The Original West Mansion Adventure
Splatterhouse
| Arcade | FM Towns | Turbografx-16 |
This is the game that started it all. It popularized horror themes in video games worldwide. While Splatterhouse is definitely it’s own thing one of my favorite elements is the sheer number of references to films. First and most obvious is Friday the 13th. I mean, the main character wears a hockey mask after all. He’s certainly not doing so to gear up for sports. Besides that there are various HP Lovecraft references, as well as other popular slasher films from the time. I absolutely love the style of this one because of how over the top it is. It’s clear that the developers at Namco didn’t hold anything back. High art Splatterhouse is not. Honestly if you’re looking at a game called ‘Splatterhouse’ odds are you just want to shed blood and wreak hyper violence. If that’s the case then you’re in for a treat.
Splatterhouse is a beat ’em up of sorts. It doesn’t play like a traditional one because you can only move left/right. You play as a young man named Rick who, after seeking shelter in the decrepit West Mansion with his girlfriend during a storm, is cursed. He awakens after being killed but now is stuck wearing a mask on his face. It seems this face covering brought him to life, and has given him supernatural strength and resiliance. He’ll need this because Jennifer has been kidnapped and is being held somewhere inside the estate. Unfortunately an army of monsters, formerly failed medical experiments, stands in his way. It’s up to Rick to save the girl from the unholy ghouls that hide around every corner. These are surprisingly gruesome as you… er… splatter them against walls, blast them in half, and even reduce them to puddles of ooze.
One thing I really appreciate about Splatterhouse is it’s difficulty level. This is an unforgiving game with lots of obstacles and enemies to contend with. Some of the boss encounters are downright frustrating, but never unfair. It makes it that much more rewarding to finally take them down. Rick starts out with just his fists which is good enough for the common demon scum. Soon in the game you’ll start to find weapons, and this is where things get interesting. You can pick up things like machetes, two by four planks of wood, wrenches, spears, and a few more. The arsenal makes Rick much more powerful increasing his range and strength. You’ll want to hold on to these and unfortunately they’re lost when you lose a life. Splatterhouse is great fun, but expect to lose, and often.
Splatterhouse wasn’t ported nearly as often as you would expect. The arcade release is the best of the bunch, but unfortunately you need the physical cabinet to play it the right way. That means it’s expensive and unwieldly. Who has room for one of those? The FM Towns release is virtually arcade perfect, but it was released only in Japan unfortunately. Almost no one has heard of that line of Japanese PC, and while it’s playable on the FM Towns Marty that console is even more rare than the computer it’s based on. Odds are if you’re going to pay the original Splatterhouse it will be on the Turbografx-16. Unfortunately this port had some differences. The first and most obvious is that Rick’s mask is now pink instead of white. There’s also some light censorship. It’s still a fun conversion however and retains the gameplay and spirit of the game.
Recommended: Absolutely
