PixlBit

Vampires, ghosts, and zombies, oh my!

Awhile back I did a retrospective about Christmas video games. What I did for Christmas then I thought I could do for Halloween now. Believe it or not, there are some big video game franchises centered around ghosts and monsters. These games are all about vanquishing evil: defeating Dracula, stopping the plan of demons, slicing through monsters with a chainsaw, shooting zombies, and so forth. If you wanted to play awesome games with creepy monsters, the following six series were the way to go. Suffice to say, these are the perfect games to play for Halloween, and will no doubt get you in the spirit to go hunt down some monsters of your own. 

Ghosts 'N Goblins Series

First release: 1985, Arcade

Main inspiration: Fantasy

The first mainline monster series is an obvious one because the monsters are in the name. Ghosts 'N Goblins introduced us to Sir Arthur and a whole host of monsters he must overcome in order to save Princess Prin Prin. To make matters worse, Arthur's enemy in the game is Satan, king of Demon World. That's right, kids, you fight the Devil himself in this game. 

Ghosts 'N Goblins was a huge hit in the arcades, but it also became an excellent NES game, albeit a very brutal one. The entire series is known for its "demonic" difficulty, if you will. This game is also known for having Arthur fight in his underwear (if you take a hit). I guess they just don't make armor as durable as they used to. Seriously, though, Ghosts 'N Goblins showed us that a monster setting can be fun and goofy while still having challenging gameplay. 

The Castlevania Series

First release: 1986, NES

Main inspiration: Dracula

The Castlevania series is the one which introduced all the Universal monsters to video games. Dracula got the royal treatment as he was the one featured as the main antagonist, but along the way, you'll also fight Frankenstein, the mummy, the wolfman, Death, and even have to put up with swamp creatures and flying Medusa heads. What kid wouldn't want to fight such legendary monsters?!

The story goes that the Belmont family has been waging war against Dracula for centuries, and each game in the series picks up in a certain time period. Somehow the forces of evil always find a way to revive Dracula. So the Belmonts must use the legendary Vampire Killer (a whip which, um, kills vampires) to seal Dracula away. The series opened up to new protagnists and weapons as we moved along, such as Alucard (Dracula's son) and the use of swords and spears. Castlevania is the de facto video game series when it comes to classic horror monsters. 

The Splatterhouse Series

First release: 1988, Arcade

Main inspiration: Friday the 13th

Splatterhouse was the first monster game to really be gory. Blood would gush from enemies as you severed their limbs. Due to this, the TurboGrafx-16 port had a great warning: "The horrifying theme of this game may be inappropriate for young children.....and cowards." Indeed. The ludicrous story has two teens going into a haunted mansion to evade a storm. The girl vanishes and the boy (Rick) finds himself wearing the "Terror Mask." The only way for him to get back his girl is to ruthlessly fight his way through the mansion as a masked monster, which is basically Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th. 

The gameplay is simple beat 'em up stuff, but all that blood makes it feel more exciting. More than anything, the Splatterhouse series is more mature than previous monster series. In the first game, Rick is forced to kill his girlfriend after she transforms into a hideous monster. Later it's revealed that the mansion itself is alive and Rick must destroy its heart. Heavy stuff, especially for kids. The gruesome factor was also at a high with all the blood and gore. No doubt this is why the series never appeared on any of Nintendo's consoles. 

The Gargoyle's Quest Series

First release: 1990, Game Boy

Main inspiration: Firebrand, an enemy in Ghosts 'N Goblins

This little-known trilogy (which began on Game Boy, then moved to NES, and ended on SNES) is actually a spin-off series from Ghosts 'N Goblins. Firebrand was the gargoyle enemy in that series, and now he gets his own series. Firebrand is the only one who can save the Ghoul Realm from the evil clutches of King Breager. Along his adventure, Firebrand will fight off demons and ghouls as he seeks sacred objects to save the realm. 

What's neat about this trilogy is the fact that each game gets better and better. The first game is a hybrid of action platformer/RPG (Firebrand will traverse the overworld and even have random encounters). The second game on NES fixed a few of the problems from the first game, making it more efficient. Finally, Demon's Crest on SNES took everything to a new level, doing away with the overworld trekking and random encounters, but building on the action and atmosphere of the main levels. It's truly horrifying and engrossing. 

The Mutant League Series

First release: 1993, Sega Genesis

Main inspiration: Monster version of the Madden series

EA took their Madden engine and decided to use it to make a creepy, yet silly game: Mutant League Football. In this game you choose a team (which are patterned after real NFL teams) and then commence with the chaos. Landmines, firepits, and other hazards litter the field, which can be made of such things as ice or toxic waste. You can also use tricks against the other team, such as exploding balls. The craziness doesn't end there, however. You can also bribe the ref to call phony penalties on the other team. However, the other team may kill the ref after he does this a few times. Truly bizarre yet brilliant, right?

EA also released Mutant League Hockey. Many of the same things are in the game as in Football, but this time the crowd can throw objects onto the ice. You can also substitute you goal with a demon goal, which makes it more difficult for the opposing team to score. Team names are still based on real teams, such as The Derangers (New York Rangers) and the Mighty Weenies (Mighty Ducks). The success of these games led to an animated series called Mutant League (aired 1994-96). But more importantly, the series is going to be revived after almost 20 years for a new generation of gamers. It's supposedly coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC, Android, and iOS in 2016. 

The Resident Evil Series

First release: 1996, Playstation

Main inspiration: Zombies and the Apocalypse 

Resident Evil's impact on gaming's horror genre cannot be over-emphasized. Due to the huge leap of 3D, all the horror elements were taken to a new level as you entered the haunted mansion with Chris and Jill. You never knew what would jump out at you around the next corner. Who knows, maybe a dog will burst through the window? Maybe a zombie will lunge at you when you open that closet? The entire atmosphere was nervous and tense throughout the course of the game. 

Capcom continued to deliver excellent horror experiences as the series progressed. The second game gave us extra playable characters and different stories depending on who you played as; the third game was more streamlined yet still offered branching paths (it also featured tense battles against Nemesis, a monster who hunts you); the fourth game is the pinnacle of the series, focusing more on battles of large crowds and giving the player a great variety of weapons (the laser sight for guns adds depth to combat). The Resident Evil series is still strong today and has appeared on many consoles. It is easily the most popular horror series in gaming today.