History Videogame / SplatterHouse

Namco released the first ''Splatterhouse'' in arcades; in the United States, its graphic violence sparked a media frenzy from MoralGuardians, which got the game pulled from arcades. The game's later release on the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 received some {{Bowdleri|se}}zation to avoid the same fate; later games did not get such treatment, as the relative obscurity of ''Splatterhouse'' spared the port and its sequels from the crosshairs of the early 1990s "violence in video games" moral panic spawned by ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and ''VideoGame/NightTrap''. (That the first three ''Splatterhouse'' games featured no real human foes to beat up probably helped, too.)

Namco also published ''Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti'' ("Naughty Graffiti"), a bizarre and [[LighterAndSofter wacky]] prequel for the UsefulNotes/{{Famicom}} that features SuperDeformed versions of the game's characters and parodies of numerous horror films (and their associated tropes).

The series sat dormant after ''Splatterhouse 3'', and fans clamored for a new game for years. Namco Bandai delivered that game in 2010 with ''Splatterhouse'', released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and the UsefulNotes/XBox360. This remake[=/=]re-imagining of the first game works as a modern-day version of its 16-bit predecessors, with all that description entails (for example, if Rick takes a lot of damage, he loses massive amounts of skin and ''body parts'' until he can heal). Namco Bandai also included [[EmbeddedPrecursor the entire original trilogy]] (including the uncut arcade version of the first game) as unlockable bonuses, which turned the disc into the ultimate ''Splatterhouse'' collection.

* AmplifierArtifact and ArtifactOfDoom: The Terror Mask. See CoolMask below.
* AnotherDimension: The Void.

* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: [[spoiler:The Terror Mask]] invokes this in the bad endings to the third game.

-->'''Mask''': David it ''[sic]'' that child.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Believe it or not, the 2010 game got a small bit of this; instead of the game's easy difficulty being called "Pussy", Namco higher-ups made them change it because they felt it would be insulting to gamers. It was changed to "Coward". It's particularly odd because this is a game in which the Terror Mask constantly berates your character's reluctance or fear with lines like "I'm sorry, did your ''vagina'' say something just now?"

* EverybodyLives[=/=][[EverybodysDeadDave Everybody Dies]]: The best and worst endings of the third game.

* EvilIsVisceral: Pretty much everything in this game series.

* FinishingMove: The Splatterkills in the remake.

-->"For a Dick, you are such a pussy!"

* LetsPlay: [=Batman9502=] has done a Let's Play of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6zbprR2OZs the]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO4K4BY9H6w original]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTi9P45BbCw trilogy]] during [[HalloweenEpisode the Halloween season]]. [[Webvideo/SailorMoonAbridged NathanGraves989]] also has done one for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvg8-ekMJfc the 2010 remake]].

* LoveMakesYouEvil: Dr. West in the remake.

** Doctor West in the remake.

* {{Necromancer}}: [[FlunkyBoss Master Dead]] in the original game.
* {{Necromantic}}: [[spoiler:Dr. West in the remake.]]

* OneWingedAngel: The [[spoiler:Terror Mask itself, in the final level of ''Splatterhouse 3'']].

** The horror movie references are visibly obvious, but the oddly detailed plot came from [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraft]] before it became trendy, mixed with bits of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' part 1. Who would have guessed the Terror Mask was based on more than Jason Voorhees?

--> "For as I lay on the threshold to the eternal abyss, an angel spoke to me. His message - [[spoiler:'She doesn't have to die.']]"

* WritingAroundTrademarks: Well, this example counts more as "[[JustForPun Spriting]] Around Trademarks". In the arcade version of the first game, the Terror Mask resembles the symbolic hockey mask of Jason Voorhees; in the [=TurboGrafx-16=] port, Namco changed the color to red to likely prevent a lawsuit. The sequels returned the color of the mask to white(-ish), but altered the mask's design to be more skull-like.

