Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES) Full Playthrough w/ Mike Matei

[@mistrdevine]

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.

[@syminite1]

Beast. My mom got me this too with bugs bunny birthday blowout. Syfa's energy ball magic was the strongest weapon in the game.

[@pigeonsil240sx]

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.

[@matrix91234]

For me it was Crash Bandicoot 2. So i had it easier : D

[@papabear6611]

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.

[@agiar2000]

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. :)

[@willmistretta]

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.

[@ChipRed87]

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.

[@Habackuk24]

She has a Samus Aran moment in the end, removing the headpiece.

[@rocketcon]

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.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

The Netflix series even played up on this- "Save my grandson". Trevor saves Syfa who removes hood. "Ok, granddaughter"

[@masquerade9703]

Chip M plus in symphony of the night she's obvious a girl when you fight the imposters

[@tbb033]

Or he's transexual before that shit was trendy.

[@jeffk7287]

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.

[@yvonnerogers6429]

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.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

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

[@gooseygoose604]

I would always record on my phone the credits when I beat a game, I even said "woah Syphas a girl???!"

[@justintahair9119]

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

[@ShinobiNeon]

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.

[@iGuy28]

Well good! At some point, i thought i was into *men*

[@hdofu]

I like how the series pokes fun at that.

[@RivantCanton]

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.

[@makihara3713]

Great stream. Shows why this game was considered as a NES classic and how people reacted to its brutal and yet addicting difficulty.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Too bad it's not on the NES Classic. 1 and 2 are Simon'a story but 3 is way better than 2 lol

[@HouYi-b6g]

Having been born in 95 and just finishing Castlevania 3, I can say it and Rondo of Blood are my favorite Castlevanias.

[@Infinighost]

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.

[@bobhoskins1790]

It’s gonna be a lot more time than that at your pace buddy.

[@orlangurs]

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.

[@TheBLBShow]

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.

[@hdofu]

Some versions are up there like the US version of Haunted Castle for the Arcades. That said the NES version isn't.

[@Ghalion666]

Yeah, though I find the alucard route way more difficult than the s ypha route.

[@richardgurney1844]

I actually think CV3 is harder than Ninja Gaiden

[@TheBLBShow]

@@hdofu well that is pretty much a whole different game than the nes cv1

[@b2manatees]

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.

[@alejandrovaldez9848]

I think this game is the best one in the trilogy in my opinion!👾 PRAISE THE WALL CHICKEN!!🍗

[@Aggrofool]

If there is a fkn pork chop in there, I would so eat it!

[@XpRnz]

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!

[@stryder414]

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.

[@j.d.simahan5014]

Thanks you Captain.

[@PositronPlays]

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!

[@masquerade9703]

Can't get anymore classic than this

[@Thatonegirl989]

Mike your playthroughs are awesome.

[@chillenkillen7277]

angel milton ✌😘

[@Thatonegirl989]

Chillen Killen :)

[@Thatonegirl989]

don solo add me, i cant find you. My profile pic is the same one on here

[@the1ucidone]

Quality content baby.

[@XeviousD]

Joseph Freese Can't wait for Mike to play Castlevania Chronicles for the PSX/PS1!

[@charliehyland3603]

Joseph Freese I

[@inujosha]

Always love a Mike Matei play through

[@JamesNintendoNerd]

Thanks for watching! -Mike

[@inujosha]

Cinemassacre My pleasure my man. Thank you for uploading. My favorites of you are your play throughs of the mega mans.

[@Mattsterweb]

I really wish Mike's reply had said "Always love an Inujosha comment". :P

[@inujosha]

cheebert That would have been awesome lol

[@johneygd]

Inujosha now mike has to show this to james rolf.

[@erikbell1723]

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

[@tommynguyen8555]

Wow I was on the edge of my seat for many of the boss battles! You perform great under pressure

[@arykedawg1]

hands down the best soundtrack on NES

[@rocketcon]

The Japanese Famicom version is even better, thanks to the added sound chip.

[@amso7169]

Journey to Silius wants to know your location

[@pureevil9496]

Yay! I was just about to search for a playthrough and here you are.

