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Thread: Game of the Day 4/5/2016: Dr Chaos

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    celerystalker is a poindexter celerystalker's Avatar
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    Default Game of the Day 4/5/2016: Dr Chaos

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    Dr Chaos is one of my favorite NES games. One of the earliest examples of survival horror, it tasked you with scrounging up ammunition, weapons, and items while searching for warp zones anchored to a rickety old mansion that was the home of some grisly experiments. As the brother of the eponymous Dr Chaos, you must traverse the horrors of the mansion and the evil warp zones to find the pieces of Dr Chaos' greatest invention, a mighty gun with the power to destroy the evil creatures and seal the warp zones forever.

    There are three main areas to explore in Dr Chaos: the mansion itself, the inner rooms of the mansion, and the warp zones. There are no levels per se in the game, but you must search out items that will allow you to pass various obstacles in order to get through different warps and find more items. The mansion and warp zones are explored as a horizontal platformer, and the inner rooms are explored as a first-person point and click adventure. In these, you open doors, window, and closets in search of weapons, health, and warp zones, a la Goonies II's rooms or Shadowgate. You can strike walls to find secret passages as well, which is a big part of the game, but finding warps will prove a difficult stream of trial and error until you can locate the warp zone detector. Hint: I included a screen of the room that leads to the warp with the detector. It's the one with a brown wall and a window in the middle.

    Progression isn't entirely unlike something such as Metroid in the way items are the key to moving forward, such as a helmet to let you go under water or boots to let you jump higher. Bosses guard most of these, though you can snag the items before killing them. Many of the bosses are vulnerable to specific weapons, so you must experiment if you aren't getting the desired result. It has an quaint Legend of Zelda-like sense of mystery and exploration in that regard.

    I wouldn't call it early survival horror just because of its setting and limited resources. Sure, the bleeding title screen is cool and creepy, and the creaky mansion and music are spooky, but Dr Chaos gets some of the best early jump scares during the point and click segments of the game. Linger too long, and you might just find yourself surprised by an assault that will drive you out into the hallway, and it can be jarring. All together, it makes for an excellently creepy game that uses the NES' limitations to create a dark atmosphere that begs to be explored.

    Played it? Any good memories?

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) Emperor Megas's Avatar
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    I don't recall where I got this game from, but it (and Gauntlet) was the last NES game I acquired back in the day before retiring the NES as teenager, moreso because of the blinking boot fail screen rather than a lack of interest. I didn't have the manual and remember there being lots of trial and error. It may be easier to jump into now, but BITD there was a fairy steep learning curve. At least for me anyway. In any event, I REALLY loved the game. I never made much progress, or I don't think I did anyway, but it was a really creepy, special 8-bit experience. Probably the creepiest 8-bit game I ever played honestly.

    I have a feel a LOT of people who purchased this game shelved it in frustration, but I loved it.

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    celerystalker is a poindexter celerystalker's Avatar
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    I remember buying my copy as a former rental from a grocery store. It has the manual, but it's stapled together pretty roughly.

    I could definitely see a lot of folks getting frustrated, as the game is extremely open-ended, and you don't know if you can traverse a warp zone fully or not until you hit a dead end that requires a new item. Still, the zones aren't too long at least, and the sense of dread and exploration are what really makes it work. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people never found the warp zone detector, which is what basically makes it playable outside of randomly trying to enter every window, closet, and cabinet, which is why I made sure to include a screen of that warp's location. I love the game to death, and have finished it a few times. I think it's one of those games like Legacy of the Wizard that is crazy awesome, but was too complicated for a lot of kids that played it. Coming back to those games as an adult is really rewarding.

    *spoiler*





    Just for kicks, that screen I put in with the big lion guy is acrually the last boss, even though he won't move or come to life to be vulnerable unless you have the completed laser gun. I always found it odd that his warp zone has no obstacles that require special items, and you can literally walk straight to him without completing any other warp zones, but you just can't fight him.
    Last edited by celerystalker; 04-05-2016 at 01:14 PM.

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    Great Puma (Level 12) Niku-Sama's Avatar
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    I had bought this game in japan on the Famicom Disk System...or atleast I thought I did.

    come to find out after getting back to where we were staying I tried it out and it had been re written with something else. was kinda bummed but I didn't fight it. I think I paid 250¥ which at the time was considerably less than $2.50 so I didn't bother taking it back. I cant even remember what was on the other side

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