Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES) Full Playthrough w/ Mike Matei
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Full Playthrough of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for NES by Mike Matei. This is the harder North American version of the game played on a top loader NES.
Watch Mike’s Live Streams ✜ www.mikematei.com
Read Mike’s Blog ✜ www.mikematei.blog
Twitter Mike ✜ / mike_matei
This playthrough is edited down from three previous live streams. If you'd like to watch the full length unedited Castlevania 3 streams, check them out on Cinemassacre Plays (Our Second Channel)
Castlevania 3 Part 1 • Castlevania III: Dracu...
Castlevania 3 Part 2 • Castlevania III: Dracu...
Castlevania 3 Part 3 • Castlevania III: Dracu... #retro #retrogaming #nes #snes #jamesrolfe #mikematei #atari #playthrough #gameplay #gamereview
I was nine when this game came out. I remember one amazing Christmas in 1990 when I received this, as well as Mega Man 3, it was the greatest Christmas ever.
Beast. My mom got me this too with bugs bunny birthday blowout. Syfa's energy ball magic was the strongest weapon in the game.
i was 8 and bet i was living a simular utopia.did you also get mad claiming "THE GAME CHEATS!" and getting so mad? lol nes games always had me saying this because they did cheat.example is like ninja gaiden and jumping across a platform and having a bat fly out right then knocking you in a pit.
For me it was Crash Bandicoot 2. So i had it easier : D
I like how it’s like a film at the intro and the ending with the credits. It feels like I’m playing as a kid, dreaming up a great fantasy. That’s what makes these games great to me.
My favorite part is around 51:10, how, after Mike kills the Leviathan demon, that spirit ball has _ONE LAST_ attack exploding in eight directions, which he just barely avoids by ducking. Imagine how many kids rage-quit after such a tough boss fight, celebrating their victory, only to get trolled by that last attack.
I also love Mike's reaction to finally beating that boss. Big mood. :)
I tested it out last time I played and that animation actually can't hurt you. It would be one hell of a troll if it could, though.
Having been born in 95 and just finishing Castlevania 3, I can say it and Rondo of Blood are my favorite Castlevanias.
Syfa is a most definitely a female. The "take him with you" thing was either a localization error, or a trick to make player to think she was a male.
She has a Samus Aran moment in the end, removing the headpiece.
The reveal moment was an unintentional side effect of the limited NES hardware. The developers couldn't put a unique text box saying "Will you take her with you?" for Sypha. So they had to use the same "Will you take him with you?" text for all three characters.
The Netflix series even played up on this- "Save my grandson". Trevor saves Syfa who removes hood. "Ok, granddaughter"
Chip M plus in symphony of the night she's obvious a girl when you fight the imposters
Or he's transexual before that shit was trendy.
Great stream. Shows why this game was considered as a NES classic and how people reacted to its brutal and yet addicting difficulty.
Too bad it's not on the NES Classic. 1 and 2 are Simon'a story but 3 is way better than 2 lol
Sypha is a girl. I think the game calling her "him" is just their way of saying her gender is ambiguous because she's shrouded in a hooded robe. When she takes off her hood at the end and reveals long blonde hair, and Trevor puts his arm around her, that's when they reveal she was a woman all along. l think they were trying to do what they did with Metroid and Samus, leaving her gender assumedly male, until the reveal at the end.
Well good! At some point, i thought i was into *men*
I like how the series pokes fun at that.
I think its more likely that it's just the same trigger command line for all companions, and they didn't want to make a new one for her.
Sypha being a girl is a story reveal like Samus in Metroid. One of my favorite NES games. I beat it every which way and I prefer Sypha because of her magic powers.
Before there was Elsa... Actually, if Frozen 2 is about Elsa freezing vampires, I'll be pretty stoked. I kind of figured the gender reveal was meant as a gender reveal given the time period.
Something I liked in the Netflix series was how Trevor was fooled into believing Sypha was a man until he saves her. Thought it was a cool reference for fans
I would always record on my phone the credits when I beat a game, I even said "woah Syphas a girl???!"
yea her spells are powerful and can destroy dracula lol i amglad to remember the path to get to her its a much more manageable path
I don't get how people always talk about how Castlevania 1 is among the hardest games ever when part 3 is alot more difficult. Still wouldn't put any in "hardest game ever" territory but CV3 is pretty hard.
Some versions are up there like the US version of Haunted Castle for the Arcades. That said the NES version isn't.
Yeah, though I find the alucard route way more difficult than the s ypha route.
