Games of the Season: Halloween 2016

[celerystalker]

Ok. I haven't had time to do game of the day topics for a good few months, and while I still really don't, screw it, I want to get in a good seasonal mood this year. You never know how many holidays you're going to get in life, so might as well make an effort to enjoy them.

So, basically, a game for each day of the month this month, and I'll be catching up to current over the next day. 31 games that give me a distinctly Halloween feel when I play them, though many of them won't specifically be set on Halloween. Not all will be scary even. However, they'll all be games I genuinely enjoy, and that give me a nice fall flavor. They aren't in any kind of ranked order, either. So, yep! Here comes me annoying everyone again, but it'll be contained to this one thread.

[celerystalker]

96409641

To mind, not much is more definitively associated with Halloween than a creepy old mansion, and by golly... there appears to be one here! Often confused for its own Saturn sequel due to some astoundingly bad titling decisions, these games could really benefit from the use of some numbers and a definite article or two... but this Sega CD original tells its own unique story of a boy trying to save his sister.

96429643

The sister wants to go into a mansion in the woods in which people are purported to become manifest as butterflies. That's all of the story I want to touch on, as discovery and exploration are the whole point of playing. It's one of the earliest first-person FMV adventures, which play a bit like Myst if it were animated instead of stills. You poke around the giant place, trying to find your sister before it's too late.

9644

You'll meet the denizens of the mansion soon enough, all of whom are butterflies who will live there for eternity. They help shape your perspective and offer you clues on how to keep moving forward. Much like a point and click adventure, you'll find items, solve puzzles, and discover the story as you experience it. The game does suffer a tad from hardware limitations, moving slowly, using very grainy images, and CD sound that's effective, but has voice acting from that era before it was a priority (which I enjoy, but it'll annoy some). If you can get past those short-comings and have the patience for a slow burn that's loaded with atmosphere, there's a really fun adventure here, and the Saturn sequel has a story directly tied to it.

Mansion of Hidden Souls will just be outdated to many, but for a certain kind of player, it hits the spot. Not really scary per se, it is creepy and intriguing... maybe even a tad suspenseful in a couple of parts. If you like something like D, it's a no brainer. For me... I love to explore a haunted house alone in the basement with the lights out. :)

[celerystalker]

96459646

A late Neo Geo MVS exclusive, Nightmare in the Dark is the story of an ugly grave keeper protecting a small village from evil. This setup may sound like it's going to get creepy, and, well... yeah, it's not... but it is basically Halloween Snow Bros., and that actually makes for an awesome little game!

96479648

It's a single screen platformer like the aforementioned Snow Bros., Bubble Bobble, Zupapa!, DonDokoDon, etc., in which you hurl flames from your lantern at the zombies, ghosts, and other creeps that abound. Hittimg them will freeze them, whereas hitting them repeatedly will engulf the monsters in flames, allowing them to be hurled like a rolling ball of doom, rebounding off of walls and killing whatever it touches. Chaining enemies is the key to scoring, and if you can clear all enemies with one ball, you get a massive bonus.

96499650

Every five levels, you fight a big boss monster before getting a nice change of scenery for the next group. The bosses are generally big and interesting, though it generally comes back to tossing spawned enemies back at the big 'uns. There are power-ups as well, which increase your speed, range, and the power of your flames. The game is only 25 levels long, which makes for a tidy little play in front of an arcade cabinet. Given its brevity and emphasis on scoring bonuses, it's really a game designed to be played either alone for high score or cooperatively with a competitive bent. I should say, the two-player mode, while fun, is heavy on slow-down.

Altogether, with great, cartoony graphics, atmospheric sound, and simple game play, Nightmare in the Dark is a short blast of Halloween that MVS owners should enjoy this season. I feel like its shorter length and puzzle-like scoring emphasis make it a great little play through every now and again. It's a little less animatronic zombie and a little more cutesy door sign of a ghost saying "Boo!," but isn't there room for both?

[celerystalker]

96529653

Monster Pardise is a video board game for the Japanses PS1 that reeks of Halloween. Invited by the ghost of villainous explorer and prospector Char de Pudding, up to 8 players can compete to traverse the grounds of his now-haunted mansion, vying to reach his inner sanctum and claim his treasure for themselves. Are you brave or greedy enough to survive the challenge?

96549655

This really is a board game, and your main objective is to make it through each section of the map to the inner chambers and claim victory by killing the final guardian. You fight random enemies, gain items and cards, and can even fight one another in simplistic JRPG battles if you hit the same space. Dying sends you back to the beginning of the area you're in. For a more in-depth how to play, I wrote it up in a thread in Import Mania here: http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?172286-Opinions-on-poorly-documented-imports&p=2009578&viewfull=1#post2009578

96569657

Monster Paradise lacks any kind of big quest game you might find in something like Dokapon Kingdom, but it is a very quick, accessible board game to play with friends open to something different. The monsters, backgrounds, music, and premise all drip with Halloween flair, and it's pretty darn playable even without Japanese skills. I wouldn't recommend it as a one player game, but if you have anyone to play with and can find a copy, it's a great game for the season.

96589659

[bb_hood]

Very cool, I havent played any of these!

[Tron 2.0]

Nice pick on nightmare in the dark.I have it for my mvs as well the only neo-geo game that's prefect to play in october.

[celerystalker]

96609661

This was one I didn't buy when it first came out, but rather got for free along with Super Mario Sunshine when I bought my Japanese Gamecube. Even then, it just sat on a shelf for years until one night I decided to finally give it a spin at random... I would have never guessed that I'd enjoy it so much!

96629663

If for some similar reason someone doesn't know the game, it's a faux horror game in which Luigi must search out his missing brother in a haunted mansion that's just chock full of Boos. After befriending a weird little scientist, Luigi gets a vacuum with which to suck up the spooks like a Ghostbusters proton pack and trap all in one. Using twin-stick controls to control the weapon independently works like a champ, and having to solve the riddle of how to capture each of the mansion's ephemeral residents adds some fun puzzling depth to the action (this was actually even more fun to have to figure out in Japanese).

9664

Make no mistake; Luigi's Mansion isn't any kind of scary. That said, its haunted house is rife with great seasonal imagery, making for a more family friendly fall fling. That's right, I alliterate once in awhile. I really enjoy its cartoony brand of tension, like the best of Scooby Doo with a Nintendo coat of paint and, you know, actual ghosts. It's of a comfortable length, has a fun sub-quest of hunting down Boos hiding throughout the grounds, and even some creative boss battles in tow. It's a good one to pair with the likes of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

[Tanooki]

Oooh nice a return to form of sorts. I've got Nightmare on my 161in1 multicart for my arcade cabinet and it's pretty fun, a screwball mix of halloween, qwak! and like snow bros.

If you run out of ideas beyond the obviously obvious fall back of something Castlevania, Ghosts N Goblins franchise, or Sweet Home FC/Resident Evil (multi) here's some good ideas:
- Dementium (DS) has a less known sequel too
- Vampire (aka Master of Darkness for SMS in the UK)
- Nightmare Creatures (N64, etc)
- Holy Diver (FC)
- Dead Space (multi, sequels aren't all that scary or good, first is a mind screw)
- Clock Tower (SFC/SNES)
- Kid Dracula (Gameboy)

I take it with the satanic overtones and hell DOOM1 and 2 (PC, GBA, any 90s console) would work too.

[celerystalker]

96679668

Now this one is a personal favorite of mine. If Zelda II, my favorite NES game, were to be remade as a survival horror game, this'd be it. Is it as tightly designed as Nintendo's monster? Well, no, no it isn't. But... it does have atmosphere for days.

96699670

As a young special forces agent named Laila, you must attempt to save the mountain town of Chaney's Hill, which has been overrun by demons and monsters. The few survivors have safely barricaded themselves in the local church, and you must search for more survivors to bring back, find weapons and equipment, and get to the bottom of what went down in this little hamlet.

96719672

There are loads of weapons to find, and ammo can only be culled from dead enemies. You have scant health at first, but you can level up by collecting blue experience orbs from fallen foes. Battles randomly occur while exploring, switching to side-scrolling battles almost exactly like in Zelda II. The town is big but spread out, and there is equipment such as a canoe to find to help get around and protect you. I'd go further in depth on the game's mechanics, but I already did in Import Mania here: http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?172286-Opinions-on-poorly-documented-imports&p=2026819&viewfull=1#post2026819

96739674

War of the Dead employs a couple of themes that really resonate with me... let's see if I can articulate them. One, the whole game basically takes place in one night. I really love the idea of one crazy night of tension and adventure. Whether it's The Warriors, Friday the 13th, or Harold and Kumar Goto White Castle, one crazy night is a magical kind of setting. Secondly, there's the idea of a world gone to hell, but a safe base to hide out in, and in this case it's the church. Whether it's the Enterprise on an away mission, Sherwood Forest for Robin Hood... hell, I think the mountain base feel got me through Stargate SG-1. War of the Dead just hits a lot of the right notes for me, and its hell night flavor and dark color scheme really give me that Halloween feel. Love it.

[celerystalker]

Oooh nice a return to form of sorts. I've got Nightmare on my 161in1 multicart for my arcade cabinet and it's pretty fun, a screwball mix of halloween, qwak! and like snow bros.

If you run out of ideas beyond the obviously obvious fall back of something Castlevania, Ghosts N Goblins franchise, or Sweet Home FC/Resident Evil (multi) here's some good ideas:
- Dementium (DS) has a less known sequel too
- Vampire (aka Master of Darkness for SMS in the UK)
- Nightmare Creatures (N64, etc)
- Holy Diver (FC)
- Dead Space (multi, sequels aren't all that scary or good, first is a mind screw)
- Clock Tower (SFC/SNES)
- Kid Dracula (Gameboy)

I take it with the satanic overtones and hell DOOM1 and 2 (PC, GBA, any 90s console) would work too.

