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Splatterhouse

Gameplay

Splatterhouse is a sidescrolling beat 'em up video game in which the player controls Rick, a parapsychology student who is trapped inside West Mansion. After his resurrection by the Terror Mask, Rick makes his way through the mansion, fighting off hordes of creatures in a vain attempt to save Jennifer from a grisly fate.

Similar to many sidescrolling beat 'em up games, Rick can only move in a two-dimensional environment. The playing field does not feature a three-dimensional area, a feature that was added later in the series with Splatterhouse 3. He has the ability to jump and can punch and kick. Rick also has a Special Attack, where he will perform a drop kick that sends him skidding along the ground, damaging any enemies he hits. Rick can also perform a low kick, low punch, and jumping attacks, as well as pick up and use various weapons placed in the levels.

All of the levels consist of walking left to right, with occasionally fixed scrolling rates. However, alternative pathways through sections of the house are possible by falling down through holes or jumping up onto ladders. In this way, branching gameplay is possible, if only prevalent on the middle levels. Levels culminate in boss fights that take place in a single room. Unlike traditional side-scrolling fighters, boss fights have varying objectives and styles.

Story

Two university students, Rick and Jennifer, take refuge from a storm in The West Mansion, a local landmark known as "Splatterhouse" for the rumors of hideous experiments purportedly conducted there by Dr. West, a renowned and missing parapsychologist. At the mansion, the two are attacked by demonic creatures that drag Jennifer into the house and fatally wound Rick, leaving him for dead.

Rick awakens in the dungeon of the mansion to discover that he is still alive thanks to the influence of the "Terror Mask", or in some versions, the "Hell Mask", a Mayan sacrificial artifact from West's house which is capable of sentient thought. The mask attaches itself to Rick, fusing with his body and transforming him into a monster with superhuman strength. With the mask's encouragement, Rick goes on a rampage through the dungeon and the mansion grounds, killing hordes of monsters. Inside the mansion, Rick finds Jennifer, prone on a couch and surrounded by a throng of creatures that retreat upon his arrival. After their departure, Jennifer transforms into a giant, fanged monster that attempts to kill Rick while begging him for help. Rick kills Jennifer, who transforms back into her normal self and thanks him before she dies. Infuriated, Rick tracks the remaining monsters to a giant, bloody hole in the mansion's floor. Upon entering it, Rick discovers that the mansion itself is alive. He follows a bloody hallway, the house's "womb", which is producing fetus-like monsters that attack him. Rick destroys the womb, which causes the house to set ablaze as it "dies".

Escaping the burning mansion, Rick comes across a grave marker. The Terror Mask releases energy into the grave, reviving a giant monster that claws its way up from the earth and attempts to kill Rick. Rick destroys the creature, which unleashes a tormented ghost that dissipates into a series of bright lights. As the lights vanish, the mask explodes from Rick's face, turning him back to normal. Rick flees as the house burns to the ground. However, after he leaves, the pieces of the Terror Mask reassemble themselves and laugh.

Ports

Rick wields a weapon in the 2D game environment.

Splatterhouse was released in various home version ports on the TurboGrafx-16, FM Towns and PC. Though the Japanese PC-Engine (the Japanese name of the TurboGrafx-16) version of the game remains largely unedited, the Western TurboGrafx-16 version features a number of changes, as well as standard changes for an arcade port at the time, caused by the less-powerful hardware of the console (loss of graphical detail, removal of some sounds). They include the following:

The arcade version opens with animation of Rick and Jennifer running through the storm and into the mansion, followed by an exterior shot of the mansion and the sound of Jennifer screaming. The console version opens simply with the exterior of the mansion, and no sound effects.

The arcade version begins by tricking the player into believing that they've somehow done something wrong and lost the game before gameplay even begins. Following the cut scene, the standard "Game Over" screen appears, making it appear as though the game has ended. Shortly thereafter, another cut scene plays, in which the Terror Mask appears and fuses with Rick's face. The "trick" and sequence of the mask fusing with Rick is completely absent from console versions, and gameplay begins immediately following the shot of the West Mansion.

The Terror Mask is changed from a white hockey mask to a red mask with black accents. This is to keep Rick from looking too much like Jason Voorhees. The mask became more skull-like in later games.

The first weapon in Stage 1 is changed from a meat cleaver to a 2x4.

The overall violence and gore is toned down; enemies bleed less and the sound effects are less gruesome.

In the arcade version, the Stage 4 boss fight takes place in a chapel. After defeating the boss, Rick approaches an altar with a crucifix and sunlight shines in through the windows as a hymnal begins to play, only to be cut off by Jennifer screaming. In the console versions, the chapel is a generic hallway. After defeating the boss, Rick inexplicably approaches a large, empty room; the hymnal, sun animation, and Jennifer's scream are left intact.

