This was actually pretty good it was different in its own way but still a good game.
Breaking a possessed chair with a 2x4 may be the most satisfying looking, sounding, and feeling thing in video games.
One of the best 1D beat ‘em ups. Gorgeous, awesome soundtrack, and even better audio design. Some of the combat and level design is weak, but still a very good game overall.
One of the best 1D beat ‘em ups. Gorgeous, awesome soundtrack, and even better audio design. Some of the combat and level design is weak, but still a very good game overall.
When I got out of the hospital, I wanted something a bit more short and sweet to break back into being home again. Coincidentally, I happened to be showing a friend my PCE Mini, and then I remembered that this game was not only on there, but that it also fit great into September's TR theme of inferior ports~ (this being a port of the arcade version). I used save states pretty extensively to get retries at the last few stages and bosses, but overall I think I got familiar enough with their patterns that I could do it legit if I gave it a few more tries. It took me about 45 minutes to finish the Japanese version of the game.
Splatterhouse was originally an arcade game and it has the sort of simple story you'd expect from that. Rick & girlfriend are visiting the house of a paranormal researcher, Dr. West, when his girlfriend is suddenly kidnapped by monsters who also badly injure Rick. Rick is surely doomed when suddenly the terror mask appears, promising him great strength to help defeat Dr. West and his creatures if he'll just put it on. Rick obliges and gets all hulked out with his new mask friend and embarks on a journey through the game's ten or so stages to show these monsters what for. It's all pretty unimportant to the action at hand (that being punching and kicking monsters), but it certainly sets up for a very interesting aesthetic for an action game.
And a pretty solid action game it is. Splatterhouse is a 2D sidescrolling beat 'em up of sorts. While there is some platforming to jump over pits, this is more so an action game than anything else. You walk along the one-plane (no depth to walk back and forth between) punching and kicking all that dare stand in your path. It's a pretty tough game, with Rick only getting five hits before he's lost a life (of which you get 3 per continue) and have to go back to the start of the current room, but at least they give you a pretty sizable number of continues. Apparently the jump kick makes the game much easier, but I never quite figured out how to do it ^^;.
The difficulty doesn't always feel entirely fair, though, lending to the arcade roots of the game. Enemy spawn locations are sometimes fixed, but also sometimes procedural, so there are times where you simply can't avoid taking a hit because of how relatively big and slow you are. The bosses trend towards being much more manageable and follow more set patterns, and are definitely some of the game's biggest highlights. The game has stage and enemy inspirations from all sorts of horror films (from Rick's own obvious Friday the 13th design cues to the boss that's straight up the Poltergeist), and it makes for a lot of very cool and spooky set pieces and stages to punch your way through~.
That spooky presentation is definitely ones of the game's biggest strong points. The horror themes don't shy away from the gore, and although the PC Engine can't show them quite as pretty as the arcade version, the graphics and the music still sound great on a HuCard. The graphics are honestly one of the biggest "inferior port" things about the game. While it still plays just fine, the sprite limit is definitely something the game struggles with, and playing as a nearly invisible Rick trying to kill enough nearly invisible enemies to just make everything look normal again. It isn't exactly game breaking, but it's definitely an aspect that makes the arcade version something more desirable to play than this one.
Verdict: Recommended. The sometimes random nature of enemy spawns and relatively high difficulty can make this a bit of a frustrating action title, but it's also got enough charm and extra lives that I think it pulls through just fine. If you're into action games and want something quite aesthetically unique among retro games, this is a great one to check out (or perhaps the arcade version instead, if you're looking for something that runs a little better).
Splatterhouse was originally an arcade game and it has the sort of simple story you'd expect from that. Rick & girlfriend are visiting the house of a paranormal researcher, Dr. West, when his girlfriend is suddenly kidnapped by monsters who also badly injure Rick. Rick is surely doomed when suddenly the terror mask appears, promising him great strength to help defeat Dr. West and his creatures if he'll just put it on. Rick obliges and gets all hulked out with his new mask friend and embarks on a journey through the game's ten or so stages to show these monsters what for. It's all pretty unimportant to the action at hand (that being punching and kicking monsters), but it certainly sets up for a very interesting aesthetic for an action game.
