Gargoyle's Quest II The Demon Darkness

Players: 1 About: Platforming / RPG Courtesy of: Capcom Back in: 1992 Originally on: NES Also on: GameBoy

While many successful NES titles of the time were in turn adapted to Nintendo's "lesser" portable hardware in order to push more sales, Gargoyle's Quest II is probably the first instance in which this well-established model was reversed. The respectable and moderate success its portable prequel enjoyed prompted a quiet sequel on the NES, kickstarting Firebrand's very own adventures into a small spinoff series Capcom never expected to capitalize on. This bigger, more refined, full-blown color adventure would oddly enough also see a GameBoy release.

Western cover

Strangely, Gargoyle's Quest II seems to have no plot ties or correlations to its predecessor despite it being numbered the second in the series. According to the manual, Firebrand was minding his own business when a strange black light covered Etruria. This strange phenomenon spawned an army of Destroyers, and killed or incapacitated the realm's inhabitants. Driven by the will to restore his Ghoul Realm to its former status at the dying king's request, he sets off on his second adventure with no apparent knowledge of his first. Does this mean Capcom meant this game to be an upgraded and more polished version of the GameBoy original? A sort of do-over or remake for a game that wasn't expected to have much of a future?

Makaimura Gaiden II - Famicom

The Japanese title screen sure is beautiful. Again we get the crappy one.

Although there are almost no gameplay changes noticeable, the surprising decision of completely removing random encounters on the world map and inside some dungeons makes one feel almost guilty when wandering aimlessly collecting vials and exploring without restrictions. Previous random battles are now represented by enemy NPCs that will attack when aproached, sometimes also engaging in conversation with Firebrand. But since there's still no experience system in the game, the only thing to gain from this is the realm's currency, precious vials.
Control-wise, Firebrand seems to be a little slower this time, with even "floatier" jumps. But it's not an issue at all.

Japanese cover

Firebrand's journey is more or less as long as his previous adventure, but huge, colorful stages up the scale while making good use of the console's greater screen resolution for better maneuvering. New enemies and more elaborate boss battles, equally great soundtrack, and slightly richer NPC dialogs and interaction do Gargoyle's Quest II nothing but good while still keeping it simple enough not to scare off non-RPG fans. One of the best looking NES titles and everything a sequel should be.

A direct port to GameBoy was released only in Japan a year after under the game's original Japanese title, Makaimura Gaiden II: The Demon Darkness, if only to remain faithful to fans of Firebrand's original monochrome antics. As expected, it's a downgraded port of the NES game, although it does feature some nice exclusives like a couple of extra optional dungeons that don't have any impact on the plot or game's progression. Technical limitations aside, it remains an exact copy of the original.

Demon's Crest

Players: 1 About: Action / Adventure Courtesy of: Capcom Back in: 1994 Originally on: SNES Also on: N/A

The last installment in the series was renamed Demon's Blazon in Japan, and Demon's Crest in all other territories. Perhaps in tone with Capcom's reboot of its Megaman series with Megaman X, Firebrand's last adventure on the SNES also went through some revamping not only in the graphic department (with a much darker, serious tone, and dropping the cartoony look), but also either dropping or reworking some of the cross-genre characteristics that defined it in the first place.

With no plot continuity relating it to its prequels, Demon's Crest tells the story of six magical stones that (very conveniently for the plot) one day just fell from the sky. Inscribed with the powers of air, water, earth, fire, heaven, and time, the inhabitants of the Demon Realm fought to gain possesion of them because of their powers, yet only Firebrand was successful in collecting them all. But soon after defeating the demon dragon in a fierce fight for the last one, Phalanx ambushed Firebrand and took all the crests from him.

American cover

Demon's Crest moves away from the platforming / RPG mix that was responsible for the series' uniqueness and intentionally drops almost all RPG bits and pieces to focus almost exclusively on platforming action with a little bit of exploring. Firebrand controls very much the same and is still as agile as always, being able to jump, shoot, cling to walls, and now also hoover without time restrictions. A new headbutt move lets him smash background objects in search of minor items and money but feels very underused, yet the main structure of the game has been transformed and now reminds of games like Megaman X and Super Metroid: overcoming individual, unrelated stages and their bosses grants new powers and abilities; while hidden, branching paths accessed only with certain skills encourage backtracking and revisiting of such stages to find new areas, more bosses, and even more hidden goodies.

