A SPECIAL HALLOWEEN COIN UP!

Do you feel it… the chill in the air? Falls is here! with it- HALLOWEEN! It’s that time of year to play some spooky games! So I thought- what better way to celebrate by doing a special COIN UP! REVIEW!

Now, we’re not doing the game everybody’s reviewed ( Ahem… Ghosts and Goblins ) we’ll do that another day. Were going to talk about a little known Halloween jem called…

was released in 1982 by Sega. 1982 was an interesting time for Sega. Monster Bash was a part a Convertagame Kits- to put into their older cabinets at a lower price. In the game you play a boy named “Lil Red” who has to defeat Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Chameleon man!

This is your player, Lil Red. He has to move from one castle to another to defeat the monsters and save the day. He can shoot zappers from his hands to dispatch the smaller monsters in the room. But for the big guys, he’s gonna need a little more power…

THE MAGIC SWORD!

Touch the sword when it’s fully energized and get SUPERZAP power to defeat the big guys! But watch out! You only get one shot, so make it count! Also, get to it before the clouds cover the moon- or it will need to be recharged again! And how do you energize that bad boy?

Why, Candles of course! Light them by running by them! Light a candle on a floor to energize the magic sword! But, watch out again! If you let the candles burn out before you reach the sword, those candles are done till they reset! Quick! Run to the next one and light it!

And when you are ready to attack, Red does this-

You only get one superzap before you have to re energize, so make it count!

Let’s get to the Monsters you are fighting…

DRACULA!!!

The prince of the undead is waiting for you in his castle! he uses magic portals to get around faster. Use them to your advantage!!!

Dracula’s minions-

THE BATS!

The Bats hang from the ceilings on each floor of the castle, but they awaken if you wander too close. Shoot it once with a zap to kill it!

FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER!

This hideous man of a hundred different body parts has portals, but can also drop through the floor!

Frankenstein monster’s minions-

THE WEREWOLVES!

Werewolves move about on every floor and climb the ladders! They can also duck your zaps! Shoot them once with a zap to kill it!!!

CHAMELEON MAN!

This monster is the toughest of all! He can change color to blend in with the maze he’s in! hit one of the colored buttons on the sides of the maze to bring him out of hiding!

Chameleon man’s minions-

THE SPIDERS!!!

The spiders are EVERYWHERE! And there is a lot of them! Shoot fast or you’re a goner!

Now, let’s take a look at the rounds and see what your dealing with!

As you can see, there are three candles on the second floor, and two on the fifth. All you have to do, is light a candle on a floor to energize the sword. Easy enough, huh? NO! Bats are hanging about! walk past them, and they will fly down to bite you! And Bats can only fly on their floor, so no going down the stairs for them! Dracula roams the corridors of the castle using the glowing portals. You can use them too! Just remember- portals are linked by color. Enter the blue portal, come out the other side at the other blue portal. Use this to your advantage! Look at the other end before jumping in- a bat or the “BIG D” may be waiting to strike!

Big changes here, kids! there’s only ONE CANDLE! Which means, you have to wait for it to reset to light it again! There’s one door to go through, but the big change in this castle is the HOLES IN THE FLOOR! Yup- on either end of a floor is a hole. Pull down on the stick to drop through it! Beware of the werewolves! they can go anywhere they want, and will gang up on you to cover any stairs, so there’s no escape! Just zap them to make ’em disappear! Watch out- They can duck your shots! Keep shooting till you get ’em!!!

Now, this is where things get interesting! Chameleon man can CHANGE COLOR! he can disappear into the background! Quick! Use the color buttons on the side of the maze to change the maze color, exposing the Chameleon man’s location! Also watch out for his long tongue! He can get you without being near you!!! You only have one candle again, but this time, it’s in the center, surrounded by walls! Also the colored walls change location, locking you in or out of an area, so be careful! Spiders are fast, and there is a lot of them, so keep shooting!

Play at home? yes.. and no. In 1986, Sega revamped ( get it? VAMP? ) Monster Bash into a true adventure platform game and renamed it…

( From the manual )

A spooky romp through Count Dracula’s incredible haunted house.

You’re Mick. And the good news is that your grandfather just told you that you’re to inherit the family jewels. A flashy collection of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, even opals. All yours.

The bad news is that they’re hidden inside Count Dracula’s mansion. They have been for years.

First, you have to wipe out the bats, Draculas, and eventually their annoying henchmen. Then, you have to find the hidden keys and passageways that should lead you to your family’s long lost treasure.

Ghoul luck — you’ll need it.

And then in 2010, I saw this on ATARIAGE-

It’s a faithful recreation of the game done by Russell Kumro for the Colecovision! He’s done several arcade ports that were supposed to be on the original line up on Colecovision ( Sidetrak, Ripcord ) and judging by the video, it looks amazing!

Unfortunately, it hasn’t been released as of yet. Hopefully we will see this great game for the Colecovision in 2015!

Appearance and Sound-

Although not perfect, the graphics were great for this type of game in 1982. They are well defined, and you can tell what everything is supposed to be. The sound is what kept this from getting a five. The music ( if you can call it that ) is awful. The sound effects on the other hand, are good! the evil laugh at the beginning of a round, and the werewolves howling really stood out to me.

Control-

This is kinda and unfair two, but playing it in MAME with my PC controller, it was dreadful. Red just comes to a dead stop at any corner, making you lose precious time. I just don’t see it getting any better on an arcade machine, but I could be wrong.

Difficulty-

Im giving this a five in the difficulty department because it is a relentless game unless you know the secrets ( LOOK AT THE TRADING CARD!!!! ) It really keeps you on your toes!

Play ability-

I’m giving it a five in the end because, the challenge, good graphics ( In 1982 ) and level challenges keep you wanting to play again and again ( I haven’t stopped yet- and I started writing this review 4 days ago! ) so, control issues notwithstanding, and the bad music, it’s definitely worth a go!

So, Monster Bash’s overall score is-