And a pretty solid action game it is. Splatterhouse is a 2D sidescrolling beat 'em up of sorts. While there is some platforming to jump over pits, this is more so an action game than anything else. You walk along the one-plane (no depth to walk back and forth between) punching and kicking all that dare stand in your path. It's a pretty tough game, with Rick only getting five hits before he's lost a life (of which you get 3 per continue) and have to go back to the start of the current room, but at least they give you a pretty sizable number of continues. Apparently the jump kick makes the game much easier, but I never quite figured out how to do it ^^;.
The difficulty doesn't always feel entirely fair, though, lending to the arcade roots of the game. Enemy spawn locations are sometimes fixed, but also sometimes procedural, so there are times where you simply can't avoid taking a hit because of how relatively big and slow you are. The bosses trend towards being much more manageable and follow more set patterns, and are definitely some of the game's biggest highlights. The game has stage and enemy inspirations from all sorts of horror films (from Rick's own obvious Friday the 13th design cues to the boss that's straight up the Poltergeist), and it makes for a lot of very cool and spooky set pieces and stages to punch your way through~.
That spooky presentation is definitely ones of the game's biggest strong points. The horror themes don't shy away from the gore, and although the PC Engine can't show them quite as pretty as the arcade version, the graphics and the music still sound great on a HuCard. The graphics are honestly one of the biggest "inferior port" things about the game. While it still plays just fine, the sprite limit is definitely something the game struggles with, and playing as a nearly invisible Rick trying to kill enough nearly invisible enemies to just make everything look normal again. It isn't exactly game breaking, but it's definitely an aspect that makes the arcade version something more desirable to play than this one.
Verdict: Recommended. The sometimes random nature of enemy spawns and relatively high difficulty can make this a bit of a frustrating action title, but it's also got enough charm and extra lives that I think it pulls through just fine. If you're into action games and want something quite aesthetically unique among retro games, this is a great one to check out (or perhaps the arcade version instead, if you're looking for something that runs a little better).
Un buen beat em up, puede parecer algo torpe al inicio pero te acostumbras, además de que la ambientacion de películas de serie B esta muy bien lograda.
This one has been on my backlog for a long time, and now I finally got around to play it!
It's alright, exactly what I expected, honestly: creepy vibes, stiff controls, and beating the living (or unliving?) shit out of monsters. I wish I could have played the FM Towns version, though, as the PC Engine one is a downgrade in every single aspect. If so, maybe I could have given this half a star more since the art direction is simply amazing in that one.
It's alright, exactly what I expected, honestly: creepy vibes, stiff controls, and beating the living (or unliving?) shit out of monsters. I wish I could have played the FM Towns version, though, as the PC Engine one is a downgrade in every single aspect. If so, maybe I could have given this half a star more since the art direction is simply amazing in that one.
Jenny nasıl dar bir amcuğun var da öyle peşinden koşturuluyon
De los mejores beat em up que he jugado, una dificultad considerable pero que en comparación a otros de la época esta algo rebajada, el soundtrack creo que esta ok y pues es recomendable si quieres matar un parde horas.
While some of the sprites are great and there's a few fun ideas in Splatterhouse, it's kind of a letdown to play. Sure, it looks better than some other games from the late 80s, but its levels are monotonous in comparison to other beat-em-ups and platformers of the time. Some bosses like the Poltergeist are creative in concept, but most of them outstay their welcome. It succeeds as horror pastiche, but that's about it.
Side-scroller with a Jason rip-off as protagonist
Who knew Jason Vorhees could be this buff? Splatterhouse is a 2D side-scrolling beat 'em up game influenced by H.P. Lovecraft and horror movie series such as Friday the 13th and Evil Dead. You play as Rick Turney as he's fused with the "Terror Mask" trudging and rampaging his way through seven stages as he punches, kicks, and slashes through hordes of monsters as he explores the mansion finding his girlfriend Jennifer.