Namco also published ''Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti'' ("Naughty Graffiti"), a [[WidgetSeries bizarre]] and [[LighterAndSofter wacky]] prequel for the UsefulNotes/{{Famicom}} that features SuperDeformed versions of the game's characters and parodies of numerous horror films (and their associated tropes).

[[quoteright:322:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/splatterhouse2-2a.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:322:"Show him why we call it ''Splatterhouse''."]]

* RatedMForManly: ''Especially'' the 2010 game.

* GameBreaker: In the remake, Rick can learn a grab move where he throws down a mook creature and rips its arm off. This will instakill non-boss foes and gives you a window of invulnerability to escape getting surrounded.

* WhamLine: One of West's narrations in ''Phase 9: The Ruined Heart'', in the reboot seriously calls into question [[spoiler:how long the Terror Mask has been manipulating people]].

''Splatterhouse'' is a series of BeatEmUp games created by Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment. Players control the protagonist Rick Taylor as he fights against diabolical supernatural forces in a struggle to save the woman he loves (and, in ''Splatterhouse 3'', his son). Rick has a constant companion throughout this freak show of demented demons: the Terror Mask, an ancient artifact that confers great and terrible powers upon anyone who wears it -- and seems to have a [[ArtifactOfDoom mind of]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide its own]].

->"When a knife is thrown at Rick, what does he do? FUCKING PUNCHES IT, that's what! When was the last time ''you'' punched a knife -- ''fist-to-blade'' -- and it was ''the knife'' that lost? Yeah, that's ''never'' happened, 'cause you ain't as badass as Rick! Rick will fuck you up!"
-->-- '''WebVideo/TheHappyVideoGameNerd'''

* LifeDrain: The Splatter Siphon in the remake, which lets you drain blood from nearby enemies.

* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: [[spoiler:The Terror Mask]] invokes this in the bad endings to the third game.

* AlienBlood: ''Demon'' blood in this case -- while plain ol' red is pretty prevalent as well, quite a few of the enemies have blood of various other colors. Strangely enough, it seems that backgrounds in all three of the classic games are allowed to be as red as possible, but blood from enemies has to be another color if it's freshly spilled (such as a low-level mook in part 3 with bloody red stumps where its head and hands should be, but still bleeds green). Even then, it's not a strictly enforced rule, as a boss in part 2 explodes into a crimson spray that even runs down the screen.

** As well, at the end of the game [[spoiler:after dealing the final blow to the boss, Rick and Jennifer are about to be crushed. Cue a QTE to that begins the shredding chords of "Pounding Nails Into Your Coffin" as Rick single-handedly throws a skyscraper-sized giant off them, tackles it, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill tears its heart out, and chucks the boulder-sized heart 20 feet]]]].

* WombLevel: The sixth level on the first game; also a ScrappyLevel, because of [[GoddamnedBats the millions of fetuses that continuously spawn]] from the walls.

* BloodierAndGorier: The remake compared to the original trilogy. [[UpToEleven In every way]] [[SerialEscalation imaginable.]]

** In the first game, [[spoiler:Rick is unable to save Jennifer as she turns into a monster and has to be killed. After killing Hell Chaos (implied to be the remnants of Dr. West), the Terror Mask breaks and Rick escapes the burning mansion alone with the mask rebuilding itself behind him and laughing evilly. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHWFeMgeEps The somber music]] that plays over the credits really hammers it in]].
** In the third game: [[spoiler:If Rick fails to save either his son, Jennifer or both, with the Terror Mask promising that it will come back to haunt him.]]

* EarnYourHappyEnding: The original trilogy. Rick went through utter hell in his life via wandering through an abomination-filled haunted house, being forced to kill his girlfriend, [[ToHellAndBack went to literal Hell to save his girlfriend's soul from demons]], racing against time when said demons and their leader invade his new home and family and prevent them from being killed or turned into mindless beast, and [[spoiler:wreck his own mask for manipulating him so it could take over the world.]] By the end of it, [[spoiler:Rick is able to resume his newly built family in peace, with no more forces of evil attempting to ruin both the world and his personal life.]] And according to (Bandai) Namco, this is the canon ending for the original trilogy.

* EveryTenThousandPoints: In the first two games. Every 30,000pts in the first game and 20,000pts. in the sequel respectively earns you an extra life.
* EverybodyLives / [[EverybodysDeadDave Everybody Dies]]: The best and worst endings of the third game.

* EvolvingAttack: In the remake, you can purchase skill upgrades that further enhances some of your existing moves.
* ExactTimeToFailure: Usually played straight in the third game, but [[AvertedTrope mercilessly averted]] when it comes to Stage 2. "Alright, I beat the Giant Boreworm with (any time limit below 2 minutes) remaining, I-- wait, JENNIFER DIED?!"

* {{Fanservice}}: In the 2010 remake each stage has four pieces of a photograph. Finding all of then will reward you with a picture of [[MsFanservice Jennifer]] either dressed, half dressed or completely naked.

* GainaxEnding: In ''Wanpaku Graffiti''.[[spoiler:Or perhaps not. Obtaining two crystals reveals that while Rick and Jennifer lived happily after the ending, being a movie and all, they would face a tragedy later, with the picture of both of them running to a mansion in a nasty storm... the opening of the original ''Splatterhouse'', thus ''Wanpaku Grafitti'' can serve as its prequel.]]

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Hell Chaos from the very first game had ''zero'' explanation. Whose grave is this outside the Splatterhouse? Why does the Terror Mask interact with it? What exactly is the giant final boss monster underneath it? After the [=TurboGrafx-16=] expanded the evil mansion's backstory to include one "Dr. West" it started to make more sense.

* GoodThingYouCanHeal: The Mask in the remake has an amazing healing power. Pretty much required, as some injuries will leave you with missing chunks of flesh, exposed bones and missing arms.

* HauntedHouse: Perhaps not so much haunted as ''possessed''. Dr. West's experiments have filled his home with all manner of monsters, demons, and spirits. In the third game Rick's mansion suffers a similar fate when the Evil One attacks it.
* HurricaneKick: In ''3'', pressing Back->Forward->Attack when untransformed will make Rick spin around kicking everyone in his path. It's actually the most damaging attack by Rick, even moreso than anything from his powered up form.

* HowWeGotHere: The intro of the remake is only part of the introduction; playing further shows more bits and pieces of it including how Rick was dying, why the Terror Mask was lying next to him and why there are photographs of Rick and Jenny lying on the lobby floor.

* LargeHam: In the 2010 game, the leering Dr. West is even more rubber-faced than Jim Carry.

* LoveMakesYouEvil: Dr West in the remake.
* LudicrousGibs: The various "Splatterkills" you can perform in the 2010 remake. One particularly [[SarcasmMode charming]] one involves Rick shoving his hand up an creature's asshole and ripping out its intestines.

* MadScientist: A boss in the second game. He chucks beakers of incendiary chemicals. (In the Western version he's Dr. Mueller, a research partner of Dr. West. In Japan, he IS Dr. West.)

* MuseumGame: The 2010 ''Splatterhouse'' remake is a softer museum example as beating this NintendoHard game earns the right to play the original 3 games, while also viewing extra art and information on them. It's basically a playable tour through the ''Splatterhouse'' franchise plus art and information. This is done as both a nostalgic reward for fans of the original series (especially as many wanted to play the uncensored game but never could) and to educate new players about the cool stuff that came before.
* MythologyGag: [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/MythologyGag/Splatterhouse Now has its own page]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Thanks to a StableTimeLoop, [[spoiler:Rick was the reason Dr. West made a deal with The Corrupted in the first place.]]

