Retro Gaming Returns!
CastleVania III: Dracula's Curse
As reviewed by: BoP Hawk
Platform: NES
Developed and Published by: Konami!
Price:  Uh.. I got it for about five bucks.

     Yes, yes.  I'm well aware that this game is nearly ten years old.  But so is 70% of what's played on the radio, and you don't complain about that, right?  Right.

     Anyhow.. I've loved this game since my cousin Jeff first got it, back when it first came out.  I loved the game, nutured it, bathed it, nursed it.. uh.. That's going a bit too far.  Seriously, though, I really enjoyed the game the times my cousin came over and brought it with him.  I didn't ever appreciate it as much as I should have, though, because its greatness was overshadowed by his simultaneous acquirement of Megaman 3.

     Skip forward to about a year and a half ago.  I'm sitting there on AOL, minding my own business, when I get this IM from a fella with the username "Sinyaso" asking "Hey Alucard, don't you hate it when dad grows 1000 heads and flies out the window?"  Indeed, that was now-fellow BoP member Slograptor.  But why did he send me such a cryptic message?  I'll tell you why!

     My now-good buddy was telling me in secret to visit his website (Dracula's Curse: THE PAGE!!!, located at http://members.aol.com/sinyaso/index.html).  So I checked his site out, and found it to be quite hilarious.  It's now on all of my bookmarks, as well as the links page on my personal website (http://member.aol.com/chibihawk).  I recently purchased the game for $4.99 at a used game store.  I even got the box!  Keen!

     Getting back to the actual game.. You start out as Trevor Belmont, 100 years before the birth of Simon Belmont, the hero of the first 2 CV games.  After a few levels, you can choose to have a "partner spirit" follow you.  Depending on which path you choose (That's right, you can choose what direction you want to go!  There's a total of 17 levels in the game, according to the game package.), you can end up with any combination of 3 different partner spirits - Sypha Belnades, the woman magician; Gran DaNasty, a pirate who climbs walls and attacks with a dagger; Or the now-overly-popular Alucard (who also stars in Symphony of the Night for Playstation), who sucks really bad - Unfortunately, you can only take one partner spirit with you at a time, and you cannot trade Trevor for a spirit.  But it's an 8-bit game!  Whaddaya expect!

     I'll tell you what to expect - Tons of fun.  Even though the graphics are a bit pixelated (a bit?  Heh.. EXTREMELY!), and the background themes sound like midi files without the proper plug-ins, the game shines in the fun factor department.  Despite its lacking in flash, this game is what CastleVania should be all about - Fun in the life of a goth.  Unfortunately, I think with CastleVania 64, Konami lost touch with what they SHOULD be doing, and became more concerned with what they COULD be doing.  Such a shame.

     Anyhow.. I recommend this game to anybody that still has their Nintendo.  And if you don't have your 8-bit wonder machine anymore.. WHY THE HELL NOT?!  Don't tell me that you're one of those losers who thought it'd become outdated?... Oh, ye of little faith..  That's okay, I forgive you.  Go pick up CVIII: Dracula's Curse, though.  It's a really great game, and everybody that's played it for longer than three minutes will agree with me.

     I'll just borrow BoP Rider's handy "Technical Stuff" to give you the proper ratings on the game...

The Technical Stuff
Number of Players: 1
Multiplayer: Multiplayer?  What's that?  This is an 8-bit game!!
Sound: 8 - The BG music isn't the greatest, as memorable as it may be.. but there are some great sound effects, such as the shattering of the skeletons upon their defeat
Controls: 9 - Near-Perfect, but I still have trouble with my mid-stair attacks
Graphics:  9 - Remember, these ratings are for an 8-bit game.  Other than the overuse of brown, the graphics in this game are just beautiful
Gameplay: 20! of 10!! - The game is extremely fun.  And it has a great storyline to back it up!.. heh, okay.  Just a 10.
Game Score: 9 - Silver award!  Wow, that matches the color of the box.  Coicidence?  YOU DECIDE!!