#Design - Mr Nutz 2 cartmodd custom cover art

This one's my latest cover work design.

It was made for a cartmodd of the unreleased game - which a prototype's been circulating over the web recently.
A buddy of mine worked the modded cartridge, while I did the cover art + sticker + manual.

I even took the time to redo the whole logo under Illustrator

Please! Do not ask for these! This was a personal job, not outsourcing the work to other people. If you want me to work out something for you, I will do so for money only.

Design © Eyz 2012.
Game and work based on a propriety © Sega
Not for commercial use!

Design - Samurai Pizza Cats cartmodd custom cover art

This is the cover & label I did for yet another cartmodd. This one was for a Pal fan-port of the unreleased Japanese-only Samurai Pizza Cats game.

I adore this one!
Very fun Mega Man-like title. Glad I can finally play it on my own Nes instead of emulation!
Please! Do not ask for these! This was a personal job, not outsourcing the work to other people. If you want me to work out something for you, I will do so for money only~

Design © Eyz 2012.
Game and work based on a propriety © Tatsunoko
Not for commercial use!

Design - Super Bubble Bobble cartmodd custom cover art

This is a cover I did for yet another Honk Kong pirate game, for a cartmodd of Super Bubble Bobble!

This is without a doubt the most professional and closest to an actual official game pirate title I've ever seen!
Perfect port of the classic arcade game. Great improvement over the Master System one.
Great tunes, great controls..
The only thing that jumps to your eyes to remind you this was a pirate title is the random inclusion of both Shinchan & Doraemon! (yeah, I know...how random!)

Please! Do not ask for these! This was a personal job, not outsourcing the work to other people. If you want me to work out something for you, I will do so for money only~

Design © Eyz 2012.
Game and work based on a propriety © Taito
Not for commercial use!

Design - Megaman X3 cartmodd custom cover art

This one was for a Megadrive cartmodd of this pirate Honk Kong-only released port of Mega Man X3.

How's the game? Well, pretty bad actually.
Ugly graphics, awful music that will make both Megadrive and Snes fans cry in agony...
Anyways, it was fun and collector enough to add to the collections

Please! Do not ask for these! This was a personal job, not outsourcing the work to other people. If you want me to work out something for you, I will do so for money only~

Design © Eyz 2012.
Game and work based on a propriety © Nintendo
Not for commercial use!

Design - Earthbound cartmodd & custom cover art

I'm going to upload some graphic design work for a change.
These are several cover arts I did for personal cartmodds.

This is a custom label & cover I designed for this Nes fan-translation cartmodd a buddy of mine did of the unreleased Mother 1/Earthbound 0 game.

Here's some more pics of it on deviantArt:

The whole package

With some info

Please! Do not ask for these! This was a personal job, not outsourcing the work to other people. If you want me to work out something for you, I will do so for money only~

Design © Eyz 2012.
Game and work based on a propriety © Nintendo
Not for commercial use!

VGR:Quickies Ports of Persia

As you've probably seen on the blog, I've reviewed most Prince of Persia games already. (and comics...and movies..)

But this isn't all of them yet.
During this long running franchises, most episodes have known various releases on several platforms. If most releases nowadays are pretty similar to one another it wasn't always the case "back in the ol' days".

For this occasion, I decided to make this new Quickies installement! 
To have a look at some iterations of the original Prince of Persia games by Jordan Mechner. As well as another bonus quick review.

Originally, the Prince looked like this! True story!

The original Prince of Persia, released on Macintosh and Dos systems, is regarded as a classic nowadays.
It launched a genre of more realistic platformers, sometimes referred to as "cinematic platformers".
Unlike Sonics and Marios it wasn't as surreal and was based around real physics. The acrobatic character of PoP was couldn't jump over enemies. Nor double jump. But he was able to grab ledges, roll under small passages, walk carefully to avoid setting off traps.

It was original designed by Jordan Mechner after a moderately successful Karateka.
Both titles were adapted over all of their current video game systems, countless ports. PoP even ported to this day on most consoles ever released.
Most of those ports were done by the small studio Brøderbund, who alongside Mechner took a great care keeping the games faithful and the experience similar. Yet using each system's specifics whenever the need arose.

The story is a classic now.
You play as the unnamed Prince, trying to get back to your Princess trapped by the evil Vizier.
The Prince gets thrown in the jail caves. The game is a journey, which has to take less than a real life-hour before it's too late and the sands of the giant hourglass ran off.
The directly sequel The Shadow and the Flame sees the Prince expelled from the palace and losing himself in the seas. Now wandering in another island, the Prince is castoff the palace, needs to fight back his inner demons (represented by an evil doppelganger), find his way back to the palace and clean up his name!
The sequel isn't as much puzzle/platforming oriented but a tad bit more combat focused, featuring lots of new various enemies often attacking in groups.

Now, let's dig into these games, shall we?

Title: Prince of Persia Collection
From Brøderbund Software

On PC
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1999

This compilation runs on most modern computers easily.
Sometimes going by the name Prince of Persia Collection, Prince of Persia CD Collection, Prince of Persia: Collector's Edition or even Prince of Persia 1 & 2 (like mine). It was released on 1999, around the release of the 3rd game.
It contains the original Dos versions of both first games. Playing with the settings you can play the original Dos or VGA enabled versions. The music added later on by Brøderbund is available but you can also play it old school with the old chiptunes and no musical ambiance.
All the original levels are present.

Overall: Want to play the real original Prince of Persia games? This release is a must have!
Both games are fluid, fun and huge to explore. PoP2 looks more colorful and complex graphically, it even contains all its cutscenes and voices!
I said in my earlier review of PoP2 I didn't like it as much as the original, wasn't as perfect gameplay-wise, rushed, awful music and wasn't that well adjusted in its platforming sequences...but the original Dos version is far more suited to play.
Since this was released to promote PoP3D, it even contains a preview, making off (in an awfully small resolution quick time video) and a behind the scenes look at Prince of Persia 3D/Arabian Nights!

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On SNES
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1992

The SNES port of PoP1 was an enhanced version sporting all-new graphics.
It features 20 levels instead of the usual 13. Though some big edits were given to the level design.
It is also the only version were you're given 2 hours instead of the usual one hour to complete the game, making it a bit easier (even counting the extra levels).

Overall: I'm honestly not a big of this version, not because of its quality but because how different the whole game feels.
The music's good. (even if I admit I'm not a big fan of it)
There's some extra plot in this one. The graphics though are the part that suffer the most. It's just so dull and colourless..  I like the new ideas and design, adding wood here and there, putting more designs across the levels. (even splitting screens in 2 to add extra room to run around) But why's everything so brown and mushy? And the Prince looks like Vectorman, like he's composed of smaller parts/spherical objects to mimic the original game's motion capture while they designed new graphics.
Sidenote: It was censored in the US and Europe, thus my Japanese version (picture above)

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On Megadrive
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1993

Covered in the main Prince of Persia Review.

Overall: Not playing on the SEGA side against Nintendo above. But this version is a much better and faithful version of the original game.
Like the SNES, but featuring its own original art, it also uses enhanced graphics. It even contains 4 additional levels. (but here the original levels weren't cut down or edited)
The Pal release has its share of own differences, like new kinds of potions, some that can freeze time, others give you additional minutes to complete the game...

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software/Titus Software

On SNES
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1996

Covered in the main Prince of Persia 2 Review.


Overall: Missing some features as well as some levels (including the actual last level!), PoP2 may not have been as good as the original, but on the SNES it's a whole different level altogether!
I blame this on the co-developer, Titus.
The music is really annoying, enduring it through this longer sequel is one heckuva challenge, at least the game features a password system to help out!
The game seems to be on speed compared to the original Apple/Dos version.
Which is quite annoying to avoid some precise traps and segments...


I give this one a: 1.5 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software/Microïds

On Megadrive
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1996

Covered in the main Prince of Persia 2 Review.

