Pac-Man and Splatterhouse 3 have two things in common; they were both made by Namco and they both have Ghosts. That’s where the similarities end. Splatterhouse 3 has the distinguished honor of being one of the first games reviewed by Sega’s Videogame Rating Council where it earned an MA-13 rating. Rightfully so, this game ranks up there with some of the bloodiest games ever created.

Taking place five years after the events in the Splatterhouse 2 everything seems to have fallen into place for Rick Dexter. He has a loving family. A rewarding career in parapsychology and he also dabbles in the stock market. He’s practically Gordon Gecko incarnated. In fact he’s done so well in the market that he’s bought a huge mansion in upstate Connecticut. All was right with Rick’s world until...

The Evil One once more begins to haunt Rick’s every waking moment. There’s no relief found in sleep either as the Evil One appears in Rick’s nightmares, causing him to toss and turn and wake his wife Jennifer. There’s no escaping the Evil One. Rick tries to hide all this from his family but he can’t for long as the demons of his youth reappear and turn his beautiful Connecticut Mansion into a Splatterhouse.

Rick knows there’s only one way to save his family from these Lovecraftian monsters and that is to once more don the Terror Mask.



The graphics in this game are brilliant for its era. The Terror Mask itself is in a gray area neither good nor evil yet it helps Rick along the way. The mask looks like your standard 1960’s goalie mask for the most part, but with glowing red behind the eyes and the mouth.
The character of Rick Dexter is brilliantly rendered and comparisons to Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th fame are made quite often. See I just did it there. The monsters that stalk the halls of the mansion each have their own unique appearance. From the color of their skin, to their anatomy of weird faces and legs each monster takes on a personality all their own. Plus these monsters are no pushovers.

They don’t simply go down when you punch them rather they’ll gradually show the effects of your fists pounding their faces. You literally pound their face into a bloody green pulp before they finally evaporate. The look of these monsters is something you’d only be able to conjure from your worst nightmares or watching any Japanese anime.

Speaking of nightmares, the cut scenes are exactly that. Spliced throughout the game are these incredibly creepy scenes focusing on what’s happening to your family as you’re fighting your way through the mansion trying to get to them. Each time a cut scene comes up the anxiety builds, you begin to feel helpless as if you won’t be able to reach them in time. This is another great aspect of the games presentation.

The last thing that is great about the games presentation is the mansion itself. The house in this game is a character in its own right. It’s the minor details that make this game great. The detail the designs took in decorating each room adds to the overall appeal of the game. Each room in the mansion has that “lived in” feeling as if prior to these events Rick and his family were living happily here. However the mansion is far from picturesque as the demons from the netherworld have turned it into the devils playground.



The kitchen has bloody sinks. The foyers have ghostly heads that dance around and end tables with decrepit doilies that someone’s long dead grandma made. The bookcases with the cobwebs, the blood dripping down the walls creates a great overall atmosphere.
This game has the classic beat’em up formula. You’ll use the directional pad to move, the A button to “Hulk” up, the B button to punch/pick up items and the C button to jump. Rick has the standard move set of Punch, Jump, Jump Kick, Pick-Up Throw and Choke.

When I had the controller in my hands playing the game the one thought that crossed my mind was how smooth everything felt. It’s comparable to Streets of Rage 2. Both game’s controls are just fantastic with no lag or chunkiness that some games in this genre suffer from. Another similarity between the two is the use of weapons. Rick is able to pick up baseball bats and axes among other foreign objects, but be careful because if an enemy punches you a ghost head appears and carries your weapon away. These weapons are essential as they can help you make quick work of your enemies and time is of the essence. This isn’t your common beat ‘em up. Strategy becomes a major component of the game especially when it comes to Time Management, Route Planning and the use of power-ups.

Each Stage/Level of the Mansion has a certain amount of time in which you can complete the level. You must make each movement count and always keep your eye on the clock moving quickly and with purpose through the mansion. There are a number of ways you can make your way to your destination but you must plan to take the quickest route possible or else your family members will fall into the hands of the Evil One’s demon spawns.

Each time you clear a room of monsters you can hit the pause button which will bring up a floor plan and then you’re able to choose which path to take. This isn’t like a maze however the quickest path is clearly evident, but if you don’t want to take it the games is open enough to let you take whatever route you choose. I enjoyed the freedom this allowed me sometimes to the detriment of my loved ones who were being tortured.



The other notable feature is the introduction of the Eldritch Orbs which will fill a power meter at the bottom of the screen when collected. By pressing A you will “Hulk” up into a monstrous version of yourself with the help of the Terror Mask which becomes fused to your body. When Rick is in this monstrous form you deal significantly more damage to your enemies. This increased damage will help you make your way quicker through the mansion. Bear in mind however that you need to use these orbs strategically because you don’t want to use them all up before getting to the Boss of each level as they are truly tough bastards.

This game is fairly expensive by my standards and prices continue to rise for the title. You can expect to see a CIB copy now a days going for between $40-$50. The game is popping up less frequently and the demand for it has increased among collectors.

This game is one of the definitive beat 'em up and has some replayability as you can take different routes through the house. The game can be beaten in an afternoon by those dedicated enough so you may not be getting a lot of bang for your buck with this title. This one is extremely difficult to judge if it's worth it or not. The game is great, the price is steep, I see this game as not depreciating in value anytime in the near future so I'm going to go ahead and say that this game is in fact worth it.

Score- 8.5 (Very Very fun -- its essential gameplay aspects are cool and interesting, but may not be implemented in the best way.)