Monster Party (1989). Play online

Summary

Monster Party is one of the NES’ strangest platformers, stitching classic horror nods into a side‑scrolling beat‑’em‑up. You swing a bat that also reflects projectiles, and temporary power‑ups turn you into Bert, a flying version that fires short‑range beams. The beam attacks are stronger and get better the deeper you go.

Each of the eight worlds has its own password, letting you jump straight to a level. Doors hidden throughout the stages lead to bosses or empty rooms, and every entrance drops a ‘?’ item that may heal you, boost your score or trigger the Bert transformation.

The game’s history is a cult classic in its own right. Early Japanese prototype screenshots reveal a blood‑smeared title screen, a lush sunset mountain intro and a man‑eating plant outfitted with a microphone—a wink to Little Shop of Horrors. After the cartridges were dumped, a 2013 fan restoration stripped away black pixels to recover those hidden graphics and even exposed altered monster designs that were originally borrowed from Planet of the Apes, Gremlins and the Alien Xenomorph.

Despite Nintendo’s late‑80s censorship, the final version still keeps splashes of red blood and the word ‘hell,’ which continues to puzzle retro players and fuels its off‑beat reputation.

Storyline

Monster Party follows a kid named Mark (called Hiroshi in the unreleased Japanese prototype) who is heading home from a baseball game when a griffin‑like alien named Bert (originally Value) appears. Bert begs Mark to help purge the “evil monsters” from his realm, Dark World, and convinces him that his baseball bat will serve as a weapon. The alien fuses with Mark, allowing the boy to transform into Bert for short periods as they are whisked away to the dimension.

Inside Dark World Mark battles a parade of horror‑themed foes: a mummy, giant spiders, zombies, Medusa, a dragon, the Grim Reaper, plus Japanese‑folklore creatures such as the well from Banchō Sarayashiki and human‑faced dogs (Jinmenken). The game also throws in oddities like a talking caterpillar, walking pants, a cat that launches kittens, and a bouncing fried‑shrimp projectile.

After climbing through the realm and confronting the Dark World Master, Mark defeats him and is returned home by Bert. A box opens to reveal a beautiful princess who morphs into a monster that melts Mark’s flesh, but he awakens unharmed in his bed. Bert reappears at the door with the bat, asking if he’s ready to go again, and the game ends.