Video games - Demon's Crest

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	Video games - Demon's Crest

is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Capcom in 1994 for the Super NES video game console.

Storyline

The Red Arremer demon Firebrand is on a quest to collect all of the elemental Crests, magical stones which preside over their respective elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Time, and Heaven). It is said that when all crests are combined, the Crest of Infinity will appear, allowing its holder infinite power, and the ability to conquer any and all realms with it. However, during his quest, he is gravely wounded in a battle with the Demon Dragon in his efforts to claim the Crest of Heaven, and his nemesis Phalanx uses Firebrand's moment of weakness to attack him and steal all of his crests for himself, with the exception of the Crest of Fire which was broken into pieces in the fight (Firebrand still has one shard of it at the game's outset). Having fallen back to earth in the coliseum where he fought the Dragon earlier, Fireband is forced to destroy him for good to survive, so that he can go after Phalanx and reclaim the Crests. Whether Firebrand wants them for power, or for glory, is never stated.

Characters

Firebrand: The story's anti-hero. Known as the Red Blaze by the lesser demons who fear him. He has the ability to tap into the power of the crests to increase his powers, or even take on entirely new forms.
Phalanx: The arch-nemesis of Firebrand. He desires the crests for himself, so that he may summon the Crest of Infinity and obtain ultimate power to conquer both the demon realm and the human worlds.
Arma: A general in service of Phalanx, Arma has been given orders to hunt down and retrieve the Crest of Fire from Firebrand. The player encounters Arma on several occasions throughout the game, each time receiving one of the Crests he was given for safekeeping as spoils of victory (first the Crest of Earth, then the Crest of Wind, and finally the Crest of Time).
Dark Demon: A secret boss that can be unlocked by finding 100% of the items in the game and defeating Phalanx. It has two different forms; a three-headed, four-armed skeletal charioteer who floats about and rains lava/lobs various projectiles, and a hovering, plasma-tailed fallen angel who, in addition to firing an almost undodgeable string of projectiles, causes earthquakes and gradually turns the walls of the room into spikes. It's quite a bit more difficult than the final fight against Phalanx, and thus a fine example of a videogame superboss
Trio the Pago: A trio of pudgy, piggish-looking businessmen who run the "head-butting" game shop. There are three different locations for this game shop, at three different difficulty levels, and a differently colored Pago corresponding to each. Their colors are Pink, Blue, and Purple, to easy, medium, and hard, respectively.
Vagrant: This character's name is never mentioned. He resided by the town's fountain and will say different things depending on which crest you currently have equipped.

Gameplay

The gameplay is a mix of standard platforming, with mild RPG elements and occasional side-scrolling shooter sequences. Each level can be played multiple times, and often the player has to revisit a level with new Crests to access areas, items and bosses that he could not before.

Power-ups

Firebrand's abilities change depending on which crest is equipped.

Crest of Fire

:Transforms into Fire Gargoyle. Provides Firebrand with a standard set of attacks.

Crest of Earth

:Transforms into Ground Gargoyle. Enables a charge attack that shatter rocks and causes Firebrand's breath attack to travel along the ground.

Crest of Air

:Transforms into Aerial Gargoyle. Gives Firebrand the ability to fly, as opposed to hovering at a particular elevation.

Crest of Water

:Transforms into Tidal Gargoyle. Allows Firebrand to remain under water without taking damage.

Crest of Time

:Transforms into Legendary Gargoyle. Increases Firebrand's attack and defense.

Crest of Heaven

:Never used on its own by Firebrand, only Phalanx.

Crest of Infinity

:Transforms into Ultimate Gargoyle. The Crest of Infinity includes all previous abilities.

There are also separate Fire Crests that provide Firebrand's regular shots with different abilities depending on which is equipped. The Buster Shot breaks bricks, the Tornado Shot creates platforms that last for a few seconds, the Claw shot climbs walls, and finally the Demon shot which inflicts massive damage to enemies.

Firebrand could also collect Talismans to bolster his abilities in varying ways, Bottles to use Potions, and Vellums to use Spells.

Packaging artwork

Image:demonscrest_us.jpg|Demon's Crest
Super NES
North America, 1994 Image:demonsblazon_jp.jpg|Demon's Blazon
Super Famicom
Japan, 1994

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