Splatterhouse Notes & Analysis

With my projects such as my fangame as well as my artwork in place, I decided to gather as much information as I possibly can about the games and especially the environments that are seen in the first two games (I do not take SH3 into analysis quite yet as it does not take place on the West Estate). In otherwords, a few days ago I started to plat the original arcade SH game, but this time I took it slow and wrote notes for all of the areas in the games, making sure to note small and interesting observations of my own. In otherwords, I am breaking the game down for an analysis.

I have divided everything down as far as I could. I have the stages in bold, areas cute down into number and letter, the italics being notes and concepts from me.

Introduction

Rick and Jennifer hurry towards the West Mansion as a storm comes in. Jennifer slips just once just to be helped up by Rick. Jennifer screams not long after entering the mansion. Rick is knocked unconscious and is carried off to the dungeon away from the house while what happens to Jennifer is a mystery. While Rick lays inside of the dungeon, a mysterious mask attaches itself to him. This mask as we know is the Hell Mask, and it grants him it's power.

It never was quite clear of how Jennifer ends up at the end of the game as she is. It is possible she was carried off by the monsters within the mansion but it is also possible while Rick attempts to fight them before being beaten mercilessly and knocked unconscious, Jennifer has the chance of escape before getting lost in the mansion. At the end of the Evil Cross boss (seen later in this entry) Rick hears her scream, which means at that time, she was conscious and trying to escape the monsters. This makes me believe that Jennifer has her own tale of the West Mansion, Rick fights while she tries to escape. She was successful up till he meets up with her near the end of the game. I will get more into that when I get to that part.

I also believe that Rick is kept alive for a reason. I suppose because he was kept in order to be used as an experiment himself, thus why he is in the dungeon. Unknown why he is not chained up or in a cell other than hardware limitations.

Stage I

Area 1: West Annex Dungeon

Rick awakens inside of a cavern that is modified to hold Dr. West's experiments, his face bound to the Hell Mask and his body full of new strength. The rough translation of this area in japanese entry in wikipedia is "West annex dungeon." This stage is a great way to start a game of this title. Rick walks through this dungeon as corpses and writhing bodies are seen before his very eyes, the screams and moans echo as a great sort of ambience to create atmosphere. Rick will fight through deadmen, bats and dodging spike traps before facing two top-heavy demons. This area also introduces the player's ability to use weapons to gore Rick's foes. Beyond all of this is the ladder out.

Dr. West being reference to Lovecraft's own Dr. West character it is what I believe that most of these bodies in the Annex Dungeon are experiments by Dr. West himself. But if we are to take more reference in Lovecraft's character, most of these experiments are reanimated corpses. In the stories (and movie) the reanimated bodies would usually become quite violent. But this is where Splatterhouse comes in. The reanimated bodies seem to writhe around as if in confusion or pain before they take on a new form that we know as the basic enemy called Deadman/Deadmen in the game.

This is somewhat backed up at the line of caged animated corpses and at a point a Deadman is seen in one. I would also note as animating dead bodies who are stolen from graveyards keeps West out of trouble. If he was to kidnap people, I am sure there will be missing peoples posters all over the place. But the concept of kidnapping people and keeping them hostage is not ruled out. West's experiments on the dead seem to solve the creation of the Deadmen, this is until Mother shows up later in the game. But that will come later.

But not all of these experiments are deadmen, there are the chained bodies on the walls that vomit acid or poison. It is unknown whether if they are in the process of mutating into a deadman and their vomiting is a result of their process of transformation or reanimation or they are the result of a totally different experiment of Dr. West's.

Area 2: Body Eaters

Rick finds himself inside of a small room, piles of guts and flesh line the wall edges and a hanging corpse in one corner. This is a ground for body eaters, forcing Rick to fight them all before he exits. But as he seemingly exterminates all of the creatures, one final body eater bursts from the hanging corpse in a surprise final attack.

There is no entry shown in this area but the fact that Rick walks up a ladder from the dungeon makes me believe there is a hidden trap door in the room (perhaps under the stone of the fireplace). I also believe the location of the body eaters in this area is definitely intentional. I believe that Dr. West dumped the body eaters here on purpose as a sort of guard, keeping his experiments or captives hidden and from escaping.

I have to contradict myself here though. Assuming after being knocked unconscious, Rick was brought into the dungeon through this same path instead of another passageway. If that is true, it would be no surprise that the body eaters would have attacked Rick and/or whatever brought him there.

It might also be a means of disposing of 'failed experiments' (and not having to dispose of them on the outside), with the body eaters living up to their names. The piles of flesh and gore seem to suggest that.

Stage II

First Floor: Torture Chamber

The japanese wikipedia names this a torture chamber, granted google does not translate perfectly. This stage starts with a trap door as the only visible entrance. Rick walks through a room of monsters pierced upon large spikes, living corpses being lifted and dropped by their wrists (who vomit poison) and we are introduced to a new reoccurring enemy. The hanging body is living corpse like most of these tortured bodies. They hang from ropes in which are lifted up and down, occasionally vomiting poison. The floor ends with a ladder going down.

Being that Rick enters this floor through a trap door gives me the impression that we as the players miss a few passageways or rooms before we play him again (as the only visible exit from the flesh eater room is the door on the right). We will see similar occorances like this throughout the game. I also noted that it is unknown why Dr. West has a torture chamber to torture undead creatures. This is unless deadmen are more aware of the typical zombie. But I have heard that spirits are attracted to emotional energy.

Basement: Underground Waterway

The ladder stops short of the ground and Rick splashes into a basement of water. Rick fights through a new kind of undead named water dead as they surface and he has to dodge spiked spheres that float towards him. At the end of the waterway is a ladder up.

Being that this place is called a waterway, it means this basement is not flooded, rather it is constructed in a way to allow water to flow through it. This means the "annex" building here is built over a body of water such as an underground river. The water dead were always an interest of mine. It appears to be a species of deadmen who favor living in water (perhaps as a different form of experiment on Dr. West's behalf). I would also note their giant size. More than a head taller than Rick and their arms are long. They vaguely reference to Swamp Thing. The spiked orbs that float down the water is quite interesting in itself. It is unknown if it is a mine, some sort od invention made by west, or if it is a living creature.

? Floor: Poltergeist

Rick finds himself in a small room. There are two doors on the left and right, a cabinet full of glasses (mostly wine glasses), a chair, a lamp, a window, and a chandelier. But the most distinct features of this room is the large painting of an eye in the center of the room and the curious three knives stuck in the wall and cabinet. The room shakes leaving Rick unsturdy. The room is possessed with a poltergeist and Rick has to dodge falling objects, fight the animated chair, the three knives before fighting the painting. After defeating the painting, a spirit flies from it and out of the window. But it is not over just yet, the chandelier suddenly falls as a surprise final danger.

