Haha we had just started dating and I told her I couldn’t beat it. For some reason she really pushed me to finish it. It was pretty satisfying because she got to play some too and find out how incredibly hard it was, which was probably the only time I’ve impressed her with my video game skills ;)
One of the best on the NES. This game was not easy to find when it was first released. I remember calling every store in 50 mile radius and no one had it. I finally ordered it from Sears who told me it would arrive in 3-6 months and cost $50. It sucked, but it was the only option I had. Then on a random family trip we stopped at an old K-Mart to get some snacks and lo and behold, they had about 10 copies of CVIII. Even better, they were priced at $39.99 which was a steal at the time. We bought a copy and I forgot all about the Sears order as most the time after waiting several months for a game you would call them only to find it was still out of stock. But a few weeks later my other copy of CVIII arrived in the mail from Sears so I sold it to a friend.
Great review! I love it when you do these popular, mainstream games! Other channels are more focused on “bad” games or the “hidden gems” but sometimes I just want to watch/listen about things I already love! I was able to finally beat this one on the classics collection a couple of years ago. Always been a big Castlevania guy!
Man, hanging out with you in your game room looks like the funniest way to spend a Saturday night. Two player NES and maybe some delivery pizza. Heaven right there. Love your videos brother.
I live in Nova Scotia. Next to our house growing up, we would have friends from Massachusetts who would come every summer. And they had kids the same age as me and my Brother. And one summer son brought all three Castlevanias I was blown away as a small kid. And I would never ever see a Castlevania 3 cartridge for a very, very long time
I don't think I ever beat the final boss without emulation with save states. So many hours back in the 90's crushing through this nodding to the music. What a great game!
@@BigOleWordsI couldn’t do it, either. Triple axe throws, and the furthest I could make it was to the final transformation…I kept either falling into the gaps at the bottom of the screen, or just ran out of energy in general. Had a lot of fun trying, though. Excellent retro game from the 90s.
my nes is 38 and one of its most glorious moments was beating this game. i don't recall thinking it was that difficult, but since i can't make it past the 3rd stage of the original, i think the non-belmont options helped me out a lot. i'm also sure i hunted down any and all magazines with tips and maps because i am NOT a skilled gamer, just an occasionally obsessed one.
the soundtrack on the famicom version is like it's on steroids. that bass synth goes so hard, it's my preferred version. One of my favorite games of all time. great video
I never thought about it that way but castlevania does seem to feature that 'don't die or you're screwed' mechanic. it also made me think of the Gradius series! CV3 is definitely in my top five of castlevania games! Fond memories of being beaten down by the NES version, but recently there was the castlevania collection, and thanks to the savestates and other QOL features, I did finally finish the Japanese version! and yeah the extra hardware definitely gives it the edge in the soundtrack department. the US version is still good, though.
My mind was similarly blown when I first heard the Famicom version soundtrack. Great stuff! Still love the NES version too of course since it's what I grew up with. The whole Castlevania series has some absolutely incredible music, my mp3 library is bursting with OSTs and arrangements and covers of it.
When people say "NES Hard" this is one of the first games that come to mind. This is also one of several games that was intentionally made harder for the western audience. Your cartridge is in really good condition for being your original. If I had this game, it would have been thrown against the wall a few times. LOL
Nice vid mate! This one's still my fave, was the first one to come out when i was already into the series. 1st time i beat it, i was impatient and didn't wait for the floaters to settle and grab the orb. Ya know how sometimes when you hit that jump button but it doesn't work...? The old tv got knuckle dents in the speaker and it never came in color again. 🤦♂️ The end of the JPN version made me laugh, as Trevor's name was instead from "Up in Smoke": "...his name's RALPH!" 😂😂
@BigOleWords If you can beat Castlevania 3 you can beat Battletoads and Ironsword. Battletoads is the best game on the nes imo but Ironsword is....special. you can't play Ironsword like a regular video game. You have to learn all the eldritch glitches and exploits to beat it. I've got playthroughs of both games with commentary on my channel. It's kinda necessary for Ironsword to watch a playthrough but Battletoads you can figure out on your own.
