Gargoyle's Quest II

Last updated
Gargoyle's Quest II:
The Demon Darkness
Gargoylesquest2.jpg
European box art
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Producer(s) Tokuro Fujiwara
Designer(s) Ryo Miyazaki
Composer(s) Yuki Iwai
Series Ghosts 'n Goblins
Platform(s) NES, Game Boy
ReleaseNES
  • JP: July 17, 1992
  • NA: October 1992
  • EU: June 17, 1993
Game Boy
Genre(s) Action-adventure, platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness [a] is a 1992 action-adventure game released on the NES by Capcom. [1] It is the prequel to Gargoyle's Quest (part of the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise) and features a similar gameplay style, which combines adventure elements with side-scrolling action in a macabre fantasy setting. [2]

Contents

Gameplay

The Demon Darkness utilizes a password system and is broken into two sections: Traversing the Ghoul Realm via an overhead map view, and side-scrolling action areas, that take place in dungeons, across giant pits, and more. [3]

The action portions of the gameplay are nearly identical, in a broad sense, to the previous Gargoyle's Quest game. The main difference between these parts and the original Gargoyle's Quest's action platforming segments is the addition of the Magic Tornado power-up, which allows Firebrand, the playable character, to raise himself into the air in vertical directions by standing on temporary platforms. Like in the previous game, Firebrand gets around with the added help of his wings which let him glide horizontally in mid-air. [4] Firebrand can shoot "magic weapon" projectiles as a mean of attack or self-defense at any given moment. [5] One of the staple abilities of Firebrand is his power to cling to walls for climbing up vertical cliffs, [5] grabbing on to the sides of moving objects, and slower descending. Firebrand is notably slower than most video game characters of his kind, often leading to a necessary confrontation with each foe. Occasionally, Firebrand is blocked by foes that have significantly more health than regular ones and must defeat them in confined rooms to advance.

In the overworld and town screens, Firebrand moves in the four cardinal directions to navigate the realm he inhabits in semi-linear paths. Towns contain ghoul denizens, who talk to Firebrand, and various stone buildings that can be entered. [5] Firebrand becomes more powerful as he progresses, whether by increased glide time, higher jumping ability, or more stamina, through the use of acquired enchanted items. [2]

Plot

A long, long time ago before humans started appearing in the fictional place called the Ghoul Realm, there was a fictional, young ghoul warrior, a gargoyle [b] named Firebrand from the town of Etruria. One day, while Firebrand was out partaking in his daily routine of training in a small, alternate dimension, The Black Light appeared unexpectedly and destroyed his home. When he returns from his training, he was told to hurry to the local King by another ghoul just before it collapsed and died before him. [2] [6]

Firebrand then made his way there. After defeating Nagus (the spaulder-wearing monster as seen in the distance on the European box art), Firebrand was able to meet with King Morock, who informed Firebrand that he himself was on the brink of death. Before dying, he gave Firebrand the Spectre's Fingernail and set him off on a journey to unravel the mystery of The Black Light, facing off against an invading army the whole way. [6]

Re-releases

Gargoyle's Quest II was ported to the Game Boy in 1993 in Japan & China (DMG-201 CHN) only, under the name Makaimura Gaiden: The Demon Darkness (魔界村外伝 The Demon Darkness). This port was an enhanced version of the original title containing two new action stages (a cave in the northern part of Sittem Desert and another cave in the desert where Dagon dwells). Completing these levels unlocks abilities unique to this port of the game: a homing upgrade for Firebrand's basic attack as well as an astral projection technique that can be used to briefly scout out the area around Firebrand. It was scheduled to be released in North America in July 1993 but was later canceled.