Thanks! I've got quite a few lined up, and I'm gonna try and balance the obscure with a few better known games this time. I'm glad you and Tron2.0 both like Nightmare in the Dark. That game is a short little pile of fun. :)

[Tanooki]

I wish one part of your sentence there wasn't true -- short. Damn game costs like $300, and it's just not worth $3~ a stage to me. :D Over time I'd like to think I'll find stuff I enjoy best on the multicart and replace them with real cartridges but I'm also aware some stuff is just too expensive so the multicart is the way to go. Now if I could just figure out how to find a 138in1 someone can mod to work in a multi-slot system for me as it has Twinkle Star Sprites, Sengoku 2, Ghost Pilots, and many others the 161 lacks that cost a good bit.

Sengoku kind of falls into a gray area of this too, any of them. All those undead/dead ninja spirits and demons who attack your ninja players.

[celerystalker]

96769677

There's something gritty and off about many of those old FMV games, and the best of them manage to convey some solid atmosphere. Psychic Detective may be my favorite interactive movie of the '90s, and it has a lot to do with its creepy atmosphere that just has kind of a Halloween feel for me in spite of having nothing to do with it.

96789679

As an interactive film, Psychic Detective goes out and uses some novel play mechanics far different from the usual Dragon's Lair QTE stuff or the trap games where you cycle through cameras and trigger traps. As psychic performer Eric Fox, you have the secret power to dive into people's minds if you can see them. If a character is on screen, their portrait will appear in the border, allowing you to hop into their minds and see the world through their eyes. You can leap from mind to mind, chasing rabbits, witnessing first-hand murders, or even having sex through the eyes of passers-by. It's a wild ride, and there are loads of possibilities for viewing different scenes... far more than you might think.

96809681

Not only are there myriad paths through the game, but more than a dozen endings in the 3DO's less censored version. Eric has to discover the secret behind several murders and conspiracies among a cult-like group of eastern Europeans, and while the acting is often hammy, it gets across an interesting feeling. Discovering the secrets of the characters and finding psychic amplifiers is the only way to win at a creepy psychic game against the antagonist at the end, which can leave Eric powerful and in love or literally retarded and playing with children's toys.

Where Psychic Detective pulls me in for that fall feeling is the combination of occult imagery and its nighttime setting. Most of the game is very dark and gritty, moving through suburban locales at night and voyeuristically peering through both windows and the eyes of others. It also takes place in autumn, with most characters wearing jackets... it just feels like a messed up fall night, and gets me in the mood for Halloween. It's very different from other FMV games, though, and really is interesting to see what all you can, well, see jumping from person to person. If you aren't just hell-bent against this style of game, try giving the 3DO or PC versions a spin (the PS1 game is censored) if you're feeling up to something odd.

[Az]

Now if I could just figure out how to find a 138in1 someone can mod to work in a multi-slot system for me

Needs its own thread but this is easily done. Picked one up a few months ago just for World Heroes Perfect and got it working with minimal effort.

[celerystalker]

96829683

Cotton 2 is a game that has always felt like an elementary school Halloween party to me in its light-hearted brand of fun. As the witch, Cotton, and her friend/rival Apple, you fly around on your broom in a horizontal shooter that falls somewhere in between The Nightmare Before Christmas and Kiki's Delivery Service. Though it won't be scaring anyone, this game's anime arcade action is a great time no matter how you slice it.

96849685

If flying around on a broom and casting spells to fight bats, jack-o-lanterns, and all manner of evil monsters isn't a Halloween past time, I'm just confused. However, the shooting is really secondary to Cotton's deeper mechanics. Killing a wave of enemies causes a crystal to appear, which can be shot to change colors that correspond to ice, wind, or fire. Collecting crystals and killing enemies makes you stronger, and the combination of elements dictates both your weapon to fire and the elements and power levels of your magic (bomb) attacks. This is cool, but...

96869687

The real fun comes from the ability to grab most enemies, crystals, and even some projectiles to huck across the screen like a rocket, damaging whatever it hits. That first boss looking scary with that axe? Rip it out of his hands and slap him with it. The key to scoring comes from smacking enemies with a crystal, then grabbing the now engulfed enemy and continually killing as many enemies as possible with it. Once it finally falls off screen, a bubble will float up, which can be grabbed for massive points. So, balancing collecting crystals with attacking with them is a great strategic element.

96889689

Cotton 2 is an arcade-y blast that hits the season just right. Pumpkins, witches, bats, and ghouls... it's a Halloween cocktail that is satisfying anytime, but really shines in October. Sharp, scaling sprites, colorful backgrounds, and giant bosses set a strong aesthetic, and the music suits the on-screen antics with aplomb. There are loads of other Cotton games to play to scratch the same itch on many systems, so, you know... smoke 'em if you got 'em.

[sfchakan]

Ah, I gotta watch this thread now all month!

I'm doing a similar thing over on my YT channel with Sega games or games on Sega platforms.

[Tanooki]

I miss COTTON it's fun. Never had that one, but I did have it on Super Famicom, PCE CD and Neo Geo Pocket Color and it's a goofy fun ride. Problem is it has become a prime import collectard title so the prices aren't cool or I'd own it again.

[celerystalker]

Ah, I gotta watch this thread now all month!

I'm doing a similar thing over on my YT channel with Sega games or games on Sega platforms.

I'll have to check your countdown out! I'd be interested to see what, if any, kind of overlap we end up with.

Tanooki-yeah, the last couple of years have really wrecked Cotton's prices. Even last year the SFC game could be had regularly at about $20 loose, but it just keeps getting worse. This Saturn game I bought about 13 years ago for about $25. I wouldn't pay its going rate.

[celerystalker]

96909691

D was one of the earlier games I bought for my Sega Saturn, and was one of my earliest forays into the more graphic, "adult" style of horror game. A first-person cinematic adventure game, it combines the type of detailed, animated imagery of an FMV game with point and click style puzzles, creating an intriguing, tense horror experience. As a young woman named Laura, you must venture into the warped mind of your father to find out why he has suddenly murdered everyone in a hospital. This plays out as a haunted mansion search full of grotesque imagery and cinematic scenes to get to the bottom of what made Richter Harris snap.

96929693

D is a game that gets a lot right when it comes to presentation. The imagery looked astonishing for its time, and today it manages to remain pretty creepy with the grainy nature of the FMV coupled with the slow pace and subtle sound and music. Many people deride D for its sluggish pace, and while there are times that I do get frustrated when I have to watch repeated scenes (like the rotating tower), it also forces the player to soak in its atmosphere, which is easily its strong suit. Gothic imagery, dark dungeons, a quiet courtyard... everything has an excellent combination of calm aesthetics and foreboding tension that makes its world truly interesting to scour.

96949695

I don't want to spoil anything about the game's story or puzzles, as solving the riddles (some of which are pretty clever) and discovering its sparse plot are the biggest payoff aside from traversing the game's haunting scenery. Just be on the lookout for caterpillars, avoid using an FAQ, and play in the dark if you want to get your money's worth. I only play this game every three years or so, or else I remember too much about its puzzles, and it's a little less enjoyable. It does have a couple of endings and a 2 hour time limit, but replay value is a weak point here. Still, I always keep it, as those years where I do soak it in are always a fun time.

96969697

Where D fits in for Halloween to me aside from its horror theme is in its cinematic approach. This makes it feel like a horror movie more than most other games, and it truly shines if played in a dark, quiet space. The mood in this game just permeates you in the setting, and that sort of removal from the norm aids in bringing about that sort of "today is special" mood to me. It's really only for the most patient of players, but of all the games I'll be writing about, it might do the most to set a particular feeling in the air. There are better, scarier, more plot-heavy games to play, but there's just something about D that hooks me.

[Tanooki]

Now there's one I've always found passively interesting but know I would get pissed off and lost in so I never picked it up, even recently when GoG got it up there too I've resisted but it is nice to see a solid write up of it.

...and on Cotton the SFC and NGPC(if I were to get one again) were interesting to me. Problem is any semi-decent Japanese game on either system (especially the limited SNK box) get damn expensive even loose which sucks.

[celerystalker]

96989699

Splatterhouse is practically an institution on the Turbografx 16, chronicling the adventures of a young Rob Stra... er, Rick, in his quest to save his girlfriend Jennifer from West Mansion with the aid of his infamous Terror Mask. Using the power of the mask, his fists, feet, and anything he can pick up, Rick must travel through the mansion's perils into the very depths of pure evil and hell in the name of love (and just a little revenge). The Halloween horror tropes of the haunted mansion, such as ghouls, poltergeists, and demons, are all perfect reasons to play it in October, but getting to be the Jason Voorhees-inspired monster certainly has its own appeal!

97009701

For its time, Splatterhouse was very notable for its graphic violence and dark imagery, which to that point had rarely been so vivid on a home console. The way enemies, well, splatter against a wall when Rick whacks them with a 2x4 is grotesquely satisfying, and the bosses offer up a pretty wide variety of battles to wage. Poltergeists, bag-headed goons, spirits, and increasingly twisted fiends make the game a buffet of seasonal violence, and some of the events and imagery (I'm looking at you, wall of fetuses) really crank up the spooky atmosphere.

97029703

For all of its creepy window dressing and praise, the game is basically just a horror-themed Kung Fu or Vigilante, with flat stages and enemies that mostly just walk straight toward you, begging to be annihilated. Still... I like Kung Fu and Vigilante, and Splatterhouse definitely does it better in the boss department without question. The descent into West Mansion was bold for its time, but the aesthetics hold up pretty well in feeling like a violent rampage into the abyss. Rick is a character who gets put through a meat grinder to satisfy his motives, and it makes him a likeable force of destruction.

97049705

If you want sonething with an arcade action flair this season, but would prefer to avoid the more cutesy Japanese stuff like Cotton, Splatterhouse is a jam. If you're a Turbo fan, you probably already have a copy, so why not? And if not, the arcade version is emulated as a bonus in the 360 and PS3 game. For violent brawling fun that's easy to get into and makes you want to finish, this one's a great time.

[FoxNtd]

If Cotton makes the list then how about Deathsmiles?

[celerystalker]

If Cotton makes the list then how about Deathsmiles?

It may well be. :) If this was for Christmas instead of Halloween, Deathsmiles II would be all over it.

[celerystalker]

97089709

Many of the games in this little countdown are here for their loose connection to Halloween through settings and horror themes. Folklore, though, an early PS3 action RPG, is centered around Samhain, the very cultural root of our Halloween. Taking place in the Irish village of Doolin, where the veil between our world and the netherworld is weak. A young girl named Ellen has come in search of her long-presumed-dead mother, and a cynical reporter named Keats has turned up on an anonymous tip about strange happenings in town. As both characters, you must meet the faerie folk of Doolin, and scour the netherworld during the heightened magic of Samhain to get to the bottom of their respective mysteries.

97109711

The game takes place in chapters, and you can choose to play as either character's chapter first, then at the end continue that story or switch characters to begin where you left off in his or her story. Basically, you could play Ellen's first six chapters, play Keats' first two, then pick up at Ellen's seventh and so on. This allows the story to play out from different perspectives with differing events, but does end up allowing for a lot of retreading familiar ground. Both characters have distinct personalities, and are pretty likable. Gameplay wise, though, there is little functional difference in abilities save Keats' Transcension ability and Ellen's upgradeable cloak.

97129713

The core mechanics of the game revolve around fighting the various folk of the netherworld and capturing their souls to wield as attacks, much in the way you do in the Castlevania: Sorrow games with Soma Cruz. Capturing many of the same folk will level up that ability, be it attack, defense, or effect. Each face button can be mapped to use a folk ability, and can be swapped out in menu. There are some with synergy with one another, and of course if you're the collecting type, you've got a list to fill out.

97149715

Folklore has its fun with all of the collecting and customizable progression, but where it's at its best is in its Irish otherworldly setting. The pub full of fae in Doolin is a beautiful little place to have a conversation. The folk have a very Halloween flair in their designs, and the setting is a colorful autumn at twilight, even in the netherworld. The, um, folk music is atmospheric and fitting, and the stories, while not earth shattering, are pleasantly mysterious. Folklore may not be scary, but it really nails its chosen setting and atmosphere, which basically makes it an excellent choice if you're looking for an action RPG for the Halloween season. It really feels other-worldly.

[Tanooki]

Looks fairly decent. I have to admit I've seen many people write this on multiple sites just in the last few weeks and I felt the same so it wasn't an influence, but I have to say I wish I had kept my PS3 collection and ignored #4 just as many more say as much about 360 vs the One. So much overlap, so starkly and rarely something new of quality IT only gets, not it + last gen, or it + PC. I feel bad for those who felt taken/trapped swapping out their hardware, at least I paid 50% off on mine so it's not a loss and I still have the PS3 (gameless) but stuff like this makes me wonder going forward what the industry will do to get things on track again. VR isn't going to do shit at the cost involved with the hardware+goggles except for the truly dedicated. As cool as this game and others in this thread are, and how they could look even nicer in this gen or gen+(+vr) there's just a sad state of things. We used to moan that some creativity was really lost going into HD but this HD gen2 (and HD+VR) is looking even crappier.

Stuff like the games in this thread and all around halloween/spooky based or not make you wondering where things went wrong. :\ As little as there was with people making choice decisions like this latest PS3 review here, at least they tried, they don't now.

[celerystalker]

Looks fairly decent. I have to admit I've seen many people write this on multiple sites just in the last few weeks and I felt the same so it wasn't an influence, but I have to say I wish I had kept my PS3 collection and ignored #4 just as many more say as much about 360 vs the One. So much overlap, so starkly and rarely something new of quality IT only gets, not it + last gen, or it + PC. I feel bad for those who felt taken/trapped swapping out their hardware, at least I paid 50% off on mine so it's not a loss and I still have the PS3 (gameless) but stuff like this makes me wonder going forward what the industry will do to get things on track again. VR isn't going to do shit at the cost involved with the hardware+goggles except for the truly dedicated. As cool as this game and others in this thread are, and how they could look even nicer in this gen or gen+(+vr) there's just a sad state of things. We used to moan that some creativity was really lost going into HD but this HD gen2 (and HD+VR) is looking even crappier.

Stuff like the games in this thread and all around halloween/spooky based or not make you wondering where things went wrong. :\ As little as there was with people making choice decisions like this latest PS3 review here, at least they tried, they don't now.

I get what you mean. I find most modern game design to be alienating to my tastes. I get that times have changed and arcades are basically gone, but I do appreciate it when companies put out something that has a strong, engaging atmosphere, even if the gameplay isn't something I like as much. Folklore was a game whose action is pretty bog standard, but its setting and atmosphere are nailed down tightly, which helps bridge that gap between what I like and don't so I could enjoy it.

[celerystalker]

97169717

Maniac Mansion is a fall favorite of mine, and has been ever since I first read about it in Nintendo Power as a kid. Even before I had it, I was sucked in by the idea of these teenagers sneaking through a huge house full of creepy weirdos, and its evening setting and wilted trees just scream fall and Halloween to me. I didn't have any kind of computer growing up, so that left the NES game as the definitive version to my mind, and although I've long since known that it's a censored port, this version will always be ingrained in my heart as the "real" version, despite knowing better.

97189719

Maniac Mansion's SCUMM engine practically revolutionized point and click adventuring, making them far more playable on home consoles without dramatic concessions. Being able to circumvent old school text parsers for simple one button press choices makes the game a breeze to play, as if you can read, you can play it. After selecting a group of three kids (you're stuck with useless-ass Dave), each with unique skills, talents, and soundtracks, you just wander the grounds, avoiding the various Eds, collecting junk, and figuring out how to use that combination of skills and stuff to solve the mansion's conundrums and rescue Dave's best gal.

97209721

A lot of the game's fun comes not just from its comedy, which was very clever for its time, but in how it has several possible solutions depending on who you bring along for the ride. The ability to play music, develop pictures, repair devices, and write all can lead down different roads to the inner laboratory, and it adds the kind of replayability that allows it to be fun for me seasonally year in and year out. There are also loads of little easter eggs and red herrings to enjoy, so the game has always managed to feel fresh to me.

97229723

Creepy mansion? A one night adventure? Oddity all around? Maniac Mansion brings a lot of my favorite Halloween flavors to the NES in grand fashion. With unique visual style, amusing characters and scenarios, and the kind of B-movie camp associated with '80s horror, it's a great all around package, and one of the most accessible point and click games ever to grace a classic console. It'll always hold a special place for me.

[Tanooki]

Fun game I suppose. I owned it off and on for years and never made any progress. It's exceptionally rare when a point and click game makes any logical sense to me before I get pissed off and quit. This one skates the line where I can never get near finishing but it's still alright while I'm at it. Maybe a decade ago or so, someone redid the entire thing for Windows as a free download that probably still works too (hamster included.) I wish I could do these games as I love the intent behind them but without a faq the leaps of programmer decision mostly escape me. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis along with the original Sam & Max Hit the Road were about it for me along with going pretty far into The Dig.

[bb_hood]

97169717

Maniac Mansion is a fall favorite of mine, and has been ever since I first read about it in Nintendo Power as a kid. Even before I had it, I was sucked in by the idea of these teenagers sneaking through a huge house full of creepy weirdos, and its evening setting and wilted trees just scream fall and Halloween to me. I didn't have any kind of computer growing up, so that left the NES game as the definitive version to my mind, and although I've long since known that it's a censored port, this version will always be ingrained in my heart as the "real" version, despite knowing better.

97189719

Maniac Mansion's SCUMM engine practically revolutionized point and click adventuring, making them far more playable on home consoles without dramatic concessions. Being able to circumvent old school text parsers for simple one button press choices makes the game a breeze to play, as if you can read, you can play it. After selecting a group of three kids (you're stuck with useless-ass Dave), each with unique skills, talents, and soundtracks, you just wander the grounds, avoiding the various Eds, collecting junk, and figuring out how to use that combination of skills and stuff to solve the mansion's conundrums and rescue Dave's best gal.

97209721

A lot of the game's fun comes not just from its comedy, which was very clever for its time, but in how it has several possible solutions depending on who you bring along for the ride. The ability to play music, develop pictures, repair devices, and write all can lead down different roads to the inner laboratory, and it adds the kind of replayability that allows it to be fun for me seasonally year in and year out. There are also loads of little easter eggs and red herrings to enjoy, so the game has always managed to feel fresh to me.

97229723

Creepy mansion? A one night adventure? Oddity all around? Maniac Mansion brings a lot of my favorite Halloween flavors to the NES in grand fashion. With unique visual style, amusing characters and scenarios, and the kind of B-movie camp associated with '80s horror, it's a great all around package, and one of the most accessible point and click games ever to grace a classic console. It'll always hold a special place for me.

Love Maniac Mansion, its one of the best games everrr!!
Its actually not as hard as people think.. there are multiple ways to complete the game. Dont be a tuna head.
Razor is da best. She such a babe.

