8 Eyes
| Developer: Seta/Thinking Rabbit | Publisher: Taxan |
| Release Date: 1988 | Also On: None |
Ah, the memories, the memories! 8 Eyes has always been a favorite of mine, but even though I have quite a past with this game and hours of memories with my brother and I playing it together, I never really gave it a proper look in terms of objectivity, so I'm glad to finally have that opportunity. Some gamers get down on this title as a Castlevania clone, which it is in certain respects, but at the same time it's a very unique game and pretty damn fun, with some minor faults. I'd have to say that such opinions are based on a very small amount of observation, because at first glance this may look like Castlevania, but after playing through it, it's clear it's very different. Let's see what this game has to offer.
In the graphics department, 8 Eyes is pretty good overall. The themes for each country and their respective environments works without being stereotypical. I don't know, I suppose for Italy you'd expect something in Venice and in Germany possibly some pseudo-Prussian thing going on. They really managed to give the game this look that captures the feel of each specific country. In addition, there are a slew of different enemies that have been carefully placed only in countries where they seem to fit properly. So, of course, expect to see skeletons in Egypt, but not in the Germany castle. The majority of the animations are very fluid, especially those of Orin (your character) while jumping. Some are a little choppy, but they're hardly noticed amongst everything else. Detail is occasionally lacking, for instance Cutrus looks more like a brown mess with randomly attached dots than a hunting hawk, but in general the programmers did a good job. For this example, you can still tell what it is, but at times his appearance seems sloppy. The boss characters, however, are well detailed and a great color scheme has been used throughout the game. Can't say I really had any problems with the graphics other than Orin, who has this strange, pale appearance and seems to be almost like a Russian peasant looking at him since he's not wearing any shoes. Not at all what I'd expect from this kind of game, especially after looking at the bad ass, sword-slashing chap on the box cover. Oh well, some minor faults, but good overall.
Wow, if there is one area of 8 Eyes I can say without a doubt is totally flawless, it's the sound. The man who did this is a total genius, but I can't say I've been able to find anything else he programmed, which is pretty sad. Anyway, incredible. The sound effects are fitting, no problems there, but the musical scores are like nothing I've ever heard. Again, they've managed to give each country its own feel without getting stereotypical while making themes so diverse it makes one wonder how long it took to put it all together. Each level has at least three distinct songs, one for the ending screen, one for the boss fight and one for the level proper, each very long and intricate. True mastery here, my friends, it's hard to get better than this in the 8-Bit era. The sounds and songs aren't only placed right, they create a wonderful atmosphere that gets the player into the game fast and hard.
8 Eyes then follows it up with some pretty unique gameplay, though as I hinted above it has lifted some of the basic format from Castlevania. Here's how it goes. You have a main character to control, Orin, and then a secondary character, his fighting falcon Cutrus. First off, this game is interesting because you can either play alone and use the falcon independently of Orin, set it to two players and control the falcon using a second controller when you need him, or even play a two-player game simultaneously with one player controlling Orin and the other Cutrus! You'd be surprised how fun this is, it really makes for great team play. Cutrus is critical for finding hidden scrolls to help you along the way as well as power-ups. In addition, he can swoop down on enemies that cannot be attacked by Orin or bosses. They both have separate life bars so if one gets hit, the other isn't affected unless Cutrus is with Orin on his shoulder.
So the basic game runs that you have to collect eight different jewels (the 'eyes') in order to harness the power to rebuild a post-apocalyptic planet Earth. What's interesting about this game is that it's non-linear. You can select any country you want, but there is only one particular order where you will receive the proper sword for the next boss so the fight is easier. The levels are all varied and interesting with their own unique themes. One, for example, is a maze. After defeating all seven bosses, you can then move on to the House of Ruth for the last encounter. Orin can pick up a variety of weapons in his quest in addition to locating hidden clues that must be solved in order to properly place the jewels in the final segment of the game. After you beat it once, you have a second and even third quest to complete, but the programmers did nothing more than speed up the enemy speed which, granted, makes it more difficult, but is a pretty half-assed attempt at additional quests. It almost makes the third quest unplayable because your characters are set at the same speed they were before while everyone else moves like lightening. 8 Eyes, thankfully, does have a nice password feature that you can use to access any castle you've been to before or to come back to the game at a later time.
