Night Slashers is an interesting game. It was a fun beat em up from Data East that was more in line with later 90’s beat em ups, than the company’s early works like Bad Dudes. What made it stand out though was the gore and violence present. I’ve heard the game described as a cross between Castlevania, Mortal Kombat and Final Fight, and that is somewhat accurate. It is not the best beat em up, but had a lot going for it in terms of atmosphere and setting.
Night Slashers was a game left in the arcades until now, with the Switch re-release thanks to FTE Games and Johnny Turbo’s Arcade, and I have to say that this is one of their better re-releases. The company took the time to perfectly replicate look of the arcade screen on for their re-releases, and Night Slasher shows a clear improvement over their previous re-releases like Bad Dudes and Super Burger Time. Many may not notice the improvements, as they are subtle but if you look, you will see that the recreation of the arcade look has indeed been improved.
Night Slashers sees you control one of three characters to take on hoards of the living dead that are terrorizing the people. There is a nice gothic art style to the game, and it mostly feels right control wise. The one complaint I will always have, is that the controls are a bit limited compared to others of the era. There is more of a variety with direction input, but the combat seemed secondary in a way.
Night Slashers was censored in some of its American release cabinets, and I am happy to report that the censorship is not present her with the gore present in full force. Do I recommend this game? Well to be honest, I had to ask myself if I was having fun, and I was. It may not be the best classic brawler, but it is a good way to have fun and that is the best recommendation I can give.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided