Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse/Items

NORMAL ITEMS:

-Small Heart

Hearts are what you need to use secondary weapons in the game, so stock up on them as frequently as possible. They're also what allow Alucard to perform his bat transformation ability, which will be a valuable asset later in the game. Each Small Heart is worth one heart.

-Big Heart

Each Big Heart is worth five hearts. These things don't show up too often, but don't pass up the chance to stock up. They can sometimes be found in breakable walls, so whip walls often.

-Meat

Meat is hidden in breakable walls, and it will restore a good portion of your life. A very valuable item, so try to memorize the locations where you can find it.

-Vial

These don't show up too often, but if you can get one, you'll gain temporary invulnerability. Very useful in areas where a lot of enemies show up. The effect doesn't last long, but it can be the difference between life and death for you.

-Holy Cross

Again, this doesn't show up too often, but it's extremely useful. Touching it will instantly kill all enemies on the screen.

-Double Shot

These can be hidden (for Trevor and Grant only) in breakable blocks, or obtained by killing enemies repeatedly with a subweapon. With one of these, you can have two subweapon shots on the screen at a time. Very useful for dealing with large groups of enemies and some bosses.

-Triple Shot

Same as the Double Shot, and obtained in the same fashion, but with this bad boy, you can have THREE subweapon shots on the screen at a time. Note that you lose your Double/Triple Shot if you die or pick up a different subweapon.

-Morning Star

As Trevor or Alucard, get these to improve your attack power. You can get up to two of them for attack upgrading purposes. One turns Trevor's whip into a chain whip, and a second adds much-needed length to the whip. One gives Alucard an added upward fireball shot, and two adds a downward shot as well.

SUBWEAPONS:

-Dagger (Trevor and Grant)

Probably the most common subweapon, this weapon flies straight quickly before striking a target. Though easy to aim with, it's severely underpowered and won't be so great in later stages of the game.

-Axe (Trevor and Grant)

The Axe flies in an upward arc before curving back down, damaging anything that gets in the way. This is a very useful weapon for dealing with flying/overhead enemies.

-Cross (Trevor)

An X-Shaped boomerang, this is arguably the best subweapon. It flies forward for a while before arcing back your way, severely damanging any villain it touches. For dealing with large groups of enemies, and even some bosses, this is a great weapon to have.

-Holy Water (Trevor)

Trevor throws a small vial of water to the ground, which explodes and bursts into flame. It has limited range and isn't too terribly powerful, but it's very useful because of the multi-hit damage it can deal to foes. Tougher foes and even some bosses can be turned into sitting ducks if you use this weapon properly.

-Fire Spell (Sypha)

Sypha lifts her cloak and lets loose a flaming blast. It has limited range but a ton of power, making it useful against just about any foe, and even a few bosses. It's the Sypha spell you'll encounter the most often, and it's a good one to have.

-Ice Spell (Sypha)

Sypha fires out some ice crystals in a circular pattern. This will freeze both enemies and raging rivers, allowing you to pass through areas much safer.

-Lightning Orb Spell (Sypha)

Our favorite sorceress fires out three electrically-charged orbs, which seek out and obliterate enemies. Easily her most powerful spell, so if you can find this one, hold on to it.

-Stopwatch (All Characters)

This uses five hearts per use, but freezes all enemies on the screen. Sounds useful, right? Sadly, it doesn't quite live up to the hype. The "freeze time" is very short, it doesn't work on bosses, and you're STILL vulnerable to enemies and their projectiles while you use it (if you make contact.) There are a few situations where this will be nice to have, but sadly, there just aren't that many of them.