It is unknown which floor this takes place on but it seems the building is a one floor building excluding the waterway. We also miss where Rick comes into this building. All we see is Rick exiting the waterway through a ladder before appearing here. I would imagine he enters from the left from another room which the ladder lead him. The poltergeist room is the first instance where Rick fights a creature that is purely supernatural (despite it controls inanimate object of the room). Before this, they are undead or flesh of some sort.

---

That's all the writing I can do tonight. But I will say that the stage image for Stage III shows a pathway towards the West Mansion itself (as well as the stage itself). This will tell me that Rick was not inside of the West Mansion itself but rather an annex building to it which he was carried off to after being knocked unconcious. But I will get to this more in the next part. If I missed any notes or I messed up anything, feel free to speak up. I also hope this can help other people as well.

It might also be a means of disposing of 'failed experiments' (and not having to dispose of them on the outside), with the body eaters living up to their names. The piles of flesh and gore seem to suggest that.

Nice job so far!

It might also be a means of disposing of 'failed experiments' (and not having to dispose of them on the outside), with the body eaters living up to their names. The piles of flesh and gore seem to suggest that.

Nice job so far!

Thanks! I added that to the list of notes and concepts under the area.

Nice work so far! I like where this is going.

I'd advise double checking the stage names in the PCE Manual. Sometimes what's written in Wiki is discrepant to the actual contents in the source materials found here in WM.

For instance, Part 2's fifth stage is called "New Splatterhouse" in the manual. In wiki it's called "New West Mansion". In other stances they name little segments that have no actual name as well, so their guess would be as good as yours.

But yeah, I like where this is going. I was going to start on some analysis on the natures of the creatures found in West Mansion myself (although they're called "zombies" in US material, we don't know if the Deadmen feed on flesh like Romero's ghouls or if they hail to animated corpses of voodoo or Lovecraftian lore. Given what contact I've had with Lovecraft's works, I'd lean towards the latter). The stages would also be in the package, but you're ahead of me.

Would it be alright if I translated your finished notes to Portuguese to post at my site? I'm trying to make it's Splatterhouse shrine the place to go for SH material in Brazil. So far it's ahead, considering the best page around said Rick and Jennifer were journalists. And some other page said they went inside the mansion to have sex. :rollin

Well when it comes to gaining info, I take translated from japanese or nothing. When it comes to SH, I just cannot trust english versions because of... well look at the story to Splatterhouse II. I do not trust google with translation neither but it is all that I have at the time. I more of rely on it to give me a rough idea to go with when it comes to stage names. I will take all corrections if there is any. Most of these stages I just make up a title.

The deadmen. They are quite unique. I do not see them as zombies one bit. Obviously they are compatible of things like taking orders and jumping over pits. To me, it is like a mutated lifeform in which used the dead human body as a template to reform itself and come to life. Dumdead is probably more close to the zombies we are used to. But yet they seem to be puppets of Master Dead's control. I do not think they feed like a zombie either. In fact, I believe they eat very little. Their mouths are nearly invisible under their formless face. But that doesn't mean they do not eat flesh. I also wanted to make some sort of Splatterhouse encyclopedia. Illustrating and writing notes down on the monsters who appear. I also had the concept of doing this a way to make it appear that Dr. West wrote them himself. Anatomy and a scientific view would be important for that.

Also, I do not mind if you translate and post this elsewhere. I wrote these notes for myself but I am posting them here for all of you to use if needed.

Also the next part is in progress. Expect it tomorrow. Rock on!

Well I think it is about time to start the next part to my notes and analysis of the first SH title.

In the last part we follow Rick and Jennifer, a young couple who were unfortunately found shelter in a seemingly abandoned West Mansion when a storm rolled in. Rick was knocked out and carried from the mansion into a dungeon while Jennifer was left to fend for herself inside the giant mansion. Rick awakens after an unknown amount of time with incredible strength granted to him by a mysterious mask bound to his face. Rick fights monsters as he searches for his love, eventually making him outside and on his path to the West Mansion, the last place he saw Jennifer.

Stage III

The stage III screen shows a small image of a path leading to the West Mansion. The windows glow with light. It was at this point where it hit me. Up until now I always thought Rick left the main mansion then went back into it. But we get the image of the stage here. Rick is leaving one building (which I call the West Annex) and heading towards the West Mansion itself. Rick was knocked out in the West Mansion at the beginning of the game and was taken into the dungeon below a different building, the West Annex.

Area 1: Garden Path

After exiting the West Annex, Rick finds himself following a path in the wilderness. At the end of the path is the West Mansion. Trees surround him, the distance is hidden by a purple fog. Even out here there are corpses scattered around. A shotgun lays upon the ground allowing a easy shot to the deadmen in which the evil dogs feast upon. Not long into the path he comes up to a bridge, a large lake can be seen in the distance. Before this bridge is an unique creature called Nobu. As Rick continues on the bridge, there are small glowing spots moving back and forth. If he touches one, he will be drug down below the bridge at Area 2. Rick will continue the path until he ends up at the West Mansion. A doorway is open but it is guarded by the infamous giant named Biggyman. When he is out of the way, Rick makes his entrance into the mansion.

I think another reason why I believe the West Annex is separate from the West Mansion itself is the fact that Rick crosses over a river to reach the West Mansion. I would note that "Nobu" is a name for a style of sushi from what I can tell by searching. This can makes since this creature is small and round, almost like sushi (not to speak is near water). I also like the lake being a part of the imagery in the background. Everyone who has played Splatterhouse II knows what kind of reference this is in the future. This also shows how close the mansion is to the water (makes all of the flooded basements make more sense).

Biggyman always hit everyone as being one of the memorial bosses in the game. I think part of this is because of the similarities he has to Rick. Both Rick and him are masked, both are strong/muscular and both tend to wield weapons usually. I would also note that biggyman is a reference to Friday the 13th just like Rick. In the original movie, the killer wears a sack over her face. It is not until later we see Jason wearing his trademark hockey mask. Biggyman also holds a sense of mystery to him. He is an experiment by Dr. West himself who "embedded" chainsaws in his hands. His face apparently was too hideous even for the scientist and was covered with the sack. I would also note that Biggyman unlike most of the other undead monsters, does not dissolve into slime. He falls forward with chainsaws still running. This also added to his mystery. Is he really dead?

Area 2: Below the Bridge

Pretty straightforward here. Much like the earlier waterway, Rick has to fight through water dead to get to the exit. Only real difference is some difficulty and the fact that he was drug down here by a giant arm and hand.

