Splatterhouse/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to make Rick walk left and right, crouch and pick up weapons.
 * Attack Button: Use this button to make Rick punch, kick if he's crouching, and use weapons.
 * Jump Button: Use this button to make Rick jump.
 * 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a 1 or 2 player game.

Rick
The protagonist of the game.

Zombies
The most common enemies in the game, appearing in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth stages. The red ones will die after a single hit, but the green ones take two.

Tortured Corpses
They appear to be part of the background in the first and second stages, but when Rick gets near them, they puke out pools of vomit that must be avoided. They cannot be killed.

Bats
They appear in the first and fourth stages. They will divebomb Rick from the ceiling, but one hit will kill them.

Big Headed Zombies
They will continue to attack after their bodies have been destroyed - their heads will fly after Rick until they are hit or they fly into the ceiling on the first, second and fifth stages.

Bore Worms
They attack like pirahnas - en masse. They are usually found in rooms full of rotting meat (they're the bosses of the first stage and they fill two rooms on the fourth and fifth stages). One hit will kill them.

Hanging Corpses
They appear in the second and third stages. In the second stage several of them try to drop down out of the ceiling on top of Rick, while in the third stage they shoot projectile vomit at Rick. One hit usually kills them.

Sludge Monsters
They inhabit the sewers of the second, third and fifth stages. They rise from the water suddenly - sometimes several at a time. One hit will kill them.

Spiked Balls
They float along in the sewers. They cannot be killed and must be avoided.

Possessed Bottles, Candles and Cans
They fall from the ceiling in the second stage's boss room before the actual attack commences. They can be knocked away with a punch or kick.

Possessed Chairs
The first thing that attacks Rick in the second stage's boss room and takes 5 punches to destroy. Several more appear in the fifth stage, but at this point Rick should have a weapon and be able to take each chair out with one hit.

Possessed Knives
The next things that attack Rick in the second stage's boss room. First one attacks him, then two more attack him at once. They take 3 hits each and are fairly easy to kill, once you've established a pattern.

The Possessed Picture
The last thing the poltergeist will actually possess and use to attack Rick in the second stage's boss room. It flies around the room very fast and tries to ram Rick, but several well aimed punches and kicks will knock it out of the air.

Zombie Dogs
They appear in the third stage and one section of the fifth stage. They devour the remains of the zombies that Rick blasts with his shotgun. Two hits will kill them.

Monstrous Hands
They will smash through the wooden bridge on the third stage and drag Rick into the sewer. They can be avoided, but not killed.

Birds
They will attack Rick in the third stage, but are easily killed, much like the bats.

Biggy Man
The boss of the third stage. He will attack Rick with dual chainsaws. Several shotgun blasts will take him down.

Mutant Slugs
They will attack Rick in the third stage and one part of the fourth stage. Several low kicks will kill them.

Blades
Slowly rotating blades that are on the floor in one part of the fourth stage. They cannot be killed and must be avoided.

Mirror Ricks
They attack on the fourth stage. They burst out of certain mirrors, and have the exact same attacks as Rick. Three hits will take them down.

Evil Cross
The boss of the fourth stage and the reason why the game was only released in Japan. Several hits will kill it - just be wary of the flying heads that attack Rick.

Flying Heads
Decapitated heads that circle around Evil Cross. They will fly off on their own and attack Rick, but one hit will kill them.

Disembodied Hands
They try to jump up and hit Rick in the fifth stage. They also taunt him from a distance. One hit kills them. It's 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.

Spirits
Anime-style spirits that appear on the fifth stage. They carry skulls that they try to drop on Rick's head. A jump kick will usually kill them.

Picture Faces
They are faces of pictures that rip themselves off the canvas and chase Rick in the fifth stage. One hit will kill them.

The Necromancer
He floats through a room in 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. It takes several jump kicks to kill him.

The Necromancer's Zombies
These two kinds of zombies are constantly reanimated by the Necromancer. As long as the Necromancer is still alive, they'll return to life no matter how many times Rick knocks them down. When the Necromancer is killed, they go to their final rest.

Mutant Jennifer
The boss of the fifth stage. She's fairly difficult to kill - watch out for her extra long claws.

Bubble Monsters
They appear on the sixth stage. If they aren't dealt with promptly, the screen will fill up with them. One hit will kill them, but if one latches onto Rick, shake it off as soon as you can. They'll drain your energy very quickly.

The Heart
The boss of the sixth stage. The Bubble Monsters spawn from it. This is probably the most difficult boss to defeat, as it keeps spawning monsters during the fight.

Fire Demons
They appear on the seventh stage. They jump toward Rick in set patterns and cannot be killed.

Flaming Logs
They roll towards Rick in the seventh stage. They must be avoided as they cannot be killed.

The Decaying Head
The final boss of the game. He will rise out of the ground, and he'll attempt to grab Rick with his rotting hands. He also throws rocks into the air, which can injure Rick. After he's been killed, a mysterious face will rise out of the ground. No one knows what it is, or where it came from, but it's been speculated that it's 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 wall and does a decent amount of damage to stronger ones.

Wrench: A one time use weapon. It's powerful, like the other projectile weapons in the game, but you won't get much use out of it.

Shotgun: The most powerful weapon in the game. It only appears on the third stage. Picking it up gives you 8 shots. One shot of it will blast any enemy to pieces except for bosses. This weapon can also take out an entire row of enemies when they are lined up and reaches across the distance of the screen.

Rock: Another one time use projectile weapon. Similar to the other projectile weapons.

Spear: Only appears on the beginning of the fourth stage. Yet another one time use projectile weapon. It will impale any enemy it hits, immediately killing it.

Axe: Only appears on the end of the fourth stage. It is similar to the cleaver and must be used to kill Evil Cross.