This is the first game in the series I ever owned, and still my second favorite in the series. In my younger years, I could get to stage 6 (both Sypha’s and Alucard’s path, with the bone dragon) without the HELP ME bonus, but nowadays I don’t need it. Five years ago, I completed no continue playthrough with each partner and Trevor solo, which felt amazing. I doubt a deathless playthrough is in my future, but I did run Vs. Castlevania deathless once, so who knows? Maybe I’ll give it a go with this game someday.
I was lucky to play this when it released. And, while I dont think I own it now, I would. That being said it exists in a totally specific "its way too hard for me and I still love it" space 😂
I love this game!!! I finish it when I was a kid, it was hard, but funny hard! The password system always helped and I got these passwords from magazines for extra lives. I wanna play it again, but im not sure it´s gonna be easy this time. Why some games one can beat as a child, but as an adult are so hard? Greetings from Ecuador! 46 year old guy here XD
I haven't played Castlevania III so I don't know if this technique works in that game, but it does in Dracula X / Castlevania IV, so I will share my incredibly effective yet simple platforming trick here: If you are on a narrow ledge and are about to get knocked off, instead of jumping or trying to dodge it, just duck and eat the hit. In those two games, you never get knocked back while ducking. It turns certain fights (like the final boss of Dracula X) into jokes.
dhsu made some pretty rad piano versions of the songs ages ago (check out dhsu clockwork vampire for the first clockwork tower), also the last boss 2nd stage spitting thing, you can just crouch to avoid any damage, also the japanese version grant has knife as a default weapon, so if you need a ranged one you grant is worthwhile a pick and not letting him go, always good to have a knife subweapon as a primary weapon.
The Japanese version is better. The soundtrack is better and the gameplay is way more forgiving. Castlevania 3 is one of the best in the series. That sense of dread as he mentioned is what I love about it. It has possibly the best final boss theme in the entire series. I always break out every October with the Anniversary collection
Killer game. I noted that you have the 4-score connected to your AVS, so do I, it rules. Made me remember an idea I had for some years now: wouldn't it be very cool to make an 8-player NES game!? Just bust in two 4-scores in the AVS and lets go. Could also work on an original NES, but then you need more 4-scores. Keep it up buddy!
Ninja Gaiden gets so much clout for being difficult. I could be that as a kid, and I don't even think I'm all that good at video games. Castlvania 3? Now, this is a game I always found frustratingly difficult.
There's so little to even remember about Bad Dudes in the first place, aside from each stage ending with your NES having a short but violent coughing fit at you.
This is going to be the next game I attack after getting my NES back w/ mods. Can't believe I never beat this back in the day. Nothing like some good "Wall meat" lol
9:04 This describes a lot of the Castlevania games, I've found. They really screw you if you die and have to start in the middle with your basic items.
The whole premature death weapon thing is the exact reason why the best strategy in the original Star Fox is to avoid all the midlevel rings. The powerups are almost always in the beginning of each stage and you don't want to be fighting the boss with a shitty single laser.
The NA release of Ninja Gaiden III is like that, too. The levels are significantly easier if you can keep power-ups from earlier in the level, especially the gauntlet in the final level. Unfortunately, Ninja Gaiden III also has mandatory checkpoints, so c'est la vie.
phew! that game was hard back in the day for sure! im still blown away at how versatile the gameplay was with branching paths and multiple companions and endings! crazy how the japanese games audio was just so much better with that enhanced layered sound! if i look at screenshots of the game i can still hear the music of each stage play just from memory and my teenage voice shouting fuck every time i died which didnt please my family one bit😅 thanks for the insightful look into a true nes classic!
i remember when we first got this game, my brother once told me that when u chose the mage as ur companion, if u tell her to leave so u can another helper, she shed a tear. That was an interesting lie that my younger brother told me when i finished playing it.
@@BigOleWords I know, right? The two things I've never beaten yet, after all these years - The clinger-winger level in Battletoads and the Non-Alucard-having Alucard route in CV3.
But on the subject Castlevania 3, did you know of the easter egg at the boss that is 10.00 into your video? If you got the knife and time it with the lightning, it creates a leathal airstrike on the boss below! Try it out, it's so cool
I don't know how I beat this and then beat it again the instant it ended as a kid, over and over, having only a few games played a role, most of which were no doubt terrible. But I did love this game, I was surprised to find myself anxious at times watching you play, removing the frustration with each plunge into death. Or ... Man.. Dracula, when you get to that 3rd form and you've got a seemingly random pattern to learn and recall from the last time you fought moments ago, after having beat his other forms for the 15th time. Agh! Great game. That music will be the last thing that leaves my mind when I die.
