Software:Splatterhouse 3

From HandWiki
Short description: 1993 video game
Splatterhouse 3
Cover art by Julie Bell
Developer(s)Now Production
Publisher(s)Namco
Director(s)Taiji Nagayama
Producer(s)Masami Shimotsuma
Papaya Payapaya
Designer(s)Masami Shimotsuma
Programmer(s)Haruo Ohori
Artist(s)Gyoee! Miyazaki
Takashi Yoshida
Composer(s)Eiko Kaneda
Platform(s)Sega Genesis
Release
  • JP: March 19, 1993
  • NA: August 1993[1]
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)Single-player

Splatterhouse 3 (stylized as SPLATTERHOUSE • 3), known in Japan as Lua error in Module:Lang/utilities at line 332: attempt to call field '_transl' (a nil value). is a 1993 beat'em up game developed by Now Production and published by Namco for the Sega Genesis. It is the sequel to Splatterhouse 2 and was one of the first games to be given a rating by Sega's own Videogame Rating Council. In North America the game was given an MA-13 rating by the council for its graphic violence and gore. Unlike its predecessors, it was not originally released in Europe. The game was included as an unlockable extra in the 2010 remake, with new artwork replacing the digitized photographs for legal reasons.[2]

Gameplay

The game features six levels, many taking place in the mansion. Instead of the side-scrolling action of the previous games, Splatterhouse 3 features non-linear exploration throughout several different rooms, forcing Rick to often backtrack as he tries to find the exit. Players are given a map of each level. Each level must be cleared in a certain amount of time. Although this does not affect gameplay, running out of time results in changes in the plot, creating four possible endings. By running out of time, for example, Jennifer will be killed in the second level. New to Splatterhouse is the Power Meter, which can be filled by collecting Eldritch Orbs found throughout levels and occasionally are dropped by defeated enemies. Once the bar is filled by at least one orb, the player can transform Rick into a hulking and more monstrous version of himself with the Terror Mask being seemingly fused to his head. In this state, Rick is significantly stronger and can execute a special attack that involves pieces of his flesh extending from his chest area and acting as a weapon, injuring any monster in the vicinity of their reach. Also, instead of actually wielding the weapons he finds, the mutated version of Rick simply flings them at enemies, dealing a fair bit more damage than swinging the weapons as normal Rick would have.

Extra lives and health items are also scattered throughout the levels. Passwords are also given to players to return to levels. Occasionally, Rick is able to pick up weapons (e.g. a baseball bat or a cleaver, among others) to use against the monsters. Once you defeat all the monsters in the room an in-game map appears to give you some choice in how you get to the end of each level. The game's storyline alters significantly if you fail to finish levels before the allotted time runs out. For example; in the second level you are tasked with saving Rick's wife Jennifer from being devoured by a boreworm. In order to save her, you must reach the end of the level to confront and defeat the boreworm within the time limit. Failing to do so before the time runs out will result in Jennifer being devoured internally by the boreworm planted inside of her body.

Plot

The game takes place about five years after the events of Splatterhouse 2. Rick and Jennifer have since married and have a son named David. Rick has also become successful on Wall Street and has bought a mansion in Connecticut, putting the memories of the Terror Mask behind him.[3] Meanwhile, the Mask feels the ancient energy that it recalls from ages past and begins to speak to Rick. Rick must don the mask for the third time and fight the monsters that have invaded his mansion. Rick first fights to save Jennifer, who has been kidnapped by an entity known as the Evil One, but it is revealed this was only a distraction while the Evil One took David.

Rick eventually defeats the Evil One, who had planned to use David's latent psychic abilities to unlock the power of an object known as the Dark Stone. Upon defeating the Evil One, the Mask reveals its true, evil intentions. Rick must then destroy the Terror Mask permanently.[4]

Endings

There are four possible endings, depending on if the player saves Jennifer and David, saves one or the other, or fails to save them both. All but the best ending start out with the Mask saying it will continue to exist as long as there's human suffering, and as it shatters, it says that the sky has cleared, and evil has once again been banished. The endings are as follows.

Bad Ending (both died): If Rick fails to save both his wife and child, the ending goes as usual, but it states that Rick "stands alone, the weight of failure hanging heavily on him". It then shows a picture of him and his family, with the words "Alone. All alone..."

Jennifer Dies or turns into a Mindless Beast but David is Alive: If Rick fails to save Jennifer or she turned into a mindless beast, but rescues David, it shows the ending as normal, but that Jennifer "exists only as a memory". It then shows David asking his dad where his mother is, and fades after that.

David Dies but Jennifer is Alive: If Jennifer is rescued, but David dies, the ending goes on as usual, but with David "being only a memory". Jennifer then asks Rick where David is, and after being told (though the dialog isn't shown), she cries out "no".

Good Ending (both alive): Should both survive, the ending is different. Apart from a more pleasant tune, the mask's dialog changes. Instead of saying that he'll survive, he cries out "Can't see... can't hear... I'm dying...!!" before shattering. It continues as normal, saying Rick returns to his family, finally free from the Terror Mask for good

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarStar[5]
Mega Action85%[6]

In his review of Splatterhouse 3, Russ Ceccola of Fangoria wrote that, "The appeal of the Splatterhouse games is the bloody violence. Its graphics are explicit and gross, but in an over-the-top way"; Ceccola concluded: "Splatterhouse 3 adds more play elements in the form of a map, time limits and multiple endings, but it all boils down to cartoon violence taken to the extreme."[7] AllGame editor Geoffrey Douglas Smith praised Splatterhouse 3, stating that the game "stands at the top of the beat-'em-up heap on Genesis. A fun and gory ride with plenty of enemies to pummel and a solid game engine makes this a blast to play."[5]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "GamePro #48 pg. 48". Sega Retro. July 1993. https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:GamePro_US_048.pdf&page=50. Retrieved 14 March 2016. 
  2. ↑ New Splatterhouse to Include Original Splatterhouse Trilogy , 1-up
  3. ↑ Rob Strangman (2007). "Splatterhouse at Hardcore Gaming 101". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/splatterhouse/splatterhouse.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-07. 
  4. ↑ Rob. "West Mansion: The Splatterhouse Home Page". http://splatterhouse.kontek.net/index.html. Retrieved 2009-12-07. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Smith, Geoffrey Douglas. "Splatterhouse 3 - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116071416/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14554&tab=review. Retrieved September 30, 2019. 
  6. ↑ "Splatterhouse 3 review". Mega Action (Europress Interactive) (1): 34–35. June 1993. https://archive.org/details/mega-action-issue-1-1993-06/page/n33/mode/2up. Retrieved May 22, 2022. 
  7. ↑ Ceccola, Russ (April 1994). "Horrorcade: Bytes in the Night". Fangoria (Starlog Group, Inc.) (131): 56. ISSN 0164-2111. 
  • 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 lengthy 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]

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. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari



Template:Splatterhouse series



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Splatterhouse_3&oldid=4135687"