Remember Monchhichis, those weird little
thumb-sucking monkey dolls that were huge in the early '80s? Well, in Monster
Bash, you
get to control one as it chases classic movie monsters through haunted houses,
castles, and graveyards. Exactly why a Monchhichi wants to run through three
levels of monster-infested terror is never really explained, but then again,
neither was the Monchhichi phenomenon, or much of anything that was popular in
the '80s. Hey, you try to explain Katamari Damacy and reality TV in 25
years and see how well you do, tough guy.
Gameplay: Each level has a different monster you
must defeat by touching a magic sword and launching a blast of magical-swordish
energy at it. However, the magic sword doesn't get magical until you light a
candle, and each level includes a diminishing number of candles. This is as
exciting as it sounds.
Level one pits you against Dracula in a classic
haunted house filled with bats. Level two features Frankenstein and a bunch of
werewolves on loan from Pooyan. Level three puts you in a spider-filled
graveyard against Chameleon Man, who can become invisible by changing color to
match the background, which you can also change by touching magical color
discs.
Could be mistaken for: Wizard Of Wor, Space
Panic, the
1952 classic Abbott And Costello And Monchhichi Meet Dracula, Frankenstein,
And Chameleon Man
Kids today might not like it because: So many monsters, so little
blood and gore…
Kids today might like it because: The victory dance your
little Monchhichi does at the end of each level is quite possibly the coolest
dance sensation to sweep the nation since the Curly Shuffle.
Enduring contribution to gaming history: The appearance of classic
horror-movie monsters in a video game eventually helped create the
survival-horror genre, which came full circle when Resident Evil and Silent Hill were made into their own
movies.
Wil Wheaton wants to know
whatever happened to the Transylvania Twist.