Japanese cover

The Japanese cover is more attractive, as usual.

Only four locations are available from the beginning, selectable via a good-looking-yet-gimmicky Mode 7 world map that tries very hard to bind all the stages together without really accomplishing it. Firebrand can fly over it at will to choose his destination while selecting one makes him dive towards land with the screen zooming in. Secret areas and higher stages are completely optional, yet the game is obviously enjoyed at its best if you actively look for them. The true ending, of course, is only achieved once everything is unlocked.

Gone are any kind of world map battles, the RPG-ish command menu, and most NPCs that once made the Demon Realm feel like a lively place. Demon's Crest did, however, not only retain shops but also improved them. In certain map locations marked as towns or houses, Firebrand can use blank "vellums", empty flasks, and currency collected during his adventure to buy and store up to five different types of potions (that teleport, restore health, or resurrect him), and five kinds of spells (that increase defense, cause damage to enemies, or stops them in their tracks). Talismans, well-hidden rare relics, grant permanent magical effects like increased fire rate, halved damage, or higher item drop rates by enemies.

Demon's Crest SNES

The menu screen shows the different shots, crests, spells, potions, and talismans.

All of these must be activated to work, and you can manage them in the improved menu screen. This screen also contains the different types of shots Firebrand acquires, as well as the series' newest play mechanic: the crest powers. These colored magical stones are obtained from defeated bosses and morph Firebrand into differently skilled types of gargoyles able to gain access to previously unreachable areas or navigate locations specifically crafted for them.

The power of the crests:
Crest of Fire	This is also your basic form, but with the crest of fire you gain a more powerful shot.
Crest of Air	The crest of air allows you to fly with no limitations.
Crest of Water	The crest of water allows you to swim.
Crest of Earth	The crest of earth allows you to ram and/or destroy certain obstacles.
Crest of Time	The crest of time gives you no special ability, but instead makes you more powerful and resistant.
Crest of Heaven	The crest of heaven is only used by Phalanx.
Crest of Infinity	When all other crests are recovered, the crest of infinity is said to appear. It will transform you into the Ultimate Gargoyle, possessing all previous skills.

The art design has clearly "grown up", Mode 7 is used sporadically rather than being exploited as it was on most of the system's first games, and cartoonish sprites gave way to more serious and creepier monsters while the atmosphere is even darker and more ominous. The soundtrack follows accordingly (if nothing outstanding) with mostly slow pipe organ compositions that suit the mood, yet Firebrand's annoying wing batter sound effect can grow tiring with time.

Illustration

A couple of things still feel off though. The introductory stage, featuring a beautifully detailed cemetery and fight against a giant dragon by the name of Somulo, is inexplicably the game's best produced stage. As such, it feels deceptively inconsistent with the quality of the rest. From how much Firebrand's headbutt is used (it's almost never used again in the entire game), to the richness and detail of its background graphics, to the bosses impressive entrance. It's clear Capcom knew this is the stage that would sell the game, yet ommited polishing the rest of the game to bring it up to their other series' high standards.

Although Demon's Crest doesn't quite faulter at anything in particular, its more serious, "cooler" tone means the loss of its prequels' charm. Without the realm's residents, Demon's Crest feels sterile, empty, and lonely; and dropping the conventions the series was known for in favor of imitating other SNES action titles could be considered a questionable move. Even though it's an enjoyable game executed with all the experience Capcom is known for, it still feels like it's missing something, like Firebrand has lost his soul. I can't help but wonder what Demon's Crest could have been with a deeper, more improved RPG half than Gargoyle's Quest II had, a Super Ghouls'N Ghosts-quality soundtrack, and richer SNES graphics.

Soundtrack
	Opening
	Beyond The Colosseum
	Metropolis Of Ruin
	Palace Of Decadence