With the final horrifying boss defeated, the second mansion crumbles into the sea.











Now, this is where there's another big change between the Western and Japanese scripts. The Japanese one sets up the plot for Splatterhouse 3- the 'forbidden seal' mentioned by the Mask (he's talking when the text is red) is the one placed on The Evil One (that giant blue humanoid that chases you out of the Land of the Dead/The Void) who serves as the main antagonist of the third game. Although weirdly it implies that everything's fine anyway with Rick and Jennifer living in peace. The English text is a bit vaguer- it sets up a sequel in a more indirect way, and leaves players with the sinister threat that "As long as that mask remains... It can happen again". Gotta say, the English ending wins this one for me, just because of that phrase- it stuck with me instantly. I mean, damn, that's a hell of a final line!



With Rick and Jennifer finally reunited, the credits start to roll over the sunset.



Once again, let's pretend to be the GDRI and have a look at those names in the credits!

Just like the last Splatterhouse, lots of pseudonyms here- some of the classics of the form, including Milky Eiko and Big & Black- and one of them is Payapa Payapaya, the only person whose name appears in all three of the original Splatterhouse trilogy (assuming they're listed as Haya Paya in the first game). The US/EU versions also get two extra names under Special Thanks. One is Jim Curry, whose name also appeared in fellow Namco home games Splatterhouse 3, Super Batter Up, Wings 2: Aces High, Marvel Land and Rolling Thunder 2. The other is... Ken Lobb? Hey, is that the guy who had the Klobb named after him in Goldeneye 007? It is! At one point, he was under the employ of Namco, and an email exchange shown here had some very limited info on his involvement with Splatterhouse 2- "a lot of balance work"- though he had more to do with the third game than this one. If we may wildly speculate (and we generally do anyway) Lobb was most likely responsible for some of the changes to the difficulty settings made for the US/EU release, so you can (probably) thank him for making the game a bit more beatable.

... Oh, would you look at the time? We'd better do the ol' horror movie twist at the very end.



The skies darken again, a spirit rises from the ocean, and you hear a scream as it rushes towards the screen.

Unlike last time, this doesn't seem to be anything significant... It's just to get you to jump. Did it work?



Yep, congratulations are definitely in order for beating this one.




I think we're definitely finished with the West Mansion this time- Splatterhouse 2's been beaten.

As for what I think... Technically, I should love Splatterhouse 2 just as much- if not more- than the first game. On paper, it's got a few things going for it- while the overall aesthetic isn't as unsettling as the original game, it goes for a more lurid, over-the-top look, almost like a splatter-flick's VHS box cover come to life (and believe me, that's a compliment). It has some gory and memorable portions (playing with a chainsaw, pelting Deadmen across the river, turning Dr. West into a mess) and it even has nostalgia on its side- this is the very first Splatterhouse I ever played, at a cousin's house, and they even had the US version with the ridiculous 'NOT FOR KIDS' warning at the bottom. The deck is stacked very much in favour of Splatterhouse 2!

And yet... I don't like it nearly as much as the first. It's OK- it does what it sets out to do, and since the game mechanics are almost exactly the same, there's no massive changes that make me dislike it. That won't endear itself to people who didn't like the first one, but that's expected. And yes, the atmosphere of the first game has gone (partly due to the visuals, mostly due to the music which does its best, but for the most part I prefer the original) and while it's far less effective, it's not this that's the main source of my problems, as it has a feel of its own- it's something a bit grimier, which I appreciate too. The thing is, when playing the first Splatterhouse, I felt that the game was tough, but fair. It felt like Rick's slightly lumbering movement was taken into account when designing the levels and enemies, so that you had the tools needed to survive, but only just about- the Egg Oba sequence is probably the best example of that. It also helped that it kept things interesting, moving you from scene to scene fairly quickly (and they were interesting scenes!). In Splatterhouse 2, however, things like the annoying nature of the Deathnoids (that vicious range! All that fast-paced jumping!), the more frequent use of small-and-speedy enemies (the ghost faces, the hands, the boss battles that throw heads at you) and the dull nature of some of the game's sections (the first two elevator sequences, the river, almost all of Stage V, etc.) wore away at my enjoyment of the game, making it feel less tightly put-together than the first. It's not that it's bad, mind- three stars isn't too shabby in these parts- it's just, well, if you presented the two games in front of me, I'd pick the first every time (compared to, say, Golden Axe Vs. Golden Axe II, where I'd play either quite happily).

So... Splatterhouse 2. It is what it is, I guess! At least the chainsaw was a neat addition, eh?


And now, it's that time, folks!
EXTENDED PLAY!


Just as a reminder, while this article's covered just the first second game here, there's more info out there.

You may wish to visit The West Mansion for more on the Splatterhouse series than any one human really needs.

In particular there's more on the various movie references in the game, which I mostly left out because some of it's a bit iffy if you ask me.

Enjoy!




Now, a couple of extra notes on the differences between the two versions of the game.

