Demonsmithing is Tough Work - Let's Play Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Let's Plays
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In which one man sprints across Wallachia to beat up a guy who’s surprisingly into BDSM for the time period.

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Although Trevor Belmont slew Dracula in their great battle, Dracula managed to speak a curse that spread throughout Europe. (You just didn’t realize it because it was an NES game. Also Dracula was a weird bird thing in the end. It was probably hard to understand him.) It’s been three years since Dracula’s defeat, and somehow things have gotten worse for everyone. Plagues and banditry ravage the land, and neither of them have a personification that can be whipped to death. Elsewhere, two characters who worked for Dracula and were never seen in the NES game are mad at each other. Isaac, former Devil Forgemaster, is angered at his peer, Hector, who betrayed Dracula at the end of the last conflict. Desiring revenge, Isaac got Hector’s wife, Rosaly, burned at the stake for witchcraft. Now he wants Hector to regain the power he threw away to, I dunno, beat him up at full power to prove a point? Well, easily-backfiring plans aside, Hector has no choice but to answer Isaac’s heckling and start forging devils once again.

Curse of Darkness is a bit of an odd duck. This is a followup to Lament of Innocence, the first 3D brawler that came out in 2003. But story-wise, this one is actually the sequel to Castlevania III. And despite being a sequel, it’s mainly about two characters who had nothing to do with Dracula’s Curse and focuses on a concept that doesn’t exist outside of this game. It’s a weird set of decisions, but certainly they don’t make a bad game. If you liked Lament of Innocence as a beat-em-up with light Metroidvania elements, you’ll probably like Curse of Darkness too. Hector’s movement is similar to Leon’s, but our Devil Forgemaster has more weapons than just a whip of Alchemy. This game’s weapon variety means you’ll probably find a style you like sooner or later, and there’s no shortage of different monsters to use them on. It may not be quite as stylish as your Devil May Cries, but it’s still a solid hack and slash if you like flipping around rooms and punching cyclopes.

Episode List

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Hector is out for revenge. Once, he had worked under Dracula alongside a man named Isaac. But Hector discarded his powers in hopes of a life of peace. But Isaac isn’t going to let him go so easily. After getting Hector’s wife killed, Isaac has laid out a path for Hector to regain his lost power so they can both fight at their full strength. And, well, what’s a simple protagonist with Dead Wife Syndrome to do?

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Hector continues his pursuit of Isaac through the Abandoned Castle. We may not find the other Devil Forgemaster today, but we will encounter some major gameplay mechanics and a particularly crazy suit of armor.

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I have no castlevania-related memories, but LP is nice. Good voice you have for narration.

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Isaac was nowhere to be found in the Abandoned Castle, but there is still a path forward laid out in front of us. Hector descends into the Baljhet Mountains, where Isaac has left another Innocent Devil for us to use. We’ve got new enemies to get used to, but that I.D. will be helping us with a little more than just wound patching this time around.

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Hector’s made it partway up the mountain. What could be waiting for him at the end of the trail? Could it be Isaac? Well, no, not in the slightest. But we will be getting a fun fight regardless.

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Alright, now we’re over the mountain and we’ve reached the Garibaldi Temple. Before Hector can find and destroy Isaac, though, he has an unexpected meeting with someone new. And I say “unexpected” because the guy just appears out of nowhere wearing that.

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Oh hey, we’re finally at the point where areas are long and difficult enough that we have an episode with no cutscenes or a boss! But we do get to throw around a huge sword today. That’s certainly a plus.

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