Overall: Like I wrote in the original review, this one wasn't actually released originally. But the game was completed anyway!
The game contains its own share of problems though. If Sega prevented its release due to quality concerns (those were the days, right? :P) it's a miracle Nintendo didn't.
Anyway, the graphics are the same as the SNES port and similar to the PC version.
But the game is buggy (around traps, like the released SNES version), the controls aren't as precise as on the computer... Try it or skip it!

I give this one a: 1.5 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On Master System
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1992

When the home console systems starting picking up in the early 90s, Prince of Persia 1 was converted to almost all systems. If some, like the NES port, were simple copy/past of the original game with lower settings, other were proper adaptations by Brøderbund.

Overall: Strangely good for an 8-bit system.
It is a lot truer to the original game in colors compared to, say, the Atari or NES port.
The game feels also pretty right, the Prince moves well if a tad bit slower. The proper physics were well implemented for such a simple system. Most cutscenes were cut down though.
The Prince was given brown hair for a change! (due to the limited color palette no doubt)
I'd say, try it if you can!
A pretty good port given the circumstances.

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software/RIVERHILL SOFT 

On PC Engine
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1991

CD format meant improved graphics and all-new music back then!
It's from this port that the Prince started sporting a turban and colored clothing (a green jacket!).

Overall: Pretty good. The controls feel different but the overall experience is still good.
It was based, from scratch, on the Macintosh release.
The music is pretty impressive and the new redone cutscenes look great! It evens features voice tracks!
It's the most Arabian Nights-ysh version of the game in my eyes.

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score! 


Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On Mega-CD
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1992

The Sega CD version, mostly an upgrade version of the PC Engine. Reusing all its assets as basis.

Overall: This one's the one I like to call the "Prince of Persia: ANIME! Edition".
If the PC Engine version was more colorful this one's like a rainbow enhanced version of the previous one.
The Prince who was getting a lot more colorful in the previous iteration (green jacket, blue turban..) is now a fully Japanese anime character. And for good reason, the game features now (slightly) animated cutscenes!
And the worse part is that the boxart doesn't give any hint to its new direction at all.
The cutscenes are funny though. Even if out of place.
This is another one of those "on speed" versions. (like PoP2 on the SNES), even when running on 50 Hrz.
The music doesn't make good use of the Sega CD system that much...but it works in this cracked up ort.
The game itself is good, don't worry. But the over-saturation of colors and animesque Prince makes this one feel either really funny or pretty bad.

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score! 


Title: Prince of Persia: Rival Swords 
From Ubisoft Montreal

On Wii also available on PSP
Type Sidescrolling platformed
Year 2007

And finally, you probably didn't expect it, here's the alternate release of a modern Prince of Persia. (something that tends to happen less often these days.. we usually get completely different games, not alternate editions)

I've already did a review of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within here.

Overall: Rival Swords is an upgrade/new edition of Warrior Within which saw the conclusion to the Sands of Time series.
 Rival Swords tweaks some gameplay elements of the original Warrior Within. Mostly in-combat and related to the AI of the enemies. It also fixed and changed some gameplay details and added some zones (nothing that noticeable). Before the recent HD remastered release, it was seen as the definitive version of this game.
It was released on Wii and PSP.
The Wii version doesn't bring new changes from the overall look of the Gamecube version. It could look a bit cleaner I'd say.
Though it adds the brand new motion-sensing functionality. It's all gimmick, I know.
It may be annoying in the gameplay (since the game wasn't designed around it), but the combat gets easier (probably on purpose by Ubisoft) and the instant kills are finally easy to pull off.

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score!


And that is all for this time!
Of course, it's not all the versions of the original games nor all the current alterations of the recent episodes.

The original Prince of Persia as since its release been made available on almost virtually every system ever.
Phones, iPhones, Xbox, PS2, etc..
Often simple re-releases of the original game, other times remakes using the Sands of Time engine. (as the Xbox 360 port on the Xbox Live Arcade)
But most of those, besides the facelift, often uses the original game as basis and frame, keeping either the original level design of physics intact.