The NES/Famicom version was re-released in Japan on March 5, 2014 and May 21, 2014 on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, respectively and in North America on October 30, 2014 on both the 3DS and Wii U and Europe on September 4, 2014 on the Wii U and October 30, 2014 on the 3DS. All Virtual Console versions of the game have an ESRB rating of "E for Everyone" in North America, unlike all previous versions, which were unrated. [7]

Reception

Tim Latshaw of Nintendo Life called Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness "a fine little gem from back in the day that deserves all the appreciation of players who are up to its tough but not impossible style of gameplay." He deeply welcomed the virtual console's "restore point" save function as an addition to the archaic password system, going as far as to imply either of these ports were the superior ways to play the NES version of the game. [12]

IGN put the NES version at number 63 on their list of the best North American NES games ever created. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ The full title has always been on the game's main screen. For its original NES release, the box, paperwork, and game label referred to the game simply as Gargoyle's Quest II. It is known in Japan as Red Arremer II (Japanese: レッドアリーマーII, Hepburn: Reddo Arīmā Tsū)
  2. ↑ In this case, "ghoul" is an umbrella term for all intelligent life that was native to the realm. All gargoyles are ghouls, but not all ghouls are gargoyles.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Legend of Zelda</i> Video game series

The Legend of Zelda is a video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flagship, Vanpool, Grezzo, and Tantalus Media.

<i>Ghouls n Ghosts</i> 1988 Video game

Ghouls 'n Ghosts, known as Dai Makaimura in Japan, is a 1988 platform video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins and the second game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series.

<i>Ghosts n Goblins</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Ghosts 'n Goblins, known as Makaimura in Japan, is a 1985 platform video game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the first game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise, and it has been ported to numerous home platforms.

<i>Breath of Fire II</i> 1994 video game

Breath of Fire II is a role-playing video game developed and published by Capcom. First released in 1994, the game was licensed to Laguna for European release in 1996. It is the second entry in the Breath of Fire series. It was later ported to Game Boy Advance and re-released worldwide. The game was released on Wii's Virtual Console in North America on August 27, 2007. Nintendo of Europe's website mistakenly announced it for release on July 27, 2007, but it was in fact released two weeks later, on August 10, 2007. In 2013, it was released for the Wii U Virtual Console. In 2016, it was released for the New Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. In 2019, it was released for the Nintendo Switch SNES games library.

<i>Castlevania III: Draculas Curse</i> 1989 video game

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is a 1989 action-platform game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1989, and in North America in 1990, and in Europe by Palcom in 1992. It was later released on the Virtual Console for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

<i>Mighty Bomb Jack</i> 1986 video game

Mighty Bomb Jack is a platform video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST and Commodore 64. Mighty Bomb Jack is a sequel to Tecmo's 1984 arcade game Bomb Jack.

<i>Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos</i> 1990 video game

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, known in Europe as Shadow Warriors II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, is a 1990 action-platform game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment in the Ninja Gaiden trilogy for the NES and was released in North America and Japan in 1990, and in Europe in 1992. An arcade video game version was also introduced by Nintendo for their PlayChoice-10 system in 1990.

<i>Solomons Key</i> 1986 video game

Solomon's Key is a puzzle game developed by Tecmo in 1986 for an arcade release on custom hardware based on the Z80 chipset. It was ported to multiple systems including the Nintendo Entertainment System and Commodore 64. The PC Engine version was known as Zipang and the Game Boy version as Solomon's Club. A prequel, Solomon's Key 2, was released in 1992 for the NES. The NES version of the game was also released in emulated form on Virtual Console for the Wii in 2006, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in 2013 and later to Nintendo Switch Online in 2018.

<i>Demons Crest</i> 1994 video game

Demon's Crest, known in Japan as Demon's Blazon, is a side-scrolling platform video game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third video game starring Firebrand, following Gargoyle's Quest and Gargoyle's Quest II.

The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past home and handheld consoles and were run in their original forms through software emulation, therefore remaining mostly unaltered, and could be purchased from the Wii Shop Channel or Nintendo eShop for between 500 and 1,200 Wii Points, or using real currency, with prices depending on the system, rarity, and/or demand.

