Released by Bandai and developed by Tose in 1990, Frankenstein: The Monster Returns is an action-platformer for the NES that takes heavy inspiration from horror-themed side-scrollers. You take on the role of a nameless swordsman on a quest to rescue a village maiden kidnapped by the titular monster, battling through monster-filled villages, forests, and castles.
How to play
Your objective is to fight your way through each side-scrolling stage, defeating enemies and the boss waiting at the end. As you defeat enemies, they will occasionally drop health items or power-ups that upgrade your default melee attack. The controls are standard for an NES action game: use the Arrow Keys to move and crouch, press X to jump, and press Z to attack. Enter pauses the game, and Shift is used as the Select button.
Tips
- Your attack range starts extremely short. Prioritize picking up the fireball or other weapon upgrades from defeated enemies as early as possible to attack from a safer distance.
- Many enemies respawn infinitely if you move back and forth, which you can use to safely farm health drops if you are low on life.
- Be cautious of knockback; taking a hit in mid-air will knock your character backward, which can easily send you falling into a bottomless pit.
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