[Tanooki]

Here tracked it down Maniac Mansion Deluxe -- http://maniac-mansion-deluxe.en.uptodown.com/windows
Have fun, total faithful remaster of the original made 12 years ago for Windows

[Dire 51]

Splatterhouse is practically an institution on the Turbografx 16, chronicling the adventures of a young Rob Stra... er, Rick
I see what you did there. LOL

[celerystalker]

I see what you did there. LOL

Heheh, I was wondering if anyone would notice that. Turns out it was the man himself. :hail:

[Dire 51]

Heheh, I was wondering if anyone would notice that. Turns out it was the man himself. :hail:
*bows*

What can I say? LOL

[celerystalker]

97249725

Some games are spooky, some games are tense, and some are gory... then there's Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ for Nintendo DS. It takes cute little Red Riding Hood and her newfound buddy, the Peach Boy Momotaro, and has them mow down the shambling corpses of their friends and families in effort to find out why hell has come to Frogto... um... Storyland. Armed with only her little red cloak, sandles, and machine guns, flamethrowers, shotguns, lasers... actually, seems she's been ready to throw down for awhile! Max Brooks would be proud.

97269727

This game is an auto-scrolling vertical shooter that feels a bit like Taito's Space Raiders for Gamecube/PS2. Kind of like a scrolling Galaga or Space Invaders, you only move horizontally along the bottom of the screen at a slightly tilted perspective, firing upward, using the touch screen to aim at any angle. In fact, the entire game can be played with touch controls, moving by touching where you want Momo or Hood to move, firing by holding the stylus to the screen, and lifting it to reload. Tapping your character will cause a duck, or to fight off a zombie who has managed to get its grubby hands on you. You can also move with either the touch screen or face buttons, but firing or switching weapons is touch only.

97289729

I'm personally not a huge fan of touch controls, but they work pretty well here. I prefer to move with the D-pad so I can hold the damn thing, though it's easier to play if I set it on the bar and keep it still. It is rather responsive, although I find that my own hand is often obscuring one corner of the screen (which also made this a bitch to take even a modest photo of...). Every couple of stages ends in a big boss battle, whether it's dear old granny, Gretel, or other beloved children's characters., and there are loads of miniboss encounters. You can save your progress, and there are three save slots to boot.

97309731

The combination of a zombie apocalypse and fairy tales tangles up to present a decidedly Halloween feel and look, with fall color pallets, bloody monstrosities, and dark settings. The action in pretty fun and frenetic, and the story and theme are dumb enough to have a goofy charm. Honestly, it's nothing that couldn't have been done on a smart phone, but it's still a good romp thanks to how absurd it is. For a fun seasonal portable game, it's a winner.

[Tanooki]

I wanted to like that game but I can't. I'm not as forgiving on the controls as they're just not that good and got me killed stupidly enough times, plus hand blockage of part of the screen in a shooter is stupid too. I think the concept was nice but the control execution ruins it. I recently got fed up with it and tossed it up on ebay, hopefully someone snaps it up as it's surprisingly worth a little bit more than one would think.

[celerystalker]

97329733

Death Crimson is a series with quite the cult following in Japan, and not always for the best of reasons. The first sequel on Sega's Dreamcast is another light gun shooter with a horror theme, and while it's no House of the Dead 2, it still brings several reasons to play it to the table. As a young agent, you must visit a sleepy gothic European village to uncover what is behind the violent monster attacks plaguing the residents.

97349735

There are two primary modes of play in Death Crimson 2. Story Mode is a single-payer adventure with loads of incomprehensible dialogue and Resident Evil-like exploration scenes, complete with tank controls. This is designed specifically to take advantage of the design of Sega's first party gun accessory, which featured a D-pad on the back of the handle with a pair of buttons, giving it similar functionality to Nintendo's Wii Zapper with nunchuck. You walk around, explore, and find power-ups while advancing the story, and then launch into an on-rails light gun sequence, which plays much like you would expect, though you can use the D-pad to slightly alter your viewpoint and get a better angle. It's mostly just window dressing for a gun game, but it does add quite a bit of atmosphere to make it feel a tad more like a horror game.

97369737

Mission Mode is pretty much an arcade mode, where you select various missions to play as a straight up light gun shooter. Again, these are hardly akin to the best of Sega or Namco's gun games, but they do play well enough, and offer up some unique features. For one, Death Crimson 2 supports up to four players simultaneously in missions, and has competitive scoring, which makes it a fun party experience if you have the guns. Secondly, and perhaps more amusingly, you can record a couple of seconds-long death scream using your old Seaman microphone, so each player can have custom sounds for their kills. Nothing says "I'm better than you" like a constant stream of "Fuck you, Ben!"s. In the right setting, it's an absolute riot.

97389739

Death Crimson 2 is a flawed gun game with such amusing multi-player features that it becomes a better party game than it should be. The village setting's architecture conveys that Halloween mood well, and the story mode is at least a novel approach, even if it's rough around the edges. If you've already played House of the Dead to death, it might be worth a spin.

[celerystalker]

97439744

In this countdown, I've mainly been focused on games that give me more of a Halloween feel than just necessarily horror in general. There are a lot of great sci-fi horror games I really love, but a dying space station just isn't Halloween to me. One of my favorite horror games, though, is Eternal Darkness for Gamecube. While some of its settings vary, its core concept is about as Halloween a concept as it gets. A young woman reading a terrifying occult book bound in human flesh, all alone in her ancestral New England mansion where her grandfather recently died... Inspired by the likes of Poe and Lovecraft, it is a game whose tone and story really go in interesting directions compared to the usual horror twists.

97459746

At this point, it's hardly a spoiler that Eternal Darkness likes to screw with players in amusing ways, but focusing on that is a disservice to the game's strengths. The Roivas family's struggle against the machinations of the ancients take place throughout the centuries and around the globe. The concept of brave people fighting and suffering alone, completely unappreciated and often ending cruelly, makes for a compelling take on horror gaming, especially for its time. If you can imagine sitting in a hidden study, reading about the madness and death your entire line has faced throughout history, it's the sort of Halloween night that can really stick with you.

97479748

The stories of these lost souls take place across four main regions, and it's intriguing to see how the various crypts, cathedrals, and mansions change over the course of the game. Always haunting, locations such as a countryside French church can develop into a huge cathedral where the old building is still a wing, and that cathedral being used as an emergency hospital during a war... all the while knowing as the player what hideous acts happened there before... it's a great device to help you care about the characters and what they're heading into. The sets become as interesting as the characters walking through them, and the atmosphere developed by their synergy is truly engaging.

97499750

Couple all of the game's feel with a creepy runic magic system in an unknowable language, some really solid voice performances, and a perfectly tuned soundtrack, and you get a game that really gets it right. Easily my favorite Gamecube game, I enjoy playing through this every year, sometimes three times to get all of the potential endings. I've made effort to omit any real spoilers here on the off chance someone has an opportunity to enjoy it for the first time, but for me it's still a great time even knowing what's coming and despite its easily exploitable combat and magic. This one's not about survival. It's about the plight of the few willing who refuse to bend to darkness. I love it.

[Tanooki]

One of the most if not the most inspired horror and suspense games ever made. This one never relied on lame pop scares or yet another meaty zombie. This one took as you said the Lovecraftian attempt and rolled it with some Poe and creative license and just hit it. It's rare a game will make you uneasy just wanting to progress through it and even more rare when a game will do odd stuff to screw with the person behind the camera (the gamer) -- none really ever do but this one did it with style.

[celerystalker]

97519752

Back to a little seasonal levity, Decap Attack for the Sega Genesis is a fun little platformer from the folks behind Kid Kool and Psycho Fox about a re-animated mummy-like monster named Chuck D. Head, created by Dr. Frank N. Stein to save the world from a powerful demon. It's actually a re-skinning of a game loosely translated as Magical Hat Adventure, given a very Halloween-inspired makeover. That's not to say it's a scary game; it's still a cartoony romp focused on platforming over violence. Still, there's a solid little game here that looks like it's made up of the kind of goofy decorations an elementary school teacher would put up in October.

97539754

The platforming here has strong play control, with momentum-based movement where your first few steps are considerable slower than your full speed. Everything is reponsive enough to keep this style of movement strategic instead of becoming a hindrance, and the stages have a lot of veticality to go with the usual horizontal play, ending up feeling somewhere in the middle between Mario and Sonic's 16-bit games. You can hop on enemies and use attacks involving striking with your stomach head or lobbing your skull about. There are also power-ups to select from a sub menu that can make your attacks stronger, clear the screen, and more, and collecting coins gives you extra chances at the bonus game in between worlds to gain even more bonuses. Lastly, jamming on the jump button allows you to flail your legs, letting you briefly hover to reach distant platforms or time an attack.

97559756

Everything in Decap Attack has a skeletal or anatomical theme, ranging from your life bar being comprised of beating hearts to the world's continents being shaped like body parts. Bones and skulls are everywhere, and the music utilizes the Genesis' synth to create some fun tunes and replicate an organ pretty well. It's like a Halloween coloring book turned into a platformer, though the odd pumpkin might've made it perfect. Decap Attack has all the right window dressing for the season, yet it is a quality platformer anytime. Good play control, solid music, and some nice variety in stage design really help it stand out among the many Genesis platformers out there, but it really shines this time of year. If you're looking for something a little on the light side while the kids are up, it's a winner.

[Tanooki]

It's a solid game alright but one you can't be burned out on (I am) or just passively amused by as it can get stale. It's actually one of 6 Gen games I pulled and put on ebay a few days ago. I've had it quite a bit over the years in real versions and also both those atgames handhelds between the original one like 6-7 years ago with the sd slot and the MK1-3 one last year. I got my fill, it's just not one I can go back to anymore more than once. :)

[Edmond Dantes]

I'm with the Happy Video Game Nerd regarding Eternal Darkness--its a neat idea, but its just honestly kind of dull. Actually, when I play it I find it comes off more like a power fantasy that thinks its a horror game. Kinda hard to be scared of the insanity effects when you know that they're only an illusion that happens due to a clearly visible meter. Kinda hard to be scared of the dull, generic-looking monsters at all and even moreso when the game outright hands you spells that basically make you a superhero. Hell, even the Doomguy seems weak compared to even the weakest playable character of Eternal Darkness, once you get the eponymous tome at least.