@@hdofu well that is pretty much a whole different game than the nes cv1
Ah yes. The dragons that came out of the water. Very hard area for me as a kid in the early 90s. As frustrated as I got, I loved this game. Played the hell out of it.
I've beaten this game with all characters and routes at least once. But still every time when I try to replay it I usually get too frustrated and leave it, despite all the love I have for it. Epic and really hard game.
35:06 I'm playing this on the Castlevania Collection for Switch, and this level took me DAYS to beat. It's so damn hard. The bridge took me a long time to master, and the boss is tough. Hope to finish the game in the next few days.
It’s gonna be a lot more time than that at your pace buddy.
Can't get anymore classic than this
I think this game is the best one in the trilogy in my opinion!👾 PRAISE THE WALL CHICKEN!!🍗
If there is a fkn pork chop in there, I would so eat it!
I don't understand why James made the Dracula fight seem so impossible, its actually quite easy if you know the pattern
Man this was a trip down memory lane, I still remember the love-hate relationship I had with this game, unforgivable but keeps you coming back for more. Still love the soundtrack too!
Quality content baby.
Joseph Freese Can't wait for Mike to play Castlevania Chronicles for the PSX/PS1!
Joseph Freese I
Mike your playthroughs are awesome.
angel milton ✌😘
Chillen Killen :)
don solo add me, i cant find you. My profile pic is the same one on here
"Take him with you" wasn't a localization error, it was purposefully deceptive - revealing a cloaked character to be a female at the end was a relatively new but novel idea, and still considered a memorable plot twist circa 1990. Hence the letting her hair down at the end of the game for Sypha's 'reveal'. Google the PDF of the manual to Dracula's Curse, the writers completely write the character as a male and purposefully hide her features with long anime bangs and cloak. In 1989/1990, you were telling your friends on the playground that you knew a secret to the ending of Castlevania III.
Castlevania games were a real precursor to games like Dark Souls, you can tell the folks at From Software played the Castlevania and Zelda series.
Thanks you Captain.
Hell yes, one of my favorite Castlevania games of all time. Also cool to see you go for Sypha, was always a fan of her but it seems people rarely go that route. Some neat stages on that path!
Turns into a skull thing? Skeleton?? EVERYTHING IS A SKULL.
No way. No goddamn way. This is incredible.
Putting in "HELP ME" gets you ten lives.
This is so ironic..I just re-watched the Avgn Castlevania-thon for the hundredth time and I was thinking when he was pissed how difficult the game is and how he never beat it..and I'm sitting there thinking "Mike should totally beat this!" And here it is! Now that's wicked!! Lol
The VideoGame Champion quick think of some other cool games he should play wile u have this power before it fades away
Watching the edited version of this is funny as hell. I'm glad he left a few deaths out of billions in the video, lol.
And you’re just taking the easy path Mike! There’s three different paths throughout the game!!
I'm on the second to last level taking Sypha path. Is Alucard route really that much harder?
@@PurpleRupees in my opinion, the paths easiest to hardest are the sypha path, the alucard path, then the sunken city path.
@@joeyk107 now that I've done every level Trevor only now. I can say that most of Alucard route is easier. Except for the sunken city and especially the falling blocks stage. Those 2 are the hardest stages besides the final 2
I just had a thought that Trevor Belmont looks like he's wearing Uggs and now I can't un-see it.
crunchb3rry hilarious
It takes 138 licks to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.
How can ppl call Rondo the best in the series when this beauty exists?
"Help me" gave you a ton of lives.
I feel like there is probably a ton on the cutting room floor on this one!
this is a hard ass game! Congrats on winning Mike
Always love a Mike Matei play through
Thanks for watching! -Mike
Cinemassacre My pleasure my man. Thank you for uploading. My favorites of you are your play throughs of the mega mans.
I really wish Mike's reply had said "Always love an Inujosha comment". :P
cheebert That would have been awesome lol
Inujosha now mike has to show this to james rolf.
This is probably the #1 most nostalgic game for me. My brother's and I played it as kids and we loved the visuals, loved the music, but we got SOO mad and could never get far in it.
hands down the best soundtrack on NES
The Japanese Famicom version is even better, thanks to the added sound chip.
Journey to Silius wants to know your location
I wasn't sure if I watched this or not but then Mike read my chat comment.