It ain't no fun if the homies can't have none.....brilliant. this should be your t-shirt art! Can't believe I fell asleep before you beat Drac. If you skip the clock tower and grant, then it's not THAT much harder with Alucard really. That Holy water sure Is great.
Interesting that you find it so difficult, my first playthrough went pretty smoothly and I didn't even use the other characters for the most part. The fact that the password system exists also makes it unusually forgiving for a NES game. I guess some of the paths might be more brutal than others.
definitely the best of the NES bunch. the multiple characters and path choices were fairly revolutionary for the time and it continued the themes and vibes from the first two as well. I played the crap out of this game. It's weird because while I can see how it would be considered hard I don't remember having that much trouble with it and I managed to beat it multiple times with different characters. But then other games I would completely struggle with that others might find easy so I don't know. The NES was a weird beast.. lol. but this game was great. definitely a lot of replay value
Probably the hardest game I've ever beaten! Harder than Battletoads I would argue. I always went the Syfa route cuz that's the only one I could get through lol. That Vinyl art is amazing!! It looks like the 4 protagonists, but I think it's also a reference to the 2nd phase of Dracula? The way the faces are placed looks a lot like it at least.
Did you say almost 30 years to complete this? 😮 This sounds hard as f00k, It's funny because I have most of the castlevania Games but never really played any of them, I have a feeling when I do I won't be starting with this one 😂 Fantastic video mate
CV3 is my favorite CV after SOTN. I love the replay value, multiple pathways and playable characters, the challenging but fair gameplay, the spooky, gothic horror atmosphere and the catchy, moody music. There's a lot of variety and depth in the level design, graphics and music. I was actually a bit disappointed in SC4 when it came out because altho it was an excellent game, one of the better ones in the series with some of the best controls in a 16 bit game, it didn't have the replay value of CV3. I always wished they had've kept the multiple pathways and playable characters in subsequent CVs. When I was a kid I'd usually get Grant then ditch him later for Alucard in order to skip through the more challenging sections of levels whenever possible, but as I got older I came to appreciate Syfa, especially the power and agility of her ball lightning attack, how it made boss fights so much easier, and how you could defeat enemies from afar before they had a chance to attack.
I beat CV3 when I was like 9. It was tough, but doable. I always thought CV1 was a lot tougher, because of Death and especially Dracula. I wasn't able to beat him until much later in life, and even than I think I had to use save state.
Oh, God, you just triggered my ratcheted autoscroller PTSD. I'm not sure I ever actually beat that falling block bastard. Definitely not without using Alucard.
I didn't get hold of this cart until 2004. And I still remember the confusion of everyone in the house, when that final axe smacked Dracula between the eyes and I shouted, "VICTORY!" BTW, what was the other Konami game with a chick reveal that you showed?
"The easiest way to beat the game is to be perfect" - J.R.R. Tolkien, 1959 ....or maybe it was that James guy on TH-cam that plays the Nintendo thing. I dunno...
Two controversial takes: 1. I actually prefer the NA soundtrack. The Japanese one sounds too busy. More (channels) doesn't mean better. 2. I dislike the branching paths. Having to replay some levels 2X or even 3X to get some new ones is not my thing even back in 1990.
Absolutely love this game. The difficulty was on par with C1. Probably a bit harder in some places, and easier in others. Also, are you playing on a RetroUSB AVS?
"California forest fire gender reveal" 😂You always have one joke that makes me bust out laughing. I never beat Castlevania III either. I got to Dracula but couldn't beat him and I got too frustrated. Maybe I should try again when October hits.
I’m not a patreon member so all I can do is sit on the street corner with my cardboard sign that says “please review Xexyz, the world needs hot tubs babes & buddha”
I'm surprised you didn't mention how the Famicom version is easier than the NES one. I think this was another "Blockbuster conversion" - made harder so that it would be rented more often.
I owned this as a kid and I could never beat the last form of the final boss. It drove me nuts. Regardless, I think this is the best Castlevania game ever made.
