Released in 1988 by Namco, Splatterhouse was one of the most bloody, grotesque and violent coin-
op games ever made. Even by today's standards, it's primitive 2D graphic displays of blood and gore are enough to traumatize a 10 year old child. The object of the
game was to guide the bulky, hockey mask wearing,
hero, "
Rick" through several levels of a horrid mansion in order to rescue his girlfriend Jennifer who mysteriously disappeared into it's hellish depths. The game play is similar to old beat'm ups like Kung-Fu and Vigilante. Although never released
outside of
Japan, a slightly edited console port did make it to the TurboGrafx-16. With it's intense horror theme, creepy music and fun beat'em up action, Splatterhouse's popularity lead to two sequels released for Sega's Megadrive/Genesis consoles.
Rick: "I've been playing Splatterhouse on my TG16 and
now I have to sleep with the lights on!"
Jennifer: "If you think that's scarey, you should
play the arcade version!!"