<i>Super Ghouls n Ghosts</i> 1991 video game

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, known as Chō Makaimura in Japan, is a 1991 platform video game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The third installments in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series and the first not to be released for arcades, it again depicts knight Arthur saving Princess Guinevere and the kingdom from Emperor Sardius, who has cast a spell that has revived the Ghoul Realm.

<i>Gargoyles Quest</i> 1990 video game

Gargoyle's Quest is an action-adventure platform game developed by Capcom for the Game Boy and released in 1990. It is a spin-off of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series, featuring the series antagonist character Firebrand as the main playable character. Gargoyle's Quest was followed by the NES prequel Gargoyle's Quest II in 1992 and the Super NES sequel Demon's Crest in 1994.

<i>The Mysterious Murasame Castle</i> 1986 video game

The Mysterious Murasame Castle is a 1986 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Human Entertainment and published by Nintendo. It was originally only released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan as the second original game for the platform. The Mysterious Murasame Castle was later released worldwide on the Virtual Console in 2014 and for the Nintendo Switch Online service in 2023.

<i>Monster Hunter Tri</i> 2009 video game

Monster Hunter Tri is the third console installment in the Monster Hunter franchise, developed by Capcom and released for the Wii in Japan on August 1, 2009. Monster Hunter Tri was released on April 20, 2010, in North America, April 23 in Europe, and April 29 in Australia.

<i>Ghosts n Goblins</i> Video game series

Ghosts 'n Goblins, known in Japan as Makaimura, is a series of run-and-gun platform video games developed and owned by Capcom. The first entry in the series was Ghosts 'n Goblins, released in arcades on July 7, 1985. The series has subsequently been ported to and released on a variety of personal computers, game consoles and mobile platforms and spawned several sequels and spin-offs.

<i>Ghosts n Goblins: Gold Knights</i> 2009 video game

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights and Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights II, released in Japan as Makaimura Kishi Retsuden and Makaimura Kishi Retsuden II respectively, are a pair of run and gun platform games developed and published by Capcom for iOS. Both titles were removed from the Apple App Store on May 10, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gargoyle (monster)</span> A fantasy creature inspired by the architectural Gargoyle element

The gargoyle is a fantasy and horror monster inspired by the appearance of bestial grotesque statues in architecture - particularly those sculpted to decorate the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris during its 19th-century reconstruction, rather than actual medieval statuary. Its name is based on the gargoyle architectural element, whose name is often incorrectly conflated with that of monstrous grotesques as a whole.

References

  1. 1 2 "レッドアリーマーII [ファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  2. 1 2 3 "Hardcore Gaming 101: Ghosts 'n Goblins / Makaimura". www.hardcoregaming101.net. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  3. ↑ JC Fletcher (2007). "Virtually Overlooked: Gargoyle's Quest II". Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "Top 100 NES Games - IGN.com". IGN. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  5. 1 2 3 "Gargoyle's Quest II Instruction Manual" (PDF). nesfiles.com. 1992. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  6. 1 2 Capcom. Gargoyle's Quest II. Capcom, 1992-2014. 3DS Virtual Console. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  7. ↑ "ESRB - Gargoyle's Quest II". Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
  8. ↑ "Gargoyles Quest II". Electronic Gaming Monthly . Vol. 5, no. 10. October 1992. p. 28. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  9. ↑ "魔界村外伝 [ゲームボーイ] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  10. ↑ Lizard Lips (July 1992). "Gargoyle's Quest II". GamePro . No. 36. pp. 28–29. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  11. ↑ Latshaw, Tim (2014-11-28). "Review: Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (3DS eShop / NES)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  12. 1 2 Van Duyn, Marcel (2014-09-20). "Review: Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (Wii U eShop / NES)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  13. ↑ George; Rob (August 1992). "Now Playing". Nintendo Power . Vol. 39. pp. 102–105. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  14. ↑ Frank (February 1994). "Gargoyle's Quest II". Nintendo Life . Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  15. ↑ Walnum, Clayton (October 1992). "Gargoyle's Quest II". Video Games & Computer Entertainment . No. 45. p. 70. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.