 SNES DROP! Remember that annoying demon guy from Super Ghouls and Ghosts? Well, he actually has his own series. His name is Firebrand, star of the Gargoyles Quest games for Game Boy and NES, and Demon's Crest for Super Nintendo. However, this game is a classic example of something that sounds awesome on paper, but just doesn't live up to its full potential. Uh-oh, that's right. It's time for another unpopular opinion video. Firebrand has a lot of capabilities. He can fly, he can float, he can shoot projectiles, he can cling to walls, he can interact with the background, and eventually he can change forms kinda like Mega Man, as he collects all these elemental stones. That sounds awesome, right? On paper, yes, but there's three big problems. Number one, the level design just doesn't take full advantage of these abilities. As awesome as everything looks, the design itself is just too ordinary. There's certain things I just don't get, like this very small example here. Like, why bother with any of these floating platforms if I can fly right over them? This isn't like Super Mario World, where you need a lot of space, and it's a big process to fly and stay in the air. In Demon's Crest, you just press a button twice, and that renders a lot of the level design just kinda useless. Number two, the game is way too short. Only five levels? And yeah, you have to go through each of these levels multiple times, which is not only really boring, but it only further exposes how ordinary the level design is. I will say I do like how certain abilities you earn throughout the game allow you to unlock certain portions of each level. That's well done. But it really does make for a dull experience to have to go through the same levels over and over. And number three, the game is just way too easy. Now, I'm a proponent of games like Sky Blazer and Run Saber, two games that are also short and pretty easy, thanks to your character having overpowered capabilities. But in my opinion, those games are much more fun because the level design does a better job complementing your character's abilities, whereas Demon's Crest just kinda falls flat. Also, for the sheer amount of stuff Demon's Crest has, it's simply way too short to utilize everything to its full potential, so it all feels like a big tease. I'm not calling it a bad game, not at all. It's just not nearly as good as it's hyped up to be. It's a good example of the whole not being equal to the sum of its parts. The game's biggest strength is its visual presentation. It just looks cool as hell, and the intro is fantastic. The backgrounds are deep and detailed and really go a long way in making this game look as nice as it does. I also like how you start the game with a boss fight. No screwing around, you fight this ginormous dragon thing immediately. Even after you beat him once, it ain't over till it's over. That's awesome. The control is fantastic, it's very tight. It can be a bit tricky at first to get used to, jumping, floating, and flying, but it's very well done. However, like I said earlier, I think allowing him to fly non-stop like this may have been a mistake. I mean, come on. The music is a cross between Super Ghouls and Ghosts in Castlevania. Again, that sounds awesome on paper, but in execution, it's kind of lackluster. There's not enough dynamic in the sound palette, and as a result, some of the tracks blend together and sound the same. There's like five or six different versions of the main theme, which kinda gets old. But hey, if you really like pipe organs, then Demon's Crest is your game. One last criticism here, and probably my biggest bone to pick with this game, is that Demon's Crest is too dang cryptic. The game gives you the ability to fly around and pick and choose what levels you want to play, but it never tells you that you have to collect all this stuff in order to reach the final boss. That's a problem. And even when you reach the final boss, the fight is lackluster, to say the least. Again, I want to stress I'm not calling Demon's Crest a bad game. It's just that it's become one of those overhyped games over the years, and as a result, its price tag has skyrocketed. Demon's Crest is okay, pretty good at best, but I don't think it lives up to the hype.