Frankenstein: The Monster Returns Game Sample -NES
0Frankenstein... THE MONSTER RETURNS!? Okay.
Despite anything you might think, this game is only very loosely based on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and as a whole, is very inaccurate, but an amusing adaptation nonetheless. The game generally deals with "the monster" who is inaccurately called Frankenstein for practical reasons (Frankenstein was actually the creator of the monster, but calling him "The Monster" all the time would be lame) who has risen from the dead by a lightning strike, his potentially misunderstood hatred towards humanity and the need for companionship (in this case, kidnapping a female, Emily, from a neighboring town that he ravaged), and... his legion of monsters and undead servants which he influences? Sure, why not?
While the game was released only in the U.S., it shouldn't be too surprising that the game was designed by the Japanese (Takeshi Yasukawa to be exact), as only they could take an old story and twist it by adding dragons, blademasters, Medusa, the Grim Reaper, an evil dimension, and a spartan-looking warrior who apparently knows Kung-Fu. I've seen some far-fetched depictions of the creature over the years, but this game probably takes the cake. Published by Bandai, the game is reportedly produced by the "Ninja Developer TOSE".
The game is often ridiculed for being a Castlevania ripoff (because... it's brooding and every side-scrolling action game with monsters rips off CV or so I've heard), but it's not bad at all. Kinda easy in some spots and cheap in others, but a pretty decent side-scrolling action game in its entirety with good graphics, a decent soundtrack, mild explorative elements, an on-going story with various characters (quite a few typos though), but it's nothing special overall. The game has a few different items to help you as well as weapons that can be upgraded to shoot fireballs (in the beginning, you'll lose any weapon you have when hit) and the difficulty can raise significantly if you confront certain enemies without the ability to shoot projectiles. The hit detection is NOT spot-on, but your character controls fine in most cases (except underwater, where the controls are crappier than pratically any NES game I've ever played) which makes this fact more forgiving and the game never becomes too difficult for this characteristic alone. I also like how there are a variety of mini-bosses and bosses aren't always one-trick ponies, possessing multiple forms.
If there is one thing to be critical about (besides the distorted view of Franky here), it's the game's length; it's four stages long. Granted, they're not the shortest four levels you'll ever play, but they are short. The game is also uncommon and you may end up paying a few more bucks for a game like this when you can spend less on titles of significantly greater quality. Still, it's a curiousity and fun if you're a collector or have a few extra bucks to spare on such a strange game. This is a video of about half the game. Enjoy.