The game's main appeal is its visual presentation. It's filled with graphic imagery and gore that helps convey its creepy atmosphere, same goes for its music. Seeing all of those varied locations that were inspired by classic horror films and seeing all of those grotesque monsters walking toward you getting dismembered is visually astonishing and impressive for 1988, and that's what made the game stand out at the time.
As a beat 'em up though, it's pretty simple gameplay-wise. Rick can jump, punch, kick, and crouch; you can pick up weapons by simply pressing the attack button or crouching when it's lying on the floor, and they can range from a machete to a shotgun. The weapons feel satisfying to use as you utilize them at the correct time, but they are limited in certain areas as you enter the following room, the weapon is gone, so most of the time you rely on your punches and kicks. He can also perform the hard-to-pull-off slide kick by jumping diagonally left or right and then doing the crouch kick when he lands on the ground, and it feels satisfying to do it. I think the stages themselves are decent, if not for some trial-and-error; you just gotta memorize when the enemies will strike and when is the right time to perform the attacks or jumps. I think Stages 5 and 6 are the worst in my opinion; they're either overly long or just have obnoxious enemy placements, but once you've learned the stages themselves, they ain't too bad.
Overall, I had a good time with Splatterhouse. While I think the combat is pretty basic with some annoying stage design, the visual horror the game is trying to emulate from popular horror films at the time makes this one stand out.
Played the arcade version via Namco Museum (Switch).
The game's main appeal is its visual presentation. It's filled with graphic imagery and gore that helps convey its creepy atmosphere, same goes for its music. Seeing all of those varied locations that were inspired by classic horror films and seeing all of those grotesque monsters walking toward you getting dismembered is visually astonishing and impressive for 1988, and that's what made the game stand out at the time.
As a beat 'em up though, it's pretty simple gameplay-wise. Rick can jump, punch, kick, and crouch; you can pick up weapons by simply pressing the attack button or crouching when it's lying on the floor, and they can range from a machete to a shotgun. The weapons feel satisfying to use as you utilize them at the correct time, but they are limited in certain areas as you enter the following room, the weapon is gone, so most of the time you rely on your punches and kicks. He can also perform the hard-to-pull-off slide kick by jumping diagonally left or right and then doing the crouch kick when he lands on the ground, and it feels satisfying to do it. I think the stages themselves are decent, if not for some trial-and-error; you just gotta memorize when the enemies will strike and when is the right time to perform the attacks or jumps. I think Stages 5 and 6 are the worst in my opinion; they're either overly long or just have obnoxious enemy placements, but once you've learned the stages themselves, they ain't too bad.
Overall, I had a good time with Splatterhouse. While I think the combat is pretty basic with some annoying stage design, the visual horror the game is trying to emulate from popular horror films at the time makes this one stand out.
Played the arcade version via Namco Museum (Switch).
Thank god the arcade version got released on Switch and I didn't just stick to emulating the TurboGrafx16 port, because 90% of Splatterhouse's appeal lies on its sound and visuals.
That's not to say that the game isn't fun. It's mindlessly simple, but so damn satisfying. There's even some decent challenge to be found on some of the later stages.
That's not to say that the game isn't fun. It's mindlessly simple, but so damn satisfying. There's even some decent challenge to be found on some of the later stages.
Let's see if I can play and log a couple of spooky games this month, tis the season.
I'm just gonna repeat what user Armorchompy said, aesthetic are great but it's at a crossroads of being both pretty basic and pretty hard, although I personally enjoyed the enemy variety that pays homage to those old slashers that we all know and love, and some levels having diffent paths can help you cheese it out a bit sometimes.
Still it can be a bit frustrating with some unfain enemy placement and stuff, much like Ghosts and Goblins part of the challenge is also about memorizing them ans well as the not so hidden traps.
Maybe I'll play it here and there in the following days eh idk.
I'm just gonna repeat what user Armorchompy said, aesthetic are great but it's at a crossroads of being both pretty basic and pretty hard, although I personally enjoyed the enemy variety that pays homage to those old slashers that we all know and love, and some levels having diffent paths can help you cheese it out a bit sometimes.
