A long long time ago there was a game, and it opened up with a picturesque view of crabs on a beach. Here we have Billy "Big Bang" Blitz enjoying his vacation with his girlfriend Mary. That is until he is contacted by his employer S.A.B.R.E telling him that the probably world famous Professor Plum (don't get confused with Clue here) has been kidnapped along with the Doomsday Bomb he created. So Billy, probably the best agent ever, sets off to rescue and stop the detonation of the Doomsday Bomb. More importantly though he has a ruined vacation.
That's how Clash at Demonhead starts, with the rudest introduction cut scene ever probably in the history of video games. Seriously what is ruder then someone interrupting your vacation? Anyway back to the game..
Clash at Demonhead is a platformer developed and published by Vic Tokai. It has the esteemed pleasure of being one of the many cult games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Also has the pleasure of having some amazing box art, you seriously won't find it on a list with the original Mega Man.
So...awesome... Other then that intro sequence much of the plot is dispensed through conversations between Billy and other characters throughout the game world. The bosses certainly fall into the villainous speech category telling you how you'll fail, etc. Soon there's something to do with demons, aliens and a skeleton with a jet pack.
The game is off the wall with its enemy choices. You'll face bullets, what can only be described as floating robot rabbit head things, trashcans that shoot bullets, fuzzy looking things with evil red eyes...you get the picture. Nothing really makes sense for the enemy choices and they don't follow a simple theme like other games. They even have a pair of dancing pandas as a boss. Why? There isn't really an explanation for it, it just doesn't make sense. All of these things may be odd but the gameplay is your typical run-and-gun shooter. You have your different suits that last for a limited time that gives you special abilities like running fast, swimming underwater or being able to survive through lava. Same goes for your shot types, they also last for a limited amount of time and have the usual variety. The only thing that does make this interesting is the weirdness in the game. It really is what makes you play it for an extended period of time.
It also has whatever the hell this thing isA truly weird moment is when you have a conversation with one of your comrades as they are dieing. What happens is that you talk to him and keep leaving the screen and coming back. After you do this a few times they'll be nothing left but a skeleton with a somewhat insulting note. Sure there may contain plot elements but the real gain from these little chats is you gain one of each item after you talk to the skeleton. So not only do you have a nice chat with your comrade whilst he dies but you loot his corpse afterwards...nice.
So where does Clash at Demonhead stand today? Besides being a reference in the Scott Pilgrim series its been forgotten by time. But hopefully what you've learned here will make you want to search it out, or even make it a footnote in the pages of gaming history.
-Ryan P.
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