 

That's all for this time's Quickies!

VGR Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti

In anticipation for the release of the brand new long-awaited Splatterhouse sequel, I propose you guys and gals a review today of one of the lesser known episodes of this slasher horror videogame series!

The new episode, after changing development team 2-3 times already, will finally be launched on November 23, 2010 (if you live in America that is... which I don't - surprise! for those who didn't knew that) and later this month for Europe and Asia, depending which country you live on.

Custom cartmodd done by RetroZone. Thanks guys!

VGR: Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti
From Namco
Played on NES
Also available on /

Type Sidescrollin' platformer
Year 1989

After the original Splatterhouse's release, and while working on what would be the future home console release of the arcade game on PC-Engine (TurboGrafx-16 in the US), the Namco "Splatterhouse" team tried to pass Splatterhouse on different supports...one, the NES port, which ended up as this parallel episode.

Wanpaku Graffiti is not an adaptation of the first original game.
It is actually its own lil' episode.
The title, Wanpaku Graffiti, means "Silly SD!" (Wanpaku = naughty; Graffiti = chibi artstyle)
It's as the title implies a parody of Splatterhouse done in a super-deformed design.

It was actually a Famicom exclusive (Japanese NES), but since the game was already entirely written in english (apart from some elements like the title or the credits), some guys managed to finish it and the game I own is actually a cartmodd (an homebrew release)

"Rick!! Help me!!" Familiar characters, a familiar setting..yet, this isn't your regular Splatterhouse game.

The story plays out like this:
Rick is dead.
Jennifer, mourning on his grave implores the sky to have him back.
Suddenly a lightning strikes!!
Rick arises from his grave!
So does an evil spirit nearby, the Pumpkin King!!
The Pumpkin kidnaps Jenn and along the way brings back a lot of demons and monsters.
Now it's up to you, Rick. Help Jennifer, fight for her, bring her back and defeat the Pumpkin King!!

Rick is once more equipped with the Terror Mask to help him be able to fight his way through all the enemies he will have in his path.

D'awwww~ Chibi Rick is so cute! Look at him, cutting monsters with his lil' axe!

As you can see, it doesn't exactly follow the original game's storyline. (but there's a reason for that!)
The game looks pretty similar to the original Splatterhouse, it does use many similar settings, the woods, caves, the mansion, the lake and even the church!!

But this time the game is closer to a platformer, the only Splatterhouse to really feature challenging platforming sequences not just pits to jump over.
The game is less of a beat'em all since the enemies die easily now.
There isn't a lot of your usual Splatterhouse weapons to choose from. Mostly the axe and a shotgun parody in the form of fireworks.

 The creepiest boss EVER DONE IN ANY VIDEOGAME TO THIS VERY DAY!!!

The game isn't super-super challenging at first. But over the time it grows a heck of a lot harder!
And it's not really that long, it took me a lot less time to finish than the original Splatterhouse trilogy.
It's 7 levels long.

But there's still a lot of surprises to find.

The gameplay, simple yet quite precise, is fun enough to make this one of the most solid experience I played on the NES.
The game is quite pretty to look at with some of the more colorful sprites I've seen on the NES (yet some pretty empty backgrounds some times, to balance and not slowdown the experience). The sprites and characters are pretty big on the screen.
And the music is pretty fun, catchy, like the original Splatterhouses!
Some pretty creepy tunes as well as some more funky tracks.
There's more varied music than some other classic NES games here!

There's a LOT OF BOSSES!!
Rick starts from his grave, in the cemetery, goes through the woods, find his way back to the local town, travels to the West Mansion and there explores a lot of rooms.
And all along his way doesn't run from the monsters but goes on purpose to every house, cabin and cave to confront the resurrected monsters and destroy them!
The enemies, unlike in later Splatterhouse games, aren't original creatures but rather parodies from various horror classics!
In fact, the whole game is full of parodies!
Rick resurrects like Jason in Friday the 13th Part 6 Jason Lives, finds a zombie-lookalike Michael Jackson dancing on a a fake-Thriller sounding tune (pictured in the screens at the bottom), has an Exorcist boss, a Jeff Goldblum/The Fly with teleporting machines and fly accident and all, and many more references and parodies!!
It's fun, always surprises and is a nice touch for a chibi-Splatterhouse parody!

