Splatterhouse 2

Splatterhouse 2
Developer(s)	Now Production
Publisher(s)	Namco
Distributor(s)	Sega
Director(s)	100 Taro
Producer(s)	Papaya Payapaya
Programmer(s)	Haruo Ohori
Artist(s)	A. Chan Gyoee~! Miyachan Taiji Nagayama
Composer(s)	Eiko Kaneda
Platform(s)	Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	Mega Drive/Genesis NA August 3, 1992 JP August 4, 1992 EU 1992 Virtual Console NA August 4, 2008 JP July 1, 2008
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up, Horror
Mode(s)	1 player

Splatterhouse 2, known in Japan as Splatterhouse Part 2 (スプラッターハウスPART2) is a sidescrolling beat 'em up video game released in 1992 on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis home video game console published by Namco. It is the sequel to Splatterhouse.

On August 4, 2008, the game was released on the Wii Virtual Console in North America.^[1] It is the first and the only ESRB M-rated game to be released for the Virtual Console. The game was included as an unlockable extra in the 2010 remake.^[2]

Story

Three months have gone by since the events of the first game. The Terror Mask, which has reformed after breaking at the climax of the first game, appears to Rick and repeatedly tempts him to "go back to the house", telling him that Jennifer "doesn't have to die". It closes by telling Rick "You need me".^[3][4] Rick succeeds in rescuing Jennifer, and the House sinks into the bottom of the river.

Gameplay

Splatterhouse 2 features gameplay very similar to the first game.^[5] The player controls Rick through eight different stages, each two-dimensional. Rick's attacks remain largely unchanged, able to punch, kick, jump kick, and slide kick, as well as use several weapons scattered throughout the levels. Each level features a boss at the end, often a grotesque monster. New additions to the gameplay include a difficulty setting and a password system for the English version (Japanese version lacks a password feature), taken from Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti.^[5]

Regional differences

In the western versions of the game, the design of the terror mask is skull-like. In the Japanese version, the mask is white with black stripes over each eye, the mask loosely resembles a Japanese kabuki mask.^[5] Due to the translation when the game was localized, some elements are clearer in the Japanese version. In it, the Mask instructs Rick to "find the hidden house" and that Jennifer is in "the land of the dead". In the western version, the Mask instructs Rick to "go back to the house" and does not specify where Jennifer is. This has caused some confusion among players that have not played the original Japanese version, with several believing that the intact mansion in the second game is the West Mansion from the original Splatterhouse, when in fact the charred ruins that make up the first stage are what is left of West Mansion (these ruins can also be clearly seen in the opening of the game, before the screen scrolls over to reveal the other mansion, aka the "hidden house").

Reception

Splatterhouse 2 gameplay

Upon reviewing the game for its Virtual Console release, Lucas Thomas of IGN noted that he was largely unimpressed with the game's lack of innovation, ultimately giving it a 5.5 out of 10.^[6] While he praised the game's continuation of its gory presentation, he wrote that "Splatterhouse 2 is even more violent and replete with even more disturbing images, the shock value is largely gone. We've seen it all before".

References