[@matthewrs7]

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.

[@Arm4g3dd0nX]

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. :)

[@sevranal]

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.

[@thegamesresearcher]

i know this post is one year old, but in case someone is digging old videos out, one word: "FUJIMOTO"

[@MaxMarriner]

No way. No goddamn way. This is incredible.

[@confusedkemono]

Turns into a skull thing? Skeleton?? EVERYTHING IS A SKULL.

[@rezterralico4369]

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.

[@Dresdenstl]

I wasn't sure if I watched this or not but then Mike read my chat comment.

[@maxbrandt6]

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.

[@Scott86]

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

[@michaelswitzer2121]

The VideoGame Champion quick think of some other cool games he should play wile u have this power before it fades away

[@DerpMuse]

Great playthrough Mike! That stairway at the end refresh to get extra hearts is a game changer. I never knew about that.

[@mattb9664]

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.

[@thepatriot2603]

And you’re just taking the easy path Mike! There’s three different paths throughout the game!!

[@PurpleRupees]

I'm on the second to last level taking Sypha path. Is Alucard route really that much harder?

[@joeyk107]

@@PurpleRupees in my opinion, the paths easiest to hardest are the sypha path, the alucard path, then the sunken city path.

[@PurpleRupees]

@@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

[@crunchb3rry]

I just had a thought that Trevor Belmont looks like he's wearing Uggs and now I can't un-see it.

[@korgothkillings2032]

crunchb3rry hilarious

[@polarbeargloves]

30 something year old man, still makes his name fuck you ... Nice

[@Chaosxinc]

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.

[@aoccza7]

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

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

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.

[@davidturbo8566]

Smokey McJoint right the best to me is super caslevania 4 that game is perfect..

[@Radassbadass69]

nah nah nah rondo of blood goty all years

[@The_Chewmiester]

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

[@DansSmegead]

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 :)

[@akiameko1984]

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.

[@RetroAdvisoryBoard]

"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.

[@windwaker0rules]

anyone else think the last level is way easier than the second last level XD

[@mario19885]

YEAH!!! My favorite Castlevania game where you get to play as 4 characters!!

[@apotheosis00]

"Help me" gave you a ton of lives.

[@skibumjd]

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!

[@77MRVIC]

I grew up with this game played it over and over

[@andyauthor2007]

It takes 138 licks to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.

[@JtMoney88]

Whoa! That intro is awesome! Glad you got one similar to the AVGN intro.

[@segaki]

Never seen this game played before but already loving the music!

[@megasean3000]

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

[@Flayne009]

Holy Water on Level 7. Second candle. You have to be Trevor though, obviously. Awesome video Mike.

[@JustinEvitable80]

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

[@buckyjr710]

Putting in "HELP ME" gets you ten lives.

[@yvonnerogers6429]

I really enjoyed this LP, Mike. Thank you!

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

Best ending of any Cinemassacre video ever.

[@jeesuz]

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.

[@rocketcon]

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.

[@jeesuz]

The text box thing makes sense. Though calling Sypha a "warlord" seems completely wrong. Does it actually say that or did you mean warlock?

[@OperationSubterfuge]

Right. That was another typo in the translation. It was supposed to say "WartHog"

[@SrTrapizomba]

One of the best Castlevania game, in my opinion

[@gplechuckiii]

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.

[@richardpage9474]

Beat this when I was a kid did use HELP ME code, is still my favorite CV. Used Alucard, the boat was just to much of a pain.

[@Haterator]

I absolutely love the BGM on this!

[@_JackNapier]

This is my FAVORITE NES GAME!!! Checking every Block is Mandatory 🏥

[@dfchang813]

I loved and played this game to death as kid. Eventually able to beat it with all 3 characters and then as Trevor alone. Sypha destroys though. I remember Dracula was soooo hard. Lol. Brings back memories.

[@Chodaboy65]

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.

[@IkarosTypeAlpha]

I actually missed this one and went right to 4. Funny how fast they dropped the Castlevania II direction

[@briancyates1983]

If you guys get an SNES Classic, will there be a live stream. I work at a Target, and we have 70 in stock, according to what security told me yesterday. We may get more this week.