Stage IV

Floor 1a:

There is no entry location shown. There are harpoons hanging on the walls, corpses lay around, and there are doors opening and closing on their own. Deadmen occasionally pass through them. In fact, the deadmen in this stage seem to be able to jump. There are also holes throughout the stage. If Rick falls, he will end up in the Lower floor. As Rick continues, he has to dodge revolving blades that appear to be attached to small creatures planted to the ground or some sort of doll. At the end of this stage is a doorway. But this doorway is blocked with purple fog until he approaches it, it then retracts itself.

This stage enforces the idea that the West Mansion is close to the shore of the lake. The harpoons here also enforce that there is a boat to be used in the lake. We see a boat being used in SH2. Too bad Rick couldn't have used these harpoons later on! In any case, I am curious of these revolving blades. What are they attached to? You can see two eyes and limbs. Dr. West had some weird inventions... I am even more curious of what is with this fog blocking this door until Rick approaches it? I mean, it is animated and everything. That is a lot of extra work for Namco for something so small and seemingly unnecessary. It does fit with all of the purple fog in the game. The backdrop of the previous stage, the fog that chases Rick...

I have a crazy concept for where the fog went in the notes under Floor 1b

Lower: Body Eaters

Rick falls into a pit of flesh and disposal used to feed the numerous flesh eaters that live here. Rick leaves through a ladder on the rightmost end. Rick will have to fight his way through in the manner of the first boss.

Floor 1b: Hall of Mirrors

Rick enters through a door on the left. This is a room full of mirrors. As Rick walks past several of them, suddenly his reflection comes to life, smashing out of it's world of reflection and attacking with Rick's own moves. In death, it turns to dust. The only thing left is the mask it wears.

In the previous room, the fog retreats into this stage but vanishes. This is fully speculation but lets say this fog is living and aware of Rick's motivation. Then lets say the fog has the ability to manifest itself into Rick's reflection and bring it to life. There is not much else to note on this stage. The concept is a overused one, but it is still cool nonetheless. At least mirror Rick had a different palette.

Another note is that sometimes Rick's reflections are delayed. But I would imagine that is just hardware problems.

Floor 1c: Cathedral

At the end of this stage Rick finds himself inside of a large cathedral. At this boss he fights an evil cross turned inverted (upside down) while disembodied heads revolve around it which are called Nightmares. Rick also has the option of picking up an axe to be used. Once Rick destroys the cross, all of the nightmares will vanish. The cathedral will lighten up as if it is daylight. Rick walks up to the altar, a shadow of another cross drapes down in front of him. He hears Jennifer's scream.

I think it is quite unique that Rick uses an axe to fight off disembodied heads, especially an axe that looks like it would cut heads off. There is no proof but I always thought there was a story behind the axe and how it relates to this boss. The six heads can be said to have relation to religion just like the cross does. The cross is a religious symbol but so is the star of David which has six points. I have looked up the number six and if there is some symbolism with nightmares but was left without anything. If there is some sort of hidden meaning to this boss, I have yet to find it.

I would also note the little detail of Rick walking up to the altar. For such a violent game, Namco did a great job of creating some human qualities to Rick. Him standing there and hearing Jennifer's scream tells Rick that there is still hope. That ties into the religious imagery if I do say so myself. Intentional or not, there appears to be symbolism at this part.

---

I think this is another good break to have. Rick knows Jennifer is alive and follows her scream. She is somewhere in this mansion and he has to save her. From what I can see (the MS Towns Marty drawing of the West Mansion lives up the size quite well) is that Rick follows a path into a door on one of the sides of the Mansion rather than the main entrance we start with in this game. I would say the left side seeing that Rick walks right towards the house through the path. The lake resides behind the Mansion itself which gives me more clues.

Anyhow, stick around for the second part of the mansion, and if I feel like it, the conclusion to this tale.

Just a mumbling, excellent work so far. I really like how you're 'writing out' your thoughts in each scene. ^^

I always thought that at the end of Stage 4 Floor 1a, the animated purple...stuff (seems a bit thick to be fog or the 'purple cloud o' death') was the initial moment in what 'created' the Mirror Ricks. Basically Rick pushing his way through that wall of gunk gave...let's say the House itself...a taste of his form, which it now could replicate via the mirrors and send in his way. And since you can't use another route to get to the boss, that's why they show up in Stage 5 as well.

Again, just rambling. ^^

"Knob" actually shows up again early in the next level as well, so there are at least two of them.

There are quite a few definitions of "Nobu" in Japanese, depending on the kanji. In this case, it's katakana and it's the romaji for "Knob"-presumably referring to the creature's gnarled and twisted physiology.

Good theory about the purple fog-I had never really even thought about it before.

Eya, I would say knob would fit as a better translation of his name. Just for the fact he is a small lump-like creature. As for the fog, it mostly gets me that if there is nothing behind it, it was totally unnecessary. Namco could have just gone with another open doorway, but rather they decided to make an animated purple fog open up to let Rick through. It just leaves me curious as to why they included it.

Exactly. The first time I played through the PC version of the game, I'm getting ready to exit the room and saw that fog and thought "WTF?!?!?!" (since it's not in the T16 versions). I stood there wondering what to do until the pursuing wall of eldritch energy encouraged me to move forward.
While I'm likely getting ahead of things, it'll be interesting to discuss the 'purple pursuing energy' and the 'blue ninja stars' that show up to take you out when you linger too long in an area (arcade version only).
That's interesting about the bases of the 'blade spinners' looking like creatures. I never noticed that, either.

By no means are you getting ahead of yourself, I would like to encourage speculation and other concepts about the game. I actually forgot all about the blue energies at try to kill you and i never mentioned the living fog that approaches behind earlier. All I can say is that these things are supernatural or paranormal rather than a monster created by Rick. Sort of like some sort of ghost or whatnot that will attack ones who linger.

There is no proof of this, but I get the impression that the purple fog circle the whole West Mansion and the area around it. Pretty much trapping him there. But I am probably just pulling concepts from my hat by now.

Also as for the blade spinners, enlarged for more emphasis. Now looking at it more, it looks like a turtle without it's shell. In it's place is the spinning blade. West has originality with his experiments, I give him credit.

(Posted Image)

In a weird kind of way, it almost looks like a bat with its wings folded-and there are bats in the room.

I would just like to say that I salute you for the incredible amount of effort you are putting into this essay and thank you for taking the time to share this with us all, I find it really interesting.

Hell yea :rtfo :hat

Well time to start on my notes once again as I sit down to play this game. I would allow myself many deaths before I explore all of the rooms of the West Mansion itself. In the next stage I will assume Rick is on the ground level of the house. If this is so, that means the West Mansion has at least 3 levels of basement. I do doubt Rick explores all of the levels of the house. Especially the really high ones. He makes his way towards Jennifer's scream.

Stage V

Floor 1a: The Study

Rick enters through a door on the left. There are bookshelves along the walls. Rick has to fight several possessed chairs. He exits through the right.