 The Aliens boss parody is pretty neat too. A girl, in a lab, seems to be asleep...

So, it's a Splatterhouse for kids??
I wouldn't say that exactly!
The references are obviously meant for adult horror fans.
And the game features some very creepy stuff that, had the game be "more realistic" like the rest of the Splatterhouse trilogy, would given the game a 'mature' tag.

Suddenly, SPLOTCH!! tons of facehuggers will come out of her belly and you'll have to survive
(I know, in Aliens, it's chestbusters, but this a parody, right?)

Sometimes the game even gets quite creepy in its atmosphere. The woods-level has almost no music, just an eerie atmosphere and will have you on your toes!

 

...finally, the girl just wakes up like nothing. And walks away. °___O

And even if the game doesn't feature blood, it still is quite graphic, in a Looney Tunes sort of way~

Anyway, the game offers plenty of challenges.
You only have a couple of lives (the health bar is similar to Mega Man's) with wich you only can continue a couple of times...then it's game over and start from the beginning of the stage. (and in some later longer levels will prove difficult)
But you can augment you health bar by killing enemies. There's a maximum number of kills to do to upgrade your life, in a sort of RPG-esque way. Then a new number appears to increase even more your life and so on.

The game uses a passworld feature, like Splatterhouse 3 later on would, to continue your progress.

DUN DUUN DUUUN~

It's a great episode, faithful to the series, yet in a completly different spirit.

The game makes you think it's a parody all along...then near the ending...TWIST! A surprise!
Yes, Wanpaku Graffiti features a triple ending twist, even Shyamalan himself would be put to shame with this.
At the end, Rick defeats the Pumpkin King and then...
(only read if you won't be able to get this game one day, and you're sure you'll never play nor beat this game)

Spoiler:

Someone says "CUT!"
Yep, the whole game was a movie! The director approaches Rick and Jenn, thank them for their good work...And they go away, leaving the mask behind.

But wait! That's not all!

Spoiler:

The Terror Mask comes to life!! He starts wrecking havok in the movie studio!!!

The game also offers some replay value, with secrets to discover.
There are two hidden levels to find through two secret doors, which will bring Rick to extra levels. One taking place in Japan and the other one in Egypt. Finding your way through both will have Rick meet a "princess" who can offer a magic orb. Each orb will add a little epilogue to the game.
The first one:

Spoiler:

And it was all only a dream! All this was only a strange experience happening in Rick's mind. Rick and Jennifer were resting on the grass...

But the 2nd orb adds:

Spoiler:

...on their way to the West Mansion from the very first game! The original tagline appears and Wanpaku Graffiti was really a... prequel!!!

Overall, with all these surprises in the end, the content of the game and its quality..this makes Wanpaku Graffiti a "must own" for any fans of the series!

Like I said, the game may seems quite easy at first sight, with pretty short levels, but as you play it, it grows on you and becomes a full fledged adventure on its own.

Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti is very different from the other episodes, the gameplay has very little in common with the original games, but its qualities, fun and surprises ranks it amongst the best NES games I've ever played!

Plus there's just not enough videogame parodies nowadays.

'Hoping some of this episode makes it into the 2010 Splatterhouse game, one way or another,
this is a must for horror, Splatterhouse and 8-bits platformer fans alike!

I give it:

 2.5 / 3 Invaders!

VGR Splatterhouse Part 3

Sorry for the delay :P
This one took me a little more time.

Here's Part 3, and the end of the original trilogy (but not the "series" yet).
Is it any good?
Did the series need another sequel?
How does the Splatterhouse plot continue?
That and more, in this new review...

Custom cartmodd done by Kogami. Once again, thanks buddy!

