58. Makai-Mura Gaiden: The Demon Darkness|Game Boy|1993|action-adventure|6h|7/10
Makai-Mura Gaiden: The Demon Darkness is a Game Boy port of Gargoyle's Quest 2 on the NES. Although this port was not released in English officially, a fan translation exists. Makai-Mura Gaiden added two new levels to the Game Boy release, but is otherwise nearly identical to the original GQ2, sans color of course. That means you're still a demon gargoyle killing other demons in the name of saving the Ghoul Realm. Although the true reasons why are not as altruistic as it all seems to be from the beginning.
As a port, Makai-Mura Gaiden is more difficult due to the field of view being cropped considerably due to resolution differences between the NES and Game Boy.* This means navigating the many spike lined corridors is made more treacherous by constant blind jumps. Makai-Mura Gaiden is a very challenging game for Game Boy, if you're looking to be tested this will do the trick. Compared to the original Gargoyle's Quest on Game Boy, Makai-Mura Gaiden doesn't measure up. It's not as graphically impressive, well designed, nor as inspired as its predecessor was on the same platform. My one big complaint is that Makai-Mura Gaiden dropped most of the RPG aspects of its predecessor, and is in effect an action-adventure more than an action-RPG. Gone are the random battles on the main field, and the metroidvania aspects were dialed down as well. Also Makai-Mura Gaiden just isn't as creepy as Gargoyle's Quest was, nor does its world feel as forlorn.
However, Makai-Mura Gaiden is easily in the top tier of Game Boy games and worth any serious gamer's time. Also the additional two levels are very difficult and add their own special sets of trials to overcome, with apt rewards. If you're looking for a tough Game Boy game** with a dark twist, and you've already beaten (the admittedly superior) Gargoyle's Quest, give Makai-Mura Gaiden: The Demon Darkness a try. Help Firebrand prove once again why he's the stuff of Arthur's nightmares.
*NES: Game Boy:
As you can see the field of view is cropped compared to NES.
**Here's this game's difficulty rating from GameFAQs:
PS
All Firebrand's games are awesome:
Gargoyle's Quest (Game Boy)
Gargoyle's Quest 2 (NES / Game Boy)
Demon's Crest (SNES)
Play them folks!