It might've all worked if the game wasn't just so bland all around. I mean the environments tend to have no character to them. Just for example one of the storylines obstensibly takes place in a field hospital set up inside a church. Do an experiment--compare the hospital from the first Silent Hill to the hospital from Eternal Darkness. The former is actually creepy. The latter is absolutely sterile, a generic location with vague window dressing. It's actually almost amazing how much Silicon Knights failed. That's actually something of a recurring thing with their games in my experience (I had similar feelings about the first Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain game).

[celerystalker]

I'm with the Happy Video Game Nerd regarding Eternal Darkness--its a neat idea, but its just honestly kind of dull. Actually, when I play it I find it comes off more like a power fantasy that thinks its a horror game. Kinda hard to be scared of the insanity effects when you know that they're only an illusion that happens due to a clearly visible meter. Kinda hard to be scared of the dull, generic-looking monsters at all and even moreso when the game outright hands you spells that basically make you a superhero. Hell, even the Doomguy seems weak compared to even the weakest playable character of Eternal Darkness, once you get the eponymous tome at least.

It might've all worked if the game wasn't just so bland all around. I mean the environments tend to have no character to them. Just for example one of the storylines obstensibly takes place in a field hospital set up inside a church. Do an experiment--compare the hospital from the first Silent Hill to the hospital from Eternal Darkness. The former is actually creepy. The latter is absolutely sterile, a generic location with vague window dressing. It's actually almost amazing how much Silicon Knights failed. That's actually something of a recurring thing with their games in my experience (I had similar feelings about the first Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain game).

A lot of what I like about Eternal Darkness is that it's not as much of a horror game as it is an adventure game. It isn't scary. No boss or fight is hard. There are no repercussions for abusing its magic system. It's basically a horror-themed game for people who aren't looking to be scared. It's more... almost sad at its best, with what characters like Paul Luther and Maximillian Roivas go through. The sanity stuff is more a novelty, and only works if you don't expect it. I do personallylove the settings of the mansion and the church especially, but to each their own. I'd never try to argue that it's really scary, though, I agree with you completely there.

[Edmond Dantes]

Incidentally, if anyone reading this thread has spare disc-only copies of the Sega CD Mansion of Hidden Souls or Disc 2 of D for Saturn... I need those. In both cases, my copies are complete but don't work--the Mansion Sega CD is completely fubared and D will randomly lock up once I get to Disc 2 and I have no clue why so I can only assume the disc is the problem (this is the only game I have that locks up).

I actually do own the Saturn Mansion as well but I want to play the games in order.

(Random, but I also need replacement discs for Dune and Revenge of the Ninja, both Sega CD)

[celerystalker]

97599760

There are plenty of zombie games out there, but Zombies vs Ambulance is definitely one of the strangest. The human drama of Walking Dead this is not. No, Zombies vs Ambulance is the Troma of zombie games, eschewing any serious notion in favor of trashy violence to the point of silliness. Why try to lead a small band of survivors to salvation when you could just slap a giant blade on the front of you ambulance and haul survivors to the hospital Crazy Taxi style?

97619762

As an ambulance driver, you can wander the hospital garage, talking to survivors and making any changes to your ambulance's outfitting. Once you're good to go, it's off to the city streets to find some cowering survivors. Being away from the hospital leaves it vulnerable, which creates a bit of a timer in the top left corner. You can slow and even refill this timer by killing zombies, which is where your sirened bundle of death comes in. Chaining a bunch of dead zombies at once reloads the meter, allowing you to stay out longer. Picking up survivors works just like crazy taxi, where you stop in a glowing radius, which allows them to dive in. Get them back to the hospital to progress the game.

97639764

Your ambulance has a capacity based on which you are driving, as upgrades unlock as the game continues. Once inside, passengers begin to fill a meter, and if it fills completely before returning to the hospital, they become zombies and begin wrecking you from the inside, but that meter csn be reset by picking up blood transfusions. Your ambulance has a health meter of its own, as it takes damage from the continuing onslaught of zombie hordes. Allowing your hospital timer or ambulance health to deplete are the way to lose, but tool boxes can help reduce damage. Fortunately, you'll also unlock extra weapons and armore for your ambulance, which means that you'll be rolling in something out of Mad Max in no time.

97659766

Zombies vs Ambulance is more B-movie Halloween fun, where everything takes place at night, zombies splatter at little more than a passing glance, and it's perfectly acceptable to put a cow catcher and saw blades on the front of and ambulance and reduce a city of corpses to tomato juice. The city has nothing on Crazy Taxi for stage design, and it's nowhere near as fast, but the theme and atmosphere are pure Halloween cheese, and I like it.

[Emperor Megas]

Is Zombies vs. Ambulances also 'play for best score and longest type' game like Crazy Taxi, or does it actually have an ending?

[celerystalker]

Is Zombies vs. Ambulances also 'play for best score and longest type' game like Crazy Taxi, or does it actually have an ending?

It has chapters where new areas are unlocked and an ending. You save your progress, and can have several custom ambulances in the garage to switch between.

[celerystalker]

97679768

A series that has always needed more disambiguation, The Mansion of Hidden Souls for the Sega Saturn is the direct storyline sequel to the Sega CD's Mansion of Hidden Souls, with the word "THE" being the onlt titular differentiation. For many years much of the internet misunderstood the Saturn game to be a port or a remake instead of a sequel, but it is decidedly a successor. Taking place in the same Mansion, which now has many new residents (including the main protagonist of the first game), a bad omen has appeared in the form of a red moon in the sky. This has led the pair of Mike and Jun to begin investigating in hopes of staving off any potential disaster.

97699770

As in the first game, or Warp's D, this is once again a first-person FMV adventure with some point and click elements. However, the inventory and item management have been set aside in favor of new focus on conversation with residents and the ability to answer "yes" or "no" in that context, which can even trigger a game over if used erroneously. The characters in the mansion are still butterflies, but now are represented by ethereal animated floating heads when encountered. This definitely adds a new creepy layer to the game's visuals, which is somewhat of a godsend given that many of the rooms are now brighter and happier than in the original, so it needed a boost from somewhere.

97719772

As one might guess, that bad omen certainly does lead to tragedy, and as the story unfolds, the history of each resident becomes the focus of the game this time as opposed to solving point and click-style puzzles. While the game is never scary... no pervert with a knife and a boner is gonna pop up here, nor is a hell hound going to break through a window... The Mansion of Hidden Souls becomes almost more of a creepy interactive novel about motivations for living and betrayal. It's rather brief, and can be cleared in a few short hours, but your enjoyment of the game will come from soaking in the place and its mysteries, and that is greatly enhanced if you've beaten the original.

97739774

These butterfly games from System Sacom are surprisingly difficult to find interest in online, but I love the evolutionary dead end that they represent along with similar games like D and Enemy Zero. I'd love to hear more theories about their ties to pseudo-sequel Lunacy, but there doesn't seem to be a real fan community out there. Still, this game, along with the others, can really make for great Halloween gaming with their odd pace and eerie moods, and this one can be done in an evening.

[celerystalker]

97829783

Night Trap is one of those FMV games that most people are familiar with by now. People always want to talk about its historical significance instead of the actual game, but it is one of the very few FMV games to have garnered a decent cult following over the years, which is pretty cool. Anyway, on the off chance that somebody doesn't know, it's an interactive film in which the player views the game through security cameras, and interacts with the game by triggering traps at appropriate moments in order to trap evil vampiric intruders caller augers.

97809781

Dana Plato stars as an undercover operative in a lake house in which a group of young ladies will be staying for the weekend. The plan is to have a great party near a winery, but girls have been going missing. The family who owns the place has installed an elaborate security system to help cover their less legal activities, and your team has hacked it to use against them. Augers constantly intrude, and it's your goal to use said system to keep them at bay until you can uncover the nefarious plot and take down the family.

97789779

The game was filmed back in 1987, which comes with a fun '80s horror vibe. The acting is less than amazing, but it's honestly not so bad given what script is there to work with. There is a real charm to to goofiness of it all, and it feels like something everyone was proud to be a part of it all. The actual gameplay generally consists of trial and error, figuring out where the augers will appear and when the security code changes, and if played well, it unfortunately means that you'll miss most of the movie, which kind of undermines the point, which is probably the biggest flaw in these kinds of games, as playing hampers viewing. Still, it does add some replay seeing all of the alternate footage, which is pretty cool.

97769777

Night Trap is flawed, but its goofy premise and commitment make it endearing to me. Many of the trap scenes are genuinely amusing, and the 3DO's higher quality visuals make this likely the best console edition of the game. Its brand of campy horror reminds me of the kinds of shows I'd see on TV when I was younger, so I get a Halloween vibe when I play it, and it's probabaly my second favorite FMV game to date. What a glorious mess.

[celerystalker]

97849785

Ghostbusters is a franchise that is a pretty natural fit for the season, yet for some reason the Sega Genesis game tends to be left out, with all of the attention going to making fun of the Activision game, praising the NES game that never came out in the US, or discussing the most recent game on last generation's hardware. The Genesis exclusive, though, is one of the most enjoyable of the Ghostbusters games, and is totally worth playing regardless of your feelings on the most recent film.

97869787

You begin by selecting Ray, Egon, or Venkman, and whoever you pick is who you are the whole game. Each has his own unique stamina and speed ratings, with Egon being fast yet feeble, Ray being tough and slow, and Peter being your well-rounded fellow. Next, you select one of four missions from the city map, taking on jobs to eliminate hauntings in various buildings. Clearing the first four opens up a fifth mission, which is followed by a final sixth mission to beat the game. Eachjob earns you cash, which can be used to hop over to the shop and buy weapons and items to make it all easier. Each structure has a number of "middle ghosts," which are simply mini-bosses that must be cleared in order to fight the main spook. You can open safes to find cash and items, and if you manage to catch the sub-bosses after defeating them with your proton pack, you can earn bonus cash to upgrade further.

