8 Eyes (NES) 1988 (1990 NA). Genre: Action.

8 Eyes is an action game in the same vein as Castlevania. I'm rather happy getting this game following the disaster that was Chiller. On immediate inspection the game appears to be a Castlevania clone but, outside the infamous staircases, is a unique game in its own right. As a quick mention, Wikipedia lists this game as a platformer. I'll have to disagree with that description. Platforming is somewhat minimal in this game. There's only two levels (Germany and Egypt) where jumping can be penalized and even in those cases the punishment is minor.

The game consists of seven stages and a final stage. Although you can enter the first seven stages in any order there is little reason to deviate from the intended route. Like Megaman, you are given a sword at the end of each stage that indicates what stage you need to enter next. It is possible to do the stages outside the intended order but you would only be creating an artificial challenge for yourself. Each stage is usually straight forward. Travel from left to right, occasionally up and down until reaching a boss at the end. In each stage there will be four Pots and a scroll hidden in the walls. The pots increase your max heath and item uses to prepare you for the boss and each of the scrolls gives you a part of a logic puzzle.

Germany and Egypt stand out as unique stages. The other stages just require that you traverse each room but both Germany and Africa are top-bottom tutorial. Add to that, Africa has a set of 3 nearly identical rooms that repeat. You are required to alternate between two downward passages to progress in the level.The final stage, House of Ruth, is a boss rush rather than a conventional stage.

This game gets an easy 5/5. It's on point with its genre and has no major problems making is a guaranteed 4/5. Its additional exploration elements and the bird companion push this game over the top. The bird is a bit difficult to get a handle on at first so there is a curve to this game. If you jump on immediately it will probably take about an hour to get a feel for how to properly use the bird. I would highly recommend this game to anyone. It holds the test of time as a quality game.

(5/5)