I'm a lifelong Castlevania fan, but I'm embarrassed to say I never played this. By the time this came out I had already moved on to my Genesis. I always hear great things, plus with emulation I should play it. Second embarrassing fact: besides Symphony, Simon's Quest is my favorite Castlevania.
I want a new Castlevania already...the demand for one is obvious. Just make it 3D and give us advanced whip mechanics. And sprinkle some Dark Souls influence in there.
I never want to play this game without savestates and/or a rewind key as with the Anniversary Collection. I used to beat my head against that wall as a kid on NES so often and utterly refuse to torture myself like that again. Hell, I blame CVIII for my lack of patience with bullshit mechanics today.
My grandma had this game always would borrow it it was the first one I played and I’m glad it was it was really fun back then even if you did not get far and now I own it in my collection
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 88 | คู่เอก "ป้อมเพชร vs อัสลามจอน"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1ZqTVVbMgbo/mqdefault.jpg)
Your wife pushed you to finish Castlevania III. This has got to qualify for a whole new tier of "you lucky bastard". I salute you, and your wife.
Haha we had just started dating and I told her I couldn’t beat it. For some reason she really pushed me to finish it. It was pretty satisfying because she got to play some too and find out how incredibly hard it was, which was probably the only time I’ve impressed her with my video game skills ;)
My wife only ever pushes me to get a divorce...
@@BigOleWords You're lucky, most women wouldn't be a gamer or go for a gamer. We all could do with women like your wife.
@@ZeusTheIrritable Ouch! Talk about rotten luck. Hope you find someone who's a gamer herself.
One of the best on the NES. This game was not easy to find when it was first released. I remember calling every store in 50 mile radius and no one had it. I finally ordered it from Sears who told me it would arrive in 3-6 months and cost $50. It sucked, but it was the only option I had. Then on a random family trip we stopped at an old K-Mart to get some snacks and lo and behold, they had about 10 copies of CVIII. Even better, they were priced at $39.99 which was a steal at the time. We bought a copy and I forgot all about the Sears order as most the time after waiting several months for a game you would call them only to find it was still out of stock. But a few weeks later my other copy of CVIII arrived in the mail from Sears so I sold it to a friend.
Crazy how complicated all that seems in retrospect compared to Amazon but at the time, yeah that’s how it was!
That vinyl sleeve is SUPER SICK!
Yeah it is!
Great review! I love it when you do these popular, mainstream games! Other channels are more focused on “bad” games or the “hidden gems” but sometimes I just want to watch/listen about things I already love!
I was able to finally beat this one on the classics collection a couple of years ago. Always been a big Castlevania guy!
Thanks! I prefer the more obscure stuff but it’s fun to tackle my favorites
This may be old news, but the band The Minibosses does an incredible Castlevania 3 medley - actually, I'm gonna go listen to that right now
Nice!
@@jseipp The Minibosses rule!
Man, hanging out with you in your game room looks like the funniest way to spend a Saturday night. Two player NES and maybe some delivery pizza. Heaven right there. Love your videos brother.
It's 99% me alone, editing, hoping the baby doesn't wake up in the three hours I have between her bedtime and mine ;)
I'm with you there, although I don't know how much actual gaming would get accomplished when I'd just be gazing at the collection most of the time lol
I live in Nova Scotia. Next to our house growing up, we would have friends from Massachusetts who would come every summer. And they had kids the same age as me and my Brother. And one summer son brought all three Castlevanias I was blown away as a small kid. And I would never ever see a Castlevania 3 cartridge for a very, very long time
All three?!? That must’ve been the happiest kid in America!
Yeah those Massachusettes kids had ALL the toys 😒 😄
I don't think I ever beat the final boss without emulation with save states. So many hours back in the 90's crushing through this nodding to the music. What a great game!
The axe is the way to go!
@@BigOleWordsI couldn’t do it, either. Triple axe throws, and the furthest I could make it was to the final transformation…I kept either falling into the gaps at the bottom of the screen, or just ran out of energy in general. Had a lot of fun trying, though. Excellent retro game from the 90s.
my nes is 38 and one of its most glorious moments was beating this game. i don't recall thinking it was that difficult, but since i can't make it past the 3rd stage of the original, i think the non-belmont options helped me out a lot. i'm also sure i hunted down any and all magazines with tips and maps because i am NOT a skilled gamer, just an occasionally obsessed one.
