Devil World



Devil World is an obscure title for the Famicom that was released in Japan and Europe, but was passed over for release in the States. The obvious reason for this passing was because of the heavy use of religious iconography, and Nintendo's concern for religious sensitivity in America. Though the character in the game can clearly be viewed as a good guy, if only for the fact that the person he is battling is the devil, the mere use of the symbolic cross was thought to be potentially insulting to anyone observant of the christian faith.

This game is probably one of Shigeru Miyamoto's least well known designs. It borrows heavily from Pac-Man, but deviates from it substantially. The biggest departure is that while the entire maze is visible on the screen, it automatically scrolls continuously beyond the player's control. Boundaries set up along the edges of the screen create the potential for the player to become trapped and squashed between the boundary and the maze itself. The character Tamagon was never used in any game after Devil World, although he is rumored to have been the inspiration for Yoshi of Super Mario fame. A trophy for Tamagon was included in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but was once again removed from the US release. A cheating device can enable the viewing of the trophy, where the name of the game has been conspicuously changed from Devil World to Demon World (once again, probably out of fear of religoius reprisal.)

Story
You are Tamagon, an egg hatched fire breathing dragon. You are trapped in the Devil's mazes, along with his minions who try to put a stop to you. Your mission is to imprison the Devil by completing the goals of three stages. There is no end sequence to this game, it continues indefinitely.

At a glance

 * You control Tamagon through the maze with the control pad.
 * You must eat every dot by holding a cross in the first stage.
 * You must gather every book back to the center square in the second stage.
 * The third stage is a bonus stage where you attempt to collect six boxes before time runs out.
 * You must avoid contact with the devil's one eyed minions, and getting crushed by the scrolling edge of the maze.
 * Tamagon can spit a fireball if he is holding a cross or a book.

In depth

 * Controls & characters
 * Stage descriptions