampire Hunter, and use her magic to supress the source of the evils overtaking her homeland: Count Dracula. The gypsy prophecy had finally been realized.

During her first night, Sypha managed to fight her way through the deadly Mad Forest of Darkness. Near the end of one trail, she reached a peaceful clearing adorned with statues...beautiful, they were, though damaged. Sypha pondered how these lifelike sculptures came to be situated in such a location...but suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted, and an ambush by Queen Medusa sealed Sypha's fate...by sealing her in stone.

Backed by the Snakeman Sentinel, Queen Medusa commissioned the powerful Cyclops Monster to guard the clearing with a simple order: if anything moves here, crush it. The Queen and her entourage then slithered away to the shore nearby and boarded the Haunted Ship of Fools, bound originally for Curse Castle; CastleVania.

...when she awoke, disoriented, she found herself at the feet of a strong, handsome young warrior who called himself Trevor Belmont. Thanking him, she offered to assist him on his mission to destroy Count Dracula, which, conveniently enough, was hers as well.

As we know, the Haunted Ship of Fools eventually diverted from its destination and sank upon arriving near the base of Curse Castle's Tower of Terror...the Medusa Queen* never made it out of the Ship, presumably vanishing along with it...

Finally, with the help of some newfound friends, Sypha defeated the mad Count and she accepted Trevor's hand in marriage. Since that time, Magic had been introduced into the Belmont bloodpool, and it was never more apparent than that certain sweltering eve in 1748, during the Concierto of the Midnight Sun...

But that's another story...

In 1797, dark influences had once more disturbed the land of Warakiya, which had recently been restored to calm, and Dracula's Curse gave life to a corpse in the sensual visage of the Mystic Warlord...fighting Alucard with its Ferocious Fire Lick, Incapacitating Ice Fog, Blades of Thunder, and Irrational Resurrection, this abomination was in truth the Sypha Fake.

*In Akumajou Densetsu, the original, uncut Japanese version of CastleVania III, the first Ultimate Evil of that floating Level of Terror is indeed the Queen Medusa, with a clearly visible, bare bust. In our version, however, since this was an American Kids' game, she was given a breast reduction and reidentified in Nintendo Power Volume 18, page 58, as "SNAKE MAN SENTINEL" (and later in that same sidebar as "Medusa").

Still, though, the idea of Queen Medusa having a personal soldier is nice, no?

*If you're having trouble getting this to work, get a Double Trouble or Triple Threat for your Dagger so you can toss more than one at the needed time, increasing your chances.

Encounter...
"What?! I was that easy to beat?!"
"Anyway, I need your help."
Accept:
"Yeah, let's get him."
Decline:
"No? Ah well, I'll go shine up my laser beams..."

In his younger years, Alucard was surprised to learn that his own father was a demon incarnate, so, refusing to join him, Alucard escaped from the castle, seeking seclusion in the Cave of Darkness. The Legends say he found a kindred soul in someone, but the complete details of that encounter remain unclear.

It remains an indellible fact, however, that he tested Trevor Belmont's power, and was quite impressed. Learning of their mutual cause, Alucard was accepted to join Trevor's crusade.

The benevolent souls were of course triumphant in the end, yet Alucard took this bitter victory as a deep personal loss; it was by his hand that his own father had been defeated.

The evil spirits lay silent over the lands. Trevor and Sypha married and bore a child. Grant DaNasty helped lead much of the town rebuilding efforts. Alucard, however, was unsure of his own place. Knowing this, he decided to enter what would have been an eternal slumber, to freeze his accursed bloodline.

Alucard never anticipated how Dracula's Curse would revive his father every now and then, so 400 years after The Curse had begun, the mighty Alucard stirred alone, emerging from his cold stone crypt, brandishing the legendary sword and shield of his family...

Alucard here is where one chapter of the CastleVania tales branch out into another, in a most...interesting way. He appears again as the bandwagon-beloved player-character of PlayStation gaming masterpiece, CastleVania: Symphony of the Night, which in turn is the second chapter of the Dracula X side-story arc. Because his second game was ruled by mathematics, level-ups, and numerous other RPG elements, Alucard was able to become the strength equivalent to Bejesus Cripes, and this is NO opinion. With his new abilities, brittle diamonds were no longer drawn from his cape, but shurikens, flaming boomerangs, and TNT were instead used to bring down hellish dinosaurian beasts, Gods of the Underworld, enormous corpses, and most of the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force.

And once his third game was released only 5 months after, my CastleVania III happyland was further tarnished. Read here to find out why.

Aaaah Ha ha ha...GOOD ONE, KONAMI DUDE! That's so funny I'm gonna LACTATE on myself!!! Leave it to the cute wit of one Dracula's Curse manual writer to up-play Alucard's only attack.

Being The Lost Son of Dracula, Alucard has the devastating ability to shoot fragile, diamond-shaped thingies in up to three directions. That is, if he collects the power booster shown, which Trevor also uses.

Individually, the Ball of Destruction has less power than one leather whip strike. Thanks, Jorge Fuentes, for finding this out!

His other, more entertaining gift is his ability to transform into a bat and flutter around (crouch and press the A button). He'll remain this way as long as you have a stock of Hearts.

Ask Alucard about his rates, and he'll tell you that 1 Heart equals 2 ticks of flight time. You can have alot of fun with this, either evading enemies, teasing the Skull Knight King, or cautiously negotiating a certain hellish vertically scrolling area after the Sunken Temples of Sarnath. Ya know, the one with the 'Tetris Blocks'.

So what's wrong with this picture, ah? It's been months since the frivolous 'All Your Base' Fever became extinct, however Al's 'On The Way To Destruction', H20 style? This is not a problem.

Next column to alleviate this problem. -->