Insmouse No Yakata (sometimes translated as Insane Mouse Mansion, though it really means House of Innsmouth) is a Survival Horror game, inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, released exclusively for the Virtual Boy on October 13th, 1995, and only in Japan (while an English localization by Acclaim was in the works, it was ultimately canceled).
It plays like a dungeon crawler with first person shooting elements, with a time limit on every level. You take control of a private detective in 1922, who was hired to travel to an allegedly haunted forest in order to retrieve the necronomicon within a mansion. After retrieving the book, he finds himself trapped as the inside of the mansion changes and monsters begin to appear. Your ultimate goal is to find the key of Doman and make it to the exit. Try to escape the mansion with the book, alive, and collect your paycheck!
Insmouse No Yakata provides examples of:
- All There in the Manual: The game makes no reference to the story line at all, save for the endings. Strangely, only the Gainax Ending has any text explaining it, and it's just to slap you in the face.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Ending C has the protagonist turning into a monster.
- Barrier-Busting Blow: Sometimes, monsters will bust through walls as a means to chase you down. They can't quite figure out how to use a door though.
- Cool Key: The Key of Doman is in every level, and your definite means to escape to safety or your doom in two endings.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: You must play the game in one sitting, without losing once, in order to obtain the best ending, regardless of what path you take. Thankfully, the game is short enough to be completed in ten minutes at least.
- Gainax Ending: A minor case. D ends with the house deflating, followed by being told that "THIS IS NOT TRUE ENDING. TRY AGAIN."
- Haunted House: The main character is trapped in one.
- Level-Map Display: Your best friend in this game (it can be easy to get lost without one)! The map draws out the more you travel. A white orb draws out the whole level, while the black orb displays all the power-ups and the exit.
- Multiple Endings: Four of them, as a matter of fact.
- Oh, Crap!: Ending B, once the protagonist realizes he's out of bullets, and vastly outnumbered by the monsters...
- Replay Value: You have quite a lot of levels to explore, and go through so many per playthrough.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Your character has one. It's powerful enough to kill all the monsters. Having ammo is a major concern though...
- Sliding Scale of Linearity vs. Openness: Level 2. There are multiple paths that can take you to one of four endings (the best having specific requirements, no matter the path).
- Survival Horror: You have a limited supply of ammo, meaning that you must think carefully about which enemies to fight and which ones to evade, and the enemies are very tough and can overwhelm you if you play carelessly.
- Timed Mission: The whole game is this. The bigger the levels, the more time you have to work with.