97889789

Missions are all sprawling platforming stages, complete with multiple routes and hidden items. At any time, you can go back to the exit if you need to shop for items, which are very helpful for restoratives, firepower, and night vision. The control is solid, allowing diagonal upward firing to go with your cardinal directions, crawling, jumping, and special weapons. Everything is responsive, and bosses operate in discernable patterns, making for an enjoyable arcade-like experience. The characters are super-deformed, with big ol' heads that look pretty well like their silver screen counterparts, and the music, while not amazing, suits the game well enough.

97909791

By choosing to simply make this game about the daily busting of ghosts instead of trying to re-create a movie, Sega avoided a lot of pitfalls and gained the freedom to just make a solid platform adventure. The theme, graphics, and sound all work for the Halloween season, making it a nice, fun little play for Genesis fans. If you've ignored it, you may just find a nice seasonal outing if you should decide to give it a go. I enjoyed it.

[Tanooki]

That last paragraph is why I hate old era ghostbusters games as they played poorly and just sucked. This one trying to make it a fun platformer with the feel of the franchise but with freedom sort of like the PS3 PC game a few years back some calling the 3rd movie it seems they did something right. I was avoiding it because it was that which I thought is wrong a dumb port, but now I think I would play that game.

[celerystalker]

97929793

Cotton 2 may have felt like a Halloween shooter, but DeathSmiles is exactly one. From Cave, purveyor of bullet hell shooters extraordinaire, it is one of their few horizontal shooters, and features a Halloween-themed land of the dead from which a group of under-aged girls with magical abilities are desperate to escape... heck, the game even takes place on Halloween! Whereas Cotton opts for a more methodical pace, DeathSmiles is pure Cave, with enormous bosses and mesmerizing wave after wave of bullets and constantly swarming enemies.

97949795

The disc contains several versions of the game, and I played the unrevised arcade version for taking pictures, but revision 1.1, an original Xbox 360 version, and various revisions of the Black Label edition are all available for play. In all versions, you select from the various "Lolis," each of which has a unique shot, familiar (option), and bomb attack. Buttons are mapped to fire right or left, as enemies will swoop in from all angles, and holding both (or a separate mapped button) your familiar will move around to perform a homing magic attack. Bombs are your typical screen-clearing fare, wiping enemies and projectiles alike, and significantly damaging bosses. Each gal appears fairly large on screen, but actually has a pretty small flashing hit box, leaving a greater margin for error than one might expect. Scoring is complex, utilizing item drops that vary by type of attack used and several other factors like difficulty and achieving fever and death modes... however, this can also be ignored by a casual player at no expense in the gameplay department.

97969797

Stages can be selected in varying order and difficulty, offering the player a highly customizable experience with lots of replayability. Gothic castles and villages, haunted swamps and forests, and even a graveyard really drive home the Halloween experience, and the fact that the climax of the game is pressed to minutes before midnight makes is perfectly on key. Each of the girls have multiple endings, and all of them learn to some degree how they ended up in the land of the dead, and some of them are pretty disturbing. All of this comes together to make a game that can be played on dozens of Halloweens and provide a unique experience every time.

97989799

DeathSmiles has excellent graphics, sound, and enemy designs, and its theme couldn't be much more relevant. It isn't the most difficult bullet hell shooter out there, but it's still nuts enough to be a bitch to photograph. If you're looking for something more arcade-y to play this fall, it hits all of the right notes... and its sequel does the same for Christmas! Great stuff, and way cheaper than ponying up for Cotton. Love it.

[Emperor Megas]

There's a sequel to Deathsmiles!?

[celerystalker]

There's a sequel to Deathsmiles!?

Oh, yes. DeathSmiles II got a physical disc in Japan. It's pretty cheap these days.. like, $30 or so.

[Emperor Megas]

Oh, yes. DeathSmiles II got a physical disc in Japan. It's pretty cheap these days.. like, $30 or so.I had no idea. I could have it just in time for the holiday season. Is it region free?

[celerystalker]

I had no idea. I could have it just in time for the holiday season. Is it region free?

I'll check when I get home. I usually play it on my Japanese system, so I'll have to double check.

I checked after work tonight, and it is not region free. :(

[celerystalker]

98009801

These days, House of the Dead 2 and Overkill tend to get most of the attention, so I thought it might be fun to go back to the original Saturn port of Sega's seminal horror gun game. It's a series that's far from obscure, but has always simply reveled in horror flick cheese and that arcade Sega goodness, and this game stood on Virtua Cop's shoulders to bring gore to the screen in style.

98029803

In order to stop the evil Curien, who has unleashed this hell on the earth, one or two players must kick down the door to the House of the Dead and attempt to turn demons and zombies alike into a thick, gooey paste using an unreasonable amount of ammunition. These are not the slothful zombies that slowly shuffle listlessly toward helpless morons; these monsters are speedy bastards ready to take on special forces agents, popping up from all angles, lobbing projectiles and flailing weapons about better than most of the living. As such, it maintains a frenetic pace that moves much faster with more angles than just about any light gun game that predates it.

98049805

On the Saturn, the game loses a bit of the oomph of its arcade daddy. Whereas the Saturn did Virtua Cop 1 & 2 justice, running both like a champ, House of the Dead just needed a bit more resources to really shine. As such, it ends up far more chunky and polygonal, which when coupled with the dark color palette and rough textures, it can get pretty ugly. What it doesn't miss out on, though, is the great action, which is excellently facilitated by the Stunner, one of the better home console guns ever made. When playing a game so furiously trying to kill you coupled with the tactile feedback of a light gun, the graphical shortcomings quickly fade away, leaving you in a blood-soaked mess quite befitting the Halloween season.

98069807

Realistically, you can't go wrong playing a House of the Dead game at Halloween, and with its simple gameplay and co-op, it's a solid one to leave on at a party. This particular conversion also has a Saturn remix mode and a boss rush, adding additional replay to an already great game, in spite of the limitations of the hardware. If you consider revisiting the roots of this excellent franchise this year, you're likely to have a great time. I did, anyway.

[celerystalker]

98089809

The Haunting starring Polterguy was once a pretty well-kept secret, but it's built up a pretty big fan base over the years. Polterguy has beefy-ass beef with the crooked Sardini family, and has decided that the only correct course of action is to make like Fonzie fucked Beetlejuice and scare them outta dodge. Using his metaphysical poltergeist powers and enough '90s wanker attitude to make Punky Skunk pee himself, he must possess everyday objects in the Sardinis' domiciles and create scenes of horror so dire that their only choice is to run to the hills Iron Maiden style.

98109811

In each stage, the Sardinis move into a new home, and Polterguy uses ectoplasmic energy to enter glowing points of different types in rooms with people inside. As each little trap is triggered, a funny little sketch plays out, like a pit opening in the floor or a table cloth melting into a pool of blood. Each successful shock heightens that family member's fear level, and once it reaches "Very High," they will rush out of the room, and you recover a small amount of ectoplasm. Herding the folks from room to room out the front door will clear the stage, at which point the Sardinis move into a new place, where Polterguy will be waiting to scare their pants off (quite literally in some cases).

98129813

Running out of ectoplasm sends you to the underworld to try and survive a series of traps while collecting all of the ectoplasm drops. Getting hit here reduces your life, so if you're gonna die, it's gonna be here. Survive, and you pick up where you left off. The situation this creates is a balancing act of trying to use the most effective scares, some of which are skill-based, allowing you to get the most bang for your buck. The trips to the other world become increasingly difficult, making the game very much about outlasting the Sardinis with well-chosen scares.

98149815

The Haunting is a fun game for the season, though I do wish it had a hair darker color palette to really drive it home. Frightening jerks is good fun now and then, and many of the gags are genuinely fun to watch play out. It's a spot-on theme for Halloween, dated as Polterguy's schtick can be. It's a great way to get in the mood by being on the fun side of a haunted house, almost like a family friendly 16-bit take on Deception. I like it.

[Edmond Dantes]

The problem with the Saturn version of House of the Dead is that its rare (in the US at least) and is significantly downscaled from the arcade, which you can play using an M2 emulator. I once saw a website selling lightguns for arcade emulation (they basically trick the computer into thinking its a mouse, from what I understand) but those were pricey too. Still if you could afford it that would be the ideal way to play HOTD1.

Two and Three tho apparently got a Wii re-release. Why the first didn't is a mystery.

[celerystalker]

The problem with the Saturn version of House of the Dead is that its rare (in the US at least) and is significantly downscaled from the arcade, which you can play using an M2 emulator. I once saw a website selling lightguns for arcade emulation (they basically trick the computer into thinking its a mouse, from what I understand) but those were pricey too. Still if you could afford it that would be the ideal way to play HOTD1.

Two and Three tho apparently got a Wii re-release. Why the first didn't is a mystery.

It is definitively inferior on Saturn, but at least the Japanese version isn't so tough to get, and the Saturn version is still the only console version of the game I'm aware of. The Virtua Cops came out way cleaner, but they're way more summer than Halloween, and House of the Dead is still a really solid light gun game. It's just super ugly by comparison.

[celerystalker]

98169823

Night Stalker for the Intellivision is a game that, while very slow and clunky, has a very good thematic feel for the Halloween season. It's a single screen action maze game in which you must play cat and mouse with bats, giant spiders, and killer robots in order to gain as high a score as possible until your inevitable death. It's a very old game in the earliest arcade tradition of ramping up difficulty over the course of the game while the player works at scoring until being overwhelmed, and that concept just aids the theme to create a winner for Halloween game play if you're in the mood to go classic.