Sypha uses magic...and....a rolled up newspaper.
Bad Dracula, no!
That Vinyl cover is way too dope
Man, this is the business right here! Konami firing on all cylinders with this one
I love your turn of phrase. Cracks me up every time.
Thanks bud!
My second favorite NES game. Only behind Mike Tyson's Punch-Out.
the soundtrack on the famicom version is like it's on steroids. that bass synth goes so hard, it's my preferred version. One of my favorite games of all time. great video
Clockwork is right up there with George Sanger's bangin' Fun House soundtrack!
GET OUT!
@@BigOleWords I know, I know, haha! I also wanted to point out the "help me" code that lets you start the game with ten lives.
Sk8tor Boy Alucard. Thanks a lot Captain N.
I never thought about it that way but castlevania does seem to feature that 'don't die or you're screwed' mechanic. it also made me think of the Gradius series! CV3 is definitely in my top five of castlevania games! Fond memories of being beaten down by the NES version, but recently there was the castlevania collection, and thanks to the savestates and other QOL features, I did finally finish the Japanese version! and yeah the extra hardware definitely gives it the edge in the soundtrack department. the US version is still good, though.
Without a doubt my #1 NES game over all the 700+ titles I've experienced.
It’s up there!
My mind was similarly blown when I first heard the Famicom version soundtrack. Great stuff! Still love the NES version too of course since it's what I grew up with. The whole Castlevania series has some absolutely incredible music, my mp3 library is bursting with OSTs and arrangements and covers of it.
When people say "NES Hard" this is one of the first games that come to mind. This is also one of several games that was intentionally made harder for the western audience. Your cartridge is in really good condition for being your original. If I had this game, it would have been thrown against the wall a few times. LOL
Yeah not sure how this one held up so well. Others are lookin ROUGH
Nice vid mate! This one's still my fave, was the first one to come out when i was already into the series.
1st time i beat it, i was impatient and didn't wait for the floaters to settle and grab the orb. Ya know how sometimes when you hit that jump button but it doesn't work...? The old tv got knuckle dents in the speaker and it never came in color again. 🤦♂️
The end of the JPN version made me laugh, as Trevor's name was instead from "Up in Smoke": "...his name's RALPH!" 😂😂
An upload for my birthday? Awesome! I barely remember this game, too.
All for you!
@@BigOleWords Thank you!
Happy belated
@@toddburgess5056 Thanks!
Woohoo!! A BOW upload is exactly what the doctor ordered for today!! Can't wait to dive in!
Congrats. Beating castlevania 3 is an achievement. Getting the clear on it was harder for me than Battletoads or Ironsword.
Two games I cannot beat!
@BigOleWords If you can beat Castlevania 3 you can beat Battletoads and Ironsword. Battletoads is the best game on the nes imo but Ironsword is....special. you can't play Ironsword like a regular video game. You have to learn all the eldritch glitches and exploits to beat it.
I've got playthroughs of both games with commentary on my channel. It's kinda necessary for Ironsword to watch a playthrough but Battletoads you can figure out on your own.
"It ain't fun if the homies don't have one!"
preach!
I love this one, but dang, I have to lean on the save states in the Anniversary Collection if I want to have a good time.
It does help!
This is the first game in the series I ever owned, and still my second favorite in the series. In my younger years, I could get to stage 6 (both Sypha’s and Alucard’s path, with the bone dragon) without the HELP ME bonus, but nowadays I don’t need it. Five years ago, I completed no continue playthrough with each partner and Trevor solo, which felt amazing. I doubt a deathless playthrough is in my future, but I did run Vs. Castlevania deathless once, so who knows? Maybe I’ll give it a go with this game someday.
That was my first Castlevania game too!
I remember my mother getting this for me as a clearance game at our Kmart and never being able to get far as a kid
I was lucky to play this when it released. And, while I dont think I own it now, I would. That being said it exists in a totally specific "its way too hard for me and I still love it" space 😂
That’s for sure!
I love the man shake reference!
Man… I was jonsing for that theme song…. “Check this shid owwwwtttt!”
