Frankenstein: The Monster Returns (or Frankenstein) is a Beat 'em Up/Platform Horror video game released for the American market of the NES in 1991.
Featuring the famous creature from Frankenstein, the monster comes back from the grave to terrorize the populace of a nearby village, taking a local girl named Emily with him. This prompts her beloved to go after him, braving hordes of undead enemies and other powers of the night.
Compare Castlevania, another Monster Mash franchise where Dracula is the main antagonist and employs in his disposal classic movie monsters, such as werewolves and even Frankenstein's artificial creation.
Both PatTheNESPunk and The Angry Video Game Nerd reviewed the game.
Tropes:
- Another Dimension: After defeating the Dark Warrior in stage 3, he says he can take the protagonist to the "evil dimension" (the last stage).
- Back from the Dead: According to the intro text of the American version, the creature was buried in a grave, until a sudden lightning struck his grave and brought him back to life.
- Big Bad: Surprisingly for a Monster Mash game, a vampire or Dracula is not the mastermind behind the plot, but Frankenstein's monster is the main threat.
- Damsel in Distress: Frankenstein terrorizes a nearby village and kidnaps a local village maiden named Emily.
- Down the Drain: Amusingly enough, the sewer stage is optional, and is only reachable if the player enters a certain gray house during the second section of Stage 1 (The Village).
- Frankenstein's Monster: The main villain is the creature made by human doctor Victor Von Frankenstein, but, as with other pop culture depictions, his creator's name is used interchangeably with the creature.
- The Grim Reaper: Apropos for a horror video game, the Grim Reaper appears as a boss at the end of the first section of stage 1.
- Kill It with Fire: After fighting Frankenstein's first form, Emily is freed, but warns the player only fire can vanquish him, so she gives some fire magic to use on Frankenstein's One-Winged Angel form.
- Knight in Shining Armor: The cover art for the game depicts the protagonist in a golden suit of armor and wielding a sword and a golden shield. His role in the game is to save his beloved Emily.
- Medusa: Medusa is the stage 2 boss, as a 2-part battle: full-bodied Medusa, then a large Gorgon head.
- Monster Mash: Like another video game franchise, the classic film monsters feature in the game as stage bosses: Medusa, Manwolf and Vampire (but not Dracula, however).
- The Nameless: The main character is male, but the game does not refer to him by any name.
- One-Winged Angel: As the last boss, of course Frakenstein takes on a larger form to fight the player character: his is a kneeling titan-like entity
. - Optional Boss: Some bosses appear as optional encounters, if the player knows where to find them. Examples include a water dragon in a sewer-like area in stage 1, and a merman in a lagoon in the swamp in stage 2 (a forest).
- Password Save: As with other games of the time, the player can access further stages by the use of a password system.
- Vine Swing: In stage 4, after defeating the vampire boss, the player must traverse a pond of an unknown, but damaging substance, by swinging across vines.
- When Trees Attack: The mid-bosses of stage 2 (a forest) are the "he-monster" and the "she-monster" of the trees: the female counterpart emerges from a tree on the right side of the screen, while the male version walks from side to side.