98179818

There are three main types of enemies in Night Stalker. Giant spiders, which will always re-spawn on the web in the top-left corner of the screen, simply slowly and aimlessly roam about, presenting a nice fat torso as a target. These are rarely if ever a threat, unless helping to corner you. Bats, which always reappear from the caverns on the right side of the screen, also just fly about pretty harmlessly, but their center mass is quite small, so you must line up perfectly in order to kill them. Lastly, killer robots appear in the lower-left corner of the screen, and they present your primary hazard. They move faster than the other enemies, and as the game progresses, they upgrade to even more aggressive bastards with a new sprite, and they will chase you down and fire lasers at you.

98199820

You have two things working in your favor. One, guns keep randomly appearing on screen, each with a few shots worth of ammo. You fire in each of the four cardinal directions by pressing 2, 6, 8, and 4 regardless of which direction you're facimg. This takes a little getting used to, but it works pretty well. Secondly, there is a protective bunker at the center of the screen, where you re-spawn... but later robot variants can blow it up. Using your gun to kill enemies is your main scoring method, with robots being worth the most. Staying on top of your ammo supply and position is everything.

98219822

Night Stalker is quite simple, but has a really great seasonal appeal to me. Sure, the control disc feels clunkier here than in other games, but the challenge is slow to ramp up anyway. It isn't going to change the way you think about the Intellivision or anything, but if you plan on doing some vintage gaming this fall and have already done the better known Atari stuff to death, this is a pretty fun game to play a few rounds of on a dark night.

[celerystalker]

98249825

Resident Evil is a series that needs no introduction, but I have to admit, I'm only kind of a fan. My favorite game in the franchise has always been the original without question, where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine must search an old mansion to find out what happened to S.T.A.R.S. bravo team... I mean, if you've been reading these posts, I'm clearly a sucker for the whole haunted mansion thing when it comes to Halloween, and the biggest chunk of the original takes place on mansion grounds. This less-often discussed DS game, if anyone was unaware, is a portable, er, port of that classic game, containing the entire original, but also a rebirth mode, multiplayer, and some goofy touch screen mini-game tacked on because fuck it there's a touch screen (poor grammar intended)!

98269827

That original game is slow by modern standards, but I'm a firm believer that a measured pace is a boon to a horror game, forcing the player to soak in the atmosphere and face danger in a more suffocating way. Everything is pretty well spot on from the PS1 classic, including the opening door/going upstairs load screens, which are now skippable. I have always loved that original mansion and its odd puzzles, though I've always felt that all the underground lab stuff was kind of a let down compared to the mystery of the undead and a very old home. Still, atmosphere has always been the great calling card of the series, and while it's there, it's wonderful.

98289829

Being a portable original RE would have been cool enough, but some new tweaks make this in some ways the best version. The second screen always shows the map, removing a huge number of unnecessary pauses. The knife is always equipped. Holding R will aim your gun like always, but holding L will aim your knife regardless of what is equipped, again eliminating more pauses and equipment shuffling. There is a Rebirth mode, which adds more zombies and quickens the pace, adding knife slashing mini-games in which zombies will flood a hallway, and you use the touch screen to slice them up in a first-person view a little reminiscent of the Shinobi bonus stage. Lastly, this adds more puzzles that utilize the touch screen and mic for additional challenges. To top it off, there are co-op and vs modes, where players compete or work together to clear objectives on special maps. Not as cool as a full on co-op adventure would have been, but neat all the same!

98309831

If any of this sounds appealing to you, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence is a really great way to revisit a classic, and if you have a 3DS, the thumb pad is especially great for this one and its tank controls. Loaded with new features, modes, and options, it's a neat little port that is even cooler to be able to play on the road... or while laying next to your sleeping wife while your kid's asleep in the dark with earbuds. Parents know; portables become much more relevant once kids enter the picture.

[celerystalker]

98329833

There are two NES games that pop up pretty much every October in my basement. The first was earlier mention Maniac Mansion, for which bb_hood accurately pointed out that Razor is in fact the best (Bernard is pretty great, too, though). The other, though, is one of my personal favorites, Dr Chaos. Offering survival horror before that was a thing, Michael Chaos must enter the mansion of his brother, the titular Dr Chaos, who has unleashed hell on Earth in his experimentation with warp zones. Crossing any threshold in the house may result in entering a warp zone, where fragments of the Chaos laser can be found. Can you defeat the devil and save your brother?

98349835

This one was a previous game of the day, but it's so right for the season that it needs to be talked about. I mean, if that isn't some of the most bitchin' cover art on an NES game, I'm crazy. Monsters, blood, weapons... way darker than your typical censored mess. A mansion filled not only with critters, but genuinely jarring monsters popping out of the woodwork and portals into the unknown hidden everywhere... and you have only a knife at your disposal. Fortunately, weapons, body armor, health expansions, and ammo are hidden about as well, leaving the player to scrounge and prepare while searching for the next warp. Items such as jump boots and an underwater helmet help drive progress, and a warp zone detector can help you locate them (I've once again included a picture of the first floor room where the first warp is to help any prospective players get started).

98369837

Exploring the mansion takes place both in horizontal platforming and in a first-person point and click format. The compass in the lower corner of the screen can help with navigating, as south always exits the room to the hall, west is map left, and east is map right. Hidden passages can be found by hitting the wall, taking you through walls and even to the basement and attic. There's a lot of trial and error involved at first, but for a first time player, this adds to the game in my book, stretching your resources and leaving you more susceptible to surprise monster attacks. Warp zones are all horizontal battle platforming, and hazards abound. The boss fights can be particularly clever, as each has unique patterns and weakness to different attacks, making the player use the entire arsenal while still trying to conserve ammo. It's primitive, but it lays the ground for later horror games admirably.

98389839

I may be waxing a bit poetic here, as the game is flawed. Its scrolling can be a tad choppy, and the challenge, while far from insurmountable, takes some getting used to. The trial and error gameplay may not be for everyone... but this is a game with tremendous atmosphere, using stark black backgrounds and good tiles to create a very isolated feeling. It has some pretty legit jump scares for its time, and was one of the first games I ever played to really feel like a horror game. If you're the patient type who can finish a game like Castlevania II and love it, this should be one you'll enjoy. It has a spotty reputation, but there are a few of us out there who love it.

[celerystalker]

98409841

I wanted to put a nice 2D fighter in this seasonal countdown, and Darkstalkers is all over this season in theme. However, it's far from the only horror-themed fighter to play this Halloween, as Melty Blood can attest. It's an odd franchise with doujin roots and basically fan fiction ties, so its story can be more than a bit convoluted to cannonize without a strong Japanese background, though they've been getting fan translations of late. Melty Blood: Actress again is the third game in the franchise, which at its core centers around murders happening near Halloween, vampires, and a holy order searching for a cure. If a bunch of angsty vampires and other creatures of the night duking it out anime style is wrong for the season, I don't wanna be right.

98429843

In many ways, Melty Blood has a lot in common with Guilty Gear, but with low-res sprites. Street Fighter-inspired specials, fast combat, and a complex, nuanced network of counters, cancels, meters, and dashes make for a 2D fighter that anyone who's played a fighter can pick up and play, but obsessive fans can become obnoxious with. The characters have extremely stereotypical vampiric attire for the undead, and the cutesiest kind of girly girls that anime can conjure up. Each character has their own storylines and occasionally different bosses, often with multiple endings, which reflect the game's visual novel roots.

98449845

Graphically, Actress Again does a lot to aid the Halloween vibe. Occult-inspired designs and patterns accompany much of the loading screens and story scenes, the arenas tend to take place at night or in gothic locales, and the supernatural characters of course fit the bill with aplomb. The music has an over the top quality about it that makes everything all the more campy, and the storylines center around not some tournament, but rather apostles, true ancestors, and other shit so poorly translated that I don't want to spoil it for myself with a clean fan translation for fear of ruining the silliness of it all. Still, there is a rather large fan community around the franchise and the visual novels to which it is related, so if you want to dig deeper, there are many ways to do so these days.

98469847

If Darkstalkers is the Universal Monsters of Halloween fighters, Melty Blood: Actress again is an anime adaptation of Ann Rice fan fiction. It's a fun, goofy fighter that really wants to be taken seriously, reaching for the sort of OCD Japanese tournament player that complains when King of Fighters invincibility frames change. However, it's still easy to not just play, but even beat for a decent fighter fan, and its theme works great for October, especially given that it's when the game's murders were to have taken place. If you're looking to switch it up for your brawling this year, give it a spin.

[MF_Luder]

Thanks for posting all of these. Very good read. You even inspired me to buy Psychic Detective for 3DO; just bought a copy on Amazon.

[celerystalker]

Glad they've been fun for you! It's been fun to revisit these games all month and play through most of them again.

Hope you enjoy Psychic Detective. I really love that game. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it when you get to sit down with it.

[celerystalker]

98499850

The Addams Family for SNES was a former game of the day post that I really like for the Halloween season. Imagined as a tie-in to the theatrical film in the early '90s, it stars family head Gomez, who must scour the grounds of the Addams' haunted home in search of the missing members of his family. This adventure plays out as an open world platformer, where Gomez can go pretty much anywhere at any time, so long as the player is skilled enough to get him there. If he is bold and strong enough, he will defeat the monsters on the property standing in his way and rescue his loving family.

98519852

Gomez by default is able to run, climb, and jump, and can defeat most enemies by hopping on their heads like he's Super Mario's creepy uncle. There are a number of power-ups he can grab to expand his arsenal, including balls to toss, a rapier with which to aggressively poke, sneakers to make him faster, and a fez that allows him temporary flight. While these powers are all useful, they are all lost by taking a single hit, and the fez disappears after a few seconds either way. While it ends up lacking the depth and excitement of finding permanent upgrades in something like Metroid, it does encourage you to use everything aggressively, and means you can take on any boss when you find them no matter what you do or don't have.

