Jersey Devil (1997). Play online

Summary

Jersey Devil rolls onto the PlayStation as a quirky 3D platform adventure starring a cute, purple, long‑eared creature that looks more like a bat than a mythic beast. The game thrusts me into oddly themed stages—an eerie museum, a fog‑laden cemetery, a spooky forest, even a creaky haunted house—where the villainous Dr. Knarf commands an army of mutating vegetables and retro‑style undead. I spend most of my time jumping, gliding, and tail‑whipping through swarms of zombie bats and spider hordes, while hunting down all five letters of K‑N‑A‑R‑F to open new areas. Critics were divided: GamePro praised its ambition next to Crash or Croc despite a notoriously finicky camera, whereas Next Generation warned platform fans might be left unsatisfied. The title even got a Japanese makeover, released as "Jersey Devil no Daibōken" by Konami and earning a middling 25/40 from Famitsu. Overall, its charming heroine and wacky veggie enemies make for a memorable if imperfect retro platforming sprint.

Storyline

In the opening cutscene of Jersey Devil, a mutated pumpkin named Dennis bursts into Dr. Knarf’s laboratory clutching a small cage. Inside is an infant Jersey Devil, which Knarf intends to dissect, but Dennis’s interruption ruins his scalpel and forces Knarf to lock Dennis up while he fetches a new blade. During his absence a plant monster attacks the baby, but the Jersey Devil escapes, wrecks the lab, and drops a bottle of nitroglycerin that blows the facility apart, sending him flying into the nearby town of Jersey.

Years later the town has become a sprawling city plagued by mutant vegetable monsters that kidnap citizens. A news broadcast mentions Dr. Knarf and mysterious sightings of the legendary Jersey Devil. The camera pans to a rooftop where the adult Jersey Devil appears, leans over the city and lets out a chilling "Boo!" as the title screen fades in.