Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

悪魔城伝説 (Akumajō Densetsu)NES, Windows, Wii, Wii U +41989

  1. JP1989
  2. NA1990
  3. EU1992
  4. RUDendy

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was released in Japan as Akumajō Densetsu (悪魔城伝説), a version with an extra sound chip and its own balance and graphics. Today the easiest legal way to play it is the Castlevania Anniversary Collection on Steam or Nintendo eShop, which contains the North American NES version and, through an update, the Japanese Akumajō Densetsu.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is Konami's third Castlevania game for the Famicom/NES. It came out in Japan as Akumajō Densetsu on 22 December 1989, followed by North America in 1990 and Europe in 1992. The game is a prequel to the first Castlevania, set in 1476, with Trevor Belmont as the hero. It introduced branching paths, three recruitable partners (Sypha, Grant and Alucard) and multiple endings. Unlike the two earlier Castlevania games released on the Famicom Disk System, it shipped on a cartridge and uses passwords instead of saves.

The Japanese and Western versions differ more than most. The Japanese cartridge carries Konami's VRC6 chip, which gives it a richer soundtrack than the Western NES release. The Western versions were also made harder and had some imagery toned down, and the hero himself goes by a different name in Japan. Even the North American box art has a story: Tom Dubois painted it, citing Ray Harryhausen's films as inspiration.

The game was later re-released on Windows, on Virtual Console for Wii, 3DS and Wii U, and in the 2019 Castlevania Anniversary Collection. Its story was adapted for the first two seasons of the 2017 Castlevania animated series.12

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseWikipedia gives 19 September 1990, TCRF gives 1 September 1990 NES September 1990 Konami 2
NA Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & ContraWindows compilation Windows Nov 16, 2002 Konami 2
JP 悪魔城伝説Akumajō DensetsuFamicom cartridge with Konami's VRC6 sound chip NES Dec 22, 1989 Konami 1
EU Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseKonami's Palcom label; TCRF gives 10 December 1992 instead NES May 1992 Palcom Software 3
EU Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseVirtual Console; NA 2009-01-12, JP 2009-04-21 Wii Oct 31, 2008 Konami 2
JP 悪魔城伝説Akumajō DensetsuVirtual Console; NA 2014-06-26, EU 2014-09-04 Wii U Apr 16, 2014 Konami 2
EU Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseVirtual Console; NA 2014-06-24 Nintendo 3DS Apr 17, 2014 Konami 2
WW Castlevania Anniversary CollectionAlso PS4, Xbox One and Windows (Steam); the Japanese Akumajō Densetsu was added later as a free update Switch May 16, 2019 Konami 4

Also known as: 悪魔城伝説 JP1Akumajō Densetsu JP2Castlevania III WW3

Box art by region

  • Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse box art, North America release
    NA Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
  • Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse box art, Europe release
    EU Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
  • 悪魔城伝説 box art, Japan release
    JP 悪魔城伝説

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • AudioFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)

    The Famicom cartridge uses Konami's VRC6 chip, adding two pulse channels and a sawtooth channel. The Western cartridges use Nintendo's MMC5 instead, so the soundtrack was rearranged for the console's standard five channels.2

  • DifficultyNES (NA/EU)

    The Western versions are harder overall: several enemies hit harder, damage grows as the game goes on, and losing to the final bosses sends the player back to the start of the stage.1

  • GameplayFamicom (JP)

    In the Japanese version Grant attacks by throwing daggers, while in the Western releases he stabs with a short dagger at close range.2

All differences (7)

Where to play legally today

  • Nintendo eShop Purchase

    Castlevania Anniversary Collection

    NES (NA) version; Japanese Akumajō Densetsu added by update

    Checked: 2026-10-135nintendo.com

  • Steam Purchase

    Castlevania Anniversary Collection

    NES (NA) version; Japanese Akumajō Densetsu added by update

    Checked: 2026-10-134store.steampowered.com

Reception

Famitsu's cross-review placed it in its Silver Hall of Fame with 30 out of 40. Later lists ranked it among the best NES games (9th for Nintendo Power, 5th for IGN), and Koji Igarashi has named it his favorite game in the series.2

In lists

Sources

  1. 1ja.wikipedia.org
  2. 2en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3konami.com
  4. 4store.steampowered.com
  5. 5nintendo.com
  6. 6tcrf.net
  7. 7ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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