An absolute gem of a platformer buried under a lot of horrible, cheap and unfair game design that must've resulted in a lot of heart attacks back in the day. Supposedly the Japanese version is without most of this bullshit and is actually a fair challenge instead, so I'll be a little more lenient...

Castlevania 3 ignores the complete misfire that was 2 and opts to improve everything from Castlevania 1 instead - and improve it sure does. Enemy variety, stage variety, length, boss fights, it's all amped up from before with the same tight controls - well, regrettably including the damn stairs.

Shaking up the mix are the companion characters, who all add a really good spin on the gameplay by encouraging different playstyles - one's more nimble with a smaller hitbox and wall climbing, one has incredibly strong magic attacks, and the other can turn into a bat at a moments notice to escape danger. Unfortunately you can only recruit one at a time, and if you turn them down you can't encounter them again - not to mention the game has 2 branching paths of different levels and bosses to the end, and one companion is exclusive to each path, encouraging replayability.

Only if you can handle it though, as this game is horrendously difficult in the english release. I don't think my blood pressure could survive a second playthrough, lest it break the sound barrier with rage.