Still it can be a bit frustrating with some unfain enemy placement and stuff, much like Ghosts and Goblins part of the challenge is also about memorizing them ans well as the not so hidden traps.
Maybe I'll play it here and there in the following days eh idk.
Splatterhouse sucks and if your childhood self thought it was cool you should feel bad.
my story with this game is quite strange.
i have beat it on my V90 (look it up its a great mini portable for emulation) during a bus trip to another city, one can say beating this game marks a whole new chapter in my life, so i hold the pc engine version quite fondly.
recently i finished the arcade version and while the graphics are nicer, i am convinced no one beat the arcade version with limited quarters, the balance is off the roofs !
i have beat it on my V90 (look it up its a great mini portable for emulation) during a bus trip to another city, one can say beating this game marks a whole new chapter in my life, so i hold the pc engine version quite fondly.
recently i finished the arcade version and while the graphics are nicer, i am convinced no one beat the arcade version with limited quarters, the balance is off the roofs !
Fun, straightforward single-plane beat-em-up with some light platforming here and there. The gory horror vibe rules. I feel like (with the exception of one boss) this is a little too easy, but I had a good time with it. Looking forward to the sequels.
I love the campy visuals and creative combat animations in this. It oozes with silly b-horror nonsense. The gameplay can sometimes be a bit frustrating in its timing, but it's still serviceable.
Fun and kind of funny game, I was a little mad at Jennifer's boss, but it's a short game, very short, but I found it satisfying to have played.
Clasico innegable del género. Desde el principio hasta el final es todo muy destacable, el soundtrack tiene unas pistas difíciles de olvidar, el diseño de los monstruos está zarpado, el estilo artístico lo es todo, el gore suma mucho, y el amor entre los protagonistas esta bien bonito pero triste a su vez. Es todo una experiencia.
so cute!!!
This is a scary game. The pumpkin guy flying around is really annoying. I love him
Decent version of Namco's homage to horror movies. Not too difficult, walk from left to right punching or whacking the undead, trying to rescue your girl and undo the curse of the mask on your face.
Status: 199,300 points
Status: 199,300 points
The level/enemy design feels a little sloppy but it has a lot of horror charm. Delightfully macabre sights and one particularly twisted boss fight make it worth at least one playthrough. A solid retro horror experience.
É um jogo impressionante para seu ano de lançamento, em questão de gráficos, de tematica, da violencia que o game apresenta, apesar disso, temos uma gameplay bastante travada por parte do protagonista, um level design ok, mas um jogo muito dificil, e uma historia interessante, vale a pena testar se gosta de jogos retros, acabou não envelhecendo tão bem e é um pouco esquecivel.
First time playing the FM Towns version, which was a very interesting experience.
The graphics, sound and overall vibe are really great, showing way more features and details than the PC Engine version, although the gameplay feels floaty, having a worse hit-box implementation than the latter, which was a bit annoying.
To me the perfect version of the game would be the visuals and music from the FM Towns rendition and the tighter gameplay from the PC Engine version.
Overall, great arcade-style horror-themed beat'em up.
The graphics, sound and overall vibe are really great, showing way more features and details than the PC Engine version, although the gameplay feels floaty, having a worse hit-box implementation than the latter, which was a bit annoying.
To me the perfect version of the game would be the visuals and music from the FM Towns rendition and the tighter gameplay from the PC Engine version.
Overall, great arcade-style horror-themed beat'em up.
Short and sweet. Save states help. Dunno the strategy for the chainsaw boss so brute forced that.
This review contains spoilers
Splatterhouse feels like the "road not traveled" for what beat-em-ups could be, as this game has more in common with something like Altered Beast than the more popular Konami/Capcom-style of beat-em-up.
The gameplay is pretty simple--you move left to right on a single plane while killing a stream of enemies that charge at you, all while avoid some pretty basic obstacles. It's pretty straightforward, but it never stops being satisfying hitting an enemy with a melee weapon and watching them gorily explode over a wall in the background.
