Splatterhouse 3

n/a

NTSC-U NTSC-J
Splatterhouse 3
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Namco (JP), Namco Hometek (US)
Developer: Now Production
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1993-03-19 ¥6,800 (7,004)6,800e T-14153 US 1993-08 $64.9564.95 T-14086 AU 1993 FSPL01GMC KR 1993 GM1690JT

Splatterhouse 3, known in Japan as Splatterhouse Part 3 (スプラッターハウス PART3), is a Sega Mega Drive horror beat-'em-up developed by Now Production and published by Namco. A sequel to the developer's 1992 Mega Drive-exclusive Splatterhouse 2, it was first released in Japan in March 1993, and was later brought to the United States and Korea later that year.

Due to the recent introduction of Sega's Videogame Rating Council, the game's violence level was reduced to avoid an MA-17 rating.

Story

Several years have passed since the events of Splatterhouse 2. Rick and Jennifer survived their hellish experience in the West Mansion, graduated from the college, married, and settled down in an old house in the outskirts of the city. Their first child, David, was born soon after.

Cruel fate however, would not leave the poor family alone. One day, Rick returns from work and to his horror, realizes that their home is infested with gruesome creatures similar to the ones he faced years ago in the West Mansion. Out of nowhere, the Mask of Power appears, once again offering him power necessary to defeat the creatures and save his loved ones. The Mask explains that the Evil One, one of the antagonists of the previous game, has returned and kidnapped David, who apparently has psychic powers. In order to acquire the Dark Stone, which allows its owner to rule the universe, a child gifted with psychic powers must be sacrificed when stars are aligned.

With no other choice, Rick accepts the power of the Mask and once again turns into a hulkish brute, ready to exact swift, bloody vengeance from those who attempt to harm his family. Filled with rage and aware that he is running out of time, Rick dashes into his old home.

Gameplay

Map

The game is a horror-themed beat-'em-up. Unlike the preceding games in the series, it uses a two-dimensional plane like a conventional beat-'em-up and features non-linear exploration throughout several rooms on each floor of the Mansion. The goal of each room is to defeat all the monsters that appear, at which point Rick can exit the room through a door. Some rooms have more than two doors, allowing the player to choose a path through the Mansion. Players can view a map of the current floor by pausing the game with  START  when the doors appear. Rick must make it to the endpoint marked with an X on the map, where a boss awaits. Yellow doors on the map warp Rick to a different room, which is important for saving time.

Rick moves with the D-pad and jumps with . He attacks with , which can be done in midair. As with previous games, Rick can find weapons, such as baseball bats and meat cleavers, and wield them against enemies. He picks up weapons and other items with when standing over them. He grabs monsters that are in close range and can headbutt them by pressing or throw them by pressing along with a direction on the D-pad. He performs a spinning kick by moving the D-pad toward the enemy, then away, then toward, and .

Each stage must be cleared in a certain amount of time. Although it does not affect gameplay, running out of time results in changes in the plot, creating four possible endings. The game adds a POW meter, which can be filled by collecting Eldritch Orbs found throughout levels and occasionally are dropped by defeated enemies. Once the bar is filled by at least one orb, the player can transform Rick into a hulking and more monstrous version of himself with the Terror Mask seemingly fused to his head by pressing . In this state, Rick is significantly stronger and can execute a special attack that involves pieces of his flesh extending from his chest area and acting as a weapon, injuring any monster in the vicinity of their reach. Also, instead of wielding the weapons he finds, the mutated version of Rick flings them at enemies for high damage. Rick remains in this state until the energy in the meter is consumed or the room is cleared.

Rick has a life meter that goes down as he takes damage from enemies. He drops any weapon he might be holding if he takes damage (and the weapon is carried away by a spirit if he does not pick it up quickly enough). He loses a life if he depletes the life meter, but he revives momentarily if the player has lives remaining. Extra lives and health items are scattered throughout the levels. The game ends if the player runs out of lives, but the game has unlimited continues and gives the player a password for continuing.

