The lore of demon’s, the stuff of legends.

Demon’s Crest, known in Japan as Demon’s Blazon, is an SNES platforming adventure developed by Capcom for the SNES. The third in the series, behind Gargoyle’s Quest I and II for the Game Boy, it follows the story of a Gargoyle named Firebrand. The series started as a spin-off from the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series. The main character, Firebrand (a.k.a. the Red Arremer), was an enemy character in the game. Gargoyle’s Quest is known as “Makaimura Gaiden”, as “Makaimura” is the name for Ghosts ‘n Goblins in Japan. “Makaimura’ means Demon Village.

In Demon’s Crest’s story, five crests of various elements, and even Time, grant its users powers. The demons want its power, but have all been bested in battle by one – Firebrand. He challenges the Demon Dragon, Somulo, and defeats him. Badly wounded, he’s attacked by the demon, Phalanx, and sent back to the human realm. The story begins during his fight against the zombified Demon Dragon. After this battle, Firebrand goes on his quest to gain the crests and seek revenge against Phalanx, who has now become ruler of the demons.

Right off the bat, you are greeted to some of the best animation and sprite work on the SNES. Intricately detailed creatures, to include a dragon whose flesh is falling off. This is the beginning of the kid-friendly Nintendo classic, delving into a gothic realm filled with demons, blood statues, and more creepy enemies. The game itself is well animated and will take you to forests, castles, villages, underwater, and even an ice world. All of them have their own flair.

Much of the music you encounter comes from a synthesized organ. This suits the gothic atmosphere of the game. It gives a haunting, creepy vibe to the player. Boss battles are more fast-paced, gearing you up for a battle against the monster or one of Phalanx’s generals, Arma. I’m fond of the music, especially in the aforementioned ice world and the final stage. Plus, the sound effects are satisfying, especially when you’re destroying blocks by crashing into them at full force.

Running into fountains is also fun.

The gameplay revolves largely around being a platformer. However, there are no pitfalls in the game, except in the sky stage. There are plenty of obstacles, such as spikes, fire, and so forth. Not to mention plenty of enemies, to include those that throw skulls at you or fly at you. Firebrand can fly infinitely, but he can only ascend through the use of special powers, or crests. His abilities are gained by slaying bosses. He will gain either powered up fireballs, which allow him to clear obstacles, or change his appearance, such as with the Earth Crest. This will allow him to bash through stones and whatnot. With the Water Crest, he can swim underwater. With the Wind Crest, he can ascend as he flies, as well as fire wind blades.

The game takes slight cues from RPGs. There is one village in the game, which has a layout similar to Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. It includes a magic potion shop and even a magic spell shop. You can find bottles and magic scrolls by exploring the world. Despite being a platformer, the option to explore is featured in this game. Using your new abilities, you can fly high into the sky or into the lake. This is where you also start opening up branching paths. Also, Firebrand has the ability to wall-jump. Until you get the ability to ascend with flight, you will be climbing up various landscapes by wall-jumping, dodging wall spikes and various enemies hunting you down.

Despite having only six stages, not including the final, these stages have branching paths. This is where you fight alternate bosses which give you the crests you need. In some cases, this is a huge boon. Having trouble with the Flier? Jump into the whirlwind and you might find the powerup you need. Plus, you can also farm money to buy Herbs or revival Elixir, or even Ginseng. Buy magic for the scrolls you find, using a guardian Shadow, hire an Imp to fight for you, or even summon Death to take out your enemies all at once. This isn’t an RPG, so the powers you get are elemental-based, and you don’t boost any kind of stats. Checking different blasts on enemies to see how fast they go down is crucial for sorting your weapons. For instance, a fireball might not take down a flying enemy, but a wind blast could clip its wings. You get upgrades for your blasts, you attain new forms, and the Talismans you find will boost your stats. You can find out what each Talisman does in the village (Stage 2) by finding an NPC inside one of the houses.

With the number of stages, they’re connected by a world map. The transition between stages is similar to an Airship from the Final Fantasy series or Secret of Mana. The Mode 7 effects are impressive as you dive into your next location, while hitting Start will show you where your stages are.

Now, for one of my favorite parts in the game, I’ll delve into this spoiler-free. There are multiple endings, depending on what you collect. In the case that you have all Crest pieces, you take yourself to the final battle. Afterwards, you’re given a password. Use it, and you gain access to the true final boss.

It really isn’t the last battle, either. But the best part is, after you gain access to said final battle, you have the Ultimate Gargoyle Crest. Unlike the one you get before it, you can charge up your blasts, fly, and dash. You have nearly every other ability, to include the 1/2 damage armor from the Legendary Gargoyle form. Basically, it powers you up. The game acknowledges your skill. That said, you’re given an incredibly hard boss fight. In my case, I went through all the stages again, equipped the Crown Talisman, and farmed for money so I could afford Ginseng to heal myself. I needed every last one of them.

Keep in mind, this is a game from 1994. If you’re familiar with Zelda games, you will be hitting the pause menu a good bit. You’ll need to change your equipment to suit the environment, and sometimes switch between Talismans to determine if you want to go for offense or defense. It would be nice if they could be mapped to a shortcut button, but alas, such is not the case.

Another thing is the game is honestly fairly short. With the option to explore stages for alternate paths, it is longer than some of Capcom’s other SNES endeavors, such as Aladdin or The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse. However, once you’ve looted every stage for what they’re worth and cleared the bosses, you’re done. It will last within 10 hours for a playthrough.

But for as long as it lasts, it’s completely worth the play. The visuals hold up well today, and the organ music is something you don’t hear every day in a gaming soundtrack. Most games don’t feature a Gargoyle you play as, emphasizing his abilities and the battles he wages against the demonkind. If you’re familiar with Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, it’s a lot like that. The challenge is far more balanced, though. It rewards adaptive strategy, and prior to the endgame bosses, it’s honestly not frustratingly difficult by any means. Firebrand’s methods to fly are excellent for getting around, and the clever stage design throws out enemies and obstacles to keep him in check. Knowing your enemies’ weaknesses are helpful. Unlike a game such as Mega Man, you won’t be pummeled just for mashing your default attack. I would say it’s in the middle, but leaning towards harder. You could say it’s an ancestor to the Souls series, and is certainly reminiscent of Castlevania.

I highly recommend this title. Get it on the 3DS Virtual Console. If you’re a fan of side-scrollers, epic boss battles, Castlevania, Metroid, Mega Man, or want to try a classic title, this one is available on the 3DS eShop. I assure you, it has aged well.

Disclaimer: If you’re playing this on the Virtual Console, I cannot stress enough that you create Save Points at the end of each stage. There is no save system in the game. You generate passwords if you get a Game Over and choose to End the game. If you attempt to beat the “final” boss ill-prepared, there is no escaping. The game will end with the “CAPCOM” logo, and if you reset, you have no data. So make sure you keep yourself saved before or after entering stages!

Pluses:

+Solid controls

+Abilities have use in combat and puzzles

+Exploration

+Gothic feel and soundtrack

+Balanced challenge, with a jump in difficulty near the end.

Minuses:

-Fairly short

-No shortcut mapping

Score: 8/10

You’re going to find Firebrand is kind of a badass. Be sure to watch the endings when you beat the game on its true ending.