Night Creatures
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
People often approach me and ask, 'Do you happen to like
video games which feature human protagonists who can shape
shift into various creatures?', to which I reply,
'Certainly. As a matter of fact, I happen to really enjoy
one such title for the TurboGrafx-16. ' They then ask,
'Would that title happen to be Night Creatures?', to which
I respond, 'No... it's called Shape Shifter. ' At that
point they typically walk away dejected and never speak to
me again. However, had they inquired further, they would
have discovered that Night Creatures is indeed a quality
title, even though it isn't the first game that comes to
mind when people walk up to me and ask me about shape
shifting video game heroes.
The unlikely hero in Night Creatures is an unfortunate
fellow who just happened to be taking a stroll around town
one night when a bat swooped down from the sky and bit him
in the back of the neck. Of course, this wasn't just any
hostile little bat; this was the wicked Hecate, 'Queen of
Darkness'! Slowly but surely, our cursed hero will change
into a hideous monster - unless he can track down and
demolish Hecate herself. It certainly won't be an easy task,
but guess who our hero has to help him out?
Night Creatures is a horizontally-scrolling hack-and-slash
game in which you will visit such lovely sites as
graveyards, tombs, and swamps in your effort to save our
hero from a horrifying fate. All sorts of grotesque
creatures will attempt to kill you before you can reach
their evil queen, unfortunately. Among Hecate's henchmen are
lovely folks such as Werewolves, Witches, Mummies, Ghouls,
Wraiths and Vampires, and there's nothing these guys would
like more than for you to completely transform into an ugly
night creature and join their ranks. Unless you have some
strange desire to join their little club, you're going to
have to gather as many items and weapons as possible in
order to survive the night. Simple swords and axes will only
take you so far, however; you will ultimately need to learn
how to alter your form on your own, and utilize your new
shapes to advance past your enemies and penetrate Hecate's den.
Night Creatures is rather reminiscent of the classic NES
game, Simon's Quest, not only because of its horror
elements, but also because it's an adventure game which
isn't split up into individual levels. You'll have to do
some exploring and find your way around this world on your
own. Unlike Simon's Quest, there is a time limit in this
game, so if you spend too much time playing around in the
graveyards and swamps, your time as a human will expire and
you'll be stuck in the form of a night creature for the rest
of eternity. You won't be alone in your quest, however;
besides all the night creatures there are also three
benevolent human beings that exist in this haunted land.
There's your girlfriend, who basically just shows up at the
beginning of the game to briefly discuss your predicament
and offer you some encouragement as you set off on your
journey. Then there's the shopkeeper, who will kindly give
you some of his goods after he thoroughly insults you.
There's also the requisite 'wise old woman' who pops up
every now and then to offer you some useless advice. She may
not be very helpful, but you've got to admire this woman:
she's able to get around these dangerous locales without so
much as an item or weapon to defeat evildoers with. It makes
you wish that she'd just kill Hecate for you herself and
spare you all the trouble.
You control your character in Night Creatures in typical
fashion. One button is used to swing or shoot your weapon,
while the other is used for jumping (at least while you are
in human form). Pressing both buttons down simultaneously
allows you to make use of special items that you may
discover along the way. While there's nothing inherently
wrong with the way the game controls, the collision
detection could have used a lot of work. You'll have to nail
your enemies in precise spots with your weapon in order to
kill them, and it's oftentimes impossible to avoid taking
some damage yourself. Making matters even more difficult is
the fact that most of these guys are relentless and even
somewhat intelligent. If you try to avoid a fight by running
down a flight of stairs, your enemies will charge down the
stairs themselves and continue their pursuit of you. If you
attempt to kill a creature by crouching down and swinging
your weapon, the evildoer will jump over you and attack you
from behind. You'll also need to figure out which weapons
work best on which enemies, which will require a decent
amount of experimentation. Night Creatures isn't a long
game, but it definitely makes for a challenging, grueling experience.
Strangely enough, while most of the creatures that you'll
encounter are rather difficult to kill off, many of the
bosses in the game are ridiculously easy. Granted, you'll
need to figure out which item they're vulnerable to, but
once you do, most of them can be disposed of in a single
hit. After you do away with a boss, you'll be granted the
power to transform into a particular shape. There are four
different forms in all: badger, owl, wolf and bear. You'll
need to exercise prudent judgment when changing forms, as
your vitality meter will rapidly be depleted when you're in
any shape other than human. Each form is useful in various,
particular instances, but it would have been nice if they
had played a larger role in the game. You'll spend just
about all of your time during your adventure in human form.
The graphics are a high point of Night Creatures. There are
plenty of large, colorful monsters to contend with, and the
backgrounds, which feature some nice scrolling effects, are
extremely detailed, even though they are generally very dark
and gloomy. As one might expect, the music in the game is
rather eerie and spooky, although it isn't as intense as the
tracks that can be heard in the Castlevania games. Instead,
the tunes in Night Creatures are rather melancholy and even
sound mournful at times. Unfortunately, there aren't any
noteworthy sound effects in the game, which is too bad when
you consider the impact that well-timed effects can have on
an atmosphere of horror.
If you're up for the challenge, and you won't mind a bit of
exploration and experimentation mixed in with your
hack-and-slash action, then Night Creatures will give you
your money's worth. So let this be a lesson to those of you
who plan on approaching me to ask for my opinion on video
games that feature shape-shifting protagonists: if I don't
mention Night Creatures right off the bat, don't let it give
you the impression that this isn't a very good video game.
If you stick around long enough to ask, 'Mr. Ruder, do you
happen to like the game Night Creatures?', I will reply,
'Yes... Oh yes indeed, I do. ' I will then hand you a black
rose and be on my way home, where I will most likely power
up my Turbo and play this game for the rest of the night
(matrix style, of course).
Overall: 8 out of 10
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