I'm so disappointed that you didn't play with Grant. He was my favorite. I never completed this game because there were parts that I couldn't use him. I understand that other characters were much more effective, but in my opinion he was the most fun.
i know this post is one year old, but in case someone is digging old videos out, one word: "FUJIMOTO"
anyone else think the last level is way easier than the second last level XD
Wow I was on the edge of my seat for many of the boss battles! You perform great under pressure
Just passed a meat under stairs
Hey Mike this is Mike ,glad to see you on another vid have fun man😂😂😮
Yay! I was just about to search for a playthrough and here you are.
You didnt win the treasure master prize AND the trip to Dracula's hometown? You have tough luck, Nerd.
30 something year old man, still makes his name fuck you
... Nice
Sypha: *Did you just assume my gender?*
I grew up with this game played it over and over
Love seeing these! Thanks, Mike. Also, I mentioned it in a previous video before I realised it was 7 months old, but I would like to see an Earthworm Jim playthrough. I remember it being hard, but maybe it was just me as a kid. Either way, I would love to see that, thanks again :)
Hypothetical for you gamers out there. It's 1987, two years after Super Mario Bros was released... and out of the blue a game company releases three NES games that somehow fit an 8-bit, simplified mechanics version of three entire game series in them (other than Mario). For example: We are talking an NES cartridge with the entire Castlevania franchise including Nintendo, Super Nintendo, handheld, modern consoles/PC, and everything in between. When you complete the story of one game, your character(s) progress to the next story with the difficulty scaling to keep things challenging.
So the question is, what three franchises would be the best ever to have? For me it'd be Castlevania, Final Fantasy, and World of Warcraft perhaps? (Party/raid members/PVP would be NPCs.)
Honorable mentions to stuff like Kingdom Hearts, Megaman, Pokemon, Call of Duty, Fallout, Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate, Half-Life, Elder Scrolls, Diablo, and so many many more. It's possible no one is going to respond to this post, but I'd be really curious if anyone else has an alternate set of three franchises to rule over the early gaming history. :)
In baseball terms, Trevor is the ace starting pitcher, Syfa is the closer.
Best ending of any Cinemassacre video ever.
Great playthrough Mike! That stairway at the end refresh to get extra hearts is a game changer. I never knew about that.
Holy Water on Level 7. Second candle. You have to be Trevor though, obviously.
Awesome video Mike.
*Mike's evil laugh after he puts in F*** You
Regarding whether or not Syfa's gender was a typo: Others have beaten me to it, but Syfa pretended to be a monk, because in Castlevania canon, only monks from certain orders were allowed to practice magick, and she thought being outed as a witch would hinder her allies. She was trained by an order called Walchallia, which hated the stigma on magickal women, they helped her with the disguise, including shapeshifting her body so that she wouldn't be outed by undress. In the original canon, it was Alucard that put together she was a woman, because he can pick that up sensing her blood, and he had a strong and instant distrust of her over it when he recognized that it was her. She came clean after being confronted with it, and even had to convince Trevor she wasn't trying to get close to him on Dracula's behalf. The anime didn't even bother with that plot point, she was just a woman, and Trevor was looking for an in the second he noticed.
Also, Trevor married her not long after the events of this game, though that part of the timeline's in dispute. An error in it implies that she had their eldest child before the marriage, and some of the reboot games insist they were common law, because members of her order can't get married, and it's kinda muddy if she left, or was allowed to be an exception.
Whoa! That intro is awesome! Glad you got one similar to the AVGN intro.
Why play games when you can watch Mike play them.
One of the best Castlevania game, in my opinion
I never played this game, looks to be a good challenge. It really does harder the further you go and the extra characters are a nice touch.
The Sypha part "Take him with you" is most likely a translation error or the reveal that she was actually a female was meant to be found out at the very end.
It's actually due to a hardware limitation. The NES could only have one version of the text box for Grant, Sypha, and Alucard during the "Will you take him with you?" scenes, so they had to keep the text the same for all three of them. As a result the instruction booklet followed suit to maintain consistency, and referred to Sypha as a male warlord instead of a female witch.
The text box thing makes sense. Though calling Sypha a "warlord" seems completely wrong. Does it actually say that or did you mean warlock?
Right. That was another typo in the translation. It was supposed to say "WartHog"
Best Castlevania ever in my opinion, im a huge castlevania fan and maybe this is #2 right after castlevania SOTN. Maybe even a tie, this game is awesome, you get to fight with all the characters from this game in SOTN
Easily the best from a design perspective, and along with 4 and Bloodlines was the last to have that classic atmosphere with linear gameplay.
It's my favorite series, and I don't hate any game in the series, but I'm not a fan of Rondo's anime transition, and while I love Kojima's art it's not in keeping with CV1-Bloodlines.
