Splatterhouse is one of the many beat ’em up titles that originated in the arcades, but was ported to a home console. Unlike Final Fight, which had the benefit of being released on the popular Super Nintendo, Splatterhouse was chosen for release only on the Turbografx-16. This is why it never reached the sales levels of both Final Fight and Streets of Rage. As a retro gamer I’ve long known of this title, but it wasn’t until I added the Turbografx to my collection that I was finally able to play the original game. Splatterhouse surprised me a great deal; not only is it a lot of fun but its theme is more playful and memorable than most other staples in this genre.
You play as a parapsychologist student named Rick who, along with his girlfriend Jennifer, winds up in a mansion deep within the woods while taking shelter from a rain storm. Unfortunately this homestead is rather infamous as it used to belong to the mad Dr. West and was the place in which he conducted experiments on human beings. Upon entering the house Jennifer is kidnapped by several grotesque monsters, and Rick is left for dead. He soon finds an unsettling hockey mask that latches on to his face granting him super human strength. Rick sets out to rescue Jennifer and uncover the secrets of this bloody house.
Splatterhouse is a beat ’em up game, but it’s not totally traditional. Rather than allowing you to move up and down you can instead only walk left and right. In this sense it has some similarities with side scrolling action games. As Rick you have only three basic moves; you can jump, kick, and punch. Most enemies are defeated after only a few hits, but to make things easier you will find various weapons in each stage. These include planks of wood, meat cleavers, and on rare occasions a shotgun. These tools increase Rick’s offensive capabilities a great deal by taking out enemies that previous took multiple hits to drop in one fell swoop. The shotgun is the best weapon by far, but it only pops up once in the entire game which is a bit of a bummer.
The level design is surprisingly interesting here. The developers designed many thoughtful traps and placement for enemies; you will need quick reflexes as well as the ability to think on your feet in order to succeed here. I was surprised to find that many pits don’t damage your character; instead they send Rick to a new section of the level. The multiple paths are a very nice feature. Rick’s health is measured by hearts at the top of the screen. Every time an enemy touches or hits you with a projectile you lose a heart.
A boss awaits at the end of each stage, and some of these are pretty darn tricky. The first few encounters involve simple hordes of enemies jumping out at you, but later on you will be tasked with memorizing attack patterns and finding the one area wherein you are safe from attack. In my opinion this game handles boss fights better than most other beat ’em ups. The big baddie with the chainsaws for arms is particularly jarring for a software release as old as this. It’s all awesome however.
The gameplay is fun, but what really makes Splatterhouse stand out is its theme and atmosphere. You will shop enemies up, behead them, and even splatter their guts against the backgrounds when you hit them with the wooden plank. This is a gruesome title by early 90s standards, but today it seems pretty tame and the theme is handled in an over the top fun fashion. Despite its lighthearted horror elements there are a few moments that are genuinely eerie. When you finally encounter Jennifer, and the boss fight that follows this meeting is one of the most memorable and haunting experiences I’ve had with a video game. I won’t spoil it, but trust me when I say that it’s pretty shocking.
Unfortunately the graphics were altered in some pretty big ways for this home port. The Turbografx wasn’t up to the task of recreating the visuals in the arcade version, and there’s significantly less detail in every stage here as well as fewer frames of animation. It’s not an ugly game by any means despite this, but Namco made some questionable changes in a few sequences. Rick’s mask is now pink colored (in an obvious attempt to separate him from Jason Voorhees), there’s less blood, and several religious elements were completely removed. It’s not a huge deal, but fans of the original will definitely notice the changes.
The soundtrack has also been altered, but in my opinion it’s for the better. It sounds scratchier on the Turbografx hardware. It adds a sort of grindhouse feel to the audio elements of Splatterhouse. Very cool in my opinion. The fast paced eerie music in the beginning stages fits the game incredible well, and the high pitched tones really hit the horror theme home. The music is extremely memorable and well done. The voice samples survived the transition, and despite sounding a little scratchy are pretty cool. Hearing Jessica screaming for help is something that will stick with you long after you’ve turned Splatterhouse off. It’s eerie, and one of the most disturbing moments in any video game.
Splatterhouse is a little simplistic compared to other beat ’em ups, but few others are as memorable as this one. The theme may seem like a gimmick but the developers went all out and really sell the horror elements. Maybe it’s just because I’m a huge fan of the theme, but Splatterhouse is one of my favorite beat ’em up games of all time. The only thing this title could have benefited from is multiplayer, but it’s one of the rare genre entries that survives just fine without it. Every Turbografx owner owes it to themself to own this game.
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