Dr. Franken
Dr. Franken is a video game released for Game Boy and Super NES by Elite Systems. It was titled The Adventures of Dr. Franken for the SNES in the United States. The game features Franky, a Frankenstein's monster on a mission to collect the scattered body parts of his girlfriend.[2]
Dr. Franken The Adventures of Dr. Franken | |
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Cover art of the Game Boy version of Dr. Franken | |
Developer(s) | Elite Systems MotiveTime (SNES version) |
Publisher(s) | Kemco DTMC (SNES version) |
Programmer(s) | Mark Crane |
Artist(s) | David Percival |
Composer(s) | Mark Cooksey |
Platform(s) | Game Boy Super NES |
Release | December 1992 (Game Boy) December 1, 1993 (SNES) |
Genre(s) | Platform, Metroidvania[1] |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Prototype NES and Sega Game Gear[3] versions were developed around the same time, but never officially released. A sequel, Dr. Franken II, was released on the Game Boy in 1997.
Game Boy edition
The Game Boy release of the game uses a password-based saving system to save the player's progress. The game consisted of seven floors (20 stages in various places of the world in the SNES version) where various items and parts of Bitsy (Franky's girlfriend) were hidden. Keys and special items were needed to access additional areas to find more body parts and equipment required to resurrect Bitsy.
Music
The Game Boy and unreleased NES versions of the game used two classical music pieces throughout. The title screen music is Bach's Fugue No. 2 In C Minor BWV 847 (The Well Tempered Clavier in C), and the gameplay music is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The Game Boy and NES versions' music was arranged by Mark Cooksey. He composed the music in C-Lab Notator for the Atari ST.
Legacy
Dr. Franken II is a sequel to the original and was released for the Game Boy in 1997. It was developed by MotiveTime and published by Jaleco. It is a platform game in which the lead character, Franky, must escape the castle in which he is trapped in order to search for pieces of a gold tablet which will help him to stave off debt.
References
- Elliot, Patrick (October 8, 2010). "Review: Dr. Franken". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
The game has a strong Metroidvania feel to it, as you generally find items in a specific order to move the game forward, backtracking to the location you can use it.
- Scythemantis. "Adventures of Dr. Franken". Bogleech.com. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
- "Dr. Franken demo for Game Gear". Retrieved 19 July 2011.