Once again it stars the protagonist, Firebrand, who has been imprisoned by his nemesis, Phalanx, who has stolen the powerful crests, once possessed by Firebrand. It’s the third game in the Gargoyle’s Quest series, even though it doesn’t have the same name.

One of the few continuations of a series on the 16-bit Nintendo machine that didn’t slap the word ‘Super’ before it’s moniker, Demon’s Crest is the game we’re looking at here, and is one of the best SNES hidden gems you really should check out.

Thankfully, the next game in the series did, even if it did fly very low under most people’s radar. This version never made it out of Japan, sadly. In Japan, the second game was actually ported to the Game Boy, and even featured extra levels. Random battles were removed from the game, however. This included special projectiles that could do such things as destroy blocks to open passages you otherwise couldn’t explore. He could also grow in power, finding items to increase his abilities. Again it split the mechanics between top-down adventuring and side-scrolling action, and Firebrand retained his abilities to climb walls, shoot fireballs and fly for limited periods. This sequel made the most of the greater power offered by the NES, not only being in full color, of course, but offering a bigger, better overall game.

The second game, titled Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness, was released for the NES in 1992. It was very different from Ghosts ‘n Goblins, but still retained much of the same feel. Firebrand, as a gargoyle, could grip onto and climb walls, and could fly, or at least hover, and had to travel various lands fighting bosses and facing enemies in random battles. Gargoyle’s Quest retained some side-scrolling platform elements, but the whole game was much more of an RPG, complete with top-down adventure and exploration sections akin to Zelda or Pokemon.

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