#131: Demon’s Crest
The darkest game on the SNES goes to everyone’s favorite gargoyle
This review was originally posted to Twitter on July 7, 2019.
Initial release: October 21, 1994
Platform: Super Nintendo
Developer: Capcom
Look, let’s just be real here: Capcom like to put out iterations of the same game over and over. They did it with Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Mega Man, Street Fighter, and yes, Gargoyle’s Quest. But when they decide to change things up? Look out.
Capcom knew they had a winner with Mega Man X, which was a much needed shot in the arm for a franchise that some viewed as getting stale. It was significantly darker in tone compared to the classic series, which seemed just right for the early 90s. 1993 gave us Azrael-as-Batman, after all. (Okay, to be fair, I’m being snarky — while Mega Man X does lean hard on a gritty cyberpunk dystopia vibe, it’s still very brightly colored, and there’s something to be said about all the bosses being based on animals. It’s a far cry from the stupidity that was 1990s comics.)
So it made sense that Capcom would revisit Gargoyle’s Quest; the original game was fairly successful by Game Boy standards (naturally eliciting the NES sequel in the first place.) But Demon’s Crest is even more dramatically different than even Mega Man X was to its predecessor. While it of course brings forward many of the gameplay elements of the earlier games, it’s at heart a stand-alone entry, feeling almost totally unrelated to its predecessors or to Ghosts ‘n Goblins. The only major connection is the return of Firebrand.
The original Gargoyle’s Quest games were, in a word, kid’s stuff: generally easy, with an ugly-cute aesthetic, the kind of game Capcom were churning out around on a regular basis in 1990. Demon’s Crest, in contrast, is tonally one of the darkest games on Super Nintendo, comparable to Castlevania (and arguably even darker than that.) This tonal shift is evident in everything from the overall aesthetic, to the enemy design, to the music, to even the plot, which opens up already in progress with a war in the Ghoul Realm over six magical crests that randomly fell from the sky one day. Firebrand, by now a seasoned warrior, had collected five of the crests and just finished pummeling the owner of the sixth, only to be ambushed in his weakened state by another demon named Phalanx. Left with only a fraction of his power, Firebrand is thrown into prison. The game opens with him participating in an arena battle against a zombie dragon (possibly the corpse of the very dragon he fought for the sixth crest) and staging his escape. Now that he’s free, he plans to take back the crests and get his revenge on Phalanx.
The RPG elements of the first two games are almost totally gone, now. No more wandering the overworld like it’s Final Fantasy; instead, Firebrand flies high overhead (good use of Mode 7 here!) and will swoop down to land on whatever destination you pick.
The only semblance of the franchise’s RPG influence left is the ghoul city you can visit, which has shops you can get supplies from, as well as serving as the entrance point for one of the game’s levels.
Similar to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, most of the levels feature alternate paths; sometimes these lead to dead ends with a nice item for you, but more often they lead to an entirely different boss. You can also revisit levels to explore other paths that new abilities open up.
These new abilities represent a big overhaul of how the series handles Firebrand’s increase in power over the course of the game. Firebrand now can change form allowing him to perform different abilities, each with their own uses — such as one allowing him to swim. You can now also buy potions provided you have bottles to put them in, and these potions each have their own uses. There’s also a spell system that relies on collectible sheets of vellum, but most of the spells are generally useless.
In the previous games, your hit points would increase as the plot demanded; in this game, similar to Mega Man X or Metroid, you have to find special items that extend your hit points. And you can find talismans give you passive bonuses.
Collect all the crests and items before you finish the game and you open up the true ending… but let’s talk final bosses, shall we?
As you might expect, Phalanx is the final boss, who’s been trying to use the crests to get infinite power (hm, who else do we know who’s like that?)
But let’s be real here: Phalanx is horseshit. Most of the bosses in this game are generally very easy and predictable, even General Arma, who repeatedly shows up to harass you throughout the game. Phalanx? Not so much. Each phase of his fight is more irritating than the last.
Finish off the first three phases of the battle and he assumes his final form, which is just flat out ludicrously difficult, requiring you to jump from platform to platform as he throws energy at you in the form of homing lightning balls, lightning bolts, and a huge laser. Your only opportunity to hit him is when he’s charging his laser or immediately after, before he moves his arms in front of his face again. so you’re spent hopping from platform to platform hoping against hope that you won’t take some bullshit hit that you couldn’t see coming.
If you do manage to pull it off, however, you’re rewarded with one of three endings based on how complete your item and crest collection is (some of the last few can only be gotten in Phalanx’s palace, the final crest itself bestowed upon you by Phalanx himself.) If you’ve gotten everything, the game gives you a password; restart the game and input the password, and you’re treated to post-game content, which… ultimately isn’t much. Your money and vials are all gone, and you’ll want them back, because next you face…
The Dark Demon. Jesus fucking Christ. Forget every Dark Souls boss you ever banged your head against a wall over; this thing will make you cry blood. It’s a constant dervish of spinning blades, falling rocks, and an asshole little ball of lightning that won’t leave you alone. As the fight drags on, more and more of the walls and floor are turned into spikes, meaning you will want to get this done as fast as possible. It’s an insanely difficult, frustrating fight that will eat up your full-health potions… though arguably more fair than Phalanx.
On average, Demon’s Crest is about standard difficulty for an early 90s SNES Capcom game, on par with Mega Man X or its sequel, certainly nothing like Ghosts ‘n Goblins. But these two final boss fights, man, they are the fucking pits. And yet I fucking love this game. This is one of the best-looking games on the SNES. Everything is lovingly detailed for a gloomy, macabre atmosphere fitting for a place literally called “the realm of the ghouls.” the sprite animation is second to none for the era, too. The soundtrack is one of the best on the SNES — arguably it’s my favorite. Generally i prefer the genesis for good game soundtracks of the 16-bit era, but Capcom have pulled out a winner with this one, composed by unsung legend Toshihiko Horiyama.
This game sold extremely poorly; in fact, for a while it was selling negative units as people returned their copies. As a result, Capcom has yet to revisit the sub-franchise. It’s a shame, because this game’s vibe would fit very well amidst today’s Soulslikes and Witchers. I don’t know that there’s another game that’s quite like this one. While it’s comparable to Castlevania, Mega Man, and others, it’s such a unique blend of atmosphere and gameplay that it stands apart from almost everything. This is a rare jewel and deserves your attention.