VGR: Splatterhouse Part 3
From Namco
Played on Megadrive
Also available on /

Type Beat 'em all
Year 1993

"As long as that mask remains...it can happen again...,, -Rick in Splatterhouse 2

Who knew terror masks could be so complicated to get rid off...

Less than a year after Splatterhouse 2, Namco did it again.
This time around, the game was made specifically for the Sega Megadrive. No arcade release of Part 3.
Would the sequel propose even less innovations than Part 2 offered after the original game?
Did the series really need another entry?
Let's dig in this sequel from the start!

 This time Rick didn't went to the mansion...the Mansion went to Rick!!

The game probably came out pretty fast after the last one's release...but plotwise, it couldn't be further from it.

Five years have passed since the events from Splatterhouse 2.
Rick now leaves happily with Jennifer, in a new house with a new job and they even have a baby son named David.
Everything was going perfectly fine, the perfect happy ending for our main character after the traumatic events of the past games.

But things were going awfully fine... The mask was calling to Rick once again. He could now hear clearly its voice, the Terror Mask was alive and trying to prevent Rick from...something...

As soon as Rick had his hands on the mask again..it was too late.... Hell itself and monsters were crawling all over his house... His family trapped in a house that was distorting into the mansion of the past.

Now Rick must enter his house, finds his wife and son and destroy the source of all evil once and for all.

This time Rick will have to kick monsters' ass all over the place to find his family.

The bigger changes in Splatterhouse 3 are in the presentation and gameplay.
Few months had passed since Splatterhouse 2, but Namco's team was already working on this one since part two.

Splatterhouse 3 isn't your old school sidescrolling 2D beat 'em all.
Now the gameplay is a tiny bit more complex. The game offers a "3D plane" in a 2D presentation, like Final Fight and Streets of Rage.
It helps make the game a bit more polished, modern (well, for the 16bits era!) and offers a new direction to the series.

You'll have to use your map carefully!

Also, now the series offers exploration!
Rather than throwing the player in a sidescrolling classical level to advance from "left-to-right", you have Rick's whole house to cross.

The game offers 6 stages (and a 7th secret one that appears everynow and then under special circumstance) that needs to be explored using doors.
You don't go from one point to another. You can explore, backtrack, find special rooms in the house.
The stages are in fact floors of the house.
Splatterhouse 3 offers a non-linear experience!

Rick starts from the 1st floor, then go upstairs, down to the basement...and slowly the house/mansion evolves into an hellish place...

Once a room is cleared from its monsters, press start to show your location.
You can race down to the boss/final room, always indicated on the map, or explore a bit to find more health/powerups/lives and even special secret rooms...

Let the tentacles from hell clear your way~

This time the mask offers Rick some new tricks gameplay wise.

You can still play as before, punching and kicking your way through the game and grab some weapons (less choices on this side this time however...). You can also perform a "trick" (done like Guile's Sonic Boom in Street Fighter 2), a powerful spinning kick that will clear you from monsters around you, very useful in later levels with stronger foes.

But now Rick/The Mask will collect energy, so you can turn into Monster Rick.
Basically, an hulked-out version of Rick, when the Terror Mask takes control of Rick's body and make him stronger, slower and more deadly.
Monster Rick loses health slower, walks slower but hits stronger.
Very useful against bosses.
He can also perform a special attack like normal Rick (back, front, back+punch) which I picturer above. Perfect to clean a room from group of monsters!

The Bosses look a bit less interesting this time around...

apart from the awesome Teddy Bear from Hell!!

Splatterhouse 3 has also some nice twists on the classic beat'em all formula.

The story is about Rick trying to find his family and protect them from the Evil One who's trying to take over his son's body to enter our realm using a mysterious Dark Stone.

But the end won't necessary have Rick leaving this madness with his wife & kid, ridding away on the sunset.
Because you see, Splatterhouse isn't linear in its plot either.

