Dr. Chaos

This article is about the video game. For the person, see Joseph Konopka.
Dr. Chaos

Dr. Chaos box art (North American box art)
Developer(s) Marionette
Publisher(s)
Distributor(s) Nintendo
Engine Proprietary
Platform(s) FDS, NES
Release date(s)
  • JP 19 June 1987
  • NA November 1988
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution Cartridge

Dr. Chaos, officially known as Dr. Chaos: Hell's Gate (ドクター・カオス 地獄の扉 Dokutā Kaosu: Jigoku no Tobira) in Japan, is an action-adventure game originally released in Japan for the Family Computer Disk System in 1987 by Pony Inc. An English localization was produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System that was released in North America by FCI in 1988.

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of Michael Chaos, brother of mad physicist Dr. Ginn Chaos, who has been doing Warp Zone experiments in his mansion and gone missing. Armed with only a Knife in the beginning, as Michael moves through the house, he can pick up Handgun Bullets, Machine Gun Bullets, Grenades and life-replenishing Yellow Vitamins and Red Vitamins. There is a menu which has four options, open, get, go, and hit. There are 11 Warp Zones in all. At the end of each of the first 10 Warp Zones, Michael must fight a large monster that carries a piece of the Laser and guards a valuable piece of equipment, the latter consisting of the Ultra Space Sensor, four Life Bottles, the Air Helmet, the Jump Boots, two Blue Vitamins and the Shield Suit. Once Michael fully assembles the Laser, he'll be able to challenge the final boss, Canbarian.

Some parallels can be seen in this game and the 1986 horror film "House". The enemies that appear from the house doors in the game bear striking resemblances to the monsters that take Walter Cobb's child in the chimney scene and the exposed rib caged versoin of the movie's antagonist. Also, there are winged skulls in both the film and the game. Lastly, the idea that parallel dimensions exist behind a closet door or through a mirror pane is the premise of both the film and the goal (finding all 11) of the game. Both in the game and the film are characterized by an all black entrance.

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