Splatterhouse - Your only hope... Unleash the monster within yourself and fight back in the grisly mayhem of SPLATTERHOUSE!

Splatterhouse

Platform: Arcade (Namco System 1)
Other Platforms: PC-Engine / TurboGrafx-16, FM Towns Marty, Windows, mobile phones, iPhone, Wii Virtual Console, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Switch, Playstation 4
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Released: 1988
Genre: Scrolling Brawler - Single-Plane
Players: 1-2 (Alternating)

Splatterhouse is one of those rare cases where, while it doesn't sound anything too special on paper, it's the execution, particularly its horror theme, that makes it work as well as it does. Possessed by an ancient sentient mask, the luckless Rick must save his girlfriend Jennifer from the West Mansion, home to horrific monsters including zombies, fetus slug things and the infamous Biggy Man. His only hope is to use the power granted by the Terror Mask and fight his way through seven grisly stages to escape the Splatterhouse...

PERSONAL HISTORY: Me and Splatterhouse go way back. Back in The Day (AKA the 90s) a cousin of ours had Splatterhouse 2 for his Mega Drive- a US copy, no less, with the hilarious parental advisory on it. I also remember gawping at the full guide of the game in an issue of Sega XS... However, I never considered that there was a first game, which is a bit silly, really! So, for a while, I forgot about it.

Many years later, I would discover the first game through emulation, although initially it was too much for my laptop to handle- after an upgrade, it worked at full speed, and kinda blew me away with a) how nice it looked and b) how much fairer it is than the second game. Is it a bit simple? Yeah, but it fuckin' works, man.

The game is a direct descendant of Irem's Kung Fu Master, operating on a single plane of movement rather than allowing for movement in eight directions like Double Dragon and its ilk. This makes it odd for the time of its release, even odder when you consider you have only one attack button compared with two from KFM. However, the controls are fine just the way they are- although initially slow, once you adjust to Rick's movement you'll find that you have every tool- the slide kick, the mid-air attacks, and so on- required to survive. The game is also surprisingly fair, with far fewer bullshit moments than its sequel on the Mega Drive (most enemies are slower than Rick, checkpoints are plentiful), but from a gameplay perspective the most important element is that it has plenty of variety. Every stage introduces new enemies, environments and weapons (including two-by-fours, meat cleavers and a shotgun) to keep things interesting, and with multiple routes available on a few stages, there's more to keep you playing than KFM or even Vigilante. It also keeps each section short, with no segment going on longer than necessary. With its decent level variety and tight-if-slightly-sluggish controls, Splatterhouse is a rung above KFM, but if that was it, it'd just be average.

WHY IT'S HERE: It's sad, but this is probably the most mainstream game I've covered on this site, so it might seem a little out-of-place. However, we like our gory b-movies on this site, and Splatterhouse IS a slasher movie in the cunning guise of a video game. We also like it a lot.

WHY IT'S HERE: It's sad, but this is probably the most mainstream game I've covered on this site, so it might seem a little out-of-place. However, we like our gory b-movies on this site, and Splatterhouse IS a slasher movie in the cunning guise of a video game. We also like it a lot.

Also, a lot of people struggle with the game, so I wanted to help 'em out and show a few tricks and tips that make the game considerably more managable. Also, we love dark-as-fuck endings, and Splatterhouse is as depressing as it gets in the world of arcades!

Where Splatterhouse excels is the setting, the atmosphere. With the power of Namco's System-1 board behind it, even today the game is visually striking with everything from the enemy sprites to the backgrounds nicely detailed, the soundtrack is amazing for an arcade release (it absolutely nails that horror movie sound) and both of these, together with the downbeat story, create a game with an unsettling, sinister atmosphere. Admittedly, playing the game in an actual arcade lessens the impact a bit sound0wise (it's hard to get creeped out by Jennifer's theme music when some dude's punishing the DeathSmiles cab next to you- true story) but the visuals and the story convey that sinister feeling well enough. And like the horror movies it takes inspiration from (including films like Friday the 13th and Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn) it even has some shock twists, which for an arcade game from 1988, is pretty unique. There is no happy ending here.

HINTS AND TIPS: Learn how to control Rick! For a start, the first few times you play he seems a bit on the sluggish side, but you've got j-u-s-t the right amount of control over him. Also, his jump attacks are useful in certain situations, but remember that you can use either the kick (the first attack you perform in the air is always a kick, hold down on the joystick to keep doing it) or the punch (after the kick) in the air, so use the right one for the right situation.

Also, THE SLIDE KICK. This is the most useful attack you have, IF you use it correctly. In particular you've got to learn how far it goes so it doesn't get you in any worse danger, and for the fight with Mirror Rick, learning the Reverse Slide Kick- change direction before you hit the ground and perform the Slide Kick- is essential.

It may seem a bit much to give Splatterhouse a four out of five rating, but it's proof that graphics and atmosphere can, when used correctly, make a good game better. Without its unique atmosphere and unsettling usage of gore, Splatterhouse would be average, good enough, but it's elevated beyond what it is through its other elements (seriously, the soundtrack is excellent). Although the game has a tendency to be looked down upon these days, it really is worth giving the arcade Splatterhouse another chance- it's unique for its time, it has the atmosphere, and its basic-yet-satisfying gameplay will give you a good challenge, especially if you don't puss out and set the game to easy. Go for a one-coin clear on the default settings, and maybe you'll understand why I rate it so highly...

Well, that's another review over with...

Well, that's another review over with...

For being more than the sum of its parts, Splatterhouse is awarded...

In a sentence, Splatterhouse is...
A brutal, challenging, unsettling adventure into horror.

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