Every new floor, you get a certain time and have to find Jennifer, David or the floor's boss in time...or else the plot will change!
On the first floor, you'll decide if either Jennifer dies or lives... Arriving too late to Jennifer, the monsters will kill her!
Then, onto the next stage, she will be infected! Arriving to late to clear her from the worm growing inside her body, she will be turned into a mindless zombie or not!
After that it will be David's turn....

It's a great way to create some replay value.
It's the kind of game you'll want to go back to, to check the other scenarios and endings.
Will Rick save his wife? His son? Both?

Talking about the story, it is told through still pictures taken live. "FMV" sequences running on a Megadrive! Well, without sound and animation..but you get the idea.
I find it quite effective, the live Terror Mask created for those scenes looks amazing.
It's perfectly creepy and done well enough.

The end of a trilogy.

Splatterhouse 3 is the sequel this series needed.
It offers new directions, new ideas.
It improves on sounds and music from Splatterhouse 2 (though less catchy than in Part 1). It is visually the best of the series.
There's even returning monsters on the enemies' side...

The game feels a bit shorter this time.
6 levels comes a bit short for a 1993 beat 'em all.
Specially if you're running against the clock, trying to get the best ending and not exploring all the areas.

Will you run the fastest you can through the house, trying to save your family..
or
Will you explore a tiny bit the house, trying to have enough health and lives on your side and risk their lives?

Once you'll defeat the Evil One, get the Dark Stone and save your family, you'll still have one more revelation...
Was the Terror Mask really on your side all this time around? Or was it the one using you?
Now that it reached its full potential, more demonic than ever, will it show its true colors?

Overall, it's a great sequel and a perfect entry for the series.
A great way to close this trilogy.

Splatterhouse 3 was more of a sequel than Part 2 ever was. Specially under such a short development time.

The game looks a lot improved over the original ones. The free roaming on each floor, the multiple endings and its difficulty...
Simply put my favorite in the series. They did "keep the best for the end" this time around. (a catchphrase horror movies love to use)

It may come off a bit shorter than Splatterhouse 2...but it sure is a helluva harder, even on easy you'll have problems!
Part 3 took me more time than the others to come to the end (I was trying to get the perfect ending).

The game uses a password feature to continue your playthroughs.

Splatterhouse 3 wasn't censored this time around! Almost no differences between US and Jap versions.
It wasn't released on Pal systems back then, but the game was region free anyway.

It's the only game of the original Splatterhouse trilogy that hasn't been released on Virtual Console (as the date of this review). It was announced it would be included in the upcoming new Splatterhouse game alongside the other ones, on Xbox360 and PS3. And I'm guessing the new game will take a lot from this episode, be it in the design as in its experience.

Great, fun and hardcore beat 'em all for horror fans and people who like retrogaming~

I give it:

 2.5 / 3 Invaders!

VGR PoP2 The Shadow and the Flame

I know some people may like it, but this is, like always, my own personal opinion on this game
I'm a huuuuuuge fan of the original...It's the kind of game I play at least once per year, and it never gets old.
But the second one.. it's...another thing....

PS: This is for the console ports! I still haven't tried the DOS/MAC versions! This is for the SNES and unreleased MD versions!

Edit2010/09/02: Updated template to current one instead of the huge JPG picture I had before.  

VGR: Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
From Brøderbund
Played on SNES & Megadrive
Also available on Dos, Mac, unlockable in Sands of Time (Xbox)

Type Action/Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1994


The prince thought he had just defeated Jaffar and would be able to take his place next to the princess...
But things are never easy in Persia!

This is the direct follow up to the original classic "Prince of Persia".
Jordan Mechner, its creator, wasn't directly implicated on this one (he was just involved overseeing it). instead it was developed by Broderbund who ported the first game over all available systems at the time.

The game was only released on Pc, Mac and SNES. A Megadrive version was actually completed but not released because "it didn't met Sega's quality expectations" at the time (oh-oh).

I actually played through both versions, writing down and keeping passwords each couple of levels to go through both versions at the same time...

Sometimes, Sega fans and Nintendo fans fight over their own versions of the same games...
Which one's best? N-fans prefer their own kind of music and visuals, and their controlers. S-fans prefer the actual arcade feel on their system, their 16-bit different type of sound or the good ol' Sega pads...

