Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Sega CD) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2020
- A playthrough of Sony Imagesoft's 1994 license-based horror adventure game for the Sega CD, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a game that, for a very long time, I had no interest in whatsoever. I wasn't impressed by the SNES game when I played it, and the fact that the Sega CD game was released only as part of a "buy one get one" bundle with Bram Stoker's Dracula ( • Bram Stoker's Dracula ... ) didn't instill in me any high expectations of quality. Especially not when Bram Stoker's Dracula had already been released as a stand-alone title a year prior.
But while this movie adaptation was in no way a runaway success, it turned out to be far better than the drek I had assumed it to be. It's an odd game that bears little resemblance to the cartridge-based versions. Instead of going the route of a horror-themed platformer, Psygnosis got creative, and the result was appropriately enough, something of a Frankenstein's monster.
Are you familiar with a Sega CD game called Revengers of Vengeance ( • Revengers of Vengeance... It combined elements of RPGs, shooters, and 1-on-1 fighters for something that was thoroughly weird but enjoyable.
I ask because Frankenstein is a similar sort of unexpected genre mash-up: it's a graphic adventure (think King's Quest or Maniac Mansion) that is also a fighting game, all vaguely based on the 1994 film.
It's a phenomenal looking game considering the style on the Sega CD. Much of it consists of traditional 2D sprites overlaid atop prerendered CG backgrounds. The animation is super smooth and there is a lot of detail packed into most scenes, but the low color depth hurts the image quality pretty badly. Objects and screen exits alike are obscured by the dithering and blurriness, which can be pretty frustrating when your stuck.
The soundtrack fares about the same as the graphics. The music is great and it sets the mood nicely for every scene, but instead of being streamed from the disc as Redbook audio, it's encoded in fuzzy, low bit rate PCM streams.
It tries to do a lot of things with its presentation, and none of them quite work, but together they somehow balance out to be something that's generally enjoyable.
And yet again, this can be said for the gameplay itself. Both of its core modes feel half-baked. The fighting portion is slow, there are too few moves and no combos, and any opponent can be utterly toppled by spamming the charging headbutt move. The adventure mode provides little guidance to move you along, and it rarely requires you to do more than find arbitrary objects for people. There's no sense of continuity linking things together, nor is there any real challenge in figuring any of it out.
But somehow, as damning as all that sounds, I had a good bit of brainless fun with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I really dug the game's foreboding tone and the way it haphazardly throws together random moments from the film. I appreciated the high budget production values and the art direction regardless of how ill-suited it all felt for the platform. I loved the sheer novelty of having, of all things, a shoddy Street Fighter II clone shoe-horned in to the design.
It doesn't feature any of the stars from the film, the game loads for nearly a full minute before you see even the first flash screen, and the intro is an absurdly long and dull FMV clip. It makes a terrible first impression, and the whole game feels like it would've greatly benefitted from longer development cycle. I am okay with all of that, though. For me, this is one of those games that, however flawed, has enough charm and quirky weirdness that I find myself totally absorbed whenever I play it.
If the notable lack of Robert DeNiro's zombie wiener or Helena Bonham Carter's mange face aren't dealbreakers for you, and if you enjoy mediocre games loaded with uncouth design choices, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein on the Sega CD might just appeal to you. It would've never stood as a full-priced retail game on its own, but as part of a B1G1 package, it's respectable enough.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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The whole Creature/Elizabeth fight is even more surreal when you remember that Victor is standing about 10 feet away with a loaded gun, not doing anything about his wife being shoulder tackled into oblivion. And then he even has the nerve to run up afterwards and be all "Noooo! How could this have happened?"
Guns were inaccurate and slow to reload back then, and the monster sure didn't stay in one spot long enough
Also in the boom victor was a selfish asshole so leaving his wife to die would be totally in character for him
Frankenstein's super weird mashup of genres and its graphics made it engaging and memorable for me, enough so that I didn't much mind how subpar the gameplay was.
*_Mary Shelley's Frankenstein_* . I often see this one get bashed by people and... I can definitely see why. It could've worked, but it just has some serious problems with its gameplay and occasionally low depth graphics that are just downright *_UGLY_* .
