I should really start off this post with a disclaimer: I acknowledge that nostalgia has a major role in my selection and can't really elaborate quite WHY this is my favorite game, you just have to trust me that the FEELING I get while playing it, talking about it, and/or showing it off to other people is as close to a feeling of Nirvana I have ever experienced with a video game.
Now, to the bare bones. Demon's Crest for the SNES is one of those games that didn't really get a lot of press when it was released. I know it had a couple of different ads that ran, and have some in comic books and the like from that time period. It is the sequel (or maybe prequel, those games have a crap timeline and nobody really gets how they line up) to a couple of games called Gargoyles Quest 1 and 2 (which were themselves just spin-offs of the Ghost's and Goblins franchise). The first game was on the Gameboy and kind of set the groundwork for the sequels to come. In it, the demon Firebrand (or Red Arremer in Japan) is trying to stop a coup from occurring that will upset the social hierarchy of the demon world. This one guy is trying to be king and yadda yadda. He has the ability to hover using his wings and shoot projectiles which can be upgraded over time (a staple in the series), and also can acquire magic to boost his abilities in other ways. The sequel on the NES was very similar but added an RPG style overworld similar to Zelda 2 the Adventure of Link. I'm not that into the first two, but acknowledge their importance to the platforming genre as a whole. The real deal begins with the third installment: Demon's Crest.
Demon's Crest is about Firebrand's fall somewhere after the events of the first game (the second was a prequel? IDK, it's kind of weird). The Demon World is at war over a handful of gemstones that offer the owner supreme power over the elements they represent (fire, water, earth, air, time, heaven and infinity). Well, Firebrand, being a total hardcase, is able to obtain all of them (besides Infinity which only shows up after the others are assembled together) except for Heaven, which is in the possession of a rather large demonic dragon. So they fight, planets crumble, babies cry, and Firebrand is finally victorious, but at the expense of most of his health. A jerk named Phalanx takes advantage of this and sucker-punches him out of the sky, taking his crests for his own, and accidentally shattering the fire crest (which Firebrand retains control over). Fastforward an uncertain amount of time...
Firebrand wakes up in a coliseum and has to duke it out with the demon dragon's zombie remains, using only the weakest and most limited component of the fire crest. The journey for vengeance and unlimited power begins.
What's great about this game, exactly? Well for starters it has one of the most satisfying control schemes of any platformer I can recall. Right off the bat you are able to jump, shoot fire balls, hover in the air, grasp walls with your feet, and do a cool headbutt which shatters some objects in the background. Each crest obtained offers abilities similar to a Megaman game (of which this is often called a ripoff), including projectiles that have unique effects and alternative forms that allow for different platforming and level-busting abilities. Of these, my favorite is the Air Gargoyle form, which allows you to fly rather than just hover, and gives you a projectile which can cut through vines and other obstacles. Additionally you can find empty urns and vellums scattered throughout the lands, which can be filled with purchased potions and spells for use at your own discretion. Take note also that you aren't playing a good guy really. Firebrand's main goal is revenge and the right to dominion over the entire demon world. It's very much up in the air just what you'll do after all this is said and done.
There is a password feature, which allows you to save and revisit your game at whatever point you like, and also replayability in the form of multiple endings depending on just how many of the items and health containers you found throughout the game and which final boss you chose to fight. Never a bad thing for a game to have, replayability...Oh and it's important to mention the coolness of the overworld in this game. Utilizing the mode-7 graphics capabilities of the SNES, you are able to fly over a large map at high speeds as Firebrand and literally swoop down into whichever level you wish to play. It's friggin awesome. Firebrand was never as popular as the majority of other video game protagonists, but he did make it into a couple of fighting games (most recently Marvel vs. Capcom 3). Pretty good considering.
Add to that the excellent graphics, memorable bosses, absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, awesome opening and ending cinematics, and super gothic art design, and you have a really solid game that everyone can enjoy. Beyond that, it just has this gamefeel that I can't get enough of.
Oh, and it's important to note that once you beat the game with the good ending, you unlock a special password which allows you to play as the strongest form possible and battle the REAL final boss, who is by far one of the toughest baddies I have ever taken on in a video game.
It's sort of rare now in it's original cartridge form. It goes for over $100 on ebay, and is steadily climbing higher as more and more people realize that they missed out back in the day when only a limited number were made. If you have it, hold onto it. If you don't, there are plenty of good emulators for it that work just as well as the original.
Or you could watch my playthrough on youtube, or one of the numerous others which may or may not be as good but probably aren't as good.
Thank you for reading, and I hope I have tweaked your curiosity about this great game.
Now, to the bare bones. Demon's Crest for the SNES is one of those games that didn't really get a lot of press when it was released. I know it had a couple of different ads that ran, and have some in comic books and the like from that time period. It is the sequel (or maybe prequel, those games have a crap timeline and nobody really gets how they line up) to a couple of games called Gargoyles Quest 1 and 2 (which were themselves just spin-offs of the Ghost's and Goblins franchise). The first game was on the Gameboy and kind of set the groundwork for the sequels to come. In it, the demon Firebrand (or Red Arremer in Japan) is trying to stop a coup from occurring that will upset the social hierarchy of the demon world. This one guy is trying to be king and yadda yadda. He has the ability to hover using his wings and shoot projectiles which can be upgraded over time (a staple in the series), and also can acquire magic to boost his abilities in other ways. The sequel on the NES was very similar but added an RPG style overworld similar to Zelda 2 the Adventure of Link. I'm not that into the first two, but acknowledge their importance to the platforming genre as a whole. The real deal begins with the third installment: Demon's Crest.
Demon's Crest is about Firebrand's fall somewhere after the events of the first game (the second was a prequel? IDK, it's kind of weird). The Demon World is at war over a handful of gemstones that offer the owner supreme power over the elements they represent (fire, water, earth, air, time, heaven and infinity). Well, Firebrand, being a total hardcase, is able to obtain all of them (besides Infinity which only shows up after the others are assembled together) except for Heaven, which is in the possession of a rather large demonic dragon. So they fight, planets crumble, babies cry, and Firebrand is finally victorious, but at the expense of most of his health. A jerk named Phalanx takes advantage of this and sucker-punches him out of the sky, taking his crests for his own, and accidentally shattering the fire crest (which Firebrand retains control over). Fastforward an uncertain amount of time...
Firebrand wakes up in a coliseum and has to duke it out with the demon dragon's zombie remains, using only the weakest and most limited component of the fire crest. The journey for vengeance and unlimited power begins.
What's great about this game, exactly? Well for starters it has one of the most satisfying control schemes of any platformer I can recall. Right off the bat you are able to jump, shoot fire balls, hover in the air, grasp walls with your feet, and do a cool headbutt which shatters some objects in the background. Each crest obtained offers abilities similar to a Megaman game (of which this is often called a ripoff), including projectiles that have unique effects and alternative forms that allow for different platforming and level-busting abilities. Of these, my favorite is the Air Gargoyle form, which allows you to fly rather than just hover, and gives you a projectile which can cut through vines and other obstacles. Additionally you can find empty urns and vellums scattered throughout the lands, which can be filled with purchased potions and spells for use at your own discretion. Take note also that you aren't playing a good guy really. Firebrand's main goal is revenge and the right to dominion over the entire demon world. It's very much up in the air just what you'll do after all this is said and done.
There is a password feature, which allows you to save and revisit your game at whatever point you like, and also replayability in the form of multiple endings depending on just how many of the items and health containers you found throughout the game and which final boss you chose to fight. Never a bad thing for a game to have, replayability...Oh and it's important to mention the coolness of the overworld in this game. Utilizing the mode-7 graphics capabilities of the SNES, you are able to fly over a large map at high speeds as Firebrand and literally swoop down into whichever level you wish to play. It's friggin awesome. Firebrand was never as popular as the majority of other video game protagonists, but he did make it into a couple of fighting games (most recently Marvel vs. Capcom 3). Pretty good considering.
Add to that the excellent graphics, memorable bosses, absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, awesome opening and ending cinematics, and super gothic art design, and you have a really solid game that everyone can enjoy. Beyond that, it just has this gamefeel that I can't get enough of.
Oh, and it's important to note that once you beat the game with the good ending, you unlock a special password which allows you to play as the strongest form possible and battle the REAL final boss, who is by far one of the toughest baddies I have ever taken on in a video game.
It's sort of rare now in it's original cartridge form. It goes for over $100 on ebay, and is steadily climbing higher as more and more people realize that they missed out back in the day when only a limited number were made. If you have it, hold onto it. If you don't, there are plenty of good emulators for it that work just as well as the original.
Or you could watch my playthrough on youtube, or one of the numerous others which may or may not be as good but probably aren't as good.
Thank you for reading, and I hope I have tweaked your curiosity about this great game.