Mamono Slayer

Mamono Slayer

Browser - Screenshot - Title screen - Original release.

Developer Skipmore, Gamedesign Publisher Skipmore Published 2009-10-19 Platforms Browser Genres Action-adventure, Metroidvania, Platformer Themes Adventure, Cartoon, Fantasy Distribution Freeware

Mamono Slayer is a mini Metroidvania developed and published by Skipmore as a free browser game on 2009-10-19, and developed in Flash. The game is an homage to Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family. After Flash was discontinued, it was taken offline, but it is still available through Flashpoint. Years later, it was ported to JavaScript and HTML5 and published by Gamedesign on 2017-03-13.

In the game, a kingdom is being threatened by monsters, and the queen charges her bravest knight with the task of retrieving the "Mamono Slayer," a legendary sword so powerful it had to be sealed away in a dungeon. The player must find the sword and use it to defeat the monsters before it's too late. The game makes use of bump combat where you have to maneuver your sword to hit enemies before they hit your body.

Personal

Own?	No. The game was never sold.
Won?	Yes.
Finished	2023-11-20.

While looking through Gamedesign's catalog of games, my curiosity was piqued by the game's pixel art. I played it and instantly recognized it as an homage to Legacy of the Wizard, a deeply flawed game which I nevertheless loved.

Review

4	4	6	6	5

Best Version: Browser remake

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The pixel art looks pretty good in the original, but even better in the remake.
• The music is very reminiscent of Yuzo Koshiro.
• How the poison is used is a rather clever puzzle, as was tricking the monster with food.
• Changing the map after getting the big sword was a nice way to add a little variety to such a small game.

Bad

• There is a slight, but obvious, pause between changes in movements, which is rather annoying. The HTML5 port fixes this.
• Combat is too simplistic. Although the first Dragon Slayer games used bump combat, but, the game it was based on was a platform shooter.
• In the original, various graphic effects, like hitting an enemy, don't use pixel art. This creates a clashing appearance. Thankfully, this was removed for the remake. However, I did like the ambient lighting effect in the original. It was removed in the remake and gives the game a flatter look.
• The large panel for instructions is wasted space. It's nice to have it at the start of the game, or even as a menu option, but I would much prefer to see my inventory there or a minimap. The remake displays the inventory.
• The game is over too quickly. I would have welcomed more of this.

Ugly

• The "boss" fight was a letdown. I would have preferred an actual battle, another puzzle, something other than a cutscene.

Media

Screenshots

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  Title screen.

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  Backstory.

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  Castle.

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  Forest.

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  Dungeon.

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  Shrine.

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  Remake - Title screen.

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  Remake - Castle.

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  Remake - Forest.

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  Remake - Dungeon.

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  Remake - Shrine.

Videos

Longplay - Flash.

Longplay - HTML5.

Play Online

Browser

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The only women are background angels and a damsel in distress.
Bechdel test?	Fail	Only one woman ever speaks.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	The game uses Western fantasy tropes, so, everyone appears white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	Mamono Slayer
Japanese	マモノスレイヤー	Mamono Sureiya	Mamono Slayer

Links