Software:Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

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Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
North American box art
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Hitoshi Akamatsu
Designer(s)I. Urata
Programmer(s)Yasuo Okuda
Mitsuo Takemoto
Artist(s)Noriyasu Togakushi
Takeshi Fujimoto
I. Urata
Composer(s)Hidenori Maezawa
Jun Funahashi
Yukie Morimoto
Yoshinori Sasaki
SeriesCastlevania
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • JP: December 22, 1989
  • NA: September 1, 1990
  • EU: December 10, 1992
Genre(s)Action-adventure, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse[lower-alpha 1] is an action-adventure platform video game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1989, and in North America in 1990, and in Europe by Palcom in 1992. It was later released on the Virtual Console for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS , and Wii U.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is the third installment in the Castlevania video game series. It is a prequel to the original Castlevania, set a few centuries before the events of the original game. The game's protagonist is Trevor C. Belmont, an ancestor of the original hero Simon Belmont.

Gameplay

The player can choose between two stages to follow at several points in the game.

Castlevania III abandons the action-adventure and role-playing elements of its immediate predecessor Castlevania II and returns to the platform game roots of the first Castlevania title. Unlike Castlevania, however, Castlevania III is non-linear: Trevor, the main character, can be assisted by one of three possible companions, and after completing the first level, and at several other points throughout the game, the player is given a choice of two branching paths to follow. The player can obtain multiple endings depending on the choices they make throughout the game.

There are two main routes through the game's sixteen stages, which are referred to as blocks and are broken down into several sections. The second stage is an optional excursion for picking up one of the three partner characters, and the main branch occurs part way through the third stage. Each route contains a total of nine stages (ten if the player takes the optional second stage). The upper route takes the player across the lake to the main bridge, entering Dracula's castle through the front gate, while the lower route takes the player through a series of tunnels and caverns, leading to a climb up the cliff face below the castle. The lower route also features one short branching section of its own at stage 6. The two paths converge in the main hall of the castle.

Plot

The year is 1476, and Count Dracula has started to ravage Europe with an army of monsters. The Belmont family of vampire hunters, once exiled from Wallachia, are called into action. They feared the Belmonts' "super-human" power, but with Dracula menacing to swallow Europe in darkness, they are left with no choice but to call Trevor Belmont (Ralph C. Belmondo in the Japanese version), current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip.

Joining Trevor Belmont in his mission to defeat Dracula are three new playable characters: Sypha Belnades, a young sorceress with poor physical attack power but powerful elemental magic spells at her disposal; Grant Danasty, a pirate with the ability to climb on walls and change direction in mid-jump; and Alucard, Dracula's son, a dhampir with the ability to shoot fireballs and transform into a bat. Trevor can be accompanied by only one companion at a time. If he chooses to take on another he must abandon his current companion. The player can "spiritually transform" between Trevor and his ally with the "select" button. Both Trevor and whoever is accompanying him share the same health meter and heart counter. The ending of the game differs depending on which companion Trevor has with him at the time, or if he does not take another character with him at all.

Development and release

Besides the different title, Akumajō Densetsu, the Japanese version has several other differences. It contains a specialized VRC6 coprocessor chip. The game's audio programmer, Hidenori Maezawa, assisted in the chip's creation. This chip added two extra pulse wave channels and a saw wave channel to the system's initial set of five sound channels. The majority of the music combines the channels to imitate the sound of a synthesized string section. Western versions of the NES did not have the ability to support external sound chips, so the North American release replaced the VRC6 with Nintendo's Memory Management Controller 5 (MMC5).[2] The game's music had to be changed by Yoshinori Sasaki to comply with the NES's standard five channels. Akumajō Dracula Famicom Best was a soundtrack album that included the Famicom version of the game's original music.[3]

In the Japanese version, instead of using a stabbing dagger, Grant throws daggers as his main attack. Some enemies do less damage in the Japanese version, and had their sprites changed for the Western releases. Some instances of nudity on the enemies were censored, and religious iconography was pared down. The Japanese version has slightly different backgrounds in many stages, and has special effects not seen in the North American and European releases.[4]

