8 Eyes (HQ Remake) - Title (2025)
8 Eyes was developed by now defunct Thinking Rabbit and published by Taxan. It was released in January 1990 in North America (Q3 1988 in Japan and has a wildy different, and definitely not family friendly, story). 8 Eyes is a game that flew under the radar for a lot of people. Featuring an aesthetic very similar to Castlevania, it was one of the rare NES titles to feature co-op gameplay. The game lacked a save feature and used a password system.
8 Eyes takes place after a nuclear apocalypse has ravaged the earth. In the aftermath, a Great King uses his magic gems to rebuild the world. These "8 Eyes" are jewels that were created in the epicenter of the nuclear blasts. The Great King's 8 ambitious dukes have stolen the 8 Eyes and now threaten to destroy the world. It is up to Orin the Falconer and his trusty falcon Cutrus (who can be controlled by Player 2) to retrieve the 8 Eyes and save what is left of civilization. Orin wields a sword as well as a variety of sub-weapons such as molotovs and magic orbs.
There are 8 levels to the game that you can visit in any order, but there is an optimal order hinted at throughout the game. Each level ends with Orin getting a new sword to which only one of the dukes is vulnerable. After all 7 levels are defeated, then the player takes on the House of Ruth. When Orin gets all of the 8 Eyes back, he must set the jewels in a specific order (hinted at throughout the game) in the Altar of Peace, or all is lost. What this in essence does is combine a core mechanic of Mega Man with the gameplay of Castlevania. What a cool idea!
Despite not being well-received by critics, this game sold decently and is considered common as far as rarity goes. The gameplay was a bit stiff to the point where engaging in combat almost assured taking damage, making evasion the best option (and that's no fun at all). 8 Eyes has since risen to a sort of cult status. I think retro gamers appreciate what the game was trying to do and (if you're like me) wish that there was a sequel that had a bit more polish that would have made the game a smashing success. Sadly, this game is all we will have. Still, it is a rare couch co-op game and there's really nothing like before or since.
To understand how this game fits in, imagine a world where Castlevania 1 was an old title when 8 Eyes was released. Many people weren't in love with Castlevania 2, which had come out over a year earlier. Castlevania 3 wasn't out yet. The only Castlevania anyone had ever known featured a Belmont with a whip. Now here comes Orin with his 2P bird wielding A SWORD! We wouldn't see swords in Castlevania until Symphony of the Night over 7 years later. Now add in the Mega Man formula and I think people really wanted 8 Eyes to work and were ready to forgive some of its gameplay flaws because of that.
Original score by Kenzou Kumei ©1988 Thinking Rabbit
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At present, Pieces of 8-bit's HQ Remakes has 36,733 views spread across 31 videos for 8 Eyes, and about an hours worth of 8 Eyes videos were uploaded to his channel. This is 1.85% of the total watchable video on Pieces of 8-bit's HQ Remakes's YouTube channel.