Software:Frankenstein: The Monster Returns

From HandWiki
Short description: 1991 video game
Frankenstein: The Monster Returns
Cover art
Developer(s)Tose
Publisher(s)Bandai America
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • July 1991
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

Frankenstein: The Monster Returns is an action video game developed by Tose. The game has a player confront the recently resurrected Frankenstein's monster who had kidnapped Emily, the daughter of the village elder. The game has the player moving through side-scrolling levels collecting fighting monsters while collecting weapon and health upgrades in order to rescue Emily from the monster.

Like other games that draw influence from the characters in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), it predominantly is influenced by the iconography of the Universal's Frankenstein films. It was published by Bandai America on July 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game received unenthusiastic response in Electronic Gaming Monthly who found not standing out from various other recent action games, while VideoGame (Brazilian magazine) (pt) found it exciting with a challenging final boss.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Frankenstein: The Monster Returns. The game features side-scrolling stages where the player character must traverse levels and overcome their various enemy characters.

After years of the Monster laying in his grave in the cemetery, the local villagers were at peace.[1] When lightning strikes the monster's tombstone, it returns from the dead and attacks the nearby village.[1][2] The creature kidnaps Emily, the daughter of the village elder. The creature uses his magic to gather group of monsters to protect him from anyone who dare to challenge him.[2] The goal of the game is for the player to rescue Emily from the monster.[2]

Contemporary reviewers in Electronic Gaming Monthly described Frankenstein: The Monster Returns as an action game.[3] The game features side-scrolling with beat-'em up style elements.[4] In each of the four levels in the game, the player will be confronted by various monsters which can be defeated by punching or kicking them.[5][6] Items may be found by defeating enemies, being offered by characters in the game, or appear in treasure chests.[7] At the end of each stage, the player can enter into a combat with a boss character that takes several successful strikes to defeat.[8] Upon beating a boss, the player can receive bonuses such as increased life and enhanced weapons.[8]

The player can also find various weapons such as swords, clubs and maces that increase their fighting ability.[5][9] Various other items include red balls, slings, fire and bombs which add a projectile attack to the player's arsenal.[10][11] Other items are used to restore health such as hearts and life and blue potions can be used to raise the maximum amount of health.[10][11] Life is used as a collectable item, which is stored and used later at the player's discretion.[12] If the player is struck by a monster, their weapon's strength is lowered.[13]

Development and release

Frankenstein: The Monster Reborn was developed by Tose.[14][15] Tose was a company that had a reputation as being what Chris Kerr of Game Developer described as a "ghost developer", as a company who is usually never credited on the games they work on.[16][17]

Academic Tanya Krzywinska said the game was not a direct adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), but drew from the iconography of the Universal's Frankenstein films.[4] This was an approach to a number of games that drew from Shelley's book at the period such as Bride of Frankenstein (1987) or Dr. Franken (1992).[14][18]

Bandai America presented Frankenstein at the 1990 Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago alongside Dick Tracy and The Adventures of Gilligan's Island (1990).[19][20] The game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in July 1991.[21]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Electronic Gaming Monthly6/10, 6/10, 5/10, 6/10[3]
VideoGame (Brazilian magazine) (pt)7/10[22]

In Electronic Gaming Monthly, the four reviewers each commented on the game saying its controls were not precise and its graphics were "just OK".[3] Ed Semrad of the magazine said it was "good by last year's standards." and did not stand out from other similar games.[3] A reviewer in the Brazilian magazine VideoGame (Brazilian magazine) (pt) called it an exciting game with the final battle being very difficult.[22]

From retrospective reviews, Mike Wilson of Bloody Disgusting said despite the games small amount of levels, it was compensated by its challenge due to issues involving hit detection and "overly cheap enemies".[6] He summarized that the game as not bad, but not in the same league as the similar Castlevania (1986) by Konami.[6]

See also

  • Frankenstein in popular culture
  • List of Nintendo Entertainment System games

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bandai America 1990, p. 1.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bandai America 1990, p. 6.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Harris et al. 1991, p. 16.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Krzywinska 2018, p. 288.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bandai America 1990, p. 7.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Wilson 2025.
  7. ↑ Bandai America 1990, p. 12.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bandai America 1990, p. 14.
  9. ↑ Bandai America 1990, p. 9.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Bandai America 1990, pp. 9–10.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bandai America 1990, p. 11.
  12. ↑ Bandai America 1990, p. 13.
  13. ↑ Bandai America 1990, pp. 12–13.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Escandell-Montiel 2018, p. 56.
  15. ↑ Burkett 2024, p. 139.
  16. ↑ Sheffield 2006.
  17. ↑ Kerr 2017.
  18. ↑ Escandell-Montiel 2018, p. 54.
  19. ↑ Computer Entertainer 1990a, p. 6.
  20. ↑ Computer Entertainer 1990b, p. 1.
  21. ↑ Nintendo.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 VideoGames 1991, p. 36.

Sources

  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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