As mentioned, the Japanese game has a different English translation- though a little Engrishy in parts, it clarifies certain parts of the story better while making others even less clear (like is Jennifer actually dead? Pretty sure she was, but the intro says she isn't going to die, etc.)- but there's a handful of other changes. For a start, the title is slightly different- it's Splatterhouse Part 2, which I actually prefer if only because it makes it sound like a proper horror film sequel (Friday the 13th Part 2, etc.). As a result, to fit Splatterhouse 2 all on one line for the US version, the actual Splatterhouse logo was tweaked minutely. Anyway, in the game itself, the Terror Mask looks closer to the version used in the American TurboGrafx-16 port of the first game, except it's white rather than red- some people point out it's a bit like a Kabuki mask, so that'll do too. Personally, I prefer the US/EU skull mask, but only because it's a bit more 90s. Also more 90s, the Very Difficult setting in the Japanese version is called Game Master in the US/EU versions, and beating either setting gives you a different message in each version- here's the US one (22:39) and here's the Japanese one (26:46). I'm linking to YouTube runs for these simply because do you think I can beat this game on those insane difficulty settings? The answer is no.

Critically, the Japanese version has differences regarding the game's difficulty and options:

Here's the changes, in a presentable chart:

Japan US/Europe
Starting # of Lives 3 4
# of Hearts - Normal 5 4
# of Hearts - Game Master (US)/Very Difficult (JP) 1 2
Passwords No Yes
Level Select Cheat Yes No
Continues Limited to 5 Unlimited
Standard Button Layout (A, B, C) Attack, Jump, Attack Jump, Attack, Jump

It's a bit of six of one, half a dozen of another here. On the one hand, the Japanese version's set-up is a smidgen closer to the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 port of the first game, and having five instead of four hearts can make a big difference in certain areas (I'm thinking the final boss in particular). However, the limited continues makes it considerably tougher to get to the end, and the password feature (which, oddly, has you picking a set of three-letter words rather than individual letters, which Namco would expand upon, with fantastic results, in Rolling Thunder 2) is omitted. If you want to practice later stages and are OK with cheating, though, the Japanese version has a Level Select (tap Down, Down, B, Down, Down, C on the title screen- thanks, TCRF!) missing from all other versions.



Weirdly, some previews of the game, shown above, had screenshots of Rick wearing the red version of the Japanese mask, perhaps suggesting they were going to keep the TG-16 port's mask shenanigans going. Both of these are nicked from The West Mansion's SH2 scans page- the one on the left is 'EGM preview 1', the one on the right is from GamePro #33, April 1992. Oddly, the EGM scan says the final version of the game would have the white mask, so presumably Namco told them they'd be making the change in advance. Why give them screenshots with the red mask, though? It is a mystery.

Splatterhouse 2 - Unofficial 50hz Soundtrack

I think it'd be remiss of me to not mention the PAL version, though, as it has a special place in my heart. While it's been slowed down to 50hz because Europe hates video games, this has a strange effect on the music- this doesn't affect every Mega Drive game out there, but a botched PAL conversion sometimes slows the music down as well (notable examples include Bonanza Bros. and Streets of Rage 3) and this is the case with Splatterhouse 2. However, I don't think that's a bad thing. Call it being blinded by nostalgia if you must (and you probably will) but certain tracks, in particular the intro and the first/last boss theme, actually sound better when they're slowed down. There's a more sinister feeling to them, a little closer to the first game, as daft as that sounds. That's probably why I went to the trouble of ripping it, as you can see above. Please, enjoy.

On the subject of the PAL version, it's notable that the boxart doesn't have the same piddly 'GRAPHIC VIOLENCE' warning that the US version has... But was there anything else done about the game in the name of thinking of the children? Well, this was brought to my attention by Ultra Powerful Pal of Gaming Hell HokutoNoShock- the Gamesmaster Gore Special (broadcast as part of Series 4 in an edited version, and released uncut on VHS and VCD- this is the uncut version) has a brief section on Splatterhouse 2 that starts at around 16:20, and Dominik Diamond specifically mentions the game was 'the first Mega Drive game that was ever banned'. Later he muses 'the reason the game got banned wasn't because it was scary, but because it was shite'. Fair enough. However, as far as I'm aware, there's no actual evidence that this was ever the case- I've found no news articles or anything of the sort to suggest the game was outright banned on a government level. Only this snippet. I'm leaning towards the game being removed from sale at a shop's discretion rather than an outright ban. But if you know any better, do email in!




Last thing now, about other versions. Unlike the first game, there's no other 'ports' out there, only emulations. It's available on the Wii Virtual Console (Mega Drive emulation on the VC is handled by M2, so you know it's good, though as usual the EU version is 50hz), and it's also hidden in the 2010 Splatterhouse reboot, unlocked after beating Phase 4. This port was handled by Hanaho Games, and is a bit less accurate- the sound is all over the place, especially the voices. Additionally, any mentions of Sega are removed, and the Options screen has been altered to use the 360/PS3 button names instead of the Mega Drive ones (and you can only pick between X and A for Attack/Jump, no third button!)


In the end, after all the mess...

Dr. West's legacy was finally ended. Rick was reunited with Jennifer, and peace returned at last.































... But what of the mask?

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN~