Frankenstein: The Monster Returns (NES) Playthrough

A playthrough of Bandai's 1991 horror-themed action-platformer for the NES, Frankenstein: The Monster Returns.

Frankenstein had been laid to rest, and as the seasons passed, the village's memories of his reign of terror gradually faded. Some years later, a giant storm blows in, and a bolt of lightning strikes the headstone, sending a surge of electricity through the corpse.

Frankenstein awakens (Jason, is that you?), kidnaps the village elder's daughter, and casts a mind-control spell on the monsters living in the nearby forest to create an army to do his bidding. You, of course, are the hero who sets off on a quest to save Emily and put Frankenstein down for good.

Frankenstein: The Monster Returns was one of several Bandai NES games to be based on a pre-existing work, but as that plot description makes abundantly clear, Tose (the developer) wasn't the slightest bit interested in creating a faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. That they confused Frankenstein for his monster implies that nobody on the staff had even read the book, but since the game wasn't intended to be used as interactive Cliff's Notes, I don't think any of that matters much.

It's a side-scrolling action platformer that places heavy emphasis on its monster movie boss battles and plot-driving cinematic cutscenes. Fittingly enough, it feels like a Frankenstein's monster of pieces from Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden. It's neither as attractive nor as solidly built as the games it was carved from, but the pieces were preserved and stitched together with enough skill that Frankenstein still manages to be rather compelling on its own.

The hero, who looks like a Roman soldier wearing a Belmont cape, begins the four-stage adventure in his home village where he'll chat with people, gather supplies, and do battle with a sewer dragon, Death, and a Demon Horse. Once he breaks through, he'll continue on through a dark forest until he reaches a castle, inside which he'll find the entrance to the "Evil Dimension" where Frankenstein is holding Emily.

You start out unarmed, but as you punch and jump kick your way through enemies, you'll gain access to an assortment of upgradable clubs, boomerangs, swords, and magical attacks, as well as healing potions and life bar upgrades.

The levels are made up of short platforming segments linked together by fights with Frankenstein's possessed boss monsters. Once you've broken Frankenstein's magical hold over them, they'll fill you in on what they know and where Frankenstein is headed, and you set off again until you hit the next encounter.

There's no depth to the plot, but its so earnestly melodramatic that I can't help but to smile over the silliness of it all. The gameplay has a few niggling issues with collision detection and it feels way too short, but it's pretty fun. I found myself wanting more when I hit the end.

Frankenstein fits in well with the mid-tier NES platformer crowd, rubbing elbows with the likes of games put out by Jaleco and Vic Tokai (many of which were also made by Tose - go figure!). Like those games, there is some inherent jank, but it's nothing than can't be adapted to after a few minutes of play.

If your looking for a stylish monster-fighting alternative to Castlevania this Halloween, I recommend checking this one out!
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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