Games Beaten 2017

[marurun]

Yeah, upgrading is pricey.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I am at 16k feathers from their 10 boost and from participating in the arenas and doing arena quests. Seriously arena quests are just an endless bevy of feathers.

[Markies]

1. Phantasy Star II (GEN)
2. Guitar Hero (PS2)
3. Adventures of Lolo (NES)
4. Animal Crossing (GCN)
5. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES)

I beat Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse on the Nintendo Entertainment System this evening!

I bought this game in November of 2014 and I have been playing it on and off since. The last 5 or 6 times, it took me the entire evening just to beat one level. So, tonight, I started at the last level and three hours later, I finally beat the damn game.

Holy Hell is this game hard. It is mean and punishing. It makes the first Castlevania look fair! From vertical scrolling stages to mean enemy placement to little health and little weapons, this game is not messing around. And do not get me started on the stairs. THOSE are your worst enemies.

With that being said, the game is impressive for what it crammed into one cartridge. With multiple paths and multiple characters, the replay value of the game is mighty impressive. The graphics and sound are top notch with amazing visuals and memorable tunes. Everything is bigger and more of it compared to the first game.

The NES trilogy is now Beat! Onto Super Castlevania IV!

[Xeogred]

Props. I think Castlevania III is probably the hardest in the franchise.

IV is an absolute cake walk and one of the easiest to me. lol

[MrPopo]

The true boss of IV is the stairs. Specifically those collapsing stairs near the end of the game.

[Damm64]

I had a huge itch for classic resident evil and for some reason marathoned 1,2,3 and survivor (first playthrough) backwards... started with survivor then went to 3, 2 and 1. Kinda cool to see a series de-evolve

Survivor was a... interesting experience to say the least. I gave it two playthroughs since is so short and the first one i was thinking "this isn't so bad, it is a bit clunky but all resi games are like that" as long as you use the auto aim with L1 and run away from some enemies youll be great... then there's the final boss... this is the worst part of the game the final tyrant has two forms and the 2nd form is a freaking bullet sponge it survives 18 magnum shots, and about 16 grenade rounds and 8 shotgun shots and i still NEED IT to kill with the regular ass handgun. And thats all the ammo i could get AFTER killing the first form with only the handgun.

Resi 3 still kinda stands as my least favorite in the main series but is still fun. I just really hate nemesis on a clean playthrough since hes so ANNOYING! He's a walking piñata that gives free presents each time you kill it but fighting him is a pain in the ass... maybe because i suck at the dodge thing and i can never get it right.

Resi 2 the first game i saw in the franchise when i was 12 back in 2004 (yes we got consoles very late... and it wasn't even mine it was my cousin's). I watched my cousin play the start of Claire A scenario and get mutilated by zombies after 3 minutes... literally couldn't sleep on the whole night... and now is one of my favorite games ever and can play it at 2 A.M alone. I dont know why that feels good somehow.

Resi 1 just for the sake of it i played through the dualshock version... and the soundtrack really sucks. I though that just the basement music and one or maybe two more tunes were bad but honestly the whole soundtrack of this version is either awful or out of place. There's things like the save room theme that are ok but the rest are either awful, out of place and some would be ok but sound kinda off. Played through Jill's scenario and boy i forgot how easy it was 40 minutes into the game and you're already a walking arsenal, i still remember doing my first playthough with Chris and suffering really bad for it... well at least easy in comparison with Chris.

[Exhuminator]

Holy Hell is this game hard. It is mean and punishing. It makes the first Castlevania look fair!

It's the hardest of the NES Castlevanias for sure. Nice beat and I'm glad you liked it. You liked it more then I did when I beat it last year. If you're interested in my review from back then:

A lot of people love Castlevania III, and proclaim it's the best Castlevania on NES. I am not one of those people. While I'll admit that Castlevania III serves as a proper sequel in design and aesthetics to the original Castlevania, I don't think it's as good a game. Compared to Castlevania II, Castlevania III utterly pales in innovation and beauty. Castlevania III is simply not as polished, balanced, or unique as its predecessors. Castlevania III's color palette is often particularly garish, with mish mashes of hues void of artistic direction. Castlevania III's OST is nowhere near as good as Castlevania I or II's, not by a long shot. Castlevania III is also overly long, with repeated bosses and levels that often last longer than they ought to.

There are some positives I can say about Castlevania III though. It has a few branching level choices, good for replayability. And you have the ability to play as other characters. If you're looking for a serious challenge, yes indeed Castlevania III will definitely accomplish that.

Ultimately however, I feel compared to Castlevania II, Castlevania III was regressive. Castlevania III was Konami's knee jerk reaction to fans complaining about Castlevania II being so different than the original. So it apes the original Castlevania fiercely, without understanding what made its predecessor the classic it still is. Thankfully a few years later, players eventually came around to the "metroidvania" style of Castlevania that Castlevania II began, leaving Castlevania III to rust like the relic it is.

You should enjoy Super Castlevania IV, it's a great game and a lot of fun. Don't listen to any haters.

[Sarge]

I like Castlevania III, but Ex is right, the first game benefits from being a much more focused experience. CVIII is kind of a "let's do the first game, but with MORE!" deal, so it doesn't always feel as tightly designed.

Still, swappable helpers are super cool, it still plays very well, and is definitely one of the top-tier NES action games. And it's crazy hard, but y'all knew that.

By the way, want a challenge? Try a solo Alucard run. Uuuuugh. The Doppleganger will kick your butt unless you find a safe spot, and then, you have to execute perfectly to get enough shots in before the timer runs out. (And technically, you have to swap to Trevor in the US version, since you can't damage Dracula's second form at all with Alucard.)

Super Castlevania IV is much more fun to me overall. It's definitely easier and more accessible. It's not quite as balanced as the NES games because of the multi-directional whip, but it's amazingly atmospheric, with a soundtrack that is pretty much different than anything else out there.

[Markies]

Thank you everybody for the kind words and encouragement!

I think I respect Castlevania III more than I actually enjoy it. I love the improvements the series has made. I love the varying paths and characters as it is impressive how much the series changed and evolved on the NES.

I think all 3 NES Castlevanias are good, but flawed experiences in their own unique way. For favorite, I'd probably go with the first one. It has the most nostalgia and I think it is the most fair.

For Castlevania IV, I very much am looking forward to an easier experience. I have heard that many people have called it the best and I am very excited to play it for myself. With Castlevania IV and then eventually Symphony of the Night, I think my Castlevania journey will only get better!

[Sarge]

If you haven't played Symphony, you are in for a treat.