The Stage 4 boss in the arcade version is "Evil Cross," a giant, inverted cross surrounded by floating severed heads. In the console version, the cross is replaced with a new enemy, a demon's skull called "Evil Sleep." The heads are referred to as "Nightmares," and only three of the six present in the arcade version appear. Also, the weapon for the boss is changed from an axe to a gold meat cleaver, the only cleaver in the game.

The death of the womb boss of Stage 6 is changed from a graphic spilling of embryonic fluids into a generic fiery explosion in the console versions (both western and Japanese releases).

The final boss uses different attacks in the console version.

The final boss' grave is changed from a wooden cross to a tombstone in the western console version.

The end cut scene is changed from the original arcade ending, in which the mask breaks from Rick's face, followed by a shot of him walking away from the burning mansion and an additional cut scene showing the mask reform and laugh. The ending in the TurboGrafx-16 version only shows the mask explode, followed by a picture of West Mansion burning while the credits roll, and finally a large red and orange "End" is displayed.

The TG-16 version was also released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on March 16, 2007 and in North America three days later on March 19, 2007. The version of the game ported to the Wii Virtual Console is the western TurboGrafx-16 port; therefore it is the "censored" version as opposed to the "uncensored" original arcade game. Namco Bandai had announced that the arcade version would be ported to the Japanese Virtual Console and was released on May 26, 2009. There are currently no plans for a U.S. release.

The FM Towns version, ported by Ving Co. and released only in Japan in 1992, is a pixel-perfect rendition of the original arcade, with no substantial changes apart from a new menu interface in the title screen. There was also an LCD handheld version released, Splatter House, but it is not a port of either games. It is considered to be an original Splatterhouse game in and of itself, though many elements in it are similar to the original game.

Reception

 Splatterhouse (VC)

Aggregate scores

Aggregator

Score

GameStats

6 out of 10

Review scores

Publication

Score

GameSpot

4.7 out of 10

IGN

6.5 out of 10

Pauseitmedia.com

Recommended

IGN's Lucas M. Thomas said of Splatterhouse that "Putting aside the aesthetic design and just looking at the game on the merits of its mechanics, Splatterhouse is lacking." He complained about the limited variety of attacks, one way scrolling, and censorship present in the North American console version. Thomas did, however, compliment the game's horror themes and music, noting that the console graphics, despite being "toned down", are a "good representation of the arcade original." Frank Provo of GameSpot.com had similar complaints about Splatterhouse. "Ultimately, the problem with Splatterhouse is that there's not much to it. There are only seven levels, and you'll finish each one in just a few minutes", he wrote, going on to explain that the enemies all follow easily memorized patterns, making the game very simple to play. In particular, Provo criticized the fact that the Virtual Console version was the censored console version, noting how he missed the meat cleavers and extra violence of the arcade game. A review at Pauseitmedia.com praised the game, saying that "Namco arcade beat m up Splatterhouse was one of the earliest games to receive the attention of concerned parents, and its twisted imagery would go on to pave the way for other horror-themed games."

References

^ Joystiq (2009). "Namco splits with Splatterhouse dev, game will be finished". http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/09/namco-splits-with-splatterhouse-dev-game-will-be-finished/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 

^ Joystiq (2009). "Namco: BottleRocket 'performance issue' to blame for Splatterhouse flap". http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/09/namco-splits-with-splatterhouse-dev-game-will-be-finished/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 

^ a b c d e f Lucas M. Thomas (2007). "Splatterhouse (1990) IGN review". http://wii.ign.com/articles/774/774861p1.html. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 

^ a b c Rob Srangman (2007). "Splatterhouse at Hardcore Gaming 101". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/splatterhouse/splatterhouse.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 

^ Namco Banda (2009). "Namco Bandai Games: VC". http://www.bandainamcogames.co.jp/cs/download/virtual_consolearcade/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 

^ "Splatterhouse at GameStats.com". http://www.gamestats.com/objects/894/894128/. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 

^ a b Frank Provo (2007). "Splatterhouse (TG16)review". http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/splatterhousetg16/review.html. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 

^ a b March (2007). "Splatterhouse at Pauseitmedia.com". http://www.pauseitmedia.com/?p=221. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 

External links

Splatterhouse at the Killer List of Videogames

West Mansion: The Splatterhouse Homepage - An extensive fansite

Compmike19's Splatterhouse Page

Splatterhouse series at MobyGames

The Arcade History Database entry on the game

Splatterhouse Strategy Guide (TurboGrafx-16) and Splatterhouse Advertisement at the TurboPlay Magazine Archives

HVGN: Splatterhouse at RetrowareTV

Splatterhouse at Bandai Namco Games' Virtual Console Arcade blog (Japanese)

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Splatterhouse video games

Splatterhouse  Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti  Splatterhouse 2  Splatterhouse 3  Splatterhouse (2010 video game)

Categories: 1988 video games | Arcade games | Beat 'em ups | FM Towns games | Horror video games | Fictional parapsychologists | Namco games | TurboGrafx-16 games | Virtual Console games | Windows games | Video game franchises

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