[@xAngoryx]

That intro though is on point my friend

[@Synthmancer]

These full playthroughs are great.

[@sandukan1001]

I think the up and down the stairs trick is also mentioned in one of the castlevania avgn episodes. But well done on beating this tough game.

[@jikissgamer]

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.

[@WolfenFox77]

Yes! A whole play through hell yeah

[@toptenguy1]

In baseball terms, Trevor is the ace starting pitcher, Syfa is the closer.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

How can ppl call Rondo the best in the series when this beauty exists?

[@brandonwilliams6119]

Without a doubt the hardest NES game I’ve played, harder than the 3 Ninja Gaidens combined! I need to try Ghosts’n’Goblins and Battletoads sometime in the future.

[@Red88Rex]

The music is so fucking good. One of the best on the NES

[@mikepower87]

*Mike's evil laugh after he puts in F*** You

[@jeffunknown9927]

Wow that Hydra fight was epic!

[@venne4018]

Ever since that Castlevania AVGN videos i've been waiting for an SOTN Playthrough any plans on that one Mike?

[@miukitty100]

I managed to beat the game thanks to this video! Thanks so much Mike 😁

[@Theseus9-cl7ol]

Why play games when you can watch Mike play them.

[@opffix270]

That intro is spectacular.

[@MrNb22]

i like how the netflix series is fairly true to the story where Trevor meets Syfa

[@MarshallMathersthe7th]

HA he used the same trick i did on the final form of Dracula, NICE! (throwing the axe)

[@Kumaclaws]

Personally I use Grant more than Alucard or Sypha since I could use Grant to use shortcuts and I could recover way better with the platforming.

[@michaelanthonyanthony9131]

Hey Mike this is Mike ,glad to see you on another vid have fun man😂😂😮

[@Marius-vw9hp]

OMG Fell asleep watching Mike play Jekyll and Hyde - had weird dreams about James and Mike all night.

[@kkzooi]

nice playthrough. mike since you like puzzle games, id like to see you play Ka-blooey on snes some day

[@TubeTubeToby]

that intro is frking awesome

[@mariusamber3237]

Konami really liked this gaming formula. They also published some Japan exclusive games which play almost exactly the same as Castlevania III, such as one of the Hunter x Hunter based games on GBC.

[@VidavisPrime]

Mike what happened to the sounds after you took the break? They are almost gone?

[@johnmagus6341]

I remember playing this game and thinking it was impossible as well. Great times.

[@simoncobian2816]

I used to love using grant climbing on the walls was the best

[@dorpth]

Sypha really is the only choice. Grant requires you to go through that entire clocktower level TWICE, his main weapon sucks, and his wall climbing doesn't do much and gets in the way trying to navigate way more than it helps you. Alucard's fireballs SUCK (they're so weak they can't even destroy candles in one hit) and his levels are all frustrating, unfun bullshit. The only thing he's good for is the bat mode but his levels are designed to make it not help you much. Sypha doesn't require you to go out of your way, her levels don't suck, and is the only character whose abilities you'd actually use to fight enemies.

[@shivasthong4924]

Unforgivable difficulty!

[@perfectibility999]

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.

[@drizzziit1]

Have any if you even completed the true quest? This is the Real deal.

[@tbb033]

"Unforgivable difficulty!" Then play a metrovania instead. That's what i do.

[@Lightningfootjones]

Shivas Thong and this is the easy path!

[@44bigfreeze]

+per doking Silver Surfer

[@PidgeyHowler]

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.

[@USMC49er]

You didnt win the treasure master prize AND the trip to Dracula's hometown? You have tough luck, Nerd.

[@walkingcorpse1224]

Syfa is a girl, she was a girl in the official Castlevania Guide and she's a girl in the anime. I think the game however was only programmed to say "him..." which is easier considering you would've had to have made a "her..." for only one character. This is common laziness seen in NES games tho as I'm sure you know.

[@perfectibility999]

This is an absolutely phenomenal game. I might even like it better than Super Castlevania IV, though it's a tough choice. Dracula's Curse offers a lot more challenge.