Forgotten Franchises – Gargoyle’s Quest

Back in 1990, the Nintendo World Championships was touring around the United States. The release of the Wizard in 1989 made gamers across America pine for a chance to compete at their favorite NES games for a chance to win cash and prizes. I was no different. My parents took me into Boston for my chance to compete, and unfortunately for poor me, I was eliminated fairly early in the competition. I didn’t even make it beyond the first round. However, my early ejection from the competition gave me a lot more time to try the many games being demoed at the event -- everything from Final Fantasy to the Japanese version of Castlevania 3.

However, a room full of Gameboys was where I found a brand new game I just couldn’t stop playing. It was a unique blend of side scrolling action and top-down RPG gameplay, starring a lead character unlike anything else I played before -- a living gargoyle named Firebrand, capable of breathing fire, flying at the touch of a button, and climbing nearly any wall. That little game was Capcom’s Gargoyle’s Quest.

Witness the original Gargoyle’s Quest!

The character of Firebrand was new to me at that age, but little did I know that he had actually been around for years, torturing hardcore gamers the world over since 1985 under the name Red Arremer, debuting in the original Ghosts ‘N Goblins arcade game. Known for his deadly swooping attacks and ability to dodge most anything the player throws at him, the Red Arremer was an early stumbling block for many a gamer. His appearance was capable of setting fear into an easily frustrated player’s heart. He returned in several of Capcom’s following titles, such as the arcade game Black Tiger and as the final boss of Higemaru Makajima for the MSX2 and Famicom console, as well as the follow-up to Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Ghouls ‘N Ghosts. Eventually, Capcom saw fit to give the gaming community the chance to take control of the nigh unstoppable demon in a game of his very own.

Originally released in Japan under the title Red Arremer: Makaimura Gaiden (Makaimura being the Japanese title of Ghosts ‘N Goblins), Gargoyle’s Quest hit the US for the Nintendo Game Boy in July of 1990, with Red Arremer’s skin inaccurately colored green on the box art and in promotional material (most likely due the artist assuming that the greenish tint of the original Game Boy’s screen meant that the character himself should be green). The box art also dropped the Ghosts ‘N Goblins connection, though it is retained as a subtitle on the title screen.

As a spinoff of the Ghosts ‘N Goblins franchise with a new main character, it was fitting that the game receive a change in gameplay as well. Not content with remaining a simple 2D side-scroller, Capcom chose to make Gargoyle’s Quest a unique mix of action platforming and RPG elements. Red Arremer, with his newly Americanized name Firebrand, travels the Ghoul Realm and its cities from a top-down perspective, similar of the tile-based world of the earlier Dragon Quest titles. Random battles do occur, but instead of fighting in a turn based fashion, the player fights his enemies from a 2D platformer’s perspective. Important destinations switch to longer levels typical of an action game. In these levels, Firebrand can fly for a limited amount of time, cling to walls, and breathe fire. Over the course of the game, new abilities are earned, including new projectiles that break stone blocks or stick to spikes, creating platforms to cling to, and items that can increase amount of time he can stay in the air during flight. With its unique mix of gameplay styles, marked with an overall remarkably dark tone for a Game Boy title, Gargoyle’s Quest definitely stood out from the pack. After reappearing as an enemy in the next Ghosts ‘N Goblins title, Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts, Firebrand would return to his own series with a 1992 NES sequel, Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness (Makaimura Gaiden: Red Arremer II in Japan).

Cower before Gargoyle’s Quest II!

Featuring the same top-down RPG/action-platformer gameplay mixture, but without the random battles of the original title, Gargoyle’s Quest 2 was a solid follow-up with excellent graphics for the console and dark, moody music perfectly suited for a world full of demons and monsters. Unfortunately, Gargoyle’s Quest II never really was a big financial success, mainly due to its release so late into the NES’ life cycle. Gargoyle’s Quest II was ported to the Game Boy in Japan in 1993, but this version was never released in the US. Despite its decreasing retail performance, the Gargoyle’s Quest franchise was given one more chance, this time on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 with Demon’s Crest or as it was known in Japan, Demon’s Blazon: Makaimura Monsho Hen.

Kneel before Demon’s Crest!

Demon’s Crest featured graphics and music similar in quality to the SNES Castlevania titles -- darker and moodier than ever before -- and represented a bit of a gameplay shift for the series. Gameplay was much more focused on the platforming end of the previous entries in the franchise, while the RPG overworld was replaced with a Mode 7 map that Firebrand could freely fly around, allowing the player to quickly soar between levels. Other gameplay changes include crests that allow Firebrand to change forms, each with different abilities, such as a dash that can smash through walls, or improved flying or swimming abilities. Getting a new forms allowed the player to return to previously completed levels to unlock secrets, similar to that of Super Metroid or the Mega Man X titles.

While Demon’s Crest was a gorgeous and solid SNES game, it unfortunately suffered the same fate as Gargoyle’s Quest II -- under-performing sales at retail. Limited copies were shipped to retailers, and sales were so poor that even Nintendo Power reported that it performed negative sales early in its release, meaning at one point more people returned the game than purchased it, despite extremely positive reviews from the gaming press. Alas, the Gargoyle’s Quest franchise was doomed to toil away into obscurity.

While no longer featured in his own games, Firebrand, under his original Red Arremer moniker, has continued to make cameos in other titles, making an appearance in SNK vs. Capcom for the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999, returning as a secret boss character in SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom for the Neo Geo, PS2, and Xbox in 2003, as an enemy type in the Japanese PS2 strategy RPG Namco x Capcom in 2005 and in Ultimate Ghouls ‘N Ghosts for the PS2 in 2006. His most recent cameo appearance was in a split-second scene getting killed in Kaijin no Soki’s ending in the original Japanese release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for the Wii in 2009.

Watch Red Arremer destroy the fighters of SVC Chaos!

It’s unfortunate that the Gargoyle’s Quest series has been left dormant for so long. With many of today’s games more open of exploring darker territory (titles such as EA’s Dante’s Inferno and Capcom’s own Resident Evil franchise), and with upcoming current generation 3D relaunches of classic franchises such as Konami’s Castlevania and Namco’s Splatterhouse, the world of Ghoul Realm of Gargoyle’s Quest could easily find a place on the gaming landscape. Capcom has shown a willingness to revisit some of its older cult franchises such as Bionic Commando (with the just announced Bionic Commando Rearmed 2) and Final Fight (with Final Fight Double Impact for Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network) -- perhaps someday they’ll consider giving Firebrand one more chance at redemption.

• PAX-East Impressions - Shank - March 31st, 2010
• Fan Art - Deadly Premonition - March 12th, 2010
• Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker Extended Gameplay Trailer - March 11th, 2010
• Retro Rebirth - March 2nd, 2010
• Akira Yamaoka Jumps To Grasshopper Manufacture - February 3rd, 2010