Great news! Hope it comes soonish, to all the regions.

I already own the cartridge, so i won't be getting this one either ^^.

Can't wait to play it again! Although in this game Alucard isn't so much cool as in SOTN, this is my favourite CV, along with Super Castlevania IV.

I can't wait to download it! Excellent castlevania game!

I'll guess this will be a nice Halloween addition

Let's hope they put Dracula X for the SNES on the VC sometime. Maybe that will drive down the prices of the rare SNES cartridge on Ebay a little bit.

The SNES version of Dracula X is one of the less inspired chapter of the saga, a Konami style lapse.
I'd prefer to see first the PcEngine version! (IMHO)

I'll get it when it comes out.

me too! I can't wait to play it again...

Awesome been ages since we last saw a castlevenia game. Though i am still hoping to see Rondo Of Blood.

Jumping for joy! If you have never played this its one of the best NES platformers you can get. Must Buy! Branching paths, eeire music, late-gen NES graphics, multiple characters its got it all.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse curse is a great game. This game is must for those that haven't played it.

I guess things have changed in used game prices since the time I bought Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse used back in mid 1990's.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is one of the best nes games not on the vc.

I expect Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse to be release next month since Holloween is celebrated on the final weekt of October.

Is this one harder or easier than Super Castlevania IV?
I know that's probably a dumb question since every SNES sequel is much easier than it's predecessor, but I ask anyway because the SNES one, while a lot of fun, is much too unforgiving for little ole me.

Nice! I'm all in.

@Adam: the SNES version is much easier!

Sweet! Although I still hope we get Dracula X soon.

It looks funky. That is all.

I'm all for Castlevania III. I can wait a bit longer for Rhondo of Blood, seeing that I own it on the PSP.
Not saying I dont want to original on the big screen (as opposed to PSPs screen), just saying I would LOVE Castlevania III

I already own the cartridge but I'll probably buy it on VC anyway. Dracula's curse is the game that made me a fan. Ever since I've been buying every Castlevania that comes out. A videogame with vampires, spooky Gothic music and the the lord of darkness count Dracula as the main boss. It doesn't get any more awesome than that! I'm still waiting for Rondo though. Hopefully it will be added to VC in the states before next year. Sure would make a great Halloween treat.

This is awesome!!!! I've playeyed I, II, and IV, and have been dying to play III and now it looks like it could finally happen. Here's hoping it's sooner rather than later.

Such good news!!!!!

I'd also like to add that the only 2D Castlevania left to hear about now is Bloodlines for the Genesis.

Alright! I'm sure this won't be Europe's 250th game, but I'm glad to see that it's on it's way. Now alls we need is Bloodlines for the Genesis and I'll be a happy camper. Here's hoping for a Holloween release!

btw, i've heard this game is hard, but is it at least slightly easier than the original? Is there nearly as many medusa heads?

I hope Bloodlines comes soon! I love that game But Castlevania 3 is still good news

@Damien:

Not to be nitpicky, but the word "prequel" is technically defined as "a work that portrays events and/or aspects of a previously completed narrative, but is set prior to the existing narrative." (Wikipedia) So in this case, the word "predecessor" would be more appropriate to describe Castlevania III, since it came before the other mentioned game. Just sayin'... =P

Cool! Like some others before me have said, I also would like to see Bloodlines appear on the VC. It was a bit of a mixed bag, but I enjoyed it.

@Wiinze
Thanks for the heads-up! As cool as the game looks, I think I will have to wuss out of this one, in that case.

@Adam
You can choose from alternate routes in this game, some are harder than the others. But I agree, Castlevania III is a tougher challenge then Super Castlevania IV.

I knew the original NES Castlevania establishment had to be fulfilled eventually. Good stuff, methinks

Castlevania 3 is definetely harder than 4 but with practice it gets easier. The first and third games are more challenging than all these new ones. I still have never been able to kill Dracula without cheating in the NES games. Except Simon's quest of course. That one is too easy.

