My brother and I used to call this "Monkey Game" because Chakan's wrinkly face looked vaguely monkey-ish and his death yell kinda sounded like a monkey.

Anyways, I haven't played this game in a looooong time so I'll need to come back to it before I can write a proper review. I do remember the game being pretty freaky and I think it was on the list of "games I refused to play alone as a kid". I also remember the game being downright cruel. I mean, just a godsdamned platforming nightmare. Why was that damn double-jump so hard to perform? But it definitely stuck with me. The graphics and music are very, very cool, as is the whole concept behind the game. Imagine being skilled enough to kick Death's ass in a duel but not savvy enough to realize there's no way he isn't going to screw you over in asking for eternal life. Makes for a great story, though. The sword-slinging felt really good. It's like being able to whip in every direction in Super Castlevania but way snappier. It's spooky, it has swords and alchemy and a gratuitously "Genesis" soundtrack. What's not to love?

I mean, other than the game kind of being a pain in the ass, I suppose. Maybe someday.