Looking forward to Bloodstained though- Iga looks like he has something great coming.
Smokey McJoint right the best to me is super caslevania 4 that game is perfect..
nah nah nah
rondo of blood goty all years
I really enjoyed this LP, Mike. Thank you!
I had a dream about this game. I was the protagonist and my helpers were Victoria Justice, Ariana Grande, and Elizabeth Gillies.
YEAH!!! My favorite Castlevania game where you get to play as 4 characters!!
shout out to mike and james, and mondays! gotta give credit where credit is due. there is no mike without james and vice verce you guys rock! i can't see a dercernable difference in your guys game playing ability, i feel like you guys have your own personal games where you shine in your own way, but you both are masters!
That intro is spectacular.
Remember this game vividly hard as fuck.
I had this game as a kid. I beat it with Grant, I beat it with Alucard, but I never did beat it with Syfa. Thanks for showing the one ending I never saw.
Usually for speedruns, damage boosting to the left or right is intended, but these runs take a while...just beating this game is an accomplishment in itself
There are actually children who still dislike a video out of pure spite.
This is the game that will haunt me until I get good enough to beat it myself.
Mike: Writes a whole sentence as player name.
Me: Can not even fit his actual name into those pesky 8 character textboxes!
This is my FAVORITE NES GAME!!! Checking every Block is Mandatory 🏥
Where did their hair go? Went down Dracula's stairs.
Great game, I actually played it yesterday & took Alucard's route which is much harder. Level 7 on Alucard's path is a mother-fucker & a half.
I managed to beat the game thanks to this video! Thanks so much Mike 😁
That intro though is on point my friend
name your charter "demonitization" mike laughed
that intro is frking awesome
I can't even play this game now unless it's the Famicom version with the extra sound channels.... I'm an audiophile person and the extra channels make the music sound so much better..even if your just listening from crappy TV speakers.
These full playthroughs are great.
Never seen this game played before but already loving the music!
9:56 ....... Okay T.J. Miller. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Castlevania always made the best music
The reason Sypha is called a "he" is because she disguised herself as a man. She's a witch, and due to the fact that the people back then greatly feared witches, she pretended to be male so she could easily travel and fight without people being concerned that she might be a witch. Sypha married Trevor after the events of the game, even.
You asked who said to go down the stairs to get hearts? AVGN did in his Castlevania-thon. Before anyone corrects me, yes, I know Mike was referring to the chat
Desert Bus would be the perfect game for a marathon stream as a fundraiser. Just get several people to hot swap on the controller and take shifts.
You're not supposed to know Syfa was a she until the end of the game. It's purposely done to hide her identity. That's why the epic hair reveal in the ending. It's like Samus from Metroid. :)
It's not a mistake that they say "him". You're ment to think it's a guy until her hood comes off at the end. If you even noticed that which it seems like you didnt.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse:
Starring F*ck You.
i like how the netflix series is fairly true to the story where Trevor meets Syfa
It's pretty damn cool Netflix adapted this into a show. This game just doesn't get enough love.
Types fuck you then starts the game with a 1,000 lives.
I absolutely love the BGM on this!
Funny. Had you just watched James' Castlevaniathon, you'd have known about the stair trick lol. Great vid, always enjoy.
I also went through the playthrough with Sipha...not because I thought she was the best character to go with, but because I didn't know there was other characters like Grant and Alucard, and I went into the easy route unintentionally xD
Game is on sale on the reship for 2.49 US/CAD until December 11th on the 3DS at least. Love this game. When through the easy, med, hard pathways and beat it a few times on hard mode. Hard mode unlocks after beating the game once. More enemies and each hit takes out 4 life points.
Unforgivable difficulty!
My brother and I have played through it several times, the most recent just last year. It's about learning patterns and, when there's seemingly no pattern (like with that damn boss fight with two heads popping up from the water in some later level), just intense focus and really fast reflexes. When you learn how to do it, this game is amazingly satisfying. It's one of the best. And after a playthrough of Dracula's Curse, Castlevania IV just feels too easy.
Have any if you even completed the true quest? This is the Real deal.
"Unforgivable difficulty!"
Then play a metrovania instead. That's what i do.
Shivas Thong and this is the easy path!
+per doking
Silver Surfer
Wow that Hydra fight was epic!
Hey Mike I've been watching you and AVGN since 2008 it's been 4ever! Keep on gaming
Great video as usual, not my favorite game of the series, but it was nice to see you rock it.