There are also pretty neat set-pieces throughout the game that keeps the pretty basic gameplay from getting stale. At the end of an early level, there's a room filled with possessed furniture you have to smash your way out of. In a later level, you have to battle a shadow clone of the player character that continually emerges out of a hall of mirrors. The bosses are pretty brutal in general as well, but it never gets to the point of unfair, for the most part.
Surprisingly, Splatterhouse also has some quietly sad moments that still stuck with me after beating it (the short scenes that play after beating Stage IV and V being the standouts here). These moments are all enhanced by the excellent soundtrack. The haunting music box-style theme that plays at the end of the game, as Rick stands over the wreckage of the house he spent the game in, is going to be etched in my memory for a while.
It's still a goofy horror pastiche with over-the-top gore, but I found it charming. I'd recommend giving it a shot if you like arcade brawlers at all.
The gameplay is pretty simple--you move left to right on a single plane while killing a stream of enemies that charge at you, all while avoid some pretty basic obstacles. It's pretty straightforward, but it never stops being satisfying hitting an enemy with a melee weapon and watching them gorily explode over a wall in the background.
There are also pretty neat set-pieces throughout the game that keeps the pretty basic gameplay from getting stale. At the end of an early level, there's a room filled with possessed furniture you have to smash your way out of. In a later level, you have to battle a shadow clone of the player character that continually emerges out of a hall of mirrors. The bosses are pretty brutal in general as well, but it never gets to the point of unfair, for the most part.
Surprisingly, Splatterhouse also has some quietly sad moments that still stuck with me after beating it (the short scenes that play after beating Stage IV and V being the standouts here). These moments are all enhanced by the excellent soundtrack. The haunting music box-style theme that plays at the end of the game, as Rick stands over the wreckage of the house he spent the game in, is going to be etched in my memory for a while.
It's still a goofy horror pastiche with over-the-top gore, but I found it charming. I'd recommend giving it a shot if you like arcade brawlers at all.
𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧
#𝟗 𝐒𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞
I’ve been told the gameplay is super simple but man you guys weren’t joking.
I’m not gonna go super in depth with this game because quite frankly there isn’t anything I can really talk about besides how well the game captures that gross 80’s slasher look.
From the beginning of level one the sprite work is absolutely doing the heavy lifting with how many grotesque monsters and gruesome imagery they can put in a single level, and man does this scream 80’s. Everything from wacking a monster against a wall and watching them splatter, or picking up a shotgun seeing the buckshot literally melt enemies into piles of goo. Everything from the obvious reference to Evil Dead’s cabin; to the bootleg Leatherface enemy are so lovingly crafted to fit this gratuitous world of blood and gore that’d you see ripped right out of a garbage Full Moon Feature or a Roger Corman production. Besides the gameplay and levels being as basic as basic comes you’re really coming here just for the slimy sprite work and fun monster designs, so some way it captures 80s slashers perfectly.
#𝟗 𝐒𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞
I’ve been told the gameplay is super simple but man you guys weren’t joking.
I’m not gonna go super in depth with this game because quite frankly there isn’t anything I can really talk about besides how well the game captures that gross 80’s slasher look.
From the beginning of level one the sprite work is absolutely doing the heavy lifting with how many grotesque monsters and gruesome imagery they can put in a single level, and man does this scream 80’s. Everything from wacking a monster against a wall and watching them splatter, or picking up a shotgun seeing the buckshot literally melt enemies into piles of goo. Everything from the obvious reference to Evil Dead’s cabin; to the bootleg Leatherface enemy are so lovingly crafted to fit this gratuitous world of blood and gore that’d you see ripped right out of a garbage Full Moon Feature or a Roger Corman production. Besides the gameplay and levels being as basic as basic comes you’re really coming here just for the slimy sprite work and fun monster designs, so some way it captures 80s slashers perfectly.
it sure is a video game. i sure am pressing buttons to control my character
Faltou muito pouco para ser uma Masterpiece! talvez a versão de arcade seja.
The game's aesthetic is great, but otherwise... I dunno. It's at a crossroads of being both pretty basic and pretty hard, and I don't see it as too enjoyable.