Nothing much to say here. Unknown if the chairs are being possessed by the same poltergeist as earlier in the game or if it is another or if they are animated by something else.

Floor 1b: The Hands

No entrance door is given but there are holes in the ceiling. Rick walks along a room with cracked floorboards, flesh and disembodied hands await him below the cracked and broken parts. The hands themselves would taunt him if passed. Some broken floor is slanted making them slippery. Rick also will have to fight top-heavy monsters. At the end of this area is two ladders. One leading down and one leading up.

It is a bit easy to say these disembodied hands are influenced from Evil Dead 2. What with Namco taking the time to make them flick the bird at him and all. I also note that the ceiling is very warped and wavy. This gives me the impression this room is very moist or humid. The flesh below the cracked floorboards must be the reason. While at that, what is this flesh? It could possibly be a part of "Mother".

I have no idea why there are so many hands in this room. But if it is humid, perhaps they are their to warm themselves. Also if the flesh they crawl on is warm as well. They are hands afterall.

Floor 2a: The Gallery

Rick enters through a door on the left. This room is decorated with paintings on the walls. When Rick passes a painting with a face on it, it will be pushed away by a ghost and ripped from the canvas. There are several holes in the ground that will take Rick to a lower flood if he falls into it. This stage also features Jokers which are ghostly women who drop skulls on Rick. At the end of this floor is a ladder down and one that leads up.

It appears that these paintings are not controlled by poltergeists like the objects in the boss earlier. They are pushed from the canvas in a 3d sort of way rather than being animated. So to me, it is some sort of other spirit. Jokers are interesting as well as they are not horrifying in appearance. The take the image of a pretty young lady. The skull they hold is mysterious as I think there is a bit of a story behind it. I think it relates to their life before death so they are attached to it in some sort of way. Like it could be the skull of a loved one or perhaps their own. It is unknown.

Lower 1: Flooded Basement

Not much to say here. Rick travels through another flooded floor while fighting water dead and dodging spiked balls. There is a ladder down at the end.

Lower 2: Master Dead

Rick finds himself in a floor of flesh. Here he fights a floating necromancer named Master Dead and his undead puppets named dumdead. If Rick destroys a dumdead, Master Dead can summon it again with a incantation. After destroying Master Dead, Rick can take a ladder either going down or up.

Master Dead was always a unique boss in this game. One of the few if not, the only boss that can be dodged completely by taking another path. Master Dead's incantations is in a language unknown to us. To me, it is similar to the language Rick uses in SH2 when Rick speaks the names of ancient gods to perform the ritual of resurrection. Visually Master Dead looks like a brown skeleton or a mummified man. His clothes are ragged and he wears a large hat. He also reminds me of a scarecrow.

Lower 3: The Kennels

The whole room seems to be covered in panel. The walls feature bars to hold evil dogs. In this stage Rick will have to fight off them as well as Jokers. The ladder at the end of this floor brings him to the end of this stage.

I never really thought about it much but it is quite apparent that Dr. West did some extensive experiments on our canine friends. I am not sure why the study is so low but I would imagine because of barking and such. The sound will not travel through the house so well. I have no idea why Jokers are all the way down here.

Floor 2b: Dressing Room

Rick enters through a door on the left. The door is visually closed though. Along the walls are mirrors that will attack Rick via reflections just like last time. The walls also feature closets full of women's dresses. Ones for a social occasion. Rick will exit through a door on the end of the room.

I think this pretty much proves to me that the West Mansion was not made specifically for Dr. West himself. It at one time probably help quite a few people and/or had social occasions or parties held here. This stage does not hint at the purple mist like the last time Rick had to fight his reflection.

Floor 2c: Body Eaters

Rick enters through a door of a room of flesh. Once again Rick will have to fight his way through a room of Body Eaters. Rick exits through a door.

Floor 2d: Jennifer

Rick finally finds Jennifer. But the lovely moment falls apart. He finds her laying on a couch surrounded by four deadmen and a top-heavy. Seeing Rick approach, the top-heavy commands the deadmen to leave. With a taunt, he leaves as well. Jennifer gets up and after muttering some words she suddenly mutates into a monster. Rick will have to fend her off several times before the reverts to her human form and collapses. With a word of gratitude her body vanishes in Rick's arms. The top-heavy taunts Rick once more before retreating into a fleshy hole in the ground. Rick follows.

Surely Splatterhouse was ahead of it's time as it created such a turn of events in a video game. It is unknown what causes Jennifer's mutation. I would imagine she was infected with a parasite like in SH3 causing her mutation. I feel it was as if there was some sort of ritual practiced on her. What with the monsters surrounding her. Clearly in the stage intro, it shows deadmen approaching her while she is on the couch. So I never believed she was carried there. I suppose in an emotional state and in escape, she collapses onto the couch fearing the worst, possibly fainting.

Stage VI: The Womb

After jumping into the fleshy pit, Rick winds up inside of the womb of the West Mansion so to speak. He has to fight through Egg Oba as they grow from the walls of flesh. Egg Oba will hatch out into Oba as they hit ground. At the end of this tunnel is Mother, a large pulsing organ/brain/heart/whatever. Destroying her will end this stage and result in the destruction of the West Mansion.

For being that she is the heart of the mansion, Mother is totally a mystery. There is no clues on her origin. If she was planted to the west mansion through supernatural sense or experimental through Dr. West's amazing scientific skills. The reason why destruction of Mother sets fire of the mansion is unknown as well. That or the fire is a result of something happening because she is dead like a collapse or whatever. But I can believe the house supernaturally combusts into flame because it is a living part of her.

Earlier I was speaking about deadmen and their origins. I stated that these monsters were the result of Dr. West animating corpses of people. This is true if you take into account the story that he is based off of. But the oba we see in the womb are larvae of Deadmen... So if mother gives birth to deadmen... would that collide with the concept of Dr. West making them? Well there is the chance that both result in deadmen. There is the chance the chemical West developed to bring life to the dead was taken from an OBA or mother. This was left unknown. But I will say that after Mother is destroyed and the house burns, no more Deadmen are created.

Stage VII: Burning Forest

With mother destroyed, the West Mansion and the forest burns. Rick heads away from the mansion dodging burning stumps as they roll and burning deadmen, jumping wildly into the air. Rick finally approaches a mysterious grave marked by a small wooden cross. An orb pulls itself free from the mask and buries itself with flash into the ground. The ground shakes as a giant head rises from the ground. The final boss here is named Hell Chaos. He will try to grab you with his rotten hands and will throw rocks into the air which Rick will have to dodge. Once destroyed, the head will sink and a spiritual face will appear from it. It will vanish before Rick's eyes. The Mask will split from Rick's face as he leaves. After the credits, it will reform. The end.

