The true next installment to the first game, instead of the garbage that was castlevania 2, castlevania 3 takes the gameplay from castlevania 1 and refines it, adding three other playable members to the crew as well as a branching level system, with multiple pathways and different levels to play, increasing replayability. It still suffers from NES bullshit, but to a lesser degree than the previous one...for the most part. I recommend you play the japanese version. The soundtrack in there is the stuff of legends.