Splatterhouse/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to make Rick walk left and right, crouch, and pick up weapons; he will also look at the walls if you push it upwards.
 * Attack Button: Use this button to make Rick punch, kick if he is crouching, and use weapons; some weapons are one-time-use projectile weapons.
 * Jump Button: Use this button to make Rick jump; you will have to time your jumps right if you want to clear a puddle of acid or a hole in the ground.
 * 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Rick (リック)
This parapsychology student, who looks somewhat like Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th movies, is the protagonist of the game; he is on a mission to save his girlfriend Jennifer. When the game was ported to the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990, the colour of the Terror Mask was changed to red to avoid confusion with the aforementioned J. Voorhees - and Evil Cross was also replaced by a giant blue floating head named "Evil Sleep".

Deadmen (デッドメン)
These zombies are the most common enemies in the game, and appear on the first, second, third, fourth and fifth stages; the red ones will die after a single hit and are worth 100 points, but the green ones take two and are worth 200. The ones on the third stage will also leave their remains behind when they are killed - which will cause an Evil Dog to run up to them, and start eating them until it is kicked.

Shibito (死人)
These tortured corpses appear to be part of the background on the first and second stages; but when Rick gets close to them, they attack by spitting out puddles of acid that he must either jump over, or simply wait until they have evaporated, before carrying on. They cannot be killed.

Babito (ばびっと)
These bats appear on the first and fourth stages, and will dive-bomb Rick from their ceilings; one hit will kill them, and they are worth 300 points.

Top Heavies (トップヘビーズ)
These big-headed zombies appear on the first, second, and fifth stages; three hits will kill their bodies for 500 points, but their heads will fly after Rick, until they are either hit for 300 more points or fly into the ceiling. A strike from a Cleaver or Stick will as with a Green Deadman also kill the body instantly - but you will still have to deal with the head flying after Rick until he either hits it for 300 additional points or it flies into the ceiling.

Body Eaters (ボディーイーターズ)
These leeches are the bosses for the first stage, and fill two rooms on the fourth and fifth stages; one hit will kill them, and worth 300 points.

Hanging Dead (ハンキングデッド)
These hung zombies appear on the second, and third stages; in the second stage several of them try to drop down from the ceiling on top of Rick, while in the third stage they attack by spitting projectile vomit at Rick. Two hits will kill them, and they are worth 300 points - however, a strike from a Cleaver or a blast from a Shotgun will kill them instantly. But you should use the Shotgun blasts sparingly to prepare for the fight with Biggy Man.

Water Dead (ウォーターデッド)
These sludge monsters inhabit the sewers on the second, third and fifth stages, and attack by rising from the water; one hit will kill them, and they are worth 200 points. However, you will only have to face them on the third stage if you get grabbed on the bridge by a Monstrous Hand (and if you were holding the stage's first Shotgun at the time, you will lose it, which will make that boss battle with Biggy Man slightly harder).

Pods (ポッドズ)
These spiked balls float along in the sewers on the second, third and fifth stages; they are also the first indestructible enemy you will encounter.

Poltergeist Candles, Drink Cans and Whiskey Bottles (ポルターガイスト蝋燭, ドリンク缶 & ウィスキー瓶)
These possessed items fall from the ceiling in the second stage's boss room, just before the actual attack begins, and can be knocked away with a punch or kick; the Kanji characters in their three Japanese namings read as rōsoku, kan and bin respectively. They are also not worth any points at all.

Poltergeist Chairs (ポルターガイストいす)
This is the first thing that attacks Rick in the second stage's boss room; five hits will kill it, it is worth 2000 points, and the two Hiragana characters in its Japanese name read as isu. Several others appear on the fifth stage, but at that point Rick should be holding a Stick and be able to kill each of them with one hit (but only for 300, points as opposed to 2000) - and once you have killed the initial one, the Poltergeist Knives will come alive.

Poltergeist Knives (ポルターガイストナイブズ)
These are are the next things that attack Rick in that second stage's boss room; at first, one attacks him, then two more attack him simultaneously. Three hits will kill them, and they are worth 1000 points each - and once you have killed the last one, the Poltergeist Picture Frame will come alive.

Poltergeist Picture Frame (ポルターガイスト額縁)
This is the last thing that the poltergeist will attack Rick with in that second stage's boss room; eight hits will kill it, and it is worth 3000 points. The two Kanji characters in its Japanese name read as gakubuchi - and once you have killed it, the chandelier will fall down from the ceiling.