I cannot say why Rick approaches the grave in the first place other than being controlled/instructed by the mask. I cannot say where in the forest or which path he is taking but I can say he is passing over a bridge which leads me to think he could be heading towards the West Annex once again. I cannot say for sure. The orb that comes from the mask has been debated for years... But here is my concept.

Dr. West at once time developed an experiment which we know as Hell Chaos. Thinking it was a failure, it is buried (possible growing as it tunnels underground as a living, but souless monster or maybe it's size is a result of possession). It is said that the Hell Mask Rick wears can hold souls. As Dr. West was experimenting with the Hell Mask, it steals his soul, leaving him in an undead state (as seen in SHII). I will say that Dr. West needed the mask as Rick needed his power in Splatterhouse II. Both Rick and Dr. West needed it for the ritual for opening the gate to the Land of the Dead. So Dr. West had the mask in physical form, after opening the gate, the soul of the Mask is freed, possessing it's physical form. It then steals Dr. West's soul in a sort of need for strength. This means the Mask held the soul Dr. West until it lets him go or he breaks free. Dr. West possesses the body of his "failed" experiment and attacks Rick and/or the Mask. I will note that it definately sounds as if Hell Chaos is yelling out "Rick Taylor" in it's own gnarled form.

Well I might be saying; "Why would Dr. West be calling out Rick's name? Well perhaps much like the Mask itself, the souls it holds know Rick's mind as well. I would say that it is possible that the mask releases Dr. West's soul because it finds that holding onto Rick's soul and body as something much more useful for future plans. Because releasing Dr. West left it in a weaker state, the mask shatters. That is possible or because it strained itself in the final battle, or heck, as a form to release Rick so he can continue on with his life until it needed him again.

I will also note the soul of "Dr. West" does not feature facial hair. Dr. West himself did. But then again, that doesn't prove anything. The soul can be featureless but human. I do not know if Dr. West's soul has passed on, but appears to have dispersed into many fragments. What does this mean?

---

Well that wraps up the first Splatterhouse game. I plan on making an article much like this based on Splatterhouse II. I will also make separate articles on the monsters and characters of splatterhouse without stage distractions. In all, this game only covers the West Mansion itself and the path to the left of it up till the West Annex. I believe that Splatterhouse II brings Rick into the ruins of the house and the path to the right of the Mansion and into the center of the lake. Of course you will see that as I develop the map of the West Estate.

I am not sure what else to say other than I hope everyone enjoyed this. With this analysis I feel that I can say I understand the game like I never did before. I hope some people can find use in this as well. Surely these hours of work was well spent for myself.

If I missed anything or need to fix anything, I will edit these posts. Rock on!

That's simple-dogs are chick magnets. :p

While I tend to agree with your ideas on Hell Chaos and West, I still wonder why he would have bothered to put a marker on the grave (either the rudimentary cross of the JP version or the stone of the NA one), which would just draw attention to it. Maybe it's more of a marker so that he could find it later on if need be...

That marker could be just to mark his experiment under the ground like you said.

But... Well that could be speculated as well. Well I might as well dive in with my own concepts (as off the wall as they can be). The first would be that hell chaos was one of West's early monsters. At the time he was at least human enough to plant a marker for his buried experiment. Since then... well everything went to hell around the mansion. Another would be that Hell Chaos was someone close to him which he experimented on. Most likely a family member or whatever. Hmm... Here is another. The marker is a religious object. West planted it in the ground to keep the monster below it's surface, like a barrier. West knew it's strength which is why he possessed it's body. With a human soul controlling Hell Chaos, it was able to break the barrier the cross made. Yet another concept is Hell Chaos was created through the spirit of Dr. West's scientific power and his soul. When Dr. West hits the ground, his spirit gathers flesh from all over the place, forming this giant under the surface of the ground we know as Hell Chaos (which would result in the multiple faces and unique flesh). That sounds cool but the japanese translation talks about it being a monster who lives in the caverns under the ground.

Hell Chaos itself is totally mysterious. I do not think of his as the final boss, it is more like the 3rd final boss. Jennifer being the first, mother is the second, then him. I say that because all three bosses are very important to the plotline. But this has nothing to do with anything.

The corpses Master Dead reanimate are called "Revival Dead". Dumdead are the "living dead" present in Part 2. Either way if what he says is to be names of ancient gods, it's just yet another nod to Evil Dead and Lovecraft, since the Necronomicon is presumably made out of names of the Elder Gods.

As the Deadmen are called "lower class experiment bodies", I'd think that they could be created "by hand" by West and spawned by Mother as well. The destruction of Mother does mark the end of Deadmen alright either way, as no new Deadmen are featured in the sequels (all the subsequent Deadmen are burnt ones, from the fire in the mansion. Curiously enough the Green Deadmen who were burnt instead of lingering in West Mansion headed to the New Splatterhouse. Deadman Fat is the only exception, since he appears in Part 3 and there's no longer West in the equation, so it seems that this subspecies itself is part of the Demon clan Evil One rules), since West would not be interested in low class experiments. Not even upper-class experiments like Top-Heavy he cared much for either, as Deathnoids were all the rage after West had bit the bullet.

I honestly think that Rick was escaping West Mansion (I agree that up to stage 3 he was fighting to go back in to save Jennifer) and happened to stumble in the cross.

If Dr. West were indeed to be a part of Hell Chaos, I don't think they'd be shy to say so. I think that while the events of the first game transpired, West was already in his new digs experimenting on his new creatures. As well, I don't think he needs the mask in order to open a portal to the land of the dead. The ritual of ressurrection plays that part. Furthermore, while they're described as dead creatures and the like, all of West's creations have souls as Rick states in the Part 2 manual, that West was conjuring spirits from the Land of the Dead to give life to his experiments. So, I don't think that West's spirit was trapped in the Mask or Hell Chaos, since that even if he's already a zombie, he'd need his soul to continue his research (or so I figure). It's not clarified if he even transformed himself into one. I think it's absurdly likely though. He was already old when they first illustrate his experiments and I think he'd want to be around for longer than a "regular" body could handle.

One theory I read in the japanese page stated that the reason the Mask possessed Rick in the first place is that it was trapped in the West Mansion and needed someone to be it's vehicle out of there. And then it possessed the creature buried under the cross because Rick would have served out his purpose and now it wants it's freedom.

However, the Mask in first place floats around to attach to Rick's face. And it pretty much goes straight to him in part 3, when the last we saw of it was leaving Rick and Jennifer in the outskirts of the Hidden Mansion. I'd think Rick wouldn't live close to the places he spent a hellish part of his life on. Fuck, let alone live in a Mansion after all he's been through. But he's a parapsychologist, there's psychology in the equation, and some guy named Henri Ducard probably told him he needed to become one with his fears. But fuck if he's going to ever wear a hockey mask again!

