Topic: Castlevania III, Japan or US version. Which do you prefer to play?

[TheouAegis]

Castlevania: The Arcade had the best music. That game's version of the CV3 Prelude made me have multiple eargasms.

Castlevania The Arcade - 001 - Prelude

[Thomas Belmont]

Wow! That's beautiful! Why can't we get music like that for the console games?

[TheouAegis]

Then there's the Arcade version of Beginning.

Castlevania The Arcade - 003 - Beginning (Stage 3-2)

The whole soundtrack is awesome (well, a couple exceptions maybe...)

The great remixes:

Underground (CV1)
Vampire Killer (CV1)
Wicked Child (CV1 and FUCKING EPIC)
Walking On The Edge (CV1)
Poison Mind (CV1)
Black Night (CV1 also FUCKING EPIC but short...)
Bloody Tears (CV2)
Prelude (CV3)
Beginning (CV3)
Nightmare (CV3)
Simon's Theme (CV4)
Cross Your Heart (HC)
Divine Bloodlines (RoB)
Illusionary Dance (SotN)
Heartthrob (Tokimeki Memorial ... no I'm not joking)
Confession (Tokimeki Memorial)

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I'm mad that I cannot play that game on Wii or Move...

[Thunderbrand]

Was "Overture" ever remixed or released on any other OST's? The JAP version I posted on page 1 in this thread is my fav track from CV3, but not sure if it was redone for any other games...

[Belmont Stakes]

I love the music of the Japanese version the challenge of the American version and as far as the graphics slight nod to the Japanese version on the backgrounds but I push on the characters. No matter how you slice it the NES Castlevanias and SCVIV are true to heart what the series is. IMO.


Shameless plug time. Please enjoy and if you want to rate my CVIII remixes.

Castlevania III A Clockwork

More on my channel.

[Profbeanburrito]

I like the change to flea men in the US version instead of those rabbit things, though they're cool too

[knightmere]

Some of the enemy sprites are better in the US version (no fleamen in JP), but the overall graphics and music are better on the Japanese version.  The gameplay feels more balanced to me in the JP version so I usually play that one. Also, as mentioned the checkpoint on Dracula's stage for the US version is complete BS.  It is cool though to have two versions of the same game with such differences, it just sucks the JP version never officially released in the west.

[Sinful]

You know, I really wish there was a hack that has the US balance tweaks/extra difficulty and Japanese soundtrack. ... Suprised this idea hasn't been thought of or done yet (though, I'm not sure how easy it would be to pull off?).

I'm just saying this as I'm much more enjoying the difficulty and game balance of the US version now. Enough to only play until I beat the US version first, then check out the rest of the Japanese version.

Plus, they really seem to have fixed quite a few things with the extra development time (and maybe space too, due to maybe simpler soundtrack tunes?). And not just in extra difficulty and difficulty game balance.

I like the change to flea men in the US version instead of those rabbit things, though they're cool too

Yeah, you prefer them creepy looking things? Hmm, I figured most vania fans would prefer them more too. As most vania fans seem to prefer more creepy horror related things? Just not me.

The gameplay feels more balanced to me in the JP version so I usually play that one.

Yeah, you think the Japanese version is more balanced?... I though I recalled a couple of instances where the Japanese version could have used more balance and were actually fixed in the US version with the extra development time (and maybe extra space too?). Two quick example off the top of my head are;

- that part in Sypha's route about two blocks before Frankstein, I think? In the setion where you walk up the steps past all them spitting bone pillar things. Last time I played the Japanese version, it seemed like I could have just walked up right away and non-stop all the way to the top? While in the US version, you actually have to time things or time them much more or better.
- in the ruined water city or whatever it's called. During the part where the water rises. In the Japanese version it's way too easy and simple to make it to the boss for the second and final time. Almost zero effort, like it wasn't complete yet (just like Simon's Quest last dungeon). As the timing of them merman type things seem to never be timed to collide with you at all. But instead for them to appear a safe distance ahead of you ready to be easily whipped. In the US version their timing seems to be fixed (because man, there sure like to nail me >_<) + bats added that come from both directions too. Now the difficulty matches the rest of the level much better.