This review was originally published in November 2014. We're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival in the Nintendo Switch Online NES library — and its official debut in North America nearly 40 years after its Japanese launch on Famicom.
As far as obscure releases within the NES library go, Devil World is certainly one of the most interesting. Originally released in Japan in 1984 and in Europe in 1987, this is a title that to this day has never been available to purchase in North America — not even through the wonders of Nintendo’s Virtual Console service. Nintendo of America originally passed on the title at the time of release due to self-imposed rules on the use of religious icons and themes appearing in its games. The subsidiary's stance has evidently relaxed since then, yet Devil World nevertheless remained in the depths of unreleased game hell in the region until its 2023 debut as part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.
With that said, the fact that a Nintendo-developed (with Intelligent Systems) game contains such overt religious symbols remains rather surprising even today. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and then-newcomer Takashi Tezuka, Devil World isn’t an in-depth critical work that explores the underworld. Instead, it’s merely a PAC-MAN clone, albeit a rather creative one, that exudes more charm than you’d expect from a game with such a sinister-sounding title.
However, that’s not to say that Devil World is all lollipops and rainbows. In fact, it’s pretty punishing as far as the gameplay is concerned. The basic premise evokes that of Namco’s yellow, pellet-gobbling mascot in that the main goal of each standard stage is to collect objects known as Boa-Boa dots scattered across various dungeon mazes. You play as Tamagon, a miniature dragon who is tasked with collecting these dots as a means through which to “attack the Devil World.”
Whereas Pac-Man doesn’t hold back when it comes to munching pellets, Tamagon has the good grace to only do so while holding a holy cross, an item of which you’ll find plenty in the maze. Once firmly in his grasp, a mystical power compels him to not only eat delicious Boa-Boa dots, but also to shoot flames from his mouth. The latter comes in especially handy given that each stage is littered with enemies, and the only way to temporarily halt their advance is to roast them. Doing so will even turn certain enemies into, naturally, fried eggs. We can’t help but think that both Miyamoto and Tezuka were under the influence of something while making this one.
It’s a premise that sounds straightforward enough, but what sets Devil World apart from its obvious inspiration is the way in which the stages behave. The view of the playing field isn’t fixed in place; instead, the level will scroll in one of four directions as chosen by the Devil himself. Those who have played any Super Smash Bros. game since Brawl will likely be already familiar with this chap — he’s that pain in the backside who pushes part of the stage out of view.
In Devil World, he’s doing more or less the same thing, although his primary goal here is to crush poor Tamagon between the edge of the screen and a wall. Naturally, this has a pretty big impact on the way in which you play; how you go about collecting Boa-Boa dots is always influenced by the direction in which the stage is moving, and some foresight is required if you want to avoid inadvertently trapping yourself. The mazes are surprisingly intricate in certain stages, featuring long stretches of wall that will speed up your journey to the afterlife if you don’t take care.
There are three different stage types that crop up per round, ensuring variety, albeit in a rather formulaic way. Upon completing the first stage — which revolves around eating Boa-Boa dots — you’re next tasked with collecting four bibles and placing them into the Devil’s seal in order to close it. Bibles dish out the same fire-breathing powers as crosses, so you’re still able to attack enemies in this stage should you need to. Following this, a bonus stage appears in which you have to collect up to six bonus boxes. Here, you’re able to control the direction in which the screen scrolls by walking over arrow panels on the floor; only through the efficient use of these can you acquire everything.
Although it may be a very simple concept, especially when compared to modern games, Devil World is nevertheless very playable and challenging as a result of its unusual gameplay mechanics. The game can be played cooperatively with a second player, which makes it a little bit easier (although you can hinder and even kill each other if not careful) and an ideal choice if you want something simple and easy to understand.
The charming visuals and upbeat soundtrack should be at odds with the theme of the game, but they actually just make it that bit more appealing when played today. The repetitive nature of the gameplay and stage format, however, may prevent Devil World from holding your attention for very long.
Conclusion
It’s all too easy to label Devil World as a Pac-Man clone given its obvious similarities, yet to view it as only being that would be a huge mistake. This is a game that takes the basic formula of that arcade hit and builds upon it in an inventive and unique way; the scrolling maze mechanic inserts an added layer of challenge that can be remarkably difficult to anticipate and overcome. It does become a bit repetitive over time, as the stages are very similar throughout and always presented in the same order. Despite this, it’s the challenge that will keep you coming back, not to mention the quirky theme that’s arguably more interesting as a result of it being something you wouldn’t typically expect to find in a Nintendo-developed game.
Comments 17
Alright, I’m sold. I may have to go try this when I get a chance.
Shocking it took this long for this to get a North American release.
It sucks that people are so touchy about religious mythology. So many games (and other works) use them to create fantastical stories.
Anyway, this is a really cool take on the maze game formula. Who knew moving the screen causes such a challenge?
Awww, my subtitle would have been "Heaven Can Wait".
Sick song from a sick record!
Sounds like Miyamoto put Tezuka through the same "Rockstar 101" training that Dave Mustaine put Jeff Young through before joining Megadeth, minus the heroin, of course.
"Here's your leather jacket, here's a bunch of psychedelics, now shut up and smoke this! Alright, let's lay down some code!"
I think the score is a little generous. I don't think it was just the devil reference and crosses that made NoA want to skip releasing this (after all, it would be easy enough to change both of them). It's punishingly difficult (remember what happened to the Japanese SMB2) and really not that great of a game.
