Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1989). Play Free Online

Summary

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the NES throws you between two very different play styles. As Jekyll you sprint rightward with only a weak cane for the occasional bee, dodging hostile crowds while your Anger Meter fills. Fill it and the screen flips to night: Hyde storms leftward, forced into frantic auto‑scroll combat where killing monsters restores the meter and lets you revert to Jekyll with a half‑refreshed life bar. The North American cartridge reshuffles the six stages—dropping the original city, park and alley levels for more town and cemetery sections—and censors a few sprite bits. Reviewers at the time complained about sluggish controls and unforgiving difficulty, rating it mediocre in Japanese magazines and labeling it “largely ignored.” Decades later the title earned a reputation for being painful to play, turning into a cult oddity after being featured on the Angry Video Game Nerd and similar retrospectives.

Storyline

In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the player guides Dr. Jekyll on his way to marry Miss Millicent, cane in hand. Townsfolk, animals and other obstacles provoke his anger, filling a stress meter that eventually forces a transformation into Mr. Hyde. As Hyde, the action shifts to a nightmarish realm where he fires a psycho wave at monsters; each kill calms his rage until he reverts to Jekyll. The game offers two endings. If Jekyll reaches the church first, the wedding proceeds, the march plays and "END" appears. If Hyde arrives first, a boss named Letule must be defeated, after which Hyde changes back, a more elaborate wedding scene unfolds, lightning strikes, and a silhouette of Hyde with a cross in his back fades as the final "END" displays.

Edited by Maya Carter