Splatterhouse 3 Asks You to Save Jennifer Again on Sega Genesis – Today in History – March 18th, 1993

In the history of video games there are not that many third party franchises that have not seen at least on release on a Nintendo console. One such franchise that holds that honor is Splatterhouse. No, I am not counting the “super deformed” game that was released in Japan. Namco originally started Splatterhouse in arcades, then NEC brought it home to the Turbo Grafx-16. That was enough for Namco to bring the franchise home and release Splatterhouse 2 and 3, the subject of this article, on the Sega Genesis as exclusives. Splatterhouse 3 takes a serious departure from the norm of the series though. Rather than being another 2D action game, part three is a brawler not unlike Final Fight or Streets of Rage. Namco had a few tricks up their sleeves though.

One thing that I never understood about brawlers was why couldn’t I go through doors, or “up” the street in certain areas? I mean, this is supposed to be a brawler, why limit it to a linear path? Splatterhouse 3 is one of the few brawlers that allows you to move around a real map. There is usually more than one exit from the room you are currently in, and multiple paths to the end goal of the level. This was one of the cooler things about Splatterhouse 3, sadly it was pretty much ignored by other games in this genre afterwards.

Another cool thing about Splatterhouse is the enemies and the bosses. If you thought it was cool fighting a freaking room in the first Splatterhouse (yeah, you read that right), you are going to enjoy the third outing. I won’t ruin it for you but it is a fight you have never had in any other game.

Splatterhouse 3 has not seen a re-release on newer consoles so you are going to have to grab this one on the Sega Genesis. Ebay is a good option, and your purchase helps us keep RGM alive and kicking.