Retro Review - Demon's Crest

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There was so much competition a few years ago in the video game industry that the development companies made every effort to bring us, the public, the best of themselves, for this they were dedicated to programming games where many of them are part of the growth of the world of the video game world as we know it today. Capcom was one of the companies responsible for most of the best games that even today remain in force for so many years.

The game that I bring a new Retro Review, is about: Demon's Crest, an excellent game that in my opinion and also the opinion of many people, has been forgotten during these years.

Before beginning to tell the story of this game, I must clarify that the events of Demon's Crest occur in the universe of the classic and difficult: Ghost n'goblins.

In demon crest we take the role of Firebrand, a gargoyle we defeated in the game Ghost n'Goblins, but the misfortune of our protagonist begins after he takes control of some magic stones whose abilities are characterized by having power: of fire, of earth, of air, of water, of time and of heaven, but not only that, but when these 6 magic stones are together they have the ability to form the stone of the infinite, a stone that gives immense power to anyone who has it under its power.

For Firebrand to get these stones was not easy, because many demons also wanted to have these stones under their power, so they went to war where there were many deaths, each one worse than another, until at last our protagonist became master of such longed for magical stones, but unfortunately for him, at the end of the war, Firebrand was too wounded and exhausted,was at this moment weakness where the maximum enemy of Firebrand, Phalanx, takes advantage to steal the 6 magical stones, so he gets incredible power, becoming the master of the demonic universe.

But Firebrand will not be left with this defeat, and we must help him recover the magic stones and likewise recover the powers he has lost because of his great enemy, for this we must defeat the lackeys of phalanx and remove to each one the stone that they have under their control to later eliminate to Phalanx of the existence.

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Can see, Demon's Crest has a fairly simple argument, this was something characteristic of many games of his time, but from the beginning the game shows us which is our main mission, by which we must overcome large numbers of enemies and scenarios to recover what they have stolen from our demoniac protagonist.

As I said in many of my reviews the graphics in 16 bits are my favorites, showing that with some pixels they create wonders, as for demon's crest despite not having a graphic quality that stands out above other games, the 16 bits that presents us is sufficiently elaborate to create a gloomy and gothic world that so much draws attention to the eye.

Of course, in Demon's Crest we can see a lot of details in all the scenarios we visited, capcom knew how to create a setting appropriate to what the game represents (demons), so that when we see the first seconds of this game, we know that we are not before a normal world, but in a dark and gloomy one.

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In turn, the quality of drawing of all the demons and creatures that we encounter as we go forward, has a quality that is at par with the scenarios, as well as the sprites of these creatures, present some of the best designs as far as demons and creatures of hell are concerned, although in quality of these creatures and beasts is below of games like Castlevania, but they present personages that fit perfectly to the world of fantasy, but fantasy of gothic and dark.

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Demon's Crest maintains part of the aesthetics we saw in Ghost n'Goblins, but with a darker tone, the color palette used makes each scenario, overflowing with great personality, is an aspect that few games have the ability of doing.

As expected, you could not miss a soundtrack that accompanies the gloomy atmosphere of this game, is that demon's crest brings us a quality of music that is superior to many games of its time, where each melody perfectly fits the world and the stages we visit. Melodies that are mostly composed of musical instruments such as the organ, marvel at us with tonalities ranging from the gothic to the epic in just seconds. Of the best in terms of musical quality of the time.

Video Author RETRO OST

Demon's Crest has characteristics similar to the genre Metroidvania, we move laterally by the scenarios plagued of enemies of which we must defeat with the abilities that we have at our disposal, as is customary in games of this genre, the number of enemies that appear in each scenario is high, where each of them have a different movement and attack pattern, in turn, in the same scenario we can find enemies that attack us from the ground as from the sky, so we must be alert when we move through all these infested places of the most horrifying creatures you can find.

As I said before Firebrand is a gargoyle, therefore has the ability to fly and float, this gives us advantage against some enemies, thanks to this ability we can create a pattern of attack that helps us to eliminate as many enemies as possible.

Each level has an end boss, where the boss has one of the magic stones that have been stolen from firebrand, so after defeating the boss, (note that is a feat a bit complicated), as it is to suppose each boss has a pattern of attack very different from the previous one, as well as a weak point, therefore we must learn these patterns to us as we fight against them, in order to be able to overcome them and to obtain the magic stone that has in its power.

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We must keep in mind that when it comes to wanting to advance through the stages, there will be places where we can not advance because we must obtain beforehand the ability that gives us a magic stone to help us overcome this obstacle, as well as hidden and secret sites we can find them thanks to obtaining the correct ability to do so.

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Something that I did not like much about Demon's Crest is that the system of saving the game is with codes, a modality that I never liked, but hey, that's the only bad thing I see in this game.

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It is surprising that Demon's Crest is not such a well-known game or has not given it the merit it deserves, in my opinion is a game that contributes a lot with its excellent but in some cases difficult gameplay, with its well detailed graphics and gloomy scenarios,also with its excellent character design, is a game that many people have not had the joy of playing, it is possible that at the time that the sale came out, being a game that has in its name the word "Demon's" many parents did not want to buy it for their children and this is why many did not know him in his day, or even many years later. That said, if you have not played Demon's Crestyet and you like Metroidvania type games, do not hesitate to play it.

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