Play Castlevania 3 Online

Castlevania III ditches the open exploration of the second game and goes back to what made the first one great—tight platforming, brutal whip combat, and those iconic gothic stages. But here’s the twist: after the opening level, you start hitting forks in the road. Do you take the haunted clock tower or the underground catacombs? Each path changes which allies join you (hello, Grant the pirate who climbs walls) and even which bosses you’ll face. It’s still tough as nails, but the branching routes make replaying it way more interesting than your typical NES action game.

Also, the music slaps—that first stage theme will be stuck in your head for days.