Splatterhouse 3

Splatterhouse 3 is a game, until very recently, has captured my interest.

That said, I really don't like scary games and this is a series I typically wouldn't look twice at. It took years for me to actually play a Castlevania game and I'm not looking to throw eighty dollars at a copy of Splatterhouse 3 (holy cow) - but perhaps it's the use of live actors and digitized imagery that is so intriguing; How many games at the time used this technique? Considering the move toward CD format and all that FMV entailed, this cart seems so incredibly unique because of the cinematic effort.

Lastly, and I'm afraid to pull a "who/where in the world is Inezh" type question here - but I can't help but find not knowing who the persons behind this cast were so mysteriously engaging. The actress portraying Jennifer referred to in the credits only as "Pascal," like, who is she?! Was this her only game involvement? What has happened to her since? Does she care that twenty years later she is practically preserved in this game? Does she know how cool that is? Why do I have these 90's affinities?!

http://www.retrogameage.com/wp-conte...e-3-U-c005.jpg

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Originally Posted by Lync

Splatterhouse 3

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Is a Genesis game so could have been in the Genesis forum. ;)

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Originally Posted by Lync

Does she care that twenty years later she is practically preserved in this game?

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I think she didn't much care for it, which is why they replaced her in the Wii VC game with another actress.

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Originally Posted by Lync

Why do I have these 90's affinities?!

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Cause getting older sucks, I miss the 80's and waking up for Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Go over and check out The Third Moon site. It's a Splatterhouse fansite with a ton of info on the series, could have what you're looking for.

Very few horror/gothic series were actually anything scary prior to the 5th generation, and if they weren't scary before, they weren't after either. Even Castlevania's music was an upbeat adrenaline rush.

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

Cause getting older sucks, I miss the 80's and waking up for Saturday Morning Cartoons.

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Pff, I still watch '80's cartoons. The day I stop watching '30's-'50's theater shorts(Looney Toons, Tom & Jerry, Droopy, Disney, Woody, Popeye, etc.) is the day I die.

I don't know if these games were ever meant to be scary as such, rather they just reveled in dishing up some objectionable occult/body horror content in an attempt to draw in morbid teens raised on 80's slasher flicks.

It sure worked with me;)

A couple of years ago I picked up the boxed Japanese releases of Parts 2 & 3, great fun. Especially 3 as it's a competent belt scroller with a lot of depth for a game of this type on the hardware. It was a cool and challenging 1CC, I almost beat it on Difficult as well but no cigar just yet.

If you beat stage 1 quickly (extremely quickly on the JP version, apparently), you enter stage X where there is two 1-UPS to collect. Handy to know.

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

I don't know if these games were ever meant to be scary as such.

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For me the scary part is the damn time limit, "save your wife before she becomes a monster!"

And Splatterhouse 2 was just brutal, you had way too little life.. so it turned from an action game in a "must not make any mistakes"
kinda game. Then finally Splatterhouse 3 gives us a cool beat 'm up engine and they put in time limits! so you still don't get that sweet
beat 'm up kinda experience.

They also give you a map, so it's pretty easy to find the quickest route to make the time limit.

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Originally Posted by midnightrider

They also give you a map, so it's pretty easy to find the quickest route to make the time limit.

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I know, its just.. I don't want a time limit. a Streets of Rage like time limit? sure. but no "if you don't get to the end asap SHE DIES!!"
It ruins ones desire to explore, which sucks cause apparently there are some neat hidden things in the mansion.

Splatterhouse series ins amazing and i love it!
but another game that uses alot of digitized stuff is nosferatu for snes
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...he-estates.pnghttp://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...r-of-apess.png
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...-cutscenes.pnghttp://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...er-screens.png

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

Is a Genesis game so could have been in the Genesis forum. ;)

I think she didn't much care for it, which is why they replaced her in the Wii VC game with another actress.

Cause getting older sucks, I miss the 80's and waking up for Saturday Morning Cartoons.

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Oops! I'm still not used to making threads, in fact - I usually just go to the "new posts" page for reads and comments, haha.

I think you're right in believing that there were some legal discrepancies in the Wii VC game, it would be interesting to know for sure; Perhaps the actors still stood to receive monies for using their image? Or am I the only one who thinks this:

http://www.notourdayjob.com/media/Bl...tterhouse3.png

is still frightening?

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Originally Posted by OverDrone

Go over and check out The Third Moon site. It's a Splatterhouse fansite with a ton of info on the series, could have what you're looking for.

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Great - Thanks for the suggestion! A lot to mow over, but I wouldn't mind giving a dig through.

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Originally Posted by midnightrider

Very few horror/gothic series were actually anything scary prior to the 5th generation, and if they weren't scary before, they weren't after either. Even Castlevania's music was an upbeat adrenaline rush.

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You most definitely handle scary things better than I then - granted I'm older now, but as a kid Splatterhouse, Castlevania and Wolfenstein/Doom freaked me out! I didn't want to be responsible for letting my character die a gruesome death!

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Originally Posted by Pyron

Splatterhouse series ins amazing and i love it!
but another game that uses alot of digitized stuff is nosferatu for snes
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...he-estates.pnghttp://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...r-of-apess.png
http://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...-cutscenes.pnghttp://www.mobygames.com/images/shot...er-screens.png

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Cool, yes I'm definitely interested in the digitized imagery which makes SH3 a little bit more novel today. So neat suggestion. (Do I see Rob Lowe in that last picture?)

Lastly - was Splatterhouse 3 singled out during the 90's gaming censorship conundrum? I feel like the political proponents during would have made great (and self-serving) example attacking Splatterhouse 3. Which what Midnightrider began to touch on - it goes to show how compared to its contemporaries of the time this game would be considered violent or even disturbing, where as today it is mild at worst and charming at best. That could be more affinity from me however...

It would be great to know who is the actress who plays Jennifer and interview her.:o

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Originally Posted by NeoVamp

For me the scary part is the damn time limit, "save your wife before she becomes a monster!"

And Splatterhouse 2 was just brutal, you had way too little life.. so it turned from an action game in a "must not make any mistakes"
kinda game. Then finally Splatterhouse 3 gives us a cool beat 'm up engine and they put in time limits! so you still don't get that sweet
beat 'm up kinda experience.

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I beat Splatterhouse 2 (PAL) as a kid, now I have the Japanese one - which according to The Third Moon site is actually tougher (assuming the PAL game is based on the Genesis version if that is indeed the case).

Don't worry about the time limits in SH3, just have fun exploring the mansion and finding weapons like the cleaver, which give special death animations on some of the monsters - literally splitting them in half - or the knife, which decapitates those bird-foetus looking things.

Gruesome, but satisfying.

Personally, I like the time limit. It pushes you to weigh up the worth of side-tracking to acquire the extra lives and various pick-ups, and on the higher difficulties where a single enemy can kill you with two hits, sometimes that's a tough decision to make. Intelligent conservation of Super Rick transformation adds another interesting wrinkle into the mix.