Well this time i guess both will agree for once.
Both version suck.
That's right! Maybe you want to disagree, but let me explain!
Afterall, Sega did cancel their completed port's release for a reason!

But first, here's the plot: eleven days after the last game's ending the prince was enjoing his time in the palace. when one day, he found the evil Jaffar impersonating him next to the princess and the sultan of Persia. what
did he do right then?
Jump to the next window to escape the guards....and the game starts!!
What???

So the game starts kinda crazy, good thing right?
Huh... maybe not...

While the first game is the basis for all great adventure platformers emphasising puzzles and somewhat exploration, this one's much more orientated duel and combat.

In the first game, the engine was great. There was a learning curve of course, but when you died, it was mostly because the player sucked.
This time you'll die, because the game's cheap. And there are lots of flaws on the game's part.

The graphics are better this time, much more console-oriented maybe, but I find it kinda lacking something...
The last game had a 8-bit impression (it was an 80s dos game afterall), this time they tried to play with reliefs and camera angles.
But it looks a bit strange from time to time....
There are some nice attempts in the skies and backgrounds... but the more present caves and corridors are dull and boring....
Also more than 60% of it seems to be a rehash of the original's Prince of Persia.

And the music... Ow, my ears....
The first game has some classic tunes in the console ports. but this one, may you play it on a SNES or MD, you won't prefer one soundtrack over the other!!
It's horrible, awfull, repetitive... you will turn off the sound if you want to finish this one!!

And now some specific points over both versions.
(ps. I have not played yet the Mac and Dos versions, maybe they are somehow better).

In the snes port, everything seems accelerated. My guess, the game seemed a bit slow for a 16-bit game. So they simply added some speed in the engine. It makes some traps and specially the numerous countless fights really really annoying! I don't play Prince of Persia for dull repetitive combats and running through the scenery at the speed of sound, but for the platformer aspect and the precision of its engine!!
Also there's a good bunch of glitches in traps, floors and elements.

The megadrive version, even if not released, was perfectly finished. I mean, as much as it could have!
It couldn't have been better if it had been sold back then!

The game's pretty much the same, some backgrounds have different details but the experience's exactly the same. I find the controls a bit better in this one, but it may just be because I'm more familiar with this system. there was no glitches with traps here, and the game runs at the same speed as the original 1st PoP here.
Still, the overall places and puzzles are the same, keeping the cheap deaths, lackbuster level design and all the combats. I really hate fighting many foes at once. The engine wasn't made for that!!!
No options in this port - the music can't be turned off here (simply mute your tv or emulation program!!).
The jumps aren't like in the Snes version, but more like in the first game, making some large sections in this sequel very annoying....

However the game seemed to me a bit better than the released Snes port... very odd impression...

Overall: You will die a lot in this game, not because of your gameplay but because of the game poor design....

In theory it seemed like a great concept.
Loved the first game? This one's just the same with more new levels, a somewhat more interesting plot (the prince runs off, go on a strange island, finds the source of his shadow-y clone from the first game, goes back to persia, fights again jaffar...).
And more fights!
But really the first game was a classic, not because of its plot or fights.... The game should have stayed true to its roots, as a platformer, and offered more interesting level design like in the first game! Not just bland levels, throwing around tons of enemies...and the music, oh god.. the music... my ears need some old school 8-bit
goodness to erase that noise...

It's kinda surprising to see Nintendo's Seal of Quality on this one, specially since Sega didn't approve there port!

I would say "try it" if the music and levels were better... it's still nice to know about the original prince of persia trilogy of games... (before Ubisoft's take)
But this one... went really annoying across the middle and it's pretty long! (there's still a time limit but you'll have to try it more than once to beat it!)

Conclusion, nowhere close to the first one. They tired to re-do the first game while adding more combat without changing the formula...

I give it:

 1.5 / 3 Bruces !
3/3 a must play 2/3 give it a try 1/3 bad game and 0/3 run from it!