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My title and recommendation choice may seem like I don't like this hack, but let me get this out of the way first thing: it's still an impressive and sick hack!

I do love the visual aesthetic you were going for here. It's dark and makes the atmosphere a new level of Classicvania horror I feel the older Classicvanias could've used more of! The new spritework is mindblowing to me and there is a clear love for the visual side of this hack that I honestly commend. On top of this, using Akumajou Densetsu as the base game was a great choice, the original VRC6 soundtrack and sfx always resonate well with me. However, there's where my positives end.

I don't see how this hack is "great!" because it has a great skeleton/framework in visual presentation but the supplemental layers of gameplay fall flat on their face, hard. The level design screams the difficulty stereotype often put on ROM hacks by much of the casual playerbase, with rigid and often claustrophobic hills, valleys and partial corridors layered with enemies that jump from offscreen and secrets that ultimately feel genuinely unrewarding. Like sure, tons of big hearts give me more than enough ammo to help me fight the stage bosses, but six or seven hits in claustrophobic spaces and I'm dead, so there are several times where I feel a harder-to-reach/find secret should've given me a subweapon amount-multiplier or a health item when they just give me a few more hearts, that of which I was already well-supplied on. :/

My biggest issue with this hack has to be the time limits on levels. This is a criticism I'll be much harsher with, because it very badly hurts exploring the levels for secrets and being able to immerse oneself in the level and tile design/art. Time limits in this hack are so, so rigid and hard to work with and definitely contribute to the "ROM hacks are overly hard" stereotype that I feel is everpresent here.

Overall, this is still an impressive hack! The art and visual side of the level design is absolutely sick, and I hope to see more in this aspect from you! But let this hack be an important lesson that even harder games should give breathing room to the player, and that visual design and smooth level flow should go hand-in-hand so the player can properly immerse themselves in your game, whether they're hardcore AkuDens/CV III and ROM hack players or a casual player looking for an interesting take on a game they like's gameplay and engine. Because of the somewhat appalling level design, I can't recommend this game. Maybe if you're super hardcore about Castlevania and have some insane skills, give it a try and you'll probably enjoy it. But saying this hack is great, or even pretty good I feel would be a disservice to a hacker who I see potential in but potential that needs further experience. Keep it up, there's still stuff to love here!

This is the better of the 2 existing level hacks for Castlevania 3. It uses the superior Japanese game as the base so better music, balance among other things. Also has a few good additions like faster door animations, and optional all 4 character switching. I like the darker feel the author went for with his sprites, and background changes. Difficulty was about on par with the OG Akumajou Densetsu. Plus it's not brought down by all the bad changes the US version introduced.

This hack is only the second ROM hack of Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse that I've seen that completely changes all of the levels in the game (Gold Edition being the first). The color palettes have also been changes to make the game take a much darker tone, and the game feels at least as hard as the base game, which is good that it doesn't go completely overboard with it like some other Castlevania hacks do (Curse of Suffering immediately comes to mind in that department!). Everything looks new, and plays like a charm, and I highly recommend this hack to any Castlevania fan!

This hack is based on the Japanese version, Akumajou Densetsu, with the VRC6 soundtrack and the enemy mechanics. There is also the added bonus of speeding up door transitions, and it also implements the idea of the Castlevania 3 Linear Edition hack by removing all split paths and allowing you to play all 15 stages in a single playthrough. The end result is one of the best Castlevania hacks I've ever played, if not the best.

My full playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucQwZZ7t-OU