The North American and PAL versions have several hidden features that can be accessed by entering a certain name for the player, which include starting the game with 10 lives (by entering the name "HELP ME"), the option to start the game with any of the three spirit partners, and to access the second, more difficult quest. These features are not present in the Japanese version.[4]

It was released in Japan on December 22, 1989, in North America on September 1, 1990, and in Europe on December 10, 1992. The game also received a Windows release on November 16, 2002.[5][better source needed] The North American packaging artwork was painted by Tom Dubois, who stated that he was inspired by animator Ray Harryhausen's works.[6][7]

It was released on the Wii Virtual Console in the PAL regions on October 31, 2008, in North America on January 12, 2009 and in Japan on April 21, 2009. It was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in the PAL regions on April 17, 2014 and in North America on June 26, 2014. It was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on April 16, 2014, in North America on June 26, 2014 and in the PAL regions on September 4, 2014.[citation needed]

It was later released again as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on May 16, 2019.[8] The Famicom version was made available to western audiences for the first time as a bonus update to this collection a month later.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarStarHalf star[9]
Famitsu30/40[10]
Total!80%[11]

Japanese game magazine Famitsu gave it a 30 out of 40 score, praising it for a return to the first game's format, the new allies, and the upgraded sound, but knocking points off for excessive difficulty.[10] In 1997 Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it the 57th best console video game of all time, citing the multiple playable characters and routes to choose from and the outstanding graphics and music.[12] Nintendo Power listed it as the ninth best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for its strong improvements over previous entries in the series.[13] Game Informer's Tim Turi felt that it was a return to form after Castlevania II. He discussed characters such as Alucard (whom he called iconic) and Grant (whom he praised for his wall cling ability).[14] GamesRadar ranked it the eighth best NES game ever made. The staff felt that it returned to Castlevania's roots after Castlevania II yet "took the series to new heights."[15] GameZone ranked it as the third best Castlevania title. The staff preferred III the most as it felt like the original game the most; they felt its price on the Virtual Console was worthwhile.[16]

In a retrospective review, Allgame editor Christopher Michael Baker highly praised the game, describing it as "the greatest Castlevania game to ever grace the NES" and "possibly even the greatest Castlevania game to ever hit any system".[9]

IGN placed Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse 5th on their list of the Top 100 NES Games.[17]

Former Castlevania producer and developer Koji Igarashi cites Castlevania III as his favorite game in the series, noting the sound and setting as the reasons. Shutaro Iida, who was a programmer for the GBA and NDS games and director of Castlevania, also said it is his favorite in the series, and cited the special sound chip in the Japanese version as the reason why.[18]

In other media

The 1991 Captain N: The Game Master episode "Return to Castlevania" was based on this game.[citation needed]

An animated Dracula's Curse movie had been in development since 2007 with writer Warren Ellis, Frederator Studios, and James Jean attached to the project.[19] In August 2015, film producer Adi Shankar teased that the project, now an animated mini series, was finally in production.[20] Titled simply Castlevania, the first season of the series premiered on Netflix on July 7, 2017.[21] After the 4-episode first season premiere, it was later renewed for an 8-episode second series which premiered on October 26, 2018. A ten-episode third season was released on March 5, 2020.[22] The final season, consisting of 10 episodes, was released on May 13, 2021.[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Akumajō Densetsu (悪魔城伝説, Demon Castle Legend)[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Akumajō Densetsu" (in ja). Konami. https://www.konami.com/games/castlevania/jp/ja/page/history_1989_fc. 
  2. ↑ "VRC6" (in en). https://www.nesdev.org/wiki/VRC6. 
  3. ↑ "Akumajo Dracula Famicom Best музыка из игры" (in en). https://www.game-ost.com/albums/2660/akumajo_dracula_famicom_best/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse/Regional Differences - The Cutting Room Floor". https://tcrf.net/Castlevania_III:_Dracula%27s_Curse/Regional_Differences. 
  5. ↑ "Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & Contra". http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/561575-konami-collectors-series-castlevania-and-contra. 
  6. ↑ McFerran, Damien (2016-07-29). "Tom Dubois Talks About Creating Some Of The Most Iconic Boxart Of The NES And SNES Eras". Nintendo Life. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/07/tom_dubois_talks_about_creating_some_of_the_most_iconic_boxart_of_the_nes_and_snes_eras. 
  7. ↑ Oxford, Nadia (2017-07-17). "Konami's NES Box Art: So Good, So Bad". VG247. https://www.vg247.com/konamis-nes-box-art-so-good-so-bad. 
  8. ↑ Barder, Ollie. "The 'Castlevania Anniversary Collection' Is Now Out And It Is Gloriously Good". https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/05/19/the-castlevania-anniversary-collection-is-now-out-and-it-is-gloriously-good/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Baker, Christopher Michael. "Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - Review". Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141115014719/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=1169&tab=review. Retrieved May 13, 2022. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Bi-Weekly Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) - No. 91" (in ja). Famitsu. January 5, 1990. https://archive.org/details/bi-weekly-famitsu-no.-91-92-january-5th-19th-1990/Bi-Weekly%20Famitsu%20-%20No.%2091%2092%20January%205th%2019th%201990/page/n15/mode/2up. Retrieved 2021-08-01. 
  11. ↑ Steve (July 1992). "Castlevania III: Dracula's Quest". Total! (7): 38–39. https://archive.org/details/Total_Issue_007_1992-07_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n37/mode/2up?q=%22addams+family%22+nintendo. Retrieved August 26, 2021. 
  12. ↑ "100 Best Games of All Time". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (100): 126. November 1997.  Note: Contrary to the title, the intro to the article explicitly states that the list covers console video games only, meaning PC games and arcade games were not eligible.
  13. ↑ "Nintendo Power – The 20th Anniversary Issue!". Nintendo Power (San Francisco, California: Future US) 231 (231): 71. August 2008. 
  14. ↑ Turi, Tim (2012-04-04). "Ranking The Castlevania Bloodline". Game Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/04/04/ranking-the-castlevania-bloodline.aspx. Retrieved 2013-12-05. 
  15. ↑ "Best NES Games of all time". 2012-04-16. http://www.gamesradar.com/best-nes-games-all-time/. 
  16. ↑ Workman, Robert (2011-09-27). "Happy 25th Birthday Castlevania: The Ten Best Games in the Series". GameZone. http://www.gamezone.com/originals/2011/09/27/happy_25th_birthday_castlevania_the_ten_best_games_in_the_series. 
  17. ↑ IGN Staff (2011). "Top 100 NES Games". p. 5. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. http://www.ign.com/top-100-nes-games/5.html. 
  18. ↑ Knezevic, Kevin (2017-06-23). "Symphony Of The Night Designer IGA Talks Bloodstained's Delay And His Favorite Castlevania" (in en-US). CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/symphony-of-the-night-designer-iga-talks-bloodstai/1100-6451091/. 
  19. ↑ Justin McElroy (2007-05-07). "Warren Ellis planning on three Castlevania films". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/warren-ellis-planning-on-three-castlevania-films/. 
  20. ↑ Trumbore, Dave (25 August 2015). "Super Violent 'Castlevania' Animated Series Coming from Producer Adi Shankar". http://collider.com/castlevania-animated-series-adi-shankar/. 
  21. ↑ Williams, Mike (February 8, 2017). "Castlevania Headed To Netflix in 2017, From Warren Ellis and Adi Shankar". US Gamer. http://www.usgamer.net/articles/castlevania-headed-to-netflix-in-2017-from-warren-ellis-and-adi-shankar. 
  22. ↑ Elfring, Matt (March 5, 2020). "Here's What's New to Netflix in March 2020: Castlevania Season 3, More Movies, TV Shows, and Originals". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-whats-new-to-netflix-in-march-2020-castlevan/1100-6473892/. 
  23. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (May 13, 2021). "Castlevania: Season 4 Review". https://www.ign.com/articles/castlevania-season-4-review-netflix. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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