Either way, as it says that the Mask possesses spirits of the dead, I'm figuring that even so there's a collective consciousness or a dominant spirit that plays the sentient part and talks to Rick. So this dominant soul (maybe with other souls) leave the Mask while Rick still has enough power to fight back, but after it's done, the Mask shatters. Obviously, since it's a spirit, it could very much flow back to it's original vessel after Hell Chaos' destruction and then give it enough power to reassemble. I do think it's screaming "Rick Taylor" as well even if the full name would only be given two full years after the game's original release.

By the way, on "Dumdead": I remember I had searched on dictionary.com for "dum" and it saying that this word stood for rotten, decayed, etc. So I thought "this fits these ghouls like a glove" and went for it as a translation. However I searched it again and now it's not displaying ANY of these results. It only forwards you to an acronym. I feel like I'm in one of Lovecraft's mindfuck stories, and this ain't a pleasant feeling at all. If Cthulhu shows up I'm gonna take pictures of it, but I have the feeling the pictures wouldn't develop or even be readable in digital form in the PC. Hell and damnation.

My bad, I knew it was one of the zombies that look like zombies.

As for Rick speaking the names of ancient gods, that is official. In the japanese version of SH2, it is the intro to the stage before Rick enters the Land of the Dead says that Rick speaks names of ancient gods, the gate opens and he walks in. Of course I have not played my japanese cartridge in a little while. If someone can play the japanese version and see that would be cool.

Around the West Mansion, I stick by that there seems to be no more made. The ones that Rick fights are the burnt ones that were left off after the first game. Dr. West probably got enough info that he needed or wanted to move onto a new type of experiment. The deathoids.

From what I can tell, a deadman fat is when a deadman eats too much to the point where they eat their own kind. This is unique because I do not see any actual deadmen in SH3. There is bonedead but thats as close as it gets. But if we say that deadmen came from mother as well as Dr. West, that means they probably can be made through different methods including the spontaneous demons appearing in SH3.

I actually meant to include that concept and I thought that I did. I must have missed it under the piles of notes that I made. Thanks for reminding me.

In the introduction of SH2 japanese, the last two sentences the mask tells rick goes "You will find the secret to bringing life. I will give you the power." I cannot say if the mask is telling him he will give him the power to fight his way to where he finds the secret of bringing life or Rick needs the mask's power to perform the ritual which is the secret to bringing life. I do not know, but that is what I scooped together when I was playing the games. I am not sure if the entry on the translation of the manual makes much more sense. "Even borrowing once more the power of the abominable Hell Mask... I will fulfill the 'Secret Ritual of Ressurection'..." It is not immediately thought the Hell Mask is needed in the ritual, but it was a concept I had to share as well as the reasons why I put the concept together.

"Here's probably the place where West conjured the souls to keep the life of the experiments present in this place."

I actually think the manual was speaking of a place it was speaking of the Hidden House. And from what I can tell, the Hidden House is where Dr. West was developing the Deathoids... The deathnoid from what I can tell is developed totally from scratch rather than the deadmen which used the bodies of the dead. So to me one house Dr. West was experimenting with science to bring life, the other with spirits to bring life. Of course I can ignore that and say that Dr. West brought the bodies all the way to the center of the lake, then put a soul into them to make an experiment successful. Then brought them all the way back and into the cavern under the West Annex to be held. I cannot say my speculation is right though.

I actually believed this as well until I started to wonder about the soul and the concept of Hell Chaos. If it is not Dr. West's soul, I am at a loss to what possesses the monster and how it relates with the Mask. Personally I do not think all of the undead in SH need souls to live. The concept of Dr. West making himself undead to live longer does hold itself strong though.

I might as well mix the two concepts to make a third. The Mask speaks to West and tells him that it will grant him longer life after he releases it's soul through the ritual of resurrection as some sort of form or gratitude. The Mask steals his soul and leaves his body in an undead state. Dr. West in the flesh lives on and keeps experimenting while his soul is trapped inside of the Hell Mask. So in a way, Dr. West got split into two versions of himself.

I am not sure about this. This makes me believe the Mask was totally helpless. We can see it can float. This is unless it means in a more symbolic way that it was trapped like it could not leave like there is a barrier keeping itself tied to the building. I assume the new purpose is world domination (which it never really has a motive for) which is why it possesses Hell Chaos. Why the mask didn't do that in the first place or with another monster instead of Rick being the middle man, I do not know.

I know, that is why I am 50/50 with SH3. To me, SH1 relates to SH2 much better than SH3. I kinda got the impression it was a sequel just to be a sequel rather than the next part of the story. If I was Rick, screw being a parapsychologist. I would be done with anything of the subject for a lifetime. There was no more to find out about the afterlife. You lived it (literally with Jennifer).

This is totally not canon, but a while back I was writing a story on the relation of Rick with Jennifer. While deciding majors in college, Rick sees Jennifer and falls in love or has a crush or some of that mushy stuff. Even though he did not have a real interest with it like she did, he takes the major so he could take the same classes as her. Because Rick starts to slip in his parapsychology classes while Jennifer excelled, the two get closer after she agrees to tutor him. But that is not quite good enough. In order to get a passing grade, Rick talks the teacher to let him turn in an extra credit report on Dr. West a well known parapsychologist and scientist (or something like that). This is why the two go to the West Mansion in the first place.

Using this concept, it is very possible that countless souls that the Mask held did possess Hell Chaos. When destroyed, it shows a face which particles of small orbs split from as it shrinks. It is possible these small particles are separate souls that were held together, making that face we see. I think we should sometime make a separate debate on the Hell Mask and the souls it holds. I feel that I cannot look at it totally clearly when concepts of countless different things are floating around.

If I am on the same page as you, I have to agree. My mind feels so strained. But at the same time I am having a lot of fun with this. I expect to start Splatterhouse II in the next few days. I will be only playing the japanese version. I do not take any part of the english plot into consideration at all unless it is the same of the Japanese.

It's the same unintelligible mess as in the NA version.

As far as S3, I think it works great as a sequel and makes the most sense out of all three stories. Rick and Jennifer do try to put the Splatterhouse behind them-Rick goes to Wall Street (a practical, well grounded career about as far from parapsychology as one can get-even though it has its own monsters and horrors) and gets rich. He doesn't become a paranormal investigator. He doesn't write hack books for the New Age section (which in the good old days was just the straight up 'occult' section in your local Waldenbooks). He doesn't even become a cable TV show host-he puts all this in his past.
And if you've hit it big on Wall Street, I don't see anyone living in a two room shack or a double wide-not to mention it would make for a short game. Nope, you have the apartment in New York with the requisite big house in the country (Rick's mansion DOES seem to be roughly the size of the White House, although some of those New England mansions are truly huge).

