Castlevania: Bloodlines

Hello one and all, and welcome to the third instalment of both my, and Greg's trilogy of _Castlevania_ guide/walkthroughs: _Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse_. Undoubtedly, this is the pick of the bunch as far as the old 8-bit _Castlevania_ games go, with multiple routes, characters and endings, as well as a much more refined playing experience.

Instead of being a follow-up to the events of the first two games in the series, _Castlevania_ and _Castlevania II: Simon's Quest_, this game is actually what we would term a "prequel", with the story set some 200 years prior and featuring one of the great forefathers of the Belmont family, Trevor C. Belmont. Handling very much just as his descendant Simon, you guide Trevor on his way to Dracula's castle, using the usual array of whips and weapons to defend yourself from the count's deadly minions of the night. The path will occasionally split and the route you take to get to Dracula is entirely up to you, with the levels and challenge changing accordingly.

Trevor can be joined by a handful of additional characters with their own unique powers and abilities, who can make life easier in certain parts – but the twist is you can only have one assistant character with you at a time, so opting to take on a new partner results in other partners being dropped for the remainder of the game. Ultimately reaching and defeating Dracula whether with Trevor alone, or paired with one of three additional characters will result in a different ending, so there is a lot of replayability here for the _Castlevania_ enthusiast!

You've got the usual assortment of information within this guide: a complete walkthrough to cover every stage in all paths, enemy and item lists, boss strategies, secrets and useful information to know before getting started. We aim to make this guide as thorough as possible, and welcome feedback or any helpful info you think we could include! If that's the case, feel free to get in touch with either of us. Thanks for reading, and let's crack on with taking down Dracula once again!

Hello everyone!

We are back with another _Castlevania_ guide. This time it is for the most popular NES _Castlevania_ title: _Castlevania III_! We're going back to the old-school style of _Castlevania_ here, with pure platforming goodness, but we're also bringing some friends along!

This game actually lets you pick your path towards Dracula, but no matter what path you pick (or which allies you take along with you), you know that Ryan and BK have your back!

I'm still on my quest to write for every _Castlevania_ game out there, as it has always been one of my favorite series in gaming. This is my 20th _Castlevania_ guide in fact, and who better to write it with than my good friend Ryan Harrison, certified old-school game lover and long time GameFAQs author/reviewer.

With all of that said, I'm glad you're here with us playing through this classic game! Let's get into the guide!

The time is 100 years before Simon Belmont's birth. The moon burns red overhead and black clouds loom large on the horizon. All is still and quiet. Only the call of a distant crow stirs the cold night air. Suddenly, thunder roars out of the Morbid Mountains and into the village of Warakiya. Like the yell of an angry giant, the terrible sound shakes homes and shops as if they were sapling branches.

But no one blinks an eye. The village is dead calm. For all the people have fled after receiving warnings from the Great Beyond that Count Dracula has assembled a mighty army of evil, and they're poised to march up from the Valley of Graveyards to bury mankind in a Tomb of Terror. Unfortunately, there's no corner on Earth that won't be gobbled up by this bloodthirsty legion of Swamp Dragons, Slasher Skeletons and Forces of the Undead.

The last line of defense is you, Trevor Belmont – the forefather of Simon Belmont and the origin of the Belmont Warlord Chromosomes. But your chances are slimmer than Jim. In fact, the only real edge you have over this fang sharpened freak is your power to transform into three different partner spirits: Grant DaNasty, the ferocious Ghost Pirate. Sypha, the Mystic Warlord. And Alucard, Dracula's forgotten son. Each of these spirits will confront you as you fight through 17 possible levels of never-ending fright, including the Haunted Ship of Fools, the Clock Tower of Untimely Death and Curse Castle. You must also possess the strength to wield the mighty Battle Axe and Mystic Whip, which were given to you by the Poltergeist King.

So go forth young Trevor into the cold black night, where death lurks around every corner and evil lingers on every stone. And remember, if your courage and cunning are any less than magnificent or if you fail to choose the correct Paths of Fate, you'll be banished to the world of the undead, and zombies will rule until the end of time.

This guide details the controls for Castlevania: Bloodlines, originally released on the Sega Genesis. The controls listed are based on the NES instruction manual and have been adapted for various platforms, including Virtual Console versions.

Guiding Grant: Press and hold the Control Pad toward a wall to cling to it. Then press the Control Pad in the desired direction to climb. The height of Grant's leaps can be varied by how hard you press the A Button.

Assisting Alucard: Press Control Pad Down and the A Button simultaneously to transform Alucard into a Bat. Repeat this procedure to transform back into his human form.

3DS/Wii/Wii U Virtual Console Controls

These versions are emulations of the NES original. The Wii/Wii U Virtual Console editions allow for various control inputs. The following buttons correspond to their NES counterparts:

Other Controls (3DS)

Other Controls (Wiimote & Wii Classic Controller)

Other Controls (Wii U GamePad)