Summer of Screams: Wanpaku Graffiti - Splatterhouse

Wanpaku Graffiti - Splatterhouse
Horror 'Em Up
1 Player
System: Famicom
Developer: Namcot
Year of Release: 1989
Beaten: July 4th, 2015
Translation: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/212/

Splatterhouse, a horror beat 'em up series, is a series I didn't get into until it was all over actually, a new one came out for the PS3/360 several years after the entry prior to that and sadly it seems like it didn't sell well enough for Namco to keep the series going. A damn shame, but like the terror mask itself, the series could see another resurrection someday. The PS3 entry is the one that I first played, and I absolutely loved it. There were some frustrating moments, but for the most part the game was delightful. Odd use of the word I suppose. The first three games in the series were all collected on the new version which is amazing, so I was able to play almost the entire series. Wanpaku Graffiti is a Famicom exclusive game with a strange "SD" take on the franchise. "SD" meaning super-deformed, basically chibi. If it's all gobbledegook to you, it just means it's a cutesy take on the series, a well established horror series. The result is surprisingly great.

While I played through a fan translation of the game, there wasn't much to translate. Just the level intros, the ending and two secret scenes. The game opens with the main character's girlfriend, Jennifer, crying at his grave. Lightning strikes and he's resurrected with the terror mask attached. Another bolt hits the grave next to him though and the Pumpkin King appears, kidnapping his girl thus kicking off the adventure. As far as gameplay is concerned, it's very similar though. You move right, can jump and attack. On rare occasions a shotgun power up can be found, limited ammo aside it's pretty much a one hit kill for anything and has quite a bit of range on it. Killing multiple enemies at once never fails to satisfy. Killing also slowly levels your character up. That counter in the top left of the screen tallies up each kill and once you max it out another bar is added to your health. A very simple, but quite useful addition. If you die and have to restart half way through the game you'll lose most of this progress, but you will start with more than the beginning four or so bars of health.

Since this is a cute take on the series it's quite a bit different than your standard Splatterhouse. The first boss sets the ton well, a vampire pops up and commands a couple zombies to put on a quick Thriller homage for you before sending zombies after you and tossing garbage at you. You never actually attack the vampire to beat him, which happens a couple other times oddly. Other bosses are quite similar to the main series, like the possessed doll who sends chairs after you, or the floating knife boss fight. Another boss features a woman who's suffering spiders bursting from her chest (in what must be a reference to Alien) but after felling the last beastie she simply gets up and wanders off. The final boss is honestly a little disappointing, aside from quite a bit of health his attack pattern is incredibly simplistic. Of course the biggest problem is only having one life, at least as far as I could tell. But each level has a, thankfully short, password so progress isn't really lost.

The stages themselves are all fairly simple, but run the gamut of horror tropes from haunted houses, to sewers, to a church, to a graveyard, to a "Camp Diamond" eerily reminescent of Camp Crystal Lake of Friday the 13th infamy. The game is packed with references, from the laughing head of a deer from Evil Dead 2, to the aforementioned lake and Alien scenes, to, somehow, Jaws, The Fly, Exorcist, the game really knows the audience and material it's dealing with which really makes the game worth looking into.

It's very simple, and quite short, but pleasant, especially for a Splatterhouse fan, but even you're everyday run of the mill horror fan will get a lot of joy out of this short little romp. The ending reveals the game to have been a film, but after dropping the terror mask it comes to life and begins possessing the studio equipment. If you managed to find and beat the two secret stages two additional scenes play telling the player the main characters got out and fell in love, but the second shows them running to West Mansion (the setting for the main series). Canon-wise, this doesn't actually fit in anyway, not that anyone is that concerned with the canon of fucking Splatterhouse. Regardless, I highly recommend this game to anyone who's interested in horror as a genre and enjoys a bit of self-parody.

This makes two Summer of Screams entries in a row dealing with "cutesy" horror, either I'm a bitch or I'll need to make up for in the next one... hmm...