3 has the best Dracula fight of the NES trilogy IMHO .... I just love this game. I had beat it with each of the three companions but never did beat it with only Trevor Belmont. I should give that a shot once I have beat it again once or twice....

i figured by this point that the game would never come out on vc. i'm glad that i am now pleasantly surprised. i can't wait.

i wonder if the delay has anything to do with the enhanced sound chip and enhanced graphics chip that was in the japanese version and the game? i wonder if we'll get a translated version of the superior japanese game or the actual american verison? apparently the these two enhanced chips wouldn't work in the us version of the nes and were removed for the us release of the game.

that said, the us version of the game still had some sort of chip enhancement and because of this, the game was never able to be used in any 3rd party (probably illegal) nes consoles like the fc twin.

i've been really hoping for this game though as long as i've known about the virtual console. it came out really late the nes' life, the genesis was already out and the snes was just around the corner (if not out already). By the time the game had come out, i had given up on the nes for a few years (as every other ten year old had). Years later, when I had finally gone back to my old nes console to enjoy all of the cheap games that were flooding discount bins (and i had come to the realization that enhanced graphics didn't necessarily make a game any better), this game was damn hard to find.

Castlevania 3 is not that great. In fact, it's one of my least-favorite Castlevania games. The game's branching paths and multiple endings are nice, but the game's overrall execution honestly isn't that good. Even the first Castlevania is a better game.

I'd much rather see Rondo of Blood than Castlevania 3. Here's to another year of waiting...

I'm not crazy about Castlevania games, except for Symphony of the Night, of course (I adore that game).

I call Halloween week!

I'm not complaining about this awesome game coming soon but surely both Nintendo and Konami know how much we want Rondo of Blood, right? I mean if they gave us DoReMi Fantasy and Bio Miracle, they'd surely give us an import game that we've been asking for from the beginning, you'd think. This game was released on Virtual Console in Japan in April and with each month that passes by where we don't get, the more I worry that we may never see it.

North America has fallen into a patern in which we recieve 2 import titles a month, both released in the same update. Europe has had two hannibi festivals in the last 6 months, of which we in the US have nearly recieved ALL the same games. We still have yet to see Gradius II and Digital Champ, which I'm betting will hit next month. Obviously, coupled with these Castlevania III revalations, an October release of Dracula X seems unlikely.

Hopefully, though, Nintendo will be kind enough to release this highly anticipated game soon after but I think we should prepare to wait a while anyway. I don't really see them NEVER releasing Rondo mind you but just that it's completely up in the air as to when.

All right. Time to get into the series. Somethings wrong though, for some reason Im having trouble deciding between Castlevania 1 VC or Classic NES Series Castlevania 1 GBA. WHY IS THIS HARDER THEN IT SEEMS?

An Castlevania title.
Interesting, never played that one. But i like Castlevania and i am a big fan of vampire and vampire hunters.
Maybe i will try it...

Wow, great news, I've been waiting for this since I didn't play it on the NES, most people say "a must buy" so i'll buy it .

good news in my opinion, this will most likely be an october release. this will probaly mean that we wont be seeing dracula x for a little while more now since it wouldnt make sense to release two poular games in the same series at such close dates, although samurai shodown 1 and 2 were quite close releases with one another.

Grant DaNasty...'nuff said.

$10 for the cartridge is extortion?
I suppose there is a bit more demand because it's a good game and it's probably the most well-known example of a game that won't play on most clone systems.

@Wariofan63:
the best experience with a classic Castlevania is playing on a crappy 14" television (better if half broken, with punch needed to make it working) if possible using a standard cable
Playing with the small and clean display of a GBA hasn't that cool 80's feeling...

Lol wiinze
Anyway, the more caslevania the better. Good news. Never played this one, looking forward to it. I did play castlevania II as a kid but I don't think I ever finished it with its terrible translations etc.

I have to agree with Rapadash. But lets keep hope alive for Dracula X to be released. I think Europe would get it before the US anyway.