I played it and Takomaru's Ninja Castle a little last night for the novelty. It's fascinating to experience a Nintendo game (or two, rather) with such historical significance for the first time. I had no idea it was Miyamoto's first console-developed game until I saw a comment about it yesterday. That's pretty wild. I played it for a bit, and admittedly was a bit glad to finally get a Game Over after 20 minutes or so, as it was starting to become a bit tedious. It's not bad, it's just very much a product of its time.
Very few arcade games still hold up well in the modern era. Not sure if this game had an arcade cabinet equivalent in Japan or not like Donkey Kong or Mario Bros., but that's pretty much what this feels like. It wasn't until the NES released in America that Famicom games started being more fleshed-out adventures with substance instead of just a game where you Chace high scores. That's not to say I didn't have fun, though; it's a neat concept, and it's nice to be able to finally understand the legacy behind that one Smash Assist Trophy. It's weird to me how so many of these arcade Nintendo games use public domain music. Why did they think two tracks from The Nutcracker would fit here?
I'm really not sure why the game couldn't have released over here back in the day. Who were they worried about offending? Atheists who didn't want references to Christianity in their games? Christians for making a game about the devil? I dunno, I don't really see anything offensive about it. There's modern games with religious depictions I would describe as objectionable (Cult of the Lamb and Binding of Isaac being 2 examples, bit I got a lot of flack for saying that last time.) This game? Not so much.
I also think it's interesting that while Satan is portrayed biblically as a serpent and many depictions of him in media is as a goat, they instead opted to portray him as a bat. (A fat, blue bat in a speedo, at that... Hey, that rhymes! Just call me Dr. Soos.) I'm curious what the inspiration was. Some kind of Japanese yokai mythology or something?
Seems like a real "look, the NES scrolls!" [smoothly in one direction only, with the built-in hardware support] "and has graphics!" game, but probably necessary for the much more impressive and significant follow-ups. Nice to have this piece of history officially playable worldwide.
Oooh! I remember playing this game when I was a kid, lol.
@Not_Soos It didn't have an arcade equivalent, so it's very much a Famicom game, unlike other similar games such as Balloon Fight or Clu Clu Land.
@Not_Soos
thanks for the comment, as usual I enjoyed reading it but found plenty to disagree with! (which is probably my favorite.) couple notes:
"Who were they worried about offending?"
from my observation, they scrubbed any and all religious iconography from games in the US, at least.
also, it's the Christians and you know it. 😂 Christians had a monopoly on outrage in the 80s (and arguably 90s and 00s) and no one especially business and media worried a damn bit about offending literally anyone but them, as a group.
"Very few arcade games still hold up well in the modern era."
you wouldnt feel that way if you liked arcade games more. 😁
@Not_Soos This would've been around the height of the Satanic Panic era in the US/Canada, so I'm sure Nintendo of America at least had their eye on that when they made that decision. I doubt I would've been allowed to play this as a kid, even growing up in the 90s.
Coincidentally, this was one of the first games I bought when I started collecting Famicom titles as an adult. I like it! Certainly less sophisticated than Pac-Man, but it provides a neat twist on the formula that is good for at least a few runs.
I'm glad that we're now getting first-party Famicom titles on NSO like this, Murasame Castle, and Joy Mech Fight!
I've just played this for the first time. Not bad. It's intriguing for sure, especially if you're a Christian, but it's not really engaging. I might play it off and on, much like an arcade game.
"Nintendo of America originally passed on the title at the time of release due to self-imposed rules on the use of religious icons and themes appearing in its games."
Link's shield and the magic book from the original Legend of Zelda say hello.
Eh, I played a bit of this game and while I'm glad to be able to do so at last (officially), I wasn't impressed with it myself.
The moving screen barrier is very annoying and having to grab crosses to even progress through the first phase of a round makes it even worse for me.
I'll always respect Miyamoto and continue to be interested in his future works, but this is one of the few of his works where I'll have to give it the "wah wah" reward.
@SpeedRunRocks. Shut up and smoke this is good advice for anything 😄
Not_Soos wrote:
Short answer: google "Satanic Panic"
Long answer: At the time in the U.S. & Canada, role-playing games, D&D in particular, were thought to turn your kids into suicidal/homicidal devil-worshippers. So screamed the national headlines. And the talk shows. And the churches. And the concerned mothers groups. And the politicians, etc.
In Sunday school my sister and I were taught that "He-Man" and "My Little Pony" were evil, for example. We had a good laugh about that. Skip ahead 20 years and it's "Harry Potter" that's evil. And so on.
@Not_Soos
"The Bible" is less a thing then people give it credit. For most of history, religious text were highly regional and borrowed heavily from local culture. There are religious texts from Iceland that depict Satan as a frost giant and Jesus as an elf-like creature. At the time, the people who worshiped using them would have called themselves Christians and would have called the text "the bible".
The Devil's most common physical motif worldwide is without question a red dragon. Many scholars would say this is the most "accurate" to the oldest text, as he is described as such is some of the oldest versions of genesis. Grossly over simplified ... a lot of cultures translate "dragon" to "great serpent", and it became common to view the serpent in the garden as "Satan" despite this not appearing in the text, so his depiction as a snake or serpent became extremely common.
We get goat "Satan" from pagan tradition. It was pretty common for missionaries to work local gods and feast days into Christian tradition, and even more common for artists to continue using traditional imagery. The most common depiction of Satan in the middle ages was actually the pagan god Baphomet, who is himself strongly influenced by the Satyr.
You're assumption is likely correct. This bat-like, horned devil is likely influenced by Hannya, a common character in Noh plays, "Oni", a type of Yōkai, and the imagery of Baphomet that Japan was first introduced to by Christian missionaries.
But it's obviously very complicated and not everyone would agree.
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