I think it might be more interesting to speculate as to why he does hit it so big on Wall Street. Did residual effects of the Mask give him limited precognition, giving him the edge in the buy/sell world of stocks and futures? Or did he or Jennifer already have this ability (in either case, David sure ends up with it).

The wallstreet thing. That is english version only right?

EDIT: I was absolutely sure they say Rick says the names of Ancient Gods somewhere. Well I will see when I play the game. Tonight I plan on Splatterhouse Part II.

Is there any solid evidence of where the Mask came from? It must relate to West in some way (because everything at the west mansion is there because of West).

If not, I will come up with my own concepts to write in my notes. Seeing that Dr. West had a gallery of paintings, perhaps he might have collected artifacts. The Mask could have been one of these as study or because Dr. West was interested in it being used in rituals to contact the afterlife or whatever.

If I follow my concept of the mask and the ritual, the mask (until West opened the gate to use souls) was just an object. The power or soul of the Mask (the one that floats above Rick in SH3) was locked in the Land of the Dead until then. If the mask was always concious, I would have not a clue why it did nothing until the first game being that it probably has existed for hundreds or thousands of years.

Or perhaps the mask was used in ancient times as a lock for the Land of the Dead just like the Death Crystal we see in SHII. When Dr. West unlocks the gate, up comes the mask. But there is no proof of these. I have no evidence to work on other than my imagination.

The actual dialogue (the phrase Rick mutters before the 'soul well' with Jennifer opens up) is the same for both versions. I believe the intro screen before the level starts does mention 'ancient gods'...something like 'speak the names of the Ancient Gods to open the way to the Land Of The Dead', but I'm at work now so I can't check it.

Actually that's it if I remember correctly. I will take snapshots of all of the intro screens as I go through it and take notes so no need to go out of your way. I will cover it as I go on with the game.

Rick does say the name of Ancient Gods in Part 2, that's undebatable fact. I meant that as for Master Dead uttering names of Ancient Gods as well. If anything it'd also be symmetric.

Uh, that's exactly what I said, just in a more humours manner.

I remember that you yourself said that the Deadmen had thin, tiny mouthes, which wouldn't apply to them being creatures like Romero's ghouls, that feed upon the living in order to survive. That's a concept I greatly agree with, because they could have feasted upon Jennifer but they didn't. Whatever they did, they tried to (arguably) make her "one of them".

So, I don't know. Perhaps the Deadmen also happen to be a part of the Demon clan Evil One rules, and that whatever the method Mother was created, it was spawning beings already originating from the Evil One's dimension (he is dead, that much we know, but it seems that it was some sort of imprisoment. Whether Namcot means whatever dimension the Evil One originatedas "jigoku" (literally hell) or "makai" ('demon world'), both famous hellish dimensions in japanese lore, I guess we'll never know). The Part 2 info claimed that they are a Deadmen "subspecies" that will go as far as cannibalism, that's where I'm driving my conclusions from, as they appear in part 3 where West had next to nothing to do with.

For the bolded part, the thing is, Rick details each stage he plows through to situate the reader in the narrative. If he were to talk about the Hidden Mansion as a whole, that would belong in Stage 5, "New Splatterhouse". Instead, it goes directly under the Stage 6 section, called "Altar". So it all points to West using the portal found at the altar to use souls that couldn't reincarnate from the land of the dead as life for the flesh beings he created.

If the mask IS to be a part of the whole ritual of opening the portal to the land of the dead (which does not seem to be case; Rick utters the names and then the portal opens. The mask opens a gate to exit the land of the dead, yes, but to open a gate from the world of the living to it, it's never hinted as such), then it went to the Hidden Mansion, helped West imprison Jennifer to stop the Evil One from coming to Earth and then went back to Rick to undo what it just did!. You can use that as a plot, sure. But it's not particularly bright. It feels like something so convulsed and (pardon the term if you like this theory, I'm referring to the concept and not to people who may like it) stupid, it feels like taken out from the latest Mega Man games. Or worse, a Green Goblin plot. "I have a plan within a plan within another plan that is so secret that even I don't know about!".

My own hunch: what you see after Hell Chaos' defeat is the dominant soul that fleed from the Mask that is releasing smaller spirits that were taken with it to possess whatever the creature buried is, and that's pretty much it. Perhaps also the soul of the experiment. Because whatever it was, it's quite a fucking thing because it's the game's final boss (even if not the hardest) and well, gigantic. For all we know, this experiment could contain more than one soul trapped within it as well.

The latter theory is complex, sure, but I don't buy it myself. We're all overanalyzing the story aspects (that's where much of the fun in this topic originates from), as any good fan is prone to do. But I do think there's something as going too far. But again, that's just me.

For the reason everything happens in fiction, where competent authors can mask as being the consequence of many factors: dramatic convenience.

But as I said myself, it's not a theory I myself agree with. I just thought it interesting as means to add fuel to the fire. And, unfortunately, gamebooks are almost a subliterary genre in Japan, and games with next to plot at all, like Mega Man, had a somewhat indepth story added to them in such. If even something that had somewhat of a lukewarm reception like Rockman had a gamebook, what to say of Splatterhouse that apparently made a huge splash with it's premiere? As the theory goes uncredited, I can't say it originated from one of those, but what if it did? That's why I put it in the first place. If it happens to be canon to the japanese storyline (again, theoretically), it's just yet another convulsed knot to be tied.

The bit about "Psychology in parapsychology" I just threw in as the means to make an elaborate joke throwing back to Batman Begins. As Rob pointed out, the parapsychology majors is dropped altogether from the equation like it never even existed in both canons.

Either way, parapsychology goes beyond afterlife, but yes, Rick'd surely have seen enough that paranormal shit does happen. And I don't personally see him as someone adamant to prove the world the hell he's gone through. He'd try to move on with his life and leave that hell behind himself. Part 3's story section seems to back up on that notion. "The peace of those days seemed to be unending"... you can't be at peace if you're at an intellectual war with the world to prove that there ARE monsters hiding under your bed after all.

Anyway, I'm with Brick in this one. Part 3 to me still work as a sequel. Evil One wanted to go back to Earth and then it chose the spring of the one holding him at bay as the means to free himself. Almost poetical. Then the Mask shows it's true colors after living out it's Firebrand complex. To me, it works much better than "I feel shit's gonna happen even if it haven't for years! It's here, now, and there's this temple in Mexico that I have absolutely NO FUCKING CLUE of what part does it play in this, but hey, it's a temple in Mexico OVERFLOWING WITH ENERGY! AWESOME! Now let's plow through the undead and save my family while the Terror Mask develops a knack for taking over the world when it helped me save my wife without taking any advantage of me at all all these years ago!".