The quest problem is a minor issue, however. So what do I find wrong with 8 Eyes? Well, it's not a flawless game but it almost makes it. There are a few problems here and there that may discourage younger or less experienced gamers. First off, unlike Castlevania, it's very difficult to manuever out of the way of enemy attacks. Since Orin is a swordsman, they tried to throw this fencing element into it that amounts to many of the characters having a set pattern for how they attack. This pattern is generally the same for all of them, you approach, they swing two to three times, you back away, attack, and then repeat until they die. This is pretty annoying to me, and I'm not entirely certain the fencing thing is why they programmed it like this, more likely it was just a quickly programmed aspect of the title. Second, the first player single feature is generally worthless. The reason is is that Cutrus is almost completely uncontrollable. It's beyond difficult at some points to make good use of him since moving him moves Orin at the same time, so you're forced to set it for two players and use the second controller when you need him, which actually isn't how this game was meant to be played. It's just the only way you can pull it off. And because of this, Orin will often get hit because you're trying to focus on Cutrus.
Third, the special weapons you can pick up are totally useless except for one, the ice ball. Everything else is pointless since the game has been programmed with a weapon bar that drains way too fast for my tastes. One usage of the ice ball drops the meter a ton, which makes sense since the item trumps all others and freezes bosses, but still they should have tweaked this part a bit because there's just no reason to use any other weapon. Making them more critical to play would have been a plus. Fourth, some of the bosses are a little too difficult, making direct contact with them absolutely out of the question. On a number of them you'll essentially milk the Cutrus aspect and fool around with some programming glitches. The boss is Egypt, for example, requires you to learn how he jumps when Cutrus approaches and then get him to jump at a certain point while attacking so he rebounds off the wall and doesn't hop above to level Orin. Some bosses require you to figure out their patterns, but I'd say it's probably only two or three of them. The others require freezing and button mashing for the most part. Fifth, the final level is totally weak. I was expecting a huge area to navigate around, but instead you're dealt with a stupid 'fight the bosses again' shtick that I've always hated in games where it makes no sense. So wait a minute, I defeat these guys and have tea with them after I win during the password screen, and now they want to attack me again? That makes no sense. Overall, though, 8 Eyes has some pretty solid gameplay, just keep these issues in mind before you give it a go.
Even though 8 Eyes draws heavily from Castlevania, it really manages to catch one's attention through a number of innovative features, such as the combination of a platformer with puzzle elements. The two-player option is spectacular and the way the gameplay has been arranged is very novel, I'd bet it likely influenced later games in the Castlevania series. It's not the most creative game out there, but it's really interesting in several areas, especially the idea of different countries, all mixed together with some splendid graphics and spectacular sound. Can't complain really.
I'd definitely play 8 Eyes again and have several times. I remember getting this for Christmas one year and playing it with my brother for hours. For serious gamers, it has a wonderful password feature and additional quests, one of which is a secret you have to figure out. Though they're essentially only sped up versions of the first quest, they're definitely a lot more difficult and took me awhile to finally beat. The game length is perfect, each castle will take you no longer than fifteen minutes to a half of an hour, and with the addition of the password feature you can come back to it whenever you want. Plus, with a friend, you have even another way to play through it. High marks in this category.
Overall I have to say that 8 Eyes is definitely a very respectful game and one every NES fan should own or at least play. Castlevania fans will love it and those who are fans of old platformers will find something here as well. If you're just getting into the NES this is a good place to start. Though it has some faults, the guys at Thinking Rabbit came up with a game that rely pushed the envelope in certain areas and it's a shame that the company eventually folded. Makes you wonder what else they would have come up with had they survived into the modern era.
| Graphics: | 8 |
| Sound: | 10 |
| Gameplay: | 8 |
| Creativity: | 7 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 10 |
| Final: | 8.6 |
| Written by Stan | Review Guide |
Game Freaks 365 is not responsible and does not endorse the comments posted above from registered users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, or remove user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice. Items that may be considered inappropriate to post are those containing profanity, hatred, vulgar, unlawful or threatening comments.
Read 538 times.