** In an inversion of this trope however, the "Brutal" difficulty can be much easier compared to "Savage" [[NewGamePlus since you are able to bring any upgrades you have gained into a new game]], if you chose to carry them over.
** The classic games were no joke, either, with the first two ''Splatterhouse'' games working on arcade levels of fiendish TrialAndErrorGameplay. Enemies, death obstacles and traps all worked to take you by surprise in a way that even tight reflexes might eventually fall to, forcing the player to have to learn the games more like a routine rather than be able to inch your way through them the old-fashioned way.
** The third game taking a GenreShift to more of a brawler, however, came with the difficulty of getting the good ending. Not only was pretty much every boss fight a DamageSpongeBoss, even if you tapped into the Terror Mask's SuperMode, but the story-imposed TimedMission in almost every stage meant you had to reach the boss ''and'' defeat them under the time limit or else Rick's family would meet a horrible fate in some way or another. And these time limits were ''tight'' to boot, complete with Stage 2's cruel aversion of ExactTimeToFailure for first-time players[[note]]If the timer hits two minutes left, the worm's already burrowed into her brain and doomed her[[/note]], and thus forcing the player to exploit the game mechanics and enemy AI in every way possible.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: As said in this let's play: an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zKc5s_jYXa4#t=659s Undead Robot Cyborg Gorilla]]
* NobleDemon: [[spoiler:The Terror Mask tells Rick that after escaping the influence of the Corrupted, he took up the role of a protector to the ancient Aztecs, and was actually pretty good at it, and partly wants revenge on the Corrupted because they killed all the people he was protecting. When Rick doesn't believe the Terror Mask, he tells Rick that, if a [[IncorruptiblePurePureness good guy]] like Rick could do a few [[EvilFeelsGood bad things]] (which he certainly has at this point), then the [[GoodFeelsGood opposite]] could be true with [[BloodKnight himself]].]]
** Much in contrast to his personality in the original trilogy, there the Terror Mask wanted the other demons dead for his goals of world domination, no revenge involved. Overall the classic Terror Mask is more of a ''cunning evil bastard'' and the new Terror Mask is a ''happy killer''.
* NostalgiaLevel: Some sections of the 2010 game are two dimensional corridors filled with enemies that you [[BreakingTheFourthWall can smash into the fourth wall with your 2x4]] and massive death traps, while a musical score that sounds like the ones from 80s horror flicks blares loudly.

** The Terror Mask tries to use this frequently, telling Rick that he loves killing the demons as much as it does, although it's pretty obvious that Rick is a FAR better person than the Mask could ever hope to be.

-->'''Rick''': Yeah? Well, ''fuck'' you!\\
'''Dr. West''': No, Rick! '''''FUCK''' YOU!''
* OffWithHisHead: Rick can decapitate enemies when he's using a machete. This Rick kills many of the bosses in the remake, most notably the Giant Boreworm. He can even do this with some of his Splatterkills.

* OneHitKill: In the older games, anything Rick did would gib regular enemies. In the remake, even the weak enemies can take a fair beating, but two special grab attacks - the arm rip grab and the held weapon grab will kill enemy mooks with a single use.
* OneWingedAngel: The [[spoiler:Terror Mask itself, in the final level.]]
* OnlyAFleshWound: In the latest version Rick can have his right arm severed and still keep fighting. One of the creatures from the third game can even attack you with part of his skull missing.

* PaintingTheMedium: With blood in the remake. After killing boss of Stage IV in ''Splatterhouse 2'', blood explodes onto the screen and then runs down on it.

* PreOrderBonus: Those who pre-ordered the 2010 game at [=GameStop=] also gets a statue of the Terror Mask.

* SealedEvilInACan: The Evil One, The Corrupted [[spoiler:and the Terror Mask in the third game]].

** A third of the fun in the games is to spot all references to famous horror movies (just for starters, ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/EvilDead'', ''Film/TheDeadlySpawn'' and ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''). The Famicom spinoff ''Wanpaku Graffiti'' went ballistic on this, including references to (and parodies of) ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'', ''Film/TheFly1986'', ''Music/{{Thriller}}'' and many more.