Let me make one thing clear though: I like what the US canon does right. I prefer the Mask's characterization there, where it's truly wicked and taunts Rick by trying to make him admit he has that inner beast within. As well, the bits about Rick making a career in Wall Street to me make a whole load of sense to explain how he afforded such a Mansion in first place. Trying to delve into the Mask's origin is, as well, commendable. Even if the Mayan concept is not used in the Japanese canon, you surely see the impact the design SH2's mask had in Part 3; it's made to resemble a skull. Only that Part 3 does it with a whole fuckload more of style. But the embryo for that? SH2.

Either way, it's not like that the japanese differences are outright inferior (or that the US changes themselves are outright inferior as well. I just don't sit well with "Mueller" in part 2 when West is ALL OVER THE PLACE!). The Mask actually being more sensible with Rick just shows that it does a fucking good job at keeping it's true colors to itself. Kind of "less is more", in this case. As well, the fact the Mask's origins are never specified leaves a whole lot of room for imagination. But again, not a matter of what's "right" or "wrong", when if you look at this in an objective point of view, they're just different.

By the way, don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to say that you're saying such things yourself. But I've just seen so much people throw notions of "right" and "wrong" when it comes down to different canons in other forums that I just had to get that out of my chest.

There's a fanfic in WM that goes exactly like that, 'cept for the part that Rick seeks out parapsychology as means to get closer to Jennifer. That yours?

I kinda covered that above.

I'm actually talking about the whole deal about the meaning of "dum" that I remember vividly of seeing being removed altogether. Almost like "dum"'s aunt is dying, then Mephisto approaches the word and says "I want your entry... I want your meaning." and "dum" agrees. And for some fuckodd reason the only one who remembers that shit is me!

And in Lovecraft's stories such a lonewolf is overtaken by the supernatural beings he witnessed and no one else believes that exist. So if I wake up in the middle of the night with Cthulhu clawing at my bed, I won't be surprised. Fuck if I won't, chances are I'll be screaming like a japanese schoolgirl from a hentai anime going through her [first] mandatory rape. But a part of me will say "I KNEW this shit was going to happen!".

I better find the baseball bat my uncle sent me from Canada.

Indeed it is, at least of every Japanese material I could track down.

Actually, in the Western version Rick (after finding out of thin air that Jennifer must be in "the void") says that "The Mask can open a gate to the void". In the Japanese version, he says "Utter the name of Ancient Gods. The path to the Land of the Dead shall open" as he's reading the book the Ritual is found in.

Well, this was a fuckassingly long post! And I enjoyed every byte of it.

Ahah ha ha....a clash of titans.

The SH debate still lives on! Even amongst the most well-versed souls on this board, some bones of contention exist, and theories of equal virtue butt heads. Kinda like The Bible.

That's why I'm kind of taking a buffet approach to adapting the SH mythos...take what works from each incarnation, ditch the rest.

I'm glad you guys do the heavy lifting! :rollin

Just some random thoughts-

I don't think there is any right or wrong here-the original stories are sketchy at best, and can be developed in so many directions that you could write a book (or several) about them. The only 'official' stuff is what Namco decides is official-so I'm enjoying all the speculation, and it's all plausible.

Personally, I like the whole Mueller sidebar. My theory's that Mueller was indeed a friend of West at some point and was murdered by him after part 1 so that the now undead West could assume his identity and lay low.

That brings up the whole JP/NA thang-while I generally prefer to play the Japanese versions (except for 3, mainly for reasons of play control), I don't see the American versions as WRONG. With a little speculation, there's no reason everything from both can't be made to fit. After all, that's what being a Splatterhouse otaku is all about, right? And we all oughta know...

And I also think we haven't even introduced Rick and Jen's careers as actors into the mix yet! Even though Wanpaku is a light hearted game, I think it does work well as a prequel.

I think I really opened a can of worms needlessly. I brought in the whole "right/wrong" canon deal because I'm a bit satured with it in other forums, like people saying whenever an anime deviates from a manga makes the anime automatically "wrong" and people saying whatever in Mega Man differs from the JP releases makes US versions wrong as well. I'm not saying someone ever said such a thing here in T3M, since people are actually very laid back and sensitive here. In the end I ended up taking it out in the wrong board. Sorry 'bout that.

....Ah, no one's guilty of dickery here. Just good old fashioned debate over something that will one day be very relevant in all of our day-to-day lives....(You'll see.... :evil )

Hey, what can I say? I am making an RPG remake of the first two games. I want to make the plot as solid as possible. haha

Ah right, yeah I think it is doubtful he says the names of ancient gods.

Well myself, I do not think the deadmen did not eat Jennifer because of their 'diet' but rather I always saw them as being controlled by leaders such as the Top-heavies, mother, or even Dr. West. This is the same reason why Rick was not eaten as well. He was to be used for experimentation. But while he was knocked out, Jennifer escaped. So the deadmen took care of him while he was out. Just took longer for them to get to her. I guess she was agile and was able to hide and escape a lot, the deadmen were distracted with Rick, or she was unconscious more than we thought (though her scream was heard after the evil cross which meant she was in a struggle of some sort. Maybe grabbed and dragged off to the room where Rick sees her). I am not sure why they made her into a "wicked" being. I guess mother wanted a daughter. :rollin

I have no doubt the deadmen would be part of the Demon clan. But they did not show up in the game which is weird. I guess simply put, Namco picked out what designs would be cool for lower class monsters not really thinking about it. It is entirely possible that mother had a sister somewhere either here or in the Land of the Dead.

I am not entirely sure the Dark One is considered "dead". To me he is a being not of this world. I do not think the Land of the Dead is quite the same as the hell we or japan knows. It is a place of wicked souls from what I think I heard in another article here. So I am saying is that he is a wicked soul of godly power. I would note that he is a hell lot smaller in SH3 than SH2. It is possible he is weaker in our world than his own. I have not studied much SH3 to say much though.

Like I said before, I do not think they were thinking about it in SH3. Fat deadmen until the translation of the manual was made, I thought were related to body eaters. Not only because of it's hunger but because of the influences it comes from. Both body eaters and deadman fat were influenced from Deadly Spawn as the same species. I cannot think of a real explanation of them in SH3 other than the makers had a bit less thought in the monsters and how they relate to the story.

I am getting the impression that if he is writing it like a narrative that the stage names are more like chapter names. So... I do not think it means the whole stage is called an altar.

Yeah I already noticed the absolute chance of tone to this thread. I originally made it to share speculations, not to debate with each other.

Nope and I never read it but I am sure to soon enough.

Yeah, I would try to break free from that. But I will take apologies, I hope to take this thread back onto track soon enough.