Evil Dogs
They appear on the third and fifth stages, and attack by devouring the remains of the Deadmen that Rick has blasted with the Shotgun. Two hits will kill them.

Monstrous Hands
They attack by smashing through the wooden bridge on the third stage and dragging Rick into the sewer below. They can be avoided, but not killed.

Birds
They appear on the third stage, and attack by dive-bombing Rick from the ceiling in a manner similar to that of the Bats. One hit will kill them.

Biggy Man
The boss of the third stage, who attacks with his dual chainsaws. Several shotgun blasts will take him down.

Nobu
They appear on the third and fourth stages, and attack by spitting projectile vomit at Rick in a manner similar to that of the Tortured and Hanging Corpses. Several low kicks will kill them.

Rotating Blades
They slowly rotate in a clockwise direction on the floor on the fourth stage. They cannot be destroyed and must be avoided.

Mirror Ricks
They appear on the fourth stage, attack by bursting out of certain mirrors, and have exactly the same moves as Rick. Three hits will take them down.

Evil Cross
The boss of the fourth stage and the main reason why the game was only released in Japan. Several hits will kill it — just be wary of the flying heads that circle around it and occasionally fly off on their own to attack Rick.

Nightmares
They circle around Evil Cross, and occasionally fly off on their own to attack Rick. One hit will kill them.

Uddi
They attack by trying to jump up and slap Rick in the fifth stage, and also taunt him from a distance. One hit will kill them. It is rumoured that Namco patterned them after Ash's possessed hand from the film Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn, but this has never been confirmed.

Jokers
They appear on the fifth stage and carry skulls that they try to drop on Rick's head. A jump kick will usually kill them.

Picture Ghosts
They rip themselves off their canvases and chase Rick in the fifth stage. One hit will kill them.

Master Dead
He floats through one part of the fifth stage, raising the dead with a motion of his hands and a strange Japanese chant — even the zombies that Rick has already knocked down. Several jump kicks will kill him.

Rising Dead
These two types of zombies are constantly reanimated by Master Dead. As long as their Master is still alive, they will return to life regardless of how many times Rick knocks them down. Once Master Dead has been defeated, they go to their final rest.

Mutant Jennifer
The boss of the fifth stage. She is fairly difficult to defeat — and you should watch out for her extra-long claws.

Oba
They appear on the sixth stage, and the screen will fill up with them if they are not dealt with promptly. One hit will kill them, but if one latches onto Rick, you should shake it off as soon as you can - as they will drain his energy very quickly.

Mother
The boss of the sixth stage, and the spawning point of the Oba. This is probably the most difficult boss to defeat, as it keeps spawning Oba during the fight.

Fire Dead
They appear on the seventh stage, and attack by jumping towards Rick in set patterns. They cannot be killed.

Flaming Logs
They attack by rolling towards Rick in the seventh stage. They must be avoided as they cannot be destroyed.

Hell Chaos
The final boss of the game. He will rise out of the ground, and attempt to grab Rick with his rotting hands. He also throws rocks up into the air, which can injure Rick if they land on him. Once he has been defeated, a mysterious face will rise out of the ground. Nobody knows what it is, or where it came from, but it has been speculated that it is the spirit of Dr. West, which has finally been freed from wherever it had been imprisoned.

Weapons

 * Cleaver: Hacks off the heads of weaker enemies and inflicts a good amount of damage on stronger ones.
 * Stick: Smashes weaker enemies against the walls and does a decent amount of damage to stronger ones.
 * Wrench: A one-time-use projectile weapon, which only appears at the beginning of the second stage. As with the other projectile weapons found in the game, it is powerful, but you will not get much use out of it.
 * Shotgun: The most powerful weapon in the game, which only appears on the third stage. Picking it up gives you eight shots, and one shot of it will blast any enemy to pieces (except for Biggy Man). It can also take out an entire row of enemies when they are lined up and reach across the entire distance of the screen.
 * Rock: Another one-time-use projectile weapon, which only appears in the middle of the third stage.
 * Spear: Yet another one-time-use projectile weapon, several of which only appear at the beginning of the fourth stage. They will impale any enemy they hit and immediately kill them.
 * Axe: Only appears at the end of the fourth stage. It is similar to the Cleaver and must be used to take care of the Evil Cross and its Flying Heads.