Is that.. is that a SNES Drunk shirt?! It’s like TH-camr crossover heaven.
It is!
That F bomb was totally unexpected, but well placed and I love it :)
The perfect minor cadences all over the place has really wormed its way into my brain to figure out how to utilize it everywhere in music I write
Hell yeah
I love this game!!! I finish it when I was a kid, it was hard, but funny hard! The password system always helped and I got these passwords from magazines for extra lives. I wanna play it again, but im not sure it´s gonna be easy this time. Why some games one can beat as a child, but as an adult are so hard? Greetings from Ecuador! 46 year old guy here XD
Eh, greetings from America!
LOL @ the face when you finally finished Castlevania III 😄 😄 😄
I haven't played Castlevania III so I don't know if this technique works in that game, but it does in Dracula X / Castlevania IV, so I will share my incredibly effective yet simple platforming trick here:
If you are on a narrow ledge and are about to get knocked off, instead of jumping or trying to dodge it, just duck and eat the hit. In those two games, you never get knocked back while ducking. It turns certain fights (like the final boss of Dracula X) into jokes.
dhsu made some pretty rad piano versions of the songs ages ago (check out dhsu clockwork vampire for the first clockwork tower), also the last boss 2nd stage spitting thing, you can just crouch to avoid any damage, also the japanese version grant has knife as a default weapon, so if you need a ranged one you grant is worthwhile a pick and not letting him go, always good to have a knife subweapon as a primary weapon.
Cool, didn’t know that!
Castlevania has some of the best music in gaming.
Yeah it does!
Check out the Japanese version! It's got an extra sound chip.
I just beat this game about a month ago. It was very satisfying to cross it off the list.
The Japanese version is better. The soundtrack is better and the gameplay is way more forgiving. Castlevania 3 is one of the best in the series. That sense of dread as he mentioned is what I love about it. It has possibly the best final boss theme in the entire series. I always break out every October with the Anniversary collection
It's funny that you mentioned Faxanadu. I've had that game on my backlog or years. lol
Been playing a alot of castlevania lately, especially the metroidvania ones.
Killer game. I noted that you have the 4-score connected to your AVS, so do I, it rules. Made me remember an idea I had for some years now: wouldn't it be very cool to make an 8-player NES game!? Just bust in two 4-scores in the AVS and lets go. Could also work on an original NES, but then you need more 4-scores. Keep it up buddy!
I don’t know if the NES could handle the 8 person action!
@@BigOleWords After Micro Mages, everything is possible!? And terror on elm street for that matter
Ninja Gaiden gets so much clout for being difficult. I could be that as a kid, and I don't even think I'm all that good at video games. Castlvania 3? Now, this is a game I always found frustratingly difficult.
Really enjoyed this video. Subscribed.
Glad you liked it!
I've never played this game but it looks amazing. Definitely gotta pick up a copy.
There's so little to even remember about Bad Dudes in the first place, aside from each stage ending with your NES having a short but violent coughing fit at you.
But strangely I remember so much about it!
That thumb nail needs to be put on a T shirt. For real. Definitely 🔥
Thanks!
This is going to be the next game I attack after getting my NES back w/ mods. Can't believe I never beat this back in the day. Nothing like some good "Wall meat" lol
9:04 This describes a lot of the Castlevania games, I've found. They really screw you if you die and have to start in the middle with your basic items.
For sure
One of my favorite Castlevania games. Only flaw is the difficulty and some issues with the American release
DUDE! You have the soundbite from Jeepers Creepers The Musical from Mr. Show. That alone makes you awesome.
Haha yep! The real ones hear it immediately ;)
The whole premature death weapon thing is the exact reason why the best strategy in the original Star Fox is to avoid all the midlevel rings. The powerups are almost always in the beginning of each stage and you don't want to be fighting the boss with a shitty single laser.
The NA release of Ninja Gaiden III is like that, too. The levels are significantly easier if you can keep power-ups from earlier in the level, especially the gauntlet in the final level. Unfortunately, Ninja Gaiden III also has mandatory checkpoints, so c'est la vie.
This is my favorite throwback game channel.