Wow, this is some interesting news! I'l think about it if I want it or not.
@ Anyone who added me on brawl: Can you guys go on the latest ESRB release and read some of those posts and get back to me as soon as possible?

I love Castlevania III. Hell, I love Castlevania! <3

@Wariofan63:
I have both!^_^ Know that the Gba version has a missing scene in the ending (don't want to spoiler,but that was the whole ending...nice!).I prefer to play it on the VC also because it's more like the real thing

Controls will decide it for me. I hated the ones for IV.

The controls are identical to the original Castlevania.

And yeah, I'd say get the VC version of the original. Games like this really play better on a huge TV screen with blaring music.

@ Virus
You may be the only one. Back in the day, Gamepro panned Castlevania bloodlines for not having the same level of control that IV had.

Castlevania 3 plays similar to part 1, except for the new characters who have strenghts and weakness.

@post5-Yeah I gotta agree with that.

@Wariofan. Definitely get the VC version, cuz then you can use the Wiimote, which is like an NES controller. If you buy the GBA game, you not only have a smaller screen to play on, but you also have to drive all the way to the store and pay $5-$15 more. XP

"The controls are identical to the original Castlevania."

<shudder>

Awesome! I was starting to worry that we'd never see Castlevania III. And Dracula X for the SNES isn't all that. I actually own that game. I'd much rather see Castlevania Bloodlines come to the Virtual Console.

Wicked sweet. I'll be picking this up. Castlevania rocks!

Yay! Having the full Castlevania NES trilogy will sure be great! Castlevania does rock (except for Lament of Innocence)

I'll buy this, Bloodlines and Rondo. All your Castlevanias. I want all of them.

I want Dracula X (aka Vampire's Kiss), the SNES port of Rondo, also! I'd be anticipating the N64 Castlevanias too (awesome, and I have no idea what people's problem was with those games) except "wah, two generations later we just can't do anything about the controller pack saving issue." (or so I'm told)

How painful, having Castlevania 1,2, and 4 for so long . . . and not 3. One of my favorite games on the system: a true NES epic.

It'd be nice if they manage to release this for NA on October 13th or 20th to lead up to Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.

@Cally

"I'd be anticipating the N64 Castlevanias too (awesome, and I have no idea what people's problem was with those games)"

Two words: magical nitro.

I really recommend this Castlevania, is one of the finest from all and has some great characters.

I wish they remade this game just like they did with Rondo of blood for PSP. For now the VC will do .

Ya I'm highly anticipating OoE aswell as all the other good games coming soon like DQ4, Chrono Trigger, Kirby, probably missing some...

@deggs

I've been wondering this as well. I imagine that the reason it has been so long for its release was due to that chip. The Japanese version is supposedly easy but has the enhanced sound. The American version is supposedly harder and has inferior sound. Maybe we'll see a hybrid version released by Konami?

Who knows, either way, I'll be getting this. This is one of the few Castlevania's I haven't played.

NESgamer, you don't really need to wish. There's a very high chance that the next inevitable Castlevania Chronicles would be Castlevania III. IGA himself has stated that it's his personal favorite. I think it's only a matter of time, I wouldn't be surprised when it happens.

After that, I'd hope for a Simon's Quest remake with an old version and a vastly different new remake. I think Simon's Quest has too many flaws and shortcomings to just make an exact remake.

Either way, I'm buying Castlevania III and Rondo on the first day they come out on VC.

Castlevania is such an awesome series!

I'm getting this. It's difficult, though.

Iga's games have some great graphics and level design, but why the goddamn exping and leveling? Why not make a game that's simply well balanced through and through. Keep the items and spells but don't make me grind. It just serves no purpose in an action game.

Hope both Rondo of Blood and Draculas curse will come sooon
and PLEAS, can we in Europe get Bloodlines instead of Next generation? I dont like the censore-thing :/

I'm seriously hoping for Castlevania 3 will come out on October 27, in time for Halloween... if I keep predicting it... it will shortly become my all time dream come true!!!