The game has four difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Difficult, and Game Master) and four different endings depending on whether the Rick successfully saves Jennifer, David, both, or neither.

Items

	Eldritch Orb
	Increases Rick's POW meter, which allows him to transform into a mutant form.
	Heart
	Replenishes part of Rick's life meter.
	Book
	Gives the player an extra life.

Stages

	Mansion 1st Floor
	The entrance of your home is not the way you remember. Headless corpses, strange fleshy lessions and bloody prints are everywhere. Pray that those do not belong to your family. Jennifer is somewhere around the first floor, desperately hiding from a horrifying monster. Find and kill the monstrosity before your beloved is hurt.
	Mansion 2nd Floor
	You are too late. Jennifer is infected with a disguisting parasite that will slowly eat her from within. Find and kill the boreworm queen before your wife turns into a mindless beast.
	Mansion 3rd Floor
	Regardless of the fate of your wife, you must now save your son. Rush to the third floor and find David's room. David will not be here but the Evil One left a small "present" for you.
	Mansion Basement
	The Evil One's sacrifical ground is located at the bottom of your house. Race through the catacombs and fight back mindless creatures before the ceremony is complete. Hurry! Your son is in danger.
	The Dark Stone
	The Evil One has acquired the portion of the Dark Stone's power, which is more than enough to crush a mortal like you. Will you be able to stop the ruler of darkness and save your family (or what is left of it)?
	The Mask
	Your "friend" the Mask finally revealed its true colors. You defeated one civilization-ending creature, only to fight another. Destroy the Mask and end this nightmare once and for all.

History

Development

Unlike other third-party games released for the Mega Drive, the PCB was made with chips sealed with silicon (instead of being connected with pins).

Legacy

The game was included as an unlockable in Splatterhouse, released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Splatterhouse 3	Splatterhouse 3
Japanese	スプラッターハウス PART3	Splatterhouse Part 3

Production credits

• Directed and Creature Designed by: Naga! Yama!
• Programmed by: Pori 2 Oohori
• Game Designed and Produced by: Sammy Shimotsuma
• Associate Producer: Papaya Payapaya
• Character Designer: Gyoee! Miyazaki
• Background Designer: Daiya. Y
• Assistant Graphic Designer: K. 327, Senpuuki, Kunfu Man
• Assistant Programmer: Hey!
• Special Visual Effect: Oja, Yuko, Mokkn
• Composed and Sound Designed by: Milky Eiko
• Sound Supervisor: Kiyoshi
• Voice Maker: Kawagen, Gaku
• Special Make up Artist: Sakusaku Koya
• Director of Photography: Silky No. 1
• Cast of Video Graphics:
  • Rick the monster: Phychic
  • Jennifer: Pascal
  • David: Mikurin
  • Rick the human: Oja
• Special Thanks: Funanin, Union Bikers, Ms. Kanai
• Presented By: Namcot

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Splatterhouse 3/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Summer CES 1993 flyer

Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1993-04: "April 1993" (1993-03-08)

Print advert in Game Champ (KR) #1993-05: "xxxx" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #51: "October 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #52: "November 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Artwork

• 

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 68 №8, p60/61

	68
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 60 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 65 Cool Gamer (RU) 70 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 82 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 74 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 63 Game Power (IT) 83 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 98 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 72 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 70 Hyper (AU) 78 Mega (UK) NTSC-U 63 Mega Action (UK) PAL 85 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J 64 Mega Machines (UK) PAL 48 MegaTech (UK) PAL 74 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 90 Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J 77 Play Time (DE) NTSC 62 ProGames (BR) 75 Power Unlimited (NL) 88 Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J 61 Sega Zone (UK) NTSC-J 61 Sega Mega Drive Review (RU) 86 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 72 Supergame (BR) NTSC-U 73 Todo Sega (ES) 84 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 67

	73
Based on 29 reviews

Splatterhouse 3

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart PCB Manual

Mega Drive, AU (NTSC Import)

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Splatterhouse 3/Technical information.

References

Splatterhouse games for Sega systems
Splatterhouse 2 (1992) | Splatterhouse 3 (1993)