Thanks!
phew! that game was hard back in the day for sure! im still blown away at how versatile the gameplay was with branching paths and multiple companions and endings! crazy how the japanese games audio was just so much better with that enhanced layered sound! if i look at screenshots of the game i can still hear the music of each stage play just from memory and my teenage voice shouting fuck every time i died which didnt please my family one bit😅 thanks for the insightful look into a true nes classic!
10:53 Like getting shines in Super Mario Sunshine... exhausting at times.
i remember when we first got this game, my brother once told me that when u chose the mage as ur companion, if u tell her to leave so u can another helper, she shed a tear. That was an interesting lie that my younger brother told me when i finished playing it.
Haha that’s so sad!
Some of those old style Castlevanias can be brutal. I thought Rondo Of Blood was a bit frustrating
A bit?!?
Go to the sound select and it tells you the names of each level. Demon Seed is my fave
Did not know that!
@@BigOleWords sound select is a+b+select+start on the title screen
my favorite track is Rising, and prefer the NA version to JP - always liked the delay effect that is not present on the JP version
That’s is a good ine
The one CV3 route I never was able to beat...the Alucard route, but with ONLY Trevor and no Alucard.
That’s gotta be the toughest way
@@BigOleWords I know, right? The two things I've never beaten yet, after all these years - The clinger-winger level in Battletoads and the Non-Alucard-having Alucard route in CV3.
But on the subject Castlevania 3, did you know of the easter egg at the boss that is 10.00 into your video? If you got the knife and time it with the lightning, it creates a leathal airstrike on the boss below! Try it out, it's so cool
No!!! Really?!
I don't know how I beat this and then beat it again the instant it ended as a kid, over and over, having only a few games played a role, most of which were no doubt terrible. But I did love this game, I was surprised to find myself anxious at times watching you play, removing the frustration with each plunge into death. Or ... Man.. Dracula, when you get to that 3rd form and you've got a seemingly random pattern to learn and recall from the last time you fought moments ago, after having beat his other forms for the 15th time. Agh!
Great game. That music will be the last thing that leaves my mind when I die.
It ain't no fun if the homies can't have none.....brilliant. this should be your t-shirt art! Can't believe I fell asleep before you beat Drac. If you skip the clock tower and grant, then it's not THAT much harder with Alucard really. That Holy water sure Is great.
You didn’t miss much!
Interesting that you find it so difficult, my first playthrough went pretty smoothly and I didn't even use the other characters for the most part. The fact that the password system exists also makes it unusually forgiving for a NES game. I guess some of the paths might be more brutal than others.
I beat Castlevania III last Halloween night. I did use a version with a rewind feature, but it was so rewarding to stake Dracula on All Hallows Eve.
definitely the best of the NES bunch. the multiple characters and path choices were fairly revolutionary for the time and it continued the themes and vibes from the first two as well. I played the crap out of this game. It's weird because while I can see how it would be considered hard I don't remember having that much trouble with it and I managed to beat it multiple times with different characters. But then other games I would completely struggle with that others might find easy so I don't know. The NES was a weird beast.. lol. but this game was great. definitely a lot of replay value
I loved this game only beat it with Grant though lol. It’s actually my favorite castlevania.
Sick Thumbnail pic!
Probably the hardest game I've ever beaten! Harder than Battletoads I would argue. I always went the Syfa route cuz that's the only one I could get through lol.
That Vinyl art is amazing!! It looks like the 4 protagonists, but I think it's also a reference to the 2nd phase of Dracula? The way the faces are placed looks a lot like it at least.
Did you say almost 30 years to complete this? 😮 This sounds hard as f00k, It's funny because I have most of the castlevania Games but never really played any of them, I have a feeling when I do I won't be starting with this one 😂 Fantastic video mate
Yep! And believe me I tried so many many times in that span
CV3 is my favorite CV after SOTN.
I love the replay value, multiple pathways and playable characters, the challenging but fair gameplay, the spooky, gothic horror atmosphere and the catchy, moody music.
There's a lot of variety and depth in the level design, graphics and music.
I was actually a bit disappointed in SC4 when it came out because altho it was an excellent game, one of the better ones in the series with some of the best controls in a 16 bit game, it didn't have the replay value of CV3.
I always wished they had've kept the multiple pathways and playable characters in subsequent CVs.