98539854

Killing bosses is your main method of progression, as you will get a family member back, a permanent health upgrade, or both for your trouble. There is a password save feature, which, while primitive, is still effective in allowing you to play the game at your own pace. It's fun to explore the mansion and its surroundings, which are basically a cartoon caricature of the Addams Family property, giving a very Super Mario World makeover to the place. While it may not be creepy, it's pretty decent looking, and is loaded with secret rooms and passages to give you more 1ups than you'll likely ever need.

98559856

The Addams Family has a great feel and look for the season, but that's not to say it's without flaws. If you're used to the likes of a Mario or Sonic, control feels pretty loose and slippery, though it can be mastered easily enough. Its wide open world requires a lot of exploration, trial, and error to progress without a map or FAQ, which can be a turn off to players who aren't as used to older game design. Still, once I got a feel for its controls, I personally thoroughly enjoyed running around this one, exploring its plethora of secrets, and soaking in its silly brand of spooky.

[celerystalker]

98579858

Most of the games in this countdown are games I've been playing and enjoying for years. Killing Time on 3DO, though, is one I've owned for many years, but only tinkered around with a bit, as I get motion sick from FPS games. This season, though, it was calling me a bit, so I decided to finally put some effort into the thing to see what's behind its obnoxiously long maze leading into the beginning of the game, as my initial impressions were tainted by its meandering wasteland of ducks and hunters. Once I finally made my way into the Conway Estate to begin researching its mystery of smugglers, demons, and an ancient Egyptian water clock, I found a much more intriguing game that was a pretty good fit for the Halloween season.

98599860

Unlike most first person shooters of the mid '90s, Killing Time's adventure does not take place as separate levels, but rather as a horror-themed open world. You can go anywhere so long as you have the key or skill, leaving you at the mercy of the estate's perils as you seek to discover what has happened in the secluded mansion. During a wild high society party in the early 1930s, Tess Conway, heiress and occult-obsessed collector of antiquities, and her guests disappeared along with speculation of an accident with an Egyptian artifact. Stranger, apparitions of the attendees of said party have been seen haunting the grounds ever since, presenting a harrowing puzzle to solve for an intrepid soul.

98619862

Once you do finally enter the mansion, it's time to explore a haunted house! Demons, cannibal cooks, and even killer clowns litter the building's passages, and they guard artifacts such as urns that grant special powers, weapons such as pistols, shotguns, and a WWI era flame thrower, and keys to open new wings of the Conway homestead. Perhaps most interesting, though, is the way the story is relayed, as you will occasionally stumble upon a ghostly partygoer, trapped out of time and re-enacting some of their final events, yielding clues as to what happened that day, of course revealing a sinister mystery. Kind of like the tapes in BioShock, these apparitions tell their story without interrupting gameplay, but here are transparent FMV actors overlaid onto the screen. It was a cool effect for its time, and still is pretty fun in a low-budget way, and really add a layer of atmosphere to the proceedings.

98639864

Killing Time shows its age with choppy scrolling, weak hit detection, and low-res textures. However, its music can get pretty interesting as you go from area to area, and a lot of those parts of the mansion are still pretty neat to explore. The ghost effects and story bits are by far my favorite part of the game, and they are what really brings the Halloween out for me in a game that otherwise isn't my style. I've had a lot of fun finding out about Tess and her messy dealings, although it's a game that most assuredly is rough around the edges. I don't know that it becomes a yearly play for me, but I have had a good time with it this year!

[Niku-Sama]

you know what game should be in this list...
Taboo

[celerystalker]

you know what game should be in this list...
Taboo

That is an oddly appropriate suggestion... but not one I particularly care for or own. I'd end up covering it wrong and letting all of the spirits escape my NES, and next thing you know I'd be playing four player Dokapon Kingdom with me and three spirits that now inhabit me.

[stlgamer75]

Cool topic and I enjoy themed based posts and blogs as that is what I have done with my own blog. Keep it up and look forward to seeing the conclusion.

[celerystalker]

98669867

Dark Arms: Beast Busters '99 is a portable sequel to the arcade light gun game Beast Busters, combining its horror shooter theme with ideas from Secret of Mana to create a handheld adventure that's perfect for the Halloween season (and was GOTD here (http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?175053-GOTD-6-7-2016-Dark-Arms-Beast-Busters-1999-(NGPC)&p=2039483&viewfull=1#post2039483)). Partnered with a creepy old hermit with the power to fuse souls to weapons, you must scour a creepy little world full of monsters and the undead for the firepower needed to destroy the evil oppressing the land. By collecting souls to feed to Oums, which are mysterious eggs of sorts that can become evolving weapons, the player just might save the day.

98689869

From a map screen, players select various locations to explore, more of which open as the game progresses. Each area has Oums to find, NPCs to get story hints from, and bosses to lay out. Monsters can be either killed with weapons or harvested with a special gun. Collected souls can either be combined with Oums to make new weapons or fed to existing weapons in order to level them up or add elemental affinities or special abilities. The more powerful the harvested enemy, the better benefit to your chosen weapon. Leveling weapons lets you also evolve them to create even more weapons, which can be further customized. This all creates a fun little system to personalize combat to your liking as well as feed your inner collector if that's your thing.

98709871

The weapon play and dozens of types are probably the main draw, but the overhead action is no slouch. It's a very responsive game, and each weapon has a unique feel. You can take a couple of weapons into each area for situational use, and the many werewolves, butchers, zombies, and more have varied attacks to confront. There are secrets to locate in each area, and the themes of each area are appropriately dark and creepy, and thus is accentuated by its day/night cycle. It isn't a particularly long quest, but it is satisfying; doubly so if you've got the collecting bug.

98729873

Dark Arms is a high quality handheld horror game that suits its portable format nicely. It looks like Halloween with its creepy dungeons and haunted villages, and even its weapons often go beyond simple firepower to supernatural effects. On top of its excellent quest, there is a Versus Mode where linked up players can trot out their best weapons and duke it out in special arenas. It's just a great little game that fits the NGPC's strong library like a glove. Love it.

[bb_hood]

Nice work on this thread! I find it amazing that Ive only played 8 of the games you reviewed.

[bb_hood]

97829783

Night Trap is one of those FMV games that most people are familiar with by now. People always want to talk about its historical significance instead of the actual game, but it is one of the very few FMV games to have garnered a decent cult following over the years, which is pretty cool. Anyway, on the off chance that somebody doesn't know, it's an interactive film in which the player views the game through security cameras, and interacts with the game by triggering traps at appropriate moments in order to trap evil vampiric intruders caller augers.

97809781

Dana Plato stars as an undercover operative in a lake house in which a group of young ladies will be staying for the weekend. The plan is to have a great party near a winery, but girls have been going missing. The family who owns the place has installed an elaborate security system to help cover their less legal activities, and your team has hacked it to use against them. Augers constantly intrude, and it's your goal to use said system to keep them at bay until you can uncover the nefarious plot and take down the family.

97789779

The game was filmed back in 1987, which comes with a fun '80s horror vibe. The acting is less than amazing, but it's honestly not so bad given what script is there to work with. There is a real charm to to goofiness of it all, and it feels like something everyone was proud to be a part of it all. The actual gameplay generally consists of trial and error, figuring out where the augers will appear and when the security code changes, and if played well, it unfortunately means that you'll miss most of the movie, which kind of undermines the point, which is probably the biggest flaw in these kinds of games, as playing hampers viewing. Still, it does add some replay seeing all of the alternate footage, which is pretty cool.

97769777

Night Trap is flawed, but its goofy premise and commitment make it endearing to me. Many of the trap scenes are genuinely amusing, and the 3DO's higher quality visuals make this likely the best console edition of the game. Its brand of campy horror reminds me of the kinds of shows I'd see on TV when I was younger, so I get a Halloween vibe when I play it, and it's probabaly my second favorite FMV game to date. What a glorious mess.


I dont care what anybody says, Night Trap is an awesome game.
I remember back when the Sega Cd was new a friend rented Night Trap and we stayed up all night playing it. I remember we found it really impressive because the previous Sega CD games we had played were Sewer Shark, Dracula, and Jurassic Park. Back then we all knew Sewer Shark and Dracula were garbage.

My favorite part of Night Trap is when you lose and the guy disconnects the sega controller.



That is an oddly appropriate suggestion... but not one I particularly care for or own. I'd end up covering it wrong and letting all of the spirits escape my NES, and next thing you know I'd be playing four player Dokapon Kingdom with me and three spirits that now inhabit me.

Does Taboo even qualify as a game? I remember when my sister brought Taboo home, I was like 'awesome, another nes game.. I dont care what it is'. However soon I was disapointed.

[celerystalker]

Nice work on this thread! I find it amazing that Ive only played 8 of the games you reviewed.

Thanks! I tried to mix it up between a few more recognizable games and the weird stuff I tend to play. I was hoping to not churn out the same list that's all over the internet that's just Sweet Home, Castlevania, Ghosts 'n Goblins, and a bunch of new stuff like Five Nights at Freddy's and The Binding of Isaac. Those are all great games, but I feel like there are still lots of cool ones on old consoles that get less love... plus, nobody ever wants to talk Monster Paradise with me other than my brother and a couple of long-time friends in real life I talked into playing, so it's an excuse for me to talk about that kind of stuff I enjoy. :)

Night Trap does rule. My brother and I both play it every year, even if it's separate at our own houses. They put serious effort into that game, and while it may seem clumsy to many, I think it's a great play.

[Edmond Dantes]

That is an oddly appropriate suggestion... but not one I particularly care for or own. I'd end up covering it wrong and letting all of the spirits escape my NES, and next thing you know I'd be playing four player Dokapon Kingdom with me and three spirits that now inhabit me.

That's a game I will cover in a separate post, actually.....

[KWKBOX]

How has this game not made the list yet?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVElDoZRS3E