** The horror movie references are visibly obvious but the oddly detailed plot came from [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraft]] before it became trendy, mixed with bits of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' part 1. Who would have guessed the Terror Mask was based on more than Jason Voorhees?

*** The ending, [[spoiler:where Jennifer is [[FaceRevealingTurn revealed to be possessed by the Corrupted]] and Dr. West [[EvilLaugh laughs maniacally]]]] certainly owes homage to Music/MichaelJackson's ''Music/{{Thriller}}'' music video.
* ShowsDamage: The 2010 remake. As Rick gets damaged by enemies and traps, you can see pieces of his flesh ripped apart , even his arm can be ripped off as shown in Chapter One (which also cripples your ability to fight back). Thanks to the Terror Mask though, he can regenerate lost flesh and arms.

* SuperMode: Rick can do this on command in the third game, hulking out and gaining massive strength. Rick can also do this in the 2010 game, but instead of gigantic muscles and his bones grow out of his body and form blades. In both games, your super mode drains your Power and Necro Meter respectively.
* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: The pen-ultimate boss in ''Splatterhouse 2'' gives you ''plenty'' of points worth extra lives, and you might need them if this is your first time playing the game blind.

* TimedMission: The third game is all about this. You have to complete each mission within a certain time limit if you want Jennifer or David to live[[note]] By the way, ExactTimeToFailure is mercilessly averted in Stage 2, and Jennifer will need to worry. Even if there's still time left, she can still die (2 minutes or less left, and her brain will be eaten)[[/note]] While failing to do so doesn't harm Rick, you can only get the one Good Ending if they both survive.
** The remake has an entire timed level, ''The Wicker Bride'', where you must run through a garden maze before [[spoiler:a fanatic mob of townspeople declare Lenora / Jennifer a witch and take [[BurnTheWitch the usual countermeasure]] to this kind of situation]]. Because of the [[TimeyWimeyBall time-traveling portals]], you will repeatedly get extra time once you fight through a wave of monsters, but you'd still better [[RunDontWalk book it]].

* WakeUpCallBoss: The first boss of the 2010 game is a demon that can heal himself and others, is capable of shaking off your combos and can't be killed by anything else than a Splatterkill.

* WhatMeasureIsAMook: [[SubvertedTrope Remake Rick expresses sympathy for the monsters he's fighting in the game at times]], [[ZigZaggedTrope the Mask revels in each of their deaths]].

''Splatterhouse'' is a series of BeatEmUp games created by Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment. Players control the protagonist Rick Taylor as he fights against diabolical supernatural forces in a struggle to save the woman he loves (and, in ''Splatterhouse 3'', his son). Rick has a constant companion throughout this freak show of demented demons: the Terror Mask, an ancient artifact that confers great and terrible powers upon anyone who wears it--and seems to have a [[ArtifactOfDoom mind of]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide its own]].

* HollywoodNerd: Pre-Terror Mask Rick in the remake. Even after putting the mask on, he still keeps his dweeby-sounding voice.

* AdultFear: The third game of the original series has fun with the kind of situations that many adults are terrified of happening. Two of the game's objectives are to rescue Rick's wife, Jennifer, and their son, David. They can only be rescued by making it to the end of levels two and four respectively as quickly as possible. Depending on whether you save both of them, only one, or neither of them, the game ends on a positive note with Rick being reunited with his family, or results in one of three possible {{Downer Ending}}s where either Rick is a widower who has to raise his son alone, Rick and Jennifer are bereaved parents, or Rick is left alone after losing both his wife and his son.

* MultipleEndings: In the third game, whether or not you complete certain stages before the time limit is up determines which ending you see.

* EyeScream: One of the monsters in the remake is a colossal eye (complete with eyelids) blocking your way. You must defeat it and rip it out in order to pass.