When I was a kid I'd usually get Grant then ditch him later for Alucard in order to skip through the more challenging sections of levels whenever possible, but as I got older I came to appreciate Syfa, especially the power and agility of her ball lightning attack, how it made boss fights so much easier, and how you could defeat enemies from afar before they had a chance to attack.
I've never actually played this. but next time I have the flu or covid and I'm stuck inside all day I will play it start to finish.
I beat CV3 when I was like 9.
It was tough, but doable.
I always thought CV1 was a lot tougher, because of Death and especially Dracula.
I wasn't able to beat him until much later in life, and even than I think I had to use save state.
Oh, God, you just triggered my ratcheted autoscroller PTSD. I'm not sure I ever actually beat that falling block bastard. Definitely not without using Alucard.
Nice review James. 🙂🦇🦇🦇
Thanks Jeff!
I didn't get hold of this cart until 2004. And I still remember the confusion of everyone in the house, when that final axe smacked Dracula between the eyes and I shouted, "VICTORY!"
BTW, what was the other Konami game with a chick reveal that you showed?
"The easiest way to beat the game is to be perfect" - J.R.R. Tolkien, 1959
....or maybe it was that James guy on TH-cam that plays the Nintendo thing. I dunno...
AVGN?
Two controversial takes:
1. I actually prefer the NA soundtrack. The Japanese one sounds too busy. More (channels) doesn't mean better.
2. I dislike the branching paths. Having to replay some levels 2X or even 3X to get some new ones is not my thing even back in 1990.
Agreed on the music if not the paths
I’m still trying to get a physical copy of this it’s in my top 5 to obtain.
Absolutely love this game. The difficulty was on par with C1. Probably a bit harder in some places, and easier in others.
Also, are you playing on a RetroUSB AVS?
I am! It's pretty amazing after years of the model 1 and Top Loader.
"California forest fire gender reveal" 😂You always have one joke that makes me bust out laughing.
I never beat Castlevania III either. I got to Dracula but couldn't beat him and I got too frustrated. Maybe I should try again when October hits.
Thank you thank you!
I’m not a patreon member so all I can do is sit on the street corner with my cardboard sign that says “please review Xexyz, the world needs hot tubs babes & buddha”
Maybe one day!
Great game! Great review!
Thanks Dan!
I'm surprised you didn't mention how the Famicom version is easier than the NES one. I think this was another "Blockbuster conversion" - made harder so that it would be rented more often.
Did not know that? How so?
I owned this as a kid and I could never beat the last form of the final boss. It drove me nuts. Regardless, I think this is the best Castlevania game ever made.
Solid upload.. like always. Also, screw the Falcons.. I’m not over that L … j/k 😊
WE FINALLY WON A REAL GAME!!!
I'm a lifelong Castlevania fan, but I'm embarrassed to say I never played this. By the time this came out I had already moved on to my Genesis. I always hear great things, plus with emulation I should play it. Second embarrassing fact: besides Symphony, Simon's Quest is my favorite Castlevania.
I want a new Castlevania already...the demand for one is obvious. Just make it 3D and give us advanced whip mechanics. And sprinkle some Dark Souls influence in there.
i own both the N/A and Japan Versions of this game
Jealous!
I never want to play this game without savestates and/or a rewind key as with the Anniversary Collection. I used to beat my head against that wall as a kid on NES so often and utterly refuse to torture myself like that again.
Hell, I blame CVIII for my lack of patience with bullshit mechanics today.
If I was playing it today for the first time I would 100% be using savestates.
My grandma had this game always would borrow it it was the first one I played and I’m glad it was it was really fun back then even if you did not get far and now I own it in my collection
Grandma had Dracula’s Curse?! What a badass!
That is possibly the WORST run on sentence I’ve EVER read.. ffs man
@@smeagle3295 if you have nothing nice to say don’t say it at all
Love the game, but I always wished it had Castlevania 2 graphics
I've never been good at this game but my dad beat not only this hard as nails game but also beat punch out, which I would argue is harder.
I fucking love this game. It’s so punishing. I like the Japanese version a lot too.
*the Japanese copy is even better kids! The sound is more and uncensored!* 💡
You should've played the Famicom version if you wanted to beat it. It's WAY easier!
Did not know that! How so?
yo 🎉 ggs!