I've only ever played the SNES and Genesis versions. I had both as a kid (I liked seeing the minor differences between the games as a kid), and *_BOY_* do they completely outshine this one. They had great graphics, good animations, superb music, and solid gameplay that has a great puzzle feel to it that deviate the game from other platformers at the time.
It had It's problems, sure (Enemies having a wider attack range than you, getting hit an enemy is impossible to avoid during combat, and the game *_NEVER_* gives you full life. Even if you end a level with a full life bar.), but I can overlook these issues.
The Sega CD version, I was completely unfamiliar with until recently. It isn't the typical updated Genesis version, but a mediocre adventure game. Kind of a shame, too. I see potential for this game. But, that flawed gameplay and those low depth backgrounds make for another game that should be avoided.
POSITIVES
• *Smooth Character Animation* (Definitely one the bigger strengths of this game. Everything is so fluid in this game. The Monster is probably the best in the game. Just look at him!)
• *Decent Music* (Not nearly as good as the cartridge versions, but it matches each area fine.)
NEGATIVES
• *Some of the Music* (Some of it sounds so badly bit crunched. It's kinda disorienting in a way, since some tracks don't sound nearly as bad.)
• *The Low-Depth Backgrounds* (For some reason, instead of the whole game being pre-rendered, some areas have terrible looking backgrounds with little depth to them. The woods are the best example. It just looks so ugly.)
• *The Fighting Game Mode* (Just spam, and you'll win. Not only *_that_* , but it's boring. I'll appreciate the attempt at variety a *_little_* , but this concept could've been better.)
• *The Adventure Game Mode* (It's one of those, [🤨 *_"What do I do? Where do I go?"_* ] kind of games. This game rarely points you in the direction of what you need to do. It's completely abysmal. Again, could've worked, just executed poorly.)
Final Rating: 4.4/10
It's not the *_worst_* game, ever. Yet, the execution leaves much to be desired here.
I suggest skipping out on this and playing the *VASTLY* superior SNES and Genesis versions.
This game is just boring.
With regards to the movie, when Coppola, who was producing at the time, saw the version that we know today, he said that the first hour of the movie should have been cut. When Branagh refused, Coppola denounced the film.
This game proves he was right. The story doesn’t begin until DeNiro shows up.
Judging by the thumb she wants his frankenstones.
😏😏😏
Very few adaptations of Mary Shelly's book acknowledge the electric eel leaks and the pantry mutant.
Damn.... I must have missed the part in the novel where Elizabeth know Kung Fu and had a fight with The Monster.
Oh come on, you can't have missed that part.
You are not telling me you also read over the chapter in which Frankenstein makes his new modern prometheus duel the failed prototype to the death to determine which of his creations is superior.
@@TheDutchGhost Yeah I am afraid it been many years ago. Also I remember there was a sequel novel called Young Frankenstein which is a light hearted comedy too.
@@hanchiman Yep, Mary Shelley considered the original book too dark, gruesome, and depressing, feeling that a sequel should be more jovial.
Oh and had a sequence in which a blind man set the creature's thumb on fire, and a dancing number with Frankenstein and the creature on stage in front of the upper class.
I wish Mary Shelley had kept in the fight between Adam and the Abominable Snowman, and the aliens which she originally considered.
Oh and time traveling Zorro.
Imagine seeing that all in this game.
@@TheDutchGhost It would be a big franchise back in the day, imagine the merchs where the Victorian kids be running as Robin Hood kung fu kicking Dracula and Mr Hyde
@@hanchiman Kids back then really missed out. All the wooden action figures, playsets, the weekly puppet show, the theme song.
Whoever thought of having Elizabeth being able to hold her own against The Creature in the Sega CD version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein... wow, I'm amazed they pulled that one off. Its just as similar has making Jonathan Harker fight Dracula like a complete boss, maybe these two need to get together in some alternative timeline crossover where they are taking on those two like complete bosses.
Perhaps like in the Nosferatu game on the SNES, Harker taking Dracula on with punches and kicks.
Ancient One The only difference is Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein Took place in The 1790s while Bram stokers Dracula took place in the 1890s so in other words a crossover wouldhighly unlikely would happen
in book Harker fought with Dracula
The intros of the games made by psygnosis have always been spectacular since the days of the amiga
From the thumbnail, it looked like a fighting game.
It actually has a fighting game mode mixed in with the adventure stuff.
I actually love this game. Has a great presentation and just a neat overall hybrid adventure/fighter feel.
During the adventure sections, as the screen fades to black and back in, it's loading the graphics for the next screen from the disc. As a result, the game couldn't have CD-audio for most of the game because it would have stopped and restarted every time you moved into another area while it loaded the graphics. The only redbook CD-audio is in the fighting sections and end credits, everything else is done using the internal sound chip and its meagre 64Kb of RAM for samples. That 64Kb also had to contain the sound effects so the music is generally around 40Kb. We only had around 3 months to make the whole game from start to finish.
In the book the doctor destroys the monster’s bride but it was a cool twist how they use Elizabeth & the monsters live happily ever after
That thumbnail XD . Now we know why there’s only one Frankenstein’s monster .
Oh I get it now.. Its October and you are putting out these horror themed games.. Nice.
Plus that thumbnail is on point.
The thumbnail: When you bust but she keeps playing with the Frankenweenie.
Omg I didn't know about that terrifying (?) piece of game. Thank you!
I can see how the gameplay isn't exciting at all. But boy, this is one fine looking game. I'd probably never drop it until completion if had been lucky enough to get this back in the day.
Dark, gothic and beautiful...
An adventure/fighting game where you get to play as a lumbering Robert DeNiro? What kid could turn that down?
Now if only another Mortal Kombat game would have another Konquest to feature that, I would be thrilled.
@@ancientone5903 I think Goro's punch walk would be a good move for him.
This actually looks pretty good for it's time. Probably could have balanced the fighting parts better...Victor parrying 30 headbutts before finally succumbing to them had me in tears 😂.
⚡ "it's alive, it's alive!"⚡
Doctor 😷 Victor Frankenstein.
gotta love that compressed FMV
I know neither the book nor the film have this ending.
But, damn it, I like this ending.
That dude is still sweeping next to the burning house 😂 NPCs gonna npc
Um jogo de luta com elementos de aventura... bem legal...
Boy, those chickens are making such a racket, I swear two reanimated corpses could walk right passed me and I wouldn't notice!
I've never seen the film. It was kinda following the novel up until kung fu action Elizabeth. Also is it just me or is most everyone nice to the creature? Most of the NPCs seem to interact with him just fine, and then he's all like "but in the novel I am despised, so despite all logic, they actually despise me!"
It also completely loses the hubris and sheer self-importance of Victor. I guess they wanted to cast the creature as the hero since you're controlling him and murdering Elizabeth in cold blood would make that kinda hard. And yet they kept the relevant dialogue in...
Man, is this game riddled with execution that leaves lots of desires!
*_Mary Shelley's Frankenstein_* for Sega CD. Based on the 1993 film flop with Robert DeNiro of the same name, that is based on the novel. I never knew about this game, at all.
I've only played the SNES and Genesis versions before. If you haven't played them, you should. It is a great platforming game with a solid puzzle element to it. The graphics, superb soundtrack, and fluid animation also help it. A good game, overall.
This combination of Fighting and Adventure shows promise, but really under-delivers with its many flaws.
POSITIVES
• *Smooth Character Animation* (It's the most enjoyment you're going to get out of this game. Everyone is very fluid in this game. With the Monster being *_easily_* the best in the game. It speaks for itself, folks!)
• *Decent Music* (While not *_all_* of the music is good, some of it really goes along with the atmosphere of the area that you are in...)
NEGATIVES
• *Some of the Music* (... Others sound like horribly compromised PCM audio. Some of the sound effects are distorted, as well.)
• *Some of the Backgrounds* (Instead of keeping the entire game pre-rendered, what do they do? *_"How's About Some Bad Looking Backgrounds With Little Depth to Them?"_* It looks so terrible.)
• *The Fighting Game Mode* (Spam to win is the name of the game, here. Not only that, but It's so boring.)
• *The Adventure Game Mode* (🤨 *_"Where do I go? What am I supposed to do, game? Are you gonna tell me what I need to do, or not!?"_* It's abysmal and poorly executed.)
Final Rating: 4.4/10
Play the cartridge version, and stay away from this shallow game.
It's just not worth it.
That Elizabeth fight was fucking awkward and hilarious...but at least the choreography was better than that shitty animation from Mortal Kombat 11 lol
This is amazing! Thanks for uploading!
I never expected to see Frankensteins monster getting nailed in the nuts...but here I am
All you do is kick rats and punch bats. What we're they thinking?!
What a weird game, and what a painful looking thumbnail! 😂
Hahahaha luckily it doesn’t hurt for guys
Same here..
If the game has the character being hit in the crotch by an enemy, it's gonna make for a ridiculously entertaining thumbnail. 🤣
@@moescredriver5486 I generally find blunt force trauma to the sack to be pretty painful. I once got hit hard enough there that I nearly threw up from the pain in my stomach.
@@NintendoComplete maybe for you it hurts a little then
This is more cooler then the other Mary Shelley's Frankenstein retro game🤩
Thank you! 👍🏻
Head butt that damn wolf. 22:43
Mr X before Resident Evil, recolorized 1994
My favorite book. Also love the graphics it’s something different
2 words for the thumbnail - Deez Nuts. 😂
42:40, the easiest fight ever...because he was holding in his piss. XD
55:20, the funniest credits in a horror game I've ever seen.
Would have been better if they rolled out that v1.1 patch
Didn't remember this part in the book where Elizabeth knows kung fu and engages into a match against the monster as well. The Monster himself also gets into street fighter style brawls with people and even getting the girl at the end all the while Victor is left doing his best Charlton Heston impression.....
Huh, it must be the lost chapters that Mary Shelley wrote, that many adaptations left out and were sorely lacking
The same goes for the part where The Monster got into a fight with a radioactive underground dinosaur kaiju with floppy ears and a horn.
The Creature : I will have revenge! FRANKENSTEIN!
I knew i was in for a ride after seeing the thumbnail. I was right.
This is hilariously awful. I can't stop watching.
That thumbnail tho... i never clicked so fast in my life...
When you bust she keeps playing with the Frankenweenie.
I have a question for you NintendoComplete do you use a Emulator or a Sega Cd system to record your Sega CD Videos?
This was emulated.
@@NintendoComplete ooh ok
Why do I get the feeling that the thumbnail for *_Batman Forever_* will be Batman taking a chainsaw to his crotch?
Keep up the good thumbnails! XD
While it's got that token Sega CD clunkiness this actually seems pretty good especially for the SCD which overall stunk. seem to remember Psygnosis consistently putting out quality stuff.
You must have missed Shadow of the Beast back then - ahead of it's time for the time but still a terrible game.
Nessa versão, a Criatura tem um final feliz.
At least this version of the game has an better ending then the movie version does lol
Creature's headbutt is too much.
Such a strange adaption!.
It tried, but didn't hit the mark. The SNES & Genesis versions are way, *_WAY_* better.
@@Dorian_Scott In an above comment, you said you haven't played this particular game. Unless you've actually played the game for yourself since that initial comment, you can't credibly judge it simply by watching someone else play it.
@@bluebillygrit1 It's not really, *_that_* . I analyze the graphics, music, gameplay and the like. Even if it is a game that I never played before, I can basically see how the game speaks for itself.
48:44
Was it even necessary to take off his clothes?
🇧🇷🎮
Parabéns pelo CanaL
oh....oh no *this game is weirdly ambitious and has a ton of good content but ultimately a seriously mishmash oddball like Frankenstein's monster.
please tell me this game had a VS mode. I would main the crap out of Elizabeth
Why does the character you play as walk funny?
Hemorrhoids?
Le personnage marche comme ci il avait des fourmis aux pieds.
correction /Le personnage marche comme ci il avait des fourmis dans les pieds.
36:25 Mona Lisa?
I don't get the ending.
Lol burn a dude's house down just for a piece of chicken.
But if the NPC hadn't been an asshole... lol. That scene reminds me of the bit in Pretty Woman when that sales girl is all like Get outta my store, ho.
@@NintendoComplete Okay now I just have this mental image of De Niro as the Creature, arms full of shopping bags filled with chicken, yelling, “Big Mistake-Huge” while Roy Orbison plays jauntily in the background while the Creature sashays away.
Boy I sure do love this nutmeg. I should use it to cook with sometime.
@@rabidrabbitshuggers Haha! I love it.